Covens and Proxies

32

Toby's POV

The first thing I see is (Y/n), falling on her stomach in front of a chair. The next thing I take in are the other bodies that might have once been human, but now are surrounded by mixing pools of crimson blood, sickly-green puss and white mucus. And then there's the unconscious girl with a bag over her head. Zemra.

"Ta-take care of he-her." I order Callisto, pointing to my girlfriend's roommate.

She hesitates, but I'm already halfway to the girl I'm praying isn't dying. The edges of my vision are still red, my breath unstable as I carefully roll her over onto my lap. Taking off a glove, I press my fingers against her neck where her jugular is and almost start crying.

Because she's alive. Her heartbeat is faint and weak, but she's alive. I'm not too late. I found her and I'm going to get her out of here and I'm never letting her go again. Because she's alive and I refuse to let anything change that.

I take in her bruised and battered body when I manage to blink away the burning tears. Her eye is swollen and deep purple, almost black. There's a nasty cut across her lip. Some scraps show through her tattered, ripped and stained clothes. And then there's her wrist.

I almost vomit when I see it. Wide, open, and still gushing blood. I snap at Masky, demanding he get his ass over here.

The rest of the world falls away as my friend hands his shirt over. I rip it into thin lengths, tying one around her upper arm to cut off circulation more, and another around her actual cut to stop the bleeding. Callisto comes over, shooing Masky over to Zemra.

"What's wrong?" She demands.

My heart is beating so loud in my ears, I can barely hear anything. "She cut hersel-self to kill the men in-in this room. The cut was too deep and she's ble-eding too much." I manage as I put as much pressure on the wound as I can. It's not stopping. My heart is beating harder, my vision starting to go red. "Can-can't you heal her-er?!" I snap at her.

She shakes her head wildly. "No! I don't have that kind of..." She trails off, her vision dragging toward the love of my life's book of spells.

I give (Y/n)'s horribly limp arm to her mentor and crawl over, snatching the volume and flipping through until I find a page I recognize. It's in latin, but I've heard it enough times to know. Holding it to the other witch, she looks at me and back at the book before starting to repeat the words that were once my salvation. The volume lifts a bit from my hands, allowing me to retract my grip and focus on the dying girl.

I take her in my lap again, trying not to worry about how pale she is, or how skinny she looks. Or how beat up she must be. Or the torture they might have inflicted on her. Or how exhausted and pain she probably is in.

I'm supposed to protect her. As her mate, that's my job! So where was I when she needed me most?! Lying around, eating fucking waffles and watching Jeff and Ben be idiots!

I can feel my mask getting wet, so I pull it down and push up my goggles so I can see right. I realise I'm crying. I realise, truly understanding, that losing (Y/n) would be the end of the few scraps of sanity I have managed to scrape together for her. It may as well be the end of my existence.

Masky kicks me pretty hard, shaking me enough to pull myself together. Her breathing is steady, but still unconcious. My friend has Zemra over his shoulders like some sort of soldier. Callisto is standing a few feet away with an earbud in, talking to someone about our location.

Wiping my face, I pull my mask up and goggles down. Carefully, I pick (Y/n) like she were a bride. I glare at Masky, who very obviously is trying not to look smart. "Say. Nothing." I warn him, to which he shrugs and I know he's smirking to hide his laughter.

Callisto turns off her phone and puts it all away. "My friend can warp us back to the alley. She needs to get ready, so it might take a minute." She informs us as she walks over to one of the corpses, turning what must have used to be a head over with her foot and whistling. "I'd hate to be the guy that dumps her."

I sneer at the ground, holding my tongue out of respect and appreciation for all this witches abilities. Masky is appreciating the work too. "She did this?" He clarifies, jutting a thumb at the girl in my arms.

Callisto nods. "It's the first time she did it intentionally, so obviously it was... Extreme and completely out of control. A desperate attempt to save her friend that would've failed if we hadn't gotten here so soon."

I scoff, looking at her puckered eye. "Too late, you mean."

She glares at me. "She's not dead, is she? I'd say we made it here right on time!"

"We-e don't know what shit-shit they put her thr-ough! She could've been through wo-worse then death for all we kno-ow!" I snap right back.

Her nostrils flare. "She knows what it means to be in our coven. She knows what it means to be a witch. She knows the dangers of capture, torment and death!" She roars. "She got lucky that these weren't Witch Triers! I know you know about them. I know she told you." She rips an emblem off of one of the men's jackets, holding it up. "These guys were only an off-brand. Cheep imitators that just wanted power, taking it from witches!"

I can feel the blood drain from my face, taking the rest of my fight with it, looking at her with knew eyes. "You mean she mi-might not have her magic?"

Callisto shakes her head. "Her book responded to it's activation, so I doubt it. But I don't know. The entire idea is very new and... Temperamental." She looks up at the chains and tubing and wires dangling from the cross-beams above. "They're obviously novices."

In the next second, a whirling spiral of black void appears in the center of the room. Callisto doesn't hesitate to jump in. With a glance and a shrug with Masky, we follow. Honestly, I like this girl's warp better then Splendor's. It doesn't squish you or make you horribly sick and dizzy.

We pop out in the dark alley, Callisto already standing in front of a second gate. "Thank you both for your help." She glares pointedly at me. "You better take good care of her, creepypasta. She deserves someone a lot better then you."

I nod, already knowing full well. She disappears in the void, leaving Masky and I to haul Zemra and (Y/n) to their home. The roommate has been unconscious through it all, and I doubt she'll remember anything when she wakes up. I put my girlfriend in her bed and meet Masky in the hall.

"I assume you're staying?" He asks, looking at the half-open door.

I nod. "I have-have to make sure she's alright." He nods, pulling out a cigarette and heading for the backdoor. I stop him, "Thanks, man. I know you ha-hate her kind. This means a lot to me."

He smirks. "Sure. Just as long as I get the hassle you for being a weepy little shit when she looked like she was dying."

I, grudgingly, agree and let him leave, going back to her room.