Two parter coming up for the series finale!

The Helsing Society I

Jess took the essay she'd just gotten back.

An A+ was written across the top of it. Jess smiled to herself bitterly. It had been on The Crucible by Arthur Miller. Of course, nothing in it was news to Jess. She was well-versed in the ways people had been wrongfully persecuted as witches. And it was how things had happened but, lately, it made her angry.

Jess smiled lightly to herself as she saw the teacher's comments at the end.

A voice over her shoulder made her jump.

'Oh, "clearly had strong feelings on the subject", eh, Jessie?'

Spinning around, she glared at a smirking Vince. 'Oh, my God! Will you warn a girl before you sneak up behind her?'

Vince chuckled. Behind him, Frank and Howard looked something between amused and exasperated. Jess couldn't quite work it out. Sure, they'd grown up like brothers, and that was how they clearly thought of each other. But should she categorise them as pseudo-brothers or adoptive ones?

'Sorry, Jessie.' Vince shrugged.

'Don't call me that,' Jess muttered.

He ignored her. 'But you were pretty engrossed in that note.'

It was an excuse, and she knew it. Jess supposed she couldn't be too upset at Vince sneaking up on her. He was, after all, part vampire. Those guys were kind of known for sneaking up on people. How else would they be expected to eat? He, most likely, had no control over it. Though why he put in effort to sneak after Dred in that situation was beyond her.

On top of that, with being part vampire it was probable he could smell the magic on her. He'd have a pretty good idea why she "had strong feelings on the subject". He would have similar feelings on a similar subject. If Vince didn't know she was a witch, she was going to have to whack him over the head with something.

'Whatever.' Jess shook her head and walked over to her own friends.

'I still don't know why you don't like him, Jess,' one of the girls said.

'Eh, I'm over it,' Jess said. 'Now, I'm just neutral.'

'You looked pretty annoyed with him,' Sam observed.

'He just startled me,' Jess responded, folding up her essay and sliding it into her book bag. 'Don't you get annoyed with people who sneak up on you?'

Sam laughed. 'I suppose.'

:[

Violet McGowan weaved through the crowded hallways. Everyone was moving around, preparing for the mission ahead. Vi went down the hall. She knocked on Alex's office door and waited until she heard the call to come in to enter the door. Alex himself was leaning over a set of weapons. It looked like he was looking to get involved in the hunt too.

'Everything's ready, Alex,' she said.

'Good,' he said. 'And the girl?'

'I'll deal with that. She may be powerful, but I'm still the only one in town who can teach her anything.'

:[

'This is the last thing I have to teach you.'

Jess didn't want it to be the last thing. She hunched in on herself. 'But I don't want it to be, grandma.'

'You knew this was coming.' Her grandmother inclined her head. 'You already said goodbye to me once.'

'Not properly. I didn't know you were sick until you were dead. Then they held your funeral while I was in school.'

Her grandmother winced. 'Yes, your mother always did struggle with understanding other peoples' needs. Ever since she was a little girl. There was a reason the inheritance leapfrogged, despite the risks.'

Jess pressed her lips together.

'And, besides, you had more time with me than you should've had. When I have to go this time, we can say goodbye properly.'

Jess nodded and straightened her back. 'Okay…okay, let's get this show on the road.' She picked up the Seer's Shackle. 'I noticed when I was wearing it before, it seems to give…impressions, I guess, of what was about to happen.'

'Yes, that's it's base function. But it can also be used to look forwards in time and see events before they unfold. These are usually decisions or courses that have already been decided upon. Or…if things are…kind of a given. The first thing you need to do is put it on.'

Jess clipped the cuff around her wrist.

'Now,' her granddaughter continued, 'the way my father's powers actually worked is what you'll see first. Sit down in the middle of the circle, face south, close your eyes and focus on the cuff on your wrist.'

Jess stepped into the circle they'd drawn on the floor of the den in salt. It had a rim so there was an inner circle and an outer circle. Between the lines, they'd also used the salt to mark out the directions of north, south, east, and west. Between those markers, they'd drawn hourglasses symbols with the salt. Jess sat inside the inner circle, facing south as her grandmother had told her. She closed her eyes.

'Empty your mind,' her grandmother said. 'Don't think. Just watch.'

The cuff around her wrist grew warm. Behind Jess's eyes images started to flash. It was fast and dizzying, and she could see why he great-grandfather had struggled to make sense of it. She forced herself not to think, not to try and consider what it was she was looking at. She just watched what was happening behind her eyelids.

Men and women in a familiar uniform moved quickly through a set of offices.

Plans were laid out, Jess's own name mentioned. They wanted her to do something…they wanted her to do something for them.

Armoured vehicles began driving through the streets.

Three familiar boys ran…ran at something as an Eastern European accent said "no". No, don't do it.

Markers were laid out in a specific way…a specific pattern with specific materials.

A generic car drove slowly down the street.

Power was channelled.

Power was lost.

There was rage and outrage…

A battle to be fought.

A battle to win.

Then, slowly, the images in her mind-eye started to make sense.

As they faded, Jess opened her eyes.

Standing up, she ran to the steps, passing Merle, and climbed up. Pushing open the hatch, Jess pulled herself up and stared out at the city below her. The city lights blinked back at her. It was as if nothing was wrong and nothing was going to happen. Her grandmother's spirit appeared next to her.

'Let's fill in some gaps and then you can plan for it.'

Jess looked over at her. 'You know what I just saw?'

Agata Hawthorn's eyes narrowed. 'I looked eleven years ago.'