I woke up to see Dean staring straight at me. I was still lying on the floor against the wall. My mind was still a bit hazy as I sat up. I rubbed my eyes and looked again, checking to see if it was really Dean who was there.

"You left these behind", he said with a hint of a smile as he showed me my athame and necklace. It seems any dispute we had had dissolved into nothing but I remembered his warning and knew he would follow it through if he had to and I respected him for that. I saw Sam standing behind him, he had recovered well. He smiled as he saw me catch his eyes. Dean stood back from me to allow me more air. I tried to get up but did so too fast and almost fell to the ground. Dean tried to grab my arm but as he did so pain shoot all through my body causing me to fall. His touch burned me and mine seemed to burn him also as he let go. Even though his touch was gone the pain still filled my body causing me to bite my lip to stop myself from screaming out. I wondered why his touch hurt so much. Was it my fault or his or maybe it was the shadow? Then everything seemed to snap into focus and I remembered the shadow and recognised his voice of that of the unknown angel. Only one being could tell me who he was, Castiel.

"What happened? Why did you hurt me? Why were you on the floor? God, you burnt my palm... What is that weird pattern on your shoulder? ", demanded Dean. I was speechless as I looked at my shoulder and saw a weird pattern glowing deep red and cooling to a dark black. I didn't know what it was but I knew that it couldn't be good. It had to have something to do with the pain I felt when Dean touched me. So many questions swam through my mind and I had no answers, it was unlike anything I've ever seen or read about.

"It is the symbol of Lucifer." The voice came from none other than Castiel. I was in shock at his words. It wasn't possible, how could that be so? What did the symbol mean? Why was it put on me? He seemed reluctant to speak let alone share anymore information.

"Who was the shadow? And don't say you don't know as I know you have spoken to him... it before", I asked. For once, he was the one stunned into silence. I wondered whether he would actually give me a straight answer. Could it be possible that the shadow was Lucifer? But that would mean that the 'angel' Castiel was arguing with was Lucifer. I pondered on that thought for a moment, it seemed implausible.

"Your guess is correct." He said. It always caught me by surprise, his ability to read minds especially mine. He is the only other being I know that has that ability. Now I know how others feel around me. Fear engulfed me, if the shadow was Lucifer that would mean he was getting stronger faster than we originally anticipated. We were running out of time. What did the symbol mean? Why did he put it on me? Sam and Dean stood by the shelves shocked and speechless. I don't blame them; the situation had got a lot worse. Lucifer is stronger than we originally thought. The war before felt so separate as we had not encountered any major threats on our home turf. His presence has brought this to home. He knows where I live. My safe protected home was exposed to the world of dark magic. No place was safe anymore; things had gotten a lot more dangerous. A silky voice disturbed my web of thoughts.

"No being magical or otherwise can touch you", the words 'except Lucifer' hung in the air.

"The mark is magically binding and there is no known way of getting it off without Lucifer", Castiel explained. The words just wouldn't sink in. I couldn't believe what he was saying; I needed to prove it for myself. I was angry at myself for putting myself in that situation. I needed to release some of that anger. I ran into my room and got out a map and my crystal and started scrying for evil. I needed to blow something up and would rather destroy a demon than material possessions. I found a place not too far from my home with a demon lurking about in the shadows.

I walked through the living room pass Sam and Dean, who were talking. I didn't bothering picking up my athame or the potions lying on the table as I wanted to kill it without help, to release some anger. Castiel was nowhere in sight as I left the flat and walked into the hallway. I took the lift down and went to my car. It had been months since I had last been behind the wheel as I had been too dependent on my orbing power recently. Driving gave me a chance to think about things. The situation was becoming increasingly difficult and I could see no way out; each path leads to the same destination, of disaster and chaos. I was driving on autopilot as I navigated through the roads during the early morn. I reached the place where the demon supposedly was and used my senses to find his exact location. I parked my car and got out.

The sounds of screams and struggling confirmed its location, as I carefully walked in that direction. Two girls were trying to fend off the demon, one of the girls was a witch and she was using her powers to protect her friend. The demon was too powerful for her and her attempts to vanquish him barely stunted his attacks. I waved him against the brick wall and urged the girls to go home. They did so without little discussion. By this time the demon was getting up and recovering from the hit against the wall. We stood face to face, I waited for his attack. I didn't want to attack with no cause and I had time. He stood with so much confidence and a smug look on his face; I merely returned his look with equal confidence. He produced a fireball ready to throw at my direction, hoping to get a reaction from me. He was soon disappointed by my lack of reaction. He suddenly threw it at me. Before I could even think of dodging it, a magical shield appeared around me which wasn't my own. It wasn't pale light purple like mine but dark blood red. The same symbol, which lay upon my shoulder, burned throughout the shield. One look at that symbol and the demon's face flashed of pure terror and fear. He started running in the opposite direction before he burst into flames but not at my hand like I intended. The whole ordeal had shocked me and I no longer doubted Castiel's words. I had little doubt to who had killed the demon.

I ran back to the sanctity of my car and drove back to my flat. I walked into the hallway and into the lift and went to my floor. I walked into my flat and was surprised to see Sam and Dean still there.

"Where have you been?" demanded Sam. He sounded just like a mother nagging their child.

"Nowhere, mum", I replied as I took off my jacket and walked into the living room. "You guys hungry?" I asked.

"Don't change the subject. Why is that thing glowing on your shoulder?" asked Dean. I looked at my partly covered shoulder and saw the symbol glowing as clear as day. What a dead give away! I was greatly annoyed by that fact. It meant I had to tell them the truth. It wasn't something they could just ignore and forget about as it affected them too.

"I was out demon hunting, trying to see if what Castiel said was true", I explained. They waited silently to hear the rest but I was having trouble putting what I saw and felt into words.

"Something really weird happened when he attacked me. You guys know that my shield is a light purple and doesn't activate unless I am in grave danger or I activate it, right? When the demon attacked me by throwing a fireball, another shield went around me and it was a deep blood red, the same symbol was entwined throughout it and the demon got blown up as he ran but not by me", I continued.

They sat on the sofas thinking for a while. The silence was suffocating and the air was full of fear. One accusation hung in the air. The death of the demon was brought by none other than Lucifer. Fear for our lives consumed us and fear of no longer having any control over the situation seeped into our minds. I couldn't take the silence no more. I wanted answers and those answers weren't going to be given to me anytime soon so why dwell on them any longer.

"I am going to make some breakfast, you guys want any?" I asked.

"Yeah" "Sure", they both replied.

I made some sausages and beans on toast and we ate in silence. After I cleared away, we began discussing the situation at hand. We had many questions that needed answers but that had to be put aside because we would have to work harder to prevent Lucifer from being set free. They decided to go back to their motel and contact other hunters to see if demon activity had increased and at which locations. I decided to scry for demon activity and alert fellow witches of the current situation. I had the feeling that something was very wrong and that we would get as many answers to our calls.

I worried about the affect the symbol could have on my powers, I feared that I might not be able to see the future anymore. I tried to get a premonition but failed which hasn't happened before. I tried sensing for other witches but failed to find any. I started to panic. Maybe it was just my powers playing up; thousands of people couldn't just disappear off the face of the earth. What if I wasn't wrong and something had happened to them. It is impossible that they all disappear at the same time. I had to go out and investigate.

My first stop would be to visit the Halliwell manor. I orbed to the top of the Golden Gate Bridge. I loved it up there it was calm and soothing, making it easier to sense for presences at the Manor. The sense of good was fading from the Manor and the over whelming sense of evil filling in through the cracks. I became extremely worried at that and wondered where they could be? Where they safe? Where were their children?

I orbed to the Manor invisibly cloaked, to check it out for myself. I walked through the hallway looking at the mess of the living room and dining room. I heard arguing coming from the kitchen, I walked slowly toward the source and caught snippets of their conversation. They mentioned opening a gate and turning the magical pentagram into a source of evil and a base. There was too many of them to attack without getting caught, I had the feeling my powers wouldn't work against them as someone didn't want them to. It felt too easy but at the same time I knew I was meant to be there.

The energy in the room began building up, telling me that they were using some pretty powerful magic. The energy began seeping through into the rest of the house and soon became too much for me. It was suffocating me. I walked as quietly as possible up the stairs, trying to get as far away from the source of power. I felt the pressure against my chest slowly ease and I could breathe again.

I crept up the stairs and into the landing, near the steps leading to the attic and the book. I saw the demons trying to get in the attic but failing due to a force field around it. I wondered if anyone had locked themselves in there to protect themselves from the demons. I orbed in but was soon disappointed by the lack of people in the attic. I looked around hoping to get a sense of what happened to them. I looked to see the book still upon its stand. I walk over to it slowly unsure of how it would react to me. Thankfully it didn't jump away from me as I touched its cover.

Instantly I was sucked into a premonition of what had happened. I saw the children playing in the parlour and Piper in the kitchen cooking a family meal. Paige and Phoebe arguing as they set the table, while the guys sat about. A relatively unusual yet pleasant day for them, it was a shame when it was all disrupted by evil. A dark shadow began forming in the air first taking Piper as she cooked. She barely had time to register the shadow let alone to attempt to fight it. It soon filled the rest of the house taking Paige and Phoebe, then the guys. The children were last and they had seen the whole thing. They tried fighting the shadow off but it was unaffected by their powers. They couldn't get their family back. They were absolutely terrified. The shadow seemed to slowly approach them before they were consumed by its thick, dark clouds. I came back to the present and angrily chucked the book to the side, making a lot of noise as the stand fell. I was furious that he would do that to young children, who had nothing to do with this mess. The shadow was similar to that of the one that was in my flat before Lucifer came. I had little doubt he was behind it.

Unfortunately my little outburst didn't go unnoticed and the demons were trying harder to get in, thinking that they had cornered another witch. I could hear their thoughts screaming at me. I quickly grabbed the book and orbed back at home. I hid the book in a safe protected place before wondering if that had happened to anymore people. What had become of the elders? As soon as my thoughts turned to them, I saw the current state of the home of the elders. Their beautiful white surroundings now were scorched with black marks, telling the story of their untimely end. I shivered even though I was in my warm bedroom. Things were even worse and there was no way to stop it.

Something didn't feel right but I couldn't but my finger on what it was. I tried sensing for anyone else in my flat, I couldn't sense anybody but I knew something felt off. I checked on the book and my book as well as my potions and charms to see if anything had been moved. By now it was getting quite dark; it seemed that the days were getting shorter and shorter. I gave up my search, dismissing my feeling as fear of the unknown. I suddenly felt very wary and drained. I went into my bedroom to change into my pyjamas and went into the kitchen to get myself a glass of water. I walked up to the cupboard, in the dark and got a glass out and took it over to the tap, to pour water into it. I caught something in the corner of my eye, it looked like an outline of a man but when I turned to look at it again no one was there. I was sure I saw someone and felt uneasy as I returned into my room.

******