They woke with the morning sun, warm and content wrapped in each other's arms where they lingered with soft kisses and gentle caresses, unwilling to rise and face the day. Duty called, however, and when they could wait no longer they reluctantly pulled away from each other to get ready.

Copia showered first as Annie brushed through her hair and readied her clothes. While she showered, Copia dried off and pulled on his lounge clothes - comfortable pants, a faded t-shirt and a Hoodie, he would change at the venue - and made them a small breakfast. He couldn't help but stare at her when she stepped out of the bedroom, changed into her outfit. Today she wore black soft leather pants similar to those she wore for her hunt. She had on a low cut mauve shirt with flared sleeves that went to her elbow and above that a black corset like vest that supported her breasts that had a flowy hem of plum that draped down her thighs in front, longer at the back. To complete her outfit she had her leather belt slung around her hips, pouches and knife attached to it and comfortable looking knee high leather boots.

"Mia Dea," Copia breathes out before hissing and pulling his hand away from the counter when the hot coffee he was pouring over fills the mug and onto his hand. "Merda, fa caldo."

"You need to be careful, hun," Annie gently scolds as she ties off her braid and walks over. "Is your hand okay?"

"Si, I'll be fine. You look…" He pauses in his cleanup to look her over once more. "I have no words. What is more beautiful than a Goddess? For that is surely you."

Annie rolls her eyes and waves her hand over the mug, drawing out some of the liquid and moving it to the second, empty mug before turning to walk to the shelves her herbs are stored on.

"Flirting won't make me stay, as tempting as it is."

"Can nothing tempt you, amore?"

Annie jumped as his arms circled her waist and pulled her close as she reached up into her jars. His lips were at her neck then, trailing soft kisses down to her shoulder and she shivered.

"Vincenzo…"

"Yes, Levanna, mi amore?"

"I love you. I love this, but we have to get ready."

He sighs and rests his forehead against the back of her head, holding her tighter. "I know. I can't get over this worry that is consuming me today. Promise you'll be safe? That as soon as anything goes wrong you and the ghouls get out of there."

"I promise. Let's eat so we can go."

After breakfast the couple walked hand in hand down the halls to the where they met up with Aether and Kali, the two ghouls talking with easy smiles on their faces. Aether greeted her with a hug and chatted with her while Copia stepped over to Kali.

"J'ai un mauvais pressentiment pour aujourd'hui," he tells the ghoul in a soft tone. Kali looks at him confused for a moment, wondering why the Cardinal chose French before the man motioned towards Annie. Kali nodded in understanding.

"Vous savez que je ferai tout mon possible pour qu'aucun mal ne lui soit fait."

"Juste… faire attention. S'il te plaît."

Kali gives Copia a reassuring smile and nods before turning as Annie steps back over into Copias waiting arms.

"Have fun today," she says, leaning up to kiss his cheek. "Drive those fans nuts and wobble your ass off."

Copia laughs, cupping her cheek. "You know I will. Te amo, Annie. Be safe."

"Te amo, Copia. I will be."

They kiss, short and sweet, before pulling back to go to their respective ghouls. Copia and Aether watch as Kali phazes away with Annie and he sighs.

"Chin up, caro," Aether tells him. "You have to believe it will be okay."

____________________________________

It was not okay. It was the farthest from okay.

It took Annie much longer to find the coven within the vast forest. It certainly was true to its name. Dark, borderline oppressive. Yet under that, it was beautiful. Serene. Full of so many types of critters and creatures. Some gentle, others hostile.

They had come across a grove of tree nymphs who, at first seemed fair and gentle, were in fact rather hostile towards Kali and Sage. Ace seemed to confuse them and it was that confusion that let the group sneak away.

They traveled along well worn deer paths and trails, Annie riding on one of the ghouls backs so they could run to cover more ground. They scrambled to a stop at one point after Mysti accidentally disturbed a nest of fairies. The winged creatures took to the air and swarmed her much like angry hornets, clawing and biting with their razor sharp claws and needle-like teeth before turning to the others. Annie and Ace called upon the wind to knock them back and created a vortex around their group until they got well enough away to stop and tend to their minor wounds. Ace fussed over Mysti, tended to her with the quick salve Annie made while she tended the boys.

After a rest, Annie did her spell to check the area with no luck as they continued on. Darker became the forest, the trees seeming to close in more allowing even less light through the canopy.

Childlike giggles and airy taunts set their nerves on edge. Annie suspected it to be the work of Kabolds, a creature she had briefly read about in one of her books.

After a few more hours they took another much needed break, Annie handing out herbs for them to eat to replenish their energy.

"Solros, let's just call it," Kali said, looking up at her from his spot on the ground. "We've gotten nowhere. Maybe they moved out?"

"Yo, I'm with him," Ace agreed from where they sat fussing over Mysti again. "My feet are killing me and we're getting tired."

Annie sighs and looks over at Sage who gives a small shrug, though his eyes showed he was in agreement.

"Alright. Let me reach out once more and if there's still nothing, we can go."

The ghouls sighed and nodded, watching as she took her stance and chanted her spell. When the energy wave returned Annie smiled widely. Ace groaned lightly and rubbed at their forehead.

"Based on your smile, I assume you found something Levy?"

The witch nods, turning to point. "Five miles or so. That way."

"How many?"

"No idea. Counted at least fourty, though."

"Alright. Let's get this done with." Kali groans as he stands, stretching his arms over his head. "You're sure you still want to?"

Annie nods, walking over to Sage. The tall ghoul crouches down and she climbs onto his back, arms draped over his shoulders and legs lifting to circle his waist when he stands.

"They have a right to be warned. Let's go."

____________________________________

Twenty minutes later the group slowed to a stop and Annie slid off Sage's back. The other three stepped up next to her and looked around.

"Is it just me," Mysti started softly with a shiver. "Or is it like…. Cold here?"

"A bit," Annie replies. "Have to give it to them. This place was hard to find."

"Hard enough to find for us to go?" Came Ace's question as they shifted closer to the woman. "I don't like it here, Levy."

"I hear you, Ace. Hopefully this will be quick and we can get out of here."

Annie steps forward, not waiting for the others to catch up. They quickly fall into step with her, nerves of unease growing as they near bright lights from a large bonfire streaming through the ring trees.

Suddenly all four ghouls let out a pained gasp as they stumbled. Annie felt a ripple of energy passing through the ring, looking to them quickly to see what was wrong and let out a small shriek of surprise coming face to face with each of them now without their glamour. Horns, tails, various shades of skin and hair. Flashes of claws and fangs and confusion for all of them.

"What..?"

Annie barely has time to question it when the previously silent air is filled with a myriad of shrieks and hollers and they find themselves surrounded by masked people holding obsidian tipped spears and clubs, others with their hands engulfed in flames. Kali grabs hold of Annie and she feels a flutter, then nothing. He grunts with effort before turning to her with wide panicked eyes.

"I can't phaze!"

"What?  Kali…Kali!" Annie shrieks as she roughly grabbed and hauled away from him, the ghoul snarling and thrashing against those that took hold of him but he couldn't shake them off. Annie fights against those holding her as well to get back to him but their grip is firm and unyielding as they drag her over towards the bonfire.

Others have gathered, each with a dark mask of some kind, jeering and giving their own snarls as the group is dragged by.

"Annie! What do we do?" Mysti calls out with a trembling voice Annie looks at her over her shoulder and while she can see Mysti is beyond scared she's doing her best to hold it together.

"Stay calm. I'll…. I'll figure something out."

They're shoved forward onto their knees in front of a raised platform, the crowd coming together to circle around them. The ghouls move closer to Annie, surrounding her as they eye those gathered.  Chanting starts, something the ghouls can't quite make out but when they turn to Annie they see she's steadily growing paler. Knowing German she understands their chant, just barely through the overlapping voices, and what they say makes her blood run cold.

"Spill the blood
Mark the rune!
Call our Lord
Death come soon!"

She had to think. Had to do something. Breathe…breathe…. Taking another deep breath she rises to her feet.

"I am Levanna," she calls out loudly over the masses, forcing her vice to be steady and strong as she looks out among the crowd. "Daughter of Morrgan, and we come seeking an audience with your High Priest or Priestess to discuss a matter of utmost urgency."

Silence. The chanting had stopped, the only sound that of the roaring fire and her heartbeat racing in her ears. She turns, looking around the masked faces as she waits for something. Anything. All while trying to figure out an escape. The ghouls couldn't phaze, whatever invisible circle they passed through blocked their powers and forced their glamour to drop. It would be up to her to get them past that ring in the hope they could use their powers again but…what could she do, surrounded as they were.

She notices those around her all turned their heads, wide smiles - if you could call them that - spreading as a deep voice called out from behind her.

"We know who you are, deceiver."

"I am not here to deceive you. I am here with a warning." Annie turns to face the man that now stood on the platform, his arms crossed over his chest and a chilling smirk on his face under his half mask.

"You see how she is already spouting lies?" The man calls out to the crowd with a laugh and they erupt in a roaring response, silencing when he raises his hand. "Claim you aren't here to deceive, yet here you stand with four creatures of the pit who were in disguise before our charm washed it away. Is that not deception, harlot?"

"They did not want to cause alarm by their natural appearance," Annie says, standing straighter.

"I see no difference. It is still a deception. It matters not, in any case."

"If you would just hear me out, we can be on our way."

He leaps from the platform then, landing in front of her and she stumbles back, heart hammering once more. His eyes are intense, reflecting the oranges from the fire behind her as he stalks closer.

"You are here with a warning. Of a coming attack. I know."

"T-then you know it's not safe right now. If…if I could find you so could they."

"They?" The man asks, leaning his head to the side.

"They call themselves the Magistratus. They target others that don't align with their beliefs," Annie says, her voice wavering under his intense gaze.

"And why do you think they would bother us? Hmm? That we would be attacked?"

Annie watches as he starts to circle her. "Because…because I think covens are their next target."

"How many others have you given warning to? Hmm?"

Something in his tone gave her pause. She looked back, replaying this brief conversation over in her head. Takes in what she can see of his eyes. She never said anything about an attack, just that she was here with a warning. Her face falls and she takes a step away from him.

"I… You're the last."

"Again with the lies." His sharp laugh breaks her from her thoughts and she backs up another step. "Finally figured it out, have you? You're smarter than he said you were. Shame he can't be here to witness your demise."

"Y…you're with…"

"Them? Afraid so."

Behind her the ghouls growled out and the man snapped his fingers. They struggled against the sudden restraint of being grabbed by the masked coven members, watching helplessly as two more grabbed hold of Annie and dragged her away,  following the man as he walked.

"It truly is such a shame my beloved and her son can't be here. But imagine the reward I'll get when I bring them your charred remains. Zachari might have failed at your first pyre, but I won't make such a mistake."

Annie fights harder against the two holding her, trying desperately to free herself. She reaches within for her own powers and finds…nothing. They don't answer her call. When the man laughs, it's loud and sends a chill down her spine.

"Oh, sweet succubus." He steps back as he slowly circles with his arms raised. "Did you not think that we wouldn't be prepared once we knew you were coming?"

"W..what?" Annie, past the fear, is utterly confused. "H-how could you know we were coming?"

He stops turning and looks at her, his head cocked to the side. "Perhaps I was wrong about how smart you were. We have eyes everywhere. We know everything you are doing. My daughter has been doing a wonderful job of keeping tabs on you. In any case," he snaps his fingers again and another masked person comes over and quickly ties her wrists together in front of her with a coarse rope that digs into her skin. "Now is the time to focus on your death."

"Please! Please don't do this!" Annie begged, no longer able to keep the fear filled tremor from her voice. The man turned to her, a chilling grin on his face.

"Begging already? Oh, that takes me back…" He reaches out, grabbing hold of her jaw. Drawing her close he brushes his nose against her neck as he inhales deeply. "You probably don't remember me, but I remember every inch of you, succubus. I might just enjoy your flesh once more before you burn."

Annie hears an animal-like roar and a commotion from the ghouls, quickly moving her eyes to look over and see Kali fighting against those holding him,  knocking them back with wild punches. The man in front of her growls low in his throat and shoves her away, his fist igniting in a bright flame as he nears the ghoul. Kali has no time to react as his hair is grabbed and he's yanked back before the fist comes crashing hard into the side of his face with a sickening sound and he goes limp, falling to a heap on the ground.

"Kali!" Annie shrieks, lunging forward but she's grabbed again and held back. She tries to call her powers but again they don't listen. "Leave him alone!"

The man laughs and takes a half step back before lunging forward sending a violent kick to the unconscious ghouls torso. "Or what? It's just a ghoul. Vile creatures that should all be destroyed."

He turns to the smaller masked man to his left. "Tie them up. They'll all burn."

"No!" Annie shrieks again as she's lifted and dragged towards where she sees a thick crudely erected post amid a pile of wood and kindling. She can't stop the tears as she begins to violently tremble, sobs hitching thickly in her throat. She could barely breathe, an icy hand clutching at her rapidly beating heart.

"Annie!" Sage hisses as he's hauled over and tied to the pole. "Annie, look at me!"

She forces herself to look at him, his image blurry through her tears. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry…this is all my fault. I'm so sorry."

"Annie. Breathe." His voice is oddly calm, out of place in the chaos. "It'll be okay."

She tries, she really does but it's ragged and short, her chest heaving. Another sob forces itself from her throat as she's shoved and tied to the pole between Mysti and a still unconscious Kali.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Annie keeps babbling, the only thing she can say. Her mind is blank, overcome by fear and panic. How could this happen? Why would this coven side with those monsters? Her insistence…the duty she felt to warn her brethren… it's killed them all.

No!

She had to protect them. Her friends. Her brother. She loved them so much. They didn't deserve this. She had to save them. Save them! She…

How could she?

"Any last words?" The man asks with a sick twisted grin, holding a flaming torch as he stands in front of her.

"Please…"

He heaves out a sigh and shakes his head. "Goodbye Levanna, daughter of Morrgan. Give my regards to the Dark Father."

Annie screams out again as he tosses the torch into the waiting kindling, the dry sticks immediately catching and spreading with the hot fire. Next to her Mysti begins to sob and fight against her bonds. Kali stirs but remains unconscious. She can hear Ace and Sage struggling as well and she just stares at the growing fire.

Just like last time.

Bound and powerless. The ones she loved at her side as the flames grew and began licking towards them. The smoke followed. Thick, burning and suffocating as it filled her lungs.

'Save them… take me but save them. They don't deserve to suffer for my mistake,' she thinks, begging to anyone who would listen as she starts to cough, her head pounding and eyes watering. It's getting so hot. 'I'm sorry, Vincenzo. I love you, with all that I am. Forgive me. Please…'

Her hands were cold amid the growing inferno. Her pants grew unbearably hot, tightening around her legs. Her shirt was already smoldering. She kept repeating in her head 'must save them, I have to save them' as tears fell freely over her cheeks, her vision growing dark.

"Annie!" Her friends. They called for her. 'Save them!' She screamed inwardly. It wasn't enough. She leaned her head back and let out a shrill, blood curdling scream.

Everything went black.

____________________________________

Lilit had been restless all day. It only got worse as the hours wore on. Something was wrong. She knew it. Felt it deep within her heart. Her stomach clenched, but it wasn't her kit. She felt that much when she, carefully and out of sight of the ghoulette sitting with her, lowered her hand to protectively hold over her slight bump. It was something else.

"Lils? You okay sweetie?" Sunshine asked, looking over to the agitated little witch as she paced, setting her book down.

"No. Something is wrong. So very….very wrong."

"What do you mean?"

"Fear. So much fear. Pain…" Lilit begins pacing faster, her hands tangled in her hair. "It's been getting worse all day, Sunny. I need to stop stressing, it's not good for….for me. But I can't!"

"Lil, come sit. Please." The ghoulette shifts over and pats next to her.

"I can't. How long until they're back? They need to be back. Something…"

"I'll text them. But it may be a while, yet. How about I call Seth over? Will that help?"

Lilit sighs and rubs her forehead. "Yes? No….I don't know!"

Sunshine frowns and texts Aether, but she doesn't hold her breath for a quick reply as they should still be performing. She also sent Seth a text and he replied quickly saying he would be right up.

"How about," Sunshine sets her book on the table and rises to get feet. "I make you some tea? Would that help?"

Lilit just waved her hand, neither agreeing or disagreeing. Her head was starting to hurt. She sighs and forces herself to sit in one of the arm chairs, rubbing her forehead again. Her leg bounces, unable to keep still. She doesn't move when Seth knocks and enters, barely giving him a greeting. He frowns seeing how agitated she is. Sunshine is relieved she isn't alone in case something happens with the small witch.

They sit in a tense silence, tea made and poured but left untouched. Lilit tries to keep calm but panic and anxiety are slowly building in her. It's only when the air shimmers that she finally relaxes, though it's not by much.

She's on her feet, rushing the tall ghoul even before he finishes his phaze and he stumbles, dropping his change of clothes and mask to catch her.

"Käraste? What is it, my flower? Are you..?" His voice is laced with worry and he subtly takes in her scent, making sure nothing was off. Smelling she is unchanged aside from the scent of fear he relaxes slightly.

"I'm fine," she reassured him. "But something is wrong, Mounty. It's been getting worse. I'm scared."

He frowns and smooths her hair back from her face. He opens his mouth to say something when Lilit gasps and her eyes suddenly go wide, flashing as they turn an eerie white. Seconds later there's an unbearable pressure that surrounds them and they tremble, overcome by the immense surge of power followed by an ear splitting crack of thunder. It's over as quickly as it began and Mountain looks to the other two with his own eyes wide now.

"That felt like…"

"Like when…" Seth trails off, looking between the ghouls. "Oh no."

"Annie!"