Nemeton. That's what saved Julia Baccari's life nine years. That's why she is sacrificing people. She wants to bring power back to the old tree in the hopes that it will give her enough power to defeat Deucalian and his pack of alphas.
Outside of giving the darach power, it is also a mystical beacon. If activated it will lure varying types of supernatural creatures to Beacon Hills. Enough to fill a bestiary-- according to Deaton. So, naturally, the first thought is to stop Jennifer aka Julia aka darach from performing the last three sacrifices. That would be a lot easier if she didn't have two of the three in her possession.
After escaping from the hospital, it was discovered that both Scott and Melissa were missing. Melissa because she was taken as a sacrifice. Scott because he went with Deucalian in exchange for the alphas help in stopping Jennifer's plans. Charlie can't blame Scott for seeing no other way. She had gone to Deucalian herself only moments prior. But that doesn't mean everyone else is as accepting of his decision.
Allison, Stiles, and Isaac are hurt that their friend didn't trust them enough to come up with a plan. Though, the three of them have different ways of expressing it. Stiles threw himself into the research and figuring out a way to save his dad, his best friend's mom, and his best friend. Allison went straight for her weapons. Isaac, though, is currently about to take his feelings out on Derek.
Charlie stands off to the side leaning against the wall with her hands in her coat pocket. Most of her cuts and bruises have faded but the cut from her head wound is only slowly healing. Her eyes are glued on Isaac who paces back and forth in the loft. His blue eyes constantly shift between Derek and Cora. Just as Charlie suspected, Jennifer bolted the first chance she got and left a dying Cora behind. Derek has barely looked away from her.
Normally Charlie would step in and stop whatever words that are about to spill out of Isaac's mouth. There are no words the young beta can say to his alpha that aren't already racing through said alphas mind. Derek is his own worst critic. He takes the pain and blame from every bad decision he's ever made and carries the weight on his shoulders. As much as Isaac's words don't need to be heard by Derek, they need to be said by the beta.
"She's dying, isn't she?" Isaac asks as he stares at Cora's sleeping form.
"I don't know."
"So what are you gonna do?"
"I don't know."
"Want to figure something out?" Isaac asks and his frustration finally seeps through. As of that moment, it no longer matters that Derek is his alpha. Not when there's going to be a new alpha soon. "Because while Scott and Stiles and Charlie were out there trying to help people from being killed, you were in here, rolling around the sheets with the actual killer. Do you get how many people she's killed? Erica and Boyd are dead, Cora is dying, Charlie was nearly killed by this woman and you are doing nothing!"
Charlie stares down at the floor. This is where she should step in but she doesn't. Isaac is standing only a couple of feet from Derek. Their is anger and grief in his eyes. Maybe even a little bit of grief. Even if she did choose to step in, it wouldn't stop him.
"Why'd you do this to us, Derek? Was it all about the power? Were you bored? Were you lonely?" He asks.
"Maybe," Derek says finally. He turns his attention back to Cora. "I told Cora I wouldn't leave. I'll help the others when I figure out how to help her."
"There's no time! The full moon's coming," Isaac says as he walks towards the door of the loft. "The sheriff and Melissa are gonna be dead, so I'm gonna try and help them. You can sit here and perfect the art of doing nothing."
And with that, he slides the door closed. Charlie listens as he goes. Isaac may be angry but that doesn't mean his words don't have weight. Derek became an alpha because he saw the opportunity for power and grabbed it. He took on the role of alpha and mentor to betas before he was ready. There's a chance that Erica and Boyd would both still be breathing if he had of waited instead of jumping in head first.
She pushes her body away from the wall and walks towards exit. Isaac is right. There isn't time to wait for an answer to fall into their laps. They need to act now.
"I'm sorry," Derek says just as she reaches the door. "I'm sorry about Jennifer."
Charlie swallows the anger building up inside her. She sighs. "What are you sorry about, Derek? That you slept with the woman who is responsible for so many deaths or that you put yourself in a position where you had no one to turn to but her?"
Derek doesn't respond but his silence only irritates her further. She slides the loft door open with a little too much force effectively ripping the handle off. The sound echoes through the room causing Derek to rip his eyes away from his sister. His green eyes widen with curiosity at the sight of the door handle in her hand. Charlie stares down at it before releasing it to clang against the metal floor. Without another word, she leaves Derek with the company of his uncle and sister and his thoughts.
….
When Charlie left the loft, she had every intention of heading to the Argent's or to the vet clinic but when she pulls the key from the ignition of her car and steps out, she finds herself at Beacon Hills Cemetery. She looks around and spots a funeral happening on the other side of the cemetery. Instead of leaving-- like she knew she should-- she instead leans against the hood of her car to observe. As she stands there, she realizes that her coming there is a subconscious move. The only death she's picking up on is her own.
With everything happening, she has yet to take a moment and truly think about the words Jennifer said to her. The words Deucalian confirmed not even twenty-four hours ago. She's been too focused on saving everyone around, on saving Beacon Hills, to embrace what the two beings have predicted of her life.
It feels like a lifetime ago since she moved to Beacon Hills when in reality it's not even been a year yet. When she stepped off that bus all those months ago, she felt thought she was at the start of a new beginning. Now she knows it was the beginning of the end. This is the third time her body will have betrayed her. What's that saying? Third times the charm.
She stares over at the mourners and the strings of her heart tug. In less than a year, it will be her in a casket. She will be the one buried six feet in the dirt while her friends and family watch from above. It seems a cruel twist of fate to have her fight so hard to stifle any heartache being thrown at the people she cares about to be the one to cause it in the end.
A familiar ding drags her back into the reality happening around her. She slides her phone from her pocket to find a text from Stiles. Charlie recognizes the drawing as the one Lydia's been drawing for the past few weeks except it's turned so the branches look like tree roots and the base is merely a stump. A familiar stump.
Charlie raises off of the hood of her car and stares down at the photo. This is the nemeton. She knows because she's seen it before and not just in a dream. The night Matt took the police station hostage. When she was roaming around in the woods. She didn't become aware until she tripped onto a tree stump. The very same tree stump. The nemeton.
A/N: You guys, there's only three more chapters left in this book. So, this one took a bit of a depressing turn but Charlie hadn't actually taken any time to accept what two people have said to her and she needed that moment. I'm looking forward to developing her through this story line which will be a prominent arc for her during the next two books.
