"Grant me the power to fashion your will, Master." "Grant me the talent to retrieve what has been stolen." "Nema su tsniaga ssapsert ohw esoht evigrof ew sa." "Nema su tsniaga ssapsert..." "Lead us to the Keeper of the Knot." "Show us his face." "Where are you?" "Follow the Right Hand Path." "The way of truth is the way of the Right Hand Path." "The way of healing is the way of natural magic." "But we aren't the only magicians." "Brother Shannon." "This is the witch's ladder." "Nine knots, bound with the power of the warlock that created them." "For years we have used this to amplify our powers." "To aid us in our healing and to spread goodwill." "But these honored guests bring us news that it was created by Lewis Vendredi." "Therefore, tonight, I entrust it in their care... in the hopes that it never falls into the hands of those it was meant to serve." "We can't thank you enough, Gareth." "You don't know what it means to us to have got hold of it." "Oh, I think I do, Jack." "You know, Lewis's coven was determined to wipe us out." "Thank you, very much." "If they had gotten ahold of that, that would have happened." "Is his coven still active?" "Well, there's been no sign of it." "Perhaps they disappeared with the, uh, with his powers." "I wouldn't be too sure of that." "You know, Lewis spread around an awful lot of those witch's tools." "But nothing is more powerful than the ladder." "This could enhance a witch's powers a thousand times." "That much?" "But without it, Thank you, Gareth." "A black coven is no more powerful than we are." "Well, let's hope you're right, Mr. Winslow." "Good night." "Micki... have you ever practiced witchcraft?" "No." "Why do you ask?" "I sense the occult powers we could nurture." "You should take me up on that, Jack." "She could help you in your work." "Well, we'll have to talk about that." "Yes, we will." "Good night." "Good night." "Good night, Gareth." "Goodnight, Brother Shannon." "See you next Tuesday." "Good night, Brother Shannon." "Thank you." "Lysa, no more." "You have been Keeper of the Knot, but they are not among your belongings." "Let me go!" "Tell me where they are and this will end." "You have my promise as a fellow magician." "It's..." "It's been sent away for safekeeping." "Where?" "Where?" "Vendredi's old store." "Curious Goods." "Please!" "You promised!" "I've made a greater promise to another." "No!" "Please!" "Witchcraft isn't based on fear, as many people think." "It's... it's a discipline." "And it's a concentrating of the will to influence things around you." "Of course, like any kind of power, it could be used for good or for evil." "Let me show you with something simple." "Candle magic." "I think we've got just about everything we need right here." "Hey, Dallion." "Whoa!" "Think fast." "The Mercedes-Benz is purring like a kitten." "Yeah, yeah." "That'll be the day, huh?" "Yeah." "How much do we owe you?" "1,200 bucks." "Just kidding!" "50 for the parts and, uh, we'll do a deal on the labor." "You know, just 20 bucks." "You sure?" "Yeah, whatever." "I don't want to make a big thing about it." "Great, thanks." "You guys doing all right." "What are you doing tomorrow night?" "Uh, n-nothing." "Great." "Do you want to, uh, maybe get together, go to a couple of clubs or something?" "Yeah, if I'm not too busy." "I, um..." "Okay, we'll grab something to eat, find a couple of ladies, it'll be a big night, right?" "Right." "Oh, sorry." "Hi." "Is there, uh, something I can help you with?" "You must be Ryan." "Um..." "I'm Lysa Redding." "Gareth Winslow gave me your name." "Oh, I'm so sorry." "This damn thing keeps twirling around on me." "Um, no." "It's just a..." "Here." "Put this on it." "It'll wash out." "Is this about an object from the store?" "One that was returned recently." "A witch's ladder." "Why would Gareth..." "I'm a psychic researcher." "I've been tracking a man named Lewis Vendredi." "Apparently the ladder was his." "Gareth told you Lewis is dead." "I know that." "I also know that a witch's power can live on in the objects he creates." "And?" "And he killed my sister." "I'm sorry to hear that." "If it makes you feel any better, the ladder's been put somewhere safe." "It won't hurt anyone again." "Ryan, before my sister died, she begged me to destroy everything Lewis had ever created." "And you've been doing that?" "Yes." "Look, as long as that thing is anywhere near you, you're in danger." "As long as you possess it, its evil will work on you." "Don't worry." "It's safe." "Could you excuse me for just a moment?" "Let me get my partners." "An anthropologist friend of mine met African tribes whose witchcraft symbols are the same as the ones we recognize." "Hey, guys!" "I think you ought to come up for a minute." "There's a lady up here who says she's been destroying Lewis's objects." "What?" "Lysa?" "!" "Lysa, I'd like you to meet my partners, Micki and..." "Lysa?" "!" "I don't understand." "Why did she leave?" "Here is Ryan Dallion." "This figure encloses his spirit." "May you writhe in torment, Ryan, until the witch's ladder is returned." "Burn with fever, Ryan, until the ladder is returned." "Ryan?" "May your soul be tortured until you bring the ladder." "May you sear in hell until the ladder is ours." "Are you okay?" "Go away." "Leave me alone!" "Ryan, what's wrong?" "Leave me alone!" "Ryan?" "!" "Ryan, where are you going?" "!" "Ryan?" "Ryan!" "No!" "It's okay, Ryan, we're here!" "We're right here!" "You're all right." "We won't let anything happen to you." "What happened?" "Someone who cares for him interfered." "Someone with a great deal of power." "It's okay." "We're right here." "Right here." "How are you feeling?" " Look, I'm all right." " I'm sorry I woke you guys." "I don't know what happened." "Well, you seemed to be having some kind of nightmare." "What were you looking for anyway?" "Yeah?" "Jack, do you think an object down there has the power to affect us?" "What?" "Which object?" "That witch's ladder." "That woman, Lysa, she said it could... she said it could corrupt us just by being near it." " Yeah, but just a minute." " I mean nothing's ever..." "It's meant to amplify evil." "Maybe it's trying to get out!" "It was just a dream, Ryan." "Sleepwalking?" "!" "I've never done that before, Jack." "Something drew me down there!" "All right." "Ryan..." "Do you think that was just a dream he had?" "Well, I don't know." "But something that woman said certainly got him upset." "I wonder why she disappeared so quickly." "Did you get a look at her?" "She was dark and quite tall." "Anything unusual about her?" "Ryan said she was wearing a pendant, a lizard with wings." "Okay." "You make sure that he gets to sleep, would you?" "Do you think that means something?" "Hmm, not sure." "I just want to check a couple of things." "What stopped him?" "Someone broke our control." "The Right Hand Path?" "Crystal, take some of the others." "Make sure they don't interfere before we have the ladder back." "After that, they'll never interfere again." "And Ryan?" "I'll take care of him." "Feel its power, Ryan." "No!" "Feel it drawing you close." "No!" "Hello?" "It's Lysa." "Get out, Ryan!" "Hurry!" "What?" "It's calling you." "I can feel its power from here." "Get out of there." "W-Wait, I-I can't just leave M-Micki and Jack." "The only danger to them is you!" "I think you know that." "Now, please hurry." "I-I'll meet you on the corner." "But I-I..." "For God's sake, Ryan, don't question me." "Hurry!" "Gareth Winslow." "Gareth, Jack Marshak." "Jack?" "It's 3:00 in the morning." "I'm sorry, my friend." "I needed to ask you about this pendant." "It's a winged lizard." "Now, is this the true mark of a sorceress?" "Not just a sorceress, a black witch." "What?" "The winged lizard marks the leader of a black coven." "Have you seen such a symbol?" "Well, uh, no, Ryan described it to me." "A woman who came in this afternoon was wearing it." "She said that you sent her." "I sent her?" "Yes, her name was Lysa Redding." "Lysa?" "!" "Then you do know her?" "Jack, Lysa Redding was Lewis Vendredi's second in command." "Lewis?" "!" "Jack, I'll call you right back." "Yes?" "Who's there?" "d d" "Get in, quick." "Now, will you tell me what's going on?" "Ryan, I'm scared." "I'm not the only one who wants the ladder." "Did anybody see you come here?" "No, now, what's going on?" "I'm not sure I know." "You must be freezing." "What happened to you yesterday?" "I saw someone outside the store" "I thought was following me." "Who?" "One of Lewis's coven." "They're desperate to get the ladder back." "You've felt its power, haven't you?" "Yeah, yeah." "I think it drew me into the vault tonight." "Vault?" "It's not important." "What's important is that you talk to my partners, Micki and Jack." "Well, I will." "But first we have to get you somewhere safe." "Well, I'm not going to leave them in there with that thing." "The closer you are to it, the more it'll control you." "It wants to be free." "Now, is there somewhere that you can go?" "Someone you could stay with?" "A friend?" "Yeah, Danny." "Okay." "Tell me where he lives." "Ryan?" "!" "Ryan!" "Micki?" "Where is he?" "He left sometime during the night." "Where did he go?" "I don't know." "I called Gareth." "And that woman, Lysa, that Ryan met with, she was a high ranking member of Lewis's coven." "She's after the ladder?" "Yeah." "Do you think she's got Ryan?" "I don't know." "Start calling his friends, will you?" "It won't do you any good." "Your line's dead." "I've been trying all night." "She's definitely reformed the coven, Jack." "They killed Brother Shannon." "What?" "If Ryan's missing, it may mean that they have him, too." "They vowed that they would destroy anyone who stood in their way." "But why now?" "Where has she been since Lewis died?" "I don't know, Micki." "But if she's got the ladder, we're all dead." "I, uh, I can get on it right away but, uh..." "No, it's no way it'll be ready until tomorrow." "There's no hurry." "I'm not going anywhere tonight." "Oh, yeah?" "You know, cars are funny things." "Hey, maybe you'd like to join my friend and myself tonight while we go to a couple of nightclubs." "Ah, thanks anyway." "Can I pick it up around 10:00?" "Yeah, okay." "You got it." "Damn!" "Hey, what's the matter?" "Line still dead?" "I-I got to get back." "Well, y-you don't look up to going anywhere." "No, no, I-I feel all right." "Hey, come here." "I got a couch in the back with your name on it." "Come lie down for a while." "Ryan, I'll call the phone company and make sure it's all right." "Come on." "You okay?" "Jack, I found her." "Hmm?" "She was jailed for grave-robbing." "According to this, she would have been eligible for parole by now." "Jack, give me the ladder." "No." "Look, only white magic can combat her power over him." "You know that." "No." "We cannot use anything that was created by Lewis." "It's far too dangerous." "There has to be some other way." "Well, what brought Ryan out of the trance?" "I mean, how did you break his spell before?" "I'm not sure." "Uh, Micki grabbed him, and then, somehow, it just passed by." "So Micki's concern for Ryan was stronger than Lysa's evil." "Jack," "I haven't the strength to fight this thing on my own." "If Micki overcame Lysa before, maybe she can do it again." "Hey, Dallion, rise and shine!" "Up and at 'em!" "Time to party!" "Hey, buddy, what's the matter?" "I've got to talk to Jack." "No." "You've got yourself to worry about." "You're sick, man." "Sit down over here." "I'm calling you a doctor." "No." "Look, I called the phone company." "They're going to fix it in the morning." "They're in trouble!" "You're the one who's going to be in trouble." "Now, you sit here." "You're not in any shape to pull this kind of crap." "No!" "Look out!" "No!" "Danny!" "Danny!" "No...!" "That's good, Micki." "We always light the white candles first, to protect the altar." "I found Lysa in the manifest." "Lewis sold her a sculpting tool." "To model her victims in wax." "With that and the ladder, she can destroy all of us." "We must hurry." "What's happening?" "Concentrate." "Will all the evil away from the altar." "Danny?" "Danny!" "Now light the red candles, all the while imagining Ryan bathed in light." "Ryan!" "Ryan, let me in!" "Ryan!" "I didn't mean to..." "I thought somebody was after him!" "It's all right." "It's all right." "I killed him." "No." "The ladder did." "Ryan, it's not your fault." "No." "Listen." "You've got to get that thing to me before this evil grows any stronger." "No, please." "If you don't, it'll just keep getting worse." "You mean I'll kill again?" "It won't let go of you until it's destroyed." "Come on." "We've got to get you cleaned up." "Danny." "I'll take care of him." "Come on." "Now focus all your feelings for Ryan and recite this spell." "Here I place a circle of protection around the spirit of Ryan Dallion." "Within this circle is a circle of strength." "May he be protected from evil." "Good." "Now light the center candle." "And repeat the passage seven times." "And, as long as the candles burn," "Ryan will be protected." "Here I place a circle of protection around the spirit of Ryan Dallion." "Within this circle... is a circle of strength." "May he be protected from evil." "Now, hurry." "What do I say to them?" "You can't let them know anything's wrong." "After we've destroyed it," "I'll take care of the body." "No one will ever know." "I'll know." "This pain won't last forever." "I'll see to that." "You have to do it." "May he be sheltered from all evil." "Now, fill your mind with affection for Ryan." "Let it flow into the candles." "Concentrate that wish within the light that you've spread around him." "d d" "Repeat these words:" "Here is found the strength required to overcome all evil." "Here is found the strength required to overcome all evil." "As burn these candles, so burn the truth within the heart of Ryan Dallion." "As burn these candles, so burns the truth within the heart of Ryan Dallion." "Good." "Now repeat that seven times, and he will know the truth." "Here is found the strength required..." "What was that?" "Stay here!" "Don't leave the altar!" "Ryan, no!" "Gareth!" "Micki!" "What are you doing?" "Stay out of my way, Jack." "It's got to be destroyed." "Ryan, Lysa Redding isn't who you think she is." "She's a witch!" "She's got you under her power!" "Look, I..." "Ryan..." "Ryan, drop the ax!" "Ryan..." "Ryan, no!" "Here." "Take it." "Let's go." "Hurry!" "Gareth." "Taste of the darkness." "Wear the mark of the Dark Lord forever." "Come on, before it kills again." "Since Lewis Vendredi's death, we have languished." "But, tonight, our power is returned." "Nema." "Tonight, the white magicians are going to die." "Natas Nema." "Tonight, darkness returns." "Taerg Natas Nema." "I'll..." "I'll be all right." "I just need to sit down." "Where's Gareth?" "She killed him." "What?" "Gareth is dead?" "What-What about Ryan?" "He's with her." "Gareth was right." "Our only chance is white magic." "Whatever happens, we mustn't leave the altar." "What am I supposed to do?" "She's got the ladder." "I don't know what my powers are." "I don't know how to use them." "Concentrate on Ryan, make him understand the truth." "If he's with her, he's the only way we have of getting the ladder back from her!" "Come on, Micki." "Here is found... the strength to overcome all evil." "As burn these candles, so burns the truth... in the heart of Ryan Dallion." "Again." "Here... is found the strength to overcome all evil." "As burn these candles, so burns the truth..." "See how its powers have grown." "As burn these candles, so burns the truth within the heart of Ryan Dallion." "Six." "Here is found the strength to overcome all evil." "As burn these candles, so burns the truth within the heart of Ryan Dallion." "Micki..." "Burn with fever, Ryan, until the ladder is returned." "Go away." "Leave me alone." "Wear the mark of the Dark Lord... forever!" "They are prepared." "Now, great Master... prepare them for death." "He heard me." "He heard me." "Good." "What do we do now?" "We go after her." "Oh..." "Reaching Ryan is one thing... but she's got the ladder." "Now, now, Micki, listen to me." "Even the least distraction may give Ryan his chance." "Now, come on, we have to try this." "Come on." "Here." "Micki." "Deliver us from Good." "Erase the Right Hand Path." "Make the road of magic turn only to the Left." "Su... tsniaga ssapsert ohw esoht evigrof ew sa." "Arch-sorceress... who attacks the Right Hand Path, your spell shall be reversed, your curse... returned to you a thousandfold." "What was it?" "Nothing." "Arch-sorceress, who attacks the Right Hand Path... your spell shall be reversed..." "Curse." "Curse." "your curse returned to you a thousandfold." "your spell shall be reversed, your curse returned to you a thousandfold." "Come, Powers of Darkness." "Render our enemies defenseless, damn them to eternal suffering." "Take him." "Take him." "your spell shall be reversed, your curse returned to you a thousandfold." "Take... your spell shall be reversed, your curse returned to you a thousandfold." "your spell shall be reversed... your curse returned to you a thousandfold." "Your spell has been reversed." "The ladder." "Get him!" "Crystal!" "Taste of the darkness." "Wear the mark of the Dark Lord." "Micki?" "Micki!" "My God, Ryan." "Ah." "There." "Now, are you feeling better?" "What the hell happened?" "Well, let's just say that you were very lucky." "Meaning?" "Meaning it might be a while before you have any success at casting spells." "We all have a certain reservoir of psychic energy." "But I think you're the first to use it up in one night." "You mean all my powers are gone?" "Well, let's just leave it a while before you try using them again." "Thanks, Micki." "I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't broken through to me." "You got the ladder back." "And another of Lewis's occult tools." "At least Gareth and Danny didn't die in vain." "Look, uh, why don't you two go to your beds." "I'll make sure that these are safely in the vault." "You need some help?" "Mm-mm."