A/Note: I meant to have this chapter up on the nineteenth to celebrate this fic's two year anniversary, but life and work got in the way, sorry. But here it is now. Hopefully if you read this, a courteous review follows. Credit to Reyn (of ShadowTales) for helping me in the creation of this charge as well as plot. The charge was just too interesting for only a couple scenes, she earned a chapter in her honor.
Chapter 23- She Who Resists White Lights
Teaserline: How can you help someone who doesn't want to help themselves?
June 14th, 2007.
"How can you not know who it is?" Paige asked the Elder across from her as the heavenly mist swirled around her ankles, giving her a slight breeze that phased through her dungarees. The chilling winds which occasionally surfaced blew her dark brown hair off of her shoulders as her amber eyes continued to glare down the Elder. "You're telling me with a whole collective of you up here thinking none of you have been able to identify the Evil? Am I expected to do everything?"
"We assure you, Paige, we have been doing everything in our best efforts to come to a conclusion, but it hasn't been simple. This Evil may be great, but it's also currently nameless as far as we're concerned and we cannot do the proper research until we figure out if it is a demon or just an individual power," the African American Elder explained as he folded his hands behind him. "You should greatly be concerned though. If there was ever a reason that you would gain an alert to something this intense first must mean it has something to do with you."
Paige sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose and went on to rub her eyes in exhaustion because of her twins keeping her up, which was unusual for them. Maybe something was bothering them as well. "Alright, well now that I've barked at you and hopefully encouraged you to do your job, you can tell me about this new charge."
Jonas nodded in agreement and explained, "It's been brought to my attention that you are aware of other Witchlighters in existence and we've been keeping track of them all and there is one who desperately needs your help. She's at a great risk to Darklighters who have gained notice of her destined greatness and you need to save her." He noticed her slight discomfort as she rubbed her forehead and asked, "Are you alright, Paige?"
The Witchlighter slid her hand off her forehead and said, "Yeah, I think. I don't know. I just feel as if my insides are trying to come out and reach this Evil, whatever it is. Should I be fighting this or see where it takes me?"
"Fight it. For all you know, you'll be orbing yourself into critical danger. I advise you to take yourself to your charge. This connection should be instant as she is just like you and-"
Paige held up her hand as she heard a jingle surfacing and when it did, it echoed through the halls and she nodded, "Gotta go. Distress call." She still couldn't shake this feeling of wanting to see what her body was trying to lure her too and figured it was just the witch in her trying to identify the demon or power. The Whitelighter in her was forced to dismiss that as she dissolved into orbs and vanished from the serene sanctuary.
(X)
Orbs of a different sort fell down onto the scene of a farmhouse and a Darklighter appeared amongst a hay layered ground. His light brown hair was hanging over his face, concealing the tribal markings above his left eye. From top to toe, he was in all black but his mission kept him from caring about the great target to the Sun he was in this attire. He adjusted his matching tie and straightened his suit as he strangely wanted to look presentable to his target.
Two more columns of inky black with purple orbs trailing around appeared behind the first Darklighter and two more of the beings appeared. While one was in a sleeveless gray top with leather patches to match his black pants, the other was in a heavy black trench coat, but they both had metallic black crossbows slung across their backs.
The lead Darklighter said, "Let's see if we can get this done without having to use my special talents."
"You Spirit Killers think you're higher up," the Darklighter in gray snarled. "It's the assassinating archers that collect more kills and we do it in a timely fashion." He walked towards the Spirit Killer and bumped into him with his shoulder as he walked ahead. He shouted back, "Too bad you don't have the power to kill me..."
The other assassin walked alongside the Spirit Killer and explained, "Ignore him, Maven. He's just a bit pissed that he has to possibly spare a kill at the risk of this one having powers to fight back. If we can get his done sooner, we can all return to Sauren with the news and go home."
The conversation ended as a young blonde emerged out from the farmhouse holding a crate. Her light brown hair was pulled up in a ponytail and she was wearing a flower patterned polo shirt which was buttoned as high as possible. Her striking blue eyes became clearer and clearer the closer she approached the three Darklighters and a smile spread on her face. "Hello, gentlemen. How can I help you?"
"See, there's just one thing we're interested in," Maven replied. "Would you mind if we came inside and spoke to you? It's pretty hot out here and these suits are killing us."
"Sure, we can talk in there. I'm afraid all I can offer is apple juice at the moment, but I promise you it's fresh," Rebecca assured them as she turned around and began to lead them to her one story house. She was too distracted with the heat and her genuine concern for the three men that she didn't think twice to wonder what were the leather straps across their chests were.
Maven turned to the Darklighter in gray as Rebecca had her back turned and nodded to him, signaling him to execute the kill.
The Darklighter snapped his crossbow to in front of himself and unlatched it from its strap. With no need for a quiver and only the use for his mental abilities, he conjured a poisoned arrow into the slot of the crossbow and aimed. It cocked as he pressed his finger against the trigger and Rebecca turned around to find the arrow zooming towards her, dripping its poisonous contents the faster it went.
Her blue eyes widened as she gasped, dropping the crate of milk onto the ground. She was prepared to be struck down, but she only gasped again as she watched the arrow become shrouded in blue and white lights before it spun around and drove itself into the heart of the archer who released it. This surprised her more than she would've expected in recent events of her life to watch a man explode in a threatening fire. That arrow couldn't have done that damage and it couldn't have been that hot.
Paige appeared from behind Rebecca, having reversed the course of the arrow with a whisper of a command. She hoped by whispering, it would eventually return to the point where she could command her power with only her mind. She held up her hand and this time she expressed herself rightfully so as she shouted, "Barn!" She gestured towards the barn where there were no livestock, but Paige hoped she could add insult to injury by dropping him in the excretion of the animals.
The assassin Darklighter was swallowed in orbs which hurt his personal aura as the orbs were too benign to be touching him. He sailed through the air with no control of where he was going and had no sight either as he wasn't fortunate to be able to connect with the orbs to the point where he would be granted vision past them. He suddenly crashed into the wooden fence and landed amongst the splinter and on mud. Or what he hoped was mud.
The Witchlighter smirked as she glared down Maven, "Shouldn't you be orbing off by now?"
"He was right when he suggested I bring men with me," the Spirit Killer seethed. He was furious he wasn't born with the talents to conjure a crossbow, but the powers he was blessed with allowed him to do so much more. He turned to his Darklighter comrade who he spotted on his knee and aiming his crossbow with mud dripping off his shoulders. "For the love of Avo, shoot the arrow!"
"For the love of people who have to hear you whine, shut up!" Paige shouted as she flung her arm out in a wide arc and watched as her opponent telekinetically propelled backwards and crashed against the barn house directly opposite of Rebecca's home. She grinned as she silently thanked Prue for the advice she gave and turned to find the other arrow already breaking the air in between its sender and the target and about to stab her.
Rebecca cringed, but didn't move. She chose not to dive out the way, despite having seen it coming from when the Darklighter was loading it. She was prepared to accept her fate, whatever that may be. But it appeared her power had something else in mind. Orbs quickly spun around her and she vanished from her spot and the arrow phased through her orbs and would crash into the first solid structure it could make contact with. Rebecca reappeared as she looked around, "This can't keep happening."
Paige was surprised at her response, but turned her attention back to the Darklighters. The archer had reloaded his crossbow and the Witchlighter held out her arms the moment it was loaded, "Crossbow!" The crossbow dissolved in orbs and reappeared in the empty space where her hands were and solidified in her possession. She quickly pressed the trigger before he could escape and the arrow fired off as his body resonated of purple and black energy, the arrow pierced his chest and he exploded in a cloud of fire, leaving only wisps of smoke in his former standing.
She still had one more target and no more ammo. Maven rose to his feet and Paige held the crossbow in one hand and raised the other. "Sorry to put a dent in your plans! Darklighter!" She forced him into orbs and he was flying until the orbs released him and she watched as he flipped through the air about to crash into the ground.
"What are you doing?" Rebecca cried to Paige.
Maven vanished in sinister orbs before he could hit the ground and slithered away through the air.
"What do you mean?" Paige asked. "I'm saving the day, or more specifically, your butt." She casually held the crossbow in her possession and felt how hot it was getting under the sun. "So what's your name?"
"You hurt those men! You bullied them!" Rebecca expressed as she took a couple of steps away from Paige. "You had no right."
"No right to save you? Actually, I do. It's part of my whole destiny clause. I save you and possibly one day, I can live in my house where the only thing that rings is my phone," Paige replied, in clear response to all the charges telepathically calling. "So... Name?"
"I'm Rebecca and I'm also not a fan of the way you handled this situation," the brunette responded. "I just don't understand why you had to handle this through means of violence."
"Oh, you're one of those, aren't you?" Paige scratched the back of her head as she resisted the inside urge to go explore the great depths of the Underworld to find the new Evil. "Look, can we possibly just go inside so we can talk about this. I'm positive I can explain myself in means where you'll be kicking demon ass by the end of the day."
"I will welcome you in my home, but I can guarantee you, miss, that I won't be kicking demon behind anytime soon," Rebecca replied as she began to lead the way. "I've been faithful to my causes for so long and I refuse to throw away these beliefs." She walked up the couple of steps into her home, holding the door open for Paige. She didn't even seem phased that people were trying to kill her.
Paige took ahold of the door and entered behind Rebecca, letting the door close behind her. The inside was very simple. No carpets on the floor, several ornaments amongst the wall to show her devotion to the heavenly Father which was only proven further with a marble statue of Mother Mary in the center of the room. "So, you're Catholic? So am I."
"I'm Amish, to be exact, and how is it that you consider yourself a follower of Christ when you personally kill people?" Rebecca asked as she moved further into the house, followed by Paige. "It goes against God's word, the very Commandments he left for those who appreciate the existence he laid out for us." She opened her fridge where she pulled out a pitcher of apple juice and moved to the cupboard to retrieve a glass for Paige.
"You have to understand these were not just people. They pretty much fall along the lines of demons, but in your case, even nastier as they have a poison which is very fatal to you," Paige said. "So if you need to see this in a clearer perspective, take it as these are agents of Satan who are hell bent on killing you and other good people who make a difference in this world. Or will make a difference."
The brunette poured the apple juice into the glass and said, "I must be an agent of Satan as well then. These things that I can do, they were not made for Man. I've been forced to isolate myself from my very own community, my friends, because otherwise, I might just end up disappearing for a few seconds and arriving back to see them scared." She walked over to Paige and handed her the glass. "This isn't the path I was supposed to take."
"First off, the little disappearing trick is the power to orb, it's basically teleporting. And second, this is the path you're supposed to take," Paige informed. "You must believe in fate, but it's the same thing here. You're destiny is to become a Witchlighter just like I am."
"Wait, a Witchlighter? Is that some sort of witch?" Rebecca asked, frightened. "I'm so damned to Hell." She moved over to her sink and turned on the faucet and began her dishes.
"How can you think about dishes when you're concerned you're about going to Hell? I'll tell you now, you're not, as I can tell you there is a luxurious afterlife to look forward to. I have personal reasons to believe in malls and hair salons, so you'll be well taken care of," Paige joked and took a sip of the refreshing apple juice. "Being a Witchlighter allows you to be a guardian angel to people. The profession might not pay at all, but you do feel accomplished."
"I don't need luxuries to feel proud of what I do. I help people in my own way without ever expecting anything back," Rebecca defended, then turned to Paige with the water still pouring on the couple of dishes in her sink. "May I ask you for a favor though?"
"Depends," Paige replied.
"Could you get these powers out of me? I just don't want to go on betraying everything I've been about because I've been cursed all of a sudden. I've longed to meet my friends, go to my prayer circle and attend mass, but I'm too paranoid that I'll orb out," Rebecca expressed, staring at the floor. "I would just like my life back."
"I'll admit I wasn't a hundred percent excited when I was informed of my destiny, but it shapes who we are. I think part of my destiny is also to allow me to help discover myself and I'm sure that's an opportunity you'll be granted as well," Paige explained. "But being a Whitelighter, guardian angel, to people is only half of the job description. Being a witch is the other half. Speaking of, do you know if you have any other powers besides orbing? Can you move things with your mind or anything?"
Rebecca shook her head, "A couple of things happen to me. Two different things apart from orbing, but I'm not really sure how to describe it. One of them is quite beautiful and the other not so much. It always just happens randomly, just like this orbing power. Since I can't control it, does that mean there's a chance you can get rid of this curse before my powers come into me? I just want to be normal again."
"I should really schedule you a coffee date with my sister. She shares the whole normal life thing you're searching for," Paige joked. "As for your powers, I don't think it's in my place to remove them. I've been assigned to you to help you embrace your gifts before you get attacked again, not exchange them." She put the glass down on the counter and said, "Speaking of, why is it that you were just willing to be struck down? Care to share that death wish with me?"
"If it's my time to go, then so be it. I believe in His actions and I'm willing to accept that if there are people to send me to an early afterlife, then that is the way it has to be. I just think He might be punishing me for possessing these dark powers. So if you can get rid of them from me, I'm sure He'll be happy with me again and allow me to live my life. I need to be forgiven," Rebecca answered, turning her back to Paige as she resumed her dishes.
"I can't go letting you die, so don't leave the house. If someone comes in here, hide, run, and don't just stand there," Paige instructed. "I have to go check on my kids as well as get some crystals to keep you safe in here. Be back in a few." She glowed as orbs teleported her back home, leaving her charge unattended.
(X)
Paige orbed into the altar room to retrieve her Book of Shadows, but it wasn't on the podium it usually rested on. Henry would have no use for it, Paige told Peter he was not to play with it, even if it was at a reaching level, and the twins, despite being unable to carry it, only cared about eating and sleeping. This left the obvious resident in the house and Paige exited the room, walked down the hall and knocked on Billie's door.
"Come in," the sorceress shouted from inside.
The Charmed One entered and saw her self-conjured tome in front of Billie on the bed who was sitting with her legs crossed. The laptop was open besides Billie along with a couple of books which had ribbons to hold her pages in the case they flipped close. "You're not searching for Christy, are you?"
"Not necessarily. I'm trying to find something that can help me enchant an object that can work two ways. Christy can call on me and I can call on her," Billie answered as she continued to flip through the aged pages. "I'll be able to sleep better at night and focus more on this sorceress business if I know I can contact her."
Paige felt bad for needing the Book, but a charge's life took precedent over a communicating tool which could be created later on, "Do you think you could maybe be able to go to Magic School to find out how to do this? I'm sure there's something in the archives, but I just really need the Book right now."
"Is everything alright? Anything I can help with?" Billie asked.
"No, I can take care of it. There's just a Witchlighter who is basically trying to deny who she is with the person who's she been all her life," Paige answered, walking to the bed to retrieve her tome. "I'm pretty sure I handled all the action stuff already, so that takes the fun right out of it for you."
"Sure does," Billie admitted as she closed the Book of Shadows and picked it up with added strength for the extra weight and handed it over to Paige. "I guess I can wait on the communicating phone-stones anyway. Besides, someone has to stay and watch the kids."
"Where's Henry?" Paige asked. "Today's his day off."
"Yeah, but he got called into some emergency. A parolee acting up or something," the sorceress replied as she picked up a white walkie-talkie and said, "The girls are sound asleep and Peter is with the boys at Piper's."
"Who brought him there?" Paige asked, holding the midnight blue book against her chest.
"I did via teleportation potion, which he doesn't not like as much as orbing," Billie commented, remembering him admitting the very thing. "Too much smoke for his liking."
Paige chuckled, "I bet. Thank you for watching the girls, I gotta get back to this charge before she allows herself to be killed." The Witchlighter wished this was a joke. She turned and left the room, leaving Billie confused on if the charge had a death wish or not, and walked down the hall to get the crystals, but was more pulled into seeing her daughters before she left.
The mother entered the room where the lights were on, but not disturbing the twins as the animals circling a foot above them in their crib were being accompanied by a soothing jingle. She grinned and whispered, "Hey, my angels." Both twins were in matching yellow outfits with the only thing distinguishing them from one another being a beauty mark on Sarah's right earlobe. They both shared the same light brown hair, the amber eyes, and porcelain skin as their mother. Although they were Matthews by name, they were Halliwells at heart.
(X)
The Witchlighter walked back into the kitchen after having set four other crystals on the base floor of the house because when setting it down on the floor above earthly grounds, it set up the proper shield which could cover the rest of the floors of the house from the bottom up. This saved her from having to use extra crystals on the second floor of her own house whenever having to do so. The only advantage to using them all in one room was all the protective energy was concentrated on that selective space.
The fifth crystal was in Paige's hand and she walked down to the far corner of the kitchen and passed by the smell of Rebecca's roasting pork and set down the crystal. The crystal shone white as it hummed softly and Paige announced, "Finished. You are now protected from outside forces from coming in."
"I would really prefer it if we didn't use these. If something is supposed to happen to me, this is only preventing it. You told me to believe in my fate, which I already have, but if my fate is to die, why delay it?"
"Look, you might be against alarm systems for your house, but I'm against you dying. So if the Big Guy up there has a problem with this, I'll personally ask that He excuses you and smite me," Paige quipped as she moved over to the kitchen table and sat down, flipping open her Book. "Now, I need you to give me a better description on what your powers are. I might be able to find out what it is here, so let's start with one."
"It's really hard to explain, Paige. I'll sometimes think of someone and soon, I find myself kinda inside their thoughts and when I get back in my own head, I find myself on the floor. Is it like orbing, except worst?" Rebecca asked. "I always feel dizzy every time it happens."
Paige thought on her explanation and remembered something from her days at teaching Magic School. "I think I know what you're talking about. It's a pretty rare power as well." She rapidly flipped through the pages, wishing she had indexed her Book, but it was a thought for later. "Aha!" She exclaimed, slapping her hand down on the page. "Psychic Projection."
"So now I'm psychic?" Rebecca asked. "A psychic Witchlighter. So going to Hell."
"You're not going to Hell, you're not being punished and you're going to have to stop being so stubborn and accept your title as a Witchlighter," Paige practically barked as she looked down at the illustrated page. The title was purple with the o in 'Projection' replaced with a drawing of an eye. The entry itself was written in black with borders to match the title color. She read, "With this ability, the user is able to project their senses out of their physical shell, stepping out of their body as just an entity of thought. In this form, the person is immune to physical harm and fatigue, and can move in blinding speed. However, the material form which lies unconscious while the thought entity is active and the person won't be aware of any harm to their body until they return to it. If anything does befall the body, the person will be forever suspended in the dream plane."
Paige looked up at her charge and explained, "This must be why you're so dizzy at times. You leave your body and I'm betting your resistance to it must have some effect to it. If you were open to your power, like I'm suggesting, than there is a better chance that you wouldn't feel so bad when returning to your body."
Rebecca walked over to Paige and asked, "So, does this mean I keep leaving my body? Like flying out of it?"
"Are you familiar with astral projection?" Paige asked. Off Rebecca's shrug, she continued, "Astral projection is basically where your spirit leaves your body and can carry out other things you do, even access your powers if you're strong enough. The whole idea with the power is that you desert your body, and the same thing is happening here with your psychic projecting. You eject yourself out of your body and since you basically travel as a thought, you can read other's thoughts. Your very entity mends with their thoughts."
"That must be why I'm also so distraught when I return. When I return to my body, I also felt as if I know something horrible about people now," Rebecca admitted. "Maybe I'm reading their horrible thoughts, because I never remember hearing good things." She sat down across from Paige, realizing she needed to control these abilities for whatever time she shared with them. She stared at the midnight blue tome and had troubles with this, "That's a book of witchcraft. I feel as if I'm pushing my luck to be sitting next to this thing."
"Yeah, the Book does tell some dark tales and is full of demonic fiends, but it's also full of the resolutions on how to stop them," Paige informed and then added, "Well, most of them. This thing has saved my life a number of times. I understand being a witch is real taboo with your lifestyle, but you can't deny who you are. You also can't think that these powers are delivered from Hell. I do good things with my powers, as do other witches, Whitelighters, and so on."
"So witches aren't evil?" Rebecca asked, secretly wanting to feel better about herself.
"There are some bad apples in the cauldron bunch, but most of us are good. I'm even more angelic because of being a Whitelighter as well. You're the same as me. Both destined to be guardian angels to people, but we also have powers which we can use as weapons to defend the people we're assigned to help. By guiding and protecting these charges, we set a chain reaction of helping generations of good people come into their own," Paige explained, slowly sliding the Book of Shadows across the table. "This very Book was made by me, with knowledge from my ancestors, but it's going to be very vital in helping other Witchlighters. It can help you."
Rebecca stared at the Book of Shadows as it grew closer to her. Paige mentioned she had ancestors, so that possibly meant she came from a long line of witches and maybe even Whitelighters. They all passed down stories which were printed onto these aged pages, pages which were probably so delicate they could tear, but these stories would be passed on just as Paige would pass them onto the kids she mentioned earlier. This is when Rebecca stopped and found error in Paige's ways, "Are you going to be raising your children as killers?"
"Excuse me?" a flushed Paige asked. "That was out of line."
Rebecca shook her head and said, "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to offend, I was just curious." She glanced up at Paige who was still a bit red in the cheeks, but suddenly a halo of blood red flared over Paige's head and crackled with small sparks which dispersed after a few seconds of appearing. Paige couldn't perceive this, but the blonde could. "It's happening."
"What's happening?" Paige asked, as the red in her cheeks vanished but the halo of a bolder color remained over her head.
"My other power. There's a color I'm seeing over you. I've seen this with some of the townsmen. You're angry with me, understandably," Rebecca informed. She noticed the halo cackled once again as the red shimmered and was replaced with a light blue. "Now you're calm. Or calmer, I should say."
"You must be seeing some sort of aura, but I'm more familiar with auras surrounding an entire body as opposed to just a halo... Oh! This must be your witch power, but your Whitelighter half has shaped it into a combo based off an element of Whitelighters; angels. And angels have halos," Paige ranted, excited, unaware that the light blue halo comprised above her head had now shifted violet. The Witchlighter slid the Book of Shadows back her way and began to flip through the pages. "I know there's some sort of chart in here."
"A chart?" Rebecca asked, tapping her fingers against the hardwood table. "Chart for what?"
Paige continued to flip through the pages, passing illustrations of old foes as well as demons she's never gone up against, charms, and spells and landed on the page she was searching for, "Found it. Aura Perception." She looked up at her charge, "That's your other power. It mentions that the color can change with emotions, and that's what you were witnessing." She pushed the Book over to Rebecca and said, "The chart I was talking about is there."
Rebecca's fingers hesitated before they touched the tome and she closed her eyes as she prepared herself to be struck with lightning for touching a book of witchcraft. Her fingers caressed the enchantingly old pages and nothing happened. She opened her eyes, embarrassed at Paige's puzzled look and she whispered, "Nothing happened to me..." She chuckled softly as she pulled the Book closer and looked down at the page, "There's a color chart for the auras I see. I'm impressed."
"I come from a line of the strongest witches known to the world. Our reputation is a future centuries in the making," Paige informed, standing up to walk over to Rebecca and look over her shoulder. "There's even a color code for magical beings. Did you happen to see the black veins inside of the halo over the guys I fought?"
"Nope. My power happens at random," Rebecca answered. "Should I have?"
"Well, they're Darklighters and that's what the chart has for them," Paige replied. "Darklighters are basically a Whitelighter's counterpart. They try to reverse the good we do and they're definitely threats. You're fortunate to have witchly powers though. Other Whitelighters don't." She paced the kitchen and added, "Even better, since you're into the whole pacifist lifestyle, your powers aren't offensive, but they do alert you of danger if you embrace them."
"How so?"
"If you embraced your magic earlier, you would've known right off the bat today that those guys weren't people who had any intention on befriending you. You could've read their auras and learned of their intentions with your psychic projecting power," the Witchlighter answered. "Now, let me teach you a couple of ways of how to defend yourself against these guys."
(X)
Maven appeared into the Darklighter district of the Underworld in a descending slither of black and purple light. The lights structured together and quickly formed into his full body and he looked around at the Savant Circle. Only two Savants were present and he reported, "Wise Ones, the new Witchlighter has come into the aid of the Witchlighter. Both of them together may be too much for me."
"The Charmed One is definitely a contender," one of the Savants admitted. "But the new one? She can be defeated. She's a virgin to the powers of which have only bloomed from only means of Good responding to our new ally with a being who can fit the natural balance. Her power is premature though, and she is resistant. She can be defeated if you get into her head."
"Another issue. The house is sealed off from Evil," Maven informed as he revealed an open cut on his arm. "I can survive without the healing, but I was repelled by the crystals the Witchlighter must've brought into the house. She vanquished the other two you instructed me to go with."
The other Savant continued to stir the black bubbling essence in his stone cauldron and sighed, "We'll have to inform Avo of why two of his men are dead. We know how to speak with him, so we'll do so." He knew Avo would be curious as to why the fallen orbs appeared into him, so he knew there would be no lying to him. "We can't get you anymore men until we speak with him though. You'll just have to settle with Sauren down there as well as your own personal abilities."
"Very well. Thank you, Wise Ones," the Spirit Killer said before his features glowed as dark as possible and teleported away.
The Savants looked to each other before one scratched his long silver beard and said, "This Spirit Killer is so dependent on others..."
(X)
Rebecca continued to tend to her pork as she turned to Paige who was occupying the pot next to her. "Is it really necessary for you to cook a potion as I cook my meal?"
"Yes, I can't be with you all hours of the day, and I want to leave you with a potion since you absolutely refuse to make one yourself," Paige replied, having to resort to the homemade ingredients to create a potion to the best of her abilities. It probably wouldn't cause a Darklighter to blow up, but it might be enough to wound him. "So, tell me a little more about yourself. How's this Amish lifestyle working out for you?"
"It's all I've ever known and I love it, Paige. It's just hard to manage everything right now with these powers. I don't want the Church to get suspicious with me since I haven't invited them over yet to observe my home, but in the chance I orb out, they'll completely ban me from the community. I don't wish to be exiled, but it's necessary for them to come for me to complete the Ordnung," Rebecca answered as she sprinkled some garlic into her bubbling pot.
"What's that?" Paige asked as she mimicked Rebecca with the sprinkling of garlic, hoping that it would be able to replicate the effect of binding all her ingredients together with its pungent smell, forcing them all to combine and mesh into one potion. It was admittedly a long shot.
"The Ordnung is when the Church comes over, like I said already, but they make observe my lifestyle. So no cellphones, those iPods everyone plays with, or any other unnecessary electronics. I'm ready to convert though. Life is lonely now and I want to be able to search for love and marry one day. Having kids would be amazing, but I wouldn't want to press these powers on them," Rebecca said as she moved over to the sink to wash Paige's glass.
"There's nothing wrong with kids having powers. They can be taught to handle them and even taught to handle the responsibility that comes with them," the mother of magical twins defended. "I know my daughters will grow up to help people with their powers and my son just might as well. He might not have the powers to do so, but I'm sure he'll inherit the gene to want to do what's right. He doesn't even have to be a son by blood to do so."
"You've adopted a child?" Rebecca asked with a grin. She found this to be very noble, until another thought came to mind. "But you plan to raise him against his nature? I know it isn't my place to question your children at all, but someone else's?"
Paige knew if her halo was hovering above her head, it would be a fierce red. "He is my child. He's been under my care for almost a year and I love him. My husband loves him, my family loves him. I wouldn't force him to do anything against his will."
"I just honestly have a problem with you producing life and preserving those very lives, but you also go out and kill. It's a bit hypocritical," Rebecca replied, strands of her blonde hair stuck to her forehead from the lack of air conditioning. "No one should be able to take a life and that's my problem with witches. This might be His problem with witches as well. While you're doing good, you're also doing harm to yourself by killing."
"You have no proof of that. You're a witch, a resistant one at that, but you'll come to learn that there are greater sacrifices you'll be forced to make than not being able to walk down the street with an iPod or even watch late night shows," Paige replied, raising her voice. "I began to lose who I was with being told who I am!"
"Just as you are telling me who I'm supposed to be right now!" Rebecca shouted back, going against her soft nature.
Both remained silent. Realization hit the experienced Witchlighter as she took in Rebecca's words. She was right. Paige was basically expecting Rebecca to abandon who she is because of how she was given instruction to make Rebecca embrace her destiny. Although Paige never regretted denying her magical heritage, she couldn't just assume Rebecca wanted the same thing.
Before Paige could apologize, Rebecca stumbled back a couple of steps and collapsed onto her back. The Witchlighter rushed to her side and fell to her knees, but didn't bother healing. She understood that Rebecca's psychic ability took control and all she could do was wait.
(X)
Colors rapidly passed by Rebecca as she walked inside a ring of thoughts. Strokes of yellow, lines of crimson, and brushes of lies were the current roads on the ring Rebecca traveled on. She felt small and weightless having transfigured into a mere traveling thought. Her footsteps weren't even steps. As a thought, she would glide through the rings as one voice, but many thoughts, echoed off of the dome she currently resided in. As she moved through the rings, she crashed into other thoughts.
"She'll be coming to get me soon."
"They did warn me."
"Death is near."
Rebecca was scared for this familiar voice, having trusted in this person for years. She had to protect him, but she tried to escape this dome of thoughts but she crashed right into a sinister voice.
"I'll kill her myself."
This intense thought knocked Rebecca out of this person's mind and sent her soaring back, more weightless than ever to return to her body.
(X)
Rebecca sharply gained conscious as she returned to her body and looked around, seeing Paige trying to calm her down with a quick shushing sound. "Someone's going to die."
"Who?" Paige asked, helping lift Rebecca up from under her arms.
"I don't know, I don't know. I think it could be one of the Fathers at the Church. I recognized the voice, but then I heard another one pop in, I guess would be the right way to say it. The voice was terribly frightening and he wants to kill. We have to go and stop him," Rebecca declared, rushing for the door.
"Lemme grab the potion and I'll orb us over," Paige said as she quickly filled the vial with the potion on the stove and didn't see Rebecca when she turned around. The door closed and Paige sighed, quickly sensing her charge and vanishing in a quick glow of orbs.
Paige reappeared in front of Rebecca and held out her hands, one clutched tightly to the potion, and gestured to halt her. "Wait! There is no need for running, when we can orb. This is why we have the power, Rebecca. When Innocents are in need, we can use this ability to instantly appear to them."
"I'm not supposed to be using these powers, Paige. It just feels wrong, now excuse me," Rebecca replied as she made to move around Paige who side-stepped in front of her.
"Embrace your abilities, Rebecca. If not forever, at least for now. Give your powers a chance and let them show you that they are shields for Good, and not weapons made to do Evil," Paige pleaded. "Trust me this one time and see where it gets you."
Rebecca resisted the temptation of rolling her eyes, feeling it to be too childish, but she let out a sigh of relinquish and said, "I surrender. How do I do it?"
"Concentrate on the Father in trouble. Draw up the magic you know is within you and stop resisting it. Relinquish all fear of what will happen if you use these powers and just realize the good that can result from willing yourself to move through miles and miles to save someone you care about..." Paige stopped as she saw Rebecca glowing and smirked. Relieved of having to speak like a teacher to an unwilling student, she vacated the grounds in mirroring orbs.
(X)
Rebecca appeared inside the halls of the Church and noticed that there wasn't anyone in the pews, no one coming down the beautifully patterned marble floors, or anyone in sight. The resistant Witchlighter looked around for any sense that she orbed into the right place, but nothing. She turned around and saw a rapid column of orbs collect themselves before her and Paige appeared, startling her. "Whoa."
"I've gotten that once or twice," Paige responded as she placed the potion in her pocket and looked around. "So where's the good Father?"
"I don't know, no one was here when I came. I was focusing on Father Gerald, I swear!" Rebecca exclaimed.
"I trust you. You trusted me, I trust you. I think magic was taking into consideration that you're new at this orbing thing and you would've gotten highly discouraged if you exposed magic on your first successfully intended orb," Paige joked and looked around, but saw who she figured to be Father Gerald at the end of the hall staring at them. She pointed to Rebecca, "Is that Father Gerald?"
Rebecca flipped around and grinned, "You're okay! Father, we gotta get you out of here."
"I'm not leaving these grounds, Rebecca. You on the other hand..." Father Gerald's eyes flashed away from their innocent hazel into a threatening red glare with black pupils. "Are." He held up his hand and he telekinetically flipped open the doors and waved two of his fingers, launching Rebecca out of the Holy house and onto the steps where she rolled down to the ground.
"Rebecca!" The Whitelighter and gentle person in her called out, but the furious witch in her was stronger at that moment and turned around to Father Gerald. "Who and what are you? Possessor demon?"
Father Gerald chuckled and grinned, "More like someone who has endured a bunch of good crap to successfully infiltrate this pure line of do-gooders. It'll be a great experience to corrupt them all."
"You're a Darklighter," Paige stated.
"Bingo is my name-o. Not really, but you get the gist," the Darklighter replied and added, "And you're just some trash to be picked up on the steps of my home." With a forceful gesture, he launched Paige outside to join Rebecca.
Paige's elbows hurt the more she rolled down the steps and her forehead smashed into one of the last steps, leaving her sprawled on the ground. She looked up and notice a stain of her blood on the step as well as trickle of it fall down her face. The impostor Reverend appeared at the doors in his inky black and purple orbs and grinned, "Knock before entering. Don't think I won't be prepared next time in case you filthy bitches step in here." He let out a fake chuckle, "I'll smite you if you do so."
Rebecca stood to her feet, wobbly, "But Father Gerald..."
"It's Sauren, dear," he responded before telekinetically slamming the doors closed on them.
Paige wiped the blood from her forehead with her forearm and said, "Trash talking bad guys get old." She looked around the outside and noticed that no one seemed to be traveling and wondered why. Then lightning pierced the sky above them and the rain began to softly fall on them. "This weather is insult to injury," she said through pursed lips.
"What do we do?" A frantic, and growing wet, Rebecca asked. "Do we just storm back in there and try to talk him into being a better person or something?"
"This case isn't that simple. There isn't a good bone in that guy's twisted body," Paige insulted. "I'm assuming that if you've been working with him for this long, he must've had plans for you. He would know you're a Witchlighter like me since he's a Darklighter and would just sense it. I should say, he's an exceptionally strong Darklighter. I'm assuming he's worked with Savants."
"Savants? Like wise people?" Rebecca asked.
"Yeah, but in the supernatural world, these Savants are an old race of Darklighters. They're really wise and have gone beyond the standard depths an ordinary Darklighter can. This one has obviously been introduced to stronger abilities and I'm going to assume so because he's managed to infiltrate a Holy line and he must've needed some extra firepower to do so," Paige figured, mainly speaking to herself now. "Must've been a Spirit Killer at one point so he can get into the heads of people."
"How come I never sensed anything Evil about him?"
"Because you refused to accept your powers!" A frustrated Paige wanted to snap, but held her tongue. "I'm assuming it's because he either cloaked himself from you realizing it, but he must know that I'm working alongside of you and I'm clearly more of an expert here – come to think of it, he might have been the one who sent the Darklighters after you this morning."
Both Witchlighters stared at each other as Paige came to this conclusion. "I'm not too worried about these other Darklighters having run through them earlier, but this one concerns me." She wiped the blood from her forehead again as she felt it running down her face again with the rain. "Self-healing would be the best power."
"Can't I heal you?" Rebecca asked.
"Yeah, you could, but healing is tricky. The trigger is love and let's face it, you barely like me and my ways, let alone love me, and you can't casually use it until you've activated it once by love," Paige explained. "Love for a family member, love for a charge, and so on." She noticed Rebecca looked rather offended by her remark and added, "Look, I don't take offense to it and I apologize if I offended you, but it took me years before I healed and I ended up marrying the guy. It's pretty difficult stuff."
"Fine," Rebecca resigned, deep down offended. "What's the next move? I'm not going to have to battle him am I? This man has guided me a majority of my life and-"
"Has been secretly manipulating you into eventually doing his bidding. Believe me, he might've been very Mr. Rogers to your face, but that guy was eventually going to turn your powers into weapons against other Whitelighters. He's doing a pretty damn good job with the position he's in right now as well," Paige admitted, silently applauding the efforts of Darklighters.
This concerned Paige. Who knew how many people Father Gerald – Sauren - has misguided into misgivings and terrible deeds with just a subtle thought that they wouldn't question since a man of the cloth was the one that suggested it. It gave her as many chills as the fiercely cold rain pelting her bare skin.
"Let's get out the rain," Paige said, taking ahold of Rebecca's arm and ushering her under a closed fruit stand at the end of the corner. "I have one potion with me, but there's no guarantee that I'll be able to vanquish him with it since I've been using very homey ingredients. It might be enough to wound him but neither of us really have any explosive powers. Recruiting my eldest sister for this task would probably only get me blown up myself..." This earned a look of fear in Rebecca's face and Page added, "Yeah, Piper can be a people person on most afternoons, but her and demons turns him into a bit of a witch."
"I don't see why we have to act on violence. Whitelighters can fight with words, I'd assume. If Darklighters can corrupt with words, surely we can fight back in the same manner," Rebecca said.
"It just doesn't always work like that, Rebecca, and this is what you're failing to realize. You're a Witchlighter, not just a Whitelighter. You have to look at both sides of the coins and let's consider heads to be the more insightful side and that would be the Whitelighter part in us. But when you flip that coin and it lands on tails, there's no turning back. Talking just doesn't make the cut and you have to just fight with your fist, powers, scratch and pull hair," Paige explained and noticed the rain was getting heavier and a wind had been annoyingly whipping her hair around for a while now. The more she paid attention to the weather, the more the witch inside her wanted to be released to travel for a few moments.
"I would just rather make an attempt at speaking to him then fighting," Rebecca said. "Maybe he can be converted."
"You can't reason with Evil," Paige commented. "It doesn't always lead to great things. Generally, your death follows."
"If I can die successful, it'll all be worth it," the young Witchlighter retorted. "I know you must think I'm just insanely stubborn, but I actually just find myself extremely open-minded."
"Open-minded?!" Paige shouted back. "That's not the word I would use for you. Yes, Evil can sometimes be turned but if you really have been at this long enough to notice who can be saved and who can't. This guy must've situated himself in this post for years to get where he's at now. If he was going to be influenced by the Lord, the chance would've happened already."
"You're wrong," Rebecca defied, running past Paige into the freezing rain and heading up the stone steps to the Church.
Paige wanted to orb her back to where she previously stood, but she couldn't be too careful with any eyes looking out their windows after she shouted at her charge. Instead, she chased after Rebecca and yelled, "Don't go in there!"
It was too late. The doors closed behind Rebecca and Paige quickly entered to find Rebecca dissolving in purple and black orbs. The Witchlighter was dripping all over the floor and the candles in the blessing altars vanished as a supernatural wind omen wiped them out. She shuddered from the cold and continued to look around for Rebecca. The same purple lights caught the corner of her left amber-colored eye and she noticed Rebecca was now in the arms of Sauren, previously named Father Gerald, on the balcony.
Paige dissolved in orbs and reappeared a few feet in front of them. She noticed her charge was whimpering at the athamae held to her neck and switched to see Sauren grinning. "Let her go."
"Or what? You would dare to fight in a Church?" Sauren questioned. "I thought you were Catholic."
"Her life comes before my manners and beliefs," Paige firmly replied, wishing she had her ability to summon Rebecca without breathing a word. If she verbalized a command, Sauren might be quicker to pierce her neck and a dead Rebecca would appear on the floor before Paige.
The Whitelighter in Paige braced herself as the witch inside her was screaming for attention. The witch wanted to warn Paige and was playing sirens with her ability to recognize danger and the jingle was louder than ever. Paige shook the inside of both her ears with her fingers and whispered, "Not now, not now... I'm busy if you haven't noticed!"
"What's wrong, Paige? Other charges in need? Any of my brethren, by any chance?" Sauren asked.
"Go to Hell," Paige fiercely said.
Maven orbed beside Paige and grinned at Sauren, who nodded.
"Paige, behind you!" Rebecca warned.
Paige turned around and saw that Maven was about to utter a thought into her head, but Paige's witch reflexes were quicker and she withdrew the potion from her pocket and launched it at his chest. Maven exploded in bright orange flames with purple fireworks following. His orbs vanished and Paige learned from her time as a Darklighter that these orbs were making their way to her arch-opponent, Avo.
She flipped back to Rebecca and Sauren and said, "Just let her go. You can have me."
"I'm good, but I don't even think I'm that good to defeat you. I won't be that cocky," the Darklighter admitted. "But her..." Sauren licked Rebecca's neck, earning a well deserved disgusted shudder from Rebecca.
"You sick bastard!" Paige exclaimed, about to make her best efforts to summon the athamae as quickly as she ever had in her life before the witch in her let out a monstrous roar, demanding her to abandon her body. Paige swayed where she stood before falling to the floor, leaving her body.
(X)
Paige's astral self appeared in a crimson glow into the Underworld, completely dry as opposed to her wet body which lay on the Church floor. The Underworld lair was like no other; it looked more like a temple and she noticed that at the far end of the cave was Rose reading out of a black cloth-covered book, chanting. But this Rose was different and the obvious sign of that was Rose's eternal sapphire eyes. The chanting was very disturbing as well; it sounded as if they were words of hate and death and it chilled Paige's astral self to hear them echo through the plated halls.
Dark orbs flew over Paige's head and she watched as they glided into Avo who seemed ashamed. He ignored mentioning the fallen Darklighter and asked Rose, "How's the spell coming along?"
Rose stopped chanting and her regular speaking voice was darker as well, "My army shall rise in a matter of minutes."
"Good. I'll call upon a meeting with my district Darklighters and inform them that the time to summon the clans to the surface grounds is near," Avo stated, diminishing into a slither of orbs and vanishing.
"Rose?" Paige asked.
Rose was about to continue chanting but held off. She grinned at the sight of Paige and said, "Ah, my old Whitelighter. It's been a while, Paige." She blinked in a haunting manner and added, "Even if it is just your astral form."
"What happened to you? What are you doing?"
"Familiar with Hell on earth? I'm the Bringer of this and I have no problem with sharing this plan to you. There is nothing you can do to eject the profound powers of Valen out of me. I'm tied to this power. It's forged into my soul and cemented there. Demons of the Old Age shall rise from dust into embers and into furious flames seeking innocent blood on their tongues. You best go warn your bosses that a storm is coming," Rose shared, grinning. She resumed chanting and didn't bother banishing Paige from the grounds. She would allow her to witness this event.
The chanting continued, the ground began to shake, and heads began to rise from the grounds...
But Rebecca screamed and this scream reached Paige's ears. She forced her astral self to return to her body and would deal with Rose another time.
(X)
Paige's body flared red and Sauren quickly stepped back and muttered, "I knew it was too good to be true. At least I got one – she talked too much. Not much of a fighter."
Paige waved her arm and telekinetically sent Sauren flipping backwards. He dissolved into malevolent orbs before he could collide with the old piano behind, Paige used this opportunity to test an idea, "Orbs!"
The purple and black orbs were suddenly swallowed in blue and white orbs and it looked as if the sinister orbs tried to struggle out of this benign cage. The orbs compressed tightly together and soon exploded, destroying Sauren.
The Witchlighter rushed to her feet and saw Rebecca lying on the floor. She dropped to her knees and without hesitating, she hovered her healing hands over her charge, a possible friend if she wasn't so stubborn, and she unleashed what she knew to be a warm healing glow and bathed Rebecca's bloody neck in it. The golden glow seemed to flicker and quickly diminished. "No..." She tried again, flicking her hands open and closed hoping that the golden glow would return and heal Rebecca. But the blood never returned into her neck and the wound never closed up.
"She didn't deserve this... I failed..." Paige cried, and she knew these were her sincere thoughts and not planted into her head by some other Spirit Killer Darklighter. She cradled Rebecca's neck and knew she died not putting up a fight. That's how she would've wanted it, but this wasn't fair. A tear fell on Rebecca's forehead and Paige looked up to the Church ceiling – it was an imagery of heaven. But Paige was going to take Rebecca to a place very similar to that final resting place.
Holding onto her tightly, Paige orbed upwards with her fallen passenger.
(X)
Amidst swirling white mist, where Paige first received Rebecca's warning call, orbs appeared in the Heavens and Paige was seen by a collective of Whitelighters to be holding a young woman. Paige sat there for minutes before the murmured clicking from Whitelighters stopped and one appeared beside Sandra and Jonas.
"Paige..." Sandra breathed.
Paige didn't look up at any of the Elders, but continued to cast her gaze down at Rebecca's lifeless form. "She didn't deserve to die. I failed her, I was rushing her to use her powers, trying to force her and... It wasn't what she wanted. It wasn't my place to nag her to accept abilities she didn't want." She finally looked up at Jonas and Sandra with a fierce glare, "But it's not only my fault. You all play a part in it. We can't keep forcing burdens and responsibilities on people and saying it's supposed to be done simply because it's destiny."
"What would you have us do, Paige, if not try to make a difference?" Sandra asked. "We never promise easy charges, in fact, we expect more from you because you're the Witchlighter."
Paige wanted to throw herself at Sandra, the Elder she always respected, but she couldn't get herself to release physical contact on Rebecca. She wouldn't allow her to become lost in the swirling mist scattered on the freezing marble floor. "She was a Witchlighter, too. Would you have her try to help others embrace destinies when she wasn't willing to do so herself?"
"Paige, we had to take a risk. As Whitelighters, we're forced to situate ourselves into the lives of future guides in order to gain their trust, but there are times where we have to work past the time to create a proper bond because Evil has already interfered. Rebecca certainly believed in the idea of a Holy good – a paragon of peace. This was a restraint to our cause, a quite unfortunate one," Sandra solemnly explained. "This isn't your fault. If it betters your emotions to find a source of blame during these times, blame Evil."
"Blame Evil?" Paige spat. "I've blamed Evil enough over the past years. Evil separated me from many things, but you Elders aren't paragons of Good either! It's fear of your kind that I was separated from my family before I even got to know them. It's because of you all that I never felt fully included with the Halliwells. It's because of you all that I have doubts and you continue to expect me to praise your kind as you ignore someone's right to freewill?!"
"Are you trying to accuse us of not doing any good for all these years, Paige?" Jonas asked. "I assure you that-" The Elder stopped himself as a powerful trill which sounded like hundreds of rapidly plucked harps reverberated off the walls. Everyone looked around, seemingly aware of what was going on, all but Paige.
With a quick wave of her hand, Sandra orbed Rebecca's body out of Paige's grasp and caused the Witchlighter to stare in confusion in the spot where Rebecca previously laid. She quickly explained as Jonas and the other Whitelighters rushed off, "Paige, Rebecca is in a better place now. Trust me, but there is a threat up here. Come."
Finding the strength in her legs, Paige picked herself up and followed after Sandra in a hurry. They charged through the heavenly mist, forcing a path as it didn't put up a fight, until they reached a hall that was fogging in heavy mist. A golden door swung open as a figure in gold robes charged in there.
Jonas stopped at the door and his voice demanded an answer, "What are you doing? That book isn't to be touched!"
Paige and Sandra reached the door, but all the Whitelighters were crowding it. The Elder gripped Paige's wrist and orbed the two of them outside the room, but in front of the crowd. They both spotted Reynold holding a violet covered book with a gold plate on it. With a deceiving shrug, Reynold orbed away before he could be stopped.
Paige looked at the spot where Reynold previously stood and looked around, spotting cases running down a hall and she asked, "What did he just take? What is this place?"
"This is the Sanctum of Sites and Solutions. In this small room, answers to great problems were preserved for when a threat has increased to dangerous levels," Sandra began to explain, looking even more solemn than when speaking of Rebecca. "Apart from Elders, the only people who can gain access are Messengers in case Elders are ever under battle and we need to call for help. In this room, we hold powers that we can call on, but it appears we've been betrayed. Reynold has robbed from us and the Heavens detected he was going to, which is why the sirens activated."
"What? What did he take?" Paige asked.
"Instructions on how to reach the Archangelic Sword. Protecting this sword are obstacles that the First Elders created long before any of us have even been here," Jonas explained, still staring into the small room.
"The Archangelic Sword? Why would Reynold want that?" Paige asked, clearly aware she wasn't getting the full story.
"It appears he serves a new master. The Sword of the Archangel Michael is the only known way to destroy a powerful Evil, one which we Elders have kept protected for aeons in anticipation of Evils this great, but we've fallen under the impression it would mean certain defeat for this one being," Sandra explained.
"You're talking about Rose, aren't you? She seems to be extremely powerful now and is summoning some army. I astral projected to her, but not on purpose," Paige explained, feeling weaker at the thought of Rebecca.
"We aren't talking about Rose, Paige. Rose may pose a threat and armies can be taken care of, but that book was protected in the Sanctum because once this man rose to enough power, his opposite would be destined to take him out with this weapon," Sandra explained. "You see, Paige, we all have our enemies. You and your sisters had a destiny to Protect the Innocent for the time you did, Rebecca's counterpart was Sauren, it appears Rose is Billie's, but yours, as you may have figured, is Avo."
"So are you trying to say that the only chance I have at defeating Avo is the Sword of Michael?" Paige asked.
"Correct," Jonas answered, finally turning to see Paige.
"Why didn't you tell me about this before? Get rid of him before he had the chance to do more Evil? Since we do we operate with patience for a vanquish?" Paige asked. "You need to learn how the hell to separate a virtue from a vanquish!"
"We have to respect the balance as always. Avo is an essential to Evil and by messing with the scale, we risk corruption to Good. If Good is weighing too heavy, we have to shed ourselves of some of that weight and we can't risk corruption," Sandra defended. "You should be on alert now, Paige. If Reynold has chosen to steal the instructions to the Sword, it must mean that Avo is ready to come out of hiding and may be coming for you."
"To kill me," Paige commented. She stared Sandra in the eyes and bit her bottom lip before saying, "Thanks for not bringing the tool of destruction to my attention earlier. In the case I die, good luck killing the bastard yourself. I'm done with your kind either way." With a disgusted look on her face, the Witchlighter looked around at the Heavens and wondered why it didn't represent everything it was supposed to; peace, recognizing Good apart from Evil, right from wrong. The heart of the Heavens was corrupted, everything the Elders feared. Paige dismissed herself in rapid orbs.
End of Chapter.
A/Note: Hopefully the chapter was a good one. This is where the start of the final battle began with Paige detaching herself from Elders as well as learning of her destined match with Avo. The final battles will be Paige against Avo as Billie will hopefully gather a party to take down Rose/Valen and the rising demonic army. If you wanna see some of that, kindly drop a review here on the site as we prepare to close this two-year running long series.