R/Nosleep (Get Spooked)

There's A Hag Underneath Blessed (Suburbia Part 14)

By u/firesidechats451

The two of us paused in the last circle of torchlight, staring into the darkness beyond.

"Hold on," said Francesca, digging into her pocket. She produced a spherical, pale-yellow crystal about the size of a baseball. She whispered something to the sphere, and it burst into light so bright I had to shield my eyes for a moment. The way before us was suddenly illuminated, the magical light cutting through the darkness where the torches had succumbed.

"Okay," said Francesca, taking my hand. "We should be good. This spell destroys magic cast by hags as well as the hag herself, so we'll be at an advantage."

"Great," I said weakly. I let Francesca lead the way, trying hard not to think about what we were walking into.

Just a few feet beyond the edge of the torchlight, the hallway became a steep set of stairs leading into even deeper darkness, which I wouldn't have thought possible if I hadn't seen it myself.

Francesca squeezed my hand and then started descending, I only a step or two behind, afraid to put too much space between us.

The darkness in that stairwell was . . . alive. I'd always thought of darkness as something static, something that was an absence, not an entity itself. But that darkness . . . it seemed to fight against the strong glow of Francesca's light, the edges of our bright circle thrumming with elemental rage. There was no gradual fade, just a circle about 10 feet in diameter with us at the center, and beyond that, a ravenous emptiness that wanted desperately to devour us. I was so scared, I was shaking, but Francesca had a look of determination on her face, her back ramrod straight.

The bottom of the stairs came sooner than I expected, and suddenly we were standing before two immense doors, their tops disappearing into the darkness far above. They were carved from dark stone, adorned with intricate sigils that I recognized from the cavern where the HOA held their rituals.

"Is—is it in there?" My voice sounded so small. I hadn't felt this scared since I was a kid.

"Yeah," Francesca said. She held her light aloft and began to speak words I didn't recognize, though I felt the power in them, like static in the air before a thunderstorm. The crystal in her hand grew even brighter and the darkness shrunk back, thrashing and strobing like worms burned under a magnifying glass. The doors shuddered, making the ground tremble, but stayed shut.

"What's happening?" I asked, squeezing Francesca's hand way too tight.

"It's resisting," Francesca said. A bead of sweat trickled from her hairline down her temple. "There are protective spells in the stone. Barriers to keep enemies out."

"What do we do?" The darkness writhed around us, tendrils breaching the circle of light before being forced back.

"Remember what I said about lending me your happiness?" Francesca's voice was strained, as though she was trying to lift a heavy weight. "Now's the time to try it!"

I had zero confidence that I could actually help, but Francesca was counting on me. So I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and tried to think of something happy.

It was really, really hard. I was still overwhelmed with everything that had happened, and the fear of lying in that cell, blindfolded, unable to move, was still very much with me. I groped around in my memories, trying to find some glimmer that was even adjacent to happiness, but all that came to mind was dark and cold.

Francesca's grip tightened on my hand. "Come on Kate!" she said, gasping with the effort of holding the spell. "You can do it—think of something small, anything that makes you smile! Think of coffee! You love coffee, right?"

Coffee? It seemed ridiculous, but Francesca was right—I love coffee. Maybe too much.

I thought of a cup of coffee, freshly brewed and steaming in my favorite mug. I imagined adding sugar and creamer, watching the rich color pale as my spoon stirred. I recalled the smell, the taste, the jolt of caffeine that woke me up every morning. From behind my eyelids, I saw the light grow steadily brighter.

"That's it, Kate!" Francesca called, her voice triumphant. "Just keep focusing on how happy it makes you!"

I did—I thought of how delicious coffee is, how it warmed me during the cold months. I thought of how well it went with pastries, and how perfect a croissant and mug of coffee were on Sunday mornings. I thought of mornings passed leisurely, filled with laughter and refills, talk of nothing, just the joy of two women taking a moment to be together without the world interrupting—

There was a ripping sound, like a sail torn by an ocean storm, and the ground shook so hard I stumbled, opening my eyes. The darkness had dissipated, turning to normal shadows, and the enormous doors now bore giant cracks down the middle. Blinking against the brilliant light, I shielded my eyes and asked, "What happened?"

"We got through her defenses." Francesca lowered the crystal, though its shine didn't dim. "Now it's just us and her."

Francesca let go of my hand, and I struggled not to instantly reach for it. She stepped toward the doors and placed her palm against the dark stone, giving a gentle push. The doors instantly crumbled, tumbling toward us in jagged pieces. I screamed and threw up my hands, but the pieces passed through me, transforming into a dark mist that burned away like dew under the morning sun. Before us yawned a gaping hole, more darkness waiting beyond.

"Come on." Francesca held out her hand. "Let's finish this."

Still shaken, I took her hand, finding strength in her warm, solid grip. I took a deep breath, then nodded, meeting her eyes with determination. "Let's finish this," I echoed.

*

Even with how strongly the crystal glowed, it barely illuminated the cavern, the light so dim it was hard to make out details. Everything was black stone like the doors, and every inch was carved with familiar sigils.

Francesca and I proceeded slowly, anxiously watching the shadows that writhed just beyond our circle of light. Gradually, something else was revealed . . .

. . . bones.

Dry, bleached bones, carefully piled and interwoven. As we grew closer, I realized they were shaped into an enormous nest, big enough to fit an elephant. Within this nest lay a heap of dark, dirty cloth.

At least, that's what I thought it was. Until it started moving.

The rumpled cloth stretched up, and up, and up, becoming a cloaked figure at least twelve feet tall. Slowly, it turned to us, revealing dark, wiry hair that stuck out like twigs, and long, multi-jointed fingers that ended in long talons. Its face was pale and folded in a hundred wrinkles, jowls wobbling below its chin. Its eyes were dark holes and its nose protruded, curved like a crow's beak. When it smiled, its teeth were black and sharp. When it spoke, its voice was like rust on blood-stained nails.

"Ah. I see you've finally made it. Welcome, Strangefellow."