CHAPTER SIXTEEN

It was the middle of December and there had still been no sign of Cierra. Alex was beginning to panic. He could still feel her, but every day, her energy got darker. If they didn't find her soon, it would be too late.

Danny had ensured that Jesse didn't face charges for killing the two young warlocks. Jesse was still beating himself up, but Aideen was keeping him distracted as they explored their new dynamic as a couple.

Alex tried to find joy in watching his "kids" fall in love. Jade and Spencer were the least likely to flaunt their relationship, rarely doing more than occasionally holding hands in public. Meanwhile, Beth and Randy seemed to be competing with Melissa and Arnie for the role of cutest couple. This was unusual, considering the fact that Melissa and Arnie were not even technically dating, but everyone considered them to be a couple anyway. Aideen and Jesse provided a balance between the other couples. They were not all over each other all of the time, but they were still pretty obvious about the fact that they were dating. It was nice to see something good amidst all of the chaos.

"So, Randy, my parents really want to get to know you," Beth said suddenly. "Would you like to come over for Christmas dinner? My parents throw a party every year for their friends."

"Sure," Randy replied, "if you'll come over for at least one of the eight nights of Chanukah. My Ma really wants to have you celebrate with us."

"That is too cute," Melissa said. "You guys are ridiculously adorable."

Beth and Randy both turned slightly pink with embarrassment. "Aw, look! They even blush together," Dylan teased them. It was clear he was still grieving his own lost love, but he seemed to take comfort in seeing his friends so happy.

Suddenly, Arnie began to scream. "Arnie?" Aideen asked. "What's wrong?"

Melissa got out of her usual spot in Arnie's lap and took his hand. "I'm guessing he got pulled to someone again," she said.

"No! Please don't!" Arnie screamed.

Aideen sighed. She pulled her lighter out and burned Arnie's hand, unwilling to risk leaving he trapped in whatever he was seeing.

Arnie cried out in pain and opened his eyes. "Hey! That hurt," he protested.

"Yeah, well, it sounded like things were getting bad," Aideen replied. "What did you see?"

"Cierra," he said softly.

"Cierra was attacked?" Alex asked.

"No. Cierra was doing the attacking," Arnie clarified. "Cierra killed someone, guys. More than one person, actually. And I don't think this was the first time."

"Oh my Gods," Spencer whispered in horror.

"Are we too late?" Cassandra asked. "Do we need to put her down?"

"Cassandra!" Alex said in horror. "No one is killing Cierra!"

"If Cierra has really turned into a coldblooded killer, we can't just let her keep murdering innocent people," Cassandra replied practically. 

"No," Arnie said firmly. "I felt her. Cierra still has good in her, but it's been blocked by her father. We just have to help her realize she's not pure evil, and fast."

"Where is she?" Cassandra asked.

"In a house... If I could just figure out her father's name..." Arnie mumbled.

"Henry," Spencer said suddenly.

"What?" Arnie asked in confusion.

"His name is Henry. Henry Williams. It just came to me."

"Hey, Spencer's better than the scroll!" Dylan said with a laugh.

Alex glared, but did not address the issue. Instead, he said, "Arnie, I want you to look up any information you can find on the last known address of Henry Williams, and any others he's had in the past. Focus on locations in Boston."

"Okay," Arnie replied. "I'll go look through the records now. I'll be back in a little while."

"I'll go with you," Melissa volunteered. She followed Arnie out of the house.

Alex tried not to panic as he once again sensed the darkness surrounding Cierra. If they didn't find her soon, Cassandra's worst case scenario might actually become reality.

That's not going to happen, he thought. No matter what happens, we are not losing Cierra.

~*~

"You have smart friends," Henry commented casually.

"What do you mean?" Cierra asked in confusion.

"They're looking for us, Cierra. They want to take you away from me," he explained.

"I won't let them. I love you, Dad. I belong here," she replied firmly.

"That's right, honey, you do. So we need to make sure that we're ready when they show up. Are you prepared to do whatever it takes to stay with me?"

"Of course I am. This is my home now. I belong with you... I have to master my magick."

"You're more special than you know, Cierra. One day, when you're ready, I'll tell you everything."

"I'm ready now."

"You're doing beautifully, sweetheart, but this secret is one that must come out in the right time. You must train more, and become even stronger. Once you reach your full potential, I promise the truth will be revealed."

Cierra nodded. "I'll work hard until I'm worthy," she promised.

"Good... First, we must stop your friends. Do you understand what that might mean?"

"I do," she replied. "And if that's what it comes to, then so be it."

No matter what, Cierra couldn't let anyone take her away from her father... Not even if it meant she had to kill them.

~*~

Arnie and Melissa returned to Alex's house an hour later. "We found the information," Arnie said. "Henry Williams lives in a family home in Boston. It's been in his family for generations. And get this... According to Salem's records, he's legally dead, but Boston lists him as alive and well."

"What do we do now?" Melissa asked. "Do I get to shapeshift and go undercover?"

"Cierra would expect that," Alex replied. "We're going to go rescue Cierra, but we're not going to trick her. That won't work. She needs to know she can still trust us."

"Is there a strategy, Alex, or do we just burst in and say die?" Aideen asked.

Alex walked into his closet and pulled out a box of weapons. He tossed swords to Aideen, Arnie, Cassandra, and Jesse. He took a machete for himself.

"No fair," Arnie said with a pout. "I wanna play with the machete!"

"We'll drive to Boston in as few cars as possible," Alex said, ignoring Arnie. "Once we get to the house, we'll stay together. Spencer, Jade, focus your energy on casting spells. Aideen, Arnie, Jesse, Cassandra, I want you guys to prepare for physical combat. Randy, Melissa, try and deflect as many of the warlock spells as you can from the rest of us, because I'm sure there will be plenty. I'll help with that. Dylan, I want you to keep an eye on everyone and heal whoever needs it."

"Wait... Do you really think this will get that bad?" Dylan asked.

"I know it will." Alex sighed. "We're not in for an easy battle tonight. Oh, and Beth-"

"Hide in a corner and let Jade cover me. I know," Beth said.

"Actually, I need you to help me track Cierra's father. You felt his energy more than anyone else did. I can't do it on my own, and he's got a confusion spell around the house that will make it hard to find."

"Really?" Beth asked in surprise.

"Really." Alex smiled at Beth's reaction. "It's time we test out what you're capable of." He looked at the others before he added, "Let's go."

~*~

When the Silver Society arrived at Henry's house, Henry and Cierra were ready for them. They had cast a shield around the house that would tilt things into their favor for the battle that was coming.

As soon as the members of the Silver Society walked into the house, they knew they were in trouble. "The door was unlocked," Arnie said suspiciously. "It's too easy. I don't trust this."

"They know we're here," Jade agreed. "This is a trap."

"So much for the element of surprise," Dylan mumbled.

Aideen suddenly fell to the floor and began screaming in pain. Slashes started appearing all over her body.

"It's a torture spell," Alex said in horror. "And I think Cierra was the one who cast it." He felt sick at the thought of Cierra willingly harming anyone, let alone one of her friends.

"How do we break it?" Melissa asked.

Before anyone could reply, Arnie, Randy, Jesse, Dylan, Alex, and Cassandra suddenly all fell under the same spell.

"Oh my gosh, they just took out all of our slayers!" Beth cried in alarm. She looked like she might go along for the ride because of her empathy. Jade immediately wrapped a psychic shield around her to block her from the slayers.

"Cierra's father is one smart warlock," Melissa mumbled as she looked at the slayers with obvious concern.

"Henry has Cierra with him. She can tell him exactly who presents the biggest risk to him," Jade pointed out.

"We have to find them," Spencer said.

"Oh, we're right here, Spencer," Cierra's voice said from the darkness. She and Henry stepped into view. They had been lurking in the shadows, waiting for the perfect moment to reveal themselves.

"Cierra, don't make me hurt you," Spencer said. "Please."

"You can't hurt me," Cierra replied. "I'm a warlock from a powerful bloodline. I'm stronger than I've ever been."

"Light is always stronger than darkness, Cierra," Spencer replied. "You know that."

"I found power, Spencer. And I'm not giving it up!"

"You always had power, Cierra. Don't you see that?"

"With you, all I did was research and translate and do some very basic magick! I'm much stronger now. I can cast spells you'd have wet dreams over."

"That is not Cierra talking," Melissa said under her breath.

Henry was inching toward Aideen and Arnie, who were getting hit worse than any of the others by the torture spells. Jade could sense the spells getting stronger. Henry was going to kill them if someone didn't do something soon.

Spencer, Cierra's just a distraction. Don't fall for it. Henry is going to go after Aideen and Arnie, Jade warned him telepathically.

Spencer looked at Aideen and Arnie and knew that Jade was right. He hurried toward them.

Henry saw him coming and reacted quickly. He began to cast a death spell so powerful that Spencer knew even Aideen would be affected. Although she was a generation of Death, and most spells of this nature couldn't touch her, this one was different.

Knowing he had no other choice, Spencer grabbed onto Henry's spell. He redirected the energy, sending it back toward the warlock.

Henry realized too late what was happening. He tried to deflect the spell, but it hit him hard. The force of it flung Henry into the air. He slammed against the ceiling. His body crumpled and fell to the floor. He landed awkwardly and didn't move. His neck was visibly broken. His lifeless eyes stared at Spencer.

"Dad!" Cierra screamed. She increased the power of the torture spells, causing everyone to bleed more freely. She glared at Spencer with pure hatred in her eyes. "Ego do tibi intolerabilis dolor!" She shouted. "I give you unbearable pain!"

Spencer let out a cry of pure agony as he fell to the floor. His torture spell was now the strongest of the bunch.

"What do we do?" Beth asked.

"Run and hide?" Melissa suggested sarcastically. As she said this, Cierra cast a torture spell on her. She began screaming before she fell to the floor in pain.

Jade was distracted by that development just long enough that Cierra was able to sneak up behind Beth and grab her.

Cierra pinned Beth into a corner. She began casting a shield so that no one could get close enough to stop her.

"Let her go, Cierra," Jade said firmly, standing just outside of the shield. She tried to break it, but it was too strong.

"I'm sorry, Jade," Cierra replied. "I'm afraid that I can't do that."

"Beth hasn't done anything to you, Cierra. You have no reason to hurt her," Jade pointed out.

"She's one of them," Cierra said in disgust.

"What do you mean?" Jade asked.

"She's one of the ones that want to destroy my family."

"Beth is empathic, Cierra, and she can barely control that. She is not a threat to you or your family."

"You don't understand what she is! Bethany lives, and every breath she takes threatens my family's existence. She threatens all warlocks!" Cierra put pressure on Beth's throat.

If she kept it up, Beth knew Cierra would crush her windpipe, but she was pretty sure that she was better off not trying to defend herself, so she tried not to struggle and make things worse.

"What the hell does that mean?" Jade demanded. She knew she needed to get closer to Beth. If she didn't, Cierra was going to kill her.

"You will understand, in time," Cierra replied. "Everyone will understand."

"No, I won't. I will never understand you killing an innocent person, Cierra," Jade replied firmly.

"She is not innocent, but she is sleeping." Cierra removed her hand from Beth's throat.

Beth began coughing as she frantically took in air. "What is she talking about?" She asked once she was able to stop coughing.

"I'm not sure," Jade replied. "Just stay calm, Beth. I won't let her hurt you."

"You can't stop me, Jade," Cierra said, almost as if she was daring her to try. This time, she wrapped both of her hands around Beth's throat and began to squeeze tightly.

"Yes I can," Jade replied. "You'd be surprised what I can do, Cierra. Now, let Beth go, or else."

"Or else what, Jade?" Cierra demanded.

"Or else you're going to find out exactly what happened to my parents," Jade replied firmly.

"You would really kill me, Jade?" Cierra asked.

"I don't want to, but if it came down to it, yes, I will, Cierra. I won't let you hurt Beth, or anyone else."

"You aren't strong enough," Cierra challenged her.

"You don't know that for sure," Jade replied. "Do you really want to test the theory?"

Cierra tightened her grip on Beth's throat to a perilously strong hold. Beth was struggling to remain conscious.

"I have new power that even you can't defeat, Jade," Cierra insisted

"The light is stronger than the darkness," Jade replied softly.

"Ah, but Jade, you aren't light, are you? You have the same darkness in your heart that I do. You understand this power."

"I thrive in darkness, Cierra, but I'm not evil. And neither are you."

"Yes I am. We both are! Join our side, Jade. It's in your blood, just like it's in mine."

Suddenly, Jade understood what had made Cierra snap. "Light and dark, good and evil, those aren't in your blood, Cierra," Jade said. "They exist in your choices."

"My father is one of the strongest warlocks in Boston. He survived death. He fooled everyone!" Cierra insisted.

"Henry was evil, but you aren't," Jade replied. "You have good in your heart, Cierra. You have light in your heart, just like I do."

"I was born to be evil," Cierra protested. A slight hint of desperation appeared in her eyes.

Jade understands. Jade can help, Cierra thought. I don't want to be this monster, but I killed people... I'm lost... I'm drowning in darkness, and there's no way out... Stop fighting, Cierra. Give in... Give in to your destiny!

"Cierra, listen to me," Jade said. "I was born to be evil, too, but I chose to be good instead. It's pretty fun to screw up the bad guys' plans by going rogue, Cierra. You should try it."

Cierra's torture spells began to break one at a time. Jade could feel the other Silver Society members starting to regain control of their bodies.

"I can't. I don't have it in me," Cierra protested. "I'm weak... But my bloodline has power..."

"That power is inside of you, Cierra. It's up to you how you use it."

"I'm evil... I've done so much evil since I came to Boston..."

"You were good for sixteen years, Cierra."

"Yes, I was. I was good for sixteen years, and what did it get me? A dead mother, no friends... Nothing." Cierra suddenly dug her nails into Beth's throat. Blood slowly began to seep out of the wounds. Beth silently cried as the pain grew too intense to bear.

"You have friends! You have the Silver Society," Jade insisted. "You have me. And I don't make friends easily."

"The Silver Society only tolerates me because of our shared destiny."

"Yes, we have karma, but it's more than that. We care about you. We're family, Cierra. Blood doesn't make a family... Love does. We are your family. Me, Beth, Aideen, Arnie, Alex, Spencer, Melissa, Jesse, Dylan, Randy, Cassandra... We're you're family, just like Tyler and Terri are your family. Even Joey is your family, and Clarissa, and Courtney, and everyone else that connects into our group. The Unit is your family. Everyone that connects to our community is your family. We're a family because of love, Cierra. Screw blood ties! They don't mean anything! I know what's in your heart, Cierra, and it's not evil!"

Light suddenly burst into the room. Jade realized the magick was coming from within Cierra. It had been trapped inside of her in a place where she couldn't touch it, but as Cierra processed Jade's words, her light had finally broken free.

Cierra gasped as tears began streaming down her cheeks. She released Beth and collapsed onto her hands and knees. "Oh Gods... What have I done?" She asked.

Jade knelt beside her. She glanced at Beth and asked, "Are you okay?"

Beth nodded numbly. "Go stand with the others," Jade said. "It's going to be okay now."

Beth hurried to hide behind Alex. The other members of the Silver Society were all slowly standing up and recovering quickly from the effects of the torture spells. Dylan inspected Beth's wounds and immediately began healing them.

"It's okay, Cierra. It's over now," Jade said gently.

"I... I killed people..." Cierra whispered in horror.

"Yeah, I've been there, done that, and practically wrote the textbook. It's alright. You're not that person, Cierra. That was your father's doing. You're better than that, okay?"

"I'm sorry... Oh, Gods, Beth! I'm so sorry, Beth..." Cierra started crying harder as she watched Dylan continue to heal Beth's neck.

"It's okay," Beth replied softly. "I know you didn't mean it."

"I nearly killed you..."

"But you didn't, which is what matters, right? You stopped yourself."

"I tried... This tiny part of me was screaming at me to stop, but all that came out was a whisper."

"You didn't attack Jade," Beth said. "You left her alone because that tiny part of you knew she could help you... You knew she'd understand what you were dealing with."

Jade looked at Beth in surprise. "You're right," she realized. "Cierra knew I'd either help her or kill her before she killed everyone else. Either way, she'd be free."

"I was trying to ask for your help, but I couldn't," Cierra admitted. "I thought your telepathy might be the key to getting control of my mind, but the power took over and I couldn't let you in." She shook her head. "I don't know what's happening to me."

"It was your father, Cierra," Alex replied. "He was controlling you. He used the power of your bloodline to corrupt you."

"Where is he?" Cierra asked nervously.

"You don't remember?" Aideen asked in surprise. Cierra shook her head. "I'm sorry, Cierra. Spencer killed him. It was self-defense. He would have killed all of us if Spencer hadn't stopped him."

"Oh..." Cierra said softly. "What's wrong with me? Why do I still care? Why the hell am I sad that monster is dead after all of the things he did to me? After all of the things he had me do to innocent people? Why do I feel guilty that he's gone?"

"He was your father," Spencer replied gently. "You lost him once, believing he was dead for your entire life, and now you had him back and had to lose him again, in a much more painful way... And I'm really sorry for that, Cierra..." He looked ashamed of what had happened.

"You had to do it, Spencer," Cierra said softly. "I understand that. I don't blame you, and I'm not mad. I'm grateful you kept him from killing everyone... I'm so sorry, guys! I never meant for any of this to happen..."

"Stop apologizing," Melissa said. "Everyone's entitled to screw up once in a while, Cierra, even you."

"She's right," Cassandra added, surprising everyone. She was certainly not known for being a forgiving person. "I mean, the rest of us screw up all the time. I even do it on rare occasion. It's about time that you messed up."

"You guys are way too good to me," Cierra replied.

"Yeah, but that's because we love you," Arnie said. He cautiously approached her before giving her a tight hug.

"So that's it?" Cierra asked. "All is forgiven and it's just over?"

"This part is over," Alex replied. "There's nothing to forgive because it wasn't your fault, Cierra. The only person here who needs to forgive you is you, and that's going to take some time." He hugged her, too, pulling her out of Arnie's arms and protectively into his own.

"You need to come home now," Alex continued as he held her. "Tyler will be relieved. He's been really worried about you."

"Oh Gods, I said horrible things to him," Cierra said in horror. "I wouldn't be surprised if he kicked me out."

"He wouldn't do that. You're his daughter," Aideen replied. "Tyler loves you, Cierra. A good parent can forgive their kid no matter how badly they screw things up. Henry was a monster who was just using you for power. Tyler is a good father. He'd do anything for you."

"I never meant to hurt anyone," Cierra said softly. "When I came to Boston, I just wanted to find my birth father. I had no idea he was a warlock... I didn't even know he was supernatural. I just knew that he was a doctor, and he was charming, and he was this piece of me that I was missing... I didn't run away to hurt you or get into all of this trouble. I would never hurt you guys, or Tyler..."

"We know," Alex said soothingly. "You can't change the past, Cierra... But you can learn from this experience. And, considering you're the smartest person I've ever met, I know that you will." He paused before adding, "Come on, sweetie. Let's go home."