Destiny [D.H.]

35

"Yeah, Ella and I are thinking that's gonna be kind of unlikely."

"Each of you, try to remember he's just doing what he thinks is right."

I scoffed. "Well he's dead wrong."

Isaac stepped into the room. "I can't shoot a gun or use a crossbow, but... Well, I'm... I'm getting pretty good with these." He flicked his claws.

Stiles and I left. He went to Lydia's and I went home.

Sometime later, my phone buzzed. It was a message from Allison. I gasped and dropped my phone.

Evan picked my phone up. "What is it, El?"

"J-Jennifer. She's got all four sacrifices," I told him. "Ev, what if she kills Dad?!"

"She won't, okay?"

"She killed the other sacrifices!"

"They didn't have you or your friends. Eliana, Dad will be back. Trust me, okay?"

I nodded, slowly relaxing into his embrace. "Okay."

Lydia texted me that the location was the Nemeton, wherever the hell that was.

I met my friends in the forest.

"It has to be on a telluric current, or maybe even at the axis of two or where they all intersect," Stiles said. "I just know, Ella knows too, it's where Derek took Paige to die."

"My dad took Gerard there once," Allison informed. "But Gerard said that was years ago, and he couldn't remember where it was. And my dad obviously isn't here to tell us."

"Yeah, mine either. Or Ella's."

"Lucille's been there I think, but obviously I'm not talking to her," I said.

"Then how do we find this place?" Isaac asked.

Deaton walked up. "There might be a way. But it's dangerous. We're gonna need Scott."

Scott joined us later and asked, "How'd you guys find out?"

"Lydia," Stiles and I replied. "You?"

"Morrell. None of the others alphas know where it is either."

"So if this works, are you gonna tell them?" Stiles wondered.

"I can't stop Jennifer without them."

Deaton looked between us. "How about we concentrate on finding your parents first?"

"What's the plan?" Scott questioned.

"Essentially you, Allison, Stiles, and Eliana need to be surrogate sacrifices for your parents."

"We die for them?"

"But he can bring us back," Stiles reassured. "You can... you can bring us back, right?"

"You remember the part where I said it was dangerous?" Deaton questioned. "If it goes right, the four of you will be dead for a few seconds, but there's something else you need to think about. This is a dangerous thing for more reasons than one. You'll be giving power to the Nemeton, a place that hasn't had power for a long time. This kind of power is like a magnet. It attracts the supernatural, the kind of things that a family like the Argents can fill the pages of a bestiary with. It will draw them here, like a beacon."

"Doesn't sound any worse than anything we've already seen."

"You'd be surprised at what you have yet to see."

"Is that it?" Scott asked.

"No. It'll also have an effect on the four of you. You won't be able to see it, but you'll feel it every day for the rest of your lives. It'll be a kind of a darkness around your heart, and permanent, like a scar."

"Like a tattoo."

I made my way back home and found my dad's favorite photo of me and him.

We met back up at the animal clinic and showed our items. There were four tin baths, like the one Isaac had laid in.

"Um, I got my dad's badge," Stiles said. "Jennifer kind of crushed it in her hand, so I tried hammering it out a bit. Still doesn't look great."

"Well, it doesn't need to look good if it has meaning. Is that an actual silver bullet?"

"My dad made it. It's kind of a ceremonial thing. When one of us finishes learning all the skills to be a hunter, we forge a silver bullet as a testament to the code."

I held up the picture. "This is my dad's favorite picture of him and me. The first time he took me fishing."

"Scott?" Deaton called.

"My dad got my mom this watch when she first got hired at the hospital," Scott informed. "She used to say it was the only thing in their marriage that still worked."

"Okay, the four of you will get in. Each of us will hold you down until you're essentially... Well, dead. But it's not just someone to hold you under. It needs to be someone who can pull you back, someone that has a strong connection to you, a kind of emotional tether." Lydia started moving towards Allison. "Lydia... You go with Stiles."

"Are you sure?" Allison asked, realizing Isaac would be with her. "I mean, Scott and I both have to go under."

"It's okay," Scott told her.

Evan hugged me and kissed the top of my head. "Don't worry, little sister. You'll be just fine."

We stepped into the water and shivered. Freezing cold water was not something I anticipated.

Stiles and I glanced at Scott before Stiles said, "By the way, if Ella and I don't make it back and you do, or if she does make it back, you should probably know something. Your dad's in town."

I nodded. "Asking his usual."