BLOODY LOVE'S
Episode 149's

They all turned their heads towards the origin of the voice, to Nolan who was with wet eyes and red cheeks holding back angrily, using his finger hidden within the sleeves of the mantle to point at Xavier. Pember's voice. "You kill people and make their bodies ghosts!"

Jose's aghast. He got up from his chair and looked at the bowed Xavier silently. "That's right?"

"Hey, you don't talk yet" Rolan scolded Nolan, forcing him to sit down as soon as the girl was about to get up. "Your voice has not recovered properly."

Jose frowned at the sight of Rolan who was usually excited by the new info now seemed calm. Too quiet. "Uncle knows about this?"

"Bust know. I was just about to tell you about this when you asked Nolan to be brought here." Rolan nodded towards Xavier, looking at the man with a judgmental look. "They did transmutation, but used evocative spells and likely also used evocation sigils. What a terrible combination!"

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Xavier raised his face, looking at Rolan as if the man had gone mad. "Evocation? The transmutation? What'sthat?"

"You're doing transmutation and evocation without knowing what it is?" The confused Rolan. He turned to Jose when he explained, "Evocacy is the summoning of spirits or demons or angels or other extraterrestrial things. Transmutation is the process of transforming an object into another object. Alchemy also studies this science, as far as I know." Now he turned back to Xavier. "It should be, golems are made from nonliving things and made alive but without consciousness. But these people were toying with the spirits of the dead, making them puppets, binding them in contracts with demons!"

Xavier raised his face, shaking quickly. "No!" yells. "We used to rob bodies, but not kill. Land is a difficult medium to move, so we use carcasses or corpses as vessels. And no demons are called, do not fret! You don't know!"

"Oh, of course I know!" Rolan won. "Let me guess: you mentioned this prayer, right? Maybe not exactly like this, but I'm sure the first one is: O, Alpha and Omega, Tetragrammaton—"

Jose noticed Xavier's facial changes. The man was now half-awakened from the chair. His expression changed from confused to astonished, with the eyeballs widening as each word came out of Rolan's lips.

"Abdie. I don't really know what it means, but it's clearly calling spirit" Rolan continued. "Solluzen—appear in this circle."

Jose looked down at his palm, relieved that it looked normal. Just now he felt both of his hands were strange, as if they were swelling up. His heart was also beating somewhat faster.

"Then halliza— appeared in human form. There must have been at least three words you said in prayer!"

"You're a Scholomance man, too?" xavier asked, his face paled.

Rolan turned the eyeball. "It is not necessary to be a solomonari to know that it is a mantra call to spirit!"

"But we didn't call .." Xavier's voice weakened, he seemed to remember something.

"Uncle?" Jose looked around in confusion. His left hand clutched his chest. He cringed in pain. "Is there an earthquake ... or is this my head?"

Rolan looked surprised. He immediately ran and caught the hand of Jose who was still reaching for the air, looking for a grip. "There was no earthquake! You why? Sit down!"

Abdias.

Solluzene.

Abdias.

Halliza.

Rolan's voice echoed in Jose's head, doubling inside there, attacking him noisily. He closed his eyes tightly, allowing himself to sit back.

Head hurts. Eyes hurt. Heart's hurting. Jose gritted his teeth, holding back a groan. "My head is about to break," he growled, both hands clutching his head. "Send them quiet!"

"Who?" Rolan looked around in surprise. Nolan knelt on the carpet, by the side of Jose's chair, holding the young man's arm. Xavier just watched with a confused look.

"Before you accuse me, I have done nothing to him" Xavier said as soon as he saw Nolan throw him a hateful look. "We're sitting a little far apart!"

Jose leaned over in his chair, sticking his sweaty wet forehead to his knees. Something sharp pricked his back, and the pain ran through all parts of his body to the head. His heart was like being squeezed with a sharp pebble. Even breathing is painful. He heard Rolan calling his name, but it was all far away, drowning in the cries of other voices.

Jose pulled a handkerchief out of his shirt pocket, stuffing it into his mouth to muffle his own voice. He hasn't finished questioning Xavier. If he screams in pain now, all his workers will come. George is coming. They will drag Xavier and possibly kill the man in the process of making him confess to what happened.

He won't be able to control them in these conditions, Jose realised. He took off his handkerchief to take a deep breath, gasping. When he raised his face, he was shocked to see so many people in the room. Too many. Very much. Reading rooms are crowded with humans. And they all looked at Jose with sad eyes.

Jose gripped onto Rolan's arm, which was still holding onto him. His whole body was trembling. At first he was confused and horrified, he thought he was in a dream. But as soon as he saw Wallace and Higgins were among the bunch, Jose understood.

Xavier shifted to the side slowly in fear of Jose staring straight at him, then was grateful when the young man's eyes did not move following him.

"You don't have to think about that first!" Rolan replied with a huff. "Look at me, I can't see your eyes if you're down."

"Uncle, hit my head" said Jose trembling. He nodded again. Her watery eyes endured the pain. He can't hold it anymore. More than this, he would scream like crazy.

"Yes?" Rolan frowned.

The voices grew louder in Jose's head, screaming, screaming.

"Hit me unconscious! Hurry along!"

***

They were all floating, hovering like fireflies, filling the area of the house. Meet Bjork. Meeting world.

Jose could feel his entire senses change sharper, more alert. He could see everything more clearly, even calculating how much dust was floating around him if he wanted to. It was like separating from his body. He didn't see with his eyes, Jose realized. Everything felt strange, as if he was observing his own dreams.

Rolan and Xavier took her body to the room on the side of the reading room, putting her to bed. Nolan followed behind with an anxious face.

George talked to Margie on the first floor. Renata took a walk in the greenhouse with a melancholy look. Jose sees everything as easily as shifting his gaze. He could see Mary now. The girl was in her room, huddled under the blanket. Something strange and foreign grew in Mary's body, and the girl noticed it as well.

You can't avoid it by sleeping, Jose thought. Then what he saw changed again, as if all things were shifted easily as he wished, but he did not feel any emotion. There is no sadness, joy, disappointment, or anger.

He saw a large castle in the wilds of the forest in the South. His uncle was in one of the rooms of the castle, firmly tied to a chair, placed in an empty room without furniture. Circles and magical patterns were drawn carefully with chalk on the floor. Marco bowed, head pressed to the chest. His uncle was alone in the room, but two men stood guard at the door.

Jose thought of Sir William. He was just about to look at the man's house when something pulled him in. His consciousness was dragged away from all the images he saw, he was forced to wake up from a dream.

Don't come here, many voices whispering together. Her voice was soft soothing. Despite not knowing who was talking, Jose felt the voices were coming from South Bjork. From the forest, from the river.

Only the dead can cross the river.

You haven't. Not yous. The other one, take the other one across.

While we are still strong. While we're not broken.

The voices made Jose feel at ease, making him homesick. He wanted to continue hearing it, and his heart was disappointed to realize the wave was slowly leaving. He doesn't see anything anymore. He was dragged away to a dark, but calming place. The voices were lost in place of another voice, a woman's voice. A voice that felt familiar to him, but he forgot who he was.

Jose.

Argent.

Please him.

Jose couldn't hear it clearly because he was pulled away at high speed. Something dark hit him hard, making Jose open his eyes and fully awake.

His heart is beating fast. He felt like his life had just been violently slammed, returned to his body. He stung. His body was flooded with cold sweat.

Jose moved his head to look to the left, seeing so many humans circling his bed. This time it was a real man. There's Rolan, Gerald, Krip, Hans, George, Margie, then Renata.

He was moved to his bedroom on the east wing.

Renata first moved closer to him, hugging him tightly while chanting a series of prayers of gratitude.

Jose shifted his gaze towards Rolan, who looked relieved half to death. "What time is it?" tanyakanya.

Rolan looked at his watch. "A half hour five in the afternoon. You fainted half a day."

Jose returned his mother's embrace, patting her back affectionately. "I'm fine, Mom. No need to worry." He glanced at Gerald. "Prepare workers. We're gonna go get Uncle Marco."