Pre-Witched

Melinda and Tyler sat in a classroom in magic school. Since Tyler had been back, they had begun to repare their relationship. It was not the same though, it was shy, unsteady. They sat both with their heads in books, neither of them reading. Eventually Melinda stuck her head up.

'I have a question.' She announced, prepping Tyler for a conversation.

Tyler smiled, 'fire away.'

Melinda fiddled with the spine of her book. 'If Wyatt survived, does that mean Corben might have done too?' Tyler didn't answer. Melinda began again, as if making excuses for her question, 'I mean, if Wyatt had to die to kill him and Wyatt didn't die, I just thought, y'know...'

Tyler nodded. 'Ive been wondering ever since that first day on the train.' He closed his book firmly. 'Good's sacrifice is an age old tale. Myths and legends, literature, religion is filled with it and there are various explanations as to why Wyatt might have survived and not Corben. I mean, maybe it is the intention rather than the deed, The choice rather than the death. But the truth, the truth is that I don't know. Corben might still be alive somewhere, weakened just as Wyatt is, but still out there.'

Melinda looked down deflated. She had expected that answer but hoped for a clearer one. 'And Corben,' she continued, 'what could have happenned to him?' Tyler fidgeted. He seemed distracted.

'Melinda, I want you to know that if things could have been any other way, I would have... As long as I knew what the prophecy said... I couldn't come to you.'

Melinda looked at him, sorrowfully, 'but why after? When he was still alive, after you brought him back to us?'

Tyler frowned, 'I still knew about the prophecy, Mel, I still had to worry about Corben.'

Melinda looked away, 'that's another thing I wanted to ask.' Melinda sounded betrayed, 'how did you even know about the prophecy?'

'He knew from me.' A female appeared in magic school.

Melinda jumped up, 'how did you get in here?'

'The same way you did.' The seer smiled.

'Demons aren't supposed to be able to enter magic school.'

'Well, you don't need to be a seer to know that isn't true.'

'What do you want?' Any other demon, Melinda would have vanquished in an instant but years ago her family had forbidden her to touch the seer.

Tyler stood looking into the seer's pool. She smiled at him, 'don't worry, Tyler, you are not going to die.'

Tyler shifted from foot to foot. 'But I've seen him. I've seen him three times. Once only a moment ago in your pool.'

'I know you have. Do you think everybody who sees the angel of death dies?You know they do not. You know that Piper and Leo did not.'

'THEN WHY?' Tyler clenched his fists and fought back a sob of exhasperation.

'This morning,' the seer explained, 'this morning, it was your destiny to die. This evening it is not. Like Piper was, you have been warned.'

'Of what?'

'Of this.' The seer's chest heaved, her eyes turned into balls of water, deeper than the ocean. She waved her hand and the water in her pool rose up out of the sink and formed itself into words...

Whilst angels serve and demons fight

Humans chose between wrong and right...

'I am here to see Sebastian.' The seer told Melinda.

'Well he's not here.' As the words left Melinda's mouth, Sebastian walked in through the classroom door. Melinda chewed her lip frustrated.

The seer laughed and pointed to herself, 'I am the seer. I know where people are before they know themselves. Now, before you leave, which you will by the time that log on the fire has finished burning, I am going to answer your questions about the prophecy.'

Melinda looked at the log on the fire and made a mental note to herself not to leave before it had finished burning.

'In the underworld, we have a story. A grimlock overhears the angel of death and a charmed one having a conversation. I have to admit this is one of a multitude of 'charmed one anecdotes, sayings and jokes' that rather dissappointingly fail to be true. Anyhow, the grimlock overhears the angel of death telling the charmed one that the next person on his list is said grimlock. So, believing that this knowledge arms him to avoid his tragic fate, the grimlock packs his bags and leaves the underworld. He goes to Valhalla, somewhere, death will never find him. What he doesn't hear is the end of the conversation. Death turns to the charmed one and says, 'well, I must go as I have to be in Valhalla by tea time.' You see, Melinda, demons and witches do not see how their destinies mount. The grimlock didn't realise that overhearing the conversation was part of his journey towards death. Tyler didn't realise that his coming to me both triggered and fulfilled the prophecy. It did not exist before he came to the underworld and it would not have been true without him there to hear it.'

'But your prophecy hasn't been fulfilled.' Melinda said.

'That's a matter of opinion,' retorted the seer. The log had nearly burnt.

'Why?' Melinda asked. 'Why did he come to see you?'

'Because he saw the angel of death.' The seer smiled.

Tyler looked at Melinda sorrowfully, 'I needed to know. I needed to know if we were all going to die.'

Melinda looked back, just as sad.

'That need to know is precisely what prevented you all from dying.' Melinda looked into the fire, frustrated by the seer's confidence. She caught a glimpse of something; black smoke. Then shapes, what looked like her mother fighting a demon. A man, strangely familiar.

'What was that?' Melinda asked.

The seer raised her eyebrow.

'Did you see that?' Melinda asked. Nobody answered. She looked at the seer, 'did you do that?'

'I don't have the power.' The seer paused. 'You know you cannot ignore it.' Exhasperated, Melinda dissappeared in a flash of light. Moments later, the log finished burning.