To Blame ━ marvel ✔

𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑠𝑖𝑥

CHAPTER SIX
Spells & Zombies

They had met this universe's Doctor Strange, and he was in fact, very strange. Rosa had her guard up, and so did Mara. He placed his hand on the Darkhold. Rosa looked up at him, recognising that glow all too well.

"You guard the Darkhold in this universe?" Stephen asked him.

"Yeah. For good reason."

"That's a start. I could use it. It could help me to communicate with my universe— our universe."

"Careful. The Darkhold exacts a heavy toll, one I am sure Rosa knows of." He told him.

Rosa sighed. Mara looked at Rosa, noticing the tenseness.

"I don't mean to be callous, but how much of a heavier toll is there left to exact?"

"Not just on its reality. On its reader."

"Look, I'm sorry you couldn't save your universe, but maybe you could help to save mine."

"Are you happy, Stephen? Mara?"

Mara thought about what he had told them when they first entered, how he was surprised about seeing her, and why. It was because she died when she was five in this universe.

"Yeah." Mara answered.

"What?"

"Are you happy, Stephen? It's the question that... Christine Palmer asked me at her wedding. I said, 'yes, of course I'm happy. I'm a sorcerer with the power of the gods. What man wouldn't be happy'? And then I came back to this goddamn haunted house, sat down, and wondered why I'd lied. I never meant for any of this to happen. I was looking for a world where things were different. Where I had Christine, Mara was alive, where I was happy with both of them. But I didn't find it. I found one with us and Mara, and that's yours. As for Mara and Christine, all I found were more of us. So I did those Stephens a favour. You ever had that dream where you're falling as if you've been pushed off a tall building? That was probably me." He said with a third eye appearing on his forehead, shocking both Mara and Rosa.

"Holy shit." Mara swore.

"The Darkhold exacts a heavy toll."

"Okay. All the more reason to give it a rest and let me have it."

"Here's the deal. I'll let you use the Darkhold if you give me your Christine and Mara."

Mara rose her brows and scoffed. "Fuck no."

"Yeah. I don't think Christine's gonna go for that, and I can tell Mara won't."

"No? Didn't think so."

Then a battle between the Stephens broke out. Stephen managed to break the Darkhold from the other one's belt. Mara watched as the evil Stephen fell to the ground, getting impaled by one of the gate posts.

"This thing is—"

Rosa backed away from the book.