Chapter Forty: Let It Burn

"You can't stay here Godric, you have to go." I sighed, watching as the vampire paced before me.

We had only arrived in the yard of Sookie's home moments ago, but the worry hadn't left Godric's face for a single moment. He was worried, he was concerned, and worst of all, my two thousand year old best friend was scared. I wasn't an idiot, I knew when times got rough, when I should be afraid. And this was one of those times. If Godric, the strongest and wisest man and vampire I knew, was scared, concerned for us all, then I knew there had to be a reason for it. Eric, after all, has been taken captive by Victor. The mere thought alone caused me to shudder, to hope and pray that Eric will make it through the night until I could think of a way to free him. Maybe they would take him to Fangtasia, maybe I could sneak in there again, like I did with Pam, and I could help him escape. I knew it wouldn't work though, even before the idea struck me. Because Victor wasn't going to just hope that no one would break into Fangtasia. He would take drastic measures, if Eric even survived through the night.

I scolded myself for thinking like that though. I couldn't. I needed to stay positive, hope to a god I wasn't even sure existed that he would be alright. Because I couldn't even think about losing him, about losing the man I loved. He meant too much to me to ever possibly lose. I knew it could happen. It was more likely for Eric to lose his life than for me to. I was more immortal than that Viking was, and that scared me in the same way I think it scared Eric. He hadn't wanted to ever lose me, to feel that pain. And I feared the same thing. The thought of Eric dying, of meeting the true death, it brought tears to my eyes, an ache to my heart. It was just something that I could never let happen.

"Godric..." I stepped into his path, stopping him in his place. I laid my hands on his shoulders, pulling his attention onto me. "Godric you need to leave."

"I cannot do that." he shook his head. "I cannot just leave you, not like we just..."

"Not like we just left Eric, I know." I nodded sadly. "But he told us to go, he knew what would happen if you didn't get me out of there."

"I left my progeny, my child, my son to die." Pain swept across his pain, his eyes rimmed with red bloody tears.

"He will not die, Godric." I shook my head. "He won't."

"Victor is not a kind vampire, Elizabeth. He is cruel and doesn't care who he may kill."

"Don't you think I know that, Godric? He tortured and killed me, remember?" I tried to shake the memories of that night, of that stake being shoved right through my chest as if I was a mere vampire. I shuddered as the images flashed before my eyes before I shook my head, ridding myself of the horror. I needed to focus, we both did. "Eric will be fine though, I know he will be. He has to be. So pull yourself together, Godric."

Godric stared down at me for the longest time without saying a word. I thought I was going to have to shake him, or try slapping him a few times until he was brought back into reality. But after a moment, he shook his own head, the tears disappearing as his expression hardened. The Godric I knew and loved had returned, determination and rage set in his blue green orbs. He was pissed off. I wasn't sure if it was because of what the witch had done to him, to me, or if it was because Victor now had Eric in his grasps, but Godric was pissed off.

I feared for Victor right now, because a pissed off Godric was something you never wanted to witness.

I knew that better than anyone.

"I will not leave you." Godric shook his head again. "It's too dangerous. I won't leave you behind."

"You need to, Godric." I reasoned with him. "Because if you don't, and that witch is able to control you again, you'll be able to lead her straight to me."

By the look on his face, I knew he knew I was right. This witch, she had powers I couldn't even comprehend. She was able to control and manipulate a two thousand year old vampire. She was powerful, but that didn't completely surprise me considering her son was that half demon. I had nearly forgotten about him at all, I didn't even remember his name. I remember that night I killed him though. It had been the night I think I gained a little bit of bravery. It was the night I finally stood up for myself, the night I fought back. And it felt good. Because despite the pain I remember being in, knowing that I had killed that half demon with my own hands, it sent a shiver of pride up my spine.

But it was his mother now that was the enemy. The half demon was able to use powerful spells to haunt me, but he wasn't nearly as his mother appeared to be. And that worried me. Because if she was able to control Godric twice, from a distance, then she could do so a third time. And if Godric happened to know where I went, where I sought out safety, then if the witch regained control of the vampire, she would know exactly where I was. And I knew Godric didn't want that, and I sure as hell didn't want to fight him again. it might have been the witch back there, in that field that I was fighting, but she was inside of Godric's body, and that caused me to hesitate. And I couldn't hesitate. If I did, that would cause everyone I loved to die. I was powerful, much more powerful than that witch. But I needed to be able to use my powers freely without being scared of who I could hurt. So Godric needed to go somewhere safe, he needed to take shelter for the night and leave me here, to wonder what I'll do to keep safe.

"I don't like this." Godric sighed, raising his hand to cup my cheek. "I hate to leave you all alone, to leave you unprotected."

"I'm a Phoenix, Godric. I'm hardly unprotected." I assured him, forcing on a smile. "I love you, and I'll kick your ass for what you said last night some other time, but I don't want to hurt you Godric, not again. And if the witch controls you, and sends you right on back to attack me because she knows exactly where I am, that's what I'm going to have to do. And I can't. I can't do that to you again."

Godric wrapped his arms around me, tugging me against him. His hand stroked my hair while the other ran up and down my back soothingly. I wondered if when we all got through this, if he would reconsider the resurrection. I couldn't understand why he wouldn't, why he wouldn't want to be happy with the woman he loved. Because I knew Kyra would love to be in his arms right now more than I ever possibly could.

But now was not the time to dwell on that. Eric had been right; we couldn't focus on resurrecting Kyra, not while this war was going on. We needed to focus and concentrate on killing Victor, Bill, and now that witch. And I was prepared to do so with my very own hands if need be.

"Promise me you will be safe." He whispered into my ear. "Promise me when I leave you, you will take care of yourself."

"I will, Godric." I promised him. "But remember, I can't die."

"But you can still feel pain." He reminded me, pulling me away just slightly so he could clasp a finger under my chin and raised my gaze to meet him. "You may be able to return from the In-between after death, but you can still feel pain, the agony, that Victor wishes to put upon you. I've failed to protect you once; I don't wish to do that again. So I need you to promise me that you'll be safe, that you'll act smartly."

"I promise, Godric. Just as long as you promise to keep yourself safe." I stared into those worried orbs. "I can't lose anyone else in my life, Godric. I've lost everyone. You and Eric, you're my family now, and I can't lose you."

"You won't." He brushed his lips against my forehead. "You will never lose me, or Eric."

"I hope so. Because I don't think I can go through that." I admitted before shaking away the sadness. "You really need to go now, Godric."

"I know." He sighed. "I hate myself for having to leave."

"It will be safer for all of us." I kissed his cheek quickly. "Now go, because I'm forced to kick your ass."

The tiniest smile appeared on his lips as he stepped back away from me. I saw the tears in his eyes, one lone blood tear sliding down his cheek as he stared at me one last time before taking off into the night sky. I tried to follow him with my eyes, but he had disappeared in mere seconds, leaving me completely alone with my thoughts and fears. It only took a few moments before I jumped into survival mode, looking up at Sookie's house longingly. I couldn't stay here. This would be the first place that Victor came looking for me. It would be the obvious choice. I had an idea of where I would go, even though I hated to drag Sam and Sookie further into this war. Before I drove over to Sam's trailer, seeking shelter, I knew I would have to clean up, at least my feet anyways. They were aching, my feet swollen and in pain. I shuffled towards the porch, taking the stairs quickly as I slipped my hand underneath the flower pot sitting next to the door where the spare key had always been placed. I quickly entered the house, trying to take light steps as I flicked on the light and crossed the hallway to the stairs. I didn't want to stain the floors with blood, but as I stood on the stairs, glancing at the trail I had left before, I sighed and vowed to scrub the floors once this was all over and done with.

I was almost relieved to be back inside of my room. It felt comforting and safe to be sitting on my bed. But this house, it was anything but comforting and safe. I needed to get out of here quickly, before Victor showed up on my doorstep, just waiting to attempt to kill me again.

One by one, I lifted my feet, wincing and cringing at the sight of them. They were hardly even recognizable, with scratches and small pieces of bark impaling the sole of my feet. It sickened me, but I slowly began to brush away what dirt and bark that I could before I used my telekinesis to bring the first aid kit to me. It shot right into the room from the bathroom across the hall, nearly knocking me right in the head. I caught it however, just as the last minute before I set it beside me on the bed and began cleaning the wounds.

"Fuck!" I whimpered, my eyes squeezing shut for a moment as the stinging slowly came to a dull ache, the cream working its way into the scratches as I wrapped my feet up tightly in bandages. I could have healed myself, much like I had done with Eric and Godric. But I knew it would take a lot of strength and energy that I just could not afford to lose right now. It would take days for my energy to return without the aid of vampire blood, and we just didn't have days for that to happen. Because this war, it was coming to a close soon, it had to. And I knew that I was the weapon of choice, that I was the one who had to do this. Godric and Eric, they could die too easily, and Quinn was nowhere to be found. Sookie and Sam, I needed them to continue living, to get married and have the happy ending I knew I would never have. This was my responsibility now, it always had been. I was the most powerful; I was the one more immortal than the rest. When it came down to it, I was the one who had to kill Victor, who had to end this once and for all.

And I was perfectly alright with that. I had come to terms with what I might have to do. I just needed a plan. I needed to figure out exactly how I was going to do this, how I was going to kill that psychotic vampire and all of his little lackeys. And I needed to figure out how to do that soon. Because none of us could hang on too much longer. We needed this to end now, before anyone else got hurt, or worse, killed.

"What do you mean the spell isn't working?" Victor narrowed his eyes as he glared at the witch sitting in the middle of the bar, a dozen candles lit around her. He took in her appearance, her mousy brown hair that hung in greasy strings down her back. Her skin was sagging with wrinkles, and she reeked more than a rotting corpse. At first glance, Victor was not impressed by this witch at all, and had almost sent him away when she came to him, seeking vengeance against the Phoenix. It was her eyes, however, her stormy grey eyes that led him down this path. There was a rage inside of those orbs, inside of her soul that Victor could appreciate. She wanted revenge, she wanted to call upon the powers of the world to destroy the Phoenix, to cause her pain in any possible way that she could.

And that was exactly what Victor wanted.

At this point he didn't even wish to be able to control the Phoenix for her powers. She had outsmarted him time and time again, and now, all he wanted was to watch her die a long, painful death. If he was able to do that, then he would be unstoppable. With enough men, he could out power even the most powerful vampires, just like had had done with Eric and Godric. His only real worry was the Phoenix. He had been doubting just how powerful she was, thinking that she had truly died after he had stuck that stake through her chest. But she had returned somehow, making a mockery out of him, and Victor just could not have that.

The girl needed to die, one way or another.

"Well?" Victor demanded to know, ready to storm across the bar and rip the witch to shreds. She had promised that once she had taken control of Godric that she would be able to kill the girl or bring her to him, and she had done neither. He was not a patient man, and he expected results. And that was not something he was receiving.

"He is two thousand years old." The witch opened her eyes, gracefully pushing herself to her feet as she exited the circle of candles. "If it hadn't of been for that Phoenix, I would still have complete control of him. But I was pushed from his mind twice, and with his age, and the magic running through his blood from the Phoenix blood he's ingested over his long life, it's nearly impossible to penetrate through barriers for a third time."

Victor growled, his fangs extending. "You and I had an agreement, Loretta."

"We still do." Loretta nodded, growing closer to the angry vampire, a smirk crossing her lips. "I may not be able to control Godric, but his progeny, he's only half his age. He will be easier to penetrate, to control, to hold onto."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that we still have a vampire at our disposal, one that this Phoenix seems to cherish above all else. Once I'm able to control him, we'll have her in the palm of our hands before dawn even approaches."

Victor thought it over, not certain of the witch's power any longer. But he had no other visible options at the moment. If he didn't deal with the Phoenix, with that pesky little girl, then he might as well retreat out of Louisiana, and that was the last thing he would ever do.

"I have little patience, Loretta." He hovered over her, though her smirk never faltered. "If this does not work, if you fail me again, I won't hesitate to kill you."

"Of course victor." Loretta nodded. "But trust me, I will not fail you. One way or another, that Phoenix will be yours, I assure you."

I looked around my room as I stood with my backpack hanging from one shoulder, making sure I wasn't leaving anything behind. I only needed the essentials; I wasn't sure what would happen in the next coming days. Just in case, I picked up a few valuables and stuck them into the bag before turning to leave. I stopped however, as a thought struck me.

I had never prayed before in my life. I hadn't believed in god for the majority of my life, and even now, I doubted his existence. Because if he were real, if he existed, then why had my parents died in that car crash when I was five, and I barely even had a scratch on my body? Why had my brother, my only living relative, been ripped away from me so suddenly? Why had my life turned down this road, one of fear and danger? If god truly did exist, did he just despise me? But the Phoenixes, they called themselves the daughters of god. He had created us, they had told me, created us to do great things on earth. If he had created us, if he had chosen me specifically to be the next Phoenix, then why did I feel so empty, so alone right now? Why was my life in shambles, nearly impossible to put back together? If he existed, why didn't he seem to care at all?

I surprised myself when I turned around, working my way over to the bed and knelt down beside it. I had never prayed, never wanted to believe in this god. He was more a figment of your imagination, a belief that humans held onto dearly. But right now, despite my doubts, despite my anger towards this potential god, I found that I needed to believe in something. I needed hope, I needed guidance, and right now, god seemed to be the only one on my side.

So it was for that reason that I clasped my hands before me in a prayer, my eyes closing as I bowed my head.

"I've never done this before; I've never even thought you were real." I began in a soft whisper. "You might not be, and I might just be sitting here, talking to myself. But I need to believe in something, and you seem like the only possible thing to believe in right now."

I cracked an eye open, as if expecting god to just suddenly appear before me. But of course, that was impossible, and I was completely alone in my bedroom.

"I need help. I need guidance. I need someone to just tell me what to do." Both of my eyes closed as I felt the tears forming in my orbs. "Because I'm lost right now. I don't know what to do. Eric...he might be condemned because of what eh is, but I love him, and now he's being held captive and I just don't know how to help me. All of my friends, they tell me that I'm not alone, that I don't need to do this by myself. But I know the truth, you and I both know that I'm the only one who can stop this. But how? How do I do this?"

I sighed as I leaned my forehead against the side of the bed.

"So if you could just help me, maybe give me a sign, that would be great. Because I desperately need help right now. I just need you to tell me what to do, what I can do to stop this."

A tear slipped down my cheek and I broke my clasped hands to brush it away. I opened my eyes and found my gaze rising to meet the ceiling.

"If your real, and I sure hope that you are right now, please just do this one thing for me. Please keep Eric safe. I know he's done some rotten things in his life, and he's killed thousands of people. But please, I love and I can't go on without him. So if nothing else, can you please just make sure he's alright, keep him safe, just for a little while longer."

I sat there for longer than I should have, just knelt beside the bed on my knees, praying to a god I wasn't even sure existed. After a moment, I sighed and returned to my feet, wincing at the pain shooting up my legs. I tried my best to ignore the pain as I mumbled amen before picking up my backpack and throwing it over one shoulder. I was heading towards the door when I heard someone outside, when I heard the front door being thrown open, an intruder entering.

"Ellie?" a voice called, and I realized that this wasn't an intruder at all.

I dropped my bag to the ground in surprise as I shot out of the bedroom and to the top of the stairs. I couldn't believe my eyes. There, standing in the front hallway, was the man that I loved. He looked terrible, like he had gone to hell and back, but he was standing before me at least. I wasn't sure if this was god's doing at all, but I found myself whispering to the mysterious force nonetheless.

"Thank you god." I whispered under my breath before hurling myself down the stairs and right into Eric's awaiting arms. "Oh thank fucking god, Eric!'

"It's alright." His arms wrapped around me, holding me to him as I held onto him for dear life. "I'm here now."

I couldn't stop the tears for slipping down my cheeks. I had been so scared that something was going to happen to him. I had been so scared that I was going to wake up in the morning and not have him on this earth anymore. I wasn't sure what I would have done if I lost him. It was different than Eric just running away. At least there was hope he could return, like he had. But if he had met the true death, there was no possible way to bring him back to me, for him to return, for us to live happily ever after. And that's all that I wanted. I wanted a future with Eric. I wanted lifetimes with him.

"I forgive you." I whispered in his ear. "I forgive you, I forgive you, I forgive you."

Eric didn't say a word as his arms tightened around me. I dug my head into his chest, never wanting to ever let him go again. I cried into his torn and bloody shirt. I cried until there were no more tears left to cry, until my eyes were dried up and it was impossible to do anything else but pull away from Eric and cup his cheek. I leaned forward, just wanting to feel his soft lips on mine. But something froze me as I stared up into those beautiful blue eyes of his.

Except his eyes weren't blue.

"Miss me, Phoenix?" Eric's voice was different than I remembered, a smirk crossing his face that was nothing like the teasing playful smirk he usually wore.

I knew right away that this was not Eric, not entirely.

The witch hadn't gotten to Godric, she hadn't penetrated his mind, manipulated him like she had done before.

No, she was controlling Eric now.

I didn't hesitate as I threw my hands up, meeting with Eric's chest and used every ounce of power I had to throw him right out of the house, through the door, and into the front yard. He skidded to a stop on his back, but was on his feet in mere seconds, his fangs extending. My heart was racing rapidly as I quickly thought of what to do. I couldn't hurt Eric. I couldn't hurt the witch without causing damage to him, and I just couldn't do that. The thought of causing Godric agony pained me, but doing so to the man I loved with all of my heart, it wasn't even an option.

Eric came hurtling towards me however, and I only had a brief second to prepare myself, forcing him back across the yard. My hands were shaking as I stepped out of the house, one of the stupidest things I could have done. I should have just stayed inside, rescinded Eric's invitation. It was the smart thing to do. But what if the witch kept Eric standing out there the entire night? It was nearing dawn; she could simply leave Eric to burn, for him to meet the sun before my very eyes, leaving me powerless to stop her. And I couldn't let that happen. No, I would need to fight this witch somehow. I would need to push her out of Eric just like I had done with Godric earlier tonight.

I was just worried about my own strength. I had used a great deal of power already tonight, and I had felt weakened when Godric first flew me here. I hadn't told him that, not wanting him to worry, and I had thought that as long as I rested for a few hours, I would be fine. But now here this witch was, wearing Eric's skin like he was just a puppet for her to play with. And I wouldn't allow it. I wanted to kill this witch. I wanted to kill her exactly like I killed her son. Maybe god wouldn't approve, maybe he would want me to spare her. But then again, at that moment, God didn't exist to me.

What did exist however, was magic, was supernatural forces that I would never fully comprehend.

"Get the fuck out of him now." I demanded, taking a step off of the porch as Eric stood there, only a few feet away in a fight stance. I wondered how much of Eric was still in there, conscious to everything that was going on around him. "Get the fuck out of Eric right this minute."

"Now why would I do that?" Eric straightened, slowly beginning to move towards me. I held my hands out before me however, shoving him back across the yard before he could come too close. He just got back up again however, brushing the dirt from his jeans, and started back over. I cursed under my breath as I continued to throw him backwards. Though each time, the distance began growing short and shorter until finally, Eric hardly even budged. I was beginning to feel light headed, and I knew that energy was being wiped from me. But I couldn't just stop; I couldn't just give up and run into the house to keep safe. No I needed to protect Eric, and the only way I could do that was to get that bitch out of him.

And fast.

"Leave him alone. He's not who you want." I tried to plead as I took a step back.

Eric's smirk, that once beautiful smirk of his that I had fallen in love with, now only looked cold and detached as his large form strolled towards me with purpose. It wasn't Eric; I had to keep telling myself that. It wasn't him at all. Those eyes, those eyes were not his vibrant blue orbs. They were a stormy grew holding a rage that wasn't healthy. She was holding a grudge towards me for what I had done to her son, and while I understood the pain of loss, killing me wouldn't bring her son back, it wouldn't lessen the pain at all.

"Killing me won't change the fact that your son is gone." I tried to take another step back, only I found that I was frozen to the spot. I hadn't realized that Eric, no that witch, had been muttering the entire time, casting the same exact spell she had cast earlier to freeze me to the spot. I tried to break out of the invisible binds holding me to the spot, and I was sure that if I hadn't of used as much power and energy as I had tonight, then I probably would have been able to.

"It will bring me great pleasure though." Eric began prowling around me, like he was the predator and I was the prey. And at that moment, that's exactly what I was. "I'm surprised the other witches didn't succeed in retrieving your soul. Perhaps I'll be more...persuasive."

"I doubt it bitch." I hissed, glaring darkly at Eric as he stopped before me. "I will never offer you my soul, and you will never kill me. But I will kill you; I can guaran-damn-tee it."

Eric just cackled, a sound I had never heard from him before. But then again, this wasn't Eric; this wasn't the man I loved at all. In the flesh, it was, it was completely him. But he was trapped inside of himself, unable to stop the witch from possessing him.

"I'm going to kill you and send you straight to hell." I threatened her, my eyes narrowing. "Maybe you'll see your son there."

I wasn't prepared for Eric's hand to curl around my neck and shove me straight to the ground. I could move my limbs again, but it didn't seem to matter as Eric ripped my head to the side before his fangs sunk deep within my neck. My mouth opened in a silent cry of pain, my eyes watering as Eric messily and roughly drank from me. It had been so long since he had bitten me; it felt almost like a lifetime. But I had always thought that the next time this would occur, it would be during the act of sex, of making love with the man that I loved so dearly. I never expected this.

It's not him. It's not him. It's not him.

But it was still his fangs, tearing through my neck, hungrily drinking every ounce of blood he possibly could. The pain was incredible, and I nearly had forgotten just how painful a vampire bite could be. Nothing could compare to the pain I had felt while being tortured by Victor. But there was just something about being caused harm by the one you loved that made it just that much worse.

"Eric..." I gasped out, my eyesight growing blurry from tears and the invading black dots. "Fight her. Fight her Eric, fight her!"

He paused where he was, and at first, I thought a part of him had heard me and he was fighting back. But suddenly, completely out of nowhere, a large force came knocking into Eric, throwing him right off of me. I gasped out in shock as I suddenly scrambled backwards, my eyes growing wide as I held onto my bleeding neck, as if trying to force the blood back inside of me. I felt myself growing even weaker, first from the use of my power, and now from the blood loss. I couldn't even make it to my feet, and instead stayed seated in the middle of the yard, watching as a large tiger, blood coating its fur, stood over Eric's form with its large incisors baring down at the vampire.

"Quinn?" I couldn't believe what I was seeing. One minute he had been missing, presumably being taken by Victor, and the next he was jumping out of nowhere to save my life.

Quinn slightly moved his head to acknowledge me before growing down at the vampire, snapping his large jaw at him.

"It's not Eric." I tried to reason with the tiger. "It's a witch, Quinn. He didn't...Eric, he doesn't have control."

"Get out of my way, you disgusting creature." Eric's voice rang through the night air before grabbing onto Quinn's tiger form and throwing him across the yard. I let out a cry as Quinn's form was slammed into a tree before he fell to the ground, transforming back into his human form. I tried to get to my feet, to go to him, but Eric was standing over me again, my blood dripping from his lips. "I never thought Phoenix blood would be so...sweet. So much better than vampire blood could ever be."

"Please," I crawled backwards until my hands felt the porch and I used the stairs to push my shaking form up onto my feet. I held onto the porch railing for dear life as I stared into Eric's orbs, except that they weren't his. "You don't want him, you want me. Please just leave him be."

"You're exactly what I'm going to get." he was behind me on the porch now, grasping my neck tightly, squeezing the oxygen from my lungs.

"Eric!" my hands flew to his hands as I was lifted off of the ground and just tossed into the yard much like Quinn had been. I fell to the hard ground in a heap, a whimper emitting from my lips as a crack sounding, my entire body falling onto my arm. I squeezed my eyes shut for a moment, trying to calm myself down. But the tears were sliding down my cheeks, the blood slipping down my neck as my arm hung at an odd angle.

"I will enjoy tormenting you until you give me what I want." Eric was kneeling beside me, his usually comforting hand grasping onto my chin and forcing him to stare up into those stormy grey eyes. "And you will give me what I desire."

"Never." I growled at her. "I will never give you my soul."

"Perhaps I can persuade you. Maybe by killing this vampire of yours. You seem...quite attached to him."

My heart had stopped as Eric's form stood before me, chanting underneath his breath before suddenly he began shuddering in pain, his whole form shaking violently as his eyes flickered back to those intense blue orbs.

"Eric?" I tried to reach out to him as he fell to his knees, his hands clutching at his head.

"Make it stop. Make it stop." He pleaded, sounding helpless and in agony.

It broke my heart to see him in this torment. I tried moving to his side, pressing my hands to either side of his head, to try and heal him in whatever way I could. But whatever the witch had done to him, whatever spell she had cast him with, it was causing him an excruciating amount of pain that I just couldn't stop in any way.

I couldn't take it. I couldn't take seeing Eric this way. I had prayed to god for him to be alright, for him to make it through this night. Had I been right, did god not exist? Because if he did, if he did exist, then why was he punishing me in this way? Why was he doing this to me, abandoning me when I needed him the most?

"Stop this." I begged the witch, knowing she could still hear me. "Please just stop it."

Those eyes flickered back to the stormy grey, though I could still feel Eric shaking beneath my hands. My tears were falling faster as I tried everything I could. I tried focusing on his pain, I tried focusing on healing whatever she was doing to him. But it was impossible. I was too weak, I couldn't do a damn thing to help the man I loved, to stop his suffering.

That's when the idea struck me. That's when I realized exactly what I needed to do.

"If you want me..." I looked the witch dead in the eye. "Then just take me."

"Give me your soul."

"Take it from me. If you want my soul so bad, then control me, take it from me, force me to give it to you." I challenged her. "Come on, if you want me to badly, if you want my power, if you want revenge, then I'm the one who should be in pain right now. Force me into giving you what you want."

Eric suddenly stopped moving, his shaking ceasing, the pain in his face vanishing. I sighed in relief, until that smirk slid across his face. I didn't have time to brace myself as suddenly, Eric's orbs returned to normal, only for an oddness to overcome me. It felt like someone was knocking at the door of my consciousness. I had never had a witch try to enter my mind before, but I did know what it felt like to be glamoured. There was a foggy haze forming in my mind, and all I could do was just let it occur. The mental barriers I had built up over time, came crashing down as I allowed the witch to enter me, to control me in whatever way that she wished. I could feel her inside of me, slowly but surely making my body her new home. I shivered uncontrollably from the pure icy cold feeling I felt as her dark energy wrapped around the light inside of me, turning everything black. It felt like I was being shoved into a prison cell, locked up and unable to do a damn thing as the witch took over me completely.

Feeding into my bait.

"Ellie?" Eric's eyes grew wide.

I tried to open my mouth to speak, to assure him that I would be fine, but I couldn't even blink on my own terms. I couldn't move a single muscle. I couldn't do a damn thing as she began tearing at my soul. It was painful. I felt her digging. I felt her searching for a way to extract my soul from my body and for it to enter hers. I was screaming in agony inside, I was crying, desperately wishing for her to stop. But she wouldn't. She just scratched, cut, and dug until it was nearly too much.

But I knew that I couldn't let her take what she desired.

I wasn't sure if it would work, if I had enough power. But I needed to look inside of myself, to search for the power that I had been chosen for. I prayed to god, a god that seemed to have failed me, and asked him for the aid I desired, that I needed as I sent this witch straight to hell, to where she belonged.

"What the hell did you do, Ellie?" Eric's hands were one me, I could tell that. He was shaking me. I wasn't sure why the witch wasn't doing anything, but she was too preoccupied with trying to rip my soul from my body. I wasn't sure what I looked like to Eric, just sitting there, looking right through him like he wasn't even there. It was like I was void of everything. I couldn't speak, I couldn't move, I wasn't even entirely there.

I tried not to let this bother me. I tried to focus. I tried to concentrate on what needed to be done.

Burn. Burn. Burn. Burn. Burn. Burn.

Please.

Burn. Burn. Burn.

Please god, do this for me.

It was odd how I could still feel. I felt as Eric shook me. I could feel my broken arm, my throbbing neck. I could feel the tears sliding down my cheeks.

And I could feel fire.

I could feel the heat of a flame.

You will burn.

You will die.

You will go to fucking hell.

Burn.

I could smell it now. It smelt like something was burning. But not in the physical sense. I could feel something inside of me burning. I could hear the sizzling sound of the flame as it enveloped around the witch, as it flickered in and out of life. I was growing weaker by the second, but I held onto that single flame. Because the harder I concentrated, the harder I pushed myself, pushed at my limits, the brighter that flame became, the larger it grew. I could hear shrieks of pain. I could feel the witch moving through me, the flame following closely behind, burning away at her own soul, her own magic, her entire being. She was trying to escape, but I quickly rebuilt my mental barriers, holding her inside of me, keeping her with me as the flame overcame her. I felt the spells hurriedly being cast, and while the flame flickered, it would not vanish, it would not disappear entirely.

You will rot in hell.

You will burn in hell.

You will go to hell.

My insides were heating up. I could feel it on my skin. I could feel the flame growing stronger with every passing second, the witch finding no escape as she scratched at the walls, desperately trying to escape. But there was no escaping this fate. She was going to die, much like her son had. She was going to meet the same fate as Hallow had. She was going to burn; she was going to feel death come to her, to intake her last breath, to blink one last time, taking in the world around her before she was enveloped into darkness for an eternity.

"Ellie! Don't do this to me. Come back. Come back to me. Fight it damnit! Ellie!"

I watched her die.

It was as if I was there in Fangtasia in person, watching her entire body being enveloped by the flames of the candles around her. Her screams would stay with me for an eternity as the flame ripped through her body, her flesh burning and becoming nothing more than flaky ash as suddenly, her body was no more. A single scream sounded before she was pulled from this world, dead to us all.

A gasp emitted from my lips as I was suddenly thrown back into reality, gaining access and complete control of my own body.

"Oh thank god." Eric pulled me into his arms, holding me against his body. "Oh thank fucking god you're alright. I thought..."

"Eric..." I croaked out as the sheer intensity of the power I had just possessed wiped me completely of every ounce of strength and power possible. I couldn't hold myself up, my eyes fluttering open and close as I fought to stay conscious. My body fell limp against his, and it only took a moment for Eric to lift me up into his arms, making his way across the yard to the awaiting house.

I groggily looked over Eric's shoulder to where there was a naked form lying on the edge of the property, my memory of the night already growing hazy.

"Why is Quinn naked?"