CHAPTER 5- CURRENTS

Bennett pulled his black t-shirt over his head, pushing his long braid back and grabbing his rings from the bowl on his nightstand. It had been 3 days since the incident at the motel and Bennett hadn't been able to sleep much. He had another vision last night of a woman in a car. She had been attacked by an eclipse of moths. The difference this time is that Bennett had seen a face. An old, gnarled face in her backseat, grinning his haggard smile as he killed her. Bennett pulled himself out of his thoughts and made his way downstairs to the kitchen where he found his mother, her long red hair pulled up into a topknot. She was wearing her black tracksuit which only meant one thing.

"I called your school. You're not going today. Today you are training and… leave the rings." She said not looking up from the sketches in front of her.

"Mom, how am I ever going to graduate if you pull me out of school whenever you think I need to train? Not very responsible parental behavior, Joan Crawford." Bennett said, grabbing an apple from the refrigerator before replacing it and grabbing a pop-tart from the box on the counter instead.

"I don't like it either but with your latest vision, it's clear you need to be more prepared. The Darach is very powerful and we can't stop him if you're not strong enough."

Somewhere in the recesses of Bennett's mind, a chord was struck at the name "Darach" that made his heart race and his head spin. His stomach dropped as he tried to clear his mouth of the dry feeling that had suddenly overtaken him.

Why did that name cause me to feel like this? I don't even know what a Darach is!

"How do you know what he is?" Bennett asked, rubbing his sweaty palms against his black jeans.

"A friend of mine is in 'the know' and he's told me that our culprit is a Darach. It's a type of dark druid. If you remember druids from your studies, they're cousins to witches and a dark druid is their equivalent to our warlocks. Now, we'll talk about this more later but we've got to go."

"Yes Mommy Dearest."

They both stood in the familiar field they always went to when they trained. The bright morning sunshine filtered through the leaves, giving the space an emerald glow. Bennett stood on one side of the clearing, 3 large bowls in front of him. The first bowl contained clear water, the second was filled with dirt, and the last one had sticks and leaves piled inside of it.

"Today, we're going to practice your control over the elements." Alyssa Rosenberg said, walking over to Bennett's side. "And since I don't have personal experience on the matter, I called around and gathered some information on how to do this."

"Information?" Bennett asked, turning towards his mother.

"Well as you know, you're one of about 20 witches in the world who can command the elements. From what I gather, elemental control is different from non-verbal magick as non-verbal magick uses thought and elemental control uses emotion. Each element apparently has its own "personality" and as the master, you have to make them abandon their predilections and listen to what you have to say."

"If there are 4 elements, why are there only 3 bowls?" Bennett inquired.

Rolling her eyes, Alyssa replied. "Because one of the elements- wind, cannot be contained in a bowl since it's all around you. Now from what I understand, water is the easiest element to command so try and focus your magick on the bowl with the water and first command it to move."

"Ok Obi-Wan Kenobi, here goes nothing." Bennett said, closing his eyes and breathing deeply. He opened his mind and sent his magick towards the bowl of water. Almost instantly he could feel the connection there. The water made him feel cool and calm, a serene feeling falling over him.

Move! He commanded but the water just continued to move on its own accord. If he listened closely, he could almost hear the water telling him no. Brushing off the calm feeling, Bennett ordered it to move again with more authority in his voice but the water still refused to move.

We prefer to just stay stagnant and relax…

But I am your master and I command you to move. Bennett said to the lilting, giggling voices he could hear in his head.

We do not have a master, witch-boy. We are our own masters…

Growling in frustration, Bennett opened his eyes meeting his mother's concerned face.

"What happened?" She asked.

"They won't listen to me. They say they have no master and I can't command them."

"Have you tried communicating with them on an emotional level? Channel an emotion towards them that they can relate to. Similar to when you push an emotion onto a person, try it with the elementals."

Closing his eyes again, Bennett pushed his magick towards the bowl of water again and the familiar calmness fell over him. Focusing on that calm feeling, he pulled more of it into himself and held it at his core. It pulsated inside of him, struggling to break free and with a strong force of will, Bennett pushed the emotional bubble towards the water, directing his will into the element. Instantly, Bennett felt the water respond to the serenity. It gave a grateful sigh and it felt almost like Bennett was one of these strange spirits.

Can you move for me, please? Bennett asked the spirits, opening his eyes and directing more serenity at the water.

The spirits giggled again but this time, they responded by moving inside the bowl, creating a tiny whirlpool. Bennett could feel the power running through him. Reaching out his hands, the water happily jumped into his palm, wrapping itself into a swirling sphere of water.

"You did it," Alyssa said, smiling at her son, "and it only took you an hour!"

"I was out for an hour?!" Bennett asked surprisingly, bouncing the orb between his hands. The water never touched his hands but hovered just above them.

"Yes, I even finished my sketches." She replied, lifting her pad and showing him her latest project. "Now, you've shown you can mold it but now I want you to direct it at that tree in a concentrated blast."

Drawing his eyes to the floating, watery orb in his right hand, Bennett stretched his arm out, aiming the water at the trunk of the tree in front of him.

Attack! Bennett commanded, sending a new emotion at the water. Bennett began thinking of his own powers and the possibility that he might not be able to defeat the Darach. The water, sensing his insecurity jumped from his palm and at the tree, as if to show Bennett they would help him in his fight.

Small needles of water attacked the tree in a flurry, leaving pieces of the bark hanging from the tree's trunk.

"Good," Alyssa said, thoroughly impressed, "Next we'll try wind."

They had been at it for 3 hours and Bennett had successfully commanded the wind to blow but try as he might, he couldn't get it to slice. He connected with the wind's carefree personality which allowed him to command it but he couldn't reign in its erratic behavior to do something so concentrated. He was frustrated with his inability to do this. Every time he felt like he was making progress, something was pushing him back down.

"Well it seems that's as far as we can go with wind today so we'll move on to fire. Now fire is the element of passion, desire, and anger so you must find a memory strong enough to sustain it." Alyssa said, striking a match and dropping it into the bowl of twigs. Instantly, they ignited, burning the sticks and scenting the air with a sweet but heavy smell.

As he had done with the last 2 elements, Bennett closed his eyes and sent his magick towards the fire. His stomach began to heat up and his face turned red. The heat that spread through his body was intense but not uncomfortable. The warm sensation pulsing through his body made him think of Stiles and the way he felt every time the boy was near him. His breath began to quicken and in the back of his mind, he could hear his mother telling him to reign it back in; that it was growing too large. But try as he might, once Bennett seized that feeling, everything about Stiles stood out to him- the way he smelled, the way he talked, the way he smiled, everything about him made the heat inside of him intensify.

Bennett's thoughts of Stiles took him by surprise but he was too enraptured by this feeling to be even care. His thoughts began to take a different turn as he imagined Stiles shirtless, his arms wrapped around Bennett. He could feel Stiles' body heat mingling with his own, their breaths moving in a cycle of inhale-exhale as their eyes locked. The look in Stiles' eyes drew Bennett towards him, moving closer and closer until their lips was inches apart. The last small distance was closed by Stiles who pressed their mouths together with a fiery passion. Bennett was thrown from his fantasy by an intense pain striking his arm.

"Ah! What happened?!" Bennett shouted, grabbing his right arm and looking over at his mother. She was further away from him than she was when he first went under. Concern, surprise, and fear were present on her delicate features.

"It was terrifying…but beautiful. The fire…it was so big." She replied, moving over to Bennett's side. "I tried to pull you out but you couldn't hear me. I…I entered your mind to wake you and I saw what you were thinking about. In order for that kind of reaction, you would have had to have a strong emotion towards…your memory. Honey, do you want to talk about it?"

"I would mom, but I'm just as surprised as you. I didn't even know I had these kinds of feelings for him and I surely didn't know they were that strong. I'm just confused. Find out what happens next on the Bold and the Beautiful…"

"Well, we're done for today then. It's probably for the best anyway. Earth's stubbornness is hard to contend with. You need the rest." Alyssa said, placing her hands over the burn on Bennett's arm. She began casting a healing spell over him, her bright green eyes turning black but returning to their emerald shade as the spell ended and the burn vanished.

"I'll rest later. I need to talk to you about something." Bennett said, sitting down on the lush grass.

"You know you can talk to me about anything." She replied. She sat down next to him and pushed a stray hair behind Bennett's ear.

"I don't know if I can do this Darach thing alone. Even with you and Vartan's help, this whole thing seems hopeless and I can't ask for help because of the oath. Is there any way you could reverse it?" Bennett asked, hope in his eyes.

"Unfortunately sweetheart, once the oath is made it cannot be broken. Not without your death. You cannot tell her or her friends you're a witch without there being major consequences."

Bennett looked thoughtfully as minutes ticked by before revelation beamed off his face. "You said I can't tell them I'm a witch right?"

"Right…" Alyssa answered.

"But what if I showed them?!"

"Honey, I love you but I can't believe it took you this long to figure it out." Alyssa said, smiling at her son.

"Wait, you knew I could show them my powers?!" Bennett asked. He was staring at his mother in disbelief.

"Yes. I purposely phrased the spell to only include you telling them. I just couldn't tell you outright. You needed to learn this on your own."

"Ok, got it. Mom, I need you to drop me off at school." Bennett said standing up and dusting off his jeans. It was time some things changed around here. He hoped they were for the better.

"…I thought she was supposed to be some kind of genius?" Cora said. They had been in the empty classroom for 10 minutes now trying to see if Lydia could psychically divine Deaton's location to no avail. Stiles had frustration pouring off of him while Cora was the picture of annoyance.

"Genius, yes. Psychic, no." Lydia replied, smirking at the pair and continuing with her tree sketch.

"She's right, y'know?" Bennett said, walking into the classroom. He smiled at Stiles before making his way over to where Lydia had been sketching. "She's not a psychic but I am. So if you're done putting my cousin through this Sylvia Browne routine, I can tell you where Deaton is."

"Wait…what do you mean you're psychic?" Both Lydia and Stiles replied in unison.

"It's a long story. One we don't have time for me to explain right now. Now give me the keys and I'll try and find him." Bennett said, sticking his hand out.

Stiles picked up the keys and dropped them into the palm of Bennett's hand and instantly, Bennett gasped and gave a jump.

"What?!" Stiles asked, leaning towards Bennett. Bennett could smell the scent that was so undeniably Stiles and it made him smile for a moment before replying.

"They're cold." Bennett said, causing Lydia to chuckle, Cora to roll her eyes, and Stiles to huff in frustration.

"Bennett, we don't have time for this!"

"I know Stiles, but you've got to be a little more patient." Bennett replied closing his eyes again. Releasing his magick into the room, Bennett could feel the black hole that was Cora, an entity his magick couldn't detect because of her lupine heritage. He could feel Lydia but more importantly, her untapped power, raging inside of her wanting to break free. He could feel Stiles' gentle presence like a familiar touch across his skin. Directing his magick towards the keys, the reaction was instantaneous. His head snapped back and his eyes shot open revealing their black depths, causing Stiles and Lydia to gasp.

"Bennett…what do you see?" Lydia asked, trepidation in her voice.

"I don't know…something's trying to keep me out. I can see flashes. Metal walls. It…It's dark." Bennett replied, before groaning in pain. Stiles jumped to Bennett's side, clinging to his arm.

"Dude, are you ok?!"

"Yea, it just hurts…a lot. I…I can't breathe." Bennett said, his breath coming in short bursts. He could feel his lungs collapsing. He could sense the fear Deaton was feeling. There was a ringing in his head and his mind was scattering between here and there. All of his limbs felt much heavier than they should, like a weight was pressing down on him.

"My wrists…they feel…like they're…on fire." Bennett gasped, barely able to get the words out. "He's tied up…with…his arms…head…"

There were visible marks appearing over Bennett's pale wrists- bright red welts that were starting to bleed. Sweat was pouring down his face and his breaths were coming out in wheezing bursts.

"Ok, that's enough!" Stiles said, snatching the keys from Bennett's hand. The instant the keys left his palm, Bennett's breathing evened out and his body visibly relaxed. His eyes turned back into their familiar moss green color. Stiles wrapped his arms around Bennett's shoulders, rubbing them gently as a sign of comfort.

"Are you ok?" He asked Bennett.

"Yea, I'm fine. It was like swimming through taffy. He's trying to block my powers somehow so I couldn't get a positive read. I'm sorry I couldn't be more help."

"No, you were great. You did what you could." Stiles said, still rubbing his arms. "So, how did you do that?"

"He's a witch." Cora replied, scrunching her nose up at him and sniffing. "I can smell it on him. Witches always smell weird, like dirt, rain, and nature… he also smells like…vanilla."

"You're a witch?!" Lydia asked, searching Bennett's face for a joking smile.

"Yea, and so are you."

"I am not a witch…" Lydia replied, holding her hands up.

"Yea, you are. My mom is, your mom was, our grandparents were, and so on. I'll explain it all later, I promise, but Deaton is dying as we speak."

"You're right." Lydia said before turning to Stiles, "But honestly, I don't know why you're even bothering with us anyway when it's obvious you should be talking to Danny."

"Danny? Why Danny?" Stiles asked, reluctantly pulling his arms away from Bennett. He had forgotten they were still there but Bennett felt comfortable in his arms. He felt right in his arms. Snap out of it Stiles! He's one of your close friends. He doesn't like you like that and now's not the time for this!

"Because, last night he was a target…but he wasn't a sacrifice." Scott said, walking into the classroom, holding his shoulder.

"…so let me get this straight." Lydia said. She, Stiles, Bennett, and Cora were in Stiles' car on their way to Derek's place. He was in trouble and he needed them. Stiles had went to Danny's hospital room and discovered he might have found a clue as to where Deaton's exact location is. They went back to Deaton's office and using Danny's paper and Bennett's vision, they deduced that Deaton was being held at the vault in the abandoned bank where Cora, Boyd, and Erica were held before.

"We come from a family of witches but my mom, deciding she didn't want to be one anymore, cast a binding spell that got rid of her powers and the spell affected me as well so I was born without my powers. You actually came to Beacon Hills because you were having visions of people as they died because witches are connected to the land they were born on and the people born there?"

"Ummm… yea, pretty much." Bennett said, smiling at Lydia's confused face. He was in the backseat with Cora, both on opposite ends, avoiding each other like the plague.

"Ok…surprisingly I can deal with this. I like this explanation a lot better than me just losing my mind. By the way, is that why I have those weird psychic blackout things and why I didn't turn when Peter bit me?"

"Yea, you see, witches are immune to a werewolf's bite so we can't be turned." Bennett said, Cora scoffing and rolling her eyes at this announcement. "And we believe your blackouts were your subconscious' way of protecting your people."

"Huh…ok."

"I have a question." Stiles said, raising his right hand from the driver's seat and looking at Bennett through the rearview mirror. "Why didn't you tell us before? If you knew about the wolves then you knew we wouldn't care if you were a witch…warlock?"

"Witch," Bennett replied, "A warlock is a witch who uses their magick for dark reasons. I didn't tell you because my aunt forced my mom and me into what's called 'The Witch's Oath' which is an unbreakable oath of secrecy. If I had said something, I would've died but by exploiting a loophole, it allowed me to show you instead of telling you."

"Sweet!" Stiles exclaimed before training his eyes back towards the road. "One of my best friends is a werewolf and the other is a witch. What's next? Zombies?! Next thing you know, Gerard is gonna spring up from the dead!"

The four of them rushed into the basement of Derek's building intent on turning the power back on and reigniting Derek's plan.

"Ok, what do we do?" Stiles asked, out of breath. They were all out of breath from running through the labyrinth of a building, searching for the control room.

"Pull them. Pull all of them." Cora replied, reaching towards one of the red levers attached to the circuit box. They all began switching the levers on, sending millions of volts upstairs to where the wolves were no doubt battling each other.

They had heaved a great sigh of relief when Bennett let out an audible gasp, clutching his throat and coughing violently.

"What's the matter?" Stiles asked. He again began wrapping his arms around Bennett's shoulders as he had done earlier but, catching a curious look from Lydia, thought otherwise and lowered his arms to his side.

"It's…I'm not sure. While we were switching on the power, I sent some of my magick through the wires to give it an extra boost but when it returned it felt weird... tainted." Bennett replied, catching his breath and looking up into his friends eyes. "I think someone's dying..."

"Who?!" Cora asked, her eyes wide in fear. "Derek?! Boyd?! Isaac?! WHO?!"

She was marching towards Bennett, her eyes glowing yellow but Bennett stood his ground, his magick bouncing between his fingertips, begging to be released.

"He said he doesn't know!" Lydia said. She walked over, embedding herself between the 2 of them to stop any further confrontation. "How about we go upstairs and find out?"

The four of them turned towards the door and ran up the many stairs to the building's main floor. When they finally made it to the top floor of the building where the battle was most likely ending, they ran into the 3 Alphas- Kali, Ethan, and Aiden. Aiden winked at Lydia and smiled as Kali growled in Bennett's direction but the group continued on.

When they reached the door, they were greeted to the sight of Derek standing next to Boyd's dead body. Everyone in the room could almost see the anguish coming from Derek. Cora and Stiles immediately ran to Boyd's body, Cora lifting his wet head into her lap, tears streaming down both of their faces. Cora's sobs could be heard bouncing off the walls of the empty room and all Stiles could do was place his hand on Derek's shoulder for support.

"Witch! DO SOMETHING!" Cora shouted, looking at Bennett who was standing in the doorway with Lydia, Isaac, and another woman.

"I can't. Healing magick doesn't work on wolves. And even if it did, he's gone…I can't bring back the dead…I won't bring back the dead."

Cora continued to cry. Some would say she cried all night. But Cora's tears weren't just for Boyd. They were for everyone she's lost and there were many. She cried for lost love, lost family, and lost hope. But mostly she cried for herself, she cried for that moment when she could see the life drain from Kali's dead, evil eyes as she ripped her heart out and drank the blood. This thought made Cora smile. The last smile she would have for a long time.

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

So there it is, Bennett and Lydia's secret has been revealed. Originally it wasn't how I envisioned it would come out. Originally I had Derek reveal it through Bennett's smell and try to attack him, mini battle ensued (which might still happen) but since this whole episode again revolved around things Bennett couldn't otherwise be involved in so I thought, what the hell, and had him reveal his heritage. I hope the whole 'seen and not told' technicality doesn't come off as a big cop out. Lol.

I don't like Cora so I made her an even BIGGER bitch and I'm sad Boyd died. I feel like they didn't do enough with his character. And I can't wait until they kill that crazy bitch, Jennifer. And Kali. I do not care for her. This show makes shitty female characters! I find Allison annoying and the first 2 seasons, Lydia was too.

I would also like to say thank you to all of the support I've gotten from this story. It motivates me to continue writing. THANK YOU!