It's quiet when I first enter the corridor, and as I watch, the lights from the camera's in each corner disappear as I fade back into existence. Alfie is beside me, while Annipe is already moving down the hall, looking into each cell as she passes causing a chorus of questions and the odd scream to announce our arrival. The main entry behind us is sealed tight, and stopping outside the third door to my left, I peek inside.

Andrew is laying on the bed, his eyes are open as he stares at the ceiling, and after a few seconds, he must sense us or feel as though he's being watched and looks our way. How he missed the noise out here is beyond me and surprised is an understatement as he leaps up, nearly tripping over his feet as he rushes up to the door, his face pressing into the window that separates us.

"No way, Elise! You're here?" He calls out. "How did you- in the van, you just vanished!"

"Can I come in?" I ask him, the lock releasing on his door.

"I'm locked in?"

Applying some pressure, the door opens with a little resistance as the idiot stands there, so he is blocking it from opening further. He finally steps back, and I stand in the doorway, remembering the last time I was contained in one of these cells. I'd driven nearly everyone mad and been bored out of my brain, even with Logan's company. Before I get lost in memory, my phone beeps from my back pocket and the alert from the Council gets my interest.

Code 33 - Wanted.
Elise Bunting.
The suspect is dangerous and unpredictable. Do not approach.
All sightings to be reported to the Council immediately, for further action.

I roll my eyes. It's not the first time I've had a wanted alert sent out for my whereabouts either. Today is turning into one big walk down memory lane.

"Are you going to break me out?" He asks hopefully, standing in the middle of the room awkwardly before sitting back on the bed, then rising again.

Andrew ran his hand through his hair, rubbed his nose and subtly attempted to check his breath. I'm partly flattered, but mostly disturbed at how interested in me he is. It's so easy to take advantage of that fact though, and after what I just found with the stones Ailin was meant to be getting destroyed reclaimed by his fellow idiots, I don't even feel sorry about anything that could happen next.

"Well, Andrew," He swallows nervously as I move closer, then forgets all about me when Alfie follows me inside. "Hopefully there won't be a need to break anything."

"What?" His eyes don't leave Alfie.

"I just came for a chat!" I smile, sitting on the edge of the bed and tap the space beside me. He practically falls down to get there. "I read your interview notes. You weren't super helpful about this whole Portal business."

"You all just want to stop us, why would I be?" He says sternly, surprising me a little with his instant flip.

"Maybe, I've had a change of heart. Maybe I want to help you?" My hand touches his on the bed, and his eyes drop there, then look at me.

"No. You're lying. You're all, femme fataling to get me to talk!" Andrew huffs. I try not to punch him as he purposefully stares at my chest, because that is exactly what I am doing. "I'm not telling you-"

"But I stole this. It'll help with the portal, right?" I hold up the locket, and his eyes widen.

"Where did you find that? We lost it when Kale left and-"

"Didn't find it when you killed him?" He nods. Within a couple of minutes, I found out what eight hours of interrogations couldn't.; Guilty. "Because I already took it. He didn't even know, just like those vials of white dust. What is that for by the way?"

I lick my lips, and his eyes watch every movement with such intensity; I feel so awkward and uncomfortable. I pray he doesn't catch on. So to distract both of us, I do the oldest trick in the book and start to twirl the ends of my hair.

"These work as an anchor. We need them both together, for the portal to open at the right location." He answers simply. "If you've got them, then it can go ahead after all! So long as we have all the portal stones."

"It's all coming up Team Prophet isn't it?" I smirk, tucking the thing into my pocket. I slowly draw my hand up, across my stomach, over my breast and up to my chin where I tap it thoughtfully. "Now that I have these, and your, comrades, have the stones, if only I knew where to take them for the portal to succeed. Are you sure you can't tell me-"

"Why the change of heart?" He asks, leaning in closer so now our arms touch, not just our hands. I try not to pull away, making eye contact I give a little shrug.

"You know me. You know what I've been through. Helping to destroy the Treaty, as everyone else seems set on doing, might get me a free pass from all the bad shit that goes down. Let the vampires sort it out right?" I sigh, pout, and feel the tears. "I'm tired of always having to fight. I've given me all, and it's never enough."

I roll my eyes as he embraces me, looking at Alfie over Andrew's shoulder, the snake is poised to attack.

"You have, you really have. When Odin and his army arrive, we will be treated like gods. You won't have to fight anymore. I can, well, if you'll let me and leave that guy, I'll look after you." For some reason, I get the picture of being kept in a cage like his pet, and before I can think of something to say that won't get offside, he quickly adds. "Asha and I broke up by the way. When we got arrested."

"That guy and I broke up too," I tell him as he lets me go; his smile a little too big. "And Nicki? What about her?"

What I really mean, is the leech dead like you both claim?

"Oh, we were never a thing. She's actually Asha's half-sister. I don't think she ever even liked me."

Hard to believe since he's such a catch; I take a deep breath. "Is she going to be there?"

"Yeah. Some of her witch friends were the ones who made the fake stones. They hid the real ones, and she hid with them when we got taken in." He frowns. "She didn't even try to help us. Asha was pissed."

"Enough about Asha." I lean towards him, his eyes narrowing on my lips and I pray he doesn't get the idea to kiss me. My voice is kept low, seductive and I can feel Alfie's confusion about what I'm actually doing. "How about we go find this portal. Make some magic happen?"

"Yes!" His voice comes out in a squeak before he coughs, and says a little more calmly, "Yeah."

"The demon can take us there, he just needs to be told where to go." I point at Alfie. "He's how I escaped the van, and got in here. Those guards didn't stand a chance against him."

Or we were invisible, walked past them all, turned off the cameras and locked it all up before they would even know we were here. Judging from the lack of alarms, we hadn't been found out yet either.

"I know, I've seen him come and go before." He smiles at Alfie, yet his fear is unmissable. "We need to go to a place on the coast, I think, Cornwall. You know where that is right? Apparently, the rocks were originally created from this magical cave near there. There are waterfalls too. How much does he need to know to get there? I can't remember what it's called exactly, Asha never really went into it much, just said where we were heading when we swapped the rocks over."

I'm already searching for locations on my phone, and some magical Glen place has three waterfalls there. Alfie isn't a magical GPS, and he needs a bit more to go on than 'near a place that's like near there'. Now I had an image of where we needed to go, it was a lot easier. I just hoped he hadn't got it wrong because coming back to try again might not go this smoothly for him. I also send a message to Kara, giving her a heads up the big bad they want to let out was apparently her old friend Odin, before turning back my attention back to Andrew.

"He doesn't actually need anything, but I did. It's been swell, Andrew. Thank you for your help." I pat him on the chest as I get up.

"What? What do you mean?" He stammers.

"In your terms, I was femme fataling you. Sorry, but really I'm not. I will stop this, and if you're lucky, you might live long enough to be a free man again. Until then, enjoy jail."

He gets angrier quicker than the time I expected all of that to sink in.

"You, you, you slut!" He huffs.

"Ouch. My feelings." I don't hide the sarcasm as he grabs my arm and roughly pulls me against him. "I really wouldn't if I were you."

"No. You don't get to use me like that. You owe me for, telling you that, for, making Asha break up with me! I will-" I give him to the count of two as wet lips slobber against mine.

He sure knows how to show a girl a good time, so I return the favour. He's up against the wall in the time it takes him to blink, and I wipe my mouth with the back of my hand, not hiding my disgust.

"That wasn't nice Andrew. Here I was thinking we were friends."

"Go, too, hell!" He snapped, fear and anger taking over as he fought to free himself from whatever I was obviously doing. Yeah, unlikely.

"Maybe I'll see you there one day?" I smirk, getting up close against him. "I killed your Prophet. I'm going to destroy the portal. Then, when I'm done, I'm never going to think about you, ever again. You are a disgrace to our people and picked the wrong side. Think about that while you rot in here, asshole."

Turns out I lied, because as I stepped out into the corridor with my companions, I found myself already forgetting all about him. The telltale sign we'd been found out came from the red flashing lights that dropped down from the ceiling and the alarm that echoed and screeched around us.

"Come on, we got a portal to destroy," I tell them, and Annipe nods, as Alfie mock strikes the cell opposite us, causing the person in there to scream.

A beautiful silence replaces the noise we left behind; my ears were still ringing though. Alfie and Annipe shake their heads, clearly feeling some aftershocks from it too. What is before us, is precisely what Google had shown me. St Nectans Glen. I breathe in fresh, damp air. It's earthy and old, sparkling with an ancient magic that has my body responding with goosebumps racing along my skin. The snakes feel it too, their tongues flicking in and out as they look around, just as mesmerised as I am.

Before I can respond, the pair of them slide into the water. It's shallow, yet where the waterfall joined the pond, they seemed to disappear. Apart from how beautiful this place was, the other obvious thing was that none of the bad guys were here with a portal they were attempting to open. There is something about this place though, and seeing one rocky wall covered, in something, I go closer to find they're coins. Ribbons are above me and all around, tokens left by tourists, but for what purpose?

I check the network. Pixie's are well known in these parts, forest nymphs and fairies too. Rock towers have been left in the shallower parts of the water, probably something for the fairies, which makes me even more positive we're in the wrong spot, and as lovely as it all is, I'm not here to sightsee.

As if sensing this, Alfie's head pops up, Annipe soon there too.

"Anything?" They both shake their heads. "We're wasting time then."

I go on the Network, looking in this area for anything unusual that's been reported, or past cases and missions that may give me a sign on where to try. Unless Andrew played me more than I played him and he's totally screwed me over, or Asha didn't trust him enough to know more than fake information. It would be too hard to go after her now, well, there were ways, but I had a feeling it would take a bit of effort to get her to talk, unlike her ex.

It's then I see something about a place called Merlin's Cave, and if I know anything about history, Merlin was a pretty powerful wizard. I had always thought mythical, but now I'm not sure since Apollo the god of light is now my ex-boyfriend and Cronus one of the Titans, killed me. If Merlin were as real or had been as real as those guys, there would have to be some magic around there.

"Come on, let's go see if mythical wizards exist too," I tell the pair, and as I leave the forest behind, Alfie grabs me just as I lose my footing and nearly fall over the side of the cliff. "Did not plan that well."

"Safe, Elisssse." Alfie smiles.

"Thanks," I pat his side and look around, noticing one of Andrews clues instantly. "There's a waterfall."

Not only is there a waterfall, but there are all sorts of caves and a whole load of rock that makes up the cliff face. Looking down with a bit more caution, the tide is out, the beach empty. It's cloudy, and despite it being early afternoon, it's darker here than it was out in the forest. With a shiver, I look around, getting a feel for the area. The green of the grass is unnatural; the grey of the cliff and purple of the sky was making it appear to glow. I'm confident I see lightning flicker above the ruins of what had once been a castle.

"This feels like the right place," I tell them, not getting much of a response as their focus is below us. "What?"

I don't see anything, but I feel it. Crouching low, I touch the grass and dig into the dirt. I know this is where the portal stones came from.  I don't even know how or why, but I just know. Everything here is buzzing with energy, more than the place we just were. It feels old and powerful. There is something about this region, only I don't get a chance to explore it further as it's  then I hear a noise, faint but there. It's a hum, a soft chant that the wind hides and the soft crash of the waves below washes away.

Without a word, we're down there. Annipe disappears into the ocean, Alfie sticks close, but it's not the most ideal hiding place for the two of us.

"Go with her, you'll know if I need you," I tell him.

He moves off into the waves, disappearing before I notice him slide out of the water onto a rock that sticks out of the water. It would hard to spot him if you weren't specifically looking for a snake out there, yet as the sky only gets darker, it would be hard to see much out there anyway. Looking across the beach, towards the cave, I see what I couldn't from above. 

Internally, the cave is lit up with torches, yet despite the wind that rushes in from the ocean, they don't even flicker. The magic isn't just in the earth and the rocks, breathing in a million alarms go off as the air is heavy with it too. Creeping closer, I keep my back against the wall and crouch low,  as I realise they aren't more rocks and debris inside, but robbed figures; row after row, filling the inside of the cave. Their chanting gets louder as three break away and with a wave of their hands, the stones that had been placed in a line before them begin to glow a bright gold colour. 

Behind me day gives way to night, the torches and rock the only light now. The mob behind the trio start to sway in the most hypnotic of ways and the wind swirls by faster than before. The sound of the ocean disappears from behind me, and looking up the clouds appear to sink lower as they gather above us. A loud crunching sound has my attention and before I can react, the row of rocks unite, as others rise up around them to create a solid circle. 

"Fuck," I say out loud, trying to plan what I should do next.

With the portal foundations created, all they had to do now was actually open the damn thing. The three stepped forward, sprinkling something on the ground and as I inch even closer, I see the large, matching stone bowl they were putting things in. Smoke rises from it, yet there is no flame and seeing a hand resting on the edge, I realise there is a woman tied on the ground beside it. The dark stain that coats the side of the bowl was obviously her blood, and my stomach tightens with anxiety.

I freeze. 

I've seen this before. 

I've been where she is now.

I feel the restraints on my wrists, and ankles. The witches, dark fae and vampires in the crowd swaying, their chant becoming clearer as they hold hands in their unity. Looking now, I see a forest behind them, not a cave. I hear howls from the wolves that hide there. Above us the stormy sky is closer to the earth than a cloud should ever be. The wind gets stronger, whipping by me with no mercy as something else gives us light to break up the darkness. 

Closing my eyes, I feel my blood wet and warm on my arms and hands. I see Jordan beside me, unconscious and of no help. Symbols I don't understand cover him and looking down, I have them too. Blinking, I'm no longer looking at us, but instead at the walls of the red rock of Uluru, the portal bright and blue. Now the two fates stand at the altar. Their voices mimic the chant, different than the one before. 

They take my hands, pulling me forward. 

I hit the sand hard, its cold and wet against my cheek.

"Bring it to me!" Someone orders and I open my eyes to find myself before the portal. Rough hands pull at my clothes, empty my pockets and pull at my hair. "Finally!"

"Kill the Hunter, she is of no use to us." Another voice snaps.

I look up through the glowing circle, and my chest tightens. My heart is racing at the sight of the tornado forming in the clouds. Purple lightning dances across the water as its as if the heavens themselves were opening. Something must have been opening as the small, frail Warlock who is the strongest of them all replaces the witch in front of me. 

We stare at each other. 

His companions are behind us, their power tainting the air as the magical clouds come closer. The wind is crueler than before, as if its mission is to rip us apart into nothingness. It pulls my hair, my clothes and I fight to stay upright and not collapse, while it doesn't seem to affect him at all. The funnel nears as if it is going to suck all us up into its web of power, but I know the outcome will be worse than that.

I move to defend myself, prepared to fight only I can't move. I'm tied to the pillar once again. Tugging against the restraints hurts, more blood flows down my arms. Jordan is still unconscious beside me. All around bodies of those who fought alongside us pile up. Ron is there, Lily and the others of my kind that never had a chance. The Warlock says nothing, just stands there watching me, mocking me as he knows I'm restrained. 

Cronus joins him. Selene is next, appearing in another flash of lightning that's so close I smell the burning of flesh as it finds a target. Dracula appears out of the corner of my right eye, The Lord Alpha with him. Zeus and Hera come from the left. A darkness sweeps over the group, shadows come to life as the horrid creature, Buluc joins the others. He throws something at my feet and looking down, the lifeless bodies of Amelia, TJ and Hunter stare up at me. 

"No." I whisper.

They act as a barrier between me and the portal, and I couldn't stop them all even if I tried.

I'm alone.

I'm scared.

I can't breathe.

The wind is too much, and as the largest, brightest and most deadly bolt of lightning zigzags down from the sky towards us, I know it's all about to end now. The crack of it hitting those sacred stones is deafening, someone screams, and as my throat starts to ache and I suck in a breath, I realise it was me.

More lightning.

The energy that came from it was magnetic, and I look at Jordan, wondering if he felt it too. It calls to us, and the look on his face told me he does. Behind the row of my past opponents, I see the witch with the talisman I had in my pocket and none of that makes sense. I watch with blurry eyes as she pours something onto the surface and waves her hands around it, right before something flashes from the golden light of the portal and sets it on fire. She stands there with her palm alight, the chanting behind me growing once more as if none of this bothered them.

Of course, it didn't.

This is what they wanted.

The Warlock approaches me, High Priestess Ivy lingering behind him. His smile sends a chill through every single inch of my body, but I can't fight him. I can't move. He comes so close I'm confident he would be able to hear my heart pounding in my chest.

"You think you are different? That you are not like the others of your kind?" He sings, circling me.

I know how this ends.

"Let me look inside you. Your heart. I want to know what's in there." He says slowly, a clawed finger reaching up to my collarbone as he scratches down.

He laughs.

They all laugh.

"Death." It sounds like a promise, one I already made him, made all of them.

I open my eyes. 

Jordan, the forest, the nightmares from my past, they all disappear; all except the portal which has now come to life. There's a slight pain in the back of my head, and I get up from the sand, dusting it off my palms and cheek as I do so. The witches are still chanting and as Alfie and Annipe appear at my side, the trio that knelt before the portal see us. As the one closest opens her mouth, I don't even have to move as my power surges through me and she falls with a thud.

The chanting ceases.

The wind stops.

The next scream I hear isn't coming from me and stops as the second witch falls. Standing before the last, fear covers her face as she cowers at my feet. She doesn't even try to defend herself, instead, she holds her hands up as in in prayer. Too bad no one will save her. 

No Prophet. 

No God. 

No one.

"Who are you?" She gasps, daring to look up at me as Alfie hisses at her from behind me.

"Death."

I keep my promises.