Adventures of a C.P.A. (Episode 3, Part 2)

The hag must have sensed something. Something she liked. After stabbing Flint in the neck, she proceeded to posses his body. He could feel her will overtaking him. He tried resisting, but was just too weak from the wound. The others watched as Flint rose up from the ground like a marionette, and vanished.

What ensued was a battle. The hag, having taken a host, still kept her power and proceeded to vanish around the room, reappearing around people, and stabbing them. They felt helpless, as they could only defend from the attack, not wanting to injure Flint any further. John could sense the hag's presence and helped in tracking her movements, and even worked to psychically solidify her form, preventing her from vanishing. Meanwhile Hank had the mind to try talking to the hag. He gathered from the encounter that she was imprisoned in this home, and other homes. That House Tremere put her there. That she survived off the blood, and dreams of the boy who lived here, and in the other homes.

As the team took hits, luckily John was able to prevent her from vanishing. She raged and assaulted who she could. Kody was able to hold Flint as she fought back inside. All the while, they noticed something very wrong. Flint's expression was that of the hag's anger, but she couldn't control the eyes. Flint's eyes were rolled to the back of his head, and the bleeding seemed to slow down. Kent was able to grab some of the salt John brought up and shoved a bunch in Flint's mouth. It would help weaken the spirit. With tremendous effort, and a knife wound of his own, John was able to exorcise the hag. Flint dropped to the floor like a rag-doll, breathless. Bleeding a tiny bit still, Kody leaped to his aid to stop the bleeding. Sensing the battle wasn't going her way, the hag made a bargain. She said she liked this body, and would trade the boy for Flint, for he had sweet dreams and blood. Some of them, Hank especially, briefly considered the trade, but they fought on. Kody with his spectral gauntlets was able to apprehend her. She attempted to repossess Flint, but found when he had dropped, he was over top the holding circle around her portal. She was now trapped.

Kody was in a rage, and began to squeeze the spirit, killing her. Before it could happen, Kent asked her: "What's your name?!"

"I'LL NEVER TELL!"

"What's your name?!"

"EEEEEEEEAAAAAAAHHHHH!"

"What is your name?!"

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Kody's grip tightened.

"Your name!"

"VASHALINE!" Kody snapped her 'neck', and she disappeared.

They all gathered around Flint's lifeless body. Kent poured some of his healing power into Flint, and John tried to snap his mind awake. By a miracle, Flint coughed, and barely mouthed the words "Why am I tasting salt?"

All in all, it was a success. Barely. Flint did die, but his purpose on the world was not complete yet. He is now a scarred mage twice over. What that may hold for him in the future, he does not know. He can still see her horrible visage when he closes his eyes, and has had many sleepless nights since the incident. She whispered horrors to him as she took his body. The screams of children and others in the homes that made up her cage. Flint was shaken beyond description. It will take a lot of effort to going back to work for Nightfall. He's not so sure he can go back to working with magic and the paranormal. But one thing is for sure, he cannot see himself as being able to go back to being a normal.

As for the hag, Vashaline, Nightfall knows it needs to deal with her again. They were able to banish the spirit, not destroy her. To fully destroy her would take a great deal of effort and magic, but what they did was banish her. She will remain banished for one year and one day. Just as she was before. The team surmised that the boy's father knew of her existence, and kept her banished each year. But one year, he was able to do it, at a great cost. Something happened that killed the father from his encounter with the hag. But because it was a supernatural killing, the paradox made it seem he was just missing. The mother, paradox attempting to make things normal in her mind, concluded that he left, even if she may have very well witnessed the event. Life then went on for the single mother and her boy for one year, and one day. Then the hag came back. She terrorized the boy for a few months, and other in her homes, before the team was able to get to her. Nightfall was not sure which other homes they were. Flint may be the key to finding them. Her visions of the homes are locked somewhere in his mind. And they would need to return to find a more permanent solution for this spiritual menace. Knowing her name will definitely help in the task.