Magicblazer Oneshots

A Heart for a Heart

(Short lil story bc I went to a cannibal museum today on vacation <3)

(Also, TW: blood, gore)

"John, what the hell are we doing here?" Zatanna asks as the costumed magician and her lover stand next to each other in a cult circle of sorts. "Relax, darling. You want me to live, right?" He asks, lighting a cigarette. "Why did we need to do th—" she stops herself as the other four people in the circle bring forward a badly beaten, bloodied, bruised, and malnourished human forward, barely recognizable. "John, what the hell," the raven-haired woman repeats, in a more serious tone this time. "Love, take it a bit back, okay? I know what I'm doing. The one that I'm planning on conning this time is a demon based on sacrifice, okay? Chill out. This is the only way that I'm getting this little shit here without him questioning me too much," her worse half told her. Zatanna begins to protest again, but then stops herself again.

One of the hooded people steps up and stabs the person in the heart, blood spewing out of the body and onto the ritual etched into the floor. "John..."

"Love, you didn't want me to go alone, right? This is how it's gonna have to be, Zee. Now, stop complaining."

She rolls her eyes at her companion and tries to look away. Just because she's here doesn't mean that she has to watch a man die in front of her to save her own.

The hooded figure steps up to John and hands him the heart of the man, still dripping with blood and beating. 

Zatanna almost vomits.

"What the fuck?!"

"This her first time, Constantine?" The hooded figure hissed out, almost snake-like, too rasped and disguised to determine any gender. "Yeah. She's... she doesn't typically do these things. One of the goody-goody magicians." He turns to his lover. "Cheers, Love." He tosses the heart back to the hooded figure, and they cut the heart in the air, the item falling apart into seven pieces. "Each take one piece," they commanded. "Who's- who's the seventh piece for?" Zatanna questions. In return, the hooded figure motions to the person who's heart is missing, still bleeding, a steady stream of blood spewing out of their chest. "John..."

"You'll get used to it, Zee. I have."

"You're.. barely out of your teens. This should not be a normal thing, John."

"Whatever. Listen, Zee, I don't- I like being alive. This is how you do it."

"No, human cannibalism is not the way to stay alive. The way to stay alive, first off, is to get the fuck off of these damn things," Zee says to him, flicking the cigarette out of her company's mouth. "You love it, Zee."

"No, I don't love you dying and commuting cannibalism," she argues back. "C'mon, Love. I'll- I'll quit after this, I swear."

"How many times have you told me that, John?"

"Whatever. Just, please, help me out with this one, okay?"

"To help you, I eat a human heart. Can I at least... cook it, or something?" Zatanna questions, obviously uncomfortable. "No. The heart must be consumed raw. Now, we must hurry. The sacrifice must be alive when this ritual takes place," the hooded figure snarls out once again. She sighs. "You owe me for this one big time, Constantine," she finally agrees. "Don' worry, darlin'. I'll make sure t' make it up t' ya. I'll make sure of that one, at least. Cheers, Love," Constantine smirks.

"You owe me big time, Constantine."

"Don' worry, Love." 

Well, there's a first time for everything, she thinks before joining the rest of the circle in consuming the piece of heart.

To her surprise, it actually didn't taste that far off of any other animal she's eaten. It's more the idea of consuming a human than the actual taste being disgusting.

"Constantine, what's going on?" Zatanna asks as the ground starts rumbling and the person, who is somehow still alive without a heart, starts screaming in pain. "He's here."