So, to be honest, I'm not as happy with this story as I anticipated...and judging from the decreasing hits and reviews on each new chapter, I guess it just isn't going over well with many out there either. I appreciate the few of you that have hung in here so far, but I think it's time to leave the magical realm behind. To that end, this is the last chapter - not to worry, everything will be resolved, won't leave you hanging...

Chapter Nine - Changing Destiny

Chanting and holding hands, the three Grey witches circled the candles placed on the floor. The air was scented with aromas that Derek couldn't begin to identify, as he watched them avidly. He had to admit, this was the strangest thing he had seen in his life, coming after all the other strange things he'd witnessed since arriving in Seattle. A week ago, he would have said witches didn't exist, that magic was the stuff of movies...and yet here he was, surrounded by it. And accepting it.

He watched Meredith as she kept pace with the aunts, and the words of the spell. It was also difficult to believe that she had become so special to him so quickly. He never believed in love at first sight before, but somehow in this case it seemed to be the only explanation. Shaking his head, he wondered what Mark would have to say about all of this. As if on cue, his cell phone vibrated on his hip then, and he glanced at it before backing away from the kitchen.

"Hey...everything okay?" Mark asked. "Haven't heard from you in awhile, thought maybe something happened."

"Oh, I'm fine...and things have happened you wouldn't believe," Derek informed him quietly, not willing to go into detail over the phone.

"Did you find Cooper?"

"Not exactly, but I know where the books are."

"Great. So you'll be back here soon, then..."

Derek ran one hand through his hair distractedly. "Soon? Well, I'm not sure about that part. It's complicated."

"Does this complication have to do with Ms. Yang's mysterious friend?"

"You could say that..."

"Aha! So you got lucky?"

Derek considered this for a moment. "In more ways than one, Mark."

"That sounds serious. For a man more interested in his horses than women, especially." There was a question in Mark's tone, wanting to know more.

There was a sudden sound of voices raised in the kitchen, and Derek wanted to find out what was going on. "Look, I can't talk now. If things work out today, hopefully I can be on my way home with the books by the end of the week." Whether or not that meant Meredith would be with him was another question.

"Okay, sounds good. But you know I still want all the dirty details."

"We'll talk later. Keep things under control there..."

"No worries, man. Be careful."

Derek ended the call and hurried into the kitchen, finding the women talking together. The candles had been extinguished, and the air was clear of the scent of herbs again. "Was the spell successful?" he asked, sliding his arm around Meredith's waist.

"I believe so," she murmured, looking up at him.

"It was clear that Cristina and Alex are being held together, somewhere by the water."

"That covers a lot of territory," Derek pointed out. "I mean, I know I'm new here and all, but..."

"Point taken, Derek," Gwendolyn nodded. "But there are a few places that have been abandoned, which Idris would think are good to use. One especially calls to me – the old lighthouse at the far edge of Elliot Bay. It's been declared a heritage site, but nothing has been done to restore it. It's rather remote, but I think we should go there first."

"Sounds like a plan. We can take my car, but I don't believe there's enough room for everyone."

"You and Meredith go together, we'll take our van. It will be useful to transport them back," Gwendolyn said. "We'll meet you there."

Cristina looked around their surroundings, hoping to find some sort of clue as to where they were. She wondered if anyone was going to be looking for them, and hoped that Meredith would be able to find them if that were the case. All she could sense at the moment was darkness and silence, but the air was cool and tinged with the smell of the ocean.

"This is bizarre," Alex muttered, pacing around the enclosed space. "Why would someone put us here?"

"Well...it might have something to do with me," Cristina sighed.

"You? Are you secretly wealthy and someone is hoping to cash in on a reward?"

"Nothing like that, but there was a guy I was involved with that had something stolen in his possession..."

"Which guy?"

"Um, just a guy...but he may have taken some rare books that someone is interested in..."

"Books? Seriously, no one does this kind of thing about books," Alex pointed out, reaching for his cell phone. "And I think I need to call someone to get us out of here." But the phone was useless, there was no signal to be had in this place, and he swore under his breath.

"No use...it's a dark hole," Cristina observed. Not only a black hole, but likely spelled to keep them from contacting anyone.

"Stupid...so much for technology..."

"Look, I'm sure Meredith will be wondering about me. She'll find us."

"Babe, Meredith is a great girl, but I hardly think she's gonna be able to find us here."

"Don't underestimate her, Alex." Cristina shivered, hoping that her words were true. There was no way to get word to anyone and her limited magical abilities were of no use here.

"It's gonna take a miracle if she gets here," Alex muttered, putting his arm around Cristina. "I just hope we get out of here before my shift is supposed to start, or Bailey is gonna be pissed at me." He checked his watch again. "Damnit, never mind, it's already too late for that."

Cristina relaxed into his embrace. "We can make it right with your boss, I promise. Meredith's aunts can be very persuasive."

"If you say so..." Alex tightened his grip on her, hoping that this would work itself out sooner than later, but the situation looked bleak.

"I hope we're on the right track with this," Meredith murmured, as Derek navigated the car along the bumpy road leading to the abandoned lighthouse. The air was cool and salty, in the early light of the day, coming through the open windows.

"Your aunt seemed very sure of this," he reassured her, reaching one hand out to touch her leg.

"She did seem so," Meredith agreed, covering his hand with hers.

"You and Cristina are very close, aren't you?"

"We've been friends since grade school – two scrawny kids that didn't fit in with anyone else. Even if her magical skills aren't that strong, she was always the one willing to play tricks on the bullies," Meredith smiled at the memory. "A lot of kids called us 'The Twisted Sisters'…"

"Ouch…"

"She's like a sister to me, Derek. We even shared a blood pact before she left Seattle – even though we didn't see eye to eye on her departure. Somehow her life took a different path, she liked having a lot of boyfriends, having a good time…"

"So Cooper wasn't anyone serious?"

"No, thank god…he was abusive, even if she blows it off. I feel a little bad about how he ended up, though…" Meredith sighed. She looked at Derek as he eased the car to a stop close to the lighthouse. "And you know I have to thank you for coming along on this. After all, you've just landed in this situation – you could have backed out and gone home to California."

"I feel very protective of you," he smiled. "Even if you can probably take care of yourself quite well." He turned to her, and cupped her chin. "I hope that's all right with you."

"If it wasn't, I'd send you away and cast a spell to make you forget all about this. Even if that might be the best thing in the long run. I mean, the Grey women are cursed, after all…"

Derek brushed a kiss over her lips. "Then I have a problem, because I think I fell in love with you the moment I saw you."

Sudden heat flooded Meredith at his words. "Oh, Derek...you have no idea what that means..."

"I do, and I hope we find a way to overcome that." He kissed her again, enjoying the feel of her lips and the sigh of her pleasure, before he backed away. "Now, let's rescue your friends."

"Right..." Meredith concentrated on that for the moment, instead of her galloping heart.

At that moment, the rather vintage van of her aunts pulled up alongside of them. It was an old VW van, having seen better days, but the vehicle was still functioning. They kept it in immaculate condition, and it was just as eccentric as they were. Derek removed his pistol from the trunk, tucking it behind his shirt at the small of his back. Maybe it wasn't necessary, or even useful, but he felt better with it.

"Meredith, this is worse than we thought," Cassandra said as soon as her feet hit the ground. "We brought the books along to see if there was some clue to what Idris is looking for." She held up the leather bound books.

"What?"

"The books look innocuous to the human eye, but hidden in the passages are secret messages," Gwendolyn confirmed. "If the books fall into the wrong hands, it would mean world wide chaos in the Wiccan community – Idris wants to control all of us. She must have been searching for this for some time now."

As the words sunk in, sudden clouds obscured the sun, and the wind grew even more chilled off the water. From the doorway of the lighthouse, there was a flash of movement, and then Idris appeared, wrapped in a sky-blue cloak embroidered with silver symbols. A sharp clap of thunder rattled overhead, as she raised her arms upwards. Derek felt the hair stand up on the back of his neck, and he moved to shield Meredith.

"So you found this place…and brought the books…" Idris observed. "How convenient. I knew you would see things my way."

"The 24 hours are far from over," Gwendolyn pointed out. "That was the deal."

"I lied…" Idris grinned malevolently, snapping her fingers so that smoke began to curl around her, obscuring her from their vision. From out of the smoke, Dylan Cooper appeared suddenly, and Meredith gasped. He looked pale and gaunt, his clothing disheveled and he had an aura of evil around him. He raised a wicked looking sword above his head, and charged forward.

Gwendolyn uttered a dark curse, and she and Cassandra joined hands to confront him. The sword sliced forwards, but they shielded themselves and it bounced away. Derek pulled out his pistol, aiming for Dylan, just as another sword came twirling towards them. This time Meredith raised her hands and deflected it away, as the wind began to pick up and swirl around them in angry currents. For a few minutes, it was all they could do to keep up with the torrent of smoke and weapons that assaulted them, until Gwendolyn clapped her hands.

"Enough! Banish thee! Banish!" she shouted at Dylan, her magic pushing back. Cassandra and Meredith added their voices to hers, until Dylan was spinning and twisting in the wind, lifting off his feet. He hung in mid-air then, as the smoke began to recede, and Idris appeared again.

"Fight your own battles, Idris," Gwendolyn taunted.

"Oh, I'm just getting started, Gwen. Those books will give me untold power over you and all of the weak willed witches who only want to help humans. Give them to me, and maybe I'll be lenient on you. Or you can fight me and lose everything you value." She stretched out her hands, and Derek felt a tremor of pain shoot through him. He grimaced and dropped the pistol, clutching at his chest.

"No!" Meredith whirled around, as he dropped to his knees. "Derek…"

"Perhaps this will convince you," Idris purred, moving ever closer to where they stood, rooted to the spot. "Maybe you love this man more than your friends…hmm?" She closed her fist, and Derek thought his heart would burst from the sudden pressure on it. He tried to fight back, tried to maintain conscious thought, but his vision was clouded by the pain, and it was all he could do not to surrender to it.

"Leave him alone," Gwendolyn muttered. "He's not part of this fight."

"He's up to his eyeballs in it if he's associated with the Grey women," Idris snorted. "He'll die anyway if he's in love with the young one. It's only a matter of time, isn't it?"

Meredith put her hands on Derek, feeling the heat and the pain that raced through his body. She tried to think of a spell to help him, but all she could do was hold him, rocking back and forth helplessly. "Don't give in…please Derek…"

"Oh so touching…" Idris sighed. "Just give me the books and he'll live, for awhile anyway."

Derek made a sound somewhere between a grunt and a groan. Blood seeped out of his nose, and he was having trouble breathing. His senses were overloaded, and Meredith bit back a sob. He was a cop, and he knew that people were capable of doing unimaginable things to each other, but she was certain he had never experienced anything close to this. Her eyes met his, and the intense bond between them seemed to give her strength. Even though she barely knew him, it was love that flowed between them. And she wasn't about to let him die.

"All right, you win…" Cassandra couldn't bear to see her niece so distraught, and she exchanged a glance with Gwendolyn. "Take the books…" She held them out in front of her.

"Cassie…"

"At least one of you has come to her senses," Idris sniffed, itching to grab the books. Her eyes shone with greed and anticipation, as her fingertips grazed the cracked leather cover. "Yes…this is mine, all mine…"

Without conscious thought, Meredith jumped to her feet again, just as Idris held the books against her chest. With one hand touching her mother's locket, sudden power surged through her, and she closed her eyes. She could feel the presence of her mother, surrounding her, guiding her thoughts, and the air seemed charged with electricity.

"By all that is good in the world, by the Goddess who leads us…" she intoned softly, almost inaudibly at first so that Idris didn't notice. "Save the innocent and banish the wicked…" Her voice picked up volume, and her eyes were steely with resolve as she looked at Idris. "Forces of nature, gather and save us…"

Idris howled in outrage as wind gathered around her, the cloak beginning to twist against her body. She lifted her own hand and began to cast her own spell in response, their words battling. Derek felt the pain lessen a little as Idris concentrated on Meredith instead, but he still felt weak and useless. Before his horrified eyes, Idris began to lift Meredith off her feet, and her aunts tried to grab onto her.

Still Meredith kept up her spell, and the books suddenly flew from Idris's grasp, hurtling towards the ocean, their pages fluttering every direction and disappearing into the water. "Nooo….!" Idris screeched trying to retrieve them. She pointed her finger at Meredith, her hatred bubbling out of her in thick potent waves. "Die…you must die for that!"

Pain lanced Meredith but she fought back, calling on her last reserve of magical strength, buoyed by the thought of Derek. If she was going to die at least she had kept the book away from Idris, and saved Derek's life as well. Calm surrounded her, and her mother's voice was in her head again.

"This is the moment to change your destiny, Meredith…now or never…"

With a last final breath, she summoned blazing heat, directing it towards Idris. Then blackness dropped over her like a veil, and she let herself go into sweet comforting silence.

"Meredith! Wake up…"

It was all soft and warm where she was, and she didn't want to wake up. Didn't want to face reality at the moment, but the voice was insistent, and tugged at her relentlessly. With some effort, Meredith pried her eyes open, and found herself staring into the Derek's concerned face. "Derek…you're not dead…" she whispered, touching his face in relief.

"Neither are you, honey," he murmured, kissing her cheek. "You did it, you saved all of us."

"Cristina? Alex too?"

"Everyone. I managed to keep them out of your bedroom for the moment, but now that you're awake, I'm afraid they'll all want to see you."

Meredith realized that she was indeed back in her own bed, the pillows plumped up behind her, and that Derek was sitting beside her. From the foot of the bed, a black shape detached itself from the blankets and stretched. "Maddox…what are you doing here?" she asked, as he settled into the crook of her arm. He looked at her serenely, before staring to purr contentedly.

"He just showed up after we brought you home, curled up there and wouldn't budge," Derek explained.

"How long was I out?"

"Close to 24 hours. I was afraid you weren't going to come out of it, but Cassandra assured me you were fine. You just needed time." Derek smoothed her hair back, reluctant to move away from her just yet. "I thought I had lost you, little witch…"

Meredith gave him a shaky smile. "I thought you were going to die, and all I could focus on was stopping Idris." She remembered the books flying away, of Idris screeching in anger. "I'm sorry about the books. You won't be able to return them now..."

Derek shrugged lightly. "I'm sure Nate will get over it. I'll give him some sort of explantion."

Unconsciously, her fingers went to where the locket usually rested, but it was gone. "My locket?"

"I don't know where that went, maybe Gwendolyn knows…"

At that moment, the door opened, and her aunts, followed closely by Cristina crowded into the threshold. "She's awake…"

"She's alright…"

They descended on her, hugging and bestowing kisses, trying to talk at once. "Wait…give her space..." Cassandra urged.

"You rocked, Mer..." Cristina grinned. "That bitch Idris shouldn't have messed with you."

"What happened to Alex?"

"Oh...we had to spell him to make him forget about most of it," Gwendolyn admitted. "Along with his boss at the hospital to make sure things would be all right. I think it worked out well, all things considered."

"Will he remember Cristina?"

"Of course, how could he forget me?" Cristina smirked. "All he'll remember is being at Joe's, having a good time and heading home alone."

"Idris?"

"You destroyed her, Meredith," Derek said gently. "You brought fire onto her..."

"You had no choice," Gwendolyn pointed out. "I'm so proud of you..."

"I lost Mother's locket somewhere," Meredith sighed. "What happened?"

"That's the good news...by saving Derek, you broke Honoria's spell. There's a new line in the family history recorded in the grimoire," Cassandra beamed. "You were willing to give your life for his, and in that moment...the locket broke apart, increasing your power and breaking the curse. You've freed all of us, child."

"What? You mean...we can fall in love and get married without worrying?" Her smile was wide, and her heart suddenly felt lighter than ever.

"From this time forward, the Grey women are no longer cursed."

Derek took Meredith's hand, squeezing it tightly at this announcement. "Well in that case...what do you say, sweetheart? I love you...will you marry me?" An unconventional proposal to be sure, but it was all he wanted, couldn't imagine living without her.

"Are you sure about that?" she couldn't resist teasing him, surrounded by her family, feeling happier than ever. "You do know what you're getting into...?"

"More sure than anything ever in my life...I can use a touch of magic in my world, honey."

"Love is the best magic of all, Derek. I love you, too...and yes...I accept..."

Derek leaned in closer, slanting his mouth over hers to kiss her softly, and Cassandra swore she could see the connection between them sparking like visible ribbons of magic. She took hold of Gwendolyn and Cristina by the hands, and they left the room completely unnoticed...

The End