Chapter 301: A Grand Exorcism Part 1

Main event time, folks! Grab your popcorn! Hug your loved ones close! Time for the ghouls and ghosts to take the stage! Now, I'm always one for a show, and this is going to be no exception. Ann better wow me here, cause that's definitely a factor in how powerful this is!

It had taken a while for the proto-Mulsfar to bleed out. Well, the ones that Lucia didn’t shoot to death. By the end of things, the basins under their bodies were full of blood, clotting and congealing into a fetid mass that’d need burning once it dried completely. Even if it just turned into sludge, dumping oil into it and finishing the process would be a good idea if whoever came in here later could figure out the ventilation.

In the meantime, Lucia had diverted to helping Ann and Kat with getting the caged bodies out around the area. That had been a chore. Since the bodies were preserved, they had most of their weight. Emaciated as they all were, none had too much heft to them. Ann had been tossed up by Kat and Lucia towards the upper cages, dangling precariously as she freed the prisoners. Kat or Lucia would catch them as they fell, then Ann would either swing to the next cage or drop to restart the process.

Bren had started making the circle for the exorcism. True to his word, it was going to be huge. Ann caught glimpses of it every time she looked down and wondered how the hell he was keeping things so precise.

“You done this before?” Ann asked, a little out of breath as she jogged up with the next body.

“Over there,” Bren directed to a smaller pile of bodies. “I have studied these ritual circles. Magic is all about knowledge, and I am a student of Qu’Sella. I know four variations of this type of ritual. Scaling it up requires no less complexity, just further repetition. I know Illdall, Qu’Sella, Orenous, and Voltid’s versions, before you ask.”

“Huh, good to know,” Ann said. She gently laid the body down on the stack, making sure the woman was facing up, and in as dignified a pose as she could manage. Dancing around these piles was going to be a bit tricky, especially if they couldn’t disturb the ritual circle or runes. “How much longer do you have?”

“I am but a quarter done,” Bren groaned, sitting up and stretching his back. “With Lucia’s help, this will be quicker, but will still take time. Once you all are finished with the bodies, please relax in the next room. Keep the door open, though, in case we need you.”

It wasn’t much longer before they’d gotten their job done. Lucia went off to help Bren, taking a piece of chalk and getting to work. The three girlfriends took Bren’s advice to relax. Instead, they pulled a couch into the Green Place to hang out on. None of them trusted the traps, and even with the really awful ambience of the place, with the corpses of multiple giants, it was better than worrying about Bren and Lucia.

There wasn’t much conversation to be had. Ann didn’t want to go over skills quite yet, and the others were mostly just focused on preparing for the trial ahead. Instead, they just snuggled up with Kat in the middle and waited with the comfort of each other.

Eventually, the final lines of the circle connected. Runes were further spaced out than the other one, thankfully, but as Ann paced the perimeter, she saw plenty of places they’d need to be careful about stepping on. Some of the bodies had been adjusted for markings. Ann had half expected something to be drawn on the bodies themselves, but that wasn’t necessary according to Bren. They were freeing these spirits. Containing them to the body before exorcism would only heighten their trauma.

“Now, I do not know how this will proceed once this event begins,” Bren warned. “Reactions to this level of ritual are as varied as people are. Some spirits may be hostile. Some may be vicious. We care about all of them, but do not hold back if you need to protect yourself. Harmful spirits must not reach Annita.” He started walking towards the storage room door as he spoke. Everyone followed by instinct. “As soon as the bones are disturbed, this will begin.”

“Why didn’t it start with the bodies?” Ann asked, a little confused.

“I was worried that it would, but I believe something in the stasis used to preserve them diluted the normal problems we see with the undead.” He opened the door, walking over to the lever to start the magical machine. “Frankly, this is a mystery. I wonder if our warning ghost was one of the bodies or skeletons. We will see them all off to the afterlife shortly. Let us begin.”

Ann watched as the hooks shook, the ancient gears stirring to life like the world’s worst rotisserie chicken machine. They worked quickly. As soon as a skeleton was within reach, someone was grabbing it and running into the next room to place it as Bren had instructed. They all held together, making this a much easier job than for Anthony and Nancy. By the time they cleared the third row, ghostly heads had started poking out of the floor. Men and women from the ancient past came to see what had disturbed their physical bodies.

“Shit,” Ann cursed as a hand closed around her ankle. She slipped the paw free and saw a man reaching for her again with transparent fingers.

“Give it baaack!” he wailed in a rattling voice like he’d inhaled marbles.

“No! This is for your own good,” Ann barked back.

Each trip increased the number of ghosts they needed to dodge. Most were slow, shambling apparitions, thank the Gods, but it was getting crowded with how many of them there were. Kat had devolved into a long string of curses as she grabbed and ran like a linebacker, head down, shoulders braced. Everyone was giving her plenty of room.

Ann took a skeleton with wider hips, a woman, and a face popped up.

“Oh, you can leave those. I’m not tied to them.” It was the ghost from the lower floors. The one from the entrance to the cave. The one who’d given them the warning about this hell. “They’re mine, but not what I’m stuck on.”

“You sure? Don’t want to miss anyone passing on that I can help,” Ann said. She had to keep moving, dancing around in place as a couple of ghosts tried to grab at her legs.

“Sure. Just… don’t make me go in there. The bones have a pull to them, and I really hate being in there. It’s… where I really died.” The ghost shook and shimmered like she was going out of focus. “Bad memories.”

“So what’s going to help you pass on?” Ann asked, putting the skeleton down, then hopping up on a nearby table so she could stop moving. This didn’t work. More hands came up from the table to do the same thing as the rest.

“I’ve been here a long time,” the woman sighed. “Longer than you can imagine. Still, I don’t feel like it yet. You dig?”

Ann blinked in surprise.

A hand grabbed her thigh, and another pair at her ankles.

“Get off!” Ann swiped at the ghosts, sending them scattered into as much mist. “So, you’re sticking around. Got it. Can you tell these fucks to lay off?”

“Nope. Most of them are gone, like your friend said. He’s kinda hot, huh? Might haunt him.” The woman tapped her chin, then looked over at Bren with a hungry glint in her dead eyes. “Just get this over with. I’m going to head down to the hound and the black lady. Minnie, I think you said her name was?”

Ann sighed. “That’s fine. The hanging out with Minnie. You’ll have to talk to Bren about the haunting.”

“Bren, huh? Cute name, too. Hope his guard dog doesn’t mind. Laters!” With that, she popped out of existence, leaving a puff of whatever ghosts were made of that quickly vanished.

Ann hurried to help get the rest of the skeletons. The distraction had cost them time, and many of the spectres drawn to them were now completely in the room. Some were casting spells, too. Small things like fire darts or water jets that were either too weak to do much damage or too slow to hit. Some had far greater firepower, though, and some were fast.

Ann ducked under a wild swing from one of the faster ones, feeling her neck prickle as the spiritual hand grazed her hair. She had to kick herself to the side as the man followed up immediately with a chop. It seemed like the more physical people in life transferred some of that capability to death. Ann said a silent prayer to the Gods that they weren’t coordinating yet. They were on the final rack.

Almost done.

So close.

Kat had the final skeleton. Nothing more than a skull remained. She glanced at the one Ann had left, and then at Ann, the question in her eye.

Ann shook her head and motioned towards the door.

Both ran.

Rosalyn was already in the middle of the ritual circle, boot tapping impatiently as she waited for things to begin. Lucia had Fillianore out, but Ann also saw her knife pressed against the side with her off hand. Bren was waving them forward.

Kat expertly tossed the skull into a pile and turned to face her fear.

Ann raced past all of them and into the circle as ghosts tried to stop her.

She reached Rosalyn, panting slightly, and looked into her girlfriend’s eyes. “You ready?”

Rosalyn grabbed Ann’s hand, the other taking her waist. “No, but we don’t have a choice.”

Ann felt the tremble in those delicate fingers and squeezed them gently. She took Rosalyn’s hips in her hand, pulling them together. “Nope. So let’s give them a fucking show!”

Ann glanced around, noting the spaces between runes. Something clicked in her head, and she saw the steps of the dance. It was a wild thing. Energetic and erotic. Bodies pressed, lifted, held.

[Bestest Goddess]: You have everything you need. Begin, oh Champion of Mine.

Ann took the first step.

Rosalyn’s foot followed shortly after.

They had no music. Ann didn’t need any. Her heart was the rhythm, her love the melody. She advanced, pushing against Rosalyn as her paws carried her through her passion for her lover.

They reached a line, several bodies piled behind Rosalyn, but Ann would never disturb them. She retreated, allowing Rosalyn to push against her! For a long while, she let this happen as they paced the floor. Her acceptance of her lover’s passions for her meant that she would commit to Rosalyn the same devotion in reciprocation. A push and pull. Give and take. Moving as one.

Ann then directed them to the side, clasped hands held as high as Rosalyn could reach. They made a circle, walking daintily around the chalk lines beneath them. They moved in unison, united in a common goal.

Then, Ann stopped and spun Rosalyn away from her. Her heart dropped as she felt the gentle palm leave her fingers. She stood there, arm outstretched as she watched Rosalyn twirl with a grace she wouldn’t have had without her sure footing skill.

Eventually Rosalyn stopped and looked around. She saw Ann, still frozen in her plea for the woman’s return. She danced a few more steps on her own, then skipped back.

Ann let out a breath she’d been holding as she wrapped Rosalyn back into her arms. This was what they were. Rosalyn was a free thing, something that couldn’t exactly be contained, but Ann knew she’d come back from her flights of fancy. Even if some of those fancies were terrifying.

They trusted each other. That was at the core of this. Not even a day ago, this woman had pulled out her intestines and hadn’t told any of them. Ann still felt that ache, but she was working through it now. Rosalyn had more conviction than she’d given her credit for. Eas had seen this in Their ephemeral way. It had broken Ann’s trust in the moment, but she was coming to see that Rosalyn had been scared that it would have driven her away. Coming to accept that if she had something similar, she might be frightened that Kat or Rosalyn would abandon her.

She pulled Rosalyn tight against her. Her nose filled with the woman’s slightly sweaty scent as she buried a kiss in her woollen hair. “I’m sorry about earlier. I trust you, my Lamb.”

Rosalyn was quiet for a moment.

The sounds of battle around them had faded quickly into the background; so focused was Ann on this dance. This performance. She heard them now in the back. A shout from Kat, a reply from Lucia, spectral wails, and something else. Something she hadn’t expected. Laughter? Not the hideous laughter of a villain standing over the crumpled form of the hero, but a joyous sound.

“I trust you, too,” Rosalyn finally said. “I’m really sorry about hiding all of that.”

“You were scared,” Ann said calmly, settling them into a rocking motion more conducive to talking than the interpretive steps from before. “I would have been, too. I still love you.”

“I still love you, too,” Rosalyn said with a hitch in her words. “I… I’m not gonna hide it anymore. Promise.”

“Shhh,” Ann soothed. “I know. I know. I’m scared of some things, too.”

“Yeah, this place is creepy,” Rosalyn said with a sniffling giggle.

“Not just that. Some of my skills are changing things I don’t like changing. Like the bone one for my face, or the skin colour one.” Ann reversed their direction, guiding them back across the circle. “I don’t like losing what I look like. Scares me to all hell that I might not be able to come back. Otherwise I’d have tested or taken them.”

“Oh.” Rosalyn’s response was quiet. “Guess that makes sense. Knew you said something like that with the skin, but the bones one does change a lot.”

“Yeah.”

“Not to mention it’s probably gonna hurt like a Tolrèn.”

“A what?” Ann asked, twirling them as they reached the centre runes again.

“The name’s from the wild lands to the east. It means gnashing devil. Might run into one! Kinda hope we don’t, though. They bite really hard and are really hard to find. People who have found a way to live out there consider them evil, though from what I’ve read they’re just really territorial. At least that’s the theory.”

Ann smiled warmly as Rosalyn spoke. Her girlfriend’s face was planted firmly in her chest, but she could still hear it. That was her Rosalyn. Curious and excited for more. Even if it got her into trouble. “Hurts like the Dickens is what we used to say. I don’t know who Dickens was, but he had to suck.”

“A real dick,” Rosalyn giggled.

Ann glanced around to see how things were going. The power she felt channelling into the circle was steady and strong. Runes were starting to glow around the area, and so were the ghosts.

Wait. Ann’s steps faltered for a moment. The power dimmed, and she had to quickly get back into rhythm.

“What?” Rosalyn asked.

“We have guests on the floor,” Ann explained, smiling.

Dozens of ghosts- those that weren’t trying to murder Kat and the rest- had stepped into the circle. Not all of them were paired up, but all of them were dancing. Dancing, laughing, and a couple of them were singing.

“Whoa,” Rosalyn gasped. “Where’d they get all the clothes?”

Ann had to wonder the same. There were a ton of different styles. Ann saw everything from ball gowns to grunge gear. One lady had slick hair and was wearing ragged shorts and a T-shirt that could barely be called that; it was so shredded. The dancing was as varied as the clothes. Ann saw some people doing a bad disco, others dancing with a wild abandon she was more used to, and lots of floating regardless.

It was a goddamn party for those who wanted one. A final bash to send them off! A celebration that they’d soon be free from the hell that’d been their end and undeath. Ann couldn’t think of a better way for it to happen. She’d much prefer their last moments in this realm be happy.

“Ann, I’m sorry, but my legs are dying,” Rosalyn groaned as she was sent through another twirl. “Think you can grab Kat for the rest?”

[Chosen Annita]: O great Orenous, highest Slut, how much time do I have left on this?

[Bestest Goddess]: Hah! Good one! You’re about halfway there.

“We’re halfway. You think you can fight the ghosts off out there?” Ann asked.

“Yeah. It’s still footwork, but I can stand still sometimes,” Rosalyn grumbled.

Ann tilted her face towards the ceiling. “Kat! Swap spaces!” The shout carried over everything else, and Ann saw her girlfriend’s pointed ears twitch.

“Aye! Comin’ in!”

Kat pushed into the dance floor, dodging ghosts the best she could. She still caught a few phasing right through her.

For a brief moment they were a trio again. Ann held Rosalyn’s hand, who held Kat’s hand, who held Ann’s. Then Rosalyn broke away, and it was back to two.

“Sorry, she was wiped,” Ann giggled as she kept moving.

Kat grinned. “Hey, this is where the party is. Let’s bring the feckin’ roof down!”