August 5: A Glimmer of Hope [Sleepy Hollow]
Title: A Glimmer of Hope
Author: Jedi Buttercup
Rating: T/PG-13
Crossover: Sleepy Hollow
Spoilers: SH 1.6 - "The Sin Eater"
Disclaimer: The words are mine; the worlds are not.
Notes: Yet another Sleepy Hollow fixit, spawned by research for something else and an outstanding TTHFFA prompt. I might do a companion ficlet for it from the other POV later, if I have time.
Summary: The other witch's energy at first recoiled from her-- then abruptly reached back, and Katrina blinked as the semblance of a young woman appeared before her, dressed in a modern style with hair as red as her own. 1500 words.
Katrina Crane, long-deceased witch and beloved wife of a man she had once given everything to save, hastily made preparations to contact her husband's current partner.
Her hex had kept him safe beneath the earth for more than two centuries, but now the Horseman of Death had awakened, and in doing so had dragged Ichabod-- via the blood link between them-- back to awareness as well. It had been inevitable that sooner or later her former coven and its allies would hear of that awakening, and seize upon the opportunity thus presented to slay the Horseman... and Ichabod, unfortunately, along with him. She had merely hoped that it would take a little longer; that he might find some way of freeing her before circumstances converged to send him to her instead.
She had been near despair when he vanished beyond the reach of her sight for the first time since his revival, but then a vision had suddenly appeared to her, presenting a new alternative: a means of separating Ichabod and the Horseman without killing either. That same vision had also indicated she could reach the second Witness via the same method she had used to reach her husband; all she had to do was open the doorway, hope Abbie was within line of sight of a mirror, and convey her message before the connection could be broken.
Katrina lit another candle within the illusory space she had constructed to initiate the contact, and closed her eyes to begin the spell that would call the doorway forth. It had grown more and more difficult to reach Ichabod in recent days as his spirit grew more at home in the present world, but the pathways had not yet fully closed, and she was aware that Miss Abigail Mills held some power of her own; that should make it just possible for the spell to work, and for her to pass on word of the Sin Eater who could break the blood tie before it was too late.
The first glimmer of hope in more than two centuries, and it had arrived just at the very moment when it was most required. If she had not known herself condemned to Purgatory by her own actions, she might almost have thought it the intervention of some higher being, rather than....
Rather than....
Katrina stifled a gasp and instinctively drew her magic back inward, suddenly brought back to reality. How could she have believed that anything that appeared to her here of its own volition could show her how to work against the one who ruled that realm? What thorn would she be sending to her husband's bosom, if she allowed her desperation to drive her into the thicket of Moloch's manipulations? She pressed her hand against her mouth, trembling upon the brink of tears, and frantically cast about for an alternative.
She still had her power, though its reach was limited; and she still had her autonomy, due the defensive amulet she had been wearing when the Four Who Speak as One had cornered her to enact their idea of justice. She could watch, through the void between worlds, any part of the Earth not otherwise concealed from her sight. She could contact those with whom she held a tie, when not otherwise blocked from her as Ichabod was now; and also any who held their own measure of power. But the coven that had sworn itself to Moloch would be of no more help now than they were then, and her own, the Sisterhood of the Radiant Heart, had maintained their enmity toward her ever since she had hidden Ichabod rather than allow them to slay him. Who then was left?
Unless... had other witches, unaligned with either coven, managed to spring up in the time since her imprisonment? She had not been desperate enough to look for any such before, wary of revealing her plight to strangers of unknowable motive who might simply agree with her former sisters rather than offer her any way out of her plight, but if she carefully parsed what she told them-- if she could buy Ichabod even a little more time, at whatever cost to herself--
She steeled herself, then reached out again, directing her magic to seek out its like rather than concentrating it upon the familiar energy of the Witnesses. The first few signatures she detected were swiftly dismissed, members of the Sisterhood one and all, and the next several groupings were too faint and strange to concentrate upon-- so many; not witches but something else unfamiliar-- but at last she came upon the fringes of a much stranger, and stronger presence. A witch of nearly unguessable power, steeped in pure Light yet scarred by past encounters with the Dark.
Katrina swallowed, faltering upon the edge of doubt, then pictured her husband's face again and spoke.
"Please," she whispered into the space between worlds, carefully brushing her own energy against that of the unknown witch. "Please, I need help. My husband has been cursed with a tie to an immortal demon, and if that tie is not broken within hours his own former allies will sacrifice him in order to destroy it."
The other witch's energy at first recoiled from her-- then abruptly reached back, and Katrina blinked as the semblance of a young woman appeared before her, dressed in a modern style with hair as red as her own.
"Who are you?" the young woman asked, brow furrowed. "How did you find me?"
"My name is Katrina Crane," Katrina replied hastily, holding her hands out in supplication. "I was trapped here, in the space between worlds, by those forces yet arrayed against my husband. I was a powerful witch in life, but none of my former allies are available to assist me. You're the first other witch I could detect who might have the strength to help. Please; Ichabod is in Sleepy Hollow, in the hands of those who will kill him if I cannot find someone who can sever his tie to the demon."
The young woman's green eyes widened; then she glanced up and down, scrutinizing Katrina's appearance more carefully. "You're a ghost? I've never seen a spirit with this much magic before, unanchored to the Earth. But you're definitely not from this time... ma'am, I'm sorry, but if your husband was in danger when you died...."
"No!" Katrina objected, hastily. "The story is much too long to explain now, but I'm well aware of time's fleeting passage. He whiled away the years betwixt then and now in a protective slumber, but was awakened untimely, and now they have found him. Please, you must help. I have no other alternative not set before me by the one who keeps me captive here-- and though I dare not trust a vision of his devising, if you cannot help me, I will have to attempt it regardless of the consequences."
She had begun her preparations to contact Miss Mills by envisioning a simulacrum of the house she had once shared with Ichabod; various warnings had been set into its structure to warn her when Moloch should draw near to the cave containing the mirror used to enable the communication spells. One of those alarms had begun to screech in warning, and the empty baby carriage always present in the corner of her eye began rolling forward of its own volition; she flinched and took a step closer to her guest.
"I cannot delay our discovery any longer; please, will you help me?"
The young woman's mouth was still set with wary suspicion. "Sleepy Hollow, New York? We've been hearing rumblings there about prophecies for awhile, though there's some kind of supernatural compact in place that says Slayers can't interfere unless they've been invited. Fair warning, I'm counting this as an invitation-- because where I go, Kennedy goes. And no matter what we find when we arrive there, if we find some big evil stirring, I'm calling Buffy in, too."
Her choice of words was unusual and largely indecipherable; whatever compact she was referring to must either pre- or post-date Katrina's time in the coven, and what exactly a Slayer was, she couldn't say. But the gist of the reply was clear, and more than welcome. "I cannot thank you enough!" Katrina cried, as the warning spell clamored again. "Miss...?"
"Call me Willow," the witch said, with a bright, crooked smile. Then she reached to clasp Katrina's hand-- and the simulacrum collapsed entirely, releasing her to a familiar candlelit cave carved with demonic sigils. No further sign of her visitor remained.
Katrina clasped her shaking fingers together, then took a deep breath and hurried back out into the haunted forest outside, heading for the ethereal echo of Miss Mills' ancestors' church. One way or another, there was little else she could do but light another candle for her son's and husband's souls-- and wait to see whether she had chosen the right course.
-x-
Author: Jedi Buttercup
Rating: T/PG-13
Crossover: Sleepy Hollow
Spoilers: SH 1.6 - "The Sin Eater"
Disclaimer: The words are mine; the worlds are not.
Notes: Yet another Sleepy Hollow fixit, spawned by research for something else and an outstanding TTHFFA prompt. I might do a companion ficlet for it from the other POV later, if I have time.
Summary: The other witch's energy at first recoiled from her-- then abruptly reached back, and Katrina blinked as the semblance of a young woman appeared before her, dressed in a modern style with hair as red as her own. 1500 words.
Katrina Crane, long-deceased witch and beloved wife of a man she had once given everything to save, hastily made preparations to contact her husband's current partner.
Her hex had kept him safe beneath the earth for more than two centuries, but now the Horseman of Death had awakened, and in doing so had dragged Ichabod-- via the blood link between them-- back to awareness as well. It had been inevitable that sooner or later her former coven and its allies would hear of that awakening, and seize upon the opportunity thus presented to slay the Horseman... and Ichabod, unfortunately, along with him. She had merely hoped that it would take a little longer; that he might find some way of freeing her before circumstances converged to send him to her instead.
She had been near despair when he vanished beyond the reach of her sight for the first time since his revival, but then a vision had suddenly appeared to her, presenting a new alternative: a means of separating Ichabod and the Horseman without killing either. That same vision had also indicated she could reach the second Witness via the same method she had used to reach her husband; all she had to do was open the doorway, hope Abbie was within line of sight of a mirror, and convey her message before the connection could be broken.
Katrina lit another candle within the illusory space she had constructed to initiate the contact, and closed her eyes to begin the spell that would call the doorway forth. It had grown more and more difficult to reach Ichabod in recent days as his spirit grew more at home in the present world, but the pathways had not yet fully closed, and she was aware that Miss Abigail Mills held some power of her own; that should make it just possible for the spell to work, and for her to pass on word of the Sin Eater who could break the blood tie before it was too late.
The first glimmer of hope in more than two centuries, and it had arrived just at the very moment when it was most required. If she had not known herself condemned to Purgatory by her own actions, she might almost have thought it the intervention of some higher being, rather than....
Rather than....
Katrina stifled a gasp and instinctively drew her magic back inward, suddenly brought back to reality. How could she have believed that anything that appeared to her here of its own volition could show her how to work against the one who ruled that realm? What thorn would she be sending to her husband's bosom, if she allowed her desperation to drive her into the thicket of Moloch's manipulations? She pressed her hand against her mouth, trembling upon the brink of tears, and frantically cast about for an alternative.
She still had her power, though its reach was limited; and she still had her autonomy, due the defensive amulet she had been wearing when the Four Who Speak as One had cornered her to enact their idea of justice. She could watch, through the void between worlds, any part of the Earth not otherwise concealed from her sight. She could contact those with whom she held a tie, when not otherwise blocked from her as Ichabod was now; and also any who held their own measure of power. But the coven that had sworn itself to Moloch would be of no more help now than they were then, and her own, the Sisterhood of the Radiant Heart, had maintained their enmity toward her ever since she had hidden Ichabod rather than allow them to slay him. Who then was left?
Unless... had other witches, unaligned with either coven, managed to spring up in the time since her imprisonment? She had not been desperate enough to look for any such before, wary of revealing her plight to strangers of unknowable motive who might simply agree with her former sisters rather than offer her any way out of her plight, but if she carefully parsed what she told them-- if she could buy Ichabod even a little more time, at whatever cost to herself--
She steeled herself, then reached out again, directing her magic to seek out its like rather than concentrating it upon the familiar energy of the Witnesses. The first few signatures she detected were swiftly dismissed, members of the Sisterhood one and all, and the next several groupings were too faint and strange to concentrate upon-- so many; not witches but something else unfamiliar-- but at last she came upon the fringes of a much stranger, and stronger presence. A witch of nearly unguessable power, steeped in pure Light yet scarred by past encounters with the Dark.
Katrina swallowed, faltering upon the edge of doubt, then pictured her husband's face again and spoke.
"Please," she whispered into the space between worlds, carefully brushing her own energy against that of the unknown witch. "Please, I need help. My husband has been cursed with a tie to an immortal demon, and if that tie is not broken within hours his own former allies will sacrifice him in order to destroy it."
The other witch's energy at first recoiled from her-- then abruptly reached back, and Katrina blinked as the semblance of a young woman appeared before her, dressed in a modern style with hair as red as her own.
"Who are you?" the young woman asked, brow furrowed. "How did you find me?"
"My name is Katrina Crane," Katrina replied hastily, holding her hands out in supplication. "I was trapped here, in the space between worlds, by those forces yet arrayed against my husband. I was a powerful witch in life, but none of my former allies are available to assist me. You're the first other witch I could detect who might have the strength to help. Please; Ichabod is in Sleepy Hollow, in the hands of those who will kill him if I cannot find someone who can sever his tie to the demon."
The young woman's green eyes widened; then she glanced up and down, scrutinizing Katrina's appearance more carefully. "You're a ghost? I've never seen a spirit with this much magic before, unanchored to the Earth. But you're definitely not from this time... ma'am, I'm sorry, but if your husband was in danger when you died...."
"No!" Katrina objected, hastily. "The story is much too long to explain now, but I'm well aware of time's fleeting passage. He whiled away the years betwixt then and now in a protective slumber, but was awakened untimely, and now they have found him. Please, you must help. I have no other alternative not set before me by the one who keeps me captive here-- and though I dare not trust a vision of his devising, if you cannot help me, I will have to attempt it regardless of the consequences."
She had begun her preparations to contact Miss Mills by envisioning a simulacrum of the house she had once shared with Ichabod; various warnings had been set into its structure to warn her when Moloch should draw near to the cave containing the mirror used to enable the communication spells. One of those alarms had begun to screech in warning, and the empty baby carriage always present in the corner of her eye began rolling forward of its own volition; she flinched and took a step closer to her guest.
"I cannot delay our discovery any longer; please, will you help me?"
The young woman's mouth was still set with wary suspicion. "Sleepy Hollow, New York? We've been hearing rumblings there about prophecies for awhile, though there's some kind of supernatural compact in place that says Slayers can't interfere unless they've been invited. Fair warning, I'm counting this as an invitation-- because where I go, Kennedy goes. And no matter what we find when we arrive there, if we find some big evil stirring, I'm calling Buffy in, too."
Her choice of words was unusual and largely indecipherable; whatever compact she was referring to must either pre- or post-date Katrina's time in the coven, and what exactly a Slayer was, she couldn't say. But the gist of the reply was clear, and more than welcome. "I cannot thank you enough!" Katrina cried, as the warning spell clamored again. "Miss...?"
"Call me Willow," the witch said, with a bright, crooked smile. Then she reached to clasp Katrina's hand-- and the simulacrum collapsed entirely, releasing her to a familiar candlelit cave carved with demonic sigils. No further sign of her visitor remained.
Katrina clasped her shaking fingers together, then took a deep breath and hurried back out into the haunted forest outside, heading for the ethereal echo of Miss Mills' ancestors' church. One way or another, there was little else she could do but light another candle for her son's and husband's souls-- and wait to see whether she had chosen the right course.
-x-