2027 cont.

Upon hearing the knock at her door, Veronica knew Jax had done as he was told. She had paid him a visit earlier, promising a wealth of things as she prompted him to act concerned about her absence and relay the fear to both Bianca and Wyatt. Quickly she lay Wyatt's bracelet on the table in clear view of the entryway and then grabbed a brush, running it through her hair as she approached and opened the door. She was pleased to see Bianca on the other side.

"I'm late, I know," Veronica said, feigning anxiety.

"Is everything alright?" Bianca questioned. "Jax said he couldn't reach you."

"I was probably still sleeping. It's hard to rouse me after such a physically exhausting night."

"There's no excuse for tardiness," she heard Wyatt's voice say from the outside corridor.

"You're one to talk," she replied, taking a step back and allowing both Wyatt and Bianca to enter.

As cautious as ever, Bianca stepped into the living room and looked around warily. Her gaze fell upon the bracelet. She recognised it as the one Wyatt wore, but she knew he never took it off. Glancing back at their hushed conversation she noticed his left wrist was bare.

"Oh, you forgot something," Veronica said to Wyatt, elevating her voice and passing Bianca. She picked up the bracelet and held it out to him. "Maybe next time you should slow down a little."

"Maybe next time I shouldn't comply with how you want things done," Wyatt returned. He fastened the bracelet around his wrist. "Thanks. I should probably compliment you on your talent."

"Anytime," Veronica said with a smile.

Bianca shifted uncomfortably. She didn't want to bear witness to this conversation. She didn't want to acknowledge that she knew what the cryptic discussion was about. He hadn't sought her out last night, as she expected he would, to apologise. Instead he'd run to the raven-haired vixen – his new 'plaything' – and was obviously taking great pleasure rubbing Bianca's noise in it.

"Well… shall we get going?" Veronica asked, slapping her hands together. It was all Bianca needed to activate her departure, brushing past them indifferently on her way out the door.

Wyatt looked after her. He was concerned but he knew she didn't want him around, not from the cold way she'd treated him this morning, speaking to him bluntly only when she had to. He knew it had to be something to do with her, he hadn't done anything wrong. He remembered moments when he had been able to coax things out of her, but not nowadays. She was as tight as a vault with the information she kept from him. It made him doubt her even more.

"I hate to ask you this," Wyatt said to Veronica. "Are you able to keep a close eye on her? I don't like my employees straying, and perhaps she'd find it more comfortable to confide in someone of the same background."

"You really haven't read up on her, have you?" Veronica questioned.

"I don't think I'm privy to that sort of information. You wouldn't want me prying into your past, would you?"

"Why not? I've got nothing to hide," Veronica said disagreeably. It was somewhat true, what she was concealing was in fact well in the open, disguised by other things. "It's just the same as any employee's background check. You do want to be careful, don't you? Or do you just like winging it so much you're going to stick to being reckless?"

"I'll do what I feel the need to do," Wyatt said seriously. "And there'll be no questions about it."

"We'll be doing nothing if we don't move now. You're letting her get terribly far ahead of us."

Although she hadn't agreed to Wyatt's request, Veronica still fulfilled it. Not out of concern but merely for her own enjoyment. She watched the sway of Bianca's hand, the manoeuvre of the athame, the marksmanship of her attack. She was ruthless and Veronica knew she was more than irritated, she was infuriated. Every time Wyatt came within close vicinity of her she would instantly move away. Veronica revelled in her victory over the fellow Phoenix. Now she just had to work on Wyatt a little more.

Scrutinising the curvature of Bianca's hand, Veronica noted that the athame she consistently used appeared very plain. It was flat with next to no detail and would be quite easy to replicate. Veronica conjured its likeness into her hand, glancing quickly to ensure it looked the same right down to the finest aspect. Burrowing it into the back of her pants, she concealed it with her overshirt which was loose enough not to reveal the shape of the handle. Nobody noticed. And Veronica appeared the good little employee by not only keeping an eye on Bianca during the fight, but also following her down to the basement where all the captives were kept upon their return.

It was here she laid down her next plan. It didn't go unappreciated when Veronica handed one of the prisoners the replicated weapon. She concocted an elaborate tale for the demon to repeat. She told him she would return later, yet again deciding to make a physical sacrifice to win Wyatt's favour. But she needed to buy time so as not to implicate herself. She needed to go elsewhere first and establish an alibi.

Luck was on her side as time passed, Wyatt requested her presence to run over what had happened, and after dismissing the others took the chance to chat to her in private about Bianca.

"She was better today," Wyatt said.

"She was pissed off," Veronica returned. "Did you say something to her?"

"Yesterday afternoon. I told her to pull herself together. She was questioning my expectations of her, but I've hardly changed my views. I know there's something wrong with her but I don't want to so readily believe she's about to betray me again."

"Maybe you should have killed her the first time," Veronica offered. Wyatt swallowed hard, dropping his gaze. She had no idea, no idea what had happened and what they'd been through, that he very nearly did kill her in a moment of abject rage and self-defence. "It would have saved you all this concern."

"I'll deal with Bianca in my own way!" he snapped. Veronica shrugged his aggression off.

"If you want me off the case I don't mind. I have better things to do anyway."

She didn't hang around for Wyatt's answer, instead leaving as quickly as she could to put her plan into action. As she came across the room she needed to enter, she checked quickly to ensure that there were enough people around to witness the attack. Happy to find a sufficient number she entered the room.

"Do your worst," she instructed. "But if you try to kill me, I'll ensure you spend your final minutes suffering a slow, torturous death."

Obligingly the demon attacked. Veronica shouted, calling for help. It wasn't long before Jax and a few others came to her rescue. Hearing the chaos, Wyatt raced down the stairs. Bianca poked her head around the corner, seeing Jax wrestle the demon to the ground. She stayed well away from the flailing arms and legs, not interested in being part of a violent brawl. Veronica shook off one of her rescuers, nursing her arm as she emerged from the room and stepped before Wyatt.

"What happened?" Wyatt asked angrily.

"What does it look like? He attacked me!" Veronica retorted. "I don't know where he got the weapon…"

"From the Phoenix that's always down here. Bianca," the demon interjected. "She was going to let me escape, so long as I agreed to be part of her rebellion. She gave me the dagger and told me to maim as many people as I liked on the way out."

Wyatt looked past the amalgamating crowd and saw Bianca slink into view from the corner. "Bianca, is this true?"

"No," she replied, affronted. She made her way towards him, trying to garner a better view of what was happening.

"She's lying," the demon said. "I'm not the only one she's made plans with. She's trying to get a team together to overpower you."

Bianca glared at the demon, wondering why he was spouting such untruths. Jax kicked the demon with his heel, twisting his arm further as he removed the weapon from his hand. Veronica arched her head and looked curiously at the object.

"Hey, isn't that Bianca's athame?" she queried aloud.

Bianca watched as Wyatt moved into the room. Jax handed the athame to him and he looked at it pensively, examining it. He walked back to Bianca, holding it up before him so that it was visible to her also. She saw it was remarkably alike and would have believed the demon save for the fact she knew she hadn't given it to him.

"Is this yours?" Wyatt asked.

"No," she answered with hurt eyes, seeing he'd been swayed. She could tell Wyatt believed the demon. He had proof in his hands. "Yes, I know it looks like mine but I swear I didn't give it to him."

"Who else would?" Veronica interrogated. "Nobody spends more time down here than you. Nobody hates the Phoenix like you. Only you would give free reign to our destruction."

Wyatt grimaced and Bianca knew he had bought the implications. He stepped away from the group but that segregation didn't stop him from accepting every word. She rushed towards him, taking hold of his arms. He met her eyes with a perturbed stare.

"Wyatt, please. I didn't do it. You have to believe me," she pleaded.

"Why should I? It's not like you haven't lied to me before."

"That was different. I'm being set up," she replied, clearly upset.

"Oh, that's a new one," Wyatt said sarcastically. "Who do you suppose is doing that?"

Bianca looked back to the group. One person clearly stood out from the rest – the 'victim', the one who had been taunting her. Bianca had seen her follow her down earlier. She had time. And she was a Phoenix; it wouldn't be hard for her to conjure something so simple.

"Veronica. She's been stalking me for the past few days. She's trying to turn you against me."

Wyatt scoffed. "Why would she do that?"

"Because she wants to get rid of me. Because… maybe she's in love with you. Maybe she wants you to herself."

"That's ridiculous, Bianca. You're creating assumptions just to get yourself out of trouble. I've had enough of your games. I'm not going to play them anymore. Just forget about us," he said heatedly. She moved about agitatedly, trying to keep herself together, holding back all the emotions that threatened to make her fall apart. Heading back to the group he turned back to look at Bianca one last time. "And for your information she couldn't have done it because she was with me."

It was like the last bullet fired from the chamber directly into her heart. Veronica had won. She didn't know how but the fellow Phoenix had managed to take Wyatt away from her. She had to do something to make it right. And all she could think of was the book, the pages that Amanda touched and how she told them that it had once been alright.

She shimmered to the study. The book sat in clear view on the desk, as if it was purposefully placed there and she was meant to find it. Quickly she raced over to it, opening it up and flipping through the pages. She didn't care about the force she used to flick them over, reasoning that the book had already been destroyed from the few pages ripped out of it. The loose sheets fluttered to the floor and she picked them up. She couldn't understand the text on any of the pages of the book, but she stopped as soon as she saw the eye. That was the reason Wyatt was like this. At least she was sure that's what Amanda had said. But she could find no way to bring about its destruction. Closing and picking up the book she headed down to the only person who could tell her how to fix this, the only person she knew of that could understand that book – Amanda.

Wyatt sat at the desk in the study, his head in his hands as he scrutinized the page before him. He didn't know what he was meant to find here. As far as he could tell Jeremiah and Lyn Lawson were standout members of the coven. Even when they had Bianca their performance failed to falter. If anything they seemed to be rewarded for their efforts – given a multitude of high prizes and opportunities which extended so far that Lyn was trusted to look after the Grimoire. Bianca hadn't told him that. Neither had she told him her father died violently to which she'd born witness.

"What are you reading?" Veronica asked. Walking up to the table she peered over. "Ah, the Lawsons. You finally took my advice."

"Not without detrition," he answered, glancing towards her. "What am I looking for?"

"Did you reach the part where Bianca's father died?"

"Yes."

"And? What did you think?"

"It didn't sound fun," he replied, the statement airing a questionable feasibility.

"Do you realise why he died?" she pressed further.

"Veronica, you're assassins. You have hundreds of enemies."

"But we don't work against our compatriots," she returned quickly. "He turned his back on the coven, just like Bianca. Betrayal is in her genes."

Wyatt contemplated the statement for a moment. Betrayal wasn't something that could be that simplified. If it was true, well, what did that mean for his family? Chris had betrayed him, but he felt he hadn't done anything to ascertain that kind of behaviour. And he refused to believe his parents were capable of doing anything to anyone apart from helping them. It wasn't in their nature.

"I'm not going to enter into a nature versus nurture debate with you," he said.

"We've got all the time in the world," Veronica pointed out, flopping back into a chair. "I don't care what the discussion's about, so long as it's entertaining."

"I'm not up for meandering conversation either," Wyatt stated. Closing the book, he pushed it away form him and rubbed his eyes, stifling a yawn.

"Were you trying to exhaust yourself last night?" she inquired.

"No. My mind had free reign over my body. It was rather sleepless." He paused. "I'm starting to think I was too hard on her."

"I rather thought you were too soft," Veronica countered. "You kill people for less."

"What is this fascination you have with me killing Bianca?" Wyatt snapped, slapping his hand down on the desk as he glared at her.

"I didn't say that," Veronica argued. "I said 'others'. You're being too sensitive."

"I am not being sensitive!"

"And now you're being aggressive. You need to calm down. I'm not your enemy."

"Don't tell me what I can and can't do!" he bellowed. His hands glowed blue as an energy ball flared into his palms.

"You have rage issues," Veronica said, her gaze warily focusing on the ball in his hands. "Go for a walk. Clear your head."

Wyatt looked at her broodingly, reluctantly making the ball disappear. He wanted to take his anger out on something, but he knew it would be wiser not to. He would try to walk it off first as Veronica suggested.

Bianca found she was unable to visit Amanda. As soon as she'd made an appearance on the stairway she noticed that everybody was eyeing her suspiciously. She could see the scowls and disapproval on their faces; see them take on guarded positions. Wherever there was more than one, she noticed how they'd glance her way and then whisper to one another. She knew they were talking about her, speculating, making up even worse stories about what she had done. It made her incredibly uncomfortable, especially in a place where she had once had so much free reign and was barely given a second look as she passed through the halls. Anyone that spoke to her spoke with disdain, and those that she felt she could have decent conversations with now treated her as if she wasn't worth their time. She tried to look like it didn't affect her, but it did. She hated Veronica, hated her for influencing everyone's opinion, making them despise her, for taking away everything she'd once had leaving her feeling completely useless and utterly alone.

She took the book home, hiding it and waiting for the time when she could get to Amanda, when there would be nobody there. She passed the first few hours leafing through the book, trying to make herself understand the text, but it was hopeless and it made her feel worse – it was another thing she couldn't do. She was caught between lethargy and fear, cautiously on edge, all the while expecting Wyatt was going to discover the book was gone and come after her, that he would take that next step in her destruction.

She made herself coffee as she tried to keep herself awake, staring at the spot where the book was now hidden. She didn't know if she could last the night. She also wasn't certain she'd be able to function the next morning without any sleep. Curling up on the couch she decided to give in to the need to be recumbent and slipped into a dreamless sleep.

She found she woke in record time, approximately half an hour before she needed to go. Quickly she jumped into the shower to refresh herself and dressed in another assortment of dark clothes, knowing it would help conceal her in the early moments before dawn.

She was glad to be right about something, the house was virtually empty. Walking past the study she heard the sound of orbs and quickly ducked into the next room and closed the door. When she was sure nobody was outside, she opened the door a crack and peered out. Across the hallway she saw Wyatt pass in the slight view she was afforded. He had a book in his hands. It looked vaguely familiar to her, but she wasn't sure what it was. His footsteps stopped and she waited, listening. Finally there was a small thump like he'd dropped the volume onto something solid. Cautiously she slipped back out, hoping what had happened to the book was enough to distract him from her presence.

Holding the Book of Ramon close to her chest she jogged quickly down the stairs, cringing a little at the echo of her heels underneath her. She probably should have chosen her footwear more wisely. Finally she reached Amanda's doorway. Glancing around quickly, she made her way inside.

"Amanda!" she hissed.

"What, mom?" Amanda asked drowsily.

Rolling her eyes, Bianca made her way over to the girl's body, clutching the book as she crouched down next to her.

"Get up," Bianca urged.

"But I don't have school today," Amanda whined.

Bianca pushed her roughly. Amanda moved, blinking open her eyes and shuddering. Bleary-eyed she looked towards Bianca.

"Don't tell me you've introduced sleep deprivation as more torture?" she asked. "You shouldn't have woken me. I was having a kick-ass dream about being home, you know, before you guys made it this crappy."

"I want you to change it," Bianca said.

"Huh? What? I don't…" Amanda sat up. "How do you expect me to change it?"

"With this," Bianca said, laying the book down in front of her.

Hearing voices as she strolled down into the corridor, Veronica moved towards them just in time to hear Bianca trying to persuade Amanda to use the book to change things. It seemed to her that Bianca was now taking up the idea she had convinced so many others she was already doing. But she knew if this happened it was going to threaten her chances of overthrowing Wyatt. She couldn't have that. She needed to alert Wyatt. She also realised Amanda knew far too much if Bianca was confiding in her. That problem she'd have to deal with later. Hastily she shimmered out in search of her employer.

"You can't be serious," Amanda said, looking at the book discouragingly.

"Please," Bianca requested softly.

Amanda glanced up. She could see Bianca's exterior belied her interior. Her eyes held a desperation like she'd never seen before. She sniffed loudly, acting as if it were a big inconvenience for her. She didn't want to just give in and do what she said. She would be here forever if they knew they could command her however they wanted.

"I can't just whip up a magic solution. If I could, wouldn't you have thought I would have done it long before I got here?" she pointed out. Bianca looked disheartened. "Why are you so eager for me to do this anyway?"

"I can't… I don't know how to do this anymore. Wyatt's not the same as he was. At least… you said things were better before. I don't want to feel this badly forever," she struggled to say, tears brimming in her eyes. "I don't want to listen to my thoughts. I don't want to be hurt."

"I'm sorry," Amanda apologised. "Maybe I was wrong. I shouldn't have pushed you two together."

Bianca shook her head defiantly. "I want this. I want him."

"I can't change it for you. There's no spell for that in here," Amanda said, placing her hands on the book. She opened it back up to the page with the eye, just to be sure. She saw a flash, a minor one. She saw Chris, looking at the same thing as she was now, but the text was in modern English. "There's another book. The one you were looking at, that had that letter in it. It's a long shot, but maybe you can find something to help you there."

Bianca stared at her, finally lowering her gaze in thought. Yet again she was going have to steal the Book of Shadows and use it to try to solve the problem. It had almost worked last time, but then she had had help. She didn't know how she was going to do this without Chris.