A transparent wall sprang up, distorting their view of the creature tearing off the roof. Its meaty hand reaching down to grab Dean slammed against the magical barrier. Dean still cowered away in fear not trusting the magic circle even though he knew magical creatures couldn’t pass its border.
As Dean took a step back Aggie quickly said, “Don’t cross the circle’s border or you will break the flow of magic.”
Dean quickly realized how close he was to breaking the circle. Quickly stepping towards the middle of it he finally realized that the floor was different.
The creature outside roared angrily causing Dean to flinch away again as he asked, “What is that thing?”
“It looks like a spirit of the forest,” Aggie said as he investigated Nameless’s corpse. “Can you turn over the body for me, I think I see something.”
Dean took his eyes off of the spirit as it bashed its body against the barrier. The fleshy banging oddly distorted and tinny sounding.
As he reached down to flip the corpse to face up Dean asked, “What the hell happened when I empowered the circle? Were suddenly on hardwood floors and my magic circles never had a visual effect.”
Aggie looked up at him and seemed to be smiling in his cat form as he said, “I know, it’s incredibly fascinating but I already figured that out.” He then went on, “But this is what we are here for.”
“What is happening with me using my magic?” Dean asked in a demanding tone.
Aggie looked up at him and in a condescending tone, “Your magic is focused through iron nails. Iron is the antithesis of most creatures from beyond the veil of mortality.” He then looked back down to the body and continued, “Your magic dispels fay magic.”
“Wait you're saying this forest and that creature is Fay magic?” Dean asked looking back at the Spirit. He watched it for a second longer as it huffed and puffed before it walked away.
“No this is a real forest that they somehow overlapped with the apartment,” Aggie said as he pawed the corpse. “We are in both places at once. Physically we are in the apartment but magically we are traveling within their forest.”
Dean stood watching Aggie as he examined the corpse. Soft thumping could be heard coming from outside the circle. The spirit came strutting through the forest dragging a hunk of wood. As he came closer to the circle Dean could make out what looked like the pieces of vehicle embedded into it.
“Aggie the spirit is back with a weapon,” Dean stammered.
“Spirit made weapons can't break the circle,” Aggie said as he continued pawing the corpse. “Found it!”
“What about part of a tree with pieces of a car stuck in it,” Dean asked.
“That would work but spirits would never use weapons made with metal,” Aggie said without looking up from whatever he found on the body of the corpse.
“This one is,” Dean said with a shaky voice.
“This one is what,” Aggie asked in a perturbed voice.
The spirit began to strain as it picked up its weapon. The idea that a spirit of the forest ever using a weapon made with metal opposed the very essence of the natural order. Its eyes began to glow as it struggled to lift its club.
“Start channeling as much of your will into the circle NOW!” Aggie screamed.
Without a second guess, Dean started channeling everything he had into nails powering the circle. The very air grew heavy as the barrier became opaque. Energy started building up in the circle as Dean’s metaphysical powers filled the circle. The pressure built up to the point Dean couldn’t breathe but he still kept channeling power into the circle.
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Thinking he couldn’t take anymore the circle was struck erupting in a force that knocked him to the ground. Barely missing Nameless’s corpse he found himself in an empty apartment facing the chrome elevator doors.
His body felt as if he just ran a marathon after a boxing match. As he laid on the floor he looked over at Aggie as he began gnawing at the hand of Nameless.
“What are you doing,” Dean wheezed out disgustedly as he watched Aggie dismember the corpse.
With the hand no longer connected to the corpse, the illusion was broken. A pile of dead rats is all that was left of Nameless’s corpse. Aggie then started digging through the rats as Dean gagged from the smell.
“What the hell just happened?” Dean asked as he struggled to get away from the mound of rotting rats.
“I told you I smelled rats,” Aggie said as she pulled a tiny doll from underneath the rat.
“That doesn’t explain what just happened,” Dean said as he leaned against a wall.
“Someone kidnapped Nameless but cast a spell to make it appear that she was murdered,” Aggie said. “The pile of rats to represent death. A simulacrum to represent her body,” he stated as he motioned to each to each pile. “And finally her hand. Branded with a curse before being removed and left to power the spell.”
“Ok,” Dean replied, “But what happened with the forest.”
“You created a magical emp that disrupted the spell,” Aggie said just as something began to pound on the elevator doors.
They both simultaneously looked at the chrome elevator doors as it was struck again by something heavy. Both doors buckled a little letting whatever was on the other side look through spotting the pair.
“I SEES YOU,” a booming voice echoed as the eye blinked. The pounding on the elevators resumed. Wood pounding on the door echoed loudly in the apartment.
“Shit the elevator door protected the portal from you,” Aggie stated. “We can’t take that in an upfront battle. We need to figure a way out.”
The elevator was the way they got up here and quite possibly there the only exit. Aggie quickly changed into his human form as he started opening the few doors the open floor plan had. Every room he checked was mostly empty except for a few intricately carved pictographs on the wood floor. Aggie looked longingly at those pictographs and the secrets he could have gleaned from them. If there was time.
Dean collected his nails from the circle that had been burned into the floor after the magical energies exploded out. Stumbling to the kitchen, Dean opened every cabinet then checked every drawer hoping to find anything to fight the creature.
He found nothing. The spirit was close to breaking down the elevator doors. Dean could clearly see the hulking body as it slammed its club against the doors careful not to touch the metal.
As he leaned back against the stove, he racked his brains on what to do. The blinking timer on the microwave driving him insane as he listened to the drip of the faucet. Checking the stove he was in luck it was gas. Like a lightning bolt, he had an idea, something he saw in an old movie.
He screamed at Aggie, “Start filling the bathtub. I have a plan.”
He then started pulling the stove clear from the wall until he had access to the back of it. Cutting the gas lines he immediately saw the fumes begin to rise.
“There’s no bath plug in here,” Aggie yelled back.
“Figure it out,” Dean yelled back.
Dean was beginning to panic. If he didn’t figure out a way to stall the spirit, his plan would fail. Looking around for anything his eyes stopped on the iron grates for the burners. Grabbing 3 of the 4 burners he rushed to the elevator, tossing one through the gap hitting the spirit.
“AAAGGHHH!” the spirit screamed, “CHEATY LITTLE HUE MAN,” it bellowed in rage.
Where the iron touched the spirit, an angry red burn appeared on its green skin. Screaming in range it swatted the offending iron deeper into the forest. Then shoving his club through the doors trying to hit Dean.
Dean almost casually tossed the next one at the spirit's hand as if he were playing ring toss. The iron guard landed squarely on the spirit's hand eliciting another scream of pain. Dropping the club halfway in the apartment with a loud thunk. He fancied the thought of dragging the log onto his side but the spirit grabbed it wrenching it up and back widening the hole significantly.
Dean took this as his last chance to stall the beast throwing the iron at the spirit’s face. The spirit managed to dodge the iron as it saw Dean clearly. Smiling, its tusks making its face look like an Oni’s mask at seeing Dean weaponless.
It renewed the assault on the elevator door with manic fervor. The doors barely staying in place, the spirit still too afraid to tempt crossing and injuring itself. Dean briefly thought of using his nails to attack the spirit but he would temporarily be magicless. He also wasn’t sure if he had enough in him to levitate the nails to attack.
Just as he was going to attempt to levitate his nails alarms started going off in the kitchen. The gas had finally built up enough for the sensors to register them and let people know they should exit the building.
Dean rushed back to the kitchen to throw the last iron guard into the microwave with a couple loose dollars to help catch fire. Setting the timer he ran to the bathroom just as Aggie was walking out.
“Why are there klaxons going,” Aggie began to ask as Dean tackled him into the bathroom.
Slamming the door shut he turned the shower on as he shoved Aggie into the tub screaming, “Get small!” Jumping into the thankfully deep jacuzzi tub and held his breath and went under.