Fifteen minutes had passed since the confrontation with Morgana. Agnes had completed the mind protection spell and had cast it upon everyone. Gwen was finally free from her demonic nightmares.
The team had never seen Jacob Arrow so angry before. Even his bad mood back in Saguaro was tame compared to the seething volcano within. The powerless Morgana witch was now in handcuffs before him, with Ben holding tightly onto her shoulders. The children glare at her, having no reason to fear her anymore.
"Morgana Blackhawk," his voice was as cold and unforgiving as ice, "normally we don't arrest supernatural creatures and turn them over to the police. But in your case, we can make an exception! Not just because of your monstrous crimes, but because you've been stripped of your powers, you're human enough to stand trial."
Morgana's eyes glare daggers at the rest of the team. Had she been a gorgon, they would have all been turned into stone. "You will regret this!" she snarled. "All of you! You've made a powerful enemy this day!"
"Power?" Felix scoffed. "Don't make me laugh! You can bluster all you want, but without your powers, you're all bark and no bite!"
"I am not amused," Morgana hissed.
As angry as Jacob is, Luke was even more infuriated by Morgana's crimes, a bomb about to explode. And he blew up at that moment. He had never felt so angry before in his life. "You've gone way too far this time Morgana!" he yelled. "Kidnapping children is bad enough and so is orchestrating your sister's death! But manipulating a young girl into doing your dirty work is a new low! Even for you!"
Morgana only smirked smugly in response. "And who are you? Her boyfriend? Ha! Should have known!"
"I think we've heard enough out of you!" growled Jacob. "Ben! Lock her up in the trailer!"
Luke watched as Morgana was forced into the trailer. Part of him wanted to take out his gun and put a bullet in Morgana's brain. Only his desire to see Morgana face justice for her crimes prevented him from reaching for his weapon. Having her shot dead would be too quick. She needed to suffer for everything she did. To the children. To her sister. To Heather. In a way, he saw Morgana's arrest as payback for that love potion and the whole incident with Fabien.
Once Morgana was under lock and key, the tension ebbed among the group. "Good work everybody!" said Jacob. "The children are safe and Morgana is in our custody. All that's left now is to inform the proper authorities and turn her over to them."
"We couldn't have done it without Heather!" said Felix.
"Exactly!" said Jacob. "As per our deal, she is free to go." It was at that time when he saw that Heather was nowhere in sight. "Where is she anyway?"
"She didn't come back from the castle," said Avery. "She may still be there."
"I'm coming with you to look for her (Name)!" said Luke. He has already started for the castle without waiting for the chief's orders.
#
The castle has remained unchanged since the confrontation with Morgana. Somewhere in the distance, the sounds of chanting are heard. The witches of the coven have finally gotten around to celebrating Walpurgis night.
But then the two hunters found something new. It was a shrine with a picture of Belinda. Black candles have been lit burn. There is the scent of incense in the air.
"What's this shrine?" asked Luke. "You didn't see this last time you were here? There might be a clue to Heather's location within."
Inside, is a small piece of paper which (Name) removed.
"What have you found?" asked Luke. "What's this paper from the shrine?"
On the paper were written three words, "Please forgive me!" with a lock of platinum hair tinted purple at the ends attached. The hair is stained with a drop of blood.
"Did Heather make this shrine?" asked Luke. "She must have! Black candles are used in Wiccan ceremonies. And that's her hair!" He feels an ache in his stomache. "And is that blood? As in her blood? But where does this leave us? We have no idea where she is!"
"Luke? (Name)? Why are you two tampering with my shrine?" Heather's voice is heard nearby. Luke lifted his head turned in the direction of her voice to see Heather at the top of the stairs.
"Heather, we've been looking for you!" he said. "When you didn't come back to the RV's, we thought something had happened."
Heather stepped down to the bottom of the stairs and sat down on the lowest step. As he approaches her, he saw her eyes glistening. He wanted to tell her they shone like stars and made her look beautiful, but when he came close enough, he saw that she looked ready to cry again. A small red spot has appeared on the stone surface beneath her feet. A closer look reveals blood dripping from her finger. She had pricked her finger and stained a lock of her hair as part of the offering for her shrine.
"Why are you still here?" asked Luke.
"I was praying for forgiveness and for Belinda to find her way safely into the next world," said Heather. "I sacrificed some of myself for the shrine."
"We can tell," said Luke as he took the hand with her bleeding finger into his own and turned it upside down. He wiped the blood away with his other hand, smearing it with blood. He rubbed the finger with his palm and smiled down at her, but when he saw the sorrow on her face, the muscles around his lips pulled back down.
"Heather, what's wrong?" he asked as he sat beside her. "You should be happy! The children are safe and Morgana will face justice for what she's done, thanks to you! You're a hero! Why aren't you with the other witches celebrating Walpurgis night?"
"I'm not a member of the coven Luke," said Heather. Her voice has started to show the first signs of starting to break under stress. "Morgana didn't override the vote, remember?"
"What happened?" Luke inched closer towards her until his shoulders touch her own, hoping that it would bring her comfort. It doesn't, but she does not inch away.
"The other witches were horrified when they learned of Morgana's plot and Pandora's involvement. So they ousted them both from the coven, especially after learning that they had been stripped of their powers. The newly elected coven leader has declared that both of them will be blacklisted from every coven once word of this spreads among the rest of our kind. Pandora couldn't cope with the loss of her powers and her position in the coven, so she drank from a vial of poison to take her own life."
"No less than she deserves," said Luke. "Having a goat's head wouldn't allow her case to be taken seriously in court."
"In a final vicious act of spite," Heather went on, "Morgana told the other witches of my 'crime' and 'involvement' in the conspiracy. Now the whole coven wants nothing to do with me, even those who had voted to admit me earlier. It's only a matter of time before I'm blacklisted as well!"
Heather sniffled as the dam of tears broke once more. She could no longer hold back her wails. "All I ever wanted was to be accepted somewhere. To think I quit my job and left Parkford hoping to find it. Instead, I only found further ostracization!" The tears continued to flow no matter how much she dabbed at her eyes. Wet stains began to spread on the stone surface beneath their feet. "Maybe Jacob was right. Maybe I should have realized Belinda was looking out for me! Then maybe none of this would have happened! And it's all my fault!"
Luke gently patted Heather on her back as she buried her face in her hands, sobbing. His heart ached for her. Never had he felt so powerless. He had done what he could for Gwen during her torment until they acquired the mind protection spell. Even when she was put into Priya's cage she was hanging onto her sanity by the skin of her teeth. But none of that compared to Heather's emotional state. She was tormented by what she had done and would have to live with the consequences for the rest of her life. More than ever, he wanted to comfort her. But what could he do? He had never seen anyone cry so many tears in all his life.
"All of Parkford tried to get me to hate myself, all because I was Wiccan. But I succeeded where they failed. Look at me! What I have become! A murderer! I'm not a hero Luke. I killed a woman who had nothing but goodness in her heart. What kind of monster am I?"
"Heather, it wasn't your fault!" Luke said. He caressed her face to dry her tears as quickly as they drained from her eyes. "Morgana manipulated you. You may have killed Belinda, but Morgana is the one with blood on her hands! She'll be paying the price for what she has done. But I don't think you're a monster. A monster wouldn't show remorse. Any, the chief says you did your part well. We couldn't have saved the children without you. So you're free to go."
"Go? Go where? Certainly not back to Parkford, I'll only be shunned once more. My job has probably been filled by someone else. I have nothing to return to there. Parkford is no longer my home"
"What about your family?"
Heather shook her head. "What family? I've been all alone since my mother hung herself, unable to live with the stigma after my father abandoned her and I after exposing us as Wiccans."
"Whoa! That's harsh!"
"I'm even more alone than ever!" Heather wailed. "Shunned by society and my own kind!"
"No, you're not." Luke stretched one arm around her and placed it upon her shoulder. Heather lifted her head and looked into his eyes through her bloodshot tear-stained eyes. "You still have your friend by your side. And what you've done doesn't affect how I feel about you."
Heather lifted her eyes up to the sky and sniffled. "Luke," she whimpered, her voice cracking again, "can I have a hug?"
Luke opened his arms and allowed Heather to fall into them, sniffling into his shoulder. Luke gently placed one hand on her back and wrapped the fingers of the other around her waist. "Everything will be all right," he tried to assure her. "We'll help you start afresh! With a clean slate."
Heather doesn't reply. She was too overwhelmed with despair at having lost a chance to belong somewhere. His comforting words are a mere whisper against an onslaught of hopelessness. Deep down, Luke knew that even if she did start anew in another town, it would only be a matter of town before people found out she was a Wiccan and she would be shunned once more. It was humanity's nature to fear or hate what was different. What they feared or hated, they shunned, segregated, or destroyed. Her own kind would forever scorn her as the one who killed the 'Good Blackhawk'. Both sides of who she was, a human and a witch, at odds with each other for who she was, destroying any chance of acceptance. She would never find peace for who she was and be happy. Regardless of what happened to her, the future was bleak.
Luke understood her desire for acceptance more than anyone. For years, after being separated from his birth family, he had gone into foster care. None of his foster families offered him the stability and security he needed. Several difficult father figures didn't exactly give him the best role model. He became a delinquint and got in trouble with the police, but nothing serious. Jacob taking him into the Supernatural Hunters was a step in the right direction and helped set him straight. To him, they were the family he needed. They looked out for him and he for them. Heather on the other hand was alone. She had no family back home in Parkford. No friends, save him. She needed him. He needed to help her. Somehow. If only he knew how to console her and bring a smile to her face, ease her troubled spirit and heal her broken heart.
The two stayed locked in each other's arms for what seemed like eternity, but it was only about a minute before Heather finally spoke. "Luke, take me away from this place. There's nothing for me here. With all the other witches celebrating Walpurgis Night and me not allowed to partake of the occassion, being here only brings me sorrow."
Luke helped Heather up to her feet, but he held on to one hand, and refused to let go. He gently squeezed her hand in reassurance. "Come on Heather, I'm sure the others will be happy to see you. Felix is ordering burgers for everyone: the team, the children, and for you too."
With her free hand, Heather wipes dry her tear-streamed face. "You can have my burger (Name), I'm not hungry."
#
The team and the rescued children had finished their burgers by the time George Mathison and two Indiana police cars showed up. While George and two officers spoke to the children to make sure they were safe, Jacob unlocked the trailer where Morgana had been detained. The team watched as two more police officers went in and came out with Morgana secured.
"Get your hands off of me!" she shrieked, kicking and screaming. "Do you have any idea who you're messing with?"
"Settle down lady," one of the officers said, "or we'll add resisting arrest to the list of charges."
Morgana glared down each member of the team with a look of pure hatred. "You haven't seen the last of me! There is no prison that can hold Morgana Blackhawk! I'll be back!"
"Tell it to the judge!" one of the officers said, his patience running thin.
Luke composed himself and fought to restrain his anger as the police pulled her along past him. He had spent much of the past half hour trying to console Heather, who had spent that time crying into his pillow.
"Morgana, you're going to pay for what you have done!" he mumbled under his breath. He heard the door to the RV he shared with Felix open.
"If you're going to arrest her," he heard Heather speak, "you might as well arrest me too."
"What?" Luke and the rest of the team turned their heads as Heather walked past them towards the two officers restraining Morgana. The police and Morgana do the same. Much to Luke's anger, Morgana has a smug smirk on her face as if she is relishing this moment. If she is going to prison, she'll take her treacherous pawn down with her.
"That's right!" Morgana shouted. "I may have ordered my sister's death, but she's the one who did the deed!"
Luke had only taken one step forward in Morgana's direction when he felt Ben's firm hand on his shoulder. "Don't do it Luke. She's not worth it." Luke watched as Jacob walked up to the two other officers and spoke to them.
"Heather...," he spoke, "...why? Why are you turning yourself in? We were going to let you walk free!"
Heather shook her head. "Freedom is nothing without a place to belong to Luke. There's nothing for me in this world. I took a life. It's only right that I pay the price for what I've done."
One of the other two officers nods to the two securing Morgana as he approached Heather, a look of pity on his face. The two officers hauled Morgana to their car are force her into the back seat.
"Heather Night," he said, "Mr. Arrow has informed us of the circumstances of what happened and how you helped rescue the children. Considering that together with your remorse, age, mental and emotional state, we're prepared to offer you a deal. If you agree to come back to the station and provide your statement and testify against Miss Blackhawk, you can plead guilty to manslaughter for a reduced sentence."
Heather sniffled. "I supposed I can't do better than that. I agree."
As the officer removed a pair of handcuffs from his belt, Jacob held up one hand. "Could you give us a couple of minutes? We have something to say to Heather first."
The officer nodded. "Okay. Two minutes. No more than that."
Jacob approached Heather with a smile on his face, something that the team had rarely seen. "Heather," he said, "we couldn't have rescued the children and brought Morgana to justice without your help. You're almost one of us now."
That last sentence hung in the air and repeated itself in Heather's ears. Her eyes glistened and she smiled in gratitude. After being rejected by the coven and her hometown, that was all she needed to hear. Almost was just as good.
Avery and the children also wanted to show their gratitude. Heather dropped down to her knees as the children embraced her. They owed her their lives. Without her, they would have been the main appetizer at the feast. To think it could have happened because of her.
"You're the best!" a boy said.
"We'd be dead without you!" another boy said.
"We love you Heather!" one of the girls said.
The kaleidoscope of remorse, regret, shame, relief, and happiness proved too much for Heather and she began to sob in a mixture of joy and sorrow. She took comfort in the knowledge that they appreciated what she had done and that the worst case scenario that could have happened had been averted. If only they understood what could have been their fate and that she had a hand in it.
"You're my hero Heather!" said Avery. "I'll never forget you. And I'll never be able to repay you!"
Heather wanted to disagree and tell them she was no hero, but she couldn't find the words to do so. She wanted to enjoy this moment while it lasted, her final moments of freedom for many years.
As the children released Heather, Gwen is next to approach Heather. "Heather, I know I'm a little late in saying this, but I just wanted to thank you for what you did for me back in Parkford at the cafe. I appreciate it."
"You're welcome," Heather sniffled. She looked at Luke, staring at her, his face a mask of sadness and grief.
"Heather," he started.
She stood before him and took both his wrists into her hands. "Luke, I regret that the time we had together was so short. And I regret that we'll probably never see each other again." She shook her head. "But I don't regret knowing or meeting you. You were the first person to have ever shown me kindness since I was ousted as a Wiccan. And I'll never forget you."
"I will miss you Heather," Luke said, struggling to maintain his composure, though his voice is showing signs of cracking.
"Well, if this is goodbye," said Heather, her eyes glistening again, "we might as well savor it."
Not caring how many people could see, Luke stepped closer to Heather and opened his arms as she mirrored his movement. Once more, they were in each other's arms. Luke felt her thin arms shake in his embrace. To think this would probably be the last time he ever saw her. Whatever happened to her next, the road would not be an easy one. She would probably never meet anyone who cared about her as much as he did. Someone who accepted her. Someone who didn't care if she was a Wiccan and now a killer. If that was true, then it was only right that he should give her something that she would never receive for the rest of her life.
He lifted his arms till his hand clutched the sides of her head. He tilted her head upward so her could look down into her eyes, the dam of tears had once more burst and twin rivers flowed down her face. He reached down and gently touched his lips to her forehead. He heard a sigh flow from her mouth, one of joy and sorrow. Joy for have it happen. Sorrow believing she would never have it happen again.
He didn't want to let her go. He didn't want the police to take her away. But Heather sensed his feelings and thoughts. "It's okay," she whispered as she pulled herself free. She smiled sadly as she and Luke gazed into each other's face once more. She reached up and pulled free her purple rose hair clip and held it out towards him. "I want you to have this Luke, to remember me by. And I want the team to have whatever money I have on me. It's my last wages from the Pancake Cafe. Where I'm going, I won't need them."
#
The police officers handcuffed Heather, read her rights, and gently led her to their vehicle. One of them opened the back door for her and the other pushed her inside the car. They closed the door and climbed into the front seats. Through the window, Heather gazed out at Luke and sadly waved one hand in farewell. Luke lifted one hand to do the same. Another stream of tears flowed from her eyes before she turned away and buried her face in her hands. The window blocked out all sound of her sobs.
Luke watched as the car drove off into the distance. He continued to wave as it shrunk to a dot on the horizon until vanshing completely from his sight. He lowered his arm.
George is loading the kids into his own vehicle to take them to the police station to make a statement against Morgana before they can be taken home. "Now remember kids," he said, "don't mention anything about witches or you won't be taken seriously."
"Yes Mr. Mathison!" the children say in unison. They are all excited about going for a ride in his bulletproof FBI car. Avery and Felix say goodbye to each other, their farewell much happier than Luke and Heather.
The FBI vehicle drove off into the night. Even though it had been a long night for them, the team now had another agenda. To speak to Arthur Darkwood and learn more about the demon war. Now that their minds were protected, they felt safe enough to speak to him, and he would trust them with the information.
But one member of the team was in low spirits. Luke hadn't moved from his spot from where he stood and waved goodbye to Heather. He was still staring off into the night down the road where the police car carrying her had gone. Every once in a while, he would hold up the hand carrying the purple rose hair clip, all he had left to remind him of Heather.
"Luke," Gwen came up behind him. "We are so sorry. We have no idea you and Heather were friends."
Luke didn't reply. He was too busy remembering all the memories he and Heather had shared tonight and in Parkford. Anything involving her was better than the reality of her loss.
"I know how you feel Luke," she said, "after what happened with Pierce and Justine. If you ever need to talk to somebody, I'm here for you."
Luke stood in silence for several moments before he finally nodded. "Thank you," his voice was just above a whisper.
He trudged back to the RV he shared with Felix and collapsed onto his bed, burying his face into the pillow, still damp with Heather's tears earlier. He breathed in whatever scent she had left behind.
The emotional pain of losing her was even worse than being separated from his birth family and years of foster care. If being separated from his family and passed around foster homes was like a knife cutting into his heart, then the loss of his friend was like being locked in an iron maiden.
The purple rose hair clip was still in his hand when sleep overcame him. It had been a long night and he felt like he wanted to fall asleep.
And never wake up.