"What's she doing here?" I asked as I stood.

Nora seemed to regard me with caution, though she wasn't as afraid as I'd like her to be.

"She's with me." Phoenix frowned.

I turned to him, "What?" I asked.

"I'm not the bad guy here...though I look fabulous as one." Nora smirked.

I turned to her with a closed fist. She sank to her knees in pain. I watched her with glee.

"Please stop." Phoenix said. I released her and turned to him, "She works for me. I need you to be calm when I tell you this."

I nodded and he gestured to the sofa. I sat down on the ratty couch and looked to him. He took the chair by the window and turned it to me. Nora stood behind him, as if that would stop me.

"I wasn't supposed to meet you. Ever." Phoenix explained, "The destiny I chose for you saw you inheriting the power of the Bennett witches and uniting them. A great battle was to be fought and you would emerge victorious. Tituba, in her infamous villainy, changed the course of destiny."

"I'm lost. How would you know all this?" I asked.

"A Seer named Astrid saw glimpses of the future, saw the world as it will be. She prophesized the battle, the outcome and you." Phoenix continued, "Tituba heard these ravings and took them to heart. She was meant to die shortly after the trials, to give her life in service of someone she loved. She didn't. She brokered a deal with a dark entity before she was arrested and survived, subsequently gaining the gift of immortality. Her life is a disruption to the very nature of time."

"Doesn't explain her or what in the blue Hell is going on."

"I've been working with Phoenix for years. He saved me from what I am." Nora sneered, "Until, that is, Tituba found me. She knew of my connection to Phoenix and used me to draw him out. To meet you."

"That meeting caused a ripple in everything we know." Phoenix said angrily, "I was impetuous and selfish, as she was. I was never supposed to meet you, rather to die to pass my gift to you."

"But you did." I nodded.

"There can't be two of us. It's impossible yet here you are." Phoenix frowned, "Don't you see? My power diminished the minute you were born, even still the minute you began using your powers...Fragments of me are so deep in you that it's hard to tell who I am now. The evils that I've done."

I stared at him, wide-eyed.

"The two of you cannot exist together, in the same time." Nora frowned.

"But you are a horrible-"

"I played my part to perfection and when tasked to do the things that I cannot fathom, she took the very thing I'd fought to regain!" Nora yelled. Nora turned from us, "I was never a gentle soul, a poet nor a philosopher. I was no monster, either."

"Destiny's strings have effectively been cut. I apologize to you for so much of your life, so much of your loss." Phoenix said, "It was I who killed Penelope."

"Excuse me?" I asked, "You killed my grandmother?"

"Yes. She did a ritual that would have removed Nora, thus removing me, from the town. She was going to cast a binding spell and being connected to me, it would have killed her."

"You don't know that!"

"I've seen it in many futures." Phoenix said softly, "Those futures still cause me nightmares."

"I don't understand. Tituba existing causes all these problems yet you won't kill her? And our connection is that I'm you? Then why are you still here?"

"Tituba is my mother! Would you kill your mother easily?" Phoenix asked, "We're connected and this bond between us means something profound. I'm immortal, a symptom of my mother's curse. I can only kill myself."

I searched his face, "You want me to kill you? Do you know how insane this all sounds? Why now?" I asked.

"My mother is back in her true body and she understands what you don't. You are the only one who can stop her." Phoenix eased the idea into my head, "I could never kill my mother...but you can."

"What if I say no? What if I say that this isn't what I signed on for?" I asked.

"He'd say join the club." Nora frowned, "You can undo this mess by killing Tituba, the one who caused all of this. If anyone in this entire world can do this, it's you."

"I'm seventeen. I'm just a kid." I said flabbergasted.

"I think we both know that statement is untrue." Phoenix said with a cough. He went into a coughing fit and pulled out an already bloody handkerchief. He coughed more blood in it and looked to me, "I won't ask more of you than possible."

"You said that us meeting was never supposed to happen? You've been meeting my family for generations...what were you doing?" I asked.

"I wasn't sure when I was to die and be reborn into you. I needed to know that they would see how important you were, how essential you would be." Phoenix took a moment before bursting out in laughter, "It's odd. I hate your father and I wrote you off especially for him. The son of Demon Hunter being the most powerful witch in the world? Nobody could have seen that one coming."

"What happens when I kill you?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know? You have an answer for everything else..."

"I don't know!" Phoenix snapped. It was the first time I'd seen him truly angry. It was also the first time I'd seen him truly scared. He cleared his throat and began speaking again, "It's odd to see yourself before they know who they are. I want to tell you how incredibly magnificent you are but I fell that deep down, you already know. I want to warn you that you are you own worst enemy but I don't think I'd miss learning that for anything."

"I want to hate you, I want to tell you to go to Hell. I want you to tell me this was some sick joke that you're joking about but you're not...and I don't." I said softly, "What happens next?"

"I told you-"

"I mean after you die and I'm fully us?" I asked.

"Again, I don't know. Your destiny could never be seen before this, for obvious reasons." Phoenix said, "Maybe we'll live happily ever after. Maybe we won't."

"For a semi-dead version of me, you're not too comforting." I frowned, "Did you know anyone before? My friends, family...had you met them?"

"You mean reborn? I've met so many people it's hard to say." Phoenix smirked, "But the greatest loves of our lives never change. They evolve."

"Who is it? Which one is the one?" I asked.

"Some things you just have to find out for yourself." Phoenix smiled.

"God, can I kill you now?" I asked.

                                                          *************************  

Eva was more than confused when she woke up next to Lucas.

To save either of them the awkward talk, she hurried home. Her parents were already gone and her little brother stood in the kitchen eating cereal watching TV on the portable television. She was completely embarrassed.

Her brother stared at her with disapproval. She'd often been on the other side of this look and she didn't like being on this side. She stumbled in and took a seat at the table, pouring herself some cereal.

"Late night?" Jason smirked.

"Shut up! Not a word." Eva growled as she pretended to eat cereal.

Jason finished his cereal and dumped the remnants into the sink before turning to her, "I thought you broke up with the weirdo." He frowned.

"I did. And, again, shut up."

"Who knew that your senior year would be your year to devolve into me." Jason said smugly, "You know, I wouldn't be surprised if you end up pregnant at this rate. Mom and Dad will be so thrilled."

"Jason..." She warned.

"Hey, he's got money." Jason chuckled.

"Next time I ask Mom and Dad to take a baby back, hopefully they'll listen." Eva growled as she picked her cereal up and moved to the living room. She quickly spit cereal in a potted palm near the living room. Jason followed and she gave up, "What is it that you want, Jason?"

"I'll give you a break but remember that you asked that question." Jason said as he took a seat by her, "So, is Perry feeling better?"

A pang of guilt rang out through Eva's body. Perry was the last person she needed to hear about, talk about or interact with right now.

"He's good."

"Who would stab him? I mean, he's one of the nicest guys I've ever met...minus the sarcasm." Jason frowned, "I hope they nail the bastard. I think he killed some more people. A family got slaughtered last night."

"The news sucks."

"What's your deal? Are you doing drugs again?" He asked.

"I don't do drugs."

"What about the time I caught you and Char..."

"Okay, that one time but none since then."

Jason went quiet. He believed her but that opened up a new set of questions.

"So, when you were acting weird and stopped tanning..."

Eva looked to him, "Jay, what's with all the questions? Do you need to be feed or petted? Are you not getting enough attention?" She asked.

"What's going on, Eva? First you guys get all weird, then you start acting like a total bitch and then Perry gets stabbed. Now there's a whole family dead." Jason stared at her, "And you're pretending to eat but you're not getting smaller. I saw you stash the cereal in the plant."

Eva was tired, even for a vampire. She wasn't used to being questioned, especially by her little brother who was usually more concerned with getting high than actual reality. She quickly thought about glamouring him to forget his line of thought but she realized that this wouldn't be better than just telling him the truth.

"You know, it's weird. I found Karma's body in the gym that one time. I also found your wristband. So I started looking into things, like what happened in the woods with Zach's sister and the literal body trail. I saw your boyfriend's brother snap Zach's neck easily but Zach came to the party after...I was so confused until I thought about it: Zach is a vampire, not like your boyfriend and his brother...and you."

Eva's fear came to the surface as she stare at her little brother, "Jay..."

"You are, aren't you?" He asked, "What's going on, Eva. Start from the beginning and don't leave anything out."

                                                          *************************  

Charlotte sat at Byars alone.

Noah was already late for their lunch date. Charlotte wondered what was going on with him lately. He'd been pretty disconnected, as opposed to how he had been in the beginning. Charlotte hadn't just asked about Perry talking to David about the pack. It was stuff she wanted to know too. It was virtually the only part of his life she didn't know.

Noah was cagey about it.

Charlotte let the subject go but wondered what was going on. It didn't surprise her that he was late. But on the upside, his sexual appetite was through the roof. Charlotte was staring at the menu when someone sat down opposite her.

"Bout time you showed up."

"Well, I live to serve."

Charlotte looked up to see Zachary sitting opposite her. She slammed her menu down, trying to decide whether she should scream, curse at him or just stare. She went for the latter.

"I'm good-looking, but not that good-looking," Zach smirked, "I bet you're asking what I'm doing here."

"More like wishing you'd leave."

"Ah, you are a charmer. Always have been, if I remember correctly."

Their past was spotty at best. A string of short flings and nothing else more substantial. It didn't explain why he was sitting in front of you.

"I thought you went to Europe." Charlotte frowned, "Did your parents by that?"

"Parents believe anything as long as it sounds better than the truth." Zach said leaning back in his chair, "Things have changed. Did you know Eva's vampire now? 'Course you did."

"Did you sit down to annoy me?" Charlotte asked.

"I'm looking for the witch."

"Why would you be looking for Perry?" Charlotte asked.

"One unfortunate side effect of going to Europe is actually going to Europe." Zachary frowned over at her, "Of course, it has its perks. The chicks there...But my point is that I missed the USA, particularly this place."

"Why?" Charlotte asked.

"There's always something to do. Met a man, he offered me a gaggle of money to bring the witch to him." Zach smirked.

"Why would you tell me that? I'm totally not telling you." Charlotte frowned, "Who's the man. Is he an actual man?"

Zach leaned in and stared into her eyes. Charlotte tried to avert her gaze but couldn't quite do so. She soon fell under his compulsion.

"Where is he?" Zach asked.

"I don't know. He got stabbed so he can't be too far."

"Stabbed?"

"By Kai, a demon hunter."

"Kai? A demon hunter? What happened to petite blondes with perfect noses?" Zach asked, "Where would he be?"

"To see Kai."

"Who...stabbed him?"

"It's complicated."

"It always is." Zach said as he noticed Noah walking up, "Have fun, Char. I'm sure I'll be seeing you again."

Zach stood and walked away from the table as Noah appeared. Noah questioned Charlotte, who was clueless as to what had just happened. She wondered how she'd gone blank. Noah asked about Zachary, to which she was even more confused.

                                                          *************************  

I watched from a far as Nora tended to Phoenix, whose health was rapidly declined. It started with the cough and soon led to nose bleeds and quickened with fainting spells. Nora explained that prolonged exposure to me was the likely assailant.

Even after all his revelations, I could hate him. In fact, I loved him more. Seeing him dying tore me to pieces. He was the only person that never wanted to change me, not really. I began to hate Tituba, loathe the thought of her. She is a selfish and disgusting person. To make such a pact would have destroyed what she was.

I worried. Now that Tituba is back at full strength, she would no doubt be on her way to take me on. I wanted it. Tituba screwed everything up and continued to hurt and destroy people, like the toxin she was. Whoever she had been before the pact, she was no longer that person.

When Phoenix was stable, Nora walked over to me. I was beginning to see another side of her. She's explained most of her behavior away as survivor instincts. Phoenix saved her. After she was forced to turn into a vampire, she forsook her humanity. She became a monster and the only person who could give it back to her was Phoenix. Her brothers tried, in vain.

"He's not getting better." I said to her, "I can't believe I have to do this."

"I fear that before your life is over, you'll have to do a lot of things that you won't believe." Nora frowned. She took another quick look back at him, "He doesn't have long. I don't pretend to know anything about magic, but I know this isn't the ideal situation. This is just plain weird."

"I'm still trying to wrap my head around him being me."

"That's a simplification. You're not him. He's done things...things that I wish he hadn't." Nora gave me a polite smile, "My brother likes you. Miracles seem to surround you."

"You once said that you liked Eva more than me." I reminded.

"My brothers have good taste." She chuckled.

"What will you do after he's gone?" I asked.

"Tituba is still on the loose, so probably hide. Without Phoenix, she can use magic on me." She frowned.

"Does she take your humanity? Like flipping your human switch?" I asked.

Nora grew visibly uncomfortable, "With most vampires, that's a thing. For me, it's different. When I was human, I was afflicted. I was two people in one body. I forget the word."

"We can leave out the word." I said softly, "So, she taps into your other personality?"

"When I became a vampire, the two sides became one. I was bloodthirsty and self-absorbed but loyal to a fault. I struggle with keeping it at bay." Nora frowned, "With a family like mine, it's a wonder that's all that's wrong with me."

"In the woods, you mentioned another brother." I asked.

"That's a story for another time." Nora said as Phoenix went into a coughing fit. We moved to his side, Nora kneeling to him, "His body is deteriorating, the magic holding it together is tearing him apart."

"It's time." Phoenix smiled.

                                                          *************************  

Kai sat on his bed, his minding cycling through all the events of the last few days. His Uncle Wen was busy making arrangements for his parents. Kai was stuck in some kind of hysteria. He couldn't sleep without seeing David coming at him or the sight of his bloody, contorted parents.

Wen had been very comforting to Kai but he couldn't reconcile what he did to Perry. Wen explained it as an awakening. He'd become a hunter. Wen had questioned him about the supernatural here, and without hesitating, Kai told the story of Endor Hills.

Kai was left to stare at a picture of his parents and him on their trip to Yosemite.

"They were strong. Your mother was one of the best hunters I've ever met." Wen said as he took a seat on the bed beside Kai, "Tells me that the assailant was either powerful or smart."

"Powerful." Kai said without thinking, "Will you train me? Is that what this is?"

"Maybe. Your grandfather is coming and he's bringing friends. They won't get away with this." Wen said angrily.

"They?" Kai asked, "They're not all bad. Some of them are human."

"Sympathizers." Wen said quickly, "This place is crawling with darkness. I believe the witch is at the center of it, it's why you attacked him."

Kai wasn't happy with this answer, "Perry isn't dark. Color-wise, okay, but he's the opposite of dark. He can't get hurt. I don't want that for him." He frowned.

"Fine. We spare the witch. He's got Order blood anyways." Wen nodded, "His father is part of the Summers family, a very prestigious part of the Order. His was extricated after marry a witch. I believe this is the same family."

"I'm not so gullible that I believe you. What's about to happen?" Kai asked.

"War. People will die, the world will change. Nothing big." Wen stared him in the eyes, "It's nothing we haven't seen before."

The both of them went quiet and stared at the photograph. Kai knew he was right. The world, as he knew it, was about to change. It was about to be destroyed entirely. He'd been the catalyst for this.

                                                          *************************  

Eva knocked on the Christiansen door before entering. It was night again and she was finally able to get rid of her little brother. She had to talk to Lucas, to tell him that this couldn't happen with them again.

Eva felt something for Lucas, gratitude. He'd helped her curb her bloodlust and he'd taught her what being a vampire meant and how she could be okay. Finn was too broken up to help her become what he never wanted her to become. It was a contributing factor to their break-up.

Lucas was gorgeous and exciting but he wasn't her dream. Besides that point, he loves Perry and Perry, despite his insistence, loves him. Eva knew what the mistake was but not how to fix it. She wouldn't be able to look Perry in the eyes.

As she crept into Lucas' room, she looked around. She began remembering the night before. As she was about to go, she turned to see Lucas standing in the hallway by the study. He'd obviously been drinking.

"What are you doing here?" Lucas asked.

Eva started, "I'm-I thought we needed to talk." She frowned.

"About what?" Lucas asked.

"I think you know."

"It was sex. People do it all the time. In some parts of the world, it's a rite of passage." Lucas smirked, "Do you think we have something?"

"You're such an asshole." Eva said as walked into living room. Lucas appeared in front of her, "Move!"

"You came here for something. I think I'm the one to give it to you." Lucas said as he tossed the glass into the fire.

"Yes, because I'm attracted to a drunken mess."

"You are."

The two crashed into each other, again, like the tall waves of the ocean. The two were thrown against wall after wall as their passion intensified. Both fought for dominance.

                                                          *************************  

Nora stood in the corner, watching Phoenix sputtering.

As I entered the room again, I noticed Nora. She nodded to him. I nodded back and walked to him, kneeling beside him. Phoenix smiled at me, blood on his teeth and I almost didn't recognize him.

"Did you bring it?" He asked.

I pulled the knife out of my back pocket and showed it to him. The knife is one of my father's prized possessions. It's gold-coated silver with an onyx hilt with the same fire insignia on it.

"Beautiful." He coughed.

I shook my head, "There isn't another way?" I asked.

"Deja'd this vu." Phoenix pulled his hand up to mine, "I'm not one for goodbyes. Not really. Said my goodbye to Nora."

I looked back at her and she turned to the window.

"Help her."

"How?" I asked.

"A wise man would say death. I wouldn't recommend it. It doesn't stick." Phoenix swallowed a large lump, "Your father isn't such a prick."

"He won't believe any of this."

"He will, if you say it. You're not alone, not as I was. The people around you love you. Remember that."

I felt the tears coming to my eyes, "Is this the part where you say something profound and I want to kill you because it will release you because this isn't that part. There's nothing I can fight. There's nothing I can do."

"There's a lot that you can do. It begins with this request."

I could feel the tears rolling down my eyes, "I don't want you to go." I cried.

"This is probably the one thing in this world where what you want doesn't matter, Perry." Phoenix began choking, "Do what I can't."

I quickly and quietly pushed the knife through his sternum. I watched as the life left his body and his arms fell to the side. In a burst of dust, Phoenix was gone. I immediately felt something coursing through me and was knocked back. Nora rushed to me. I began sobbing into her arm without pause.

                                                          *************************  

Eva and Lucas sat by the fire, facing away from each other as they put their clothes back on. The two were unsure of what this was and where it was heading. To be honest, neither of them wanted it to go anywhere but this was the second time in two days that these ships have crashed into each other.

"This..." Eva started as she stood.

Lucas stood too, "Can't happen again, yeah, I know." He frowned.

"I need to use the bathroom." Eva said excusing herself.

Lucas scoffed and began tidying up the living room. With the help of his vampire speed, the clean-up was instantaneous. As he put the remote back on the couch, his doorbell rang. He made his way to the front door and opened it to see his sister, Nora, standing with me. His eyes fluttered between us, probably trying to guess how we got together.

"He needs you." Nora said as she pulled me closer, "Don't ask, he just-"

"Needs me." Lucas said as Nora passed me to him. Lucas embraced me without question. Nora disappeared into the night and Lucas shut the door.

We walked into the living room and I saw the fire going. I saw that there was a glass, probably of liquor, in the fire.

"I'm sorry." I said, probably sounding like I was a million miles away, "I called David but he's probably naked and running through the woods with his friends. I called Porter but I'm not sure if he has a phone anymore. I called Charlotte and Eva and Finn and...I called anyone but you. There's no one."

Lucas stared at me.

"I just can't be alone right now. I can't be me right now. Do you understand?" I asked. He nodded, "Can I stay?"

"Always." Lucas nodded again.

I nodded and bypassed him into this bedroom. I laid on the edge of the bed.

"I-I'll take the couch."

"Not alone." I said softly.

I turned in the bed so that I was facing the other end of the bedroom. Lucas crawled in and I latched onto his side, resting my head on his chest. Lucas pulled his hand around and began petting my hair.

"What-"

"I-I just need you." I said as I burst into tears again.

We lay there, for hours, while I cried into his chest. I don't know when I went to sleep nor do I know when my crying stopped, I just know that sometime between the time I arrived and the next morning, I was better.