The Second Covenant

I smoked back to the house and was almost instantly set upon by the mothers. “Don’t.” I said tightly. “Don’t comfort me.” They looked flabbergasted and worried as I kept walking, back to the parlor where the wolves still sat, around the spot where I had taken Druex from. “Where did you take him?” Dax asked in a hollow voice and I sniffled. “Out of time.” He stood up and glared down at me with shimmering eyes. “Bring him back.” I nodded. “I will. I’m going to.”
My father shook his head at me sadly. “Honey, we can’t raise the dead. They come back wrong.”
“I’m not going to raise the dead. I’m going back for him.”
“Cherish,” My mother started and I snapped. “NO! Look, Grandpa William said my power is limitless, Grandpa Lucas just said time is relative. And I get it now. I can go back, and fix this.”

Everyone looked at me with pity in their eyes and I felt so angry that I just wanted to smack all of them. They thought I’d gone crazy. I kind of felt like it since I was sort of just standing there with tears falling silently down my cheeks, my heart so empty that it might as well have been a black hole. So I ignored them all and went to where the mirror was still lying in the middle of the circle. I stepped over the line and lifted the frame, knocking on the glass. “Hey asshole, I bid you answer me truthfully.”

The blackness of the mirror swirled and Mason Shaw’s face came into view, contorted with rage. “Go to hell.” He said, his voice now more normal that he was trapped and unable to do magic. “I’m there. Tell me the day month and year when Elizabeth Proctor died. Right now.” I felt my coven gathering around me, and the wolves at my back. “August Twentieth, 1692. Her death wasn’t officially on record.” He said and seemed proud of it. “Why do you want to know?”

I didn’t answer that. “You’re here to do my bidding, not the other way around. The coven that imprisoned you to the earth, what was it called?” His lip curled and he fought to answer, so I slammed my hand flat on the mirror, pushing a jolt of magic through it to fry his transparent ass. He howled and I stopped. “Before…Elizabeth’s death…” he panted, “They were just knows as the Sisters.” he wheezed like I’d fried his balls. Good. “After…those who survived were the Phoenix. They branded themselves with the bird, and all of their offspring were born with the mark.”

I pulled my sleeved down and showed him the mark. “Like this?” He flinched away from it and nodded. “So nice to see you being cooperative. Tell me what else you know about the Phoenix.”
“They fancy themselves assassins. Mercenaries of the Supernatural world.”
“He’s better than Google.” Riley said and I ignored him. “Do they still exist?” Mason growled more and I just had to hold my hand up for him to answer. “There are only eight left. Scattered around the world, you won’t find them.” I scoffed and moved the mirror against a wall, the glass to the wall. “I don’t need to, I was just curious to see how much you’d tell me. Have fun looking at the wall you son of a bitch.”

I ignored the worried looks I was getting from my family and paced while I thought. “What are you thinking Cherish?” Tristan asked me softly and I looked at him, blinked and felt nothing but emptiness. “Crazy thoughts.” I said and tried to get the words right so that I didn’t end up on a pyre somewhere. I closed my eyes and focused on the vision I had had when I’d touched Elizabeth Proctor’s grave stone. I focused on the tree line where I had seen my ancestors. “The life which was not to be taken, Give me the power to see it undone and turn back time to whence it was begun.” I felt the ripple of magic spread around me. “Anyone who’s coming along better hop on the train.”

Light flashed, I felt a rush of air, a pulling sensation like my spine was being jerked through my stomach, and out the other side. When it stopped, I was standing in the middle of a forest, at night, with Tristan, Peyton, Riley, Dax and Daire beside me. “Where are we?” Dax said, lifting his nose to scent the air. “When are we, would be the better question.” I answered and waved my hand so that all of us were clothed in the style of the times. “What the fuck is this?” Dax said in horror, looking at his heeled and buckled shoes. “Camouflage. Shut up and come with me.”

I led the way and found that soon, they were on the edge of the trees, watching Elizabeth Proctor burn to death. She was dead, the flames eating at her flesh, peeling it from her bones. I couldn’t imagine a more horrible way to die. “Shit.” Daire murmured and I nodded. “We have to find the others.” Peyton slid up beside me and took my hand.

He didn’t say anything, just held my hand and offered me his strength, because if this hadn’t worked, I was going to be devastated and he knew it. “When we were at the cemetery, I saw them on that ridge line.” And sure enough, one by one, my ancestors stepped from the trees. “What do we say to them?” Tristan asked and took my other hand. “I don’t know, lets just get over there without making anyone suspicious.” Dax pulled at his collar and grumbled over his shoes. “If we stick to the shadows, and don’t speak, we can circle around the crowd and come up beside them.”

I thought about it and looked at the still cheering crowd. “What if we smoked?” Riley said, nervously like he was thinking the same thing I was. “Or we could do that. Can you take passengers?” Daire said and I smiled at him, as much as I could, but it was still weak. “Yes Daire, we can take passengers.” Riley held his hand out for Daire and he looked skeptical. “I don’t mean to hurt your feelings man, but um, I’m really not comfortable doing that with anyone other than Cherish.” Riley just smiled. “I get it, no hurt feelings. How come Cherish, I never get to hold your hand?” I gave him that weak smile and let go of Tristan’s hand to touch Riley’s face. “Because your hands are always sweaty.” His jaw dropped and worked soundlessly for a moment and my smile grew at his shock. “I’m kidding. I’ll hold your hand next time Riley. Let’s go before they leave.”

I took both Dax and Daire’s hands. “Why can’t we just go to their place?” Dax grumbled and I looked up at him. “You never want to corner one of us in our own home.” He looked down at me, with the scent of his grief and his anger swirling around me. “Right.” He said and I looked away. He was right that it was my fault for Dreux’s death. He was. But it hurt. I smoked and came up about a hundred feet from the way elder witches. Riley appeared just in front of me, Peyton and Tristan behind me. “Okay, just act natural.” I said and we walked towards the five men, who had seen us and were waiting, I could scent their nervousness. I tried for an innocent and harmless expression as we approached them.

They didn’t greet us, but stood and waited for us to speak. I broke away from my pack and walked right up to my many times great grandfather. “I need to speak with you.” I said and he lifted a black brow. It was uncanny how all my male relatives had black hair. “Do I know you young woman?” He asked and I shook my head. “No sir, but I know you, and I promise, we mean no harm.” I let my eyes flash black and he inhaled sharply. “Please, I need your help.” he stepped forward until he was toe to toe with me. “Who are you?” He hissed and I let my eyes return to normal. “I know you won’t believe this, but my name is Cherish. Danvers.”
“Riley Garwin.”
“Tristan Simms.”
“Peyton Perry. We’re you’re many times removed great grandchildren.”