Rain drops pinged against the curtained windows of the Youngblood's apartment, the soft whistle of storm winds filled the silence between Katherine and Mabel. Mabel raised her long arm above Katherine readying it to strike down, Katherine closed her eyes and flinched away waiting for the impact of the slap but it never came.
"Everyone play nice," Adelaide scolded as she held on to Mabel's raised hand, "Katherine say your goodbyes, we're leaving."
Adelaide's sharp face was pulled taut by the tightness of her usual hair bun, her eyes filled with pity as she looked down at Katherine and Alice crouched on the floor. Mabel jerked her arm free from Adelaide's grip with a scowl on her face, rubbing her wrist where Adelaide had squeezed it.
Katherine wasn't going anywhere until Dorian's magic was cloaked, Adelaide and Mabel showing up would prove most useful to her in more ways than one. She stood up from the ground to face Adelaide who stood a whole head taller than Katherine with her platformed shoes.
Katherine held her hand out with her palm up, her gaze not leaving her sisters.
"I'll go, without out a struggle," the corners of Katherines mouth twitched upwards, "For a piece of what's in your pocket."
Adelaide smiled at Katherine's declaration of cooperation, but it quickly faltered at her request. All eyes in the room now watched Adelaide as she took a single step back from Katherine.
"I have no clue what you're talking about," Adelaide retorted, crossing her arms turning her nose up and away from Katherine.
Katherine closed the space between them, she wasn't sure if it was Dorians magic that had affected her or her experience of dying but in that moment she felt superior to her older sister.
"I can smell the foul stench of a decaying soul in your pocket," Katherine whispered with force at her sister. Adelaide rolled her eyes and pulled a piece of gray chalk from her dress pocket. She held it in front of her for Katherine to take but when Katherine reached for it Adelaide pulled it back from her grasp.
"Ew, you've been carrying that thing in your pocket this whole time?" Mabel exclaimed in disgust at Adelaide. Katherine and Adelaide ignored Mabel while she made fake gagging noises on her way to the sofa and plopped herself down crossing her legs like she owned the place.
Katherine held her hand out with more force this time to show Adelaide she was not going anywhere with them until she did her spell. Adelaide let out a long sigh before she relinquished the grey piece of chalk into Katherine's hands.
"You have ten minutes before I let Mabel drag you out of here by your hair," Adelaide threatened. Katherine nodded her head and whipped around letting her long hair smack Adelaide's face. She got to work making a circle around Dorian who softly snored in the middle of the bare living room floor. Katherine took her time adding in the symbols as she went around the circle.
Mabel had been admiring her nails, occasionally glancing at Katherine set the spell up, while Adelaide got to work putting the apartment door back together. Alice sat patiently watching Katherine work, but her eyes narrowed at one of the symbols Katherine had drawn. She stood up and carefully walked the perimeter of the circle.
"Why would you put the Horned God here?" Alice continued to the next symbol, "And this should be a full moon not a waning gibbous. I don't even know what this next symbol is…What kind of spell is this?"
Katherine shook her head back and forth for Alice to stop talking but it was no use, Mabel had gotten off the couch and came to stand next to Alice to look at the symbols of the spell. Mabel's eyes widened and zeroed in on Katherine scrambling to draw the rest of the symbols in the circle.
Mabel's boots squeaked against the hardwood as she turned on her heels to face Adelaide, pointing a long accusing finger at Katherine.
"Adelaide, tell her she's not allowed to do a dead spell!" Mabel shrieked at Adelaide causing her to drop the wooden pieces she had been holding. Adelaide huffed as her shoes made soft clicking sounds with each step she took toward the chalk circle. She rubbed her chin in thought as she examined each of the symbols.
"Hmm, If you replace the Anzuz rune with a Wunjo rune, Mabel and I could make this go faster," Adelaide suggested to Mabel's shock.
"First of all, I am not becoming an accessory to murder, Second, I don't even know what this spell does," Mabel snapped at Adelaide. The two sisters bickered back and forth about the spell.
"There was a murder?" Asked Alice, and the room turned silent. If Katherine could shoot laser beams at Mabel she would have. It wasn't that Katherine was going to keep the truth from Alice, she just didn't know how to address the subject delicately. Katherine gingerly made her way to where Alice was but was interrupted by Adelaide who turned toward the broken doorway.
"Someone's coming," Adelaide stated. They all stood in silence until Katherine could finally hear the faint sound of footsteps ascending the stairs to the apartment.
Cassie appeared in the doorway sopping wet from the rain outside, mouth agape and eyes wide in horror at the front door that had been blown right off the hinges and the little pieces of wood that littered their entryway.
She zeroed in on Adelaide and Mabel, marching right up to them holding up an accusing finger.
"I know one of you broke my door, I don't care which one, but it will be fixed immediately," Cassie demanded. Mabel twisted her face in displeasure and leaned closer to be in Cassie's face, she moved her eyes from Cassie's water spotted rain boots to her wet blond hair that started to frizz.
"I don't take orders from lowly humans," Mabel spat with a cruel smile.
Cassie's jaw ticked, but she took a pause and raised her brow in boldness returning the smile.
"I know you won't listen to a goddamn thing I say," Cassie stated, she nodded her head in the direction of the entry way, "But I also know you won't disobey her."
Mabel looked past Cassie's head to see Marianne standing in the doorway. Her long black hair had been slicked back and her oversized brown peacoat that hid her suit was slung over the tops of her shoulders. She held a smoldering cigarette in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other. She used her hand holding the cigarette to push her sunglasses down, peering over them to get a better look at everyone in the room.
"Fix the door, do the illegal spell. Little kitty Kat goes on trial with the Council of Creaturae at midnight," Marianne commanded.