Chapter 2: The Future's Delineation
Mallory sits patiently and collectively in Cordelia's office with Queenie and Zoe's hand placed on one of her arms, and both of Cordelia's hands on the other. At first touch, the three young women flinched at the ferocity of her power, they all swore it was almost like a burning sensation, sending shivers down three spines at once. Mallory slowly glances at Kyle, who stands at the door of the office in silence, a look of concern and a mirthless smile glued to his face, it felt good for Mallory to see Kyle alive and well again... The three witches' closed eyes twitch and twirl in focus, chests slowly rising and collapsing before they hands clamp tightly, causing her to wince in discomfort. The three witches let go simultaneously, their breathing suddenly becoming uneased and violent, hands shaking at the years of clouded visions, primarily hers but also a few of Michael's too, all of which shared in only a few moments; it was a dangerous procedure and Mallory wasn't able to show every major future event, but it was something that had to be done, it was the only way they would believe her, otherwise, she would sound beyond crazy. Mallory gives them a moment to catch their breath and recollect themselves, and after a couple minutes, Zoe is the first to speak, followed by Queenie.
"Holy shit, we- we know who the next Supreme is," Zoe gasps, falling to her knees and breathing heavily. Kyle quickly moves from the door to assist each of the Witches, taking his time with Zoe.
"Zoe, what's happening? What did you see?" Kyle questions, looking at Queenie and Cordelia, who each give him a nod of assurance.
"Madison. Misty. It- it can't be."
"Madison? Misty? You saw them?" Kyle gasps, giving Mallory a confused look. "Where did you seem them?"
"In the visions, and they were both alive."
"That- it just- cannot be real, right?" Queenie asks Mallory, who gives her a mirthless smile. "And this is the Coven's future? The world's future?! My future?! I die if I go to the Hotel Cortez?!"
"If you go to the Hotel Cortez, you will not come back out, not until Michael shows up years after your death, and, he frees you. Essentially my warning skipped that part of your story, Queenie, and not only for your sake, but so he won't get a chance to use your resurrection to get closer to initiating the Seven Wonders. Everything, and I mean everything that I managed to show you will be our future if he isn't stopped, with the exception of a few things," Mallory pauses, regret in her eyes, perhaps something more than regret. "I was sent to the future to find a moment where Michael was most vulnerable and then I was supposed to kill him, ending his true lust for power and blood before it begins. But, I couldn't find the window, I missed my chance, at least for now. I'm not quite sure where he would be at this point of his life, but if he is in fact with the Warlocks, then all we need to do is wait, and he will come to us."
"The Warlocks, although tenacious, would surely look into a potential student before enrolling him, right?" Zoe asks, eyes locked with Cordelia. "Aren't they supposed to keep the council informed on their enrolled students?"
"We haven't heard much from the Warlocks in over a year, perhaps they've turned a blind eye and are no longer enrolling?" Kyle questions the possibility.
"I doubt that shit," Queenie hisses,
"I highly doubt that, Ariel Augustus and Baldwin Pennypacker will not stop until they find a way to overthrow us, it's in their nature to revolt against their superiors. In speaking of Michael's enrolment, by law they must take extreme measures and not rush the process, it is prohibited to enrol a student without taking the proper measures, Michael is a prime example of a rushed enrolment, and if they have rushed enrolment, then they will have to suffer the consequences. Mallory, Supreme to Supreme I must ask, the visions of Madison and Misty Day, were they-"
"They were real too."
Mallory's words are followed by a mist of silence, Queenie's eyes are locked on Zoe, while Zoe's eyes are locked on Cordelia, who stares aimlessly out the window of her office. They all know what Misty Day meant to Cordelia, and for a matter of fact, what Madison meant to Zoe, even after everything she did and didn't do. When they discovered that Kyle had murdered Madison, it took Zoe nearly half a way to understand the why's and trust him again; even now Kyle finds himself haunted by the memory of what he did to Madison in a fit of rage. He was almost burnt at the stake for his crimes, but it was Cordelia love for not just Zoe, who was practically her daughter alongside Queenie, but Kyle too, one of the most loyal people she has ever met, that halted the execution entirely. What made it worse, was seeing how much Madison had changed, how much she was dedicating herself to the Coven and to her fellow witches for once. As for Misty, Cordelia has missed her greatly and had to hold off her tears of joy knowing that Misty was only a few days, a few weeks, maybe a few months away from life once again. Cordelia was unsure what she would do or say when she inevitably returns to the land of living, but would worry about that when the time comes, as much as she misses her, she must focus on the task at hand. For the Coven.
"How is that possible? There's no traditional, Voodoo, Light or Dark Magic capable of bringing someone back from Hell, Papa Legba has made sure of that. Trust me, I have tried to bring them back myself. Yet you've mentioned that this Michael boy was able to free Queenie's spirit from the Hotel Cortez? How is that possible?" Cordelia questions, looking at the witch. "What about you? Are you able to do what he can? Do you think you could bring them back yourself? Or must we wait for him to bring them back?"
"I'm- not quite sure, although it's unlikely, which is why we must wait for Michael, I would have it any other way if I could," Mallory sighs, clearly exhausted. "I'm not sure if you were able to see it, but I was able to resurrect the Warlock, John Henry Moore, from a pile of ashes. But Michael, his connection to Hell allows him to take and resurrect souls that have been dead for years. I'm no Anti-Christ, but if I was to be in Michael's presence while he was descending into Hell, maybe I could follow him down there, simultaneously making my powers known and causing the Warlocks question Michael's potential as Alpha Warlock."
"But when they discover Michael's prowess, it's likely they will want the council and the council only to go to California, meetings like that do not accept third party members, with the exception of the Coven Personal Guards. If we are to set this 'trap' and reveal Mallory's power, they would need to come here rather than us go there," Kyle explains, obliviously showing off his recently upgraded intelligence, besides, with his role as CPG and Butler for the Coven, Kyle needs to be at peak human or in his case, superhuman condition. "If they request the presence of the Council, what is the right course of action?"
"If they request our presence, counter their request and order their presence in New Orleans," Cordelia orders, Kyle nods to his Supreme in acceptance.
"But please ensure that they bring their most formidable students, Kyle, requesting the attention of the Warlock council and one student may come across as suspicious, no?" Zoe adds, winking at her boyfriend, who pretends to not to see it.
"Just make sure that they are prepared to get their smug little smirks torn off their faces by girl-wonder here," Queenie finalises, getting a giggle from the exhausted Mallory. "We'll show those Warlock pricks whose boss."
"It is settled then; myself and the Council will counter-request the Warlocks voyage to New Orleans to discuss their matters about Michael. We will decline their request for Michael to initiate the Seven Wonders, which will force him to bring back Misty and Madison in order to get our attention, we won't have a choice but to accept afterwards, but our Council will be whole again, and we will have our girls back. Michael will complete the Seven Wonders, but will be vulnerable nonetheless," Cordelia explains, giving Mallory the green light to add any important details they must know further.
"Michael is powerful and he is dangerous, willing to kill anyone that gets in his way of power, and he has a woman at his side, a human woman but someone who is just as dangerous if not more. Her name is Miss Meade, a former assassin and Satanist, which is how she come across Michael, and whoever Michael wants killed she does without a second thought, if Michael wants us dead, she will come after us. Two members of the Warlock Council, Behold Chablis and John Henry Moore are wary of Michael, and are not only great men, but our allies too, even if they don't know it yet; John Henry Moore is killed by Miss Meade and burned to ashes, while after I resurrect him, they are both later killed when Michael returns to Hawthorne. This is something we cannot let happen, these men must remain alive and our allies, while we can dispatch Augustus and Pennypacker when the time is right. We must ensure that entirety of the Warlock Council is here, afterwards we must keep a close eye on Moore and Chablis, to ensure that our alliance forms with them, as much as that may conflict with a future partner. Until they arrive are there a few things we must do. First of all, we must prepare all the girls and the Coven Personal Guards for anything and everything, we must teach, prepare and train them like war is approaching and they are the soldiers."
"Some of the girls won't want to be treated like soldiers, this is a school after all, a place where they're supposed to feel safe," Zoe warns before thinking about the proposition.
"The Personal Guards are designed primarily to defend the Coven, but why must the girls be included in the fight?" Kyle questions.
"They must be prepared to defend themselves, because in the future, Michael and Miss Meade wipe out the entire Coven in a couple hours. The girls, the Personal Guards, everyone is killed in the firefight," Mallory explains, sighing heavily. "Second, the new Voodoo Queen, Dinah Stevens, betrays us and makes a deal with Michael for fame and money, we must deal with her before she gets the opportunity, but we must deal with her without killing her. My proposal is that we contact Papa Legba, and I will explain why when the time comes, but Queenie, I cannot stress enough, you mustn't kill her."
"I will try not to," Queenie hisses, the thought of the Voodoo Queen betraying the entire Coven, and for wealth above her, makes her blood boil.
"As for the third task, Cordelia, in order to make the task less dangerous, it will take the two of us."
"What are we going to do?" Cordelia asks, looking up to Mallory like the girls would her and the council. Mallory has shown great courage to stand against their fateful future, extreme power of clear Supreme levels, loyalty to the Coven, and above all an untamed ferocity, a need to protect the Coven and destroy the Anti-Christ, so it is difficult for Cordelia not to look up to Mallory. After all, she will be the Coven's future Supreme.
"We're going to resurrect Myrtle Snow."
