Forces Beyond The Grave

12.3

Though she was considerate enough to give them those minutes together, Evelyn was quick to return back to the cave once the ancestors had dismissed her. As soon as she re-entered the cave Lennox was facing her, ready to fire away with her terms. 

"You have what you want now, you don't need Jay." 

"As much as I would like to agree, that's not how this works Lennox." 

"Why not? I'm here, I'm doing what you want that means you don't need to keep him here."

 "And how can we be sure that the second Jay is clear of the premises you won't use your magic to obliterate us all? Hm? There are too many risks Lennox, you understand. We must keep him here as...an incentive, for you to follow through with the ritual until it's completion. Then, and only then, will we release Jay." 

"That's not fair. Mom you can't do that-" 

"This is not coming from me Lennox, this is coming from your ancestors. If you would like them to take kindly to the man who stole your purity, you'll do as they ask and abide by their terms."

"What is that supposed to mean?" 

"They just mean that this could've all been avoided had the two of you refrained from your urges for just a few more nights. Now the only way to ensure your survival is to complete the ritual as soon as possible." 

"Whatever you think happened, Jay did not steal anything from me." 

"No but you gave in! I should've known you were too powerful to be damaged in your physical form, that it would heal eventually, you would be drawn together and after long enough you would not be able to control yourselves. I should've done more to keep him from you, I should've done my duty properly, prepared you the way the ancestors would have. For your ignorance I take full responsibility, but it's important now that you do nothing to damage the ritual any further so I'm afraid Jay will have to reside down here alone from now on." 

Evelyn stood firm across the cave as Lennox stared at her. 

"What? No." 

"Lennox," 

"No! I'm not leaving him down here by himself, he's weak, he needs food he needs water-" 

"The spell I cast to keep him self-sufficient is enough for him to survive days if not weeks without sustenance, you need not worry about his health. He shall not perish until I allow it." 

"I'm not leaving him." 

"You have no choice! The ancestors would like to meet you. Come with me Lennox, I am asking nicely, it won't happen again."

Lennox saw the gold ring around her mother's eyes and knew that if she didn't comply, it would turn into a magical sparring match between them, so in an attempt to stop a war from breaking out she turned to face Jay. 

"Will you be alright?" 

"I'll be fine, go. Hurry back." 

"I will." She walked backwards over to Evelyn. "Remove the collar." She instructed. 

"What?" Her mother frowned. 

"Take it off. I have no doubt you've spelled the cage, he's not stupid enough to try and escape and I'm not going with you unless you take it off." She looked her mother up and down, who rolled her eyes after a few short seconds. 

"Very well." 

Suddenly, Jay felt the lock of the collar click, and with one push, the rusted metal dropped the floor. He took a deep breath as his hand ran over the marks caused by the collar, and after smiling at Lennox he watched the two of them disappear through the walls of the cave.