Mermaid

Chapter 4: A Cross in Our Roads

The point where their roads cross is where it all begins…

Olivia first came into her powers on her 7th birthday. It was one of those beautiful summer nights where the heat of the blazing sun lingered at night. Her backyard was surrounded with fireflies, their bulbs lit up the darkness around her. She was in the middle of a game of Hide and Seek with her mother, Cassidy Linwood. Olivia ran as far away from her as she was allowed to. Her mother held her palms up to her eyes as she counted to 20. The young girl sunk to the blades of grass as she hid behind a wall of their house. She heard her mommy finish counting and begin to wander around the backyard. The witch-to-be heard those steps getting closer. She felt the anticipation build up as her mother closed in on her. Right when she was about to win the game, Olivia vanished. And yet she let out a gleeful squeal as she saw her mother. But Cassidy couldn't say the same for her daughter.

"Olivia?" her mommy said.

"You found me, you found me," Olivia stated, a delicate, playful voice coming from the space in front of the wall. Cassidy's eyes watered, not because of fear, but the strong sense of…pride. The pride she felt for her daughter was something else, because Olivia had inherited her mother's power.

As the years went by, Olivia learned more and more about her craft. Her mother would read the Irving Book of Shadows to the young witch and her older sister, Mercy, as if it were a bedtime story. Every page was a memory, a story of how their family grew stronger each day. It's like her mother always said, "the book is an extension of you. As the book grows, so does the witch."

These fond thoughts of her mother lingered with her as she and Laurel paced down the quiet sidewalk. The street was very eerie, less crowded in the morning. It had been 2 days since the murder at Sunset. They thought they should give the police enough time to investigate and clear out. Olivia quickly paced down the sidewalk, her ponytail swinging side to side with every step. The witch was clad in an ash v-neck and black cargo pants with matching Converses. Her mermaid partner had borrowed her worn out jeans and white t-shirt. Her blonde hair was parted in two, braided over her shoulders.

"So, we're just going to look around to see if there's any clue to go on?" Laurel reminded. Olivia simply nodded; her friend's question just a faint ringing in her wandering mind.

"Yeah…maybe he might return to the scene or something." Olivia mumbled, almost to herself. Laurel gave a concerned look to her friend. This was only the 3rd time they had ever gone up against a demon together. She still wasn't used to seeing Olivia: Superwitch.

"You okay?" the mermaid asked. Olivia's distant train of thought finally broke.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine. Really." Olivia lied, faking a reassuring look to Laurel.

The duo had started through the alleyway, passing by dried blood on the concrete, making a shape resembling a torso with no head. Laurel and Olivia cautiously crossed through the alley to an open space behind Sunset – that was always closed this early in the morning – and a couple of old abandoned buildings around it. The witch had been equipped with a purse full of lower level vanquishing potions slung over her shoulder. Laurel studied her partner for a moment. There was a sense of anxiety written all over Olivia's face. Her eyes shot all around her setting, waiting for an attack. The mermaid's instincts told her something was up.

"Okay, what's going on with you, huh?" Laurel firmly asked. Surprised, Olivia gave her a look.

"What do you mean?" the witch asked. "I just told you, I'm fine."

"Uh, no, you're not." Laurel disagreed. She slowly walked towards her friend, concern written all over her face. "Livvi…talk to me." Olivia bowed her head, defeated. She felt her explanation rise in her chest, ready to come into the light.

"I'm scared, all right? I'm scared." Olivia confessed. Laurel softly shook her head in disbelief.

"What do you mean 'you're scared'? I've seen you vanquish lower level demons left and right. You help me vanquish Nomed. You are not scared."

"Laurel, don't tell me what I'm scared and not scared of, okay? When I first met you, you were just another innocent: some fish girl who was lost on land. And then I got to know you as Laurel, the mermaid…my best friend," Olivia's voice began to tremble, her fear caught in her throat.

"I've never had someone to protect before. I've either always had my family to fight for me, or I had myself. So I didn't have to worry about protecting a loved one. And I'm not saying that I don't care about my innocents because I do. But I don't love them. So if I make a wrong move…" Olivia paused. She began chipping her fingernails, fighting the urge to tear up. The mermaid moved up to the scared witch. She firmly placed her soft, long hands on the end of her shoulders.

"Olivia, listen to me," Laurel gently ordered. Olivia looked up. Her deep brown eyes were glossy, on the verge of crying. But she simply stared at her best friend; the one person who would make the strong Irving witch so…afraid, afraid of going head on against any demon of any form.

"You are…one of the strongest people I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. I don't want you to choke up because you feel you have to protect me. I'll be perfectly fine. You just hold up your own and I'll do the same." Laurel finished. Olivia's throat was still choked up, so all she did was smile and give her best friend a reassuring nod.

"Oh, I'd love to see you try," a voice called out from the other end of the backspace. The duo looked to see a familiar demon standing near the brick abandoned building. Phoenix leaned onto the structure, his arms cockily crossed over his chest. He was currently giving them one of his signature cold gazes. Laurel let out a deep breath as she slowly moved towards him.

"You," she simple said. Olivia wiped the tears still in her eyes away and quickly walked to the side of her best friend, ready to go at it at any time.

"Here to join your brother?" Olivia asked. Her fierceness and confidence that couldn't be faked was slowly returning to her. Phoenix supported himself as he stood up against the witch and mermaid.

"Nah. I'm back for the sequel," the demon replied. He stared at the two who took his older brother away from him. And yet he kept his cool in front of them as if they were just another nuisance. His heart wanted to beat the living hell out of them. But his brain had told them otherwise. Get the others; make them show you their powers. See what you're up against. You're going to need all the knowledge and resources you can get, my friend. Maybe, just maybe, they could vanquish the two bitches right here and now. Why not?

"Yeah, we'll…all right. I can't think of a snippy comeback, so I'm just gonna come at you and see where that leads, 'kay?" Olivia solemnly said. Phoenix finally unfolded his arms and tucked them in his back pockets.

"All right. But," the demon began. "I brought some friends for part two."

And at that moment, three other lower level demons shimmered onto the scene, the trio of minions snickering and smirking in anticipation of a fight. Laurel and Olivia surveyed their opponents to see where to start. Olivia surprisingly smiled at Phoenix.

"Wow. Lower level demons? Is that all you got?" Olivia cockily asked. She quickly dug her hand in her potion purse and threw the first potion she could grab towards the bald, pale skinned demon. At the same time, he pitched a fireball in her direction, destroying the potion and its contents.

Laurel decided to take action. She dashed towards the second demon with olive skin and his temples shaved off, creating a wide Mohawk. The mermaid was incredibly fast underwater, even with the weight of her home's water pushing down on her. So whenever she is on land, she almost moves just as swiftly and gracefully then she would underwater. But the mermaid did her best movement in the deep end. At not even another second later, she threw three quick jabs to the demon's abdomens, only to be punched in the mouth by her opponent. She stumbled back, cursing under her breath. As her demon raised his hands, creating a fireball of his own, Laurel raised her hands over her face in defense. The mermaid heard a great rush of water as she lowered her hands to a great sight. The demon was submerged in a giant pillar of water, his fireball extinguished, his clothes flowing in the column of water, and the demon himself, swimming, trying to break free of the mermaid's hold on him. To his dismay, the rushing waves of the pillar prevented him from shimmering away from its clutches.

The mermaid, stunned, stared in awe at this sight.

"What the hell?" she murmured to herself as she slowly lowered her arms. The sight of him fighting in vain made her smile, seeing large air bubbles escape his mouth. She looked around to find her partner and how she was doing. She saw Phoenix leaning back against the wall, taking mental notes on her and Olivia. But to her satisfaction, she couldn't find the Irving witch anywhere. Instead, she found the third maroon haired demon fighting with nothing. His arms were swinging all over the place, as if trying to fight the air. It could honestly pass for a new dance. He then appeared to have been jabbed in the cheek.. The aggravated demon's shoulder length hair had glowed to a very bright orange, his emotions and frustrations clearly shown through his locks as he let out a raging yell.

"Show yourself, bitch!" the orange haired demon demanded. To his dismay, he received a quick toe kick to the abdomen. The first demon finally grabbed a hold to what appeared to be a small chunk of air. Olivia felt her ankle being tugged at aggressively. The three demons smiled as they could hear her struggling and hopping on one leg. The hairless demon rammed his free elbow to a spot in the air, but was really her kneecap. She gave a loud cry as he gave the ankle one giant tug, throwing the witch to the concrete. Olivia banged her head onto the pavement. A figure flickered on the floor, but finally faded to Olivia, her body completely visible on the floor. She was facing the entrance to the alleyway, though she didn't know where she was at the moment.

"Livvi!" Laurel shouted. She left her contained enemy behind and raced toward her best friend. She then saw Phoenix's hand aggressively push in her direction. The mermaid then felt a great push, making her stumble back several feet. As she bumped the back of her head on the floor, she saw water from the pillar race towards her face. Laurel felt a great shock run up her spine. The next thing she saw was nothing but gold.

"Crap," she cursed. She sat up as the world came back to focus to see all of her- Olivia's clothes gone. Her legs were now one giant gold tail and her chest was covered by matching patches of scales. She saw the demons double over in laughter as she uncontrollably flapped on the floor. Her face was such a rich color of red; she had never been so embarrassed in her life. Like any other fish, once she had felt a great rush of water or just left a body of it, she would flap just like her aquatic family would. It was only for several seconds, but it was enough to entertain the demons.

Olivia saw her friend attempt to crawl towards her, the mermaid's embarrassment not stopping her from helping her friend. She couldn't afford to let Olivia down. Not now. Oh, Laurel, Olivia thought to herself. The witch struggled to get up, but her body was always weaker the longer she stayed unseen. And the fact that her head was throbbing in pain didn't help her efforts one bit. But once she heard the loud crackling of an energy ball right behind her, reality sunk in.

"No," Olivia murmured to herself. And at that moment, she saw a puff of white smoke appear at the entrance. She saw a figure walk away from her means of transportation and towards Olivia and her demon. The brown haired witch only saw the figure's feminine legs, clothed in tight baby blue jeans and white track sneakers.

Olivia finally sat up, still hearing the cackling of the demon's energy ball. She had a clear view of a demon, barely moving in a pillar of water. But Laurel was gazing at the second witch. Her blonde hair was just beneath her shoulders, the spiky ends being cut and gelled. She was in a maroon shirt and a beige jacket. Her green eyes gave the demons a hard glare that rivaled Phoenix's. Olivia scrambled to her feet and out from in between the bald demon and Billie Jenkins.

"And just who in the hell are you?" the pale lower level demon hissed. Billie simply gave him a half hearted smirk.

"Doesn't matter. You're going to be dead in, like, seven seconds. So, hit me with your best shot," Billie egged on, not losing her cold glare for a single second. He sent his patiently waiting energy ball towards the blonde witch's way. Billie concentrated on the sphere and lifted her palm towards it. But the energy ball was sent above their heads and into the sky.

"Damn it," she muttered. She sent her other hand into the air and fiercely pulled it back down, her first hand still keeping a hold on it. And with that motion, it sent the airborne energy ball back to the scene in a zig zag motion. Nevertheless, the ball of electricity hit its creator, instantly vanquishing him at contact. Laurel looked back at her aquatic creation to see the demon with a shocked looked on his face and his eyes frozen open. The pillar, timing out, was finally destroyed, releasing the water to the ground and the drowned demon onto the pavement with a thud. The rushing tides collided with her body. She finally sat up and gazed at the situation right before her.

Olivia finally regained her stability and dug her fingers into her purse once more. She chucked another potion towards the emotional haired demon. He jumped out of the way, the potion causing an exploding sound as it shattered onto the brick structure. As the demon collided into Phoenix during his escape, the two demons fell to the floor. Billie seized the moment and took a hold of Olivia's hand and tugged it towards her direction.

"Come on," Billie ordered. The two witches ran to the mermaid, who grabbed a hold of the demon's shirt and rapidly punched the lifeless corpse.

"You don't punch women, douche bug! I've hoped you learned your lesson," Laurel shouted. She furiously licked her bottom lip, attempting to sooth the split and bloodied lip.

"Get off me!" Phoenix screamed. The upper level demon pushed the inferior demon off of him. Billie pulled out a potion, her thoughts concentrated on their home.

"Sweetie, bag. It's douche bag." Olivia corrected, her hand massaging her temple. Billie finally threw the potion to the floor. They were all consumed by a white puff of smoke. And just like that, the trio had escaped. Phoenix glared at the long haired demon. Petrified, the lower level demon quickly shimmered away from his superior's anger. But Phoenix quickly followed him through his own large flames.

Almost a minute after the scene was clear, a collection of white orbs had appeared in the middle of the back of Sunset. The whitelighter surveyed his surroundings, taking notice of the drowned demon on the pavement. He walked over to the lifeless body, kneeling over the dead demon. He gently placed his long hands on the corpse's chest. And with another flurry of white lights, the whitelighter and the demon was gone.

All righty then. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. This was my first time writing a demon attack, so please tell me how I did with it. I hope you'll stick around with the story. I will be getting back into writing and to tell you what's to come with our mermaid…Please review right down there. Thank you.