Crossroads → Nicholas Scratch [CAOS]

xiv. unity

"Why didn't you say no?" Dani asked slowly, eyebrows furrowed, more in confusion than in anger.

"I couldn't. You can't say no to the Dark Lord. I had to do it. Now she and her friends and aunts have a plan for tonight at this ball the Dark Lord is attending... I think to trap him. I don't know," he rambled, burying his face in his hands again, shaking his head.

Dani closed her eyes and ran her hand over her face in thought. She had more questions than they had time, probably. Instead of frustratedly asking the panicking boy why he had done such a horrible thing, she started thinking of solutions, deep down knowing that no matter what Nick did, he was still the charming, caring person she met at Sabrina Spellman's home. "My dad can help us, okay? I need you to calm down so we can go talk to him."

Holding onto his arm, Dani led Nick out of her room and down the stairs to the closed door of her dad's office. "Dad," she called, knocking on the door urgently. "Dad!" The door was swung open and Dani stepped back.

"Is everything o-" Matthew cut himself off when he laid his eyes on the tall boy beside his daughter. "What the hell are you doing here?" He said lowly, stepping forward and evidently pulling a small knife from behind his back.

"No, no, no, Dad! He needs your help." Dani stepped in front of Nick, guarding him from her furious father.

"Why would I help a warlock?" He said rhetorically through gritted teeth to the boy. "Especially you."

"Dad, come on," Dani pleaded. In a time like this, the last thing they needed was for her father to cause a scene rather than help.

"No, Dani," Matthew hissed, eyes still boring holes into Nick who stood helplessly still. "What makes you think you can come into my home like this?" He yelled to Nick.

"What's going on?" Calum appeared from behind the angry man.

"If you'll just hear me out..." Nick said hopefully, stepping forward slightly. "We could really use your h-"

"No, I won't hear you out, kid," Matthew seethed. He pointed to the door. "The only thing I'd like to here is that door closing behind you when you leave."

"Freaking Satan is here in the flesh and the world could literally end because instead of helping you're standing here yelling at Nick!" Dani exclaimed, tapping her foot anxiously on the floor. "Will you just let us explain what's going on before you decide whether you want to help him or not?"

Matthew stared at his daughter for a few seconds, his lips pursed and arms folded over his chest as though contemplating whether to listen to her. Dropping his arms to his side, he finally turned to Nick again and through gritted teeth, he said, "talk."

Letting out a sharp breath, Nick started explaining the nerve wracking situation. "Sabrina, she's half mortal, half wi-"

"She's a Nephilim, I'm fully aware of that. Get to the important part."

"The Dark Lord... Satan... he wants to enslave the tribes of human and witchkind and to rule over everything with his demon army... with Sabrina as his queen." Even though it was a brief description, Dani shuddered at what Nick was saying. Her friend was in trouble, and what made a bad situation even worse was that Nick played a part in it. "There's a ball tonight and the Dark Lord is going to be there. We need to trap him. There's this thing... the Acheron Configuration..."

"No," Matthew said, "that won't be strong enough for an archangel."

"Do you have something that can trap him, Dad?" Dani asked, peering over her dad's shoulder to look at his office despite not knowing what any of the objects inside were.