1-02

"Are you okay?" asked Ben to my side. I stood with my hand resting against the trunk of a tree, my legs starting to give out and the world around me starting to darken at the edges. "Because you look like you're going to upchuck," Ben said.

I shook my head, raising the other hand telling him to wait. I centred myself, taking slow breaths and pushing the darkness slowly away. The pair of us were in the forest and for the first time since her I was out and about alone.

Dad was at work; Bonnie, Jeremy and Jared were at school; and Enzo was somewhere in town. He would have been here with me without asking any questions but I didn't want him here. This was more for me than trying to keep a secret from him. After all Enzo was one of the few people I trusted not to ask questions of morality, something I needed right now more than anything.

A few breaths and I gained enough strength that I could stand. Even in the day, pre-afternoon, the forest had an ominous air to it. Sunlight streamed in but the shadows cast were longer.

I took more breaths until my heart slowed to a normal heartbeat.

"It's time for the second part of our deal," I finally said.

Ben shifted, drawing his arms in closer and head moving from side to side. "I know I said I was going to pay, but if this has anything to do with the Originals—"

"It's doesn't," I interrupted. "I don't particularly like you, Ben nor do I particularly hate you. Even if you did try to kill me. I know you wouldn't make it against the Originals which is why you'll be further away."

Ben eased a little at that. I reached into my pocket and pulled out a rolled up map. Ben closed the distance between us before he took it an opened it. "I'm going to be taking a trip?" he said.

I nodded. "I've got some funds I've accumulated," I told him. "I'll send you a portion so you can set yourself up."

"What will I be doing, here?" he asked.

"There's a man there," I said. "He'll look exactly like Stephen. You're going to protect him as naturally as you can. If you're ever in trouble, witches, vampires or anything out of the ordinary call me. I've got some of your blood and I might be able to work a Cloaking spell through it."

"Why's this guy so important?" Ben asked.

"Because there'll be people after him soon," I said. "I don't like the idea of something like him being in the hands of another witch."

"I'll get on it," said Ben. "It might do me good to get out of this town before everything gets worse."

He started walking off before he stopped at the words, "I'm a witch and I have your blood. Don't try anything."

"Wouldn't have thought of it," said Ben and then he was gone and I was alone.

The moment he left it started again but faster. My breath hitched and my heart started beating faster; with every breath I took the edges around my vision closed in. I opened myself and reached out, feeling the power of the Ancestors flowing through me and the power of the earth screaming beneath me.

A sharp crack reverberated and it was quickly followed by another. I looked up and could see lines running up the trees all around me, more lines being drawn in the ground. They were more rigid than should have been a panic attack, more directed than anything I could even think of.

A circle completed itself in the ground around me before five lines stretched out, an equal amount of space between them; the moment the lines were completed circles drew themselves on the ground. I felt a rush of power flow through me, enough that a scream might have slipped through my lips had I the air to do that.

"Breathe," I heard a familiar voice say. I turned left to see Grams. "Slowly in and then out. Slowly," she said. I noticed for the first time that I was on my knees, my hands clasping on the dirt beneath them.

I followed her instructions until the edges of the darkness being pushed back. "What are you doing here?" I asked when I could speak. "How is this possible?"

"Linking magic is perhaps the most powerful of all magic," said one witch. I didn't know her, but I liked the quality of her voice. "The bond shared between us is strong enough that we can, if we focus enough, push you towards a particular action."

"We pushed you towards performing this spell," said another of my ancestors. "It used a lot of power, but as is custom, we're supposed to give you a whole heap of power that you can use as you see fit."

"Why didn't you tell me this before?" I asked. All that I could have done.

"Because I know how your mind works," said Grams. "That much power and all that you know and you would have torn the Other Side asunder."

Which was true. Not entirely, but it was at least partially true.

"Then why are you here?" I asked.

"Because you need our help," said a witch. "It's not much but it's something we've watched that you've forgotten."

"And that is?"

"We're always with you," said Grams. "And though we can't do a lot, when push comes to shove, we're willing to expend a lot of power to help you."

I couldn't help but snort at that, feeling resentment bubbling up. "You sure didn't do anything when she—" My voice caught, unable to move on. I felt my eyes starting to burn and something starting to rise up my throat but I stamped it down.

"We were," said another voice. "The young witch doesn't know it, but she's a chasm wide open for the independents to flock towards. We tried to take away her power source but by then she'd already completed the spell."

It should have made me feel better instead that fury rose again, burning brighter as I found my feet. My breathing was still harsh but this time it was no longer the pain but the anger. I held on to it and made it mine, revelled in the feeling and the power it gave me.

I turned to look at them before I stopped, my eyes set on my grandmother. She was the cause of all of this. If she hadn't stopped me from learning magic at a younger age then I would have been more powerful at this point.

Something must have shifted through to my expression because I saw her flinch.

"Micah," she started, but I was turning.

"Thank you," I said, my voice devoid of the heat I felt inside. "It's true that it's something I'd forgotten, but I'll be sure to keep a note of it in the future."

Looking in turn at them, they nodded before each disappeared.

As soon as they were gone it started again, but this time I was quick to reach for the anger, letting it fill me up inside and letting it calm me. A few seconds passed and the edges faded, my heart returning to normal except that my fists were clenched as I walked through the forest to the car.

I waved a hand, muttering a spell as I saw a salt line and the thing broke. I didn't neccesarily feel calm as I drove, but the anger was something I could mould in the direction that I wanted, and there was enough of it that I could point it in multiple directions.

First it's going after the Originals, then I'm going after Bree.