The house refused to sleep.
Every creak, every whisper of wind sounded deliberate. The shadows felt heavier. The air charged.
Matthew paced the hallway with a candle in one hand and a leather-bound book in the other. His brows were furrowed, his jaw tight.
Noah followed silently, arms crossed. "You're walking like we're about to be ambushed."
"We are," Matthew muttered.
They stopped before the bedroom door. Matthew turned to face him.
"He's bleeding through the veil faster than I expected. The wards are holding for now, but the mirror connection means Caleb's spirit is strengthening through you."
"I'm aware," Noah said tightly. "He talks to me when I sleep. Sometimes… even when I'm awake."
Matthew's eyes narrowed. "Then we have to begin the Salt Binding."
Noah raised a brow. "That sounds like something out of a supernatural fanfic."
"It's older than fanfic," Matthew deadpanned. "It binds your soul to mine temporarily. It forces Caleb into dormancy, locking him behind spiritual salt lines drawn across your skin."
Noah blinked. "Wait. What do you mean on my skin?"
Matthew held up a pouch. It was full of crushed black salt and powdered sage. "Shirt off."
Noah choked. "Excuse me?"
"You want to survive, don't you?"
"…Is this some priest kink?"
Matthew rolled his eyes. "Do you want me to die first? Then maybe we can joke."
Noah muttered under his breath but reluctantly peeled off his shirt. The air in the room was ice cold, but the moment the salt touched his skin, it burned.
Matthew began chanting in a low, rough voice, pressing the salt into precise symbols over Noah's chest, his collarbones, his wrists. His hands were steady but warm. Too warm.
Noah flinched slightly when Matthew's fingers brushed near his ribs.
"You're tense," Matthew said without looking up.
"You're drawing demonic crop circles on my body. Excuse me for not being relaxed."
Matthew smirked faintly, but the ritual continued.
As the symbols were completed, Noah felt it. A pull, like something was being torn from the inside and stretched across invisible threads that reached toward Matthew.
The candles flickered wildly.
The air went still.
Then came the scream.
Not from Noah.
From inside him.
A guttural, bloodcurdling howl that made the mirror in the corner shatter. The floorboards groaned. The room turned bitter cold.
Matthew gritted his teeth. "He's resisting."
"You think?"
"Noah look at me."
Their eyes locked.
"I need you to say this aloud," Matthew instructed. "'I reject the spirit of Caleb Thorne. I bind myself to the living.'"
Noah opened his mouth. Caleb's voice tried to push through.
But he fought it.
"I reject the spirit of Caleb Thorne," he gasped. "I bind myself… to the living."
The final symbol seared onto his chest. Salt glowed red. A shockwave tore through the room knocking over books, snuffing out candles.
And then
Just Silence.
Noah fell forward, breathing hard. Matthew caught him, both of them shaking.
The ritual was complete.
For now.
They sat together in the aftermath, surrounded by dust, broken glass, and the faint scent of blood and salt.
Matthew handed Noah a flask of water.
"You okay?"
Noah drank greedily. "I feel like I've been exorcised and electrocuted at the same time."
"Then it worked."
Noah glanced down at the salt markings. "So… am I safe?"
"No," Matthew said bluntly. "But safer."
Their hands touched briefly as Matthew took the flask back.
Noah looked at him. "Why do you keep doing this for me?"
Matthew stared at the firelight.
"Because I failed him once. I won't fail you."