Page 37 of Jacinth

A normal-looking woman wandered out and introduced herself. I was not tracking and was grateful when Niko stepped up and provided the name thing. She led us into a darkened room full of smoke and I got the sense a lot of this was for show. Did they really work like this usually?

Not the point, Sky,I thought as I took a seat in front of the... crystal ball.

“Maybe this was a bad idea. Seems like a dead end,” I whispered to Niko.

He flapped his hand at me to shut up as an older woman moved forward and sat opposite us.

“What is it you seek from us?”

“We’re looking for a resurrection spell.”

“Zombie?”

“No”

“White walker?”

“Isn’t that a tv show?”

“Ghoul.”

This was getting us nowhere.

“Look. Our girlfriend is dead. We want to resurrect her. Can. You. Help. Us?” I snapped.

Her demeanor changed in an instant, and I realized how dangerous she was beneath the surface.

“Do not lose your temper with me, boy. We need to be sure of exactly what you want the outcome to be and what you have to support the obtaining of said outcome. Now, do you have a body?”

“Erm... sort of? She died six months ago.”

“So not fresh. No good.” She thought for a moment.

“How long have you known her?”

Niko appeared as uncomfortable as I felt as he fielded this one.

“About three days? Give or take. Look, isn’t there a charm or an enchanted object or something you could give us so she can be alive?”

The old woman was already shaking her head. “It is not that simple, boy.” Her eyes swung to me and held for an awkward minute. “And you, of all people, should know that, Watcher.”

How did she... The twinkle in her eye told me she saw a lot more than I knew.

We were running out of options, and she was still playing with us.

I got to my feet, determined to stop having our time wasted, when she reached out and clutched my wrist.

“I do have one thing that could work... a spell of sorts. But everything requires balance.”

“Don’t be cryptic. Tell us what we need to do.”

She was silent for a moment, watching each of us carefully. After finding I don’t know what, she sat back.

“The spell will exchange one thread for another. If you wish to give your girl life, it will be at the cost of one of yours.”

We left the coven grounds moments later with the spell and ingredients in pocket. Both silent and stuck in our own heads.

Out of nowhere, a tyrannosaurus rex came trotting by. I stopped to watch curiously, only to have Niko push me clear whilst yelling.

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