Forces Beyond The Grave

11.6

Lennox held Casey's arms as she pleaded, and by the end noticed a trance-like state descend on him, like he was shutting down. The energy shifted in the room as the aura flickered and then began to dissipate, seeping into Lennox's skin as the golden sheen to his eyes faded away. But the more energy she absorbed, the more she knew that it was her mother who had cast the spell. With Evelyn's energy signature came her most recent memories, including those of her ambush on Jay as he had exited a building across town. 

'You stupid boy!' She had screeched. 'Do you have any idea what you've done?!'

Lennox fell weak, releasing Casey just before collapsing against the soft chairs next to her. 

"She has Jay." She whispered, her voice almost inaudible as Casey suddenly came to. 

"What is going on here? Lennox?" He lowered onto his knee, instantly at her aid. "Sweetie are you alright?" 

"I have to go." 

"Wait a minute, what just happened? What are we doing in here?" 

Lennox closed her eyes for a moment, glad to hear his usual interrogative tone as he spoke. "Glad to have you back Sarge, but right now I have to go, I'll be fine." 

"Are you sure?" 

"Yeah." She let him help her to her feet, then leaving him a little disoriented as she left the room and headed out to the street.

As much as she wanted to figure out how to reverse whatever spell her mother had cast over the building, she had more important matters to handle. The only place she could imagine her mother taking Jay was the one place Lennox had tried to shield him from since this whole thing started - the manor. A type of fear she hadn't felt in a long time set in as she walked home, but it wasn't until the half way point that her fears were confirmed. Seemingly out of nowhere, Lennox began to hear her name screamed at her on the stress, so loudly in fact that she had to cover her ears. The voice was Jay's, and it echoed to the point of causing pain. Upon closing her eyes, she was met with the vision of Jay calling out to her from the cage underneath the manor, restrained by the collar clasped tightly around his neck. Seeing him in that state, whether imaginary or not, was a sight she had never wished to see. As she tried to continue her walk home, her mind began to fracture, each piece breaking off into its own image of all the potential ways her mother could've been hurting Jay.