Friday 11th November 2005

The flaming-haired witch can't escape her dark side…

Jasmine, a rather old and lacklustre member of the coven, tied the curtains together to shield the light seeping in to the hall while Holly, a younger and more exuberant sister, shut the grand arched doors so as to stop any intrusions. Willow sat cross-legged on the carpet, gathering together ingredients from the centre of the circle and muttering to herself.

"Hannigan, Rose quartz, Tribekan…" Once she had gathered together everything she needed, she called to the women expecting her orders.

"Ok everyone, were ready."

The group of twelve women sat holding hands around a gothic-looking statue circled with candles and stones. They each placed in the centre a handful of funny coloured sand which sparkled yet in darkness and pulled the hoods on their robes over their faces.

"Let's begin." Holly looked around at her fellow sisters and was suddenly nervous.

"Um Willow, what exactly are we doing again?" Shaking.

"You're chanting the passage you were supposed to remember." Willow's voice changed to a rather more girly and uncertain one.

"You did all remember the passage, right?"

"Of course we did it's not that, it's the intent of the spell I'm not sure of."

"Well Holly we're gonna help a friend of mine."

"By doing what? None of the "sisters" tell me these things."

"Were going to bring back a friend of mine who died."

"But why?"

"Because Buffy needs Angel no matter what she says …enough questions."

A few minutes of intense silence followed.

"It should happen pretty quick." Willow began speaking in a rasped tongue.

"I beseech you, the blessed one, grant thee thy wish, bring back the one who is lost, the champion of the people weans to be reborn…"

The scattered sand formed as one and built to a violent flame, howling. An immense heat followed, the younger witches gasped for breath.

"I ask you, grant thee thy wish, we seek access to the knowing ones, let them speak…"

The floorboards rattled, the walls vibrated and a powerful wind smashed the stained windows into a thousand pieces. The wind formed a vortex, swirling around the great room. For a full minute the witches just sat and watched the destruction. Holly shifted and tried to make an escape, before Jasmine grabbed her arm.

"Sit down!"

"I beg you, let the-"

A jolt of lightning picked Willow from the floor and tossed her across the room to land on the podium. She lay motionless for a few seconds but shook her head and twisted her body towards the flame. She struggled up, blood dripping down her face, her hair turning a jet black, her eyes fiery red. She moved closer to the circle, her sisters staring at her in fear and dread. More and more the wind slammed into her, cutting her body. She screeched the words;

"Bring back the warrior of the people."

The statue glowed a blinding white, energy blasting from it in pulsing shockwaves, tearing the hall to shreds, the other sisters beaten and bruised. The statue cracked then disintegrated into dust. Then it stopped. The flame died away, the wind lost it's current and disappeared, the objects caught in the spiral crashed to the floor. Willow ached a smile and ran to the circle, her hair turning the infamous fiery-red again, but halted. The women all looked towards the spot where the vampire's body was supposed to lay, to find nothing. Willow let out a gasp and a spurt of blood.

"It didn't work, it didn't work." Each of the sisters had a sympathetic smile through their cut faces. They each in turn left the hall at their own pace, leaving Willow to mourn as the sun disappeared behind the hills.

Morning broke. Willow quickly through her clothes, her magic ingredients and her books in a rucksack, turned off the bedside lamp and locked her chamber door. She scrambled across the lawn to the dirt path that lead away from the coven and continued up it, not looking back. It wasn't long before her heavy foot steps were heard by Jasmine.

"Willow!" she called, stumbling up the path in her night gown, "Where are you going?"

"I don't know I, I can't stay here is all."

"But why you were making such good progress."

"I don't belong here Jasmine, I need to be alone for a while, get my head together."

"I understand. But Willow its too dangerous for you to be alone right now, you know that."

"Yeah. It's also too dangerous for me to be around people right now as well. Jasmine I need to figure things out for myself for once, I keep running away from my problems instead of trying to deal with them, you saw what happened tonight. I can't let that happen again."

"Where are you going to go?"

"I dunno. But I'll be ok. Goodbye Jasmine, thanks for everything and tell the sisters I-"

"I will. Goodbye." The two women leaned in for a hug. They waited just a moment before Willow began walking away again to an uncertain future.