Bitesize 5.6

I wish I was the boss, so I could just take two weeks off without any notice whenever I felt like it. :(

Bitesize 5.6

Ed felt so helpless and looking at Katia, he knew she felt the same. Max too it seemed was fully under Crowley's spell and Ed realised that the only plan they had left lied in the hope that opening the mirrors would separate Max from the demon Crowley was awakening. The awakening didn't take long, only a few minutes. Here and there sparks and wisps of coloured energy left Crowley's hands but other than that the ritual was fairly unspectacular. When it was all over the change in Max was evident. He stood differently and his eyes shifted about in his skull restlessly and when he opened his mouth to speak his voice was deep and lispy.
"It is done." said Max, "He resists but he will not win."
Crowley merely nodded and set about righting the candles that had been knocked over by Grace and Leclair.
"The sacrifice?" Max asked.
Crowley pointed at the chained Fredericq and Max wandered over to him, inspecting him like an animal.
"This is all you brought through so far?" asked Max, "A seer and a common foot soldier?" The latter comment was clearly aimed at Leclair.
"It matters not." said Crowley, "He will suffice as a sacrifice and Leclair has served me well. Do not question me Gatekeeper. I brought you through too. You should be grateful of that."
"Then let us do this quickly. Bless the weapon."
Crowley relit the final candle and then pulled an ornamental dagger from his cloak. The blade was wavy and the handle in the shape of a skull. He held it aloft and reeled off more of the alien syllables. As he did, Max inspected the mirror. Only now did Ed take a good look at it. He had already noted its size and now he cast his eyes over its frame. It was golden and shiny in places though years of laying hidden had tarnished the majority of it. Here and there, demonic faces loomed out from the frame, their mouths in a perpetual silent scream as though struggling to resist their entrapment. Crowley finished whatever spell he had been casting and handed the now glowing dagger to Max. He held it in his hands, turning it over to inspect the blade and the soft red light emanating from it. Seemingly satisfied he stepped over to Fredericq and dragged him into a sitting position in front of the mirror. The two men, though human to Ed's eye, had demonic reflections when viewed in the mirror, their onigawa laid bare for all to see. It was Max now who began the chanting in the same incomprehensible language Crowley had used. As each syllable left his lips they appeared hanging in the air in the reflection, strange markings that to Ed's eye looked not dissimilar to Japanese. Max's voice became louder and firmer as the chant continued until, at the climax of the ritual he was shouting the words at the top of his lungs. As the final word of power left his lips Max placed the dagger at Fredericq's throat and slashed it in one fluid motion. Blood spurted from the wound like a geyser, splattering the mirror's surface and where it landed it hissed and bubbled violently. The entire mountain began to tremble and the mirror's surface began to take on the insubstantial sheen Ed had seen before. Max shoved Fredericq's lifeless corpse aside and spread his arms wide. Crowley had come to stand beside him as the Gatekeeper belted out the final verse of the ritual. Ed braced himself. For what, he didn't know, but the sense of foreboding was overwhelming. Something big was about to happen.
Suddenly, Crowley shoved Max hard to one side.
"That's not right!" he yelled, "What are you doing?"
Max regained his balance and dove at Crowley. He swung the sacrificial dagger wildly, catching the mage's unprotected throat. Crowley managed to raise a hand and a blast of energy sent Max flying ten feet across the chamber. He landed heavy and didn't move. Clutching at his throat Crowley struggled to regain his stance as the mountain trembled. Blood trickled through his fingers as he grimaced. He moved to position himself in front of the mirror. He now began chanting, trying to undo what Max had done. Ed looked at Crowley, his stance defiant as he yelled word after word. He looked back over at Max but he was no longer on the floor. He was stood on his feet and no longer in human form. The blow to the head had knocked Max out and now the wolf supplanted within him by Grace had awoken. The lupine flung himself at Crowley again, snarling as his claws tore through the mage's robes at chest level. Crowley blasted him again as he fell, leaving a burning scorch mark on the wolf's chest. The mirror rose up from the floor, levitating under its own power. One ritual had been successful. Right now the time for alterations had passed. The mirror's surface bulged and spewed forth drops of liquid silver...