Thread: The Butcher's Bill (Prince x LeatrixSage)

Elisa was preparing herself to tap a line when the scream came. Ice and fire seemed to travel together down her spine as she spun to look up the stairs. A moment later and Ethan was flying past her and up them two at a time. She reached out, intent on stopping him, and then Mrs. Cromley was at her elbow. My god, girl, what happened? I don't know, I- Out of the way! Mrs. Cromley pushed past her to follow Lord Colton as he vanished around a corner and down the upstairs hall. Maddie was blubbering by her side, but Elisa could find no sympathy in her for the girl's distress. Instead, she numbly raced up the stairs after the others. Her heart was pounding in her throat when she reached the top of the stairs. Mrs. Cromley was holding Sarah by the shoulders while she muttered something about the killer having been here. That's ridiculous, no one has been here, Mrs. Cromley was fussing at her gently as Elisa pushed by them. She sucked in a sharp breath as she stopped just behind Ethan. My god, Elisa's voice caught in her throat. Someone had been here. There was old magic everywhere, but that could have easily been Claudia. But, the new traces... Elisa shivered and teetered on her feet. One hand searched blindly for the wall to steady herself as she took in the sight. Whomever had done this hadn't understood what they were doing. The lines were knotted and disgusting and tasted like tin and salt. It scraped at her nerves and made Elisa choke on air. She could feel them, like sharp fingernails on her skin, clawing at her, demanding a fix to the imbalance that was created. Excuse me, she gasped out as she turned away from all of them toward her own room. She leaned heavily against her door as she fumbled with the handle, becoming more and more frustrated until it finally clicked open. She could breath again. Her room was clean, nothing was here, nothing was changed. 'Thank god.' Elisa sighed and fell back against the wall across from her door. There was no new magic here, everything was in it's place. Heavy foot steps caught her attention and Elisa's head jerked up to find Ethan watching her. Fear clogged her throat and her heart seemed to stop as he came toward her. 'He knows,' Elisa's mind shrieked at her to run... but there was no where to run. There was no choice left. As he drew closer, Elisa pushed herself away from the wall and walked as calmly as she could into her room. 'A small shock will do, just put him down,' she thought. She reached out mentally to the closet line and drew the energy to her. Stray strains of hair raised from her neck as if in a gentle breeze that she couldn't feel. Fire raced through her blood and the synapse of her mind, trailing the red haze of the leyline into her chi. For ones like herself, it would seem that fire in the form of dust swirled around her on a breeze that wasn't there. The display held a frightening beauty that she could never put to words. It, and the feel of it one her skin, she knew she would never be able to live without it. It was as much a part of her as her soul. 'Just one good zap, that's it.' she swore to herself. The temptation to draw more made her hands shake and Elisa cut herself off from the line, holding the small amount she had taken. Her heart beat heavily as she turned to face the door way. A delicate heat built low in her stomach as warmth flooded her skin. The sensation tightened her nipples beneath the abrasion of her corset, restraining her body's reactions within its tight confines. Her breath came in shallow gasps as she forced the energy she had gathered into her left hand, met Ethan's red and silver attention... and waited.