Things got out of hand. That's all I want to say. But this is a blog, and I have committed myself to telling you my story as it happens. I'm a little late on updating, so this is a recap of it all.
To whoever told the Winchesters that I was in over my head: thank you. Also, never speak to me or read my blog again or I swear I will hex you repeatedly until the day you either die or beg me for forgiveness. You betrayed my trust. I will not forget that.
So, if you're still reading this, thank you for not telling the Winchesters about my coven affairs. It's good to know that I can trust some people.
After finding Nessie, and finding Archer, we set up a plan to burn those damn witches at the stake. Which, yes, is evil. I'm a bad person. I know. I'm getting enough of a lecture from Dean and Sam... Crowley is proud of me, which makes me rethink my entire life.
Archer, when we found him, was ready for a magic fight. He knew where to find our rival coven, and knew about as much about each member as he could track down. Really, all the work that needed to be done was already done. I was mad as hell knowing that he'd been tracking them for months while they were murdering our former coven members. He didn't call or anything.
But at least we could form a plan of attack immediately after gathering.
Crowley left once Archer showed up. He had really only agreed to help me find the surviving members, and that was accomplished.
Archer led us to his home, where all of his data and witchery supplies were stored safely in the dark, moldy basement. We arrived just after dark, Nessie and myself still sore from our recent run-in with the coven. Which is how Archer had gotten in contact with us, again sending me on a puzzle hunt to find someone that I was very afraid was dead.
To be honest, I was excited to step into his house. I hadn't asked Nessie how witchy she'd been since our coven closed. Archer was obviously mixing his magic with modern technology to keep track of spells and covens that were in use all over the country.
His home looked like something my grandmother would have adored. Doilies, creepy dolls that were somehow endearing to elderly women, ancient artifacts such as rotary telephones. Everywhere I looked there was either something old or something pretending to be old—Archer even had a cover for his phone that looked like an old mints tin.
All the technology was either hidden in cupboards or located in the basement. We enjoyed the tour, had drinks, and discussed our old coven members for what seemed like hours before we headed towards the basement. We were friends, even if we hadn't all gathered in so long. We had to catch up, even if there were lives on the line. Our own lives, to be precise.
We thought we were safe. WE thought the wards would still be up. We thought that no ones magic would outsmart Archer's when there was no way anyone knew he'd been 2 steps ahead of the coven all along.
We were wrong, of course.
The moment we stepped into the basement, there was an incredible surge of power. The entire house seemed to tremble and quake. There was no time to do anything. In a flash, several things happened.
1. Whatever magical components Archer was keeping in that creepy basement, exploded. There were colours and lights enough to make me wonder if I'd been absorbed into a kaleidoscope in the center of Mardi Gras.
2. The ground gave way, the foundations of the house shortly following.
3. A horrible shriek filled the air, surrounding and deafening the three of us. Our ears popped. It was very uncomfortable.
4. Archer disappeared. I still don't understand how, other than the obvious. Magic is always the correct answer when you're not sure how something could actually work.
5. I realized that Nessie was never my first priority.
I feel like shit for admitting it. Especially now. I loved Nessie just as much as I did everyone in our old coven. In that moment, when for all I knew we were already dead, I didn't think about either of them. I didn't think about sweet little Nessie, or about tough and vigilant Archer.
I thought, "This is a mess and a half. What will the Winchesters do?"
It was as if their lives were a TV show, and I was just waiting for the epic climax where the brothers would show up and save the day... Or realize they were too late and have an emotional dialogue once it was all over.
Back to the list:
6. I felt like an idiot, and the others probably did too. We had reminisced instead of spending actual time protecting ourselves.
7. I really, really, just wanted a cup of herbal tea. Something soothing and healthy. I figured out later that it was a side effect of the magic used. It was supposed to get inside our bodies and turn our insides into anxious goo.
So, we lost Archer. We were lucky that the coven only planned for him to be there. I don't actually feel lucky at all.
A bit of backstory: I ended the coven because I didn't believe in it. I joined for personal gain—but I told the Winchesters it was to do good in my community. Technically, that was true, though we didn't go out of our way for people we didn't care about personally. We also weren't going around killing people or hexing cats, so that's something that I was proud of.
We became a coven of spoiled, lazy, bitch witches. Our previous High Priestess literally tried to vote for our motto to be "What we can't do, we won't! What we can, we do for ourselves."
The members became complacent. So when I became our High Priestess I took inventory, put all debts to rest, and made sure everyone would be alright on their own. I wanted us all to have a life when our coven ended.
So we disbanded. And I took a lot of crap for it.
I thought that was the end of it. I didn't think being in a coven would bite us in the ass one day. I didn't think that having zero contact with my old friends would get them all killed. If I had known that there was even a chance we could all end up in a shit show like this I would have done things a lot differently.
That's something you can learn from me in this blog. Regret. Regret everything. And then take a deep breath and let it go. Because, hey, you learnt from it. Next time your best WILL be good enough.
Nessie and I survived the basement attack, because it wasn't aimed at us and because Nessie acted quickly enough to get us out of there. I was in shock for hours after the split second explosion went off. Without Nessie I wouldn't have made it out. Without Nessie I would have stayed and tried to figure out what happened and how to use it to my advantage. Nessie knew we had to leave. I didn't even think about it.
Okay, I'm sorry. I need a break. I'll post this, just to let you know I'm alive. Somewhat alive. Technically, medically, I am as alive as I've ever been. I've just died inside, is all. No big deal, right?