Layne dropped his bag of supplies onto the bed and began to rummage through it. Already, he could sense the malevolent forces that filled the atmosphere with a heavy malaise.
'This is gonna be a long night,' he thought, pocketing a bundle of white sage, a lighter and a few other protective items, 'At least the moon is bright tonight..'
He was glad the family agreed to leave the property for the night while he removed the entities from their house. It was always so dangerous when the occupants demanded to stay. He walked through the house, double checking the presences he'd felt when he first toured the place earlier that afternoon. As soon as he finished his sweep, he felt something new move behind him. A chill followed this new being, enveloping the house. Bringing his hands to his mouth and breathing on them to keep them warm, Layne followed what he believed to be the path the being took in an attempt to discover its intentions.
'Man, I wish they'd have told me about this. I would have brought some gloves,' he thought to himself as he crept along, his teeth beginning to chatter. He found it impossible to pinpoint its movements and decided instead to focus on blessing the place first, hoping that might be enough to drive the thing away.
The first few rooms went smoothly enough, but he soon found that his sage repeatedly stopped burning, and he had to relight it multiple times. With every instance, a new wave of cold greeted Layne.
He chuckled to himself, 'This guy must really not want to leave,' but pressed on with the blessing.
About halfway through, a strong gust of freezing wind knocked the sage out of Layne's hand towards a closed window pouring in moonlight. Dumbfounded, he knelt down to cautiously retrieve it, only for an icy hand to reach his shoulder first and pull him roughly away from it, causing him to fall backwards.
He lifted his head just in time to see a blackened figure take a hold of his sage. It closed its fingers around the bundle of herbs and after a short moment, released nothing but ashes. The improved air he'd worked to bring about fell in on itself, returning to the initial overbearing state with which he'd begun.
"NO!" Layne shouted as he tried to stand up. He quickly realized, however, that something had a hold on him. With wide eyes, he turned his head slowly, sensing the presence the family had reported. He felt its grip tighten as it tried to pull him towards the shadows, but he managed to resist its efforts. He looked back towards the figure that had destroyed his sage, worried what its purpose in this attack might be, but it merely stood motionless where it had been. Even if it had color to it, the light flooding in from the window silhouetted its outline. Layne furrowed his brow, suddenly angry.
"Why are you just standing there?!" he screamed at it as his eyes began to water. He struggled frantically against his invisible restraints, beginning to break free from them. He could feel the anger coming from the hidden presence as he did so and through his panic, he smirked.
"Come on, then, you coward! Get out here!" he yelled, despite the shaking of his bones.
Thoroughly provoked now, the hidden presence lunged at Layne, but once it had him, the second figure acted. It took hold of the other, which began to scream as it was devoured. Layne could only watch, petrified. Once the remaining being was finished, it glided towards the window, dark wings appearing from its back. It glanced back at Layne, allowing him to see it's face for the first time; an emotionless expression set into soft features. He felt no malevolence from it. He jumped when suddenly it flew through the still-closed window. He sat still, processing what just happened.
- Written by Saffrons_Curse
