Legacy 205: Mystery at Magic School

Part 7

Xxx

After the events in the common room, Payton and the other advanced students were sent to the library and told to wait there. Upon learning what had happened, Leo and the professors decided it was best to gather the younger students and guard them until the school was safe again. Kinsley had disappeared through the mirror with that woman named Kali, meaning she could be anywhere. Payton looked at the other students and noticed they were all staring at her. Her cover was definitely blown now, meaning that there was no reason to keep pretending. She needed to talk to her friends and explain. She first walked over to Lexie, who was lying on a desk staring at the ceiling.

"Hi, can we talk?" Payton asked.

"Sure." Lexie replied as she sat up. "Let's talk about who you really are and why you've been lying to me this entire time."

"Okay, I guess I deserved that." Payton said. "I only lied about my name and reason I was here, the rest of it was all real. Leo asked me to investigate the murder and thought it was best to go undercover."

"Headmaster Leo." Lexie noted. "Your uncle, because you're a Halliwell."

"Yes." Payton admitted. "I am."

"And even when you learned who my mom is, you kept lying to me." Lexie said. "Did you really suspect me?"

"Honestly, I didn't think it was you." Payton replied. "But I couldn't take the risk."

"And here I thought we were becoming friends." Lexie remarked. "I was actually trying, you know. I guess should have known better."

"I'm sorry." Payton said. "I know you're been through a lot, I never meant to hurt your feelings."

"You don't know anything." Lexie snapped at her as she glared towards Maddison. "I saw you talking to her, I know about the rumors she's been spreading about me."

"I don't care about Maddison or what she said." Payton replied. "I only care about what you tell me."

"Same." Lexie noted. "That's why it sucks that you didn't trust me."

"I understand." Payton said disappointed.

Lexie hesitated a moment, but then lied back down on the desk and continued staring at the ceiling. Payton turned around and searched for Liam. She found him talking to Harry on the other side of the library while going through some books. She headed over, though before she could reach them, she was confronted by Maddison and Zev. After her argument with Lexie, Payton was not in the mood to deal with them.

"We want some answers." Maddison said. "What the hell is going on?"

"It's hard to explain." Payton replied. "We need to find out who or what Kali is and how she is manipulating Kinsley."

"So is Kinsley really the one who killed Miss Donovan?" Zev asked.

"We don't know that yet." Payton said.

"Of course we do." Maddison replied. "We saw her attacking you. She's always been a little uptight, you know, just waiting to snap."

"You don't know anything about her, Maddison." Payton countered. "You probably never even had a conversation with her where you weren't making fun of her or pulling pranks on her."

"Please, that was just some harmless teasing." Maddison said.

"It wasn't to her." Payton replied. "You don't know how your actions affect others."

"Hold on, you're making me sound like some kind of bully." Maddison said. "I'm not."

"What about what you told me about Lexie?" Payton asked. "You're spreading rumors about her to make her look bad."

"I was just… I don't know." Maddison said hesitantly. "I'm not trying to hurt people, I'm really not."

"You can be a little mean to people, Mads." Zev noted. "I usually think it's funny, but sometimes you can go too far."

"Seriously, you're turning on me now?" Maddison replied.

"I'm just being honest." Zev said. "I really like you, so I go along with it, but maybe picking on Kinsley this entire time is what led to this."

"That was never what I wanted." Maddison admitted as tears formed in her eyes.

"Let's just hope that you'll get a chance to fix it." Payton replied. "With everyone."

"We'll do whatever you need." Zev said.

Payton nodded as Zev took Maddison by the hand and sat her down to comfort her. Hopefully this would lead Maddison to change her ways and become a nicer person, though Payton wondered if people could truly change that quickly. She continued her way to Liam and Harry, who were studying an old-looking book.

"Hey, are you guys okay?" Payton asked.

"We're good, what about you?" Liam asked. "I saw you talking to Lexie."

"She's upset with me for lying, which I completely understand." Payton said.

"She'll come around when she's ready." Liam replied.

"I hope you're right." Payton said. "So what are you guys doing?"

"We figured that since we're stuck in a library, we might as well do some research." Harry said. "We want to help and save Kinsley."

"So did you find anything?" Payton asked.

"We did." Liam replied. "We heard you mention the name Kali, so we started cross-referencing that name with beings who use mirrors. We think we found her."

Liam turned the book around and handed it to Payton. The book described a demonic sorceress named Kai that was banished into a mirror dimension long ago. She was known to manipulate young witches by friending them and luring them down the path of evil, after which she would use them to steal powers of more powerful witches. At the bottom of the page, she saw a note scribbled by presumably a student or professor, stating that she had seemingly been vanquished by the Charmed Ones in 1998.

"My mom faced Kali." Payton noted. "I guess she didn't truly vanquish her after all."

"She was probably just banished back to her mirror dimension until she found a way to return." Liam said. "She must have targeted Kinsley because she was secluded and easy to manipulate."

"At least we know what we're dealing with." Payton said. "Does it mention anything about how to vanquish her?"

"It mentions something about shattering her reflection." Harry replied. "But we figured that would only send her back to her dimension again."

"She is using reflections to manipulate her victims." Payton reasoned. "The mirror is not her weakness, but her strength."

"So instead of putting her back in the mirror, we need to pull her out." Liam concluded.

"Exactly." Payton said.

At that moment, the doors of the library opened and Leo entered, followed by Dawn and the British professor. As they closed the door, the students gathered around them.

"Have you found Kinsley?" Payton asked.

"Not yet, unfortunately." Leo replied. "But all other students are safe, guarded by the professors in rooms without mirrors."

"We discovered what we're dealing with." Payton said. "Her name is Kali, a demonic sorceress that has been manipulating Kinsley."

"I know." Leo replied. "I put the pieces together when I first heard the name. It explains everything."

"Wait, how does it explain that Miss Donovan was killed on school grounds?" The British professor asked.

"Kali is trapped in her own mirror dimension, Callum." Dawn explained. "If she pulled Miss Donovan into the mirror, she technically wasn't on school ground anymore, thus negating the magical protections."

"She tried to pull Liam into the mirror as well." Payton added. "We need to find and stop her before it's too late."

"You're not doing anything." Dawn said determined. "You've already been placed in too much danger. It's time to let the professors handle this."

"You're just going to sideline us?" Lexie asked. "Kinsley is one of us."

"As much as I hate to admit it, Lexie is right." Maddison added, causing the blonde to give her a quick glance. "We owe it to her to help her."

"I'm sure Kinsley would do the same for any of us." Harry said.

"No, we can't let you… I mean, headmaster?" Dawn muttered.

"If it wasn't for them, who knows when we would have discovered the truth about Kali." Leo noted. "We've also had no luck tracking down Kinsley so far. If the students want to help, we should let them. They are the future of magic, after all."

"I guess you're right." Dawn said.

"Do you have a plan for stopping Kali and saving your friend?" Callum asked.

"I do." Payton said while looking at Liam. "We give her what she wants."

Xxx

In the Heavenly Vault, Noah descended the long flight of stairs. When he could not see in the dark anymore, he raised his hand and summoned orbs to illuminate his path. The hatred he felt from the deep increased with each step he took. When he saw a faint glowing light at the bottom of the stairs, he dimmed his orb and braced himself. He entered a marble chamber lit by a torch on each wall. In the center of the room was a force field meant to serve as a prison cell. A tall and broad figure with ginger hair and a thick beard was facing him. Despite his calm demeanor, Baldr seemed to radiate a deep rage.

"And so we meet face to face." Baldr said.

"You talk as if we know each other." Noah replied. "I know who you are, but you don't know anything about me."

"Oh, but I do, Noah." Baldr said. "I sensed your anger towards the council the first time you entered this vault, when you took the apple. I instantly felt a kinship."

"I'm nothing like you!" Noah snapped at him. "I was in pain. I never wanted to harm anyone."

"You wanted a revolution." Baldr replied. "I wanted the same thing."

"I made my mistakes and paid for it." Noah said. "Why did you call me here?"

"To give you a choice." Baldr replied. "Once I am freed, I will tear this place apart. Step aside and I shall spare you."

"What about my friends and my charges? Will you target them?" Noah argued. "They are my family. You're asking me to abandon them."

"Family." Baldr scoffs. "Family is an empty word, only meant to instill a false sense of belonging. It means nothing to me."

"Who abandoned you?" Noah asked.

"Time is running out." Balder said, ignoring his question. "Make your choice. Stand aside or stand with the council and die with them."

"I'm not going anywhere." Noah replied. "This is about more than the council, you're posing a risk to the entire world."

"You have to break things before you can rebuild them." Baldr said determined.

"That's never going to happen." Noah countered.

Baldr suddenly dropped his calm demeanor, angrily slamming his fist against the force field separating them. The force field zapped him, though it barely seemed to affect him. The Dark Elder was a ticking time bomb, consumed by his anger. There was no reasoning with someone like that. The entire vault suddenly trembled, causing the force field to waver a moment.

"The door has been opened." Baldr said. "The Elders are weakening, and so is their prison."

Baldr clenched his fist, after which he hit the force field with all his might, causing it to shatter into a million pieces. Noah was thrown back by the force of it and slammed into the wall. Baldr stepped out of his prison and took a deep breath.

"Free at last." Baldr said.

"What happens now?" Noah asked.

"Now you die!" Baldr replied with a sinister smile. "I've been dying for some action."

Baldr stepped forward and summoned flames in both his hands. He was about to attack when he was struck in the chest with two bolts of lightning and blasted back. Noah looked behind him and saw Odin and Qetesh enter the chamber, followed by the remaining Elders. The last was Kevin, who helped Noah to his feet. The remaining Elders looked tired and drained after the assault.

"Our defenses have failed." Kevin informed him. "We're trapped in here."

"The fight is not over yet." Odin said.

Baldr laughed manically as he rose from the rubble and walked toward the Elders. His focus seemed to be on Odin specifically and Noah could see hatred burning in his eyes.

"So you finally found the courage to face me, father." Baldr said.

"Do not call me that, traitor." Odin countered. "You stopped being my son the moment you decided to betray the council."

"You stopped being a father long before that." Baldr replied harshly.

Baldr raised his hands and flames erupted from them. At that moment, a large shadow formed between them and shaped into a round portal. Selene and Amun emerged from the portal, after which it closed and the shadows retreated.

"Baldr." Selene said. "It is good to see you again."

"It has been too long." Amun added. "At last, the Trinity has been reunited."

"At last, indeed." Baldr said. "Time to finish what we started."

Baldr threw powerful streams of fire at the Elders, who quickly formed a collective force field. Baldr increased his flames as he stepped forward, closing the gap between him and the Elders. Noah saw cracks starting to appear in the field and knew it was only a matter of time. They were outmatched and backed into a corner. Amun and Selene did not join the attack, as they probably wanted Baldr to have his own sense of revenge.

As the force field began to collapse, a glowing light appeared behind Noah. He turned and saw a rainbow forming, through which Kyle appeared. Amun prepared to attack Kyle, though Qetesh managed to strike him down with a bolt of lightning.

"Come on!" Kyle called out.

"Go." Odin demanded. "I'll keep the force field up long enough."

The other Elders nodded and started running through the rainbow, disappeared one by one. Kevin was the last to go through, leaving only Noah and Odin behind. That stubborn old man was holding back Baldr all on his own, despite the obvious strain it was putting on him.

"Odin, come on." Noah said. "We need to go."

"I can't move." Odin admitted. "Go. I will hold them back."

"I'm not going to leave you behind!" Noah argued.

"For once in your life, just do as you're told, you stupid boy!" Odin snapped at him.

Despite his reluctance to leave someone behind, even if it was Odin, Noah nodded. The Elder had been forced to his knees and Baldr had almost reached him. Selene launched a tentacle of shadows at Noah, though before she could reach him, Kyle grabbed Noah by the arm and they disappeared through the rainbow.

Xxx

Selene silently cursed herself as the rainbow disappeared just before her shadows could reach it. At least half of the council had escaped, along with many of their Whitelighters. However, their true objective had been achieved. Baldr was free and the Trinity was reunited, which meant they could finish what they had started long ago. She watched as Baldr destroyed the force field separating him from Odin and lifted him off the ground with one hand by his cloak.

"I have been waiting for this for millennia." Baldr said.

"Then finish it." Odin replied. "My work is done, the council has escaped. We have nothing left to discuss."

"No, that would be too easy, old man." Baldr said bitterly. "I want you to see how I destroy everything you have built and see all you care about die by my hands."

Baldr threw his father across the room against the wall, after which he collapsed like a ragdoll. Baldr turned to face his fellow Trinity members and Selene could still see the anger in his eyes that had consumed him along ago. He would eventually pose a risk to her, but she still needed him first.

"Thank you both for freeing me." Baldr said.

"It was our pleasure." Amun replied. "The Heavens have been neutralized, the last remaining members of the council should not pose a danger to our plans."

"We underestimated them before." Baldr noted.

"They can wait." Selene said. "Although we are united now, we still need time to regain our full strength and set our plan in motion. We need to be careful."

"The Heavens are ours." Amun replied. "We could use it as a base of operations, but as long as the Elders know where we are, we risk a counterattack."

"There is nothing left for us here." Baldr said. "Besides, I cannot stand to be in this place any longer."

"Then we retreat to Underworld, where we cannot be tracked." Selene concluded.

The other members of the Trinity nodded and Selene whispered in an ancient language to end her spell surrounding the Heavens, returning it to eternal day. Baldr threw Odin over his shoulder and headed up the stairs. Amun gave Selene a knowing glance before following him. Without speaking the words, the two agreed that Baldr was a risk that they were willing to take to achieve their goals, but one that needed to disappear once he had outlived his usefulness.

xxx