25: Mind Games
Lindsey let Danny's news sink in.
"How?" Sean asked.
"She used Devin as bait. She knew about his connection to the pack and Isabel. Isabel fell for it. Peter, Derek, and Malia followed her. Now Isabel and Peter are helpless to her spell."
"How do we break the spell?" Lindsey asked.
"Deaton is looking for something," Danny said. "But Derek and Scott wouldn't wait on him."
"What did they do?" Sean asked.
"They recruited Deucalion and they've gone into their heads to find them."
"Will that work?"
"I don't know."
~~~
"Whatcha reading?" Vincent set his chin on top of Isabel's head as she was sprawled out on the couch.
"A book. You know what those are, right?"
Vincent laughed. "Sometimes."
Isabel closed the book. "Don't you have anything better to do than to bother me?"
"Nope." Isabel laughed and sat up. Vincent plopped down next to her. "What do you say we go hang out tonight?"
"Sounds fun."
"Isabel."
She turned her head at her mother's voice. "Yes?"
"Have you seen my necklace?"
"Which one?"
"The blue one."
"The one you're always wearing?"
"Yeah. I took it off for a minute, now I can't find it."
Isabel shook her head. "Last time I saw it you were wearing it."
"Where was that?"
Isabel frowned, thinking. "I'm... I'm not sure."
"That necklace is very important."
"I'm sorry, Mama. I don't remember where I last saw it."
Esther frowned.
"I can help you find it."
"I'd like that."
Isabel stood, something suddenly tugging at the back of her mind. She suddenly had a bad feeling that she couldn't shake.
~~~
"Stop," Scott suddenly said.
"What?" Derek asked.
"All three of us can't be looking for the same person."
"Are you saying we split up?"
"The faster we find them both, the faster we can get them out of here."
"We don't know where either one of them are or what she has them trapped in."
"We need to split up."
"We split up, she can ensnare us," Deucalion countered.
"She can kill whoever we don't find first."
Derek frowned. "He's right. If she doesn't realize we're here yet, she will once we find Isabel or Peter. She might kill the other to keep us from saving them both."
"And she might trap us here."
"You're the one who agreed to help, Deucalion."
"I did."
"You two find Isabel. I'll find Peter."
"Scott."
"Go. Just find her."
"We haven't time to argue about this," Deucalion interrupted when Derek opened his mouth to argue.
Derek sighed and nodded before he and Deucalion continued the way they had been going. Scott turned and looked around. He had a feeling that he needed to find the Hale house.
~~~
Devin finally grabbed Stiles as he paced by him for the hundredth time. "Stop it. You're driving me crazy."
"Driving you crazy? My best friend is wandering around your ex-girlfriend and a psychopath's brain right now. It's nerve-wracking!"
"He's not a psychopath," Malia protested.
"He's not the psychopath we need to be worried about right now."
"What do you mean?" Chris asked.
Devin rubbed his forehead. "That witch is obviously the worse psychopath out of the two."
Stiles made a facial expression that said he agreed.
"Can we please stop with the psychopath comments?" Lydia sighed. "He can't exactly defend himself at the moment."
Peter suddenly flinched, Lydia rising to her feet the moment she saw it.
"What's happening?" Kira asked.
"I don't know. I'm not psychic."
Isabel's breathing picked up, as if she was running.
"She's doing something to them."
~~~
That bad feeling kept nagging Isabel as she helped her mother look for her necklace. She stopped and looked around, her eyes landing on a family photo of her and Vincent with their mother. Isabel was wearing a cap and gown, Beacon Hills High School in the background. She picked up the photo, remembering how Daniel had sacrificed himself in order for his family to escape the Dark Valkyries. Her brows then knit together. She couldn't recall when they moved to Beacon Hills. She set the photo down and left the room.
"What's wrong?" Vincent asked when she came downstairs.
"Nothing. I'm just trying to remember where I last saw Mama's necklace." She walked towards the door. "I'm going to take a walk. I think the fresh air might help clear my mind."
"Okay," Vincent smiled. "See you later." He then walked into the kitchen.
Isabel went outside. Their house had a large expanse of land around it, making it perfect for privacy. She glanced over her shoulder before she started running towards the woods.
~~~
Deucalion grabbed Derek's arm, stopping him. "Listen," he said before Derek could speak. They could hear someone running towards them.
Derek sniffed the air, then realized that he couldn't pick up scents. "I can't catch their scent."
"Neither can I." To Derek's surprise, Isabel burst through the trees, sliding to a stop upon seeing them.
"Isabel," Derek said. He wanted to step towards her, but he saw no recognition in her eyes.
"Who are you?"
Derek didn't answer, only looked at her.
"We're friends," Deucalion said. "We're here to take you home."
"No, I'm not going home."
Derek stepped forward. Faster than he realized she could move, she'd flicked out her talons and swiped, catching Derek across the chest. He gave a grunt of pain and his hand went to his chest. "I'm glad I heal," he said. "We're not talking about whatever home you think you have here."
"What are you talking about?"
"All this," Derek motioned around them. "Not real. It's literally a figment of your mind. The only thing that's real is us."
Isabel shook her head, taking a step back.
"Whatever life you're living, isn't real."
"I know something isn't right," Isabel admitted. "But I just don't know what it is."
"That's a start," Deucalion said.
"Come with us. Help us find Scott and Peter."
"Peter...," Isabel's eyebrows came together. "There's something familiar about that name."
"Good."
"What do you remember?" Deucalion said. "Tell us everything this scenario has told you is the truth."
"I don't remember coming to Beacon Hills. I remember Daddy dying so Mama could escape with me and Vincent. I just don't remember anything between then and now. Mama was just asking me to help her find her necklace."
Deucalion and Derek looked at each other.
"But if they aren't real..." She turned away.
"Are you planning on running?" Derek asked, having an idea.
"Maybe."
"Once you start running, you'll never stop. You'll always be running." The words he'd said to Isabel the night of their first kiss. When she was torn between running and staying.
"Have you never run from anything in your life?"
"Once, but I came back because I had something to hold me. I had a reason to stay."
Isabel suddenly spun around, the recognition returning to her eyes. "Derek."
Derek smiled, relieved that those words had been enough to trigger her memory.
"What happened? The last thing I remember is being in the old Hale house and the witch trapping..." She looked at Derek. "We have to find Peter before she kills him."
"Scott broke off from us to find him."
"I think I might know where they are."
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