Updated Mar 9, 2026 • ~9 min read
Maya gathers the team within an hour.
Detective Webb. Dr. Vance. Father Thomas. Mrs. Kowalski is there too, released from the hospital but still bruised, still recovering.
They meet in a church basement. Private. Secure. Blessed ground that offers some protection against supernatural interference.
“Marcus Ashford called,” Maya says without preamble. “He wants the resurrection ritual. He’s willing to trade everything—drop the lawsuit, call off his attacks, leave us alone—in exchange for the exact wording.”
“Why?” Webb asks.
“His daughter is dying. Leukemia. He thinks the ritual can save her.”
The room goes silent.
Father Thomas speaks first. “That changes things.”
“Does it?” Maya looks at him. “He’s still the man who maintained a curse that killed dozens of people. Who tried to burn me alive. Who beat Mrs. Kowalski nearly to death.”
“He’s also a father trying to save his child,” Father Thomas says gently. “I’m not excusing his actions. But desperation makes people do terrible things. If we can save his daughter—prevent another death—isn’t that worth considering?”
“Even if it means giving dangerous magic to someone who’s proven he’ll use it irresponsibly?” Dr. Vance shakes her head. “The resurrection ritual is unstable. Dangerous. Theodore Blackwood came back corrupted when he tried it. If Marcus attempts it without understanding the risks, his daughter could end up like Theodore. Fractured. Suffering. Wishing she’d stayed dead.”
“Then we teach him,” Mrs. Kowalski says. Her voice is weak but firm. “We explain the risks. Help him perform it correctly. Make sure his daughter has a chance.”
“He tried to kill you,” Maya reminds her. “Beat you. Left you in an alley. And now you want to help him?”
“I want to stop the cycle. For ninety-six years, the Ashfords and the people fighting them have been destroying each other. Violence answered with violence. Death with death. Maybe it’s time someone chose mercy instead.” Mrs. Kowalski meets Maya’s eyes. “That someone could be you.”
Maya wants to argue.
But she sees the wisdom in Mrs. Kowalski’s words.
The Blackwood curse started with Theodore choosing power over compassion. Making deals with entities. Sacrificing others to save himself.
If Maya refuses to help Marcus—if she lets his daughter die out of spite—isn’t she doing the same thing?
“There’s another problem,” Dr. Vance says. “Even if we give Marcus the ritual, it might not work for his daughter. The loophole requires a strong bond between the person being resurrected and the ghost providing the energy. Unless Marcus has a dead relative he’s deeply connected to, the ritual will fracture both souls.”
“He must have considered that,” Webb says. “The Ashfords have been studying the curse for generations. They know how it works.”
“Or he’s desperate enough not to care about the risks,” Julian says. He’s been silent until now, translucent and thoughtful. “A dying man—or a man watching his daughter die—will try anything. Even magic he doesn’t fully understand.”
“Which is exactly why we shouldn’t give it to him,” Maya says. “If he performs it wrong, his daughter suffers. Comes back corrupted like Theodore. And that’s on us.”
“But if we don’t help, and she dies, that’s also on us,” Father Thomas counters. “We have the knowledge to potentially save her. Refusing to share it when a child’s life is at stake… I’m not sure I can justify that morally.”
The room descends into debate.
Webb argues for using Marcus’s desperation as leverage. Force him to confess to his crimes in exchange for the ritual.
Dr. Vance warns about the dangers of spreading resurrection magic. The potential for abuse.
Mrs. Kowalski advocates for mercy. For breaking the cycle of violence.
Father Thomas speaks about the value of every life. Even those connected to terrible people.
And Maya sits in the center of it all, torn.
Finally, Julian says, “What if we offer a compromise?”
Everyone turns to him.
“We don’t give Marcus the ritual. But we offer to perform it for him. Under our supervision. With our expertise. We save his daughter. But we control how it’s done. Make sure it’s safe.”
“And if he refuses?” Webb asks.
“Then we know he’s not really interested in saving his daughter. He’s interested in acquiring power. And that tells us everything we need to know about his intentions.”
Maya considers this.
It’s clever. Allows them to help without surrendering dangerous knowledge. Keeps control in their hands.
But it also means performing two resurrection rituals within days of each other. Maya’s ritual on the new moon to bring back Anna. And Marcus’s ritual for his daughter.
If either one goes wrong, the consequences could be catastrophic.
“I’ll call him,” Maya says finally. “Make the offer. We’ll see what he says.”
Marcus answers on the first ring.
“Ms. Rivers. I trust you’ve made a decision.”
“I have. I won’t give you the ritual. But I’ll perform it for you. Save your daughter myself. Under my terms. My supervision.” Maya keeps her voice steady. “Take it or leave it.”
Silence on the other end.
Then Marcus says, “What are your terms?”
“You drop the lawsuit. Immediately. You call off anyone you’ve hired to hurt me or my allies. You provide full access to your daughter—medical records, body, everything I need to assess if resurrection is even possible. And when the ritual is complete, you leave Seattle. Permanently. Sell whatever Ashford properties remain and never come back.”
“That’s a steep price.”
“It’s the only price. Your daughter’s life in exchange for your family’s exit from this city.” Maya pauses. “And Marcus? If you try to trick me, if you go back on any part of this deal, I’ll make sure every media outlet in the country knows you let your daughter die because you were too proud to accept help.”
Another silence.
Then, “Agreed. But I have conditions too.”
“Which are?”
“You perform the ritual within forty-eight hours. My daughter doesn’t have time to wait for the new moon or any other cosmic alignment. It happens now or she dies.” Marcus’s voice is strained. “And I’m there. Watching. I won’t trust you alone with her.”
“Fine. Send me her information. I’ll assess whether resurrection is even viable.”
“You’ll have it within the hour.”
Marcus hangs up.
Maya sits back, exhausted.
“You just agreed to perform an experimental, dangerous ritual on a dying child in forty-eight hours,” Dr. Vance says. “Are you insane?”
“Probably.” Maya looks at Julian. “Can we do this? Save his daughter without destroying her?”
“I don’t know. We’d need to find a ghost willing to provide the transitional energy. Someone with a strong connection to Marcus’s daughter. That’s not easy.” Julian’s form flickers. “And even if we find someone, the ritual has never been successfully performed. Theodore tried and came back corrupted. We could be condemning her to something worse than death.”
“Then we do everything in our power to make sure that doesn’t happen.” Maya stands. “We research. We prepare. We make this as safe as possible. And we save a child’s life. Because if we can’t do that—if we let our hatred of the Ashfords kill an innocent girl—then we’re no better than they are.”
The team exchanges looks.
Then, one by one, they nod.
“I’ll research protective wards,” Father Thomas says. “Ways to keep the ritual stable.”
“I’ll dig through Theodore’s notes. Find every detail about what went wrong with his resurrection,” Dr. Vance adds.
“I’ll run background on Marcus’s daughter. See if there are any deceased relatives who might serve as the energy source,” Webb says.
Mrs. Kowalski just smiles. “I’ll pray. Someone needs to.”
Maya looks at Julian. “And you?”
“I’ll help you prepare. Make sure you don’t get yourself killed trying to save the daughter of a man who wants you dead.” His smile is sad. “Someone has to keep you alive long enough to say goodbye properly.”
The weight of that—the reminder that in three days Julian will cross over permanently—settles over Maya like a shroud.
But she pushes it aside.
Right now, she has a child to save.
And forty-eight hours to figure out how.
The information arrives exactly one hour later.
Ashford, Lily. Age sixteen. Diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia eighteen months ago. Underwent chemotherapy. Went into remission. Relapsed six months later. Second round of treatment failed. Hospice care started two weeks ago.
Current status: Days from death. Maybe hours.
Maya reads through the medical files. Studies the photos. Lily Ashford is beautiful. Dark hair. Her father’s sharp features. But thin. Pale. Ravaged by illness.
She looks nothing like the monster her father has become.
She looks like a scared kid.
“There’s a deceased relative,” Webb says, pulling up family records. “Lily’s mother. Catherine Ashford. Died in childbirth sixteen years ago delivering Lily. Marcus’s wife.”
“Catherine,” Maya breathes. “That’s the connection. Mother and daughter. That’s a bond strong enough to stabilize the ritual.”
“But Catherine’s been dead for sixteen years. Her soul is long gone. Crossed over. Beyond reach.” Julian shakes his head. “We can’t call back someone who’s been dead that long.”
“Theodore’s notes mention temporal flexibility,” Dr. Vance says, flipping through the journal. “Souls don’t experience time the same way the living do. To Catherine, it might feel like she died yesterday. She could still be in transition. Still accessible.”
“Could be isn’t certainty.”
“No. But it’s a chance.” Maya looks at the photo of Lily again. Sixteen years old. Dying. Scared. “And it’s the only one we have.”
She makes the call.
Tells Marcus they’ve found a way. His wife’s soul as the energy source. The ritual to happen tomorrow night.
He agrees immediately.
Desperate. Hopeful. Willing to try anything.
And Maya realizes with sinking certainty that she’s committed to performing an experimental resurrection ritual on a dying teenager using her dead mother’s soul as fuel.
If it works, Lily lives.
If it fails, she dies suffering.
And if it goes catastrophically wrong, both mother and daughter could end up trapped between life and death. Corrupted. Forever.
No pressure.
Just the life of an innocent girl hanging in the balance.
And thirty-six hours to get it right.
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