A/N: Thank you for the awesome reviews. And thanks to my awesome beta: Leeese! And check out my new Naley story: The Teacher and the Coach.
Disclaimer: Don't own OTH
Chapter Nineteen
Exit Strategy
After a few moments of silence, Nathan was able to find his voice. "That's impossible! We all saw Brooke kill Lucas!"
"Victoria, are you sure?" Karen asked her. It sounded crazy, but she knew better than not to hope for her oldest son to still be alive. Anything was possible in the magical world.
Victoria nodded. "Yes, I'm positive. Ellie and I were snooping around Charlene's desk and we found her little black book of spells," she told them as she pulled out the book in question. "And it looks like she froze Lucas and is keeping him in a tank hidden somewhere. I just wish that I knew where."
"If that's true, why would she take him in the first place?" Nathan asked, still in denial. He wanted his brother to be alive, but he still couldn't believe that it could actually happen. "Brooke should be the one keeping him on ice."
"I don't know, but I have a feeling that the reason isn't good," Karen replied worried. "It's obviously part of the plot to get rid of us." She then paused for a moment as she started to sense something. She had a worried look on her face as she realized what she was sensing. "Ellie and Miranda are in trouble."
"Let's go," Dan ordered. Nathan was about to go with them when his parents stopped him. "Hold it, Nathan. You, Clay and Lindsey should go and check out Charlene's house and see if you can find anything out about where she could be hiding Lucas."
Nathan sighed, but agreed before Victoria and his parents disappeared from sight. He then jumped as he heard his sister's voice. "Is Lucas really alive?" she asked him eagerly.
"Lily, how many times do I have to tell you not to sneak up on me like that?" Nathan asked in an annoyed tone.
"Is Lucas really alive?" Lily repeated, ignoring the question.
Nathan shrugged. "We don't know yet. That is what we're going to find out. Now where are Clay and Lindsey?"
"I think they are practicing their martial arts in the basement," Lily told him before he walked towards the basement door. "Can I come with you when you go to Charlene's house?" she asked him.
"No, it's too dangerous," Nathan replied before he opened the basement door and walked down the stairs. Lily was right behind him. Sure enough, Lindsey and Clay were practicing their martial arts skills. Lindsey was trying to punch Clay while he moved away. However, they took a break once they saw Nathan.
"Are you ok?" Clay asked him in a concerned tone.
"I will be once we get my wife back," Nathan replied. "But first, we have to go and check out Charlene's house. Victoria thinks that she froze Lucas and has him in a tank hidden somewhere."
"If that is true, then we shouldn't be looking at Charlene's house. We should be looking in the place where they have taken Haley," Clay said. "She obviously wouldn't leave him behind."
The others agreed as Nathan thought for a moment. "I could ask Haley if she knows what country she's in. Because it's obvious that she's not in the U.S. anymore."
"The problem is that she won't know the exact location," Lindsey pointed out. "And we don't have time to scout the country for her."
"Why don't you just ask Skills to bring Lucas to us?" Lily suggested.
"Because Charlene probably has a protection spell over his tank," Nathan replied. "No, it's better for me to just ask Haley where she is."
Before his friends could respond, they heard some shouting upstairs. They hurried back up the stairs to see what was happening. Dan was carrying a badly beaten and unconscious Ellie while Victoria was leaning on Karen for support. Everyone could see that Victoria was limping. Clay helped Karen with Victoria while Dan gently laid Ellie down on the couch.
"What happened?" Lindsey asked as Victoria sat down in an armchair.
"We got there too late to save Miranda," Karen told them sadly. "They were about to finish Ellie off, but we managed to stop them for now." She then turned to Victoria. "Are you ok?" she asked her.
Victoria nodded as she winced. "Don't worry about me. I'm fine. Take care of Ellie," she told her.
Karen wouldn't hear of it. "Nonsense, you're hurt too. Lily, go and get the first aid kit," she instructed her daughter as she examined Victoria's knee. Lily nodded and dashed out of the room. She then turned to her son for a moment. "I thought you guys were headed to Charlene's house."
"We were until we realized that Charlene probably wouldn't keep Lucas at her house if the coven moved," Nathan replied as he looked at Ellie worriedly. "Is she going to be ok?"
"I don't know, son," Dan admitted. "We'll know more once we get Mrs. James to look her over. Now go and find Mr. Durham and bring him here. I have a feeling that he will need protection from Charlene and her coven."
"I don't think he wants it," Nathan told him. "I think he wants to help us fight them to avenge his son's death."
Karen worked on Victoria's knee as she spoke. "If they find him first, he won't stand a chance against them," she said. "They don't want him or anybody else to tell Haley the truth about her parents."
Nathan nodded in agreement. "Even though Haley knows about the prophecy, she doesn't believe it that it is her who defeats Brooke. She is too focused on knowing that her mother was evil."
His parents turned to him. "How does she know that?" Dan asked him.
Nathan turned red. "I may have let it slip out to her during our conversation about the prophecy that morning before we went to the Witches Council. I kept telling her that she wasn't evil, but she didn't believe me."
Victoria grew worried. "If she continues to have doubts, the temptation of doing black magic is going to be too powerful for her to resist."
"What about the prophecy?" Lindsey asked her. "Can that still happen if Haley becomes evil?"
"Of course the prophecy will still happen. Because Haley won't become evil," Nathan said. "She's not like Brooke. She won't give into temptation." He then left the room and headed upstairs to his bedroom.
He ignored the footsteps behind him. He knew that his mother had followed him upstairs. She took over that position when Lucas had been killed. "Nathan, what are you doing?" she asked him as she watched him pull his suitcase out from the closet.
"You and Dad asked me to find Lucas. So that's what I'm going to do," Nathan replied as he started packing some of his clothes into his suitcase. "Since it's too dangerous to ask Haley where she is, I'll have to do it the old fashion way. I just hope that Charlene put Lucas in the same castle they put Haley in."
Karen nodded understandingly. "I see." There was a short pause before she spoke again. "Be careful. You know how dangerous it is out there."
Nathan turned to her surprised. "You're not stopping me?" he asked.
Karen sighed. "I may be the matriarch of this family, but I've learned in the last month that I can't stop you from doing what you want to do. After all, you're an adult and not to mention a married man now. The only person who can boss you around is Haley."
Nathan couldn't help but smile at that comment. "I just hope that we get a chance to have a life together."
Karen gave him a comforting smile. "You will. I know it." She then embraced him in a tight hug. "Now go out there and find your brother and wife. Bring them home safely."
Nathan nodded. "I will," he promised.
While Nathan was on the hunt, Brooke began her punishments on Haley. She had found out that Brooke had been right about what she had said. Taking away her voice was just the beginning. After a couple of days, Brooke and her coven had used Haley as their guinea pig for their spells and curses. However, it was worse than usual since it had been the whole coven and not just Brooke, Peyton and Rachel. Haley barely had time to recover from one curse or spell before they used another one on her.
Chris then finally got his wish and was allowed to play with Haley. She could tell that he was elated that she couldn't protest or talk back to him. She wished that she had magic powers to make him stop before he went too far with her. But she knew that it couldn't happen since all she had was premonitions.
When Julian and Owen brought her into the bedroom, they tied her wrists to the bedpost before they left her alone with Chris, who then taunted her about Nathan. As Chris got ready in his bathroom, Haley struggled to get out of her restraints. But they had been tied tight. She tried again and suddenly the ropes came loose. She was surprised, but relieved.
She quickly untied herself and slipped out of the bedroom, unnoticed. She tiptoed down the hall as she tried to find an exit. She was glad when she saw that there was nobody around. She also knew that it was only a matter of time before Chris realized that she was gone.
When she got to the end of the hall, she was relieved to see that there was another hallway. She knew that she didn't have any other choice but to go down it. She held her breath as she heard Chris's voice calling out her name before he shouted that she had escaped.
Haley knew that she had to think of something fast. She then realized that it was a possibility that she had used her powers to get out of her restraints. She started to wonder the reason before she realized that she could try and snap her fingers to get herself out of the castle and back into the cabin. She knew that Brooke hadn't put the finding spell back on her yet. Instead, she had let her wear the bracelet again. It was now powerless, but Haley didn't care. She wore it because it had been the first present that Nathan had given her.
She closed her eyes and thought of Nathan's cabin. She snapped her fingers and felt herself leaving the hallway of the castle. She closed her eyes for a few seconds and then opened them again. She smiled to herself as she looked at her surroundings. She immediately recognized the fireplace and knew that she was definitely at the cabin. She couldn't believe that it had worked.
However, she also knew that she had to be careful and make sure that this place really was the cabin. She had been fooled by Brooke before. She wondered where Nathan was and wished that she could call out for him.
She looked around the cabin twice before she realized that he wasn't there. She hoped that he wasn't in any trouble. She knew that she had to try his mother's house. She closed her eyes again and concentrated on where she wanted to go.
A few seconds later, she heard some surprised gasps. She opened her eyes and was thrilled to be surrounded by her friends. She embraced them in tight hugs as she was bombarded with questions. At first, she didn't care. She was just happy to be home. She then interrupted them and they let her speak. However, she couldn't so she did her best to show that she couldn't talk.
It took a few minutes before Karen finally understood what she was trying to tell them. "I can't believe that they took away your voice. Don't worry, Haley. I know just what to do," Karen said as she snapped her fingers. A drink appeared in her hands. "Drink this and your voice will come back. However, it might be a little while before you are able to sing again."
Haley nodded understandingly before she started sipping her drink. Everyone waited eagerly as she drank it. She waited a few seconds before she started to talk. "That tastes way better than anything I've ever drank before," she admitted as she realized that she could finally talk. Everyone cheered before Haley asked her question. "Where's Nathan?"
"He went out searching for Lucas," Karen said as Haley gave her a confused look. "It's a long story. We'll tell you about it later. Right now, we're going to get Nathan back here so that you two can reunite. And we're not going to let you return to Brooke again. I promise you that."
"It's not me I'm worried about. It's your family," Haley said. "Charlene and her followers are planning to take over the magical world."
Karen sighed. "We know. They have already killed Miranda and almost got Ellie. We have been getting ourselves prepared for the last two weeks now."
Haley was surprised. "Wow, I didn't realize that I've been there that long. Of course, I lost track since she started my punishments."
"How did you manage to escape?" Victoria asked curiously.
"I don't know. I think I used my powers," Haley replied as she thought back to that moment. "But Brooke took away my powers when she first started my punishments. At least, I thought she did."
"Well, that is usually a sign of your powers coming to your full strength, not to mention the prophecy is closer to being fulfilled," Karen told her.
Before anybody could say another word, Nathan popped in. He and Haley exchanged wide smiles before they shared a passionate kiss. She then knew that it wasn't a dream. They were really together again. "I've missed you so much. I was so worried about you," he said as they pulled away.
"I missed you too," Haley replied. "When Charlene told me their plan, I thought that I would never see you alive again."
Nathan pulled her into a comforting hug. "Don't worry. That will never happen because we are going to take them down first."
Haley nodded in agreement. She knew that she had no choice but to fight. "What do we start with?"