AGNES EPELER
"WHICH ONE OF YOU IS ASPEN BELLATOR?"
Everyone's heads snapped up to the door of the animal clinic as the woman they were all waiting on made herself present. After Stiles had returned home safe, and sans a nogitsune possessing his soul—Aspen picked up the phone number Allison had left for her and decided to give it a call. A woman on the other end picked up—and as soon as Aspen introduced herself—using her real name—she had captured the woman's attention. Bellator was a name that carried weight in the supernatural world—anybody a part of it understood it's importance. Aspen explained that she needed help—she had the spell, she just needed a witch to do it.
Her name was Agnes Epeler. Aspen wasn't quite sure how Allison had found her—but she was glad she had. Even in her final day on this earth—Allison's every move was to save Aspen's life. Including her dying breath.
"That would be me," Aspen said nervously, leaning off of the wall, raising a timid hand as the red-head woman walked in.
Everyone was here. Scott, Stiles, Lydia, Derek—and Ace.
Ace, along with the rest of the town—had healed after Void was killed. He reunited with his sister, to which consisted of her splurting out many apologies to which he didn't deem necessary to hear or accept. He knew it wasn't her fault. Everyone seemed to know that except her.
"I'm gonna..." Agnes said aprehensively, "need to see this spell..."
Aspen nodded nervously and walked over to one of the metal tables, which had the old, aged book that Chris had given to her as sort of a parting gift.
He and Isaac left for Paris—not able to stay around in Beacon Hills after what happened to Allison. The two of them were hesitant to leave—but when they expressed the idea to Aspen, she insisted that they go. She'd hate to stand in anybody's way of getting out of this retched town. She was genuinely happy for them that they got out.
The brunette picked up the dusty book, which she already had opened to the right page. The title of the spell was 'binding spirits'. She took a guess and figured it was the right one.
"Uh—here," she handed the book to the older red-head woman. She stood nervously as Agnes took it out of her hands and inspected the words on the page. Aspen felt awkward—she had dragged this woman all the way from New Orleans to help a teenage girl she'd never met. Aspen didn't seem to realise what her last name meant.
Everyone else in the room stood or sat impatiently, all of their minds spinning while they all hoped for the best. It was safe to say none of them had ever messed around with witchcraft. They didn't know what the odds of success were, or the consequences if it failed. But they were at a loss—they were able to kill Void Stiles because Stiles wasn't a werewolf. The shugenda scroll told them to change the host—which was possible.
But that doesn't work when there's an exception that can bend the rules—that can be a fox and a wolf at the same time.
Which meant that this idea was the last one they had—so they all had to have faith in it working.
Aspen watched nervously as the red-head woman's face contorted with an expression that made her worry. Agnes' eyes narrowed as her eyebrows furrowed, while she continued to read all of the words on the old dusty page.
"What?" Ace piped up, noticing the woman's face as well, "What is it?"
Agnes looked up at the room of stranger's around her. Though she didn't know any of them—she felt sympathy for them. She was a simple woman with not-so-simple gifts. Despite her powers, she'd lived a fairly normal life without having to tap into witchery too often. Just by looking around at everyone in this room—she could tell that they clearly hadn't lived as simple lives.
"This..." the Epeler witch said hesitantly, looking around the room at everyone, before her eyes finally focussed on Aspen, "is dark magic..."
"What does that mean... exactly?" Aspen asked the kind red-head, trying not to focus on how fast her heart was beating.
"It means..." Agnes sighed, "that it's dangerous. The ancestors don't like us to tap into dark magic—it's frowned upon."
"So you won't do it?" Derek asked with a little edge of annoyance, feeling protective over Aspen and wanting to save her.
"I never said I wouldn't do it." Agnes replied calmly, "Just... that you need to know what you're getting yourself into."
The room fell silent as all eyes landed on Aspen. She swallowed a lump in her throat before nodding weakly, telling the Epeler witch to elaborate.
"This spell is a binding spell." Agnes began to explain, "Which means—you'd effectively be binding the world's most powerful demonic spirit to yourself..."
"Yeah—we got that part..." Ace scoffed sarcastically.
"You should know what to expect." Agnes kept her calm despite the men in the room being slightly rude towards her, then turned back to Aspen with a sympathetic look,
"You will effectively have control over the nogitsune. Which—will make you far stronger than you were before—even being the daughter of Deucalion Bellator. You will be half-fox-half-wolf—which has never existed before. You'll be the only one. Which—yes, will make you one of the strongest supernatural creatures—but it may also put a target on your back."
"A target?" Aspen furrowed her brows, not understanding what the woman meant.
"Anyone who is apart of the supernatural world will eventually come to hear of you." Agnes continued—and while she knew her words would create a panic, she couldn't go through with the spell unless Aspen knew everything that she was getting herself into.
"You think they'd come for me?" Aspen guessed, the sentence alone making Stiles and Scott become overcome with worry and the need to protect her—even though, from what they were hearing—she didn't need their protection.
"They might do," Agnes told her in full honesty, "But that's not to say you wouldn't be able to fight them off."
Aspen let out a deep breath, trying to process everything, the terms of what she was getting herself into when she went through with this. It was the only way she would survive—so she was going to do it no matter what. She hadn't lived her life yet—and she made a promise to a certain someone that she was going to.
"What else?" Aspen asked, bracing herself for more bad news.
"You have to be prepared that..." Agnes said hastily, feeling sympathy for the teenage girl as she elaborated, "That the nogitsune may try to take control back sometimes. That's not to say it would succeed—as you'd be stronger than it. But it will still most likely try. It might affect your behaviour— emotions—personality..."
"Okay, okay," Aspen sighed, interrupting her, growing panicked but still not backing down, "anything else?"
Much to everybody's relief, Agnes smiled weakly and replied, "No—that's all."
Aspen sighed in relief as she buried her head in her hands, elbows resting on top of the metal table. She could feel all of the pairs of eyes in the room on her, but there was another pair she felt. Or at least—she tried to feel.
Allison's.
She imagined her watching over her—just like she said she would. She wondered what she would say if she were here, what she would want her to do. But she already knew the answer to that—Allison would want her to live, even if it meant taking the biggest risk of all.
"Okay," Aspen finally spoke up again after moments of agonising silence, "I'm still doing it. I-I want to do this."
Her gaze landed on everyone's in the room. Derek, Scott, Lydia, Stiles and her brother. They all had one thing in common with the way they were looking at her.
They were all scared—but proud.
"If you're sure..." Agnes smiled in support as she set the book down on the table.
"I am." Aspen confirmed again.
"Okay— " said the Epeler witch, "let's do this."
***
Aspen stood in the middle of the animal clinic, taking deep breaths as she braced herself. She wasn't sure what to expect—was it going to hurt? Would she feel it?
Everyone else stood around her at a distance, while Agnes Epeler stood before her, reading over the spell over and over again. She held the book with one hand, while with her other—she twirled her hand in the other, everyone else watching in amazement as an ember glow surrounded her hand.
"This might hurt," Agnes told the brunette with full honesty, "I mean—we're tampering with dark magic..."
"That's okay." Aspen said with a weak voice. Her physical being was as weak as ever. Okami was still out there—wearing her face. That's why they had to do this now—or else, there may not be any time left before Aspen's body gives in.
"You guys might wanna..." Agnes turned to everyone else in the room, "stand back. There's—probably going to be fire..."
"F-fire?!" Stiles shrieked with wide eyes, "Did you seriously just say—"
"Fire? Yes," Agnes replied, seemingly unable to lose her calm, "I'm binding a kitsune to a werewolf. So..."
"Is she gonna—like—" Stiles said panickedly, "burn?"
"Of course not," Agnes shot back, "God—I'm not that stupid. If anything, she'll be the one creating the fire."
"Wha—"
"Stop asking questions, man." Ace shut Stiles up, "she's running out of time, we gotta do this now or never..."
Everyone knew what Ace had just said was right. Aspen was paler than ever—the bags under her fatigued eyes had never been so prominent—and what once was a dull ache had turned into an agonising pain she'd simply learnt to suppress. She was running out of time.
So with everyone stood a couple meters away—and Aspen letting out deep breaths as she braced herself—the Epeler witch began.
"Hoc carmine hospitio te constringo spiritum." Agnes began, reciting words of a launguage none of them understood, "Ferat hic lupus vulpem." she added, the embery flame in her hand growing bigger.
With the words that had already been recited by the witch-- Aspen's eyes suddenly shone orange. Not blue, not green—but bright orange—like a flame. Stiles, Ace, and everyone else watched in scared anticipation as Agnes continued.
"Hoc vulpis coecerat!" Agnes yelled louder—and this time, more than just a change of eye colour occured.
Fire materialised around Aspen's body. Much like the way Scott had seen Kira's kitsune surround her when he first saw it at the blacklight party. She wasn't inside of the fire like she was when she immersed out of her own mind—but just surrounded by it—like she controlled it.
"Fac hoc vulpecula captivum ad bellatorem," Agnes continued, the fire around Aspen's body growing more vigorous.
Everyone was captivated as they watched in anticipation—trying to figure out if this meant it was going well or not.
Until the spell was interrupted by someone barging through the door to the clinic, followed by sounds of grunts and winces. Agnes continued to swirl her fingers in the air, the spell still going—as everyone else's attention darted to the person who had just barged in.
"What are you doing!" they heard a pained scream—Aspen's scream—but it wasn't from her. Not the real her.
It was Okami—the nogitsune that the Epeler witch was in the process of weakening. Her dark eyes looked terrified—like she had truly been caught off guard, not expecting to be beaten. She didn't have the Oni at her command anymore—nor did she have Void. The Oni were all killed with Allison's silver arrows.
"Stop!" Okami screamed, her weakened body falling to the ground as Agnes continued the spell anyway, "Stop that! You can't kill me—!"
"I think she's sort of in the process of doing that," Ace murmured smugly as he knelt down in front of the demonic spirit, still wearing the face of his sister. He smirked victoriously—knowing that they'd actually won. Ace made a promise that he'd save his sister—and he finally made a promise that he ended up keeping.
"Daemeneum lupum interficite, bellatorum accindete!"
With the final line of the binding spell—Aspen's eyes widened as they turned from the embery yellow of the fire—to the icy cold blue that represented her werewolf side. The fire still surrounded her, as she felt a loss of control over her body. She didn't feel pain, though.
And then—the demonic spirit who had fallen to the floor out of weakness—crumbled. It crumbled the same way Void had at the school. But this time, as the body crumbled and turned into nothing but a cloud of smoke—that cloud of smoke travelled all the way to Aspen's body. And then Aspen felt as the darkness, the evil, the demonic presence—made it's way into her soul.
She felt the shift. She felt the darkness making it's way in, like there was a blackness evolving around her once-pure heart. Only time will tell what she'd truly gotten herself into. But for right now—she was alive.
The nogitsune's were gone.
And Aspen and Stiles survived it.
The fire disappeared from around Aspen's body, and her eyes turned back to their lively vivacious shade of emerald green. It took a couple seconds for everything to sink in—that it had worked—but when it did, she let out a sob of relief. She didn't know why she was crying, but it was such a glorifying moment for her. She'd survived something she never thought she would. The only thing that could make it better is if Allison was here.
But she had no doubt she was watching over her this very second.
"It worked..." Aspen sighed in relief out loud, tears of relief streaming down her face—her flesh already starting to regain it's colour.
The first person to hug her without a second of hesitation was her brother. Aspen felt the wind knocked out of her chest when he engulfed his broad arms around her frame. She smiled into his shoulder—grateful for everything he'd done to save her—including nearly dying.
Ace and Aspen definitely weren't the perfect siblings. And they never would be. They were dysfunctional as hell, and so was the rest of their family—real or fake. But none of that stopped them from holding on to each other for dear life, relieved that Aspen had made it out of this.
Soon enough, Aspen was being stolen away from that hug by Stiles. Ace didn't fight it, he simply wiped away a tear of relief he'd shed as he watched Aspen and Stiles hug an embrace. She cried into his shoulder as he rubbed her back, one hand intertwining in her hair.
But even though they were both themselves now—they couldn't deny there was a shift in their relationship. Something was different. While neither of them knew what it was, they both felt it. They both felt it that night in Eichen house—when Stiles' finger grazed her bare skin, and his touch felt different. They wished they knew what the change was—because that way they could try to fix it. But they couldn't. Something was just—different. Not right.
Scott hugged her too, tears of relief rolling down his own face—followed by Derek, and Lydia too. Everyone was overwhelmed—they all tried to have hope that it would work—but now that it actually had—it was a feeling they couldn't put into words.
Aspen then turned to face Agnes, a look of sheer gratefulness all over her face. Agnes smiled back, genuinely happy for the teenage girl and all of her friends.
"I'm glad it worked, Aspen." Agnes said as the brunette walked over to her with teary eyes of joy.
"I-I can't thank you enough." said Aspen, "I mean—I'm just some teenager you know nothing about—and you took a chance on me, and I—"
"You think I know nothing about you?" Agnes smiled, making Aspen's brows furrowed, so the Epeler witch elaborated, "Aspen—you're a Bellator. I think it's time you learnt the weight of your own name."
Aspen smiled weakly—the name didn't exactly bring her joy. But then again—neither did Carter. Maybe she just needed to accept her identity. Bellator may represent everything that ruined her life—but maybe she just had to claim it for herself. Re-invent it. Show the world that Bellators could be more than just cold-blooded werewolves. She could take the name, own it—and re-invent it's meaning. Start a new legacy—for herself.
"If I can repay you in any way—" Aspen hurried to say, feeling so utterly thankful for what the woman had done for her.
"You don't need to repay me." Agnes told her, then picked up her bag off the table, gave Aspen and everyone else one final smile before she walked for the door of the clinic.
But just before she walked out, she stopped in her tracks—turning around to look at the Bellator girl one final time.
"Call me if you get into any more trouble, Bellator." Agnes smiled, "You have my number— and you know where to find me."
//
okay the whole spell part of this was super hard to write but I hope it made sense and was easy enough to picture, it was so hard to put it into words
Also as you can tell from the gif— I picture agnes as scarlett Johannson, but she isn't enough of a main character for me to officially give her a face claim.
Also if you were wondering what the spell actually was saying— it's all in latin (Google translated lol) so if you're curious you can always find out
I can confirm there will be TWO more chapters of this + an epilogue and then, dun dun dun....
🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁
THERE WILL BE A BOOK 3!!!!
As you can see, Aspen and Stiles both survived— so of course I can't leave their story here, can I?
Im so excited for book 3 (which will follow season 4 plot) however, it won't start for a while as I go back to school tomorrow — hence why I wanted to finish this book so quickly and you've been spoilt with like multiple updates per day
Anyway, I will be posting cast, intro, and playlist of book 3 as soon as this one is done<3
And I'll save the title reveal until then as well... dun dun dun
I LOVE YOU ALL AND THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE SUPPORT YOU'VE GIVEN THIS BOOK!
-Ellie x