#jacobstone

Cassandra watched in glee as the crystal lifted from the ice block and rose, and rose, and rose until it was gone in a blur, shooting off to the side. She didn’t know where it was or what had happened to it until she saw Jacob, standing near the exit to the cave, fly backwards and collide with the wall behind him. She screamed.

“Jacob!”

She raced over to him and crouched down next to him, hands patting uselessly at his chest, trying to find the wound that her brain was already going into overdrive with ways to fix. She was thinking of spells she knew, artifacts she could quickly get her hands on back at home, and just simple, everyday medical procedures she remembered from her days in the hospital, both as a patient and a worker.

When she quickly realized there was no gaping hole in his chest, Cassandra leaned away from him with a frown as he peeled himself away from the wall, rubbing the back of his head where he had smacked it.

“I don’t…I don’t understand. What happened?” Cassandra stammered. “Where did the-?”

Then Jacob’s chest began to glow, barely visible beneath his heavy jacket, but still there. Cassandra’s mouth popped open in surprise as Jacob’s eyes widened, and he began to hit at his chest. “No, no, no, no, no! Do not tell me that damn thing is inside of me.” He met Cassandra’s eyes. “Cassie, tell me a magical crystal did not just embed itself inside my chest!”

Cassandra shook her head, completely unable to lie to him. “I-I don’t think I can.”

“Get it out!” He was nearly shouting now, grabbing her hands in a tight grip in an almost pleading gesture. “Get it out! What is it going to do? You can get it out, right?”

Cassandra’s mouth opened and closed quickly, but she was unable to answer. “I-I don’t know, m-maybe Jenkins-?”

“Then let’s go,” Jacob snapped, getting to his feet. He began to pick up his supplies, bunching them up underneath his arm. Cassandra could just barely see the way his hands were shaking. A bruise was blossoming on his cheek; she’d nearly forgotten about the man who’d attacked them.

She raced over to him and grabbed his arm, bringing him to a halt. He was breathing harshly, shoulders rising and falling with each breath. “Jacob, you need to stop and think. What about the blizzard? What about that man; what happened to him?”

Jacob shrugged her off him, heading towards the exit. “He’s gone. We don’t need to worry about him. And the storm will be fine; we’ve been through worse.”

Cassandra watched helplessly as he disappeared from her sight. She sighed, grabbing her book from the ice tomb, and followed him out into the storm.

~~~

“Look, there!” Jacob shouted over the howling wind. He lifted up his arm, pointing out ahead of them. Cassandra could barely make out a tall cabin structure through the white sheet of snow that was falling all around them. “Let’s get over there! Maybe they have a phone we can use to call Jenkins.”

Cassandra followed his lead, crossing her arms tightly over her chest.

When they reached the cabin, they pushed through the front doors and began to shed their winter clothes, hanging them politely. Ahead of them, Cassandra could hear loud voices and even some crashing sounds. She glanced at Jacob, a little worried.

He didn’t look back and instead said, “C’mon, let’s just get the hell outta here as quick as possible.”

Cassandra sighed and followed him. She kept the goggles with her, fiddling with them in her hands. When they exited the front hall and into the main part of the lodge, she lifted them to her eyes, glancing around, and then nearly screamed. Instead, she held her tongue and stumbled backwards, catching Jacob’s arm with her hand.

He sighed, frustrated. “What is it?”

Cassandra shoved the goggles onto his face. She expected him to pull back just as startled as she was, but instead, he just pushed them away from his face. She smacked him on the arm. “Come on, we need to get out of here! These are monsters! They’re probably going to kill us.”

Jacob snorted, but he had a dangerous look in his eyes - a reckless look. He glacned at her. “But maybe they can help get this damn thing out of my chest. They’re obviously here for a reason; maybe this thing is that reason. They could help me.”

Cassandra’s eyes were wide, and when she spoke, she could barely get her words out. “W-What are - are you insane? I-I can’t believe - why would you - I can help you!”

Jacob scoffed. “Sure. Just like you got the crystal out, right?” He stepped away from her. “I’ll take my chances with the messed-up faces over here.” He raised his hands and cupped them over his mouth, taking a deep breath. “Does anybody here know how to extract a-!”

He was cut off by Cassandra’s hand slapping over his mouth. She laughed awkwardly at the people who Jacob had attracted the attention of and shrugged helplessly at them. A majority of them were narrowing their eyes at them with suspicious faces.

Cassandra latched onto the back of Jacob’s shirt and tugged him away from all the people. She opened the nearest door she found and threw him into it, closing it behind her as she followed him in. She looked around at the cramped coat closet in distaste; it would have to do.

She began slapping Jacob on the arm and chest. “Are you insane?! What were you thinking? Those are monsters out there, Jacob! You could have gotten us killed!”

“Like you almost got me killed!” Jacob yelled back at her. He ran a hand through his hair in frustration, pulling tightly and messing it up.

“That’s not fair, and you know it!” Cassandra snapped. “It was an accident, okay?”

“That’s the point!” Jacob was pacing now in the cramped space, leaving Cassandra no choice but to press herself up against the door. “You used magic, and it ended in an accident. What would’ve happened had it been worse? What if it had impaled me instead of just being absorbed into me? What would you have done, huh Cass? C’mon, enlighten me!”

Cassandra crossed her arms over her chest, chewing on her lip. She shook her head sharply. “Stop it. You’re not being fair.”

“When has this job ever been fair?” Jacob said, turning towards her. He didn’t advance on her but instead kept his distance, short and sharp breaths conveying just how angry he was. “When has life ever been fair?”

“What do you know about unfair life?!” Cassandra snapped. She stepped towards him, almost close enough that they were brushing up against each other. Now her own breaths were starting to match his, quick and angry. “Don’t sit there and pretend you know my life! Don’t sit there and pretend my life has been easy up until now! You always get so mad, and you never listen; now you need to listen.”

“Fine,” Jacob said, nodding to her. “I’m listening.”

Cassandra huffed in frustration, stepping away from him. “You don’t even get it, do you? You don’t you even understand why magic is so important to me.”

Jacob rolled his eyes, leaning back against the coats and jackets behind him. “Of course I do, Cassie. You’re a scientist; the unknown is your playground. But you don’t understand how dangerous it is; you don’t understand what it can do-.”

“I know what it can do!” Cassandra yelled, voice going a little shrill. “You don’t understand how much I know what it can do! Do you want to know what it can do?” She paused, but he didn’t say anything, waiting. “It can cure me! It can save me!”

Jacob’s eyes suddenly darted to the ground, guilty. His shoulders slumped, and he exhaled deeply.

Cassandra sighed. “Look, I know I don’t talk about it much, and that’s okay. I don’t want it to be my defining feature but…it’s still there, you know? I’ve been looking for a cure since we got here, and…I’m still looking for one. Magic is dangerous, I know, but magic is also beautiful, and powerful, and…well, saving. It saves every person we ever have, Jake. And I thought…well, maybe it would save me too?”

“Cassie, I-.” He paused, obviously thinking. She watched him rub self-consciously at his chest.

“Look,” Cassandra said before he could pull his thoughts together, “I’m not standing here and telling you this to make you feel guilty. I just wanted you to know because you deserve to.”

He sighed but slowly nodded his head. “I know…thank you.” He rubbed the back of his neck, still not meeting her eyes. “I-I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have…you don’t deserve me yellin’ at you. It’s just, this stuff…it scares me. Probably more than I’d actually like to admit. When you do this kind of stuff, I’m just so afraid you’re gonna hurt yourself. I don’t want to see that happen.”

“I’m scared of that too,” Cassandra admitted. “Some of the stuff magic can do, it really is terrifying. But it’s no different than when you step in front of us to protect us; it’s no different than when you draw away a bad guy or take a punch. It looks different on the outside, yeah, but it’s not. I’m just trying to help in the way I know I can.”

Slowly, Jacob nodded. “I…I understand.” He shook his head and finally glanced up at her. “I’m sorry.”

Cassandra shrugged, stepping up to him. She pulled him into a hug, feeling his obvious surprise. He was quick to remedy it as he threw an awkward arm back around her. “It’s okay.” She murmured. She laughed a little, a bit rueful. “I just kinda wish we would’ve hashed this out sooner.”

Jacob nodded, his chin bumping the top of her head lightly. “Yeah, me too.”

They stood there for a few more moments until Cassandra pulled back. She glanced up at him to find him much more relaxed than earlier. The dangerous look was out of his eyes, replaced with a determined one. “Alright, you ready to leave?”

Cassandra nodded. “Yep.” She then bit her lip. “And how do you propose we do that?”

“Uh,” Jacob said, “not sure. To be honest, I was gonna ask for your input. I’ve got nothin’.”

“Well,” Cassandra said, wringing out her hands in front of her, “I might have something…but it involves magic.”

Jacob looked unsure for half a second, but it quickly cleared. He nodded. “Alright.” He grinned at her a little bit. “I trust ya, Cassie.”

And then they’d stepped out of the room and a nearby monster who’d been talking to his friend had said the words, “I can’t wait to see the Angrboda Crystal again!” and then Jacob’s chest had lit up like a clear summer night on the fourth of July.

The monsters had quickly deduced they were ‘unfavorables’ and began chasing them around the hotel as Cassandra worked on chanting a homing spell for the Backdoor. She’d eventually gotten a passageway to open up in the elevator as Jacob wrenched the doors apart. They looked down into the abyss, seeing a slight shimmer at the bottom.

Cassandra glanced at Jacob, hand extended. “Trust me?”

He grinned at her, having to shout over the angry yells of the monsters charging towards them. “Always!”

And they jumped.

And fell into the Library to find Eve beginning to strap goggles over her eyes, Jenkins standing next to the Globe, and Ezekiel with a confused look on his face and a giant, blue egg in his hands. Cassandra caught her breath first and yelled, “Close the door! Close it, close it, close it!”

Jenkins rushed to close the door, as Jacob and Cassandra slumped to the ground, both breathing heavily from the running and adrenaline.

Eve was frowning at them. “We were just about to come get you.”

“Appreciate it,” Jacob muttered, still trying in vain to catch his breath.

“How’d it go?” Ezekiel asked cheerfully, walking over to look down at them.

Jacob glanced at Cassandra and met her eyes. She grinned at him, and he nodded. “Good. Really good.”

Cassandra reached over and squeezed his hand. “Good trust-building exercise, for sure.”

“And what of the crystal?” Jenkins asked.

“Oh, yeah, it’s currently lodged in Jacob’s chest,” Cassandra said, shrugging.

“What?!” Three different voices shouted at her, but it didn’t matter because Jacob was laughing.