A/N: I am so. So. SO. SO SORRY! The delay in updating is unforgivable. Have another chapter. I promise it won't take this long to update again.

Possible Warning: Blatant and purposeful misunderstanding and misuse of paganism, herbalism, and witchcraft. Not meant to be taken seriously. Literally came from the same site that claimed they had a spell to summon a Pokemon. DO NOT THINK I CONDONE OR SUBSCRIBE TO THE BELIEFS OF ANY CHARACTER IN THIS FIC.

Ok, hopefully that will stop people from thinking I am saying anything negative or judgmental at all. I'm just here for the fluff and feels. BTW, some jackrabbit pre-slash in this chapter. But just a bit.

Disclaimer: Plot mine. Characters not.

Chapter Eight: Deadly Discourse (Part Two)

The small fairy led them to a small abandoned shack on the outskirts of town, not far from where they had parked the Sleigh. Jack was grateful for this; since the trip was so short, it didn't give the others enough time to renew their line of questioning. How was he going to tell them? How do you even begin to talk about something like…this?

As they approached the shed, the air became heavy with a cloying scent, both herbal and bitter. Bunny's nose twitched and he waved a paw back and forth in front of his muzzle.

"Strewth, someone's been lighting up a witch's cabinet." He noticed Jack's raised eyebrow. "I got lavender, willow, mullein, and wormwood. All kinds of hokey herbs."

"Hokey herbs?" North mouthed with a questioning look making Sandy burst into silent laughter. A shadowy figure emerged from the woods at that moment, and headed for the door. When it opened and revealed its dimly lit interior, the Guardians wasted no time in scurrying in afterwards.

The room was barely lit by a baker's dozen of dark purple candles which filled the room with their cloying lavender scent. The sickly sweet smell quickly became overpowering in the enclosed space and it only got worse as a slim woman continued lighting the short waxy columns. Once the last wick was lit, they got a better look at her.

She was a tall wisp of a woman, probably in her early twenties, with long unnaturally black hair that didn't match her dishwater blonde eyebrows. The person they had followed in was a young man of roughly the same age with a pallid complexion and a shock of similarly dyed hair arranged in a deliberately contrived rats' nest. He stood by a cheap folding table in the corner of the room, on which lay a selection of dried herbs and dead wood that he was tying into bunches with twine.

"Jackie, look." Bunny whispered, nudging the winter spirit. Jack took a closer look at the table. Besides the rapidly growing bunches of herbs, there was also a long sharp knife which shone brilliantly silver even in the dimly lit room, a thick ratty book that was either very old or very used, and some kind of ceremonial bowl. The bowl was very large and made out of some sort of thick midnight blue glass. Or rather, Jack realized, crystal.

"Sandy could fit in there! It's huge!" Tooth marveled. "The biggest piece we've found yet!"

"Which will make it even harder to nick," Aster reminded. "Holds a place o' honor on that table and by the looks of it, they ain't gonna give it as easy as the last bloke."

Their conversation was interrupted by a sudden ripping noise that drew their attention back to the girl. She was tearing and cutting off long strips of duct tape and placing them on the concrete floor of the shed in careful lines between the candles until they created a flat upside down star on the floor, surrounded by a slightly wonky circle. The candles were minutely adjusted until they were lined up precisely on the points and angles of the star. Jack chuckled weakly, breaking the suddenly ominous quiet.

"Silence is always golden, but duct tape is silver." The tension broke as even Bunny snorted a laugh in amusement. The girl, finished with her task, joined the boy at the table in tying up the bunches of aromatic flora.

"Bun-Bun, you're my go-to herbivore. What's up with the hokey herbs?"

"I think you mean herbologist, Snowflake."

"That too, 'roo." Instead of the predicted anger, Bunny merely gave his arm a playful shove.

"Fair dinkum." He sniffed the air carefully. "Well, what she's holdin' there is…mugwort, mullein and wormwood."

"And what are they used for?" Jack's question made Aster puff up importantly. Finally, something he could help with.

"Oh, I know this mugwort! Is used in Germany for Christmas Goose! I myself prefer the Русские традиции…using the raisins and the sour apples, is very good after delivering the presents…" North burst in, eyes distant as he remembered Christmas dinners long past. Bunny deflated, only to perk back up when Jack rolled his eyes and turned back to the lagomorph.

"As you were saying, Aster?" Jack's playfully exasperated expression diffused Aster's indignation, and he couldn't help but smile at the shorter spirit.

"Right, well, mugwort can be used in cooking, but when combined with wormwood, its supposedly good for encouraging prophetic divination and summoning. Wormwood by itself is used by some as protection. Mullein is also used for protection, but its more for protection against…malevolent spirits."

"Malevolent spirits?" Jack questioned.

"…Ghosts. It's a mockery of true paganism and herbalism, but these bloody gallahs think they can summon the dead."

"The…the dead?" Jack faltered, gripping his staff tightly.

"What is matter, Jack? Surely you are not afraid of the ghosties, right?"

"Uh…no, afraid isn't really the right word…"

Aster took a closer look at his friend. Jack was backing away from the candlelit center of the room, stopping only when his back hit the closed door. Sandy, his usually mellow face serious and concerned, patted his hand and tried to meet his eyes. Jack huffed a laugh, but it almost sounded like a sob.

"This is really not what I wanted to do today…"

It was almost time. The witching hour approached. Melliya handed Cristopher the last bundle of herbs, this one comprised of willow and lavender, which she had read would provide peace to the dead. Finally, after hours and hours of painstaking internet research, it was finally going to happen. She was going to meet a real dead spirit.

Cristopher placed the last sprig with the others in the middle of the duct tape star. He looked at his girlfriend, wondering what to do now. He was new to this whole scene, but embraced it wholeheartedly…that which Melliya bothered to explain seemed pretty legit. She handed him a lighter, and yay, fire time! She stopped him before he could set the herbs aflame.

"Not yet, you idiot. We need to have an offering first. Spirits are all about the offerings of mortals, we must entice them to grace us with their presence."

"I thought that's why we got these flowers and stuff."

"Ugh, plebian. Just wait until I tell you to light the cuttings up." She rolled her eyes and grabbed the bowl and the cool journal that she had found online. Placing them on the floor, she picked up the knife and sat, legs crossed, in front of the bowl. She opened the book and started to read, stumbling over the spell she had painstakingly copied from the summoning website.

"Spiritu transita sinite, videamus sciatis nos tanta communicare. Tu reus erit stella, morti mihi estis conati si percussas."

"Uh…what?" North scratched his head, while Aster began laughing.

"Oh, sweet El-Ahrairah, whatever drongo invented online translators should not be allowed to reproduce mate. She said something along the lines of Spirit, come to my face and let me see you because I have a lot to say. If you try to kill me, the star will stop you. Since you know that spirits are so bloody compelled to slapdag latin mumbo jumbo."

Aster turned to Jack, expecting him to laugh along. The pale spirit smiled weakly, but was focused mainly on the oldest Guardian, who was still holding his hand between two small golden ones.

"Jackie, mate, are you all right?"

Just then, the misinformed woman plopped on the floor held her hand over the crystal and cut a quick slash across her palm and indicated that the bundle of herbs should be set aflame. Blood dripped into the basin, and the young man set the dried plants on fire. Smoke filled the small room quickly, and sparks flew as the dry flora popped and crackled through the ever growing flame, and suddenly it wasn't funny anymore.

"Bloody idjits! They're gonna light themselves on fire with this nonsense. We gotta put the fire out!"

"Jack my boy, do something!"

They turned to the Winter Prince, who stopped clutching Sandy's hand and stood, eyes shining with something reckless. He gestured behind him, signaling that he wanted them to step outside. Though they felt wary of leaving Jack to deal with it, they knew he had a better chance of both stopping the fire and retrieving the crystal than any of them. Once they were all past the doorway, he took a deep breath and smiled a little sickly grin.

"They wanna see the Dead, huh?"

"SPIRIT, I SUMMON YOU!" Melliya cried while coughing, abandoning her notes and trying to feel the "magick" she had read so much about. This had to work, it just had to, she had put so much effort into this one, even got her boyfriend involved for the first time. She would prove, once and for all, that this "depressing crap" wasn't a phase, it wasn't, she just wanted to know if there was something on the other side, something more and supernatural and unexplainable, something besides college and grades and graduation and the "real world" because the real world was scary dammit, and she wasn't ready for it, she wasn't!

A sudden burst of wind opened the door to the shed and her heart skipped a beat as the candles flickered out one by one until the only thing left to illuminate the room was the big pile of burning foliage. It was only now that she began to think that lighting a bunch of twigs in what amounted to a bonfire in the middle of a wooden shack in the middle of nowhere might not have been the best idea she's ever had. The smoke was piling up, making it difficult to see clearly. But she thought she saw someone on the other side of the fire, with his hand outstretched.

"Cris…?" She coughed, squinting her eyes. It was then that the door banged open with a clatter, and a heavy wind seemed to suck all the smoke out of the room. Cristopher took this valuable opportunity to run like a bat out of hell. Setting fire to stuff was cool and all, but this was just getting freaky.

It was only after he left that Melliya noticed that the shadowy figure hadn't been him after all. As the firelight flickered in the dying breeze, she saw that the figure was a young man with unnaturally pale skin and stark white hair. He was thin and wan, the light casting deep shadows on his downcast face. And he was floating.

Ok, floating. Good indication of success in this case…

The pale spirit touched the concrete floor, and from where his slender feet lay stemmed ice and frost. The temperature in the room dropped suddenly, and despite the fact that the building had almost been up in flames a second ago, her breath was visible when she began hyperventilating.

"Who calls me from beyond the grave?" Despite the ghost's (an actual ghost!) youthful appearance, it's (his?) voice was deep and echoed ominously in the silent room.

"M-Melliya the Magickal…spelled with a k." She mumbled, losing her courage when she met the spirit's preternaturally blue eyes.

"…Melliya, why have you summoned me?" His tone chilled her to the bone, the distaste and disbelief nearly palatable.

"I wished to know," her teeth chattered loudly in the freezing air. With every passing second, the room got chiller. Snow and diamond dust began to flake down from nothingness and landed on the Spirit, making him glisten like a statue.

"Wishes are for djinn and fairy tales." The spirit bit out, eyes narrowed. "You are messing with the deceased. What could possibly be so important that you felt the need to bind one whose already been through a tragedy to you?"

"I was just curious." She muttered, feeling chastised. What was this spirit's deal, anyway? He was dead. What else did he have to do today? Chores?

"Curiosity killed the cat." The spirit sang whimsically.

"…what?" Melliya was confused. This was not what was supposed to happen. She was supposed to summon a tragic spirit who would be appropriately cowed by her demonstration of magickal aptitude, not this snarky ghost boy who treated her like a fool. "You're just a kid; and anyway, you're bound to me."

"…a kid? Bound to you?" The spirit stepped forward, leaving the circle with a scoff. But, the duct tape!

"I'm not a slave, I am a Spirit. I am three hundred and eighteen years old, you stupid girl. You think because you slapped some tape on the ground and burned some dollar store candles that you have the power to summon and command the dead. I DIED." He roared suddenly, making her flinch. "I HAVE THE REST OF ETERNITY HERE ON THIS PLANET, DOOMED TO WATCH OTHERS ENJOY THAT WHICH I LOST. YOU DARE MOCK ME WITH YOUR PETTINESS?"

"I-I meant no disrespect." She stuttered, trying to remember what she read about dealing with malevolent spirits. "I just wanted to know what was coming. If…if it was better than what I have now."

"Better?" Her ghost laughed humorlessly. "No. This is not better. Not everyone becomes a spirit, you know. They have to have unfinished business, or a purpose, usually. Or they get Chosen." She could hear the capitalized letters.

"Chosen?" She repeated, backing away until her back was flat against the wall.

"Yeah." He huffed. "Some even get to know why they were Chosen. Others get to spend years…decades…centuries wondering why they were still around. Why they were cursed to a veritable eternity of being ignored and forgotten, watching from the outside as others were free to live their lives as they saw fit. So don't envy the dead." He concluded, suddenly seeming less vengeful and more mournful. He crouched down in front of her, his blue eyes filled with tears that began to ice over and twinkled in the dying embers of the fire. Ice began to form under his feet and spread to the far edges of the room.

"I promise, it's not all fun times." With every word he spoke, the room got colder and colder, until the unshed tears in the Spirit's eyes froze and crunched every time he blinked. He sighed and pointed a long pale finger to the open doorway where, unseen by Melliya, his four friends were not so subtly staring at Jack. He ignored them for the moment. "Please, just…just go. And for God's sake, get off Wikipedia."

The girl glanced at the remnants of her foray into the attic and the embarrassing detritus of her latest trip to Wal-Mart, then back at her summoned Spirit. He scowled at her, and she may have squeaked a little. Edging towards the door so that she wouldn't break eye contact, she finally followed her boyfriend's example and scurried away.

Jack took a deep breath, trying to rein in his temper. His very existence had just been quantified and paraded about like a parlor trick in front of a misinformed wannabe necromancer, and it wasn't exactly how he planned to spend his night, thank you very much. Once his hands stopped shaking, he stooped down to pick up the blood splattered piece of crystal and headed over towards the open doorway. He pointedly ignored the confused looks on three of his friends' faces. With a touch, he froze the crimson contents of the bowl and used a stick to scrape the crystal clean.

North cleared his throat to break the awkward silence. "Good job once again, Jack. Was impressive like last time."

"Uh, yes it was Jack!" Tooth added, looking uneasy. "You, er, you did very well. That was a tricky one."

Bunny hopped a little closer to the Winter Spirit trying to meet his eyes, but Jack stared resolutely at the ground.

"Jackie? Why could that sheila see you?" He asked softly, but Jack flinched as though he had yelled. Bunny's ears lay back flat against his head. "Jackie?"

"It's because she expected to see me." He mumbled, and Sandy floated over to hold his hand in support. "She expected to see the spirit of someone who had…died."

"Died?" Aster echoed, voice mournful. Jack squeezed Sandy's hand tightly.

"It's how I became a spirit. I…drowned. After saving my sister from thin ice."

"Oh Sweet Tooth," Toothiana whispered, hand outstretched but faltering before she could actually touch his arm. Jack huffed a little laugh.

"It's not the first time I've been seen at a séance, but I never understood why…that was, until I got my memories back last year. I just thought…I don't know. I never stayed to talk to the people who could see me because they would get really creepy and morbid and start asking questions I couldn't begin to answer, and I'm not really good with interrogations…"

"All about the snowballs and fun times." Aster chimed in, taking Jack's free hand and finally succeeded in catching his attention.

"Yeah." Jack agreed, relieved to see neither disgust nor pity in the lagomorph's green gaze. "When I found out that you guys still needed food and sleep it was kind of a shock."

"But I've seen you eat!" Tooth protested, unwilling to accept what was slowly sinking in.

"Yeah, I can eat, but I don't need to. Usually don't actually, unless its during my slow season. It saves me a lot of time when I don't have to stop for snack breaks."

"Is this what you were trying to say earlier, Jack? When we wanted you to rest with us?" North ventured. "That you don't need sleep like you don't need food?"

"I guess you could say that." Jack said, and Aster's hand tightened its grip.

"Could say? Why could?" Jack winced a little, releasing Sandy's hand so that he could scratch the back of his head self-consciously.

"Because…I really don't need sleep, which is kind of handy since I kind of…can't."

Sandy looked so sad that North and Tooth almost felt the need to comfort the fallen star, but Aster was still focused on the almost frightened looking sprite in front of him.

"…I don't remember what it's like to dream." Jack breathed, and Aster's heart broke. He pulled Jack close, and wrapped his arms around the chilly figure. Jack hiccupped once, then buried his face in the Pooka's ruff.

"…Tha's alright, Jackie." Bunny murmured, rocking the slim body back and forth. "No worries mate. She'll be right, I promise. 'Sides, just means you don't need to worry about Pitch's bloody nightmares."

"Y-yeah." Jack sighed, pulling away tentatively, his face surprisingly dry. Looking up at Bunny, he quirked a smile that was shakier than his usual. "Thanks Cottontail. I'm used to it at this point, I've gotten used to it. I may be…whatever it is I am, but I'm here and…I'm a Guardian. One of you guys…right?"

Tooth, North and Sandy looked fondly at the newest Guardian, but let the lagomorph continue speaking for all of them. Aster smiled at his hesitant declaration. "Yeh, Jackie. One of us, fer sure."

Jack's answering smile made Aster long for a sketchpad and pencil. "Well then, I'm…what is it, apples?"

As Bunny looked between the large recovered crystal piece, his friends, and the delicate grin on Jack's face, he couldn't help but think that soon everything would, indeed, be apples.

Holy crap on a cracker, I updated. I'm not dead, I promise! Only a few more chapters to go.

Keep commenting and reading guys, it brings me such joy.

Love, JA