Caught in the silence

It was in the middle of the evening, and Cecilia had felt on edge for hours - she was still trying to learn just to give in to her visions. However, since she still wasn't free from the curse, she was way more connected to Joseph and his mind than anyone should or would feel comfortable. So getting a vision where he was standing in The Banshee's Scream, injecting the person who had tried helping her with her very own Joseph problem - she had to do something. Cecilia didn't want to summon Michael against his will, but he was possibly the only person who had a shot against Joseph or a chance to stop him at this. She just hoped she wasn't too late. Ethan had told her that she could pray to the angels if she needed help or guidens. So she tried, closing her eyes and took a deeper breath in. "Michael, I hope you can hear me. I'm afraid Joseph is up to something bad again, I just had a vision of him attacking the owner of a shop in Oakheart. The Banshee's scream, please, I hope it's not too late." she took a deeper breath in and opened her eyes again. She could only hope he had heard the prayer.
----
Clarissa had just been about to close down the shop to go home, when she heard something. The demon knew she was alone in the shop, so the noise was making her aware of something wasn't right. She narrowed her eyes and looked around - perhaps it was Blue who had been sleeping in a corner and she had overlooked it, but she knew it would be naive for her to go with that idea. Clarissa took a deeper breath in, a mixed scent was caught from behind her and she breathed out. "Sorry we are closed," she replied and turned around. A taller guy looked at her with a cheeky smile on his lips and made her frown. "Oh, I know - I just had to say, your shop looks very pretty. Where did you collect all this?" He turned his eyes away from her which made her narrow her eyes a little more trying to figure out where she had seen him before. Then her mind slowly got the pieces together, it was the one and only, Joseph Blackwood in the flesh - the guy who had twisted the mind of her cousin and her best friend. "You," she said with a low voice, "me?" he then replied and turned his eyes back at her. "You are Joseph Blackwood" he looked shocked for a second as he replied: "I am? I guess I am." He used his vampire speed to get closer to her, but only for Clarissa to take a grib of his arm and swing him over her shoulder. "I said we are closed, and you should leave." Joseph who had landed on one of the now broken down shelves looked at her and breathed out. "Yeah, I know - but here is the thing. You are trying to mess with my plans.. so, therefor, I have to kill you. Nothing personal," he breathed out before he took control of her nerve system, making the demon crumble in pain as he got up. He took a few more steps closer to her before he sat down in front of her and grabbed her face. "I will make sure to put flowers on your grave," he breathed out before injecting her with a selfmade virus send to kill her. Then he got up and as quickly as he had entered the shop - he was gone.

The demon could feel her entire body shut down, and she gasped for air as her eyes wondered around her. Clarissa tried to reach for the closet shelf, her heart was trying desperately to fight whatever had attacked her system - but not even Clarissa was able to stay calm in this situation. Glass broke as she tried to reach for something to help her reverse this, it wasn't the first time someone had tried to kill her. Finally she got on her feet, but only to fall down again. She felt paralyzed unable to move and she felt it. This was the end. Perhaps she was just meant to die alone, a single tear ran down from the corner of her eye. She could feel the infection from the virus spread in her veins - and there was nothing she could do. Clarissa was about to just close her eyes when she felt that light around her in the shop, "Michael," she whispered softly and tried looking around.

A stone lifted from her heart as she at least now wasn't alone. Clarissa's eyes searched for Michael's in this moment as he wrapped his arms around her, his voice always had always had the ability to comfort her - tonight wasn't any different. Clarissa could feel the poison spread in her veins, trying out her body slowly and painfully. Her big brown eyes looked at him, and she tried to smile through the pain, to at least make it a little easier on him. Clarissa was able to control her breathing and remain as calm as possible for her. It was hard to reduce the stress in her nerve system, but she had to give it a shot. She gave him a slight nod when he asked her to stay with him, and she thought to do just that. Her facial expression pained, even through she tried to cover it up. It felt like her body was drying out, almost as if she hadn't fed in years. Who had done this, it was an easy thing to answer, "Joseph Blackwood," she managed to let the name run over her lips. The veins on her arms started to turn more black, thicker and far from a good sign. "If I don't make it.. Take care of them, okay?" She took a deeper breath in, but her tears was already falling out. If she wasn't going to make it, she at least had to make sure someone was taking care of her girls. Of course Eve and Bell had their father, but she needed someone else to also look an eye on them - if she couldn't. She wouldn't know how Grecia would take news like that, it wouldn't be any good reaction and she feared it. It pained her to leave anyone behind, but as she could feel it spread closer to her heart - she feared there was no way around this. However, she wasn't out yet, she was still breathing - which meant they could turn it around. "But for now, there has to be a way to reverse this.." she whispered stubbornly and took a deeper breath in. Her face turned more pale by the second, and even through she was known to be a demon with extreme control over her thirst, right now it was extreme. "There has to be something," her eyes didn't really move away from Michael's.

It wasn't her first time being poisoned, and it wasn't her first time dealing with a man who wanted her dead. Clarissa wished she had the time to figure out what it was or how she could stop it, and her mind was already racing trying to figure it out. No matter what, there was little they could do in this very moment, but she refused to just let death knock on her door. Like Michael said, this wasn't over and he was right, it wasn't and the fight was far from done. Clarissa knew she might have something that could cure this, or at least try to so a confident nod was all she could manage to do. The poison was tearing up her entire nerve system, almost like a virus trying to kill anything it came in contact with. Pearls of sweat danced over her forehead as her body tried to fight it off, and she was stubborn, but that just wasn't going to win the fight. She took a deeper breath in when he offered her his blood, and he was right it might only delay what was to come. However, Clarissa also knew it might just be enough to give her some time.

Clarissa looked into his eyes and gave him a slight nod, as she moved her eyes towards the wrist that met her lips. Clarissa's razor sharp teeth pierced through the skin, and closed her eyes and drank the sweet angelic blood. She had almost forgotten how wonderful that taste was, and it made her slowly get some of her strength back. Clarissa had always been well controlled, one of the best and even her father and brother had been shocked by her self control. However, this time she felt like she was starving, but she finally managed to move her hand up and pull his arm away from her before she lost control. Clarissa breathed out. She took a few seconds to listen to her body, feeling the angelic blood trying to fight the virus in her system. As soon as she felt just a little bit stronger, she sat up and took one of the broken glass pieces from the floor, there was a little bit remains from whatever this Joseph guy had injected her with. "I'm okay, for now at least," she breathed out and got back on her feet. She felt a little out of balance, and her face still looked rather pale, but she had to at least try find a way out of this. For once she was happy the bastard to Joseph had chosen to attack her in her shop. If any place could hold an antidote it would be this place.

"I think he grew tired of me trying to save my friends and cousin from his mind tricks," she then explained while looking for some different herbs, but still wasn't really sure what to look for. "How do you know him?" Clarissa looked over at Michael shortly, she had seen his expression when she had said his name before. Clarissa took up a glasses with herbs and walked slowly to one of her working tables. "So I have some agrimony.. a little bit of rosemary.. with a dash of wormwood," she said mostly to herself to try getting to many herbs that could reverse whatever was trying to take over her system. She then looked over at the little glas piece again and saw how the liquid slowly turned to something looking more like sugar, she dipped her finger in it to smell it. It smelled like rosewood. "Does this smell like rosewood to you?" Clarissa asked, there was a little twist to it, not that she wouldn't expect that from someone like Joseph. Mixing Tigtus with science. Clarissa however, didn't really trust her senses right now, so it was better to have Michael confirm it. Tigtus was a deadly poison and a drop could kill someone within an hour. "I'm sure it's Tigtus, at least that gives me a bit more time than I first thought," she breathed out trying to be a bit optimistic as always, before she looked over at the other herbs again. "I need some hot water, just in whatever you can find," she knew she had more time, bit the time was still borrowed and since she didn't know what he had mixed the tigtus with - she didn't really know much. She mixed some of her found herbs in a bowl, and found a little bit of fairy dust. She felt dizzie, but there was no way that she excepted defeat.

"Pretty much, Angel is not Pandora's mate - so she blindly follows her, and Pandora doesn't have anything to lose. It's a rather complicated manner," she had to confess. It felt like she was alone with that feeling of trying to save her friend and cousin. Angel and her had been friends for a couple of years, very short if one thought about how long Clarissa had lived - but she was still one of her good friends. It seemed like everything Joseph did was making chaos - destroying almost everything he touched. Clarissa remembered Saga telling her about the past she had with Joseph, it wasn't a news flash that people had been in relationships with people like that. She for one had her own page of love affairs that had been anything but good for her. Again, she wasn't surprised when Michael confessed he had worked with Joseph in the past, it didn't matter if it was closely or not. Something told her that once you got connected to Joseph he was like a deadly virus you couldn't get rid off again. "I can see how that is useful," she snorted a bit and sighed. It was true though, she understood finding the right person for the right task. The comment about killing Joseph made her look up at Michael as she raised a brow. "Don't sink to his level, you are much better than that," she reminded him, and held the eye contact for a few seconds. Clarissa knew revenge, it was like an uninvited friend you only wished you never let in.

Clarissa was fully aware of what she was doing, and her movements seemed so carefree, letting one know it wasn't her first time dealing with this stuff. She still wanted Michael to confirm the scent, and when he did, she was a bit closer to understanding what Joseph might have been up to. Clarissa still didn't know if it was mixed with anything, if anything she was quite sure Joseph had been here to put her out of the game. Clarissa had contacts, and knew more than what was good for her. Michael went to get the water, and she looked over there through the corner of her eye while gathering different ingredients. "Yeah, it should be fine," she responded to his question about the temperature. It was nerve-racking to be in this state, where you knew, if you didn't work fast enough and did every step correctly - you would die.  Luckily for both of them, Clarissa rarely cracked under pressure. She kept on mixing everything together, and exhaled. Fairy dust would give it a little magic kick, but she was afraid if it wouldn't be enough.

There was plenty of people to call for an extra hand, her mother for one person - but there was no reason to create more drama, and she had handled stuff like this on her own before, therefor she could do it again - besides she had Michael at her side. "Lucky for me.. I brought home some things with me when I went to Wonderland a few years ago," she chuckled a bit and looked at Michael with a little smirk. Oh, they had their adventures together - and Wonderland was a place one didn't just simply go. She walked over to one of the shelves in the back - it wasn't really anything the costumors could buy, but she liked to keep some of it here, if not most of it. That way she made sure her daughters didn't get their hands on something they shouldn't. "There should be a plant here.. capable of great things," she picked up a beautiful yellow flower. It was clearly magical, everything about it sang and screamed magic. She walked back and placed it on the table. With her hands on the table she leaned a little in and took a deeper breath in. She had never used it in anything before, and there was little research as in, there was none. "This should be strong enough to kill the magic he has added to the mixture, but I don't know the side effects," she had to admit and looked up at Michael shortly. Then she took the jar of water and added it to the bowl with the mixed herbs, before she placed the flower in it. Letting it settle, and she grabbed a woodened spoon to stir it. Clarissa then took a knife and cut the palm of her left hand. She let a few drops of blood into the mixture, and folded her lips to withstand the pain she was in - not from the cut, but some everything else.

It was a dangerous game she was playing, but when you tried to trick death - what else would you expect? Clarissa kept mixing and looked up at Michael before placing her hands on the table, she would have to let the mixture simmer for a while. His question about Pandora made her frown a bit, worried mostly. "She is the daughter of Mercy Emerson.. and Ronnan Sinclair," she exhaled and lifted one of the hands from the table to let her hand run through the raven black hair. Mercy Emerson was known on Southside for her schemes, murders and chaos. Ronnan Sinclair was known for helping with the zombie curse a few years back, both currently missing. It was information most people knew when they search for it, two powerful families combining their power - of course someone like Pandora would come from that. "She is just a kid, raised by terrible people.. Her mother killed Pandora's twin sister, in front of her because they didn't want her to have any weaknesses." She sighed and shook her head. It was a terrible story really, and she didn't know all of it - only the parts that Amery had seen in his visions. "She lived here shortly after that, here in the shop, I had my friend Angel sleep here till she found a home. But after that things took a turn, and I didn't really have the ressources to look more into it," she had to confess.

Clarissa had had her own children to look after along with a shop - and the girls had moved to the academy. "They moved to the academy, clearly it was the wrong move. The ones who has lost everything and doesn't know what to believe in.. is the easiest people to manipulate after all. I believe she can be saved, because she has Angel. There is humanity." Clarissa moved her eyes to the potion she was creating. "One more step to go," she pulled out a drawer close to her with a vial of blood in. It was her own. Who didn't have a sample of their own blood? Only people who didn't know it wouldn't come in handy. She opened it and added it to the mixture, Clarissa then waited for it to simmer again and a light golden steam of smoke seemed to come from it. "Give it a few minutes and it should be done." She said hopefully but couldn't really hide that it was unclear if it would work or not. Blood slightly started coming from the right eye, after all even if the death was coming for her, kept from moving forward because of the angel blood - the symptoms was still sneaking in, showing that they couldn't avoid what was coming.

He had her full attention the second the word curse was mentioned. Then he mentioned a name shortly after, she had heard at least once, Cecilia. She nodded to confirm that she remembered it. And worse was, Joseph was behind this as well, how long would it take to make him stop? Clarissa hated that he played with people like their lives meant nothing, like the world was a box of toys only made for him to break. "I will see what I can do," she replied with a smile. She found it her duty to help, it didn't matter she was a demon, what mattered was that she liked to think that her soul was good. Pandora was mixed up in a dangerous matter of magic, and as powerful as she was - she was just a kid, manipulated by the manic Joseph. One thing she just couldn't stand. "I might have something in my older books - after this is done, we can go check my old archives," she nodded to him. There had to be something, or at least something they could work with. For now, she could only come up with a few ideas - but Pandora's magic was special, and fairy magic sometimes worked different than witch magic. And for a fairy with direct Sinclair fairy blood in her veins, she feared the worst. "I don't know if I can talk to her, I might be able to. But she is quite unstable, whatever fantasy he has twisted into her head - it's working, and as optimistic as I am - I fear the worst in her case," if Clarissa was about to lose hope around saving someone, it was bad - usually she never quit and she wasn't done fighting for her cousin - not yet. "It would be your best chance, her magic is strong - even for a fairy," she took a deeper breath in, at least the questions kept her mind of the fact that she was dying right now.

Clarissa looked up at him when he moved closer to her, and gently pressed his handkerchief under her eye. "It's just the symptoms," she looked up at him trying to look at least a little confident in the matter, but yes, it scared her a bit. "You might be right," she took a sharper breath in, and moved her eyes to the potion. None knew what would happen, if it would work, if it would make it worse - but she knew she had to at least give it a shot. "If it doesn't work.. I need you to tell my father and brother what happened .. and Cain.. just tell them I fought, okay?" She took a deeper breath in and held it for a while as she looked Michael in the eye. Clarissa moved her eyes back to the potion and could feel her heart starting to beat a little bit faster, then she quickly just wrapped her arms around Michael. Held him as close as she could, and closed her eyes. There was a slight fear of this actually being the end. There was still so many things, she felt like it was an open case being left right open if she died now. She didn't want to die now. After a few seconds she let him go again. Clarissa nodded to him, as she grabbed the potion with her hands and lifted the jar up. She rarely looked nervous, but at this point it almost exploded out of her. She closed her eyes as she drank it, the sour taste was no pleasure drinking and she couldn't even explain the terrible mix of flavors if she wanted to. But she had to drink it all, and it was a pain to do so, she could feel the potion run through her veins, making the nerves itch. Finally she jar was emptied and she placed it on the desk again. "That was disgusting," she shook her head a little bit and took a few deep breaths in.

The demon looked at the archangel for a second, wondered if it had worked - or what the side effects would be. When they would hit, when it would kick in other than this small itch that felt so uncomfortable in her entire body. She almost lost her balance and fell back, but reaching out she managed to grab Michael's arm before falling. "I think it's kicking in," she said with a pained voice and looked up at Michael. It was clear she wasn't feeling too good, but it wasn't really easy to tell if it was because of the poision or because of the cure.

It's going to be okay she wanted to believe that. It was the things she wanted to believe most of all. But as she felt the wave of discomfort hitting her over and over again, there was something very wrong. He guided her to a couch and she tried her best not to just let this consuming feeling of giving up win. The tears in her eyes started running again, but this time it wasn't just water. It was a purple like substance, looking far from healthy. "Like shit, but, hey, at least I have you here," she replied to his question, having just a sense of positivity left for him. If this was the last time she was going to see him, she would want him to see her anything but breaking to her outlook to the world by something as death. Death came for everyone, and it was just hard to accept that now might be the time. "We tried.. we did our best," she breathed out before taking a deeper breath in. "I want you to know, I never hated you - I could never hate you. I understand, I've always understood," she gave him a faint smile, with the purple like tears stille running down her cheeks. Poisonous tears. "You deserve to be happy Michael.. I know you think that you don't, but you do." Her voice sounded weaker, but she wanted to let him know. Clarissa took a more painful breath in, feeling her entire body reject it as she started coughing. It was like a slow burn all around her body, like it killed her nerves one by one, till there was little to do than catch her final breath and she closed her eyes for his sake. And then for that moment, she was gone.

The poison in her veins still ran free, trying to reach the heart that had just stopped beating. With Clarissa's connection to her spiritual essence, it made her stay aware for the seconds before her brain would give in - but enough time for her to soul and mind to fight to stay. Fight to give her a final chance, that this couldn't just be the end. And as the poison kick started the heart, the blood that now got pumped around her system, beat by beat was just that - pure poison. Her lips split a little while taking a new found breath in, letting the air fill her lungs again before opening her eyes. Eyes that for a short moment was filled with a dark purple like color, a color that looked just like her tears, like the blood that was now in her veins. She blinked it was replaced with her normal dark brown eyes. For a second she was unsure if she was dead or alive, so she just frowned, lifting her hand up to her head - the discomfort gone.

She turned her head to him, watching the tear stream down his cheek as she breathed out. Clarissa couldn't describe how she felt in this given moment. It was odd and yet she felt fine. But there was something different. Either way, it didn't stop her from simply just feeling the moment and reach out for his cheek. Clarissa used her thumb to dry the tear away, but kept her hand on his warm cheek. Her hand cold still, but warmth was slowly returning to her body. Michael wrapped his arms around her, and she let his warmth in, moving her arms around him. Letting the reality hit her. She had survived.

I thought I’d lost you. Clarissa gasped slightly, burying her head in his chest just keeping him close. Death had been so close, she had felt it. She had felt it try to pull her away from reality, she had felt herself almost slipping away - perhaps one of the most scary feelings ever. "I thought I lost me too for a while," she confessed in a low whisper and closed her eyes as she took another deep breath in. She was still breathing. She was still here. And she wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. Hopefully. "But I'm here." Once again she could add to the list of things that had tried to kill her, but not had taken her out. Clarissa finally removed her head a little back looking into his eyes. It was a long time since they had been this close, and she took a deeper breath in. What would she have done if he hadn't been here? A small tear ran from her left eye down her cheek, lilac and poisonous - not to her. "What is it?" She asked slightly worried and lifted her hand up wanting to dry the tear off her cheek.