On The Run 3

by Aaron M. Brandt

Fourteen years after LeAnn and Aaron divorced, they seemed to have moved on and forgotten about eachother, but sometimes someone's true love can never be forgotten...

1. Main story

Title: On The Run 3
Author: A.M Brandt
Approximate date started: (written) 9-2000, (typed) 7-2003
Approximate date finished: (written) 2-2001, (typed)
Genres: Drama, Mystery, Suspense, Horror
Credit: Credit goes out to all the people named in the cast for not hunting me down (yet anyways) for writing this story. Otherwise, this is an original story by A.M Brandt.

Characters:
Nicole, LeAnn = LeAnn Rimes
Aaron = Aaron M. Brandt
No Doubt = Themselves
Willow =?
Jesse =?
Harry, Andy, Mike = Harry Jones IV, Andy Kilanowski, Mike Metzger

About the Author and story:
Aaron M. Brandt was born December 4th, 1982 in Minnesota. At the age of 15, he began work on the first of the 'On The Run' stories, which was based on a dream Aaron had, and finished writing it about 28 days later. The next day, Aaron began work on the second of the 'On The Run' stories, which was based on a dream also, and took 3 years to finish it. About a month later, Aaron started work on this, the third in the 'On The Run' trilogy based partially on an idea the author had while in a detox center. It ended up only taking Aaron 4 months to write the third 'On The Run' story. The following story is almost word for word the same as what Aaron originally wrote, just the endings have been changed slightly to make more sense and try to add more depth to the story.

SoundTrack and song placement:
Pink Floyd – Time - Aaron finds out who Nicole is
Pink Floyd - High Hopes - Aaron and LeAnn try to rush Jesse to the hospital after she is shot
Pink Floyd - On The Run - Main theme; Aaron tries to stop LeAnn from running from herself
Marilyn Manson - In The Shadow Of The Valley Of Death - Played at the end of all three Epilogues
Marilyn Manson - Beautiful People - LeAnn walks home from the hospital and stop for cigarettes
Marilyn Manson - Disposable Teens - Aaron and LeAnn decide to adopt Jesse
Rob Zombie - Perversion '99 - The cop molests Jesse after arresting her
Rob Zombie - Demonoid Phenomenon - Aaron experiments with his powers
Rob Zombie - Living Dead Girl - Song playing in bar as camera pans around
Enya - On My Way Home - Enya goes home after the wedding
Enya - Pax Deorum - Aaron begins wandering through the mysterious temple
LeAnn Rimes - How Do I Live - Song Nicole sings at the club
LeAnn Rimes - One of these days - Song LeAnn is singing when she finds Aaron's wallet
Black Sabbath - Paranoid - Aaron has his doubts about Nicole
Fiona Apple - Limp - LeAnn collapses again; Enya takes away LeAnn's powers
Moby - If Things Were Perfect - Aaron finds out how things have changed since he and LeAnn were married the first time
Catalina - DJ's Girl - Aaron tries to pick up the owner of the bar he works at
Korn - Make Me Bad - Aaron and LeAnn start their trek to Ireland and meet Jesse
Mazzy Star - Fade Into You - Played during the wedding scene
Lords Of Acid - LSD Equals Truth - Aaron and Nicole sleep together
Blondie featuring Deborah Harry - Divine - Nicole initiates Aaron into witchcraft her own way
Edie Brickell and The New Bohemians - What I Am - Aaron goes back to Nicole's house to apologize
No Doubt - Marry Me - Aaron asks Nicole to marry him
Hole - Malibu (Unplugged) - Song the band plays at nightclub
Avril Lavigne- I'm With You
Fleetwood Mac - Everybody Finds Out
Ozzy Osbourne - Dreamer

Disclaimers:
Haha… there are none!
Well, just a couple that go a little something like this:
The author makes no claims of ownership over the names and places mentioned in the story. This story is, for once, an original work of fiction; no animals or humans were hurt in the making of this story.

The following presentation is rated R for Some strong language, suggestive themes, some nudity

Prologue

After being married for a mere two weeks, Aaron and LeAnn had decided that they would be better off not.
Now, fourteen years later, Aaron has moved on with his life; he had quit his job as an FBI officer and had gotten a job as a DJ for a local radio station in Dallas, Texas. LeAnn slowly faded off the music scene and one year after the divorce, quit. Thereafter, she opened her own dance club.
Lindsay Buckingham, Stevie Nicks, Christine, and Jonathan McVie had not talked to Aaron since the incident at his mansion, and had forgotten about him. Eithne had virtually disappeared after Aaron and LeAnn got divorced. After the divorce, Aaron and LeAnn had not spoken to each other, and thus it went since.
Aaron was still angry at the fact that the government had sent LeAnn Rimes to spy on him in his own house. Aaron, who was now thirty-one years old, had not had a relationship since LeAnn and the same for LeAnn. Aaron had never found out who it was that was sending him the checks he had been receiving back in 1998. Moreover, to this day, Aaron still does not fully understand what had happened to his parents in 1990, but is pretty sure it had something to do with the government.
Now, Aaron had been hired to be the nightly DJ at a local dance club in Dallas. He had forgotten about the short-lived marriage back in 1999, and had even forgotten about LeAnn. LeAnn, who had always had a fascination with the whole Goth scene, joined it at the time she opened the club.

(End of Prologue)

Chapter 1 (Setting: Monday August 12, 2013 11:00 PM Dallas, Texas)

Lately, Aaron had been having dreams about a marriage between him and a young Texas girl. However, tonight, he was too busy to think about his dreams. He was standing in his familiar spot, doing what he was good at: being a DJ. As the nightly karaoke approached, a long line of people lined up to sign up for a turn on the microphone. Tonight proved to be one of those nights where the crazies crawl out of the woodwork. For the third time this week, the same girl was there once more. She always said that her name was Nicole. Nevertheless, to Aaron she seemed familiar, but he just could not place the face; he thought he should ask her, but he thought "What if she casts some spell on me?" He had, become, in recent years, superstitious of witchcraft.
After he finished taking all of the karaoke requests, he went to the bar and got himself a beer. He took the beer back to the stage.
"Alright, first up tonight is Nicole. Come on up!" He announced. Nicole got up and came to the microphone. She sang the song she had picked out, which seemed somewhat of a strange song for someone like Nicole to sing. The song seemed familiar to Aaron, but once more, he could not remember where he had heard it. She sang the song without flaw and upon finishing the song, the majority of the bar erupted into cheers. She went back to her table and went back to nursing her beer. The rest of the people who had signed up for karaoke came up and did their best, but no one came close to Nicole's performance.
Once his shift was done, Aaron went to the bar, got a refill on his beer, and went over to Nicole's table.
"Hell of a performance! Mind if I sit down?" Aaron asked. She non-chalauntly motioned for him to sit. He sat down across from her and said, "What's a girl like you doin' in a place like this?"
"Nothing better to do, I guess. Why?" She said, coming across as if she was upset.
"Well, you don't seem like the kind of person to be hangin' around someplace like this. I'd expect to find someone like yourself out wandering the streets an' raisin' hell all 'round town." Aaron said, noticing the jewelry she was wearing and the book sitting on the table.
"I'm a peaceful sort of Goth. My name's Nicole. I've owned this bar since 2002. That's when I moved back here to Texas." Nicole explained. Just then, the Monday night band arrived. Aaron ran over and told them where to set up. He then came back to Nicole's table to finish his beer before the band started playing.
"How 'bout I walk you home tonight once I get done with my beer?" He asked, his Australian accent showing through slightly.
"That would be great!" She replied. Aaron quickly finished his beer. "Okay, I'm ready. Let's leave before it gets too rowdy in here!"

(End of Chapter 1)

Chapter 2 (Setting: Tuesday August 13, 2013 12:04 AM Dallas, Texas)

After Aaron was done with his beer, he walked Nicole back to her home. On the way to Nicole's house, their conversation turned to the topic of witchcraft.
"I don't mean to sound like I'm accusing you of it or anything, but you practice The Craft, right?" Aaron asked nervously.
"You need not worry because I wouldn't cast anything on you. I practice Dianic Wicca and I've never hurt anyone with it. Broken a few hearts with it, but never any physical hurt." Nicole explained. They had arrived at Nicole's house.
"Well, it's been fun. See you again sometime?" Aaron asked.
"I was thinking I could teach you a couple easy spells that you could have fun with." Nicole offered him.
"Well, I gotta get going home. I gotta lotta shit... I mean stuff to do tomorrow. But, thanks for offering." Aaron responded. She frowned at him and sighed,
"Well, it'll be another lonely night in this big house. So, see ya tonight?" She asked.
"Well, I 'spose I could come in for a bit." Aaron was usually nervous in situations like this. He walked up to where she was standing. She led him into her dark house. She spoke a few words in another language and the lights came on. Aaron was very mystified that she had just turned the lights with a few spoken words.
"How'd you do that?" He asked. Nicole did not reply; instead, she went over to a candle and snapped her fingers and the candle lit instantly. "This is freaky! I can't believe it! I've never believed in the whole witchcraft thing. And, this has to be illusion, 'cause, like, there is no such thing as witchcraft. This has to be some sort of optical illusion or something!"
"The classic debunker... I've known people like you before. You won't believe anything until it jumps up and bites you in the ass. Here, I'll show you something that may change your mind." She said as she walked over to a bookshelf and grabbed a rather thick and large book. "This is the oldest spell book known to the Wicca community. About twelve years ago, I was walking through the woods in Wisconsin when I came across the ruins of an old house. Naturally, I got curious and started looking through the rubble when I came across this book. It was buried deep under the foundation like the person who put it there wanted it to stay there." Nicole explained as she gently handed it to Aaron.
"How old is it?" He asked.
"My friends and I can't tell for sure, but we can be sure that, at least, it dates from the tenth century A.D. So far, we've only managed to translate about a third of the whole book."
"Why only a third of it? If it's written in English, it shouldn't need to be translated."
"It's written in an ancient Druidic language that's really hard to translate. We've been working on it for the past five years and we've only gotten this far." Nicole said.
"How do you make these spells work?" Aaron abruptly asked. Nicole walked over to a cabinet and grabbed five candles, a knife, a glass, and a thick book much similar to the Book Of Shadows that Aaron held carefully. She came back over to Aaron and said,
"Move that round rug aside. That's where I have to set this up." She then set the five candles in the five points of the inverted pentagram that was inlaid upon the floor. She lit these five candles the same way she lit the first one; by snapping her fingers.
"This is the only way for you to be able to control the spells and allow them to work through you. Let us begin... First, I will need you to let all your fears and doubts about witchcraft go." She now seemed distant, as if she was in a trance. The room in which they were was steadily growing colder despite the fire glowing in the fireplace.
"Now, give me your hand and lose yourself in your mind." She took Aaron's hand in hers, grabbed the knife, and cut his palm.
"What the hell?" Aaron shouted in surprise and pain. She seemed oblivious to his protest. She had started to chant in some language long forgotten which sounded Gaelic in origin. She held Aaron's bleeding hand over the glass until it was about an eighth full and then she proceeded to do the same thing with her hand. She mixed the blood in the glass with the tip of the knife and the mixture started to faintly glow. Somehow, Aaron knew what he was to do. He picked the glass up and drank of it.
All of a sudden, the candles blew out. Nicole was still chanting in the ancient language. Aaron felt himself levitating towards the ceiling. As he got closer and closer to the ceiling, he began to have visions of the old days when witchcraft was a largely practiced secret cult. As he watched the visions, he began to realize that it was showing him the history of witchcraft.
Back in the tenth century AD, witchcraft was largely practiced but hidden. In those days, if you were even suspected of being a Witch, you were burned at the stake. However, by making themselves invisible, they were able to sneak away... unnoticed by the townspeople. Once outside the town, the remaining grouped together and fought for their freedom. Incredibly, they survived through the next ten centuries and were finally accepted into the whole of society. In the two thousands, the different groups of witches were able to completely fit in. Certain religious groups still rejected them and banned them from certain cities.
Aaron was mesmerized by the sheer complexity of the history. Once the visions were done, Aaron floated down to the floor.
"Damn! That was some fucked-up shit!" Aaron exclaimed. Nicole had managed to sit down on the couch and was breathing deeply.
"It takes a lot of power to endow someone with powers." Nicole said between breaths.
"How do I cast a spell now that I have the power?" Aaron asked. Nicole just got back up and took Aaron's hand in hers and said,
"Aaron, you must wait twenty-four hours until you try to cast something. For your powers to become their strongest, you should spend the night here with me." Nicole explained. Aaron thought it over for a second then said,
"Okay, I'll spend the night. But we'll sleep in separate beds."

(End of Chapter 2)

Chapter 3 (Setting: Tuesday August 13, 2013 12:15 PM Dallas, Texas)

"Listen, I'm sorry about the sleeping in separate beds thing, but when I was seventeen, I had an experience with..." Aaron started to explain, but was interrupted.
"You don't have to be sorry about anything... I could tell right away that you were deeply hurt from something that happened in your past." Nicole said. Aaron reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes of which he took one and offered one to Nicole. She lit hers the same way she lit the candles.
"How the hell do you do that?" He asked.
"All you do is concentrate all your conscious mental energy on what you want to do and what you want to do it to. Go ahead and try it." She urged. Aaron did as she had explained. It took a few tries, but on the third, it finally worked.
"Hot damn! I was starting to think you were full of it, but then it worked and I realized that it is real!" Aaron said in a surprised voice. She just took a deep drag off of her cigarette and then said,
"And that's only the beginning. Watch this..." Nicole said as she stood and turned so she was facing the intersection. She mumbled a few words under her breath and the stoplights all turned green simultaneously. The cars from all four directions accelerated and collided in the middle of the intersection. Nicole started laughing and Aaron started running towards the crash scene, but was stopped by some unseen force.
"Don't go over there! You'll risk exposing our community!" She ordered.
"Shouldn't we try to go help them?" Aaron excitedly inquired.
"If we go over there, we'll put ourselves in danger of getting hurt or something. If we do and we leave any amount of DNA evidence over there, they'll know something's up." She explained. All of a sudden, the past came rushing back to him. Looking around, he felt slightly disoriented.
"What happened?" Nicole asked, concerned for the fact that Aaron was leaning against a tree on the boulevard.
"Now I realize what may have influenced events such as they are now." He slowly spoke.
"What kinds of things?" Nicole asked, a little curious and a little scared for his safety.
"When I first got high, when I first got arrested, my first girlfriend, the time I got married and it lasted for two weeks." Aaron responded.
"Why was it so short?" Nicole asked. Aaron thought for a second and then answered,
"From what I remember, I was gone on special assignments for the FBI for the second week of the marriage and she was getting tired of never seeing me at home, so she left. This was fourteen, almost fifteen years ago. I'm surprised I was able to remember that much." Aaron explained as he tried to remember any more details of the marriage. Nicole was writing all this down as Aaron said it. Once he was done, she had her own quick flashback and she realized who Aaron was. She decided to keep her own revelation to herself for now.
"You shouldn't have been so over-eager to work so hard. I get the feeling that it was not entirely your fault. I can sense that she was too impatient to wait for you to come home, so she ran. And, she is still running... not from you, but from herself." Nicole said thoughtfully. Aaron was amazed at the amount of detail she was able to get from what he had told her. She appeared to be weak after what seemed to be a type of channeling.
"I think you should go home and lay down for a while. You might have over-exerted yourself by channeling as you did." Aaron suggested.
"So, I'll see you at work then?" Nicole asked.
"Same place, same time." Aaron answered.

(End of Chapter 3)

Chapter 4 (Setting: Wednesday August 14, 2013 11:45 AM Dallas, Texas)

She had almost forgotten about the band that was coming in that night. The music group Hole was going to be passing through town on their way to Fort Worth and Nicole had arranged to have them stop by the nightclub. Nicole arrived at the nightclub fifteen minutes before midnight. As she walked in, she immediately saw that the entire city of Dallas must have heard about the Hole mini-concert.
"Glad you could make it! I'm Nicole, the owner of the club. Feel free to ask for anything you might need." Nicole said. Aaron was working his magic on the mixing board the band had brought with them; Aaron was going to operate the mixing board while the group played. Nicole sat down in her usual spot. The concert went almost flawlessly. After the concert, Aaron and Nicole stayed after to clean up. Once they were done cleaning up the bar, they decided to walk to Nicole's place and work on training the newfound magic in Aaron.
"Why'd you move to Dallas?" Aaron asked. Nicole sighed and said,
"It's a long story. I had some problems when I was young and I got in trouble with a young man who, I was told, was my brother. Not knowing any better, I believed what I was told and tried to play him for a fool. However, almost right away, I fell in love with him. So, I dropped the sister thing and ended up getting engaged and then married to him." Nicole explained reluctantly. Aaron was slowly remembering the details of the marriage, but he was unable to remember what her name was or what she looked like. Aaron was starting to develop a headache. He was still trying to get himself not to think about the spell and let it cast itself through him.
"Okay, so how long until my powers are their strongest?" Nicole waved her hand over his face and then said,
"As far as I can tell, you should wait another forty-eight to seventy-two hours before really trying to cast anything. If you try to cast something before then, you will over-exert yourself and kill yourself." Aaron could not grasp the idea that this newfound magic that he possessed was so powerful.
"What are the limitations on what I can do with my powers?" He had read somewhere that the powers possessed by a witch could not kill someone or force them to fall in love with someone. He wanted to find out what Nicole really knew. She replied as Aaron thought she would; she told him what he thought was true. She also warned him not to tell anyone about his powers unless they too were witch as they were.
"Where do the powers we use come form?" Aaron asked. Nicole thought about it for a few seconds, then said,
"Y'know? To tell you the truth, I'm not really sure where they come from. I've always thought that they come from the Book Of Shadows that I have or an otherworldly body. But, that's my theory."
"Well, see you sometime tonight or maybe tomorrow?" Aaron said as he got his stuff together. He had off on Wednesdays, so he planned to go home and take care of anything he had not previously done.
"See you later, Aaron. Remember what I said: Be Careful!" Nicole called after him. Aaron nodded his head in agreement and started walking home. As Aaron walked home, he felt nervous about walking home without any real defenses. Nicole had taught him that he was not to carry any weapons with him except his mind; Aaron took this to mean that his mind was now a weapon in its own right. He hurried his way home and got home with no problem. He had something quick to eat and then went to bed. Nicole was uneasy all night long because it seemed the power was being drained from her. She just dismissed it as an imbalance caused by Aaron's becoming one like her which consumed an amount of the power. The only thing was that the power was becoming more rare each day.

(End of Chapter 4)

Chapter 5 (Setting: Wednesday August 14, 2013 4:23 PM Dallas, Texas)

After taking a nap, Aaron went to the mall. Upon arriving at the mall, he realized how many people made up the magical community. As he walked through the mall, he could sense the amount of magic in there. It made him uncomfortable; knowing that there was so much magic around him and him walking around with no defenses. For the fun of it, he concentrated on making someone's cellular phone ring and it happened. The person with the ringing cellular phone started to dig through his pockets to get it. He found it and tried to answer it, but the phone would not respond to the buttons he was pushing. Eventually, the man with the phone took the battery out and threw both parts in the garbage. Aaron continued walking through the mall and stopped at a magazine stand. As he scanned over the magazines, his eyes caught on a tabloid with a picture of a familiar girl on the front. The caption read: "The Secret Life of LeAnn Rimes". Aaron picked that issue of that tabloid up and flipped to the page that discussed the cover photo. He stared in shock as he realized that the girl on the front was Nicole. Right away, he bought the magazine and ran out of the mall and home as fast as possible.
When he got home, he went inside and headed straight to his computer. He immediately went to the most recent website for LeAnn Rimes. His plan was to locate and aliases for LeAnn Rimes and to confirm if the photo and article were authentic. As he searched more and more of the Internet, he became more and more certain that the picture was of Nicole. After a while, he came across a Dianic Wicca website. Eventually, he came to a section that listed all of the current members and their addresses. He scrolled down the list looking for the last name Rimes. After some searching, he came across the name Rimes that had an asterisk before it. The listing read "Rimes, Margaret LeAnn" and the name was also a hyperlink which lead to something else. The asterisk meant that the link led to an offsite page. First, Aaron compared the address listed for Margaret LeAnn Rimes with that of Nicole and came up with the first match all day long. Then, out of curiosity, he clicked on her name and was taken to another website which had a picture of her in present day as a Goth. At the bottom of the picture was a slider, which when dragged back or forth, caused the picture to seem to age.
After looking at the pictures for a while, he figured out that they were time-lapsed pictures taken each year up to the present date. At that, Aaron finally figured out the puzzle of whom he had married back in 1998. After realizing that he had almost slept with his ex-wife and had been hanging around with her for the past two days, he was utterly and very shocked. At the same time, he was unsure about how to go about telling her that they had been married fourteen years prior. He decided to go over and tell her face-to-face. However, he decided to wait a couple days and see if she said anything to the same effect. Therefore, Aaron went over to her house to see if maybe she wanted to maybe go out and do something because he did not have to work that night. Aaron got ready and then went over to her place. It was getting dark due to the storm clouds that were rolling in and the sun was setting unusually early. Aaron pulled up in his car and shut it off. After getting out and, to be safe, locking the doors he walked up and, after searching for a doorbell, knocked on her front door which could have been a vault door at one time or another. The only sound was the echo of the knock. Eventually, he tried the door and found it to be locked. As he was getting ready to leave, the door slowly creaked open.
Aaron cautiously walked in through the now open door. As soon as he walked in, the door slammed shut behind him. He turned around and there was no door behind him through which he must have come. He had started to panic, but hid it deep inside. He had an idea that it was some sort of spell or optical illusion designed to scare any possible intruders. He thought to himself that it was working. As he stood silently, he caught the sound of some chanting coming from what would be the basement, which he felt himself inexplicably drawn into. Aaron could sense that there was magic in the air, but he was unable to get a fix as to where the source was. He quietly walked through the house looking for anything out of the ordinary that may explain the chanting. Finally, he was faced with the choice of going downstairs or running. He nervously started down the stairs leading to the basement. Once he reached the bottom, he could not believe his eyes.

(End of Chapter 5)

Chapter 6 (Setting: Wednesday August 14, 2013 5:30 PM Dallas, Texas; Under Nicole's House)

There was a river of blood flowing under the house in what appeared to be the basement next to a large black granite temple built so it overlooked the river of blood. As he stared in utter disbelief, he slowly realized that, somehow, he was standing in hell and Nicole's house was acting as a gateway between the two worlds. Aaron started walking around. After some exploring, he found a way to get across the river of blood to the suspicious temple. The outside was impressive enough but upon entering the temple, he was awe-struck by the architectural complexity of the design and size of it. He wrestled with the door and soon enough was inside it.
The first thing he noticed was the intricate design inlaid on the floor. The design was an upside-down five-pointed star inside of a circle with the two top points facing towards what Aaron assumed was an altar. As Aaron approached the altar to look at it, he felt a fluxuation in the powers that Nicole had given him. He stopped in his tracks and silently crossed himself in the traditional Christian tradition because he sensed the presence of something evil right close by.
He heard a rustling behind him and he spun around and looked to see if he could see the source of the sound. There was no one around him that he could see. So, he continued towards the altar. As he neared the podium, he heard a slightly audible chant drifting towards him from somewhere behind the podium which he was checking out. Suddenly, the mysterious chanting stopped. Aaron stayed where he was as quiet as possible so he could try to find the source. Suddenly, the light source went out. It was blacker than black without any type of light. Aaron dug into his pocket, pulled out his lighter, and lit it. The lighter cast just enough light for him to see and not fall into the open well set flush with the surface of the floor.
He walked in what Aaron remembered as being the right way out for about twenty minutes. With no door or portal of any size leading back to her house, which sat above him by at least thirty feet, Aaron started to panic once again. To his dismay, he discovered that he had circled the entire temple. Suddenly, the light came back on many times brighter than before. He squinted his eyes under the harsh light until, after a few seconds, his eyes adjusted to it. Aaron was shocked to see just how big the building was.
Aaron found himself standing in front of a doorway elaborately carved with horned creatures rising out of flames. He carefully pushed the door open and entered. The interior was much bigger than the outside. Up at the podium, there was an oversized granite table. On the table lay the body of a man who appeared to be about thirty years old.
The man's face appeared awfully to Aaron, but he just could not place the face. Aaron quickly examined the man's body and made two startling discoveries. The first discovery was that the man had had something forced into his head through his eyes and sinuses. The second was that his genitals had been removed with some type of dull instrument in some sort of satanic ritual. His intestines had been cut to shreds almost as if an animal had attacked the man. Suddenly, he remembered who the man was. His name was Greg Grove. He was one of Aaron's friends from back in junior high. Aaron was about to say a prayer for his deceased friend when he heard a movement behind him.
He spun around and was shocked to find Nicole levitating in the air six feet behind him. She was not wearing any clothes. She had an inverted star within a circle painted across her chest in what appeared to be blood. Aaron approached her to try to get her down out of the air. As he got closer to her, she faded slowly into nothingness. After she vanished, Aaron wandered around the temple looking for a way out of the maze and where Nicole was hiding. After some more aimless wandering, Aaron came across Nicole's bruised body lying on the floor with rope tied around her hands and feet. He managed to undo the ropes and find a way out. Once out, Aaron wrapped a blanket around Nicole's naked body, laid her on the couch, and stayed the rest of the night at her house.

(End of Chapter 6)

Chapter 7 (Setting: Thursday August 15, 2013 2:13 AM Dallas, Texas)

At two-thirteen in the morning, Nicole sat up and started chanting in some long-forgotten language that sounded like a cross between Russian and Spanish. It startled Aaron awake. He tried to wake shake her to get her to snap out of the trance she seemed to be in. Aaron gave up after two tries and tried to get some of it on tape. He grabbed her answering machine and put it in record mode. He managed to get about two and a half minutes of it on tape before the power went out. The moment the power went out, Nicole stopped the mysterious chanting. Aaron managed to get her to lie back down. Aaron sat down across from her and drifted off to sleep. The rest of the night came and went without incident. In the morning, Nicole did not remember anything about what happened during the night.
"So, you're telling me that last night I suddenly sat up and started chanting in some long forgotten language and my chanting disrupted the power. You been smoking some that weird shit? I would know if I ever went into a trance." She spat at Aaron. Aaron just shook his head and started over.
"Listen, damn it! I got most of it on tape. Here, I'll play it for you." Aaron said as he went over to the answering machine and took the tape out of it and put the tape in her stereo and played it. Nicole listened the tape and once it was done, told Aaron,
"Yes, I practice witchcraft and I'm damn proud of it, too! And, another thing… how the fuck did I get naked? What the hell did you do to me?" Nicole said, close to tears of rage and anger. Aaron looked at her with disbelief.
"I saved your life and I made sure you were safe after I found you down in your enormous temple. When I found you down there, you had an inverted star within a circle drawn in what looked like blood on your chest." Aaron explained. Nicole ran into her bathroom, closed the door, and looked for herself. There was a reddened circle with an inverted star inside it scratched across her chest. She threw her shirt back on and walked briskly back out to where Aaron was.
"Listen to me, you motherfucker! I want you to get your perverted, sick, pathetic ass out of my house, now!" Nicole angrily explained. At this, Aaron stood up, grabbed her spell book and left. Aaron slammed the door behind him and went back to his house. Once there, he realized that he had taken the old spell book from her house. Carefully, he opened the book and started reading the spells and the history of the Wiccan culture. After a lot of reading, Aaron began to understand the spells. The longer he looked at it, the more sense he made of them.
Later that night, Aaron decided he would take the book back to her regardless of what she did or said to him. He grabbed the book, his crucifix, his handgun, and a micro-cassette recorder. He left for her place at exactly one o'clock in the afternoon and arrived at her place at one-thirteen. He rang the doorbell and paced back and forth on the porch until he heard her coming. She opened the door and was surprised to find Aaron at her door.
"I thought I told you to never come back here!" Nicole angrily said.
"I came back to say that I am sorry for getting so angry at you the other day and I brought your spell book back." Aaron solemnly said.
"I'm sorry I accused you of doing some weird shit to me while I was blacked out and for getting so angry at you." She said. He handed the book to her. There was a type of sexual tension hanging in the air and they could both feel it. Nicole invited Aaron in and he accepted. In the past twenty-four hours, Aaron had forgotten how he felt an almost demonic presence in her house despite the religious paraphernalia that adorned the walls. Aaron followed her into the living room and sat down across from her.
For the longest time, they sat and talked about where they went to school, what they used to do, and even their first loves. Oddly enough, they had more in common than they thought. The strangest thing that they talked about was the time both of them were almost killed in a car crash and then got married two weeks later. Aaron knew the truth about her, but he did not want to tell her quite yet. Instead, he let her come onto him and then they made love in her living room. Once they were done, he saw her without her makeup on for the first time and realized he was closer to the truth than he thought.
He had a deep desire to marry her and try it again, but he was unsure if he was ready for that kind of commitment again. He knew one thing for sure; he was going to bring up the marriage idea that was eating away at him. The two of them went and got cleaned up and went back to the living room. Aaron walked back into the kitchen and got a beer for him and one for Nicole. After getting himself ready to ask the big question, he walked back into the living room and sat down next to Nicole. Aaron had hung onto the ring that he had given to LeAnnand she had given back when she left, and he was going to propose to Nicole the same way. He was wearing a housecoat with a pocket on his right side, which is where he had the ring. He got the ring out of his pocket, knelt down in front of Nicole, and preceded as he had so many years ago.
"Nicole," He said as he brought his hand around from his back, still concealing the ring. "Will you," Aaron began as he took her hand in his. "Marry me?" He finished as he slid the ring onto her finger.

(End of Chapter 7)

Chapter 8 (Setting: Thursday August 15, 2013 4:05 AM Dallas, Texas)

All of a sudden, the past came rushing back to Nicole. She was knocked down by the force of all the memories she had forgotten about coming back to her. She lay on the floor crying from the pain that came with the memories. Aaron was mystified by what had just happened. He went over to her and helped her get back up onto the couch where he sat down next to her. She had tears running down both cheeks and she was breathing heavily.
"What happened? Are you okay?" Aaron asked, rather concerned for her well-being.
"It's nothing, really. Just another episode of deja vu. I'll be fine. It happens every once in a while." Nicole replied. Aaron was taken by her indifference and her apparent carelessness about the episode of deja vu.
"I remembered everything about my previous marriage and what all happened to me after I got married the first time." Nicole explained. Aaron waited until she was finished so he could giveher a big hug and a kiss. As she finished, Aaron wrapped his arms around her and gave her a kiss. She threw her arms around him and kissed him back. When they let go of each other, Aaron had the shock of his life; Nicole had turned into LeAnn Rimes.
"Holy shit! It's you! I had a feeling it was you, but I wasn't sure! I had the feeling, but I thought it was my imagination or something! Why didn't you say anything?" Aaron asked. He reached over and took her hand in his. Her hand was still as small and as gentle as it was back when he first proposed.
"I didn't want anyone to find out all about what had happened to me while we were married the first time and living in Ireland. I was ashamed of leaving you like I did, but I felt it best for the both of us." She explained.
"Well, do you think we are ready to have another go at being married?" Aaron asked. She answered very seriously,
"I am if you are. Listen, I'm sorry I kept so much hidden from you. But, please understand, I had to. If I hadn't changed my appearance, I would have had media swarming all over me. And, being that I run a nightclub, I want to avoid publicity whenever possible." LeAnn said.
"I don't' 'spose you'd know what happened to Eithne or Fleetwood Mac, would ya? Cause after our break-up, they all vanished. Everything that had their names on it vanished, also." Aaron explained. LeAnn took a cigarette out of Aaron's pack, which was sitting on the table and tried to light it with her powers, which took a few tries before it worked. Aaron tried it with his powers and could not get it to work.
"… The hell? Why aren't our powers working?" Aaron asked. LeAnn knew why they would not work, but she was afraid that Aaron would think that she was a Satanist, but she had to somehow explain it to him. Therefore, she explained it as best she could to Aaron.
"The power is of a demonic nature. For the past six years, I have been keeping alive by feeding it the souls of the dead. It hasn't been fed for awhile, so it can't produce the powers." She explained to a bewildered Aaron. Aaron looked at her with a kind of astonishment at the fact that the only woman he loved had become a Satanist since he last knew her.
"I can't believe you would go and do something that stupid and on top of it all, you'd sacrifice people's souls for these so-called magical powers! That's the oldest trick in the book! I can't believe you fell for it!" Aaron exclaimed.
"You also became a witch just like me, so you have the same powers and responsibility as me!" LeAnn sternly said.

(End of Chapter 8)

Chapter 9 (Setting: Thursday August 15, 2013 4:45 AM Dallas, Texas)

"Well, as it seems… we're both damned so we might as well get married and spend the rest of our lives together." Aaron said half-heartedly. LeAnn was thinking very deeply.
"How about this: we do everything the way we did it back then? Y'know, have the ceremony and the reception where we did the first time." LeAnn suggested. Aaron thought it over for a couple minutes and then said,
"Let's invite all our friend's from back then or at least the ones whose addresses we still have?" Aaron suggested. A thought suddenly crossed her mind.
"What if the places we had the ceremony and reception aren't there anymore? What if no one recognizes us? What if…" LeAnn started to finish, but was cut off by Aaron who said,
"Save the what-ifs until they actually happen. In other words, calm down! I don't want ya to go and have heart problems all over again." Aaron said as he remembered how much she changed after she got her new heart back in nineteen ninety-nine. It was almost as if with the heart, she got a completely new personality with it. Then, Aaron went over to his computer and proceeded to arrange everything for the wedding over the Internet. He then called the police over in Gweedore, Ireland to find out if Eithne had a phone yet or if there was a way to get hold of her.
"Nobody's seen her for thirteen years. It is the weirdest thing; people have reported seeing her walking along sidewalks and roads and wherever she steps, flowers spring up under her feet. After two close friends of hers got divorced and one of her other friends died over there in the US, she ordered the castle be walled in." Police chief O'reilly explained.
"Would I get in any real trouble if I came over there and tried to talk to her?" LeAnn asked.
"Young lady, you can't even get into her castle… so, how do you plan to talk to her?" O'reilly asked. Aaron motioned for LeAnn to get off the phone and let him do the talking.
"Thank you, sir. You've been a great help!" Aaron said, trying to end the conversation.
"Not a problem. Call if you ever need anything." O'reilly said as he hung up the phone. LeAnn was mystified by what Eithne had done and the fact that so much was going wrong that now that she had cleaned up her lifestyle and was trying not to do wrong. Aaron sensed that she was very disappointed and gave her a big hug.
"It's not your fault. You couldn't have prevented this from happening. Please, hon… stop crying. I love you and care deeply about you and I promise to help you with anything you may need help with." Aaron explained. Suddenly, Aaron's powers faded away. LeAnn felt it too and they said in unison,
"What the hell was that?" LeAnn suddenly collapsed onto the floor.
"Oh, shit! LeAnn! Come on, girl! Don't do this to me again!" At that moment over in Ireland, Eithne felt the disturbance in the magic powers and she cast herself overseas to Dallas, Texas. She appeared next to Aaron and immediately knelt down next to LeAnn. Eithne was looking for the hand that LeAnn had cut and bled from to give Aaron his powers. She found the scar, matched it up with the scar on her hand, and drained LeAnn's magic powers.
"I'm sorry, but she was absorbing too much of the powers. She would have ended up killing herself with them if I had not intervened." Eithne said. Aaron was very shocked that Eithne was a Wicca.
"I'm sorry, but who the hell are you, really?" Aaron demanded.
"I'm Eithne Ní Bhraonáin, leader of the Celtic sect of Wicca. We are the last of the original sects left from the old days." She explained.
"What about all the other cults and organizations devoted to witchcraft? Where do they fit in?" Eithne ignored Aaron's question and continued with the ritual. She laid a rose upon LeAnn's motionless body and made the sign of the pentacle over her body and she chanted a few words in another language that Aaron could not understand. Aaron felt the floor begin to shake and grabbed a hold of the back of the couch for fear that it was an earthquake. There was a faint glow emanating from under Eithne's fingertips, which was growing in intensity. Once all of LeAnn's powers were depleted, Eithne said a prayer to whatever God LeAnn believed in to forgive her for what she had done. When she was done with the prayer, she slowly faded away into nothingness.
Aaron could not believe what he had just seen in LeAnn's house. LeAnn was starting to slowly wake up.
"LeAnn, you okay?" Aaron asked as he helped her up onto the couch where she could lay down for a few minutes.
"I had the strangest dream! I dreamt that my magic powers were taken from me by the Leader." She explained. Aaron took her hands in his and showed her where her scar had been and where his was. She asked what it meant and Aaron answered her.
"It means that the dream was real. Your Leader came and took your powers right after you collapsed because you were absorbing too much of the powers." Aaron said with a touch of sadness in his voice.
"You mean… I can't use the powers anymore? No more spell casting? No more powers?" LeAnn asked in bewilderment.
"Unfortunately, yes. Also, did you know that your leader is Eithne?" Aaron calmly asked LeAnn.

(End of Chapter 9)

Chapter 10 (Setting: Thursday August 15, 2013 Dallas, Texas)

"Of course! All Wicca know that! She has been our leader since the beginning. We have sacrificed many of our loved ones to Eithne; Goddess of all!" LeAnn responded. Aaron was contemplating whether he should tell her that he still had the powers. He also had the feeling that he should research what she considered to be Wicca a little more because he had an idea that what she was practicing was not really Wicca. After thinking about it for a few seconds, he voiced his opinion to her.
"How could you say such a thing? I gave you the power! Where did you come up with something like that, anyways?" She asked, very angry with him for assuming something like that.
"From what I know about Wicca, they do not engage in human ritualistic sacrifices. And, if they do… I don't wanna have any part in this." Aaron instructed LeAnn. All at once, he came up with an idea. The idea was to cast a spell on LeAnn so that she would fall in love with him again and then he would get rid of his powers; renounce them however he could.
"Well, you're too late! You have become a Wicca and there is no denying it! You can never revoke your powers; if you want to live forever such as Eithne has." LeAnn explained to him. Aaron realized that she had changed much since they had gotten divorced back in nineteen ninety-nine.
"You still haven't changed. You're still running from yourself. Hon, I wanna help you… but I can't if you don't wanna be helped." Aaron gently said, trying to talk her down out of her self-induced euphoria.
"Like hell you wanna help me! All you wanna do is get me locked up and then you'll forget about me and… and… I'll never see you again. You'll leave me there to grow old…" LeAnn started to say, but was cut off by Aaron.
"We all grow old and we all die in some sense. When we die and we are buried, our spirit will be reincarnated into the body of someone else who has just been given life. We just need to get on the right path and stay on it. I would never let anyone lock you up for anything!" Aaron finished. LeAnn wiped the tears off her face and then took his hands in hers and asked him about the marriage.
"Shit! I forgot all about it! We've gotta get to Ireland as soon as we can! Our flight is booked and all the reservations are made, so all we gotta do is get there and get ready." Aaron said as he quickly packed a bag for himself and LeAnn. "Come on, hon! We've gotta go!" Aaron said, trying to hurry up and get to the airport before the flight left. He hauled his heavy bag out to his old car and was followed momentarily by her. They piled into the car and barely made it in time for the flight. Once they finally made it through customs, they boarded the plane. On entering, Aaron could sense the presence of multiple witchcraft practitioners onboard the plane. He whispered to LeAnn to watch herself because of the presence he felt.
He and LeAnn found their seats with no problem and got comfortable. Aaron left the seat choice up to LeAnn, who chose the window seat. The plane was rather crowded, even for this time of year; Aaron thought. About halfway through the flight, Aaron got up and went to the bathroom. On the way, he passed by a girl in her late teens that looked almost like LeAnn when he first met her at the bar. She looked deep into his eyes and for a moment, he felt her pain, confusion, and inner turmoil. At that moment, Aaron realized what he had been searching for could not be found by looking around in the physical world, but could only be found by looking deep into his soul. It was then that he came up with an idea. He quickly entered the bathroom to find that someone had set up a satanic altar on the sink, which he quickly took apart and threw in the garbage can. As he left the bathroom and started back to LeAnn, the young girl he had seen on his way into the bathroom stopped him and started talking to him.
"Where you headed?" She asked him.
"Ireland. My fiancé and I are going to get married at a friend's house. What's your name?" Aaron asked.
"My name is Jessica, but you can call me Jesse if you like. How about yourself?" Jessica asked as she admired the way he carried himself; Aaron seemed to have a sense of self-appreciation about him.
"Mine is Aaron. Where you headed to all by yourself?" Aaron asked as he remembered that she looked like a young version of LeAnn; almost reminiscent of the pictures he had found on the Internet. She hesitated, and then finally answered quietly.
"No place really. I have no family left and all my friends have moved away, so I decided to hop aboard a plane and start over somewhere new." She said with tears rolling down her cheeks. Aaron felt a deep sympathy for the girl because he knew how she felt and had been there himself. He gave her a gentle hug and said to her,
"If you want, you can come sit with me and my fiancé."
"I'd loveto… I'm getting lonely sitting here alone." Jesse enthusiastically said. They both got up and went over to where LeAnn was waiting for Aaron to come back. Aaron moved to the middle seat and Jesse sat in the seat nearest the aisle.
"LeAnn, this is Jessica. I met her on the way to the bathroom. She was flying alone, so I decided to invite her to sit with us." Aaron said to LeAnn, "She was in the same predicament I was in when you called me; no friends, no family. Or, that was, until she met me." Aaron explained. LeAnn reached over and shook hands with Jesse.
"I don't mean to hit a touchy subject or anything but you wouldn't happen to be Wicca would you? And, if it makes you uncomfortable talking about it, I understand." LeAnn asked. Jesse paused and then sadly nodded her head. Aaron saw the sadness in her eyes and asked her why she was sad about her being Wiccan and Jesse replied,
"I had no choice in the matter. My parents were both witches until they were hunted down like animals and were gunned down. Then, the same people who gunned down my parents captured and tortured me. They kept me caged up like a fucking animal! Then, they sacrificed my parents in some sort of sick, twisted ritual!" Jesse angrily said. It was then that Aaron decided to tell LeAnn about his idea.
"Hon, I have an idea, but I wanna run it by you before doing it." Aaron quietly told LeAnn.
"What the hell are you talking about?" She impatiently asked Aaron. He took a deep breath and began telling her what his idea was.
"My idea is for us to get married and then adopt Jesse as our daughter." Aaron nervously explained. LeAnn thought about it for a couple moments and then said,
"Yeah, but do you think we are ready for that kind of liability? We don't know the first thing about raising kids." Aaron flagged down one of the attendants and got drinks for the three of them.
"She's an orphan. I personally can't stand to see anyone out on the streets with no home. And, plus she's in the same situation I was once in and I know what she's going through with no parents. Hon, I wanna help someone for once." Aaron explained with honest concern for Jesse's safety showing through in his voice.
"I appreciate your concern, but I can make it on my own. I've been living without my parents for the past ten years and…" Jesse started to say, but was cut off by LeAnn.
"Dear, I'd love it if you became our daughter." LeAnn urged. Aaron could not believe that he was going to get married again to LeAnn Rimes and that they were going to adopt this young girl named Jessica as their daughter. LeAnn was still in shock that she actually agreed to something as eccentric as Aaron's idea. Yet, it seemed like the most natural thing in the world; Jesse had no parents and no relatives right close by.
Conversation lacking, they dozed off. LeAnn and Jessica gently rested their heads on Aaron's shoulders while he sat comfortably back in his seat reflecting on his life and how he had affected the lives of LeAnn and their soon-to-be daughter, Jessica. Soon after the two girls had fallen asleep, Aaron did the same until they landed at Dublin International.
"Time to wake up. We're here!" Aaron said as he woke them up. LeAnn woke with a start. "It's alright. We landed safely in Dublin. We've gotta go! The wedding starts in two hours." Aaron urged. Upon hearing how long they had until the wedding, LeAnn jumped up and after grabbing her bags and, taking LeAnn and Jesse's hands, proceeded to lead them to Eithne's mansion.
"I'm sorry, but I've gotta talk to Eithne and see how she's doing. I must know what has happened to her and why she trapped herself in her castle." LeAnn explained. After a few minutes of speed walking, they reached Eithne's castle.
"Holy shit! I don't remember it being this big!" Aaron exclaimed, as he looked the castle over. The castle was enormous; the corner stone alone was bigger than Aaron was. Aaron and LeAnn were trying to figure out how to get into the mansion. As if Jesse had read their thoughts, she started chanting in another language. All of a sudden, a section of the wall broke off the rest of it and fell to the ground.
"Damn! That's the shit right there! I never would have thought that your powers were that well developed!" Aaron said as the dust settled around them. The door that was exposed by the felled wall slowly creaked open, revealing utter darkness beyond; they cautiously entered.

(End of Chapter 10)

Chapter 11 (Setting: Friday August 16, 2013 2:13 PM Gweedore, Ireland)

Upon entering, they were entirely enveloped by the darkness.
"This turned out to be a good idea. Now, we can't see anything at all! What're we gonna do now?" Jesse asked.
"Good question. Are there any spells that we could cast to generate light?" LeAnn asked. Aaron thought for a couple seconds, but could not come up with anything. Jesse had an idea, so she decided to try it. She started chanting again and was able to generate a small, but bright ball of light she could hold.
"Well, that'll have to work for now. We've gotta hurry up and get to the church; the ceremonies start in an hour and a half." Aaron urged. Nobody said anything. All three of them heard it at the same time; a soft crying that seemed to come from all around them at once. LeAnn forged on ahead oblivious to any possible dangers they could run into on their way through the castle.
"Waitaminute… you guys feel that? There's a deep throbbing coming from over there; near the fireplace." Jesse explained. Aaron walked towards the fireplace and tried to determine the origins of the throbbing. From what he could tell, that wing of the castle was a gateway of some sort. He went back to where LeAnn and Jesse were waiting.
"The castle is a gateway of some sort. Enya must have opened it on accident or something." He explained. The three of them closed and locked the doors that opened onto the wing containing the gateway. After a lot of walking, they determined that there was no one in the castle, so they closed it up, and Aaron cast a spell on it so that only Wicca could enter the castle. They continued onto the church and made it with time to spare.
"See you at three." LeAnn lovingly said to Aaron.
"I'll be counting the seconds until then." Aaron said. At that, they went to their makeshift dressing rooms that their friends had setup for them. LeAnn and Aaron had not grown much since their original marriage. Aaron had grown almost five inches and gained about thirty pounds while LeAnn had gained about forty pounds and grown about seven inches. Due to these facts, some minor adjustments had to be made to her wedding dress and his tuxedo. After a little trial and error, they were able to fit into their original wedding clothes. As three o'clock drew closer, the church grew quieter. Aaron had requested that the ceremony be held in accordance with the Wiccan rituals and rites of marriage. When the clock struck three, the ceremony began.
First, LeAnn walked down the aisle followed shortly by Aaron. Once they reached the altar, the priest took Aaron's left hand and LeAnn's right hands and tied them together with a piece of silk cloth. After their hands were tied together, they were blessed by the priest who then turned and left the altar, quietly chanting something as he left. As soon as the priest left the altar, the candles that were producing the light went out, plunging the entire temple into darkness. There was a slight glow emanating from above the altar and it was heading towards LeAnn and Aaron. As it came closer to them, the floating light resolved into Eithne. Aaron and LeAnn were ready for most anything, but this was a bit more than what they had in mind. As she came closer, Aaron noticed that she had a dagger in her hand and was preparing himself to run, but he found himself unable to move from the spot he was standing in.
Eithne stopped in front of them, recited something in Futhark, and then proceeded to prick LeAnn's and then Aaron's index fingers and then proceeded to prick her own, and finally touched her finger to theirs. Upon doing so, Aaron and LeAnn felt energy spread throughout their bodies. Almost immediately, the bleeding on their fingers stopped and the pricks on their fingers healed up completely, with no scars or evidence that it had been there. Aaron was dumbfounded; he had been expecting a simple wedding like most people back home had. Jesse was sitting up front and could feel the love emanating from LeAnn, Eithne, and Aaron.
Eithne handed Aaron a big book that she had carried with her when she first came down to the altar. Aaron was unsure what he should do with the book; if he should open it or not. Eithne opened the book as Aaron held it and recited the wedding vows in English. LeAnn could feel all her guilt leaving her body and soul. The guilt that she had built up over the past fourteen years was being cleansed away by the words that Eithne was saying. Aaron felt himself trembling as he listened to what Eithne was saying. Each word that she spoke went through him and brought all the fears and troubles he had to the surface where they were destroyed by the sun shining through the windows.
As Eithne finished, Aaron caught a tear leaving her eye. Eithne must have felt Aaron's eyes on her, for she turned her back to them and softly wept. Aaron wrapped his arms around LeAnn and kissed her on the lips. At that time, LeAnn took off running down the aisle with Aaron following close behind. As they left the chapel, Eithne slowly left the temple. Once outside, she walked along the streets and prayed for the safety of Aaron and LeAnn in this long journey down a more dangerous road.
As she walked along every place she stepped, flowers grew under her feet. Above her, the heavens were snowing on all of Ireland. For one moment, the world was at peace with the people and everyone was happy. In that moment, Eithne felt all the pain and suffering of the Earth's people disappear, and at that same time the painand suffering was replaced by an unending happiness that filled every heart it touched with a warm glow.
As she walked further along the boulevard, she faded into nothingness. Aaron and LeAnn, meanwhile, were having time of their lives at the reception. They were both on the dance floor dancing the night away. Finally, at about three in the morning, the reception started to quiet down. It took nearly an hour to get it cleaned up and gather all the presents and gifts together. Once they had the hall cleaned up, they left the reception hall and went back to Eithne's castle. Just then, something occurred to LeAnn.
"What happened to Jesse?" She asked Aaron. Aaron thought for a second, and then said,
"Shit! The last time I saw her was as I came running after you in the church. I haven't seen her since. I say we get our stuff into the castle, then go looking for her." Aaron said as he grabbed their suitcases and LeAnn took all the gifts. As he got closer to the castle, he noticed that the doors were laying on the front yard. From the look of it, the doors looked like they had been beaten down from the inside. Aaron dropped the suitcases and ran inside. He found a light switch and hit it. As soon as his eyes adjusted to the harsh light, he saw that someone had been in there while they were out partying. Whoever had been there had painted the words "Here today, gone tomorrow" all over the walls and ceiling. As he stood there, he slowly remembered the final details surrounding his parents' disappearance.

(End of Chapter 11)

Chapter 12 (Setting: Saturday August 17, 2013 9:23 PM En Route to Dallas, Texas)

"LeAnn, I've finally remembered what exactly happened to my parents." Aaron said. The plane that they were on was about half-full and they were sitting up in first class.
"What do you think happened?" LeAnn curiously asked, knowing all the time that there was more to the story than what Aaron knew.
"What happened was this: mom and dad were fighting and I was fed up with it, so I went to my room and wished that they would vanish so I wouldn't have to listen to their fighting anymore and my wish came true. Since that night…" Aaron was explaining when LeAnn cut him off.
"That's only part of the story. At the same time, the government was trying to eliminate any citizens who knew anything about what the government was really trying to hide. My family was the target of the first of these eliminations because my mom and dad were running an underground network of information distribution systems. The information they were getting was taken straight from their massive database." LeAnn explained. Aaron never would have guessed that the web of misinformation and lies would be this intricate.
"Yes, but why me family?" Aaron asked in bewilderment.
"Your parents both secretly worked for the government and were receiving information from my parents." LeAnn explained.
"So, what happened to my parents? What'd the government do with'em?" Aaron asked. LeAnn frowned.
"Unfortunately, that's one that I can't answer. They never even told me what would happen to anyone they got rid of that way. I have many theories that I hope aren't true." LeAnn sadly explained.
"Well, let's not talk about anything sad right now because this is the happiest day of our lives." Aaron said. LeAnn leaned over and rested her head on Aaron's shoulder. Aaron reached over and held her close to him. Eventually, she drifted off to sleep. About two hours outside of Dallas, Aaron finally fell asleep. He woke up about an hour and a half later to find that Jesse was now sitting across the aisle from him and LeAnn.
"Where the hell'd you come from?" Aaron, who was very shocked, asked. Jesse leaned over and explained what happened to him.
"I was sitting at the wedding and I sensed a demonic presence so I got up and went outside. Once I got outside, I caught sight of a police officer walking around and I ran for cover." Jesse explained.
"Why'd you run?" Aaron asked, concerned.
"I'm a suspect. They think I used my powers to get into a bank vault. And, I did kill someone but it was on accident." Jesse explained in a hushed voice.
"How the hell do you fuckin' kill someone on accident?" Aaron asked. LeAnn was just starting to wake up.
"What's goin' on? Where are we?" LeAnn, who was still half-asleep, asked.
"Dig this… Jesse's back!" Aaron told a drowsy LeAnn.
"Girl… where the hell ya been?" LeAnn asked now a little more awake.
"It's a long story… I'll tell it once we land. I'd rather talk about it in more secure surroundings. I don't wanna risk exposing ourselves to the rest of the passengers." Jessica answered.
"We understand. So, you excited about becoming our daughter?" Aaron asked a nervous Jessica.
"Ready as I'll ever be! How are we gonna legalize the adoption? My parents are supposed to sign the papers or something, aren't they?" Jesse asked with a hint of worry in her voice. Aaron looked over at LeAnn who shrugged his glance off her.
"We'll just explain the situation to the people we talk to. Of course, we'll leave out the part about our bein' Wiccan and the part of who performed the wedding ceremony. For whatever reason, if they ask what religion we are, we'll just say that we are elementalists and we'll leave it at that." Aaron explained in his matter-of-fact voice.
"Hey! I've got an idea: let's scare the rest of the passengers with our powers!" Jesse blurted out to LeAnn and Aaron.
"Absolutely not! I will not let you misuse your powers in such a way! Witches are only 'sposed to use their powers to help people when needed." Aaron strictly, but quietly, said. Jesse had heard enough from both of them about how she was supposed to use her powers so she cast a spell on Aaron and LeAnn that prevented them from speaking. The rest of the plane trip went by uneventfully. Upon landing, the spell wore off and they could talk again.
"I love the sound of silence." Jesse half-jokingly said. Aaron was outraged that someone half his age had more developed powers than he. Slowly, Aaron was starting to realize that he was not as powerful as he thought he was. He was not born a witch like young Jesse; he had received his powers from LeAnn just as she had received them from someone else. LeAnn had lost access to her powers due to her using them for self-glorification, for she had invoked the Law of Threes whereas whatever you do will come back to you three times as strong be it good or bad.
"What was that for?" Aaron asked. Jesse answered with a frown on her face.
"I got sick of listening to you two boss me around as you have been. I can understand something like that if I mess up or something, but you two do it all the friggin' time!" Aaron and LeAnn were struck by what Jessica had just said and were once again silenced. They exited the plane and went straight to his car, which was still parked in the airports parking lot.
"So, what should we do first?" LeAnn asked. Aaron looked at his watch and, to his surprise, discovered that it was past midnight already.
"My suggestion is that we go home and get ready to move into one of our houses tomorrow sometime. For tonight, let's get some sleep, 'cause we're going to need it tomorrow." LeAnn said.
"How 'bout we move into my house? It's bigger than LeAnn's!" Aaron suggested.
"Let's not get personal here. Your house may be bigger, but mine sits over a major source of energy. I say we move into my house." LeAnn debated. Jesse was unsure about whom to side with because she would be the tiebreaker. On one hand, there was Aaron's larger house, but then LeAnn's sat over a source of energy. She wanted to side with LeAnn, but at the same time, she did not want to upset Aaron. She had an idea, and as she stood there, she saw that it would be better for all of them if she spoke up and voiced her opinion.
"Wait… waitaminute… let's be civilized here; why don't we sleep on it and discuss it in the morning?" Jesse asked them. All the time, Aaron was thinking that she would make a great negotiator, a psychic detective, or some other highly specialized person. She already had enough knowledge to run a small country, Aaron thought. He was just curious what she would use her knowledge for.
"Alright. Let's do as she says; sleep on it and talk about it in the morning. One more thing: where's Jesse gonna sleep tonight?" Aaron asked. LeAnn looked from Aaron to Jesse and then back.
"How about she spends the night at my place? My house is a little more suited for young women than yours, I'm sorry to say." LeAnn spoke. Aaron sleepily nodded and sauntered into his dark house while LeAnn and Jesse made their way down the street to her medium-sized house.

(End of Chapter 12)

Chapter 13 (Setting: Sunday, August 13, 2013 12:00 AM Dallas, Texas)

"So, tell me more about yourself. Where you from? What do you like to do?" LeAnn inquired as she poured each of them a stiff drink. After a brief toast to life, love, and peace, Jesse answered the question posed by LeAnn.
"Originally, I was born and raised in Patten, Maine. When I was thirteen, we moved to Grand Portage, Minnesota and that's where my parents were killed. That was when I went on the run across the US and eventually got enough money to take a plane trip…" Jesse was explaining when LeAnn interrupted her.
"To Ireland and that's where you ran into us." LeAnn added.
"Well, I was really going to Switzerland, but changed my mind when I met your husband, Aaron." Jesse corrected.
"It must have been hard to just get up and leave your home without saying 'Bye' to all your friends, wasn't it?" LeAnn asked, knowing what that was like.
"Not really. Most of the town hated me because of what I am and they all knew it. I did meet a few people who did practice the various kinds of witchcraft. They all vanished before I left and I lost touch with them." Jesse explained. They continued to ask each other questions until early morning.
Aaron was busy all night packing his stuff to move into LeAnn's house. By ten that morning, Aaron had everything he needed packed into the suitcases and boxes. Before he started moving his stuff over to LeAnn's place, he decided he would go over and make sure she was ready for him to move in. He walked to her place because it was so close to his old house and it would seem too senseless to drive such a short distance. He got there and knocked on the door; Jesse answered it.
"Oh, hey Aaron! Wasn't expecting you this early!" Jesse said as she opened the door.
"Who is it? If it's a salesman, tell him we have one!" LeAnn called from somewhere behind Jesse.
"It's Aaron!" Jesse announced to LeAnn.
"We ready for the big move? I've thought it over and I think it would be better if I moved in here. Your stuff is much more organized and your house is in better shape than mine. My house could fall down any second." Aaron said. Jesse moved aside so Aaron could enter.
"Wow! I've never seen this house during the day! I like it!" Aaron expressed as he entered the house. From the exterior, LeAnn's house was smaller than Aaron's old house, but she had made better use of the existing space; whereas Aaron just threw stuff everywhere there was an empty spot on the floor or the walls. He now realized that by being married, he would have to change his old ways; that meant no more going to strip clubs, no more sleeping all day, no more going for multiple days without showering. He knew that being married brought with it more responsibilities and a much different lifestyle.
"So, when do you want to start the move?" LeAnn asked, coming down from her room in a bathrobe.
"Morning, my love. I was thinking of starting to bring my things over here after a nice breakfast." Aaron suggested. Jesse and LeAnn looked at each other and said in unison,
"Sounds good."

(End of Chapter 13)

Chapter 14 (Setting: Sunday, August 18, 2013 11:23 AM Dallas, Texas)

After a brief breakfast, they all headed to Aaron's place and started with carrying his stuff back to LeAnn's place. About two hours later, they were pretty much done with moving his stuff into her house.
"Okay, how about we go and get the paperwork done for the adoption?" Aaron asked.
"I say we get it over with because its gonna be the hardest thing to get done." LeAnn explained. Aaron had the feeling that something was going to happen to them, but he could not put his finger right on it just then. He also thought that his powers would not let him see into the future and find out what he sensed would happen. So, they piled into his car, went down to the courthouse, and walked in. Aaron, LeAnn, and Jesse went straight to the records office.
"May I help you?" Asked the clerk. Aaron stepped up to the counter.
"Hello. My wife and I would like to adopt this young girl." Aaron started. The clerk was busily shuffling through a folder of documents.
"Are the child's parents here with her?" The clerk patiently asked.
"Well, that's going to be a bit of a problem. My parents are deceased. And, I don't have any brothers or sisters and I'm unsure of any relatives. This man and his wife basically adopted me from the moment we met." Jesse explained.
"And, how old are you?" The clerk asked.
"I am fifteen years old." Jesse said. The clerk happened to glance at the bulletin board behind Aaron and see one of the wanted posters. The name of the person on this particular poster was Jesse Hincklemeyer, and the photo of the person looked just like the girl standing in front of her; she knew she had to think fast and get the police here without Jesse knowing about it.
"Just a moment… I have to go and find a couple forms that you two will have to fill out." The clerk said to Aaron. She got up from her computer terminal and walked back to an unmarked office.
"Sir, you know that missing Hincklemeyer girl on the wanted poster?" Andrea, the clerk, asked her boss.
"Make it fast. What about her?" Alexander asked, not looking up from the papers in front of him. Andrea took a deep breath and continued.
"Well, she's out at my terminal with those two kids from back in '99. Should I call the police? What should I do?" She asked. Alexander looked up from his various papers and looked into her eyes.
"You stall'em, I'll make the call. Don't let them leave!" Alex said as he picked up the phone. Alex went back out to her terminal.
"Sorry, but I was having trouble getting into the database. As I'm sure you already know, there's paperwork to fill out and records we'll have to get. First, what city were you born in?" Andrea asked. Aaron wandered off to the restroom, leaving LeAnn with Jesse.
"I was born in Patten, Maine back in 1999." Jesse explained.
"Do you happen to know the number for the Hall of Records? We'll need them to fax us their records of you." The clerk explained. Just then, three police cruisers came to a screeching halt in front of the courthouse. Immediately, the police marched into the courthouse and surrounded LeAnn and Jesse.
"Hold it right there!" One of the cops said. Another snuck up behind Jesse and slapped handcuffs on Jesse. The cop who slapped the cuffs on Jesse grabbed LeAnn and threw her aside. The police then led a violently protesting Jesse out to one of the cars.
"Lemme go! Son of a bitch! Let… me… go! I'm warning you, I know big people! Very big people!" Jesse screamed.
"Look kid! Screaming ain't gonna do no good! Do as we say and you might get off easy." The sheriff said. Gradually, she tired herself out and she sat quietly in the back of the cop car. After a few minutes, they arrived at their destination.
"What the hell? Ain't I supposed to be arraigned in a court hearing? This ain't fair, dammit!" She protested.
"Get out and be quiet. Make any noise above a whisper and I'll kill you where you stand. Got it?" The sheriff looked her straight in the eyes and it was then that she realized she was face to face with a cold-blooded killer.
"What ya want with me? I didn't do anything to you." Jesse asked.
"From what I hear, you a witch, ain't ya girlie?" He asked as he led her into the jailhouse.
"We prefer to be called Wicca. Why, that doesn't matter. We, as Americans, have the right to practice any religion we want and Wicca is a recognized religion." Jesse proudly admitted. He threw her up against the wall and searched her. As he searched her, he also felt her up. Too scared to do anything, she tried to defend herself as well as she could. Once he was done with her, he took her to a cell and threw her into it. He closed the door and left her to herself. Jesse ran to the corner of the room and cried uncontrollably.
"Hon, don't cry. That bastard touched you, didn't he?" The prisoner across from her asked. Jesse nodded, unable to find her voice.
"I know how you feel. My names Willow. What's yours?" Willow asked. It took Jesse a few seconds to find her voice.
"I'm Jesse Hincklemeyer. I know what you're thinking; what is a girl my age doing in a shit-hole like this? I'll tell you: I have been accused of murder," Jesse said in her tear soaked voice. Willow got up and walked to the one shelf in her cell, took a pack of cigarettes from the carton that was there and passed it over to Jesse who nervously opened the pack and lit one using her powers.
"Let me guess… you killed someone on accident using your powers. I know, because that's what happened to me. I found that I had these unexplainable powers and I was trying some stuff with them when I accidentally killed our neighbors." Willow related to a very tense Jesse. Jesse walked up to the steel door.
"Y'wanna know the sucky thing? I was in the middle of filling out the paperwork to be adopted by a cute man and his wife, LeAnn. So, where you from?" Jesse asked. Willow seemed to pause for a moment as if she had been asked a hard question. A question that required lots of thought.
"Burtkittsville, Maryland. Go ahead and make all the jokes that you want, but I've heard'em all. The people there tried to blame the whole Blair Witch thing on me. When they started that, I packed up and started moving across the U.S." Willow explained. At that moment, the sheriff came walking up the corridor towards Willow's cell.
"Willow Christensen, you have been released on bail. Gather your things and be ready to get out in fifteen minutes." The sheriff said, and then walked back out again.
"Girl, ya hear that? I'm getting' outta here! Why the sad look on your face, hun?" Willow asked as she realized that Jesse was close to tears.
"But… but… we just met. I hardly know anything about you. You're the only person I get along with in here. Don't leave… I need a friend in here." Jesse pleaded.
"Kiddo, I'll give you my address so you can get in touch with me when you get out. Here, I'll write it on a picture of me and my boyfriend." She said as she dug around in her cell for one of her pictures and a pen. She wrote her address down and slid the picture over to Jesse. "Deputy, I'm ready." Willow shouted from her cell. The deputy came to her cell and opened the door. "May I ask a favor? Can I give the girl across from me a hug?" Willow asked.
"Yeah, I can't see any harm in it. Make it quick though." He said as he unlocked Jesse's cell.
"Kiddo, you try to stay out of places like this and just stay out of trouble." Then, as they hugged, Willow whispered to Jesse, "I can sense you'll be getting out sometime today. I can't tell how, but I know you'll get out today." She finished. Before she was escorted off the block, she handed Jesse a carton of cigarettes. After she did that, she let the Deputy escort her to the discharge desk, where she was given her street clothes and personal items that she came in with. Once she got outside, she vanished. About three hours later, Aaron and LeAnn arrived at the detention center where Jesse was being held.
"Hello. How may I help you?" The woman behind the desk asked.
"Yes. We're here to bail out Jesse Hincklemeyer. What's her bail set for?" LeAnn asked. The desk clerk typed the name into the computer and waited impatiently for the computer to locate Jesse's records.
"Alright, her bail is five thousand dollars." The clerk said.
"Aaron, you didn't bring that much with, did you?" LeAnn whispered. Aaron shushed her and handed the clerk enough money for the bail.
"One second and I'll be back with your friend." The clerk said as she walked back into the block.

(End of Chapter 14)

Chapter 15 (Setting: Tuesday, August 20, 2013 3:30 PM Dallas, Texas)

"LeAnn! Aaron! I'm so glad to see you! I was starting to wonder if you'd appears be able to find me." Jesse said as she ran up and threw her arms around Aaron and LeAnn.
"I came outta the bathroom and you were gone and LeAnn was laying on the floor. I helped her up and she told me what happened and we began searching for you." Aaron started. LeAnn took Aaron and Jesse's and walked with them back to her car.
"What the hell was that about back at the court admin offices? Why the hell were they after you of all people?" LeAnn asked as she climbed into her car. Jesse visibly cringed at the thought of telling her entire story to LeAnn and Aaron whom she cared deeply about.
"Okay, here's the whole story… back when I first found my powers, I was a Satanist. Well, one day my neighbors really pissed me off. They got mad at me because I had to tie something to one of their trees and they got very pissed at my parents 'cause my folks supposedly told me to tie the thing to their tree." Jesse explained, pausing to light a cigarette before continuing, "My parents, in turn, got mad at me and sent me to my room. I went to my room and wished that something would happen to the neighbors. Later that night, the whole state was hit by really severe thunderstorms. The neighbor's house was struck by lightning and obliterated. The bodies were never found and no other house was touched at all." Jesse finished.
"Let's try to forget our pasts and live in the present. We did manage to finish the paperwork, so you're legally our daughter now!" LeAnn happily exclaimed. Jesse was grinning from ear to ear.
"How 'bout we go to LeAnn's place and finish moving in and then setup an altar someplace." Jesse suggested. Once they had finished moving Aaron's stuff into LeAnn's house and setup an altar in the basement, they made and then sat down to their first dinner as a family in their house. The rest of their first night as a family passed uneventfully. The next day, they set about trying to locate the rest of the Pagans in Dallas, Texas. It proved to be problematic, as the local townspeople were not very tolerant of anyone living any kind of alternative lifestyle no matter what it was. By about six o'clock that night, they had found five other Pagans in Dallas and had formed a rough circle and together, they picked out a spot in the woods to gather at. With their powers, they blessed the ground they stood upon and using sticks, stones, and vines they found around them, they crafted a pentacle that they placed on the ground in front of them all.
Regularly, for the next month on Wednesday and Saturday, they met at the circle to worship and gather their powers. Unknown to them, the general populace of Dallas had found about their circle in the forest and had formed a group of witch hunters to eliminate the evil in the community; or as they had become called, the Witches Of Dallas. Upon finding out about the hunters by accident, the circle became suspicious.

(End of Chapter 15)

Chapter 16 (Setting: Saturday, September 21, 2013 2:13 AM Dallas, Texas)

To a witch, suspicion is the worst possible thing. Suspicion can be a most crippling thing for a witch must trust their surroundings and the people around them. Trust is a must in a circle or a coven also. If there is not trust in a circle or coven, then suspicions arise.
On September 21, Aaron could sense that the trust amongst their circle was not at its full potential. Within the last week, LeAnn had had the circle concentrating on trying to establish contact with Enya, the Goddess who LeAnn had formed the circle around. As they stood in their circle, drawing down their powers, one of the witch hunters snuck up to the edge of the clearing they were standing in. He took extra care to line his one shot up with the youngest person in the group. As he got ready to take his shot, the circle started to levitate.
As the circle rose higher in the air, the hunter kept the youngest in his sights. Once he was sure he would not miss, he squeezed the trigger and fired his one shot. The report from the gun brought them out of the trance they were in; right as the report sounded, the entire circle came falling back to the ground. The hunter did not stick around to find out if he had hit the young girl or not; he took off running through the forest back to the rest of the hunters.
LeAnn ran over to where Jesse lay and tried to get her to wake up. All the rest of the circle had scattered throughout the woods, leaving LeAnn, Jesse, and Aaron in the clearing.
"What the hell happened? Was that even 'sposed to happen?" Aaron asked as he limped over to where LeAnn was.
"I'm not even sure what happened. All I know is that we were talking to Enya and all of a sudden I blacked out for like a second and when I came to, I was laying on the ground and everyone else was running." LeAnn explained, still trying to shake Jesse and get her to wake up. Aaron happened to glance at the ground underneath Jesse and realized she was bleeding.
"Where's she hurt? Where's the blood coming from?" Aaron asked, snapping LeAnn out of the trance-like state she seemed to be in. They proceeded to carefully check Jesse's body and were shocked when they found a shotgun wound in her back. Aaron instinctively checked for a pulse and found none. On finding no pulse, Aaron began CPR while LeAnn tried to use her powers to try to contact one of the other circle members. After a couple minutes of trying CPR without any success, he gave up.
"Hon, save your powers. She's lost too much blood already. I think we've lost her." Aaron sadly stated. LeAnn shook her head and kept trying with her powers with tears streaming down her face. "LeAnn, listen to me. Jesse was killed; we can't do anything about that now! We couldn't have prevented any of this from happening even if we knew it was going to happen." Aaron said as he held LeAnn's shoulders and wiped away her tears.
"I'm sorry… I'm so sorry! I didn't want any of this to happen…" LeAnn started to say, but was cut off by Aaron.
"Damn it! You weren't responsible for any of this! Remember, we were going to forget about our pasts and the bad shit that's happened." Aaron said to LeAnn.
"Inadvertently, you both caused young Jesse's death. You used your powers to fill out the adoption papers for Jesse and you also used your powers on Mabon. You have broken the sacred laws and have been punished." Enya said as she materialized out of a cloud of mist.
"Why her? Why not one of us? We screwed up, not her!" Aaron asked, wiping LeAnn's tears away. Enya frowned.
"By killing one of you two, the other would not learn the lesson from it. But, by killing young Jesse, I have forced you two to live with your decisions and actions. If you had simply let her be, none of this would have happened." Enya explained. Aaron put his arms around LeAnn and held her close to him. She was softly crying as Aaron held her.
"This is so unfair! You've been putting us through inter-marital hell after you take the life of the girl who had just become our daughter, and you can't even say you're sorry?" LeAnn cried. Enya just shook her head.
"When are you going to understand you brought this on yourselves? I'm not punishing you; you're going that yourselves." Enya said, "I must go; for my time grows short. I don't know if we'll ever meet again, but I love you and I hope to see you again sometime." Enya said as she faded away into nothing. Aaron got up and helped LeAnn up. It was then that the police and ambulance arrived in the woods.
"Hold it right there! Don't come any farther!" The first police officer on the scene ordered. Aaron and LeAnn stopped in mid-stride.
"We had nothing to do with this! We were performing a ritual and someone came out here shooting at us." Aaron shouted to the officer. Aaron heard the cop uncock his gun and holster it.
"I'm now coming towards you. Any sudden movements and my partner will shoot." The officer said. Aaron and LeAnn were silently casting a spell as the cop approached. Suddenly, the cops and the ambulance personnel vanished, leaving just the empty vehicles.
"What the hell? Wasn't that supposed to happen the other way around?" Aaron asked.
"I'm not sure what happened. I'm sure we cast it right and I'm pretty sure that was the right spell. We should probably get Jesse's body to the hospital and see if maybe they can figure out what exactly happened." LeAnn explained to Aaron. He nodded and they both laid Jesse's body on the stretcher and after hotwiring it, drove to the hospital where the coroner explained that the gun blast was a twenty-gauge slug rifle, so they would be able to identify the weapon. Once the coroner had completed his initial exam of Jesse's body, he came out to where Aaron and LeAnn were sitting.
"If it's none of my business, let me know and I'll shut up. How did she get all those scars all over her body? What were you three doing out in the woods when she got shot?" Doctor Klein asked. Aaron looked over at LeAnn before continuing.
"Before I continue, do you believe that there is such a thing as witchcraft?" LeAnn asked Doctor Klein in a shaky voice. He stopped to think about the question for a few seconds before answering.
"Where I come from, we used to hunt witches on a regular basis. But, I do believe there is such a thing as a witch." Klein said, watching the couple in front of him carefully. Aaron took a deep breath before continuing.

(End of Chapter 16)

Chapter 17 (Setting: September 22, 2013 5:23 AM Dallas County Hospital, Dallas, Texas)

"We were out there in the woods trying to talk to our Goddess. I know it sounds like some weird mass hallucination or something but it's true. We had almost reached the state of consciousness needed to communicate with our goddess, when we suddenly fell back to normal consciousness and back to the ground. Apparently, Jesse had been shot and the report from the gun brought us back to normal." Aaron explained. LeAnn leaned forward and quietly added,
"She got all the scars when she was young. She was kidnapped and tortured because she was born a witch. We had just adopted her and then all this shit happened." LeAnn cried with tears running down her cheeks. Aaron reached over and took her hand in his. Doctor Klein stood and told them that her burial would be within three days and that he would call them once he turned the bullet over to the crime lab for analysis. Aaron and LeAnn agreed to a standard catholic burial followed, later that night, by the appropriate Pagan ritual. The next three days came and went slowly. Finally at noon on the third day, the time for the burial ceremony arrived.
Throughout the Catholic burial, Aaron kept an eye on LeAnn in case she started to cry. Once the burial was complete, Aaron and LeAnn and the rest of the Pagans cast a circle around Jesse's grave. Later, after everyone else left, all the Wicca in Dallas joined hands in a ceremony that would help protect and guide Jesse's young soul on its journey to the next life. After the ceremonies were done, they left and went to the nightclub and spent the rest of the night there.
As morning came, so did a new sense of loneliness. This new sense of loneliness was also followed by a fierce realization of how fragile life really was. First Aaron went home to get cleaned up, then he went back to the nightclub and LeAnn went home to get cleaned up. On her way home, LeAnn found herself drawn to Aaron's old house. As she neared his old house, she sensed that someone was following her, so she spun around and found herself face to face with her younger self. The younger LeAnn motioned for the adult LeAnn to follow her and led the adult LeAnn to Aaron's old backyard. In the middle of the yard was a small depression, which the young LeAnn motioned for her older self to sit in. As LeAnn sat down in the depression, she found herself entering a heightened state of consciousness. As she ascended into this higher state of consciousness, Enya materialized before her.
"LeAnn, I'm so sorry about young Jesse's death. I feel so bad for not being able to do anything about it. The moon was not in the right phase, so my powers were at their lowest." Enya explained. LeAnn was crying as she pleaded with Enya to take her with back up to Heaven, and Enya repeatedly told her that it would be impossible to do.
"My time grows short, so I must hurry. From what I can see, the future looms before you and Aaron with but a few small troubles. It shows to be a future of wonderful news and happiness. Always remember, I'll always love you and I'll always be watching over you two forever." Enya finished as she slowly disappeared, leaving LeAnn to cry alone in the dark.

(End of Chapter 17)

Chapter 18 (Setting: September 27, 2013 9:14 PM Dallas, Texas)

Aaron was discovering that trying to run a nightclub single-handedly was not as easy as he thought it would be. The bar itself was hard enough to run, but with the kitchen and the karaoke machine going full swing, it was nearly impossible to stay caught up. To his dismay, LeAnn was still not back and he was running behind on everything. Finally at about eleven thirty, she came back to the nightclub.
"Damn! You had me worried sick. Where were you? What the hell took so long?" Aaron shouted over the din of the drunks and music.
"I've gotta talk to ya. And, we…" LeAnn was explaining to Aaron when she was cut off by one of the drunks.
"Hey you! Yeah, you in the Goth outfit. Where the fuck is my drink?" A particularly large and overly drunk customer shouted.
"Hey pal, can't you see I'm talkin' to the lady?" Aaron shouted back at the large man.
"Boy, mind yer own business. This is between me an' the girl. She owns this place and I'm a payin' customer and I… want… my… drink!" He exclaimed over the noise as he stood up and stumbled closer to where LeAnn and Aaron were standing. On the way to them, he grabbed a pool stick and held it like it was a baseball bat.
"Hey man, we don't want anyone to get hurt. If you go back and sit down, we'll get your drink when we get to it." Aaron turned back to LeAnn, not seeing the pool stick the man was carrying, and started talking to get again. The large man swung the pool stick as hard as he could and his Aaron right in the middle of his neck in the back. Aaron slumped to the floor unconscious. LeAnn grabbed her cell phone and dialed 911.
"Send help! My husband's been attacked! I'm in Nicole's Nightclub! Hurry! Send police and an ambulance!" She quickly said into the phone. A few of the other customers had started fighting and throwing whatever they could grab.
"We're sending an ambulance and police right now." The operator said. Looking back into the crowd, LeAnn could see how bad it had gotten. There were beer bottles and tables and chairs being knocked over and thrown. Just then, one of the other customers threw a beer bottle at her and hit the band she was holding the cell phone in. She felt a couple bones in her hand break and her cell phone broke open with the circuit boards that were in it falling to the floor and breaking. Deciding it was time to defend herself, LeAnn grabbed whatever she could and threw it at the crowd, which was getting more and more violent.
All at once, the police kicked down the front door and started firing rubber bullets at the crowd. Once they managed to mostly subdue the crowd, the paramedics came rushing in with a stretcher for Aaron. They managed to get Aaron on the stretcher and then helping LeAnn through the mess that was her nightclub, she and Aaron got into the ambulance and were taken to the hospital. Upon arriving at the hospital, Aaron was rushed off to get X-Rays taken of his neck while LeAnn went to the other X-Ray machine to get her hand looked at. Once the X-Rays were done on the two of them, Aaron was rushed to surgery while LeAnn had a cast put on her hand where the two bones had broken. Five hours later, the doctor who had been operating on Aaron came out.
"How's it going? How's he doing? How bad is it?" LeAnn questioned the doctor.
"Well, it's going alright. Your husband is doing well. What happened was when he was hit with the pool stick; his second vertebrae broke down the middle laterally and the third just cracked. So, we've had to fuse his second and third vertebrae together. He'll be fine. It'll take some time for him to fully recover but when he does, he'll be his good old self. We'll call you the moment he wakes up." Doctor Ricardo said.
"Thanks. You have no idea how much weight this takes off my shoulders. Alright, I'll be waiting to hear from you guys at my house." She said as she gave the doctor a hug and then left the hospital and walked home. On the way home, she stopped by a gas station to get herself some more cigarettes. Upon entering, LeAnn could sense that her presence was not wanted in the store. She went straight up to the counter and told the clerk what she wanted. The clerk quickly got the cigarettes and sold them to LeAnn. LeAnn handed the clerk the money and got out of the store. She hurried home and made herself something to eat and then took a relaxing bath. Once she was done, she sat down on the couch next to the phone and after a couple cigarettes she fell asleep. While she slept, she dreamt of the night following Mabon and what happened at the gathering. In her dream, it was her that got shot.

(End of Chapter 18)

Chapter 19 (Setting: September 28, 2013 10:17 AM Dallas, Texas)

At about ten o'clock, LeAnn received a call from the hospital regarding Aaron's condition. She got dressed and hurried to the hospital. She made it there in less than ten minutes and completed the journey to Aaron's room, which was on the top floor. Upon arriving, she noticed that there were an awful lot of doctors rushing around the hospital. She just hoped that none of the were hurrying to Aaron's room. Upon arriving at his room, LeAnn discovered that she was right; Aaron was sleeping soundly. She then searched around the hospital for Aaron's doctor. She found Doctor Ricardo on the thirteenth floor.
"I'm sorry to bother you, but I'm wondering if you could tell me how my husband is doing." LeAnn asked.
"Of course. What is his name?" The doctor asked. LeAnn told him what his name was and the doctor typed it into the nearest computer. While the doctor was looking through the pages of information in Aaron's chart on the computer, LeAnn cast a simple spell on Aaron to help him recover faster. She finished casting the spell right as the doctor turned around to tell LeAnn how Aaron was doing.
"He's doing quite well. After the surgery, he showed signs of shock, but he recovered quickly. He should stay here for about another week and then he'll be allowed to go home and only have to come back about every other week for a follow-up." The doctor said.
"Thank you, doctor. Can I wake him up?" LeAnn asked. The doctor said,
"Yes, but don't force him to wake up. We have him on some heavy drugs. Fortunately, he can still feel pain below his neck. But, go ahead and wake him up. He may not be a hundred percent here, but he should recognize you." The doctor said before going back to tending to his other patients. LeAnn went to Aaron's room and gently shook him.
"I already ate dinner. Go 'way." Aaron dreamily said. LeAnn bent over and gently kissed Aaron's forehead. As she kissed him, Aaron slowly reached up and put his arms around LeAnn's body and held her close. LeAnn's first reaction was to defend herself by trying to pull away. After a few seconds of struggling, she managed to get out of his arms. Once free, she wondered why she reacted the way she did to her husband's embrace. She looked down at Aaron lying there and she noticed he had not moved at all. LeAnn sat down next to Aaron's bed and laid her head on his shoulder and dozed off. At about eight that night, Aaron moving while he was waking up woke LeAnn up. She waited until he was fully awake and then said,
"Hey, honey! How do you feel?" Aaron recognized the voice but his eyes would not focus on the source of the voice.
"That you, LeAnn? My eyes are really sore. Ohhh, I feel like shit!" Aaron moaned. LeAnn kissed Aaron's cheek and then told him,
"I've been so worried. I wake up at night and look next to me and see an empty spot where you should be. I've been having nightmares about you dying here in the hospital." Aaron pushed himself up on his elbows and turned so he was facing LeAnn.
"Girl, you don't have to worry about me. I'll be fine in a week or so and I'll be back home with you. Just come and visit me and keep me company in this giant hospital." Aaron said as he lowered himself back down to the bed. "I'm gonna go back to sleep. They've got me on some pretty strong meds that help me sleep. Always remember, I love you no matter what." Aaron said as the drugs took hold of him again and he fell back asleep. LeAnn went back to the house for the night. For some reason, the house seemed darker, more menacing than before.
LeAnn walked up to the house and fumbled with her keys in the dark. She dropped her keys and stepped back to let the light from the streetlights shine on the doorstep. As she stepped aside, the door slowly creaked open. She cautiously approached the door. As she got nearer, the lights in the entire neighborhood went out. She quickly went into the house and closed the door behind her. She tried the light switches and found that they did not work. She then attempted to cast a spell that would produce light in the room but was unable to get the spell to work. As she tried to cast her candle-lighting spell, she felt the magic start to leave her body.
"Enya, please… don't do this to me." LeAnn cried. Enya appeared before her.
"I'm sorry, LeAnn. You made foolish use of your powers." Enya sadly said.
"When? How? Why do you say that I did such a stupid thing?" LeAnn asked.
"When you were at home, you used your powers to attempt to communicate with your supposed former lord, Satan. I never should have granted you use of the power. And, then when you were helping Aaron become a Pagan, you shed blood to grant him powers. Only Satanists shed blood for one another. Therefore, I will rid your body of the powers I endowed you with. I am allowing Aaron to keep his powers. All I will do with him is help him get better and teach him the truth about Paganism." Enya said. As Enya said that, she took the rest of LeAnn's powers. "LeAnn, I am very sorry, but you should have thought about the consequences of your actions. Remember, I will always watch over you and Aaron." Enya said as she disappeared. LeAnn was left alone to cry in the personal hell she had made for herself.

(End of Chapter 19)

Chapter 20 (Setting: September 28, 2013 11:12 PM Dallas, Texas)

As Aaron lay in the hospital bed, he started to hear voices. The voices that he was hearing sounded familiar, but his heavily drugged brainwas having trouble making any sense out of the voices. After listening to the babble for almost five minutes, the noise resolved itself into the form of Enya. Aaron could not believe his eyes.
"Enya, what're you doing here?" Aaron asked.
"I'm here to take you home. Home to your parents, home to your friends, home to your adopted daughter Jesse." Enya explained as she reached toward him. Aaron was surprised to find that he was reaching toward her outstretched hand. Suddenly, it occurred to him what was happening.
"I can't! What'll happen to LeAnn? Where'll she go?" Aaron asked, close to tears.
"She'll live out the rest of her mortal life on Earth, alone, left to fend for herself. You, meanwhile, will be living on the other side. You will live… forever." Enya answered. As she said this, Aaron came up with a plan.
"Can I think about this for awhile? I wanna have time to think about this." Aaron asked. Enya stopped to consider Aaron's question carefully.
"Yes, but have your decision by this time tomorrow." She said as she vanished, leaving Aaron with the sense that time had finally started to run out very quickly. He immediately called LeAnn's house.
"Yeah?" Came LeAnn's voice, sounding like she had been crying.
"LeAnn, it's me! Listen, you've gotta get over here quick. I need your powers to help prevent…" Aaron was saying when the line went dead. It was starting to heavily storm outside. Aaron managed to get up out of bed and kneel on the floor in an attempt to communicate with the Christian God. After a couple tries, he gave up and waited for LeAnn to arrive. At eleven thirty, LeAnn rushed through the hospital doors and up to Aaron's room.
"What's going on? What's the emergency?" She asked immediately. She was soaked from the pouring rain outside.
"I need your help. I'll die in twenty-four hours if I don't do something. I need the two of us to craft a spell that will make me get better. After that, I'm gonna cast a spell that will banish the magic from my body. Enya tried to force me to come with her to the other side earlier, though I was able to talk her into giving me twenty-four hours to decide. I don't want any part of witchcraft anymore… it's been nothing but trouble ever since you helped me convert." Aaron quickly explained, trying to find some paper in the drawers that stood next to his bed.
"Alright… I'll help you with writing it, but I can't cast it anymore. Enya took away my powers earlier tonight; that's why it looked like I had been crying when I got here." LeAnn offered. Aaron placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"All I wanna do is go back to living a normal life where I… I…" Aaron started to say, but stopped when he broke down crying. LeAnn wrapped her arms around him and held him tight against her until he stopped crying.
"Hon, we've gotta get started writing this spell before your powers get any weaker." LeAnn said. At that, the two of them sat there and started to design a spell that would help Aaron heal faster. After twenty-two hours of writing and rewriting, they finally came up with the finished spell. The casting of it took much longer than he had anticipated. Once he was done casting the newly crafted spell, Aaron realized that he did not have much time left to carry out the rest of his plan. Glancing at the clock, Aaron noticed he had less than an hour left.
"I'm gonna have to convert to Christianity before eleven twenty. Did you notice if there was a church here in the hospital?" Aaron quickly asked. LeAnn shook her head. "We've gotta find the nearest one and go there! I've gotta renounce Paganism before Enya comes back so she doesn't take me to the other side with her." He said as he got up off the floor and got dressed. Then, they left in a hurry and headed for the nearest church. Once there, they tried the front door and found it locked. "Who locks a church up, anyway?" Aaron asked, trying to lighten the mood a little bit. LeAnn ignored him and instead went around to the side to see if there was another door. Coming back to where Aaron was standing, LeAnn proceeded to pound on the door. "There's nobody here. Let's find another one. We've gotta hurry!" She could sense the urgency in his voice. They were about to turn around and leave when the door opened. Standing in the doorway was a heavy-set man dressed in the traditional priest garments.
"Hello. How may I be of service to you?" The priest asked. Aaron walked back up to the church.
"Father, I have come to ask for forgiveness." Aaron answered.
"Welcome, my son, to the house of God. Here you will be safe from all things evil." The priest said as he showed them into the church.

(End of Chapter 20)

Chapter 21 (Setting: September 29, 2013 12:35 AM Dallas, Texas)

"Father, please forgive me for I have sinned. It has been almost twenty years since my last confession." Aaron started.
"Now, I can't do this right here like this. There are rules that have to be followed; you know how this works. I can tell that you have something else that you want to say…" The priest reminded Aaron but was cut off.
"Sir, I must redeem myself in the eyes of the Lord. I'm… a witch and I'm going to be killed by the Pagan Goddess unless I do something. And, I don't want to leave my wife along in this crazy world. What can I do?" Aaron frantically asked, fully aware of the time.
"My son, the only way to cleanse yourself of these sins is to be baptized. Have you been baptized before, son?" Father O'Neill asked. Aaron tried to jog his memory, and could not remember being baptized ever. He told the priest just that and the priest explained that he could perform the ceremony but it would take a few minutes to prepare for it. While they were waiting for the Father to get prepared for the baptism, Aaron and LeAnn went outside and had a quick cigarette. After about five minutes, Father O'Neill came to the door and led them into the church. LeAnn waited outside the door leading to the room where the baptism would be preformed.
"I can't enter. I'm sorry, but my religion prevents me from entering. I am strictly Pagan. To enter would be to violate the Rede. I hope you understand." LeAnn explained while she hung back outside the door. Father O'Neill conducted the baptism as usual. Once it was done, Aaron felt the magic drain from his body as it was filled with a new belief.
"LeAnn, can you still communicate with Enya?" Aaron asked, glancing at his watch and noticing it was almost twenty-four hours since the visit from Enya. LeAnn entered the room and sat down on the floor. She started to chant something in Gaelic. The candles flickered and the lights dimmed as Enya appeared in the church.
"I take it you have made your decision." Aaron looked her straight in the eyes as he told her what he had decided.
"I've thought about it and I've decided to leave the Pagan ways of thinking and living. I am sorry, but the Pagan ways are too consuming for someone like me." He said. Enya had a sad look on her face as she realized she had lost yet another Pagan. As he looked at her, Aaron noticed she looked a little more transparent as if she were growing weaker by the minute.
"Enya, I'm sorry about all of this. And, I'm even more sorry about this… I'm gonna do it too. I don't want to spend the rest of my life separated from everyone else by my beliefs." LeAnn announced. She motioned for the priest to come and baptize her. He refused at first, obviously scared of the apparition floating before him. After a few seconds and numerous tries, LeAnn was able to coax Father O'Neill into baptizing her. Enya tried to step in and stop the ceremony, but was unable to move.
Before the ceremony, LeAnn had cast a spell against Enya interfering with her baptism. As LeAnn was baptized, Enya vanished. Immediately following her baptism, Aaron and LeAnn fell unconscious. The following day, they woke to find themselves back in LeAnn's house. Their memories of the past few days were free-floating and random. Upon waking, she immediately looked next to her and was relieved to find Aaron lying next to her. She snuggled up next to him and fell back asleep. Aaron woke up and put his arm around his wife and kissed her gently on her cheek. He then whispered in her ear "I Love You" and then fell back asleep.

(End Of Chapter 21)