Tori had kept the atheme firmly in her hand as Jacob had dragged her to the door and carried her through the water. When the monster's tentacle and Jacob had thrashed by,, she called out,<br/>"Jacob!" and then tossed him the ceremonial knife.<br/><br/>One corner of her brain was functioning on high level conscious thought and Tori raced upstairs. She was simply out of options. The library was cleared of any human or unhuman occupation as she eased through the door. Through the open library door, she could hear loud voices and an oppressive evil that rolled through the chambers, but Tori forced herself to focus on her quest. Thankfully this old house had separate passage ways for the servants and she could pass unnoticed.<br/><br/>In the kitchen the air of peace and Tori stopped to breathe. Her heart was pounding in her ears. Looking around, she found a cooking pot and then went in search of what she desperately needed. Stealthly she peered in cabinets only to find dust and cobwebs but in the back corner, she found a door. The knob wouldn't turn and Tori was so frustrated that she shook the knob violently. The door simply fell off the hinges. In the gloom all she could see was overturned barrels or hole ridden bags, all empty. As she turned to leave a voice in her head said, "Once  more."<br/><br/>Tori recognized this as the 'kitchen' voice so she turned and made another sweep. As if a flashlight illuminated the corner, she saw a waist high burlap bag that was half full. She touched her finger to it and tasted salt.<br/><br/>"Yes!" she whispered triumphantly as she forced the pan into the opening. Two big scoops filled it and Tori headed back to the library.<br/>"Thank you," she whispered to the kitchen.<br/><br/>The library was still as a tomb but the water in the basement was still roiling.<br/><br/>Tori began a simple chant, remembering some of her mom's teachings.<br/>" Salt -- whether common table salt, sea salt, or kosher salt -- has a long history of use in rituals of purification, magical protection, and blessing. Among spell-casters working in the European folk-magic tradition, it is a commonplace to lay down a pinch of salt in each corner of a room before performing a spell. This has carried over into contemporary African-American hoodoo practice as well.<br/><br/>Generally speaking, when the intention of a hoodoo spell is primarily protective, salt may be used alone or combined with ingredients like saltpeter and black pepper. For more aggressive spells against enemies, such as Hot Foot and Crossing, salt may be added to red pepper, sulphur, and bluestone.<br/><br/>In Latin America, salt is used to prepare a very important magical formula called Rattlesnake Salt which is believed to lengthen life and to provide protection for the home or place of business.<br/><br/>Additionally, because ritual cleaning is an important facet of African folk-magic, salt is a common ingredient in African-Americanhoodoo spells in which magical protection from evil and breaking enemy work (especially "live things" or tricks under the skin) is accomplished through the employment of ritual baths and floor washes. "<br/><br/>She tossed two handfuls of the salt into the water,, then a third for good measure, muttering "The power of three".<br/><br/>Fish's voice came through the air, high pitched and pleading.<br/>"Stop, please,stop. Some body help me, pleeeeze."<br/><br/>Tori took the stairs two at a time, casting salt around her as she went.<br/><br/>In the main hall everything was mayhem. Dead body parts and a sodomized Fish, the statue broken yet viable, the ceiling plasters falling in and a zombie. He was talking, mouthing off really, to the evil one. Tori would not say its name and give it more power. The zombie had no eye balls and was a filthy mess but inspite of death, had more spirit than most living people.The salt flew through the air and touched him.<br/><br/>"Hey! watch it!" the zombie said. "That stuff can kill me. Him, him.Throw it at Albert."<br/><br/>Tori grimaced but forced herself to focus on Fish. She cast the salt toward him, forcing space to finally get close enough to make a complete circle around both of them. The torment stopped and naked, bleeding Fish curled up in the fetal position with his hands between his knees, sobbing. She had nothing to cover him and looking down, Tori realized she too was naked but in her nakedness, she felt power.<br/><br/>The full moon not only fueled the monster but leant strength to the girl too.<br/><br/>"Enough, evil one. They are all destroyed."<br/><br/>The atmosphere in the room became thicker, swirling like oil on water. The zombie spoke, holding out his hand.<br/><br/>"Hi, I'm Jacen Crenshaw."<br/><br/>Tori did a double take,<br/>"Aren't you dead?"<br/><br/>"Yeah, but when the evil gets this bad, I get called up from the grave, just to help out a little. I can't do much if the living don't fight back."<br/><br/>"Jacob is in the basement. He could use some help." she hissed, as she kept casting salt into the air. She was rewarded with hearing a sizzling.<br/><br/>"That is Caruthe. She gets stirred up when sacrifice has been made. Is Jacob a fighter?" Jacen asked.<br/><br/>Tori nodded, beginning to sweat from the metaphysical exertion.<br/><br/>"He might be able to get out alive," Jacen replied. "We have work to do in here."