Sister Witches

Burning and The Death of a Coven

Angel rubbed her hand up and down Mallory's back in a sympathetic manner, "Come on. Let's go home."

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Things had finally calmed down for some time after that. Behold and John Henry returned to Hawthorne's in order to teach their boys. The witches returned to New Orleans and were busy teaching their girls. Upon their return, Cordelia had told all the witches in the Council of Michael's ominous warning to kill every last one of them as retribution to what they did for killing Mead- whom he viewed as his true mother. They were concerned but tried not to let it stop them from their day-to-day activities. Zoe, Queenie and Angel were back as teachers for the time being, no more trips to California planned for them.

Misty had actually sent a letter in that time to Angel, two copies of a photo of her and Stevie posing in front of Niagara Falls, sent with it- one for her and the other for Cordelia. She detailed all of that which she had seen during her time on tour with the White Witch. She also expressed how Angel would've loved to see all the different sights with her and how much she missed her. The letter made the younger Day sister's heart soar. She was happy to hear that Misty was doing well in her journey of healing after her extended stint in Hell. She had taken the time to update her sister on her current activities, leaving out the heavy stuff. It ultimately left the letter a little short but she had made sure to make her sister aware of her current relationship status.

Speaking of which, Mallory and Angel's relationship had been going well. The two made it a habit to go out to Misty's old shack at least one night a week and spend time alone. Their relationship was progressing slowly but it felt natural to the girls. The swamp-side home serving as their private getaway from the coven. Eventually, their friends had caught on to what they were doing, Madison of course, making a sexual comment on it. Despite how close the two were, they both expressed that they weren't ready to take that certain step in their relationship. They were content enough to cuddle closely in bed and wake up with limbs entwined the next morning- fully clothed. They would spend their time just simply allowing themselves to be normal teenage girls, momentarily ignoring their responsibilities and living carefree.

But of course, as long as they were at the academy, there was work to be done. During the period of peace, Mallory had been constantly working to expand and strengthen her abilities. Such as now, Angel was sitting before Mallory in one of the upstairs rooms as the brunette was focusing on the body of a dead parakeet in front of her. Her eyes were closed and her hands hovered over the bird as she worked to bring life to the animal once again.

"It's okay not to get it right every time." Angel encouraged as Mallory's attempts had continuously failed. Mallory only glared at her girlfriend through her eyelashes.

Angel shrugged and gave the girl a sheepish smile, she shook her head, the sunglasses sitting atop of her hair shifting slightly.

The two had failed to notice Cordelia and Myrtle watching the interaction from the doorway of the room until the Supreme spoke up, "You're pushing too hard."

Mallory shook her head and glanced up at the other witches as they approached the younger ones, "I don't get it; I used to be able to do this." She said dejectedly.

"You're exhausting yourself, dear." Myrtle said.

Angel nodded her head in agreement, "Try to relax. Don't force it." She recommended, giving a soft smile to the girl as she looked over at her.

"Witchcraft is an art. But our powers only develop as fast as our cerebellum allows." Myrtle spoke wisely.

"So just give it time. That's all we're saying." Cordelia smiled.

"What if we don't have time?" Mallory asked, rising from her seat, "Michael told you he was coming to kill us all."

"We'll be fine as long as we stay here, in this house." Cordelia spoke calmly. Then she looked at Angel, "So no more trips out to your special place. I put all of Robichaux under the protection of an aura shield. Every witch will be safe, but any human, demon, or other, will find it impossible to step through our front door."

Mallory looked back at Angel, "So that's why you haven't been wearing your sunglasses as much."

The blonde shrugged, "I still see them, but the colors are so muted it's easy to ignore them all."

Cordelia chuckled, "I could've used the spell on you a long time ago. Rather than just enchanting your sunglasses."

"And lose my patented power?" She asked, sarcastically, "I rather enjoy looking at Mallory's aura, thank you very much."

They continued to idly chit-chat for a few minutes, Cordelia giving small tips to Mallory when needed, when suddenly Angel winced. Her eyes had been assaulted by the witch's auras coming back full-force. She shut her eyes tightly and gasped out in slight pain.

Everyone looked at her, "Angel, what's wrong?" Cordelia asked.

She breathed heavily, "Something happened to the shield. Your auras are back, they nearly blinded me."

"What? How is that possible?" Cordelia looked over at Myrtle in concern.

Angel gasped out, her eyes wide and filled with panic, "Michael's here!"

Before anything else could be said, they all heard the sound of screaming and gunshots coming from downstairs. Angel jumped up from her seat and attempted to leave the room with the intention of helping her fellow sisters but Cordelia and Myrtle stopped her by slamming the door before she could get past the doorway.

"What are you doing?" She exclaimed as Myrtle grabbed a tight hold of her arm to keep her in place.

"We need to leave before Michael finds his way up here." Myrtle said lowly.

Mallory rushed forward to her girlfriend's side, "No, we need to stop him."

"We have to keep you safe." Myrtle implored.

"I don't understand; our sisters are dying!" Mallory yelled, attempting to leave the room herself.

Cordelia grabbed her arm and looked into her eyes, "There is nothing you can do to help, you're not ready." Her voice was shaky, "He is going to kill you and I can't let that happen." Tears began to form in her eyes.

"Well what about me?! I can do something, just let go of me!" Angel shouted, trying to loosen the grasp the redhead had on her.

"No!" Cordelia exclaimed, turning her serious gaze to Angel, "I won't allow that to happen either. We need to leave now."

"This is bullshit!" Angel cried as Cordelia took a firm hold of her other arm and led the women towards the open windows on the opposite side of the room. As they climbed down, Angel couldn't help but let the tears flow from her eyes. She knew that Zoe and Queenie were downstairs in the middle of a lesson, she knew that they were dead. And she was furious. Furious at Michael for killing them in the first place, furious at Cordelia and Myrtle for stopping her, and furious at herself for not fighting harder to save them- or anyone for that matter.

"Where do we go now, dear?" Myrtle asked, looking at the distraught Supreme, "Our safe haven is no longer safe anymore."

She didn't respond, her mind solely focused on her girls who were now dead. Mallory looked over at her and then Angel, who was also silent. Her blue eyes were glassy and dull, she was staring off into nothing.

"I think I know where we can go." She announced, taking the lead and bringing the witches along with her.