A Witch Thing

• 18 •

Elizabet was alone in the room. She could feel a bit of her magic return to her, Victoria had not given her another bite. While she was still alone, she managed to set a small spell over her.

She focused on the spell that would telepathically connect her with Jasper. She didn't know how far away he'd be able to hear, but she hoped it was far. She needed to be able to at least try and get a whisper to him.

"Jasper?" She tried, her voice barely audible.

No response.

"Jasper?" She whispered again.

Nothing.

She sighed. She needed more magic so she could call a little further. But for now, she had to wait.

She wasn't so keen on doing that.

Victoria walked into the room again, looking over Elizabet. She spoke, "So, you're awake now?"

She didn't respond, her voice was hoarse and close to being gone.

Victoria bent down in front of her, taking a seat entirely as she just sat and stared. After a while, Elizabet had an idea to say something, but chose against it.

Victoria finally spoke, "I'll make you a deal."

"No," Elizabet immediately said.

She seemed amused at her quick answer and continued, "I'll make you a deal. If you preform a little spell for me, I'll let you go. If not, we can continue this nice exchange we've got going on, I torture you, you scream and beg for mercy."

"I haven't begged for mercy yet. This is better than what you've got planned for my family, thank you," Elizabet spoke.

Victoria spoke, "We can speed that along, if you want?"

Elizabet stayed silent before asking, "What do you want?"

"Just a little spell, wouldn't hurt anyone. Not too much, at least."

"No," Elizabet said again, more firm.

Victoria was quick to wrap her hand around Elizabet's throat, squeezing a little to limit her air supply, but giving her enough to be able to breath through it...barely.

Victoria told her, "The spell I need you to perform will set you free to run away for as long as you want."

Elizabet didn't say anything, she couldn't, she had to focus on breathing through the hold on her neck.

Victoria told her, "Bring James back." Her voice shook very slightly, but it was too slight for anyone to notice too much.

Elizabet's eyes widened as she struggled to speak, "I... I..."

Victoria reluctantly let go of her throat and Elizabet gasped for air, coughing wildly. "I'm not *breath* a necromancer." She sucked in another breath, her hand coming to soothe her throat, "I can't just preform that spell, nor do I think I have the power to. It's Black Magic that I've never studied."

Victoria took something off a shelf set high up in the tiny shed. She slammed a book down in front of her, "There's your guide to raising the dead."

Elizabet stared in shock, "Where did you get a grimoire?"

"Will you do it or not?" Victoria asked forcefully.

Elizabet shook her head, "No! I'm not bringing that monster back into the world!"

Her hand was back on Y/N's throat, squeezing harder this time. Elizabet was getting light-headed and her heart was beating a million times a minute. She finally spoke through the little bit of access she had, the sound coming out as a small squeak, "Fine."

Victoria let go again and Elizabet gasped, "Fine! I'll do it..."

Victoria lingered there for a minute before storming out of the room. Elizabet sighed and opened the book slowly, turning to a healing page.

She would be risking her magic with this, but she needed to he able to focus on something other than bleeding, painful wounds all over her body.

She used her magic to heal them enough to calm the pain. She could finish it up when she was free. She could really go for some bandages right now.

She looked through the book slowly, flipping through the pages as she searched for the spell. She stopped when she came in contact with one that caught her attention.

It was a spell that could kill Victoria.

The ingredients would be able to pass and Victoria wouldn't know a thing. She couldn't read the book or any of the pages. Grimoire books are written in an old language that witches inherently understood, much like the spells they casted, whatever language the spell was in could be spoken with little to no effort by witches. The only reason Jasper could read her grimoire as well as he could was because Elizabet had been teaching him how to.

She pretended to keep looking, keeping tabs on that page so she could tell Victoria. She might have a chance of escaping after all.

~

Jasper was on his first hunting trip since Elizabet was taken. He was in desperate need of it and everyone knew. His eyes were returning to their golden color as he replenished himself.

He was getting ready to attack another meal when he heard a strange whisper in his head.

"Jasper?"

He stopped, standing extremely still as he listened closely.

"Jasper, are you there?"

He knew that voice better than anyone. "Elizabet?" He said quietly back.

"Jasper!"

He smiled slightly, it was the first he'd heard of her in what felt like forever. "Elizabet, darlin', where are you?"

He stood to his feet, eagerly looking around as he waited for direction from the whisper of Elizabet's voice.

Her voice was urgent, but they weren't directions to find her. "No!" She exclaimed, "You can't find me yet."

"Why not? What's going on?" He eagerly asked, wanting to get to her.

She whispered back, "It's not safe yet. If you come to get me, it won't end well. Someone's going to die and, it won't be Victoria."

Jasper clenched his jaw as he spoke, "What am I supposed to do?"

"Would you be okay if I said to wait?" She asked hopefully.

He shook his head, "No."

She sighed and whispered, "Well, that's what I need you to do... I have a plan to get out of here, but it's going to take time. Do you trust me?"

"Always," he told her.

Elizabet nodded to herself, "Good. I'll be back soon, okay? Keep Althea safe and don't tell the others you talked to me. It is safe, keep this between us. If Edward finds out, and I have no doubt he will, tell him to keep it to himself."

Jasper sighed, "Anything for you."

"I love you, Jazz."

"I love you, too," he said. He spoke as an afterthought, "Elizabet, I have to tell you something-"

"I'm sorry, Jasper. I can't right now. I have to go," she said.

"Elizabet, wait-" he could hear her in his head anymore. She was gone again. He let out a pained sigh and finished his hunt, getting back to his daughter.

~