The first thing Cordelia was aware of when she woke was a throbbing pain in the back of her head. Why did her head hurt? She kept her eyes closed and tried to think. All at once she remembered. The frogs. The vision. She must have fallen and hit her head. That vision had been so clear. Misty had been there. She opened her eyes.
She was in her bedroom. The soft grey light meant it was early morning or late afternoon. It was warm. She was very thirsty, but something stopped her from reaching for a drink of water. She kept perfectly still. Something wasn't right in this room. There was a presence. The air was heavy with magic. She exhaled slowly, willing her fear to flow out of her with her breath. She had no reason to fear. She was the Supreme. She sat up at looked around.
"Oh!" she exclaimed, her hand flying to her mouth. Her whole body gave a jolt of surprise.
In the corner of the room, sitting on a large and rather ostentatious arm chair, was Myrtle Snow. Her beloved mentor and guide. The witch she had watched burn at the stake.
"Honestly dear," said Myrtle, "You act as if seeing a dead person were a new experience for you."
"Are you here?" asked Cordelia, "Are you real?"
"Yes and no," said Myrtle, making a dismissive gesture with her hand. "Does it matter?"
She rose and walked over to Cordelia, who was now sitting on the side of her bed. Myrtle crouched down and cradled Cordelia's face in her hands, lovingly examining her features.
"You have absolutely no idea how powerful you are, do you?" she said.
Myrtle's hands felt so warm, so real on Cordelia's cheeks. Cordelia's eyes glassed over with tears.
Myrtle smiled and rubbed a falling tear away with her thumb. She then stood to her full height.
"Come come," she said, "We don't have time for silly sentimentality."
Cordelia stood up, tucking her hair behind her ears. Myrtle had crossed over to the window and was looking out across the front yard. Cordelia joined her and her eyes widened at the scene unfolding before her.
The yard was full of frogs again. But they weren't lying still as they had the first time they had appeared. They were hopping about all over the wet morning grass. The women both smiled at the sight of poor Kyle chasing them back and forth in the morning sun. He had a shovel and was taking heavy swings at them and missing. He looked quite mad.
"My dear Cordelia, when a power as great as yours is focused, with a crushing intensity, on a single person, a single place, things tend to happen," said Myrtle." Impossible things. You've torn open a gateway, with the force of your will and your magic you've barrelled though dreams and dimensions and bludgeoned your way into hell itself."
Cordelia turned from the scene in the yard to question Myrtle, but she was gone. She touched her hand to her cheek. It was still slightly damp from her tears.
Impossible things, Myrtle had said. Like people coming back from the dead. Like people coming back from hell. Her heart started to thump harder. Her mouth felt drier than ever. Her stomach tightened and she realised she felt sick from hunger and excitement both. Could it be possible? Could she reach out with her power and drag Misty straight out of hell?
At that moment the door burst open and interrupted her reverie.
"You're awake!" said Zoe. Her face flooded with relief. "Things got weird around here while you were out of it."
"I need your help with a spell" said Cordelia. "I'm bringing Misty back."