Contents
Chapter Nine. Charlie
Overview
Walden confronts Old Faithful, which wears Charlie Green’s body and taunts her with past guilt. To save Nikki and Mathias, Walden strikes a blood-oath deal ensuring their safe release, then stays to fight. The duel turns brutal and psychological; Walden is overpowered—until Marshal Kenning arrives and forcefully intervenes.
Summary
In the kitchen within the incursion, Walden faces Old Faithful inhabiting Charlie Green’s unchanged body. The demon needles Nikki and Mathias with personal cruelties, trying to provoke mistakes. Walden counters, identifies its true aim, and proposes a deal: release both students under oath, and she will remain and fight to the death.
Old Faithful demands a guarantee. Walden seals the pact with her blood, fully aware of the peril. Bound by oath, the demon opens a path back to the real world; after Walden forces them to go, Nikki and Mathias withdraw.
Alone, Old Faithful escalates psychological warfare, threatening to possess Walden and prey on students. It launches overwhelming magical assaults; Walden’s shields strain, and she siphons ambient power through tattooed spellwork at great personal pain. She lands brief bindings and banishments but cannot sustain control against an eleventh‑order foe.
The demon abruptly shifts to physical violence, pinning Walden and slashing through her tattooed spells, deepening her fear and guilt about Charlie’s death. As Walden breaks down, Old Faithful moves to finish her—when a blast of power hurls it away. Marshal Laura Kenning strides in, orders Walden up, and takes command.
Who Appears
- Dr. Safiya WaldenTeacher and invoker; bargains with a blood oath to free her pupils, fights Old Faithful, nearly loses, saved by Kenning.
- Old FaithfulHigher demon wearing Charlie Green; taunts, negotiates, honors the oath, then brutally overpowers Walden before Kenning’s arrival.
- Laura KenningMarshal who arrives at the climax, blasts Old Faithful off Walden, and seizes control of the fight.
- Nikki ConwayStudent targeted by the demon’s taunts; freed when Walden’s blood-oath deal forces Old Faithful to let her go.
- Mathias WickStudent drawn into Nikki’s attempt; exits safely under the terms of Walden’s deal.
- Charlie GreenDead schoolboy whose body and memories the demon uses to torment Walden and erode her defenses.