The Cave's back hallway was a strange place for the smell of tobacco, there was always the chance that someone had snuck there to pop a smoke rather than go outside but the smell in addition to the glyphs were a strong hint that someone was casting magic. It meant that someone or something else might have come back to this world beside Ayla and Richard. Roxy frowned, if one of the demon king's minions traversed the path, that'd mean that Richard's deal included more than just coming home. What else had Richard offered the demon king?
Roxy scanned the hallway but didn't sense anyone else nearby. It felt too early to reveal herself but a ritual circle this large in a place this densely crowded didn't equal anything good. There was a chance that she was being overly suspicious now that she discovered her drink had been tampered with. Unknown variables were hell. She knelt by the wall, examining the glyphs more closely.
"Comharraich na h-anaman sin airson ìobairt," Roxy read with a deepening chill. "Mark these souls for sacrifice." Her rose and stared at the door leading back into the party room. A sacrifice but for what? The glyphs didn't invoke a deity or entity for the ritual, it was just a generic sacrifice. In all her magic theory, that would indicate that such a ritual was to be completed later on after marking the victims.
She pursed her lips together as she weighed her options— she could just leave and avoid this entirely but that'd mean it was likely the spell would harm the people inside the club and fuel whatever ritual later on. Human sacrifice was powerful for magic, claiming this many people could do something as drastic as opening a portal between realms. It was something whispered and concealed within innuendo of her academic research at the academy. Richard was her primary suspect, the circle was around the room his party was in and there was a chance that someone else might be in on it. Callum was throwing the party but there was no telling if he was involved or who the ritual caster was. The signature of the magic did her no good if she had no interaction with the caster before and as far as she knew, Richard had no magical abilities. Roxy stared into her glass. This had nothing to do with her. She irately gulped down her scotch cocktail.
It wasn't Roxy's problem. She shattered the glass in her hand, grabbing a large piece while tossing the rest onto the floor. But Roxy was making it hers, this was her life now and she wasn't going to stand for a magical atrocity to be committed. Dispelling a ritual circle this big was going to take a considerable amount of energy to actualize. She listened to the hum of the electric lights and nodded, if she pulled power from the electricity, it'd be enough without anyone having to die.
Roxy winced as she cut her palm open until her blood flowed out, dropping the shard of glass. "Let's do this."
"Do what?" Gunner asked from behind her. Roxy spun to face him, unsure of how she didn't sense him. He looked her over but seemed unphased by her bleeding hand or her talking to herself.
Roxy lightly chewed on her lower lip. "I... I have to dispel a curse." She made no effort to hide her hand, though she knew he would think that she was out of her mind.
Gunner's expression went from neutral to intrigued. "All right. How can I help?"
Roxy mutely stared at him in disbelief.
"What?"
"Just like that? You believe me?" Roxy titled her head as she skeptically watched Gunner.
"Yeah. Aren't you in a hurry?" Gunner smiled reassuringly. "Come one little witch, instruct me. It'll go faster with two people, right?"
Roxy felt a pulse on energy surge upward as the ritual circle started to activate. She frowned, there really wasn't time to dwell on it or be subtle. "We need to break the circle. I don't have time to run to locate the other side so we'll have to break this one section."
Gunner glanced down at the bloody shard of glass. "How're we doing that with blood?"
"We're drawing a line vertically through the glyphs. It's the best I can do on a short timeline."
Gunner pulled a small pocket knife from his pocket. "All right. How many lines do you need?"
Roxy moved to the opposite side of the hallway. "Just two. Wait for me to signal so we can do this at the same time." She knelt down, placing her hand on the floor over the line of glyphs. "A'nochdadh," she ordered.
The glyphs thrummed red in response, becoming solid lines on the floor that Gunner could see.
Roxy took a deep breath and gathered a ball of energy from the electrical wiring above her and within the walls, the lights flickering. "Draw your lines in blood when as I do. On three."
Gunner nodded, quickly cutting his hand and pooling blood.
"One, two.... three. Sever!" Roxy forced the energy downward into her hand as they drew lines through the line of glyphs. Wind flowed around them as Roxy drew more power to cut through metaphysical line of the ritual circle's power. The lights burst as the energy from the circle surged outward and cast them into darkness. The Cave sank into pitch black and stillness. Roxy panted as the lingering scent of her signature overpowered the tobacco.
"We should go," Gunner interjected, lightly grabbing Roxy's arm. "Come on, I'll get you home."
"I don't want to go home yet." Roxy was concerned that Richard would follow her home if she did. "I don't want to be alone."
"I have an idea then." Gunner's voice was calm and comforting as he pulled a small pen light from his keychain. "This should be enough. The exit's this way." He shone the light on the bottom of the wall, catching the reflective strip that guided them towards the exit. Roxy grabbed his hand as they ran towards the exit and out into the crisp night air.