Halloween Scarecrow

Tobias nodded. "Of course. Do you know what's out there?" He was a little over half way around the girl.

She shook her head emphatically. "I just know it's scary. It's really, really scary." The crying increased.

Tobias was three-fourths of the way around. He had to keep her distracted. He pointed across from where he was, into the depths of the mist.

"Did you see something move out there?" he asked.

She looked over. "No," she said, squinting into the darkness.

"Are you sure? I think it might be one of my pack-mates."

She shook her head. "I don't think so, they aren't out there."

Tobias had almost reached his starting point. He pivoted on the drug foot so that is was closest to the girl and closed the furrow, making a circle. He dropped to one knee and placed one hand on the ground and raised the other in the air.

"By earth, by air, by fire, and by water I bind you. By mother Moon and father Sun I bind you. By north, by south, by east and by west, I bind you." Tobias felt energy flare through him from the elements and powers around him that he channeled into the furrowed circle. The circle was sealed, trapping, however temporarily, the thing inside. He resumed wolf form.

The little girl hissed and threw herself, perhaps itself, Tobias thought, against the magical barrier. The face contorted and while it held the overall lines of the little girl it was clearly inhuman. The eyes glared, the mouth stretched into an unpleasant grimace, and it glowered with a hate older than time. Tobias sighed.

"So, what are you?" he asked.

"Your doom," it snarled.

"Yes, yes, I'm sure you are. But specifically, what type of being are you?"

"What I am you can not begin to understand, wolf."

"Is there a check list of proclamations that beings such as yourself need to go through before answering questions? I believe the next one is something along the lines of I can't hope to defeat you and if I surrender now you'll let me die quickly. Is that about the gist of it?"

The being in the circle scowled, but said nothing more.

"Right, that's what I thought. Are you going to tell me anything that is actually useful?"

The being hunkered down in the small confines of the circle, a coiled spring waiting for its chance to attack.

"Fine," Tobias said with a sigh. "We do this the hard way."

He looked about the area. It was clouded with mist, with precious little visibility. He looked to the sky and saw nothing of the evening lights, no stars, no moon. Clearly not a normal autumn's evening mist. He snorted derisively.

Fine time to realize that, he though sourly.First things first, we need some light.

Tobias had been trained that the moon was always accessible, even if her light couldn't be seen. On one level, Tobias accepted the truth of that statement. The tides moved in and out whether or not the moon was hidden. But he always felt stronger when he could see her light. His own hang up, he knew, but he needed answers from the recalcitrant spirit before him and he wanted as much strength as he could gather.

Tobias held his arms out straight from his body and tipped back his head, gazing heavenward.

"Oh Mother Moon, hear the call of one far from a place of sanctuary. Hear the call of your child, and come. Cast about me your beautiful light, guarding and guiding. Aid me now, gracious Lady." Tobias ended his invocation with a soft howl.

For a few moments, nothing changed. Then, the mist slowly retreated as moonlight filtered down onto Tobias, brightly lighting the area. He looked about. The moonlight did not light as much as he'd hoped, just himself, his circle, and perhaps a few feet beyond. But it was something. He basked in the moonlight, drawing strength, both magical and psychological, before beginning.

He studied his opponent. It hadn't dropped the image of the child, but had distorted it beyond all recognition. The face was flat, the eyes dark and glaring, with large circles under them. The mouth was an ugly slash with sharp crooked teeth crowding the small space and drool oozing down the chin. The body was hunched, the limbs unnaturally long, and it skulked on all fours. The back was bowed and Tobias could see the vertebrae on the back through the skin and the thin dress. Most importantly, he could get something of a bead on the energy of the thing. Dark, thick and cloying, it rolled off the thing smelling of despair, desperation, and death. It's scent was sickly sweet, like decay. He could tell he only had a portion of the thing, a sending.

As he studied it, the thing flinched repeatedly and cried out, tearing up chunks of the ground in front of itself. It thrashed about the circle and shrieked. Tobias heard Violet's howling, loud and strong. The thing flinched and trembled through her calls.

"You're not the only sending out and about, are you? Curse your foul existence. I swear by the Moon, I'll see you broken and banished.

As echoes of Violet's howls died away on the breeze, Tobias tipped his head back at howled in reply, calling his pack to his position.

*******************************

The pack along with the scarecrow met Tobias at his circle. He could tell from the haggard looks and long, drawn faces of his pack-mates that their encounters had not gone well. Only Socorro seemed untouched, though Ballard hovered uncomfortably around her.

"What do you have here?" Violet asked.

"A sending, I believe. A piece of whatever is stalking this land and us." He looked over to Manhattan. "So, the scarecrow is animated. That raven must have had some power."

Manhattan walked around the circle, studying the sending, his expression thoughtful. The thing in the circle followed his movements, hissing and snarling at the scarecrow.

"This is an awful, evil thing. It should be destroyed," he said.

Marcus sighed. "Why thank you, Mister States-the-Obvious."

"I agree," Tobias responded, ignoring Marcus. "But what is it and how do we accomplish that?"

Manhattan turned his attention to Tobias. "It's the obsession. The Magus has been studying it the entire time I've served him."

"How long have you served him?" Violet asked.

"Oh, about two years."

Tobias' mouth fell open. "Two years?" he asked, incredulous. "How does anybody live with something like that for two years?"

"He kept it contained," Manhattan explained. "He hated it, and wanted it destroyed."

"And he hadn't figured it out in two years?" Tobias asked. "How are we going to do it in a night?"

Manhattan fidgeted, turned his head away and ran one of his twig hands along the back of the pumpkin. "Well," he said, still facing away. "I think he wanted it to die slowly. And it wanted to break him." His head turned back. "I don't know everything, but they had a dance they did. A very dark and dangerous one. The Magus had been succeeding, the obsession is dying, but now the Magus is dead."

Tobias sighed. "How did it get through to the Magus?"

"Sometimes, familiarity breeds complacency," the scarecrow explained softly, looking down. Philadelphia again laid her hand on his shoulder and he smiled sadly at her.

Violet looked at the child-monster in the circle, then around to her pack. They were drained, she was drained, nearly destroyed by the thing's manipulations.

"Tobias, what are the odds that this is the thing that destroyed the raven's pack?"

Tobias cocked his head. "An interesting thought. It's entirely possible. Would certainly explain why he had an obsession with it."

Marcus growled deep in his throat. "What was this fuck-head thinking?" he demanded hotly. "It destroyed a pack so he's going to take it by himself? And fuck around with it foryears?"

Violet sighed. She went to touch Marcus, but stopped short. "He wasn't all right, and probably hadn't been for years. He's paid the price for his arrogance. Now we have to finish the job without further price." She turned to Tobias. "Ideas?"

"Give me a moment, please," he said. Tobias crouched before the circle, raising his hands in the air. He closed his eyes and centered himself. He sensed the circle and the sending within it. Then he tightened the circle, condensing it. The sending lunged but was forced back by the circle. Tobias exerted his will, fighting against the thing trying to push the circle back out. Tobias pulled on the moon-light, funneling it into closing the circle. Inexorably, it shrank until it collapsed entirely, crushing the sending within. Tobias released the energy back to the Moon.

Tobias shakily arose and turned to the scarecrow. "Manhattan, was it? OK. Do you know where the Magus practiced. We couldn't find anything in the house."

"He didn't practice in the house. He often spent long hours somewhere out here. I don't know where, I wasn't allowed in this area. My concern was the house and front grounds."

"Charming. We're back to a grid search," Marcus groused.

"Maybe not," Tobias replied, studying Manhattan. "The house and front grounds. What did you do for the Magus?"

Manhattan brightened, the will-o-the-wisps shining. "Oh, I tended the house, cooked meals, kept the yard and the beds. Aren't the mums lovely? I was very pleased by how they came out." His expression darkened, the light dimming. "The h...house isn't very presentable, I know. I'm sorry. I...didn't know what I should do..."

"It's all right," Philadelphia said softly.

Tobias considered what had been said. "House-keeper, not exactly what I was hoping to hear, but the fact of the matter is you're still created by him, from his energy. You carry that energy. And like calls to like. I think you might be able to find his work area."

Manhattan looked hopeful. "You think so?"

Tobias nodded. "Yes I do. Seek for it, for the thing out here that feels the most like the Magus to you, and go to it. Lead us there."

Manhattan looked around the group, aware of the gazes upon him. He was uncertain. He had never sought for the Magus' energy before. He followed the Magus' instructions and if something wasn't given for him to know or do, he didn't.

But the wolves were counting on him. He could see their haggard faces. Continuing a blind search would be even more draining. He doubted his ability to do what was asked of him as his previous duties had fallen within a tight role, but he would do his best. He caught Philadelphia's hand in his own and gave it a light squeeze. She squeezed back, giving him some moral support. He released her hand and looked out into the further reaches of the mist enshrouded yard. It felt good where they stood in the moonlight, but he had to lead them back out into the mist.

Manhattan stepped out of the protective area of the Moon, searching for something that felt like the Magus. The light in the jack o' lantern flared brightly, casting its own light out into the night. He could feel it, he realized, a feeble tingling. He turned his head towards it, then followed after with his body and walked purposefully in the direction, followed by the pack of werewolves. He felt the obsession stir, attempt to block their path. But it was weak, and Manhattan would force it away brandishing his scythe before him.

Eventually, they came to an out building, far from the house. Manhattan stopped and studied it.

"This," he said with a nod. "This is it."

Tobias tried the door. "Locked," he muttered.

Marcus came up beside him. "Here, let me try."

Tobias stepped aside and Marcus studied the door. He seized the door knob with one hand, punched his claws of his other through the thin door, and ripped it from its hinges. He bowed, gesturing for Tobias to enter.

"Thank you," Tobias said as he entered the building.

The interior was dark. Tobias gave a moment for his eyes to adjust, but still found the murk of the place difficult to see into.

"Manhattan, could you come here a moment?" he asked.

The scarecrow came up next to the werewolf. "Yes?" he asked.

"Could you please light up?" he asked.

Manhattan started a moment, then the jack o' lantern flared again into brightness. In the orange light Tobias located a switch and turned on the interior lights.

"Thank you."

The space was not terribly large, perhaps ten by twenty feet. The walls were lined with bookcases, further limiting room. The room was neat, though. There was a table in the center with what Tobias assumed to be the Magus' tools, a knife, a small brazier, a small carafe of water, one of oil, and a heavy glass dish with charcoal that smelled of incense.

Tobias, Manhattan, and Violet crowded into the space. Tobias looked at various books until he found one that was hand-written. He examined the book, skimming headings and pages till he found the Magus' notes on the obsession. He read them over, determining what he felt was the best course of action. As Tobias gathered the Magus' tools, the building began to violently shake. They heard Marcus' voice from outside.

"Looks like it's gearing up again," he said.

The two werewolves and scarecrow exited the work shop. There were indeed more sendings, this time not bothering with human guises, and they attacked in twisted forms. Multi-armed behemoths gathered around them. The pack arrayed themselves with Tobias and his tools in the middle and the wolves, joined by the scarecrow, arrayed in front of him.

Though mentally and physically exhausted, the werewolves pitched a last desperate melee with the obsession's minions. The wolves fought with claws and physical strength, pulling on whatever reserves they had. Manhattan fought with the hand scythe, his pumpkin burning brightly. As he fought, the length of the hand and the blade extended in his grasp until ihe wielded a full-size one.

As the battle raged, Tobias worked quickly. He spared a prayer to the moon, then opened the Magus' book. In a loud voice he cried the incantation, his voice ringing in the night. He pulled every scrap of magic he had and threw it into fighting the obsession. Their wills locked, the fighting around Tobias eased, then stopped all together as the obsession had to invest more and more of its power into fighting Tobias.

Tobias raised a blade and held it high in the air, his chanting reaching a crescendo, then he plunged it into the ground. A whirlwind sprang up, the wind shrieking as it spiraled around them. When it blew out, it took the mist and what was left of the sendings with it. For a moment, everything was unnaturally calm.

The sound of insects could be heard. A breeze, a true breeze, carried the scents of the fallow land to them. The stars were clear and bright in the sky above them, as was the moon. It was over.

The wolves opted to stay the night. Not only was no one was up to driving, both Violet and Tobias wanted to monitor the grounds to ensure nothing came back. The elders were contacted and instructions given. The next day the Magus' work room was to be emptied, and then it and the house would be burned to the ground. The scarecrow would return with the pack.

But for now, the pack rested, taking solace in being out in the moonlight. No one wanted to stay in the house. They divided the rest of the night into shifts so some could sleep while others kept watch.

Despite everything that had happened, the night was quiet as everyone withdrew into themselves. Marcus called on the pack house to check on Wyatt and felt better when he spoke to the young wolf. Ballard stayed close to Socorro, but was reluctant to touch her, which puzzled his mate. Violet told no one about her visitation from "Aidan."

Violet sighed as sleep stole over her, knowing the repercussions of this hunt would be felt for sometime to come.