Legacy: Pieces of Eight

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Six: Destroying the Avenger

Susan slowly pushed open the door to the Connelly mansion, keeping a close eye out to see if there was anybody around to see her slipping into the house of her father. She had only been in the house once before, rescuing Brandon after he'd been tortured half to death—or more to death, she guessed, considering he was already dead. The point being, she wasn't too big a fan of the house and wanted to get out of there as soon as possible. Orbing probably would've been faster, especially to rescue Chris and Wyatt, but she had a feeling that they probably had orbing detectors in the house.

Slipping into the house, Susan looked around cautiously, keeping a close watch out as well as throwing out her precognition senses as far as they would allow, walking through the long hallways and extended corridors, searching for her boyfriend and friend. And if Evan's information was correct—which it usually was—then either the Avenger was here or pretty close to being here. And Peter probably had the brothers on the menu for his coming out party. Susan quickened her pace just as a blonde woman rounded the corner, stopping dead in her tracks when she saw the brunette witch.

Stopping where she was, Susan flexed her fingers, electricity starting to appear from her fingertips as she stared the woman down, knowing exactly who she was. Deidre Moore, Bobby's mother, Peter's wife, and Susan and Ryan's stepmother.

And there was no telling which side of Deidre she was going to see. From what Bobby had told her, Deidre was under a spell that caused her to be under complete submission to her husband. But there were times when she was able to escape the spell and she was able to be herself, though if she didn't obey her husband, he would strengthen the spell and she would be lost again. So the question remained, which side of Deidre would she see? The ruthless assassin under control of Peter Connelly? The helpless mother who struggled to save her son? Or would she see something else? Someone that her own mother had known a long time ago.

Deidre stared at her for a long moment, then she spoke in a shaky voice that was anything but surprised. "Susan Dawson," she said quietly. Susan swallowed, but nodded. "I had the feeling you would come, after what happened to your friends. I've been expecting you. Don't worry," she added with a small smile, "I'm not here to deliver you to my husband." She paused, still studying Susan carefully. "I'm Deidre Connelly."

"Moore, as was," Susan said softly, watching her carefully. "I know who you are. You're Bobby's mom."

With a nod, Deidre glanced behind them, as if she heard something, before looking back at her. "You are the image of your mother," she said finally. "Celandine. You look so much like her."

"Yeah, I've been told." Susan would've liked to have had a conversation with her stepmother, to try and get some information about her and her mother's past, but now was not the time. "Listen, I don't have time for this, I've got to go find—"

"Chris and Wyatt," Deidre finished up for her. "I know. And you're right, now is not the time. The Avenger will soon awaken and then everything that we know and cherish will turn to dust. Come," she said, waving her hand over her shoulder as she led the young witchlighter through the mansion. "I will help you save them, my dear. And then I need you to help me with something."

"Oh, yeah?" Susan eyed her carefully, still not entirely sure that she should be following this woman. "And what, may I ask, am I going to be helping you with?"

Turning around so fast that Susan was caught off guard, Deidre stared her directly in the eyes. "Why do you ask questions to which you already know the answer?" she whispered in a calm, flat voice.

Susan wet her lips once as she took a step back. "Bobby," she answered finally when the answer hit her. "You want me to get him away from here."

"I don't expect you to do it immediately," Deidre said softly as she continued to lead her. "He is a stubborn boy and wants to get me away from here as well. But I think you understand what he doesn't, don't you?" She looked at the witchlighter, who lowered her gaze.

"If he doesn't get away from here soon, he'll never be able to escape," Susan whispered. "Peter's gonna catch him in his web and spin him around it so tightly that he won't be able to break free." Deidre nodded mutely. "Oh, gods, help me . . . he won't leave here, he's afraid that—"

"A time will come when you will be able to act," Deidre said solemnly, "and when the time comes, answers will be found, but not all. Not all," she added more forcibly. "It will be a long time before you find the answers to the questions you ask. Look to your roots for the answers, Susan, when you are ready. She smiled at Susan's baffled expression. "I know you don't understand this now, but you will. You will," she added as they entered onto a balcony and she pushed Susan down to avoid being seen by the party guests. Susan gripped the railings as she peered through them, uttering a small gasp when she saw both Chris and Wyatt.

Both of them looked like they'd been through a fight that was greatly outnumbered. And judging from the amount of demons that were sweeping through below, that was probably exactly what had happened. Chris was trying to find a way through his chains as his green eyes flew towards where Deidre stood and then travelled to meet Susan's blue eyes.

She placed a finger to her lips, telling him to keep quiet, and he gave a small nod, glancing towards Wyatt. Years of experience with Brooke told her that they were using telepathy to talk to one another, so none of the demons would know that they were communicating.

Turning her attention to where Peter was standing above an alter, Susan sucked in her breath as she saw the amulets that were lying on the table. One green, one red, one blue, one yellow, one indigo, one silver, one purple, and one pink all glittered as they lay around the table.

"Now, my friends," Peter was saying as he moved around the table, picking up a weathered paper, "we can finally restore the demon that can help us bring order to the Earth. And we are just missing one final ingredient." He smiled shortly as he pulled a knife out of his pocket and slit his palm open. Blood trickled down onto the alter, which exploded in light as the amulets rose into the air, zooming into the very centre of it, where a brilliant light had appeared.

All eight of the amulets disappeared into the light and Susan had to shield her eyes away from the sight as a mixture of the amulets' brilliant glow and blood and the light all swirled together, making a mixture of colours that made her dizzy to stare into. An inhumane roar exploded from the portal and something rose from it, something that was beyond human or demon. The very sight made Susan cringe as she moved back. Even Deidre looked paler as she saw the demon that appeared.

The Avenger had been awakened.

--

Bobby opened the door as he took a look around at the mansion to make sure that it was clear before motioning to Brandon and Brooke, who carried the destructive weapon that they'd swiped before orbing to the mansion. "You're sure that this is going to work, right?" Brooke asked as they hurried through the mansion as fast as they were able.

"Definitely," Bobby said quietly. "The Oracles don't give hints like that unless they mean something." Brandon nodded in agreement. "They'll be meeting in the conservatory, which is straight down that hall. I'm gonna go see if I can find Susan and the others."

"Okay, be careful," Brandon warned him as he headed off into another direction, leaving him with Brooke. She didn't look enthusiastic about this, but she overlooked it due to the situation. "You all right?"

"I've got it," she assured him as she hoisted the weapon higher. "Come on, let's go get this over with. I want this day over with."

"Couldn't agree more," Brandon said with a sigh as they carried the weapon through the corridor. When they reached the conservatory, however, they found that the brothers were being held captured while Peter was with the Avenger, awakened, and it was seconds away from killing the both of them.

"HEY!"

Brandon glanced up as his charge launched off of the balcony, landing on the banquet table. "That's not very nice," she commented towards the Avenger. She shot a lightning bolt towards him, which he batted away like a fly, his attention now fixed on Susan, who looked slightly nervous now. Lightning appeared to be completely useless against him and that was the strongest power that she had with her weather manipulation. "Care to have a little race, big guy? Come on, care to catch me?"

"Ignore her, it's a distraction!" Peter yelled at the Avenger. "The two witches, get the two witches! They're more powerful than she is! Those two are the sons of the Charmed Ones!"

"Also a powerful witch, she is," the Avenger countered as he stretched out a hand towards Susan as she darted away, leading him away from the brothers. "And she will be the first to die."

"Oh, no, you don't!" Chris yelled, flicking his wrists towards the Avenger, sending him off of his feet. "Get away from her!" With adrenaline surging through him, he yanked the chains off of the hooks, hurdling towards the demon, who knocked him to the ground.

"Chris!" Susan yelled, abandoning her getaway from the demon as she saw him fall. Brandon swallowed as she raced back towards her boyfriend, silently cursing her.

"Well, well, well, this is certainly interesting," the Avenger said with a small laugh. "A Warren and a Cromwell in love? Now I have seen everything."

"Not quite," Brooke snapped as she and Brandon made their appearance.

The Avenger, laughing now, turned to face the duo as Brandon lifted the rocket launcher up, aiming it directly towards the demon as he turned it on, glaring at him. "Oh, are we going to play a game now, witches? You don't expect me to lie down and give up, do you?"

"Yes, I believe you people seem to be forgetting that no weapon forged can kill him," Peter observed.

"That was then," Brooke countered, "and this is now." She nodded to Brandon, who pulled the trigger as she sent a silent message to Susan, who had seen the weapon and her eyes went wide.

Susan whispered something to Chris and he orbed to Wyatt, who had managed to get out of the chains, while she orbed away. Out of the corner of his eye, Brandon saw her get to Bobby and rush him to safety as Brandon pulled the trigger.

If anybody was in the vicinity of Connelly mansion, they probably would've called the cops. But thankfully, it was in the middle of a large yard and the nearest neighbour was about a hundred yards away, so they heard nothing, only felt a small shudder on the earth's surface, which wasn't unusual for California.

When the explosion cleared, Brandon saw that there wasn't nothing left of the demon but the eight amulets, which were blackened, damaged, and destroyed. Susan stood up from where she'd been hiding with Bobby, away from the danger, and walked over to them, her gaze on the ruined amulets.

"Is that it?" Brooke asked.

"I don't want to take any chances," Susan said flatly. "Let's get what's left and put it somewhere safe."

"Sounds like a good plan," Chris agreed as they walked over to the mess. Peter Connelly, seeing that he had been thwarted once again, had fled the moment that the rocket launcher was fired, as had most of the party guests. "Is everybody okay?"

Everybody murmured conformities as they gathered up the pieces of the Avenger to be separated and hidden from human sight, hopefully never to be found again.

Susan glanced towards her brother as he stayed far enough away from them so not to arouse suspicion if their father decided to make a re-appearance. He gave her a small smile of appreciation as he slowly melted into the shadows, disappearing from view as her gaze travelled upwards to where Deidre was standing.

Her mouth moved into a curve of a smile and she gave Susan a small nod of approval before she turned and walked away. And even as they headed away from the mansion, Susan knew that she hadn't seen the last of her stepmother. Their paths would cross again and deep in her heart, Susan knew that Deidre was right.

If she didn't find a way to save Bobby, then he would sooner or later become her enemy. And then she would lose another brother . . . this time to evil. Susan knew if that happened . . . she wouldn't be able to live with herself. It would be a fate worse than death.

I love you, little brother, she thought as she stared to the place where Bobby lived and had grown up. And I always will. And I'm gonna save you.