Chapter 21: The Degenerate Rose Part One
"What did you do?! What did you do to her?"- Will screamed, holding the lifeless body of her best friend.
In her arms, it grew colder and heavier.
She wasn't breathing. She wasn't moving. Nothing.
Half an hour after their intervention this had happened; things had taken a twist for the worst.
Will couldn't just stand by and allow it to remain like that.
"I c-can't feel a pulse,"- Matt, who was also kneeling on the floor stammered, but Will's attention was on the younger woman in the room.
She had done this. She was responsible for how Cornelia was.
Everything was such a fricking mess but enough was enough.
Will stood up instinctively and hurled through the room.
She grabbed the young Heart's arm and yanked it with all her might:
"Fix this!"- she spat. "Use your fucking magic and fix her, this is your sister! You can't just kill your sister!"
Lillian Hale was smitten at first. First, there had been anger. Dark anger for the two women who had come to foil her plans in the worst possible moment and way, exposing her in front of Matt too.
She hadn't wanted to hurt her sister like that but her magic was stronger than her. It had just erupted from her and engulfed the entire apartment.
When the lights of the spell had died down, Cornelia was down as well. The spell had hit her in the chest and now she wasn't breathing anymore.
Lillian screamed in despair and pulled free of the Guardian leader's grip.
"I can't! Leave me alone!"- she demanded. "Get the fuck away from me!"
But Will was livid:
"YOU CAN'T JUST TURN YOUR BACK ON THIS! I DON'T CARE ABOUT ANYTHING ELSE; I CARE ABOUT CORNELIA! TAKE YOUR SHITTY MAGIC OFF OF HER AND THEN DO WHATEVER YOU WANT, BITCH-"
"YOU THINK IT'S THAT EASY?!"- Lillian spat in response. Her eyes threw angry sparks everywhere. "If you had just minded your own damn business, none of this would've happened! But no! She had to come after me, she had to get you on board and blow everything to bits! Because she hates me and she hates me being happy!"
"This is NOT about you!"- Will roared. Man, she wanted to hurt this girl. She wanted to sweep the entire room with her and fuck her up! "Cornelia wanted to help you and me! And you...you unalived her without thinking twice! You're revolting, you know that?"
"You came in my way! Threatened me! This is not all on me!"- Lillian screamed. "This is-"
"Yes, it fucking is!"
Will took another step towards her and she took a step back. Their eyes met and for the first time, Lillian felt scared in front of her.
"FIX. THIS. MESS!"
The redhead knew what she had to do now. The Heart appeared around her neck, urging her. To fight the injustice. To fight the Heart of Earth.
And that's exactly what she did as all lights in the apartment flickered and then the bulbs burst into pieces.
Will attacked her and Lillian fired back, surprised but determined.
The quintessence collided with the Earth energy. Power to power. Heart to Heart.
"You can't beat me; I have more power than you!"- Lillian screamed as everything around them flew back. "You should've just stayed on Meridian, Will, why did you have to come back and ruin everything?"
Matt picked up Cornelia's body and moved out of the way.
"Shut your fucking piehole!"- Will bared her teeth and guided her magic around the younger woman.
Lillian scattered all her attacks and pushed back.
Will clenched her jaw as her guardian form flickered over her regular again and again. It was true, she didn't feel strong enough to take on an entire Heart that sourced herself and an entire planet with magic.
But she wasn't going to give up. She had fought worse before and she had won.
"No, Will, you will not win over me!"- Lillian said manically as if having read her mind. "Not this time; I've gone too far to stop now. I just razed my sister; It never was in my plans but now that it happened I can't say it didn't feel a little liberating."
Will was taken aback by this confession. How unhinged could this girl get?
Lillian laughed:
"I sent Irma away for good when she discovered my truth. She was the first one to do that, so I had to make her embrace her deepest desires and have her leave with Martin. I actually helped her there."- she went on with the scandalous revelations. "I just took Cornelia out...I guess I now have to do the same with you, Will, and then take what's mine somewhere away. That's you, Matt. You're mine. You were supposed to see that but obviously, you're too blinded by everything that's been happening to you."- the blonde tsked, meeting the dark-haired man's gaze. It was unreadable.
"And how exactly are you planning to cover your ass this time? Everyone will get to know the truth!"
Will used the moment of distraction to push her down with a stronger surge of quintessence on her end.
Lillian gasped as she hit the hard floor. The only source of light in the room now was the Heart of Kandrakar, throwing its burning pink lights everywhere.
"That alleged pregnancy of yours we heard of even on Meridian, was a lie as well, wasn't it?"- Will mocked her, even though she was already sure about it. It had been a hallow-sounding lie, to begin with.
Lillian looked back with a bitter smirk. A tell-all smirk.
"I suppose I no longer need that narrative since you and Cornelia ruined everything, "- she pointed out innocently. Fake innocence. SO much about her was fake.
"Heal Cornelia. Because she's the only person that can stop me from killing you."- Will whispered darkly and kicked her in the face before the girl could react.
Lillian winced in pain as Will picked her up and threw her over her head. She ended up near Matt's feet and he didn't hesitate; he pinned her down with his foot on her chest.
Lillian, however, appeared to be amused by their actions. A thin streak of blood run down from her nose as she playfully licked at the man's bare foot; his toe was nearest.
She had nothing more to lose and she was not going to play safe anymore.
"Don't worry, Matt, you and I have a lot of catching up to do once we get rid of her."- and she pointed at Will, who was approaching with a grim expression on her face.
"Let's strike a deal, Lillian."- he spoke in the end as hard as it was.
He wasn't thinking about himself. As always. He put himself last when those he cared for were in question...
Will stopped and met his eyes and she immediately knew that he was serious. Before she could protest, Lillian was up on her feet again and blasted her through the window, breaking the glass into hundreds of pieces with her body...
She definitely got back at her for that karate move and everything...
"WILL!"
"I asked what's the deal."- the young Hale cornered the man, not bothering to look back.
They all knew that this "fight" was nothing in comparison to what could actually happen if a "consensus" of some sort wasn't reached.
Will knew that and she honestly hated it.
The redhead flew back up, in guardian form, with the same grim expression from before she got yeeted out.
Matt took note of that and finally looked back at the girl who had an unhealthy obsession with him.
"I know everything now."- he began in a serious tone. "Everything. And...I am willing to let go of my free will for you if you restore Cornelia's life and promise."- he nailed it. "Promise to leave everyone be. It's me who you want, right? I'm willing to make this easier for everyone. If you don't agree, you already know that breaking my will tenacity is going to be a challenge."
Will closed her eyes behind her. She had seen that coming. How Matt-like, to be willing to sacrifice himself beyond everything else just for them. His friends, who he loved...
Her heart broke for him again because she was powerless. And Cornelia's life being lost was a too big risk to ignore... She wished there was another way but there wasn't. Not right now, at least.
I will get you your free will back, Matt, Will thought. I've done it before... I'll do it again. I will not leave Lillian get away...
Lillian wasn't stupid. A part of her knew that it wasn't going to be this easy but another part knew that Matt was sincere and it sobered her up quite a lot.
The intoxicating power of darkness washed away ever so slightly, and her eyes fell on her sister's body again, sending an arrow-like feeling of guilt and pain through her heart.
"This is not who you are. You may have changed but killing your own sister is not you."- Matt insisted and he was right.
"I...I don't know how."- she stammered. "I didn't want to, Matt, I-"
"I will help you."- he said calmly and extended his hand making her heart race.
Lillian stared at him like a little girl again. That she was; a little girl gone rogue, falling madly in love with the guy she wasn't supposed to want like that.
"When you let me influence you, you will be a thrall..."- she murmured. "I didn't want that but there's no other way, is there?"
Matt didn't reply at once.
In the end, he just nodded.
"I'm afraid that there isn't, Lil."- he said bitterly.
Lillian felt her heartache again but sobbed and nodded. Then she took his hand willingly, and together, they stood above Cornelia, linking their magic. She was the source and he was her ex-regent, who had so much more experience...
He could help her bend her magic around the corners. Navigate it... Fix her dire mistake before it was too late, and he did it.
Will could just watch fidgeting in her place, thinking how, fuck it, she would find another way! She just wanted to see Cornelia was safe and sound again, then she was going to show her bratty sister just what she had in mind...
You're a liar and a brat, she thought, eyes piercing Lillian's back. You don't deserve Matt at all. I will not let you have him!
The Earth magic did manage to undo the damage on time.
Cornelia coughed and opened her eyes, to their joy.
But it was short-lived, because the moment her sister's heartbeat returned, Lillian teletransported away with the man who still held her hands.
"Fuck!"- Will cursed under her breath but quickly grabbed a hold of herself and rushed to Cornelia's side: "Cornelia, are you alright? You were out for a good couple of minutes-"
"I...I was still here though. I saw and heard everything."- Cornelia replied hoarsely, in a hurry to stand up. Will helped her with a concerned and defeated look sealed in her features. "Matt...sacrificed himself for me...for us."
"Yeah, she took him before I could do anything."- the redhead nodded bitterly. There was a tense silence that followed that statement.
"So, what do we do now?"
But Cornelia was too taken aback by everything that had happened to reply.
"Come on, Cornelia, you filled in for me as leader. Don't give up now."- Will touched her shoulder as reassuringly as she could. Given she was dispirited herself. "This too shall pass. We just have to... stay strong."
She was right.
The blonde nodded and wiped the tears away:
"We have to regroup. And go fetch Irma, finally."
The surface of Lake Winnipeg was quiet and calm. The small cabin hidden in the forest, in the very soul of the stunning nature in this area, was still sleeping.
Mara Tubbs was the first to wake up, very early in the morning. She stood on the porch with her steaming cup of coffee, admiring the waking nature.
Mara had many regrets in her life; she had once been a part of something she wasn't proud of at all. And the way she had gotten out of the hell? Even more shameful; she had promised her son would work for them in exchange, without him ever knowing about it.
She had basically given her son's future to the curse that had tainted hers.
But in her defense, after her husband's illness, after struggling with Martin's health too, as a baby, Mara's life had been changed forever.
She couldn't manage the burden anymore. She wanted a normal life with her family and for a while, it had looked like she had achieved it.
She did the unthinkable when Martin was three. She left the Eye of God with the stipulation that her son would start working for them when he is old enough, and Mara would make sure to make him interested in the whole thing from the inside. And she had done that too. It wasn't hard to gaslight her intelligent, curious boy, to subtly make him believe in the supernatural and then deceive him that the Eye of God was a fun after-school club-like activity that researches the world of magic and wonder.
Driven to the edge of her own capabilities, Mara had agreed to all that, despite knowing that one day everything would come crashing down and the lies would be exposed.
After struggling for so long, that day seemed so far away that it was worth it.
For years, everything had been fine. Then her husband's illness had returned and it was time for Martin to start with the Eye on her behalf, unbeknownst to the stipulation, his mother's past and future, the whole horror.
He was just a child but the ruthless people she had promised him to, took him under their wing, and started using him to get to what they were after.
Magic. Earth magic. And more...
Everything had gone rogue again and a widowed, crestfallen Mara had fled to Canada, away from everything and everyone.
Away from the hurt and wrongs she had committed and those that had caught up with her.
Now, everything was catching up with her again, and Mara Tubbs didn't have the strength to go on, hence once again, she agreed to terms and conditions that weren't ideal or moral, conditions that didn't stand right with her, deep inside.
She agreed to them because it was her last chance to keep Martin's opinion of her as it was and keep him safe and happy, as much as she could.
As much as living like this, in hiding, away from people and most of civilization could be long-term...
The mystic noise made Mara turn around in distress. She immediately knew something wasn't right.
She quickly made her way to the small living room and saw it; the standing crystal globe that she kept next to the fireplace; it was cracked. And the noise she was hearing was the magic from it, smoking away in the form of pale sky-blue gas...
The gasp in her throat and the glass in her hands created a gulp in unison, then the porcelain fell and broke, and the rest of the coffee spilled all over the wooden floor.
Mara just stared at the broken globe in dismay, feeling her heart tightening.
"Mom? Are you OK..."
It was Martin. He came into the room, distressed, clad in his jogging clothes; apparently, he had been about to head out for a quick morning jog when the breaking of the cup startled him.
The man estimated the short woman for a few seconds and then followed her gaze to the broken globe:
"No..."- he just whispered in shock. "N-no...how is this possible-"
"Martin, where's Irma?"- Mara insisted, grabbing her son by the elbows. "Where is she? You know what this means!"- her voice grew louder and thinner. "The globe broke! Lillian's concealment and protection spells are broken! They're broken!"
"She s-said that not even Kandrakar can do that, how..."
Martin knew he didn't have time to contemplate this. He and his mother rushed toward the bedroom he and Irma shared, only to find it empty.
The window was open.
"NO!"
Mara covered her mouth with her hand and started sobbing.
"Martin-"
But he grabbed a bag from under the bed and jumped out of the window.
"I can't let them have her, mom."- were his last words to Mara. "I'm going to get her back!"
"It's too dangerous, Martin, it's too dangerous!"- she cried, trying to pull him back, but he didn't listen, he fled into the woods and she fell to the floor in her defeat and despair.
Will watched the drop of blood fall into the ground rosemary, Cypress, and yarrow root as she and Cornelia joined hands and declaimed:
Power of the dragons rise
Course unseen across the skies
Come to us who call you near
Come to us and settle here.
Blood to blood, I summon thee
Blood to blood, return to me.
Just when Cornelia was about to complain about how chanting this spell wasn't working, the surface of the lake moved.
Will opened her mouth but couldn't say anything because she emerged from the waters, still dressed in her sleepwear.
They both abandoned the Silver Mortar that they had used for the potion and spell, and rushed toward her:
"Irma! Oh, my God, it worked!"
Reuniting with their friend again felt revivifying. None of them had seen Irma in over two months; two months of Lillian's magic stopping even the all-seeing eyes of Kandrakar from pinpointing her exact location.
Thankfully, this olden spell that Phobos had taught her did work, even though Will decided to spare Cornelia where and whom she knew it from.
It worked because they were together and because the Heart of Kandrakar united their blood and magic, making it stronger than Lillian's:
"G-girls?"- Irma looked weak and confused.
Her eyes were droopy, but she wasn't wet. Her element hadn't wet her even though she had swum all across the lake, jumping in from the end closest to her at the start of the calling spell.
"She's probably under Lillian's influence in some way."- Will pointed out, holding her friend's arm for support. "We have to free her of whatever curse or spell she put on her-"
"What's going on?"- Irma interrupted her.
She was coming to her senses. And she was beginning to look at them somewhat furiously:
"Did you two come here to try to drag me back to Heatherfield or something?"- Irma snapped. "Man, I can't fucking believe it! Didn't I tell you all that I need to do some things for myself and my relationship back at that gathering?"
"Irma, wait, listen-"
"No, you listen."- Irma's blue eyes fell on the mortar. She walked to it and just kicked it a few yards away:
"Take your witchy shit and leave me alone! I don't recall inviting any of you here, so hit the road, OK?"
"Irma, we have problems and we need you!"- Cornelia yelled at her. "You're still our friend and a guardian, what the fuck is the matter with you?"
"Problems again, huh? Let me guess, with your bratty sister you took zero care of? With Matt whom you just fucked over for Phobos, Wilhelmina? Gee, I wonder why was that not seen coming."- Irma mocked them both to Cornelia's shock.
But Will was sure:
"This s not Irma speaking, or at least not...entirely,"- she murmured and then turned to Irma again: "Irma, you're right. We didn't handle some things properly on time and that's why we're facing these problems now, but we need you. We're your friends and we know that this life, this hiding you went into all of a sudden was not your decision."
"No, you're wrong, it was my decision! I just tried to pretend I didn't want this for way too long, much like you pretended you didn't want Phobos, Will!"- Irma shot, taking a few steps back. "This is my life now! With Martin! I love Martin, and I will not leave him!"
"Nobody is asking you to!"- Will argued. "The Eye of God are no longer an active threat, Irma, you and Martin can come back to Heatherfield now and live together like you used to, none of us is going to hold what happened over your heads, I promise you!"
That seemed to confuse Irma again. She didn't know what to reply. It was as if she hadn't expected it at all; like she wasn't supposed to be hearing it...
Her eyes became hazy again and she mumbled to herself, shaking her head in a desperate try to gain some clarity:
"They're... not?"- she stammered. "You defeated them, but-"
"Lillian killed all of them. She killed them."- Will confirmed bitterly and took the Latina's hand. "Whatever she did to you, whatever she told you, you know that she doesn't want the best for you like we do, Irma. Look at me. Look at Cornelia. We're your friends. You no longer have to be subordinate to that girl's whims, Irma, you can break free of whatever she did to you. I believe that you still love Martin."- the redhead went on seriously. "What I don't believe is that you'd just send everything else to hell and isolate us all willingly. You are a guardian, Irma. And that is why the spell made you come to us because deep down your truest instincts are suppressed. Break free of Lillian's bewitchment! You can do it!"
Her words reached the deepest parts of Irma's brain and when she opened her eyes again, they were clear and all her anger and confusion retreated:
"Shit, I needed this."- she murmured before throwing herself in her friends' arms gratefully. "I fucking needed to break free of this shit!"
"We got you, Irma."- Will promised her as she held her. "We have you back now."
"What did she even do to you?"- Cornelia sobbed, hugging the other woman in her turn, moving the hair away from her eyes: "Did she enthrall you, or-"
"No, she fucking nailed me. With my own dark side."- Irma explained. "Because I found out what she had turned into and I threatened to expose her that night; I was so angry, I didn't even think about what deep and dangerous water I'm jumping into alone; Lillian took my guilty thoughts and my desperate desire to be with Martin again and trapped me in a cage made of it. She made me a prisoner of my own dark side."
The other two guardians exchanged astounded, bitter glances. Was there anything Lillian wasn't capable of by now?
And with everything that Irma had gone through, she hadn't even hesitated to exploit all her weakness and trauma and use it to her advantage.
Just as she didn't hesitate to do the same to all of us, Will thought bitterly. She has gone too far...
"But...I guess you know everything by now too?"- Irma suggested, looking at her friends closely:
"Lillian was behind so many things that happened to us!"- she began heatedly. "She helped Avani get Will in the first place, she set her and Phobos up a bunch of times, including at Corny's birthday weekend. She used the WICCA boys and her stupid "Matchmaker" Scooby Doo costume to divert attention from herself. I think she fired that unexplained attack at Cornelia to trigger the Heart of Kandrakar to make it reunite with Will too; goth bitch did all that crazy shit because she wanted to break us apart while covering her skinny ass from the Eye of God and take Matt! Sorry, Corny, but she's just horrible, not to mention she did all that while being with my brother!"
Cornelia looked down, utterly deflated, and nodded:
"Yes, Irma, I know everything..."
"Cornelia figured it out and called me up, for months none of us even suspected this. How did you find out?"- Will asked. "Because, honestly, I would've never believed it, even after I saw her in Matt's bed. Lillian almost succeeded in her initial plans..."
"I talked to Halinor about the WICCA boys and just went to her room and," - Irma suddenly had the urge to wheeze. Matt's BED?! " - wait, WHAT?"
She was taken aback. Only now did she begin to realize the gravity of things that had happened while she was sent away. Then again, she had just snapped out of a two-month-long brain freeze.
"Does she...does she have Matt now?"- she asked incredulously. "How did she,"
"She's over her edge at this point. Her lies and schemes are exposed and she forced Matt into surrendering his free will for us; let's go, we'll fill you in on the details on the way, we have to get ready for a serious battle-"
"Irma?"
They all turned around to see Martin. He was out of breath and he was looking at Irma, pleadingly.
She let go of her friends, confident in herself as she walked toward him:
"Are you leaving? Are you l-leaving me, Irma-"
"Listen, Martin, the Eye of God are out of the picture. They're defeated. We have new problems now. Lillian."- the Latina narrated seriously. She touched the tense man's face: "I know she blackmailed you and your mom too; I know everything. When we take care of her, nothing will be in our way again. We can be together again, in Heatherfield, we can work in our little radio like before all this. We will be happy."- she whispered. "We will get past all this crap, babe."
Martin's heart fluttered in hope. He had expected of her to snap and be angry with him again but Lillian had been right. Deep inside, she did still love him. If anything, being trapped in her own dark side had made Irma's bravest, most suppressed desires resurface.
He had been foolish. He didn't need Lillian or anyone anymore, now that the Eye were down too.
He was finally going to open a new page and get back what he needed most; Irma. For good. Their life together that had been disrupted because of the Eye and Lillian but now the tide was changing patterns.
The cursed Eye and Lillian will both be history soon, the man thought as he smiled at the Water guardian and embraced her. He met Cornelia and Will's eyes when he embraced her and managed a weak smile. For some reason, he thought that they looked at him strangely. Ah, great. Her friends were going to be disapproving now, weren't they? No matter. He was going to deal with that too. Everyone who's to blame for how our life came crashing down will be out of the way soon, Passion Flower. And we will be together forever, Martin vowed.
The guardians had left and he was still there, near the shores of the lake, smiling to himself when his mother finally caught up with him.
Mara Tubbs got out of the car and quickly made her way to her son:
"Martin?"- she questioned. "What-"
"It's OK, mom,"
And he recapped everything for her with that same hopeful smile. Irma still wanted him, even after the effect of Lillian's spell wore off; soon, they'd be together again and everything would be alright.
But as she listened, Mara failed to share her son's enthusiasm. She, for one, knew better. She knew that nothing as grave as their situation was ever resolved just like that; especially not with the organization she had been part of.
"Oh, God, this is..."
"Appalling. Devastating. I'm actually really disturbed this time like I haven't been in a while, and that has to say something considering what our daily lives look like."- Taranee concluded for Hay Lin, about an hour after Will, Irma and Cornelia reunited with them and gave them the latest news and revelations.
"That little rangy..."- Caleb took a deep breath, stopping himself before cursing out his girlfriend's sister in dulcet Meridian fashion. "Never mind. What's done is done, now we have to get Matt back before she's fucked up his mind."
"Precisely."- Nerissa stressed from the other end of the room; they had met up in her ancestral house, the Crossnic manor. "Lillian is not only the Heart of Earth but also Matt's superior. His power flows from hers; if she enthralls his free will, it might be impossible to restore unless she,"- she paused, pursing her nude-colored lips. ", let's just say it isn't a preferable exit of the situation."
"Right...So."- Irma rested her chin on her fist. "How the fuck do we exit the situation."
"And how do we get to them, I mean, it's not like she's naïve enough to come at us right now, she knows that we're reuniting and plotting her dethroning."- Will pointed out and huffed.
She walked around the large living room with arms folded on her chest; everyone fell quiet again because what she had said was obviously true.
That was the bad thing about fighting family members. It was always especially hard. And morally challenging and tearing...
Just a look at Cornelia's crestfallen features was enough to remind her just how touchy and hard everything would continue to be because of Lillian turning into a villain.
And then there was Matt... Will felt a stinging pain in her chest each time she remembered how unfair all this was to him of all people. He had suffered more than anyone should suffer...and a big part of it was on her.
"Napoleon and Huggles... Of course!"- Cornelia suddenly exclaimed, drawing everyone's attention. "They're the two other Knights of Earth, sharers of the power-"
"But Napoleon's Lillian's Familiar too, will that work?"- Taranee pondered.
"It could work."- Nerissa nodded, walking over to Cornelia.
"Their magic is coming from Lillian, but it's also linked, right?"- the Earth guardian exclaimed.
"To each of their own."- the older woman agreed again, looking into Cornelia's decisive eyes. She was determined to make this all right... "They can always find her, as her former regents that she chose to knight. She could hide from Kandrakar but not her Knights-"
"They can find her. Matt too."- Will finished, coming between Nerissa and Cornelia. "We shouldn't lose time. Cornelia, you and Caleb go get Napoleon and Huggles and bring them here. Tara, you and Hay Lin go to Kandrakar. I want you to talk to them about the entire thing and make sure that nothing will go wrong this time. It's time the new Oracle proved himself to us."
Everyone nodded. But before Cornelia and Caleb could leave, Julian came from the upper floor with a look of concern on his face, and his grandson in the kangaroo baby carrier strapped around his chest:
"Dad-"
"I don't think it's just a virus anymore, Caleb."- Julian spoke up to their unrest. "He's...in pain. I think it's magic-"
"Why, what's wrong?"- Caleb asked. "Killian?"- he put his finger in his son's little hand but the boy didn't give him a squeeze as usual. He just mewled wearily.
"Killian? What are you feeling, baby,"- Cornelia's agitated voice murmured more to herself than to her son as she approached him to use her healing powers again.
She had already tried that earlier when he had first shown symptoms of sickness. At first, they had all been assured this is just an ordinary virus going around toddles by Killian's pediatrician, but now that Julian had observed new alarming symptoms, they were getting on pins and needles once again:
"Look at this."- Nerissa followed her husband's eyes over the toddler's body and the big, uncommonly purple rash-like formations over his tummy that seemed to be spreading all over.
"Yes... it is a blood curse."- she concluded grimly when her Mage ring flickered and the magic from her hand met resistance too.
"Lillian."- Cornelia realized in a small voice. "How could she..."
"She cursed him..."- the brunette exclaimed angrily, taking the toddler into her arms. "She's baser and more disgusting than I initially gave her credit for, I will butcher her!"
"Wait-"- Taranee cautiously interrupted Nerissa's outburst. "If it's a blood curse, shouldn't you be able to lift it easily? Killian is of your blood, after all-"
"It's sister magic, sisterly magical bonds are very strong, only one who holds the same position on the family tree of the cursed one can "easily" lift it. But since Caleb doesn't have a sister, it will be more difficult to resolve this."- Nerissa explained fast, her eyes glistening with pain and worry at the sight of her unwell grandson but also anger. Pure anger for what his so-called aunt was putting him through just to create setbacks for them.
"OK, Cornelia, then I will go get the Knights, and you-"- Will began but Nerissa interrupted her:
"No. This is what that unstable brat wants, to divide and weaken us. Julian and I shall stay with Killian and we will find a solution to the problem he has, you go. It's going to be alright, Cornelia. Look at me."- she said before the blonde could protest, giving her a firm nod: "I promise you."
Cornelia who was on the verge of tears eventually agreed. It was the best they could do right now anyway, and Nerissa would never let her son suffer any harm, that was for sure.
"Mom, be careful and work fast."- Caleb gave her a quick hug, holding Killian one last time too. "He doesn't look too well-"
Nerissa kissed the back of his neck.
"Don't worry, honey. I will."
"You have ten minutes. Talk. Get ready. Then leave,"
Amanda Fragenson blinked in utter bewilderment. Leave? She was sure that she had misheard. However, the guards left. Before she knew it, one of the two other fortified doors opened and her bewilderment grew even more.
It was her husband. He was equally as confused as he made his way to her in his handcuffs:
"Richard-"
"Amanda..."
Amanda's eyes shone with hope:
"Is this something with our lawyers-"
But her husband shook his head as he met her eyes.
"No. I have no idea what's going on but don't get your hopes up. It's been months."- Richard reminded her dryly. "This is our present and future now."
Amanda looked down and bit her lip. Her husband was probably right. After all this time, even a miracle wouldn't be enough to get them their normal lives back.
They had spent months in this prison facility near the industrial zone of town, waiting for their case to be finalized in court. Bail had been denied a couple of times and their lawyers started visiting less and less often. Arranging their imprisonment to be carried out here, in this very facility that would offer treatments for Amanda's medical issues too, where they could also spend time together, even if in different cells for the most time, was the last and best that had been done for them as public criminals.
Things didn't look well ever again since Richard had tried to commit arson and details about Amanda's past crime had been leaked.
After they lost the company.
After the Crossnics.
After Nerissa.
Richard tightened his fists until his knuckles turned white. That witch had ruthlessly dealt with them and he knew that all shots were fired; she had won and they?
The spiraling sound of Nerissa's magic and the flames around him returned to his mind like a traumatic episode. Her pinning him to the ground:
"I pitied your sick wife but I will not let you go! I've had it with you and your goodman family! You asked for it."
The man felt a cold chill down his spine.
They had never been a match for her anyway.
Amanda sighed and touched her husband's palm but then one of the doors opened, letting in a bald man and woman before closing again:
"Vivi?! Oh, my God! I can't believe it!"
Amanda was outraged.
Richard just snorted:
"Took you long enough."- her murmured with contempt, eyeing his wife's sister who sat down at the table in the middle of the room, unruffled.
"You didn't even call me once after I got dragged here! You promised you'd get me out, but you never appeared again! Not even once, it's like you were dead! I thought that, you know, Vivi!"- Amanda cried, angry tears in her eyes as she hit her handcuffed hands against the table in front of her sister. "I was terrified by the possibility that something has happened to you until I saw you in the newspaper, calm and unflappable, welcoming the new kids with a smile!"
Richard watched his wife torment herself over her sister's indifference at the sight of her and that bald man he was unfamiliar with.
'Vivi' just exchanged a quick look with him, as if she was waiting for him to say something instead.
And he did; in his most calm voice:
"Sit down, Mr. and Mrs. Fragenson."
They didn't obey. They just stared at him.
Amanda looked as though she was noticing his presence for the first time. She turned her angry wet eyes toward her sister again and demanded:
"Vivi! Will you please just fucking say something, woman?! Who is this guy? What's going on here-"
"You will get to know everything, Amanda. Just sit down."- Vivi finally said, a look not tolerating refusal. "Do you want out of here or not?"
When her sister and her husband finally did as they were told she smiled softly; she knew that would get them focused but alas it wasn't enough:
"I will get you out of here."- Vivi averred, pushing her platinum hair back. "But you are going to be met with a serious task today, the second you're out. You have to be up for it if you want your freedom back..."
"What serious task?"- Richard asked, annoyed. "Is this funny to you?"- he spat as Amanda shook her head, fearing for her sister's sanity.
"We've been here for over three months and this is the first time you come, and that with this bizarre attitude about you, what the hell is your deal-"
"I would like you to stall and, possibly, kill Nerissa Crossnic while I seize something very important to me."
Amanda and Richard just gawked at her:
"What!?"
Richard narrowed his eyes:
"You're crazy,"
"Oh, come on, Richard, it's not like you didn't already try or like you didn't kill that woman, his mistress in the past, Ames."- Vivi disregarded them, impatiently. "Plus, after what she did to your family, wouldn't it feel especially rewarding if you had your real revenge on her?"
Her words were met with an avalanche of protest and emotions. Vivi sighed. She knew that it wouldn't be easy but she was prepared:
"She does magic, Violet."- Richard seethed, drawing her attention one last time: "I know you'll laugh but whatever it is that she has done to make you of all people want her dead, she's too dangerous for your own good. Trust me."
Amanda was distraught by all this. By her husband, her sister, the situation:
"Richard, you can't be talking about this stuff here, please-"- she whispered. They hadn't even spoken of the fact that Nerissa had used literal magic to defend herself against Richard's arson because it was just too much. Too crazy sounding in general, obviously, and the Fragensons had decided it's for their better good to not mention it unless the situation gets so dire, they have to plead insanity. A statement such as "the legal owner of our business whose house we tried setting on fire after she tormented us does witchcraft" was sure to help them achieve that.
"She's not the only one."- the bald man spoke for the first time since their arrival.
"Huh?"- the Fragensons didn't follow.
"With magic."- "Vivi" Violet Martens smiled again before the bald man used his very own magic on the pair in front of them.
The renewed principal of Sheffield Institute, Kate Knickerbocker's successor, stood up guardedly, looking at her sister and her husband whose minds and senses were now opened, bare, and ready to listen to her.
"You see, Ames, it wasn't Nerissa but I who released the evidence against you in the end."- Violet revealed calmly. "It was all a part of a carefully put-together strategy. I needed you here, away, safe and sound, ready for the next step. And she had to believe that the Fragenson problem was solved so as to not see what was about to come coming. Because she's one of the biggest threats to my plan. And she mustn't interfere with the final stages of it."- Violet concluded simply. "Mr. R."- she then turned to the bald man. "We're ready. I'm sending my own sister into the snake nest, don't disappoint me."
"The other girls will come. The guardians. It is not that easy, Violet, don't rush this."- Mr. R. reminded her, ten minutes later in his limo with darkened windows.
"The noose is tightening. We're running out of time."- Violet argued. "Everything has to happen tonight."
The car zoomed across the city and the pair estimated each other with eyes.
"It will."- the man assured her. "Simply be patient and collected; we have the advantage of every detail planned and envisioned for years prior."
"Then why do I sense you being a tad too tense than needed?"- Violet asked coldly. "What is it? Don't tell me that you're too afraid now, Scanner-"
"No,"- R. crossed his legs. "The ex-guardian is not your primary threat in this equation but Lillian. I suspect that people from above, from Kandrakar are waiting on her to slip as to strip her of her power and if they do that before we have acquired it everything will have been in vain."
For a minute there was a small shadow of horror falling on Violet's face but then she pushed her glasses back and kept a stiff upper lip:
"It won't. Nothing will be in vain. Because tonight I will have what we all need to keep this planet under control. For so many years, I gambled with everything for this. I've lost so much... I'm not losing the Heart of Earth this time. Not even to Kandrakar."
The Scanner looked her up and down once more and smiled in response. But nothing about that sarcastic and dangerous man ever could ever make Violet feel reassured.
She looked through the window as the pictures of the city changed like on a filmstrip before her eyes. She was getting ready for the final battle of her life.
"Excuse me, I don't have much time, Cornelia. Your Aurameere bestowed a new power on you. I just want you to have it, you may need it in the battle against your sister."- Halinor said in a hushed voice.
Cornelia gasped, feeling the new power surge. After she felt connected with it, she asked:
"Wow... just like with Irma's new power? Why don't the Auramerees just transmit those new powers in us through the Heart? Is it because we're still readjusting to Will's leadership and our harmony levels?"
Halinor looked uneasy for a minute but quickly pushed her long hair aside and declared:
"No, for now, I prefer to personally operate all sources of magical energy and connections in the fortress of light. Kandrakar is my responsibility. Until I can fully trust my new elders and I've seen them in action, I will keep doing this. I... I don't want to take any chances, especially not while seeing how easy it is to pull the wool over just about anyone's eyes these days. Evil is more cunning and corrupting than ever...We have to be alert."
Cornelia opened her mouth in surprise but had to agree:
"Yeah. You're right."
"Yes, that's why I have to pass all these new powers to you myself. Because the Aurameeres may be your biggest weakness right now and I can't have anyone tampering with them."- the older blonde smiled softly, putting her hand on Cornelia's shoulder. "Cornelia, I know what you're going through... I had someone, not a sister by blood but sure as hell close like one be corrupted like that, in front of my eyes, and I couldn't help her. None of us could. Greater power and darkness corrupted Lillian but there is still hope for her soul in the future."- she whispered. "Don't forget that."
Cornelia wiped her tears away. Sitting here, at her old home in Garden Plaza, and just talking felt like wasting time, but her friends were already doing everything needed to track and confront Lillian and possibly save Matt and prevent a bigger crisis.
She was going to join them, she just needed to spare some time at Halinor's request and this new power that she wanted her to have.
Their powers of guardians were always advancing with the progression of time.
They were becoming stronger, facing hardships and overcoming them, suffering different defeats and this was just one of the many such.
Not too small of a defeat but still a price that had to be paid.
Being a guardian had never failed to make Cornelia nauseous and angry from time to time because it wasn't fair.
It wasn't fair what they were often put through despite all the good they had done over the years.
Magic always came with a price, that was a fact.
And now she was the one paying a large part of that hefty price, she felt weak like she hadn't felt in a long time. Disheartened. Defeated.
Even when they get Lillian and strip her of her powers none of this would feel right. Not ever again.
And Lillian wasn't going to be the same to her ever again either.
Cornelia let out a small yelp, feeling her chest overwhelmed by sensations that were causing her pain.
"Cornelia!"- Halinor exclaimed, helping her to the sofa in the spacious living room. "Are you alright? What are you feeling?"
"I think... I think it's the new power,"- Cornelia wheezed. "What is it about anyway? I feel terrible... I feel like a plant that's dying in darkness..."
"I'm not sure, this is an advanced Earth power; I wanted to ask Kadma but she left early for Zamballa and,"- Halinor threw her hair back, sitting next to Cornelia who was struggling to breathe: "Open your mind and let go of the physical pressure, Cornelia! You will know, you will know what your power is in your core; your Aurameere didn't want you to acquire this now for no reason, channel all your pain and emotions into this new power, and let it work for you!"
But it was easier said than done.
Everything was going dark. Cornelia kept feeling like she was suffocating. Like she was never going to see the light of day again...
She slumped to the ground despite the older blonde's attempt to pull her back up.
Somewhere above her, Halinor was chanting something. Something about Primrose and Empathy and whatnot, but Cornelia wasn't in the room with her anymore.
Her eyes closed and everything was dark.
Darker than ever.
Nerissa opened the door with a swing, annoyed and desperate; she had tried everything to aid her grandson or at least ease his symptoms but nothing seemed to be working. The last thing she needed was uncalled visitors, but whoever was ringing her doorbell was not giving up, so she opened and snapped:
"What? What do you want-"
The sight of the short old lady made her stop. A very old lady stood before her. Elida Fragenson who she knew from her childhood...
Nerissa crossed her arms on her chest and rested her back against the frame of the heavy door:
"Oh, this ought to be something."
"Yes, indeed."- Elida said bitterly. "Something horrible, a bad omen! You! How do you live with yourself, Nerissa?"- the old lady cried, not even bothering to try to catch her breath. She was visibly mad and upset, and it was a saddening picture overall, but Nerissa had too many things on her plate to empathize with her: "I was genuinely happy to see you back in town two years ago but now I just wonder. Why did you feel the need to come back after all these years and destroy my grandson's life? You've put him and his wife in prison, you've taken the company from them, why? Why? What have they ever done to you-"
"Tried to kill me, my grandson, set my son's house on fire among other things."- Nerissa interrupted her. "I really don't have time for this right now, Elida, I gather that since you've finally returned from the countryside and have been inevitably met with the facts and circumstances, you will eventually gauge that I've done nothing bad to your wretched relatives. They are in jail because that is where they belong."
"Nerissa, please, please withdraw your allegations, I'm begging you."
Nerissa looked down with pursed lips; she had tried to slam the door behind herself but the old woman had grabbed her wrist with unexpected speed and was now clinging to it with her shaking bony hands:
"I didn't put both of them in jail, Elida, the circumstances did. Withdrawing my allegations will hardly change much and honestly, I like no enemies of mine to be out there, free, plotting against me,"- the sorceress finished coldly before pulling free of the elderly lady's grip.
She had expected it, the inevitable and unpleasant confrontation with Elida who didn't see the big picture and was probably too old to consider that maybe, maybe her grandson wasn't all that honest and charming as he pretended to be.
Nerissa lost any compassion and care she could have ever had for him and his wife the minute he tried to target the house with Killian inside of it.
Speaking of Killian, he needed her now, he needed her desperately because of the sister blood curse of that repulsive Lillian...
Nerissa threw her hair back, ignoring Elida's shaky sentences behind herself but before she could ditch her for good, the old lady let out a high-pitched squeal.
It all happened too quickly.
The ex-guardian turned around in alarm only to see that the woman was down on the grass and they weren't alone anymore. She had been pushed. By one of the many armored men who were suddenly surrounding them. They looked like knights in their covering dark armor and they had appeared as if out of thin air but Nerissa already knew why.
Because she saw the Crest.
The Crest of the Eye of God on each of their chests.
"Not another move,"- the man warned her in a hostile voice seeing how she calculated the situation and the possibilities. "Or she dies."
"N-nerissa!"- Elida screamed as the elite anti-magic assailants pulled her up and dragged her a few feet back, pointing a sharp sword at her neck. "W-what on Earth's going on?!"- the terrified voice of Elida echoed in the yards of the manor but the Eye agents were merciless.
Like always:
"As you can clearly see, we've been able to penetrate all your magical protections. We're here, before you, and our gear is also insulated against occult powers in more than 20 ways unknown to the majority of magic users on this planet. I strongly advise you to cooperate."
Nerissa scoffed to herself.
It felt like a recite that they were repeating more to themselves than to her because they were more afraid of her than she was of them and rightfully so; because nothing they had could stop all magic, and not all magic was occult, and so many other things they all knew.
The detested Eye of God; yes, it had been obvious that one day they'd try to strike again, they had simply surprised with the timing and temerity:
"What do you want,"- Nerissa asked icily, making sure to give the terrified Elida a reassuring nod.
She wasn't going to let them hurt her.
"Your head!"- one of the men told her malevolently.
Nerissa smirked at the challenge:
"Bozo."
The next thing they knew, a cascading sandstorm took over the entire yard, scattering the members of the Eye like flies up in the air but sparing Elida and Nerissa.
The sand had been quietly collecting itself as they had spoken, like a predator, getting ready to take out the intruders one way or another.
Elida could only blink in utter perplexity and shiver as Nerissa started leading her toward the inside of the house.
The petrifying screams of the Eye members up in the air would remain under wraps for any outsider, for the protections of her ancestral home were much more than these fools had given her credit for.
"Stop this, you witch,"- one of the men cried in agony; he had tried to pull out a gun-like weapon and his hand got literally petrified before her could carry on.
"Fools, you 'penetrated' the protections I've put against magic users but you're yet to feel just what any ordinary trespasser that dares threaten me might have to deal with around here!"- Nerissa replied with a high hand. "Fossilize them, Sandpit! These brainless kamikazes deserve nothing less."
But as Nerissa led the flabbergasted old lady inside, her smile died down at the scene that awaited her there.
Her husband all tied up in a chair with a fresh wound on his forehead and a gun pressed against his left temple.
Nerissa felt her knees shaking.
And Killian!? The thought burned her chest. Where was...
"Richard!?"- Elida exclaimed in disbelief, watching her grandson holding Julian at gunpoint. She might be almost a 100 but the realization was quick to sink in.
"What have you done to them!? Where's my-"
Before Nerissa could finish, she was hit with something. In the face. Then another thing. Elida gasped. Someone was throwing things at her.
She looked down. A few of her very own magic-blocking cuffs; one of the, if she could say so herself, and she could, best and most efficient out there.
"Put these on immediately if you want them alive."- Amanda Fragenson declared as she entered the darkened parlor with the unwell Killian secured in a baby kangaroo on her back.
Lillian Hale screamed in agony and tried to break free again but to no avail.
Her hands were secured tightly and she was at the stake.
A very big and old stake, miles away from the city but that was beyond the point because she was about to be burned alive here.
She was about to be literally burned at the stake.
She let yet another bone-chilling cry and desperately tried to teletransport, to do something, but it was useless.
She could feel all her magic power coursing inside herself but she couldn't take control of it.
"That's right, Heart. Just a little more. Then all will end with your liberation."
Lillian glared in the direction of the voice.
Violet Knickerbocker licked her fingers before turning to the next page of the big old book she had in front of herself.
A grimoire she had called it.
It didn't matter.
Not anymore.
Not after she had tripped her into the biggest trap she so stupidly hadn't seen. Then again, it wasn't something that comes to mind easily.
Looking at her now, even after she had basically defused her and almost defeated her; her, the Heart of Earth, Lillian still couldn't believe that all this had been orchestrated by the new principal at Sheffield Institute.
She was the Head of the Eye of God for Heatherfield and she had been hunting her like a wild animal for almost a year now. Maybe even more...
"Whatever you do, they will find me. Cornelia and the others will definitely find a way and, even if you kill me, they will never let the powers of the Heart of Earth be gone with me, you psychotic crone!"- Lillian yelled through gritted teeth.
"Gone with you? Oh, Lillian, are you still not getting it?"- Violet replied with a strange smile. "I don't want to eradicate your powers; I want to have them. To myself."
Lillian blinked in confusion and for a moment stopped pulling her restraints.
"B-but the whole thing of the Eye of God is to eradicate Earth magic and achieve a magic-free-"
"The rest of the leaders may be striving for that but I have other beliefs. I have other reasons to want this power."- Violet interrupted her, pushing her platinum hair back. "Besides; magic isn't going to cease existing just because the current Heart is captured or killed. This place testifies to that! All those who still believe in this are nimrods, that is why I've always worked my branch of the Eye separately. This place here was where the last living Heart of Earth was idiotically burned alive by members of our order so many years ago. This is where the power escaped and returned to its raw form before it was reborn with you. You see, that living Heart was burned but magic wasn't killed. It still went with you because you're her descendant. The descendant of Jane Warren."- Violet stopped for a minute as if to build up even more tension: "You're not the only descendant of Jane Warren, you see. The power, it should've been reborn earlier, a generation back."- the principal's eyes shone like two crazy stars as she shook her head almost manically and concluded:
"It should've been reborn with me."