(Donaghy's POV)
"Don, pass me that over there." I pick up the box of candles and walk back into the dark cave.
Sybil's setting up stones in the shape of a spiral next to a pond.
I feel like a robot, taking commands, but my body can't seem to do anything else but obey her.
I want to dislike it so bad, but I can't seem to feel anything but joy when she praises me for doing the things she wants me to do.
"Thank you. Now go call Chris to make sure she's done her job," she says, focused on placing the candles around the spiral.
"There's no need for that. I'm here and I've brought the sacrifice." I look up at the cave entrance and see Chris.
She's holding a body slung over her shoulder as if it's weightless. She doesn't seem to mind that there's blood leaking all over her clothes.
Her expression is blank as she walks over to Sybil and throws the body on the floor like it's a sack of potatoes.
I look at the face of the man and recognize him as Christian, Anne's uncle.
"I thought the deal was that you were going to bring me Gregory," Sybil says, a little angry.
Chris recoils, not expecting Sybil to be angry.
"I- I know the plan was for the sacrifice to be Greg, but Christian was there too and I figured as long as I got one of them, it would be fine. I'm sorry I disappointed you." She ends her speech with bowing her head.
Sybil walks over to Chris slowly. When she's right in front of her, she places a hand under her chin, and raises her head so that Chris is looking her directly in the eye.
"Hey, it's ok. I'm not mad at you," Sybil tells her softly. I can feel my brain boiling a little bit and I know that's what she's doing to Chris as she starts to cry. Chris starts to scream in pain.
"Stop it," I yell to Sybil as Chris falls to her knees and holds onto her head. It feels like fire ants biting at my scalp.
"Quiet, dog," she yells at me and I immediately silence.
The pain lasts for a couple of more seconds and stops. Chris breathes heavy as she tries to calm down.
"Stand up," she tells Chris calmly. Chris stands up in fear. She's afraid of disobeying again.
"Next time, you do exactly what I tell you to do." Chris nods her head. Sybil turns to look at me. "When I'm giving punishments, you stay quiet," she tells me and I nod.
Sybil turns away from us, taking a look at Christian's corpse.
"This will have to do," she says, sighing in disappointment. "Donaghy, pick up this body and put it on top of the spiral. Chris, go get the dead roses."
This must be so wrong. I've never carried a dead body before. My stomach feels squeamish.
"You better not vomit on my sacrifice," Sybil scolds me.
I pick him up and carry him to the spiral made of stones. I drop him onto the stones a little harshly and I silently apologize.
When Chris comes back in with a bouquet of dead roses, Sybil takes them from her and scatters them in the pond.
"Now we start," Sybil says and I can feel joy radiating off of Chris from the thought of soon reuniting with her mom.
I'd do anything to keep that smile on her face.
"Good, because now it's your turn to make a sacrifice." I hadn't notice that Sybil got so close to me, but now she was right in front of my face.
She grabs one of my hands and holds a sharp knife right on my palm.
"What's that for," Chris asks, surprised. She was as clueless as me right now.
"I need to tether my magic to him. This spell requires a lot of magic, so I need to siphon off of him. He won't die, but he'll come very close to it," Sybil informs us.
Chris mouth forms a frown. She's doubting this and I can see her hope of getting her mother back slipping away. She doesn't want me to do this.
I need to keep that smile on her face.
"I'll do it," I say out loud.
"Are you sure," Chris asks me. I nod my head.
"Good," Sybil says. I feel the knife slice through my palm and Sybil does the same to her own. She joins our hands and I can actually feel our blood mixing. Then, I feel myself draining.
She doesn't say a word out loud, but I can feel her already doing the spell.
I can see Chris on the other side, staring at the spiral as it lights on fire. I can see through her eyes as the fire travels to Christian's body and set it aflame.
I'm starting to feel weak and light headed. Sybil's hand feels like a leech as it drains me.
"Stop. It's too much," I try to tell Sybil, but she doesn't even look at me. She keeps her concentration and my breaths come shorter.
The fire burns out as it's done torching the body. I can't see any remains of it.
The roses in a pond start to rustle and they spin in a tornado. The dead roses slowly transform. I can see them changing from dead black to gorgeous red.
My body feels cold and I can barely keep my eyes open. My body just falls out.
"You're such a drama queen," I hear Sybil say. "The spell is done."
"Mom," I hear Chris whisper.
Did it really work? Is Petra back?
I pull myself up off the ground, feeling faint.
Chris is knelt down by the bed of roses. At first I can't see anything, but then the roses are swept away by a new breeze.
Petra's body lays there like the perfect corpse. It doesn't look like a corpse at all really.
She hasn't aged and the scars that were on her the last time I saw her weren't on her.
She looks brand new. She just looked like she was sleeping.
Sleeping beauty.
She gasps awake and opens her eyes. Her body stays still and she doesn't speak a word.
"What's wrong with her? Why isn't she moving," Chris asks.
"I was afraid this might happen. This is why you should've brought me the correct sacrifice," Sybil says, sighing in disappointment.
I watch Petra as she's unmoving. Her eyes are open, her flesh is healthy, and she's breathing. She's alive, but she's not moving.
"What does this mean," I ask.
"Something went wrong in the spell. She's a vegetable. She might as well still be dead."
Chris looks up at me, her eyes full of sadness.
She has her mother back with her, but at what cost?