Chapter 71 - Power is a drug ...

APPEARING BEFORE the council was the last thing that Lena wanted to do, but the time had come to finally put all of this behind them. It almost felt as if they had come full circle. After the war they had all been through, the five years Lena lived alone with little Ben, and giving up the power that made their bloodline who they were, testifying in front of the council should have been easy, shouldn’t it?

As Lena expected, the council’s questions were tough, but thanks to Alaric, they had the proof. After the death of the witches, their town was revealed because their death meant the spell was broken. There were books in their coven that were ancient and if Lena still had her blood magic, she would have been the most powerful witch of all time, but now that the magic was gone, she was just a normal witch.

Her entire family were just normal witches … It was strange. Lena felt as if a part of her was missing, but she didn’t miss it. Now that the magic was gone, she actually felt lighter. As if the blood magic was heavy … Testifying in front of the council was tough, but she knew in the end it would be worth it. If they could finally find some peace, she could actually just live her life.

The council was even tougher on Alaric for not telling them everything when it happened, but he handled them and she breathed a sigh of relief when they could finally leave. Lena was wrong. Life wasn’t going to be peaceful. Rebecca was struggling. She had tasted power once and she wanted it back. No amount of begging and threatening was going to stop her.

They had done all the research and Lena was scared that Rebecca might try and do the crossroads spell. She was scared that Rebecca might try to make a new deal with the demon, and she wasn’t wrong. She caught Rebecca studying the crossroads spell twice. Lena could feel a divide growing between them as the young witch hunted power. She was forced to speak to Alaric.

“She is not going to let it go.” Lena pulled her fingers through her hair in frustration.

“I know!” Alaric growled, feeling just as frustrated as Lena. He could have Rebecca guarded twenty-four-seven, but knowing his sister … She would find a way to get rid of her guards. She would find a way to do the spell and demand the demon give back her power. Their only option was to convince Rebecca that she had to let it go.

Lena didn’t think they would be able to convince Rebecca and she was right. After talking to her again, Lena sighed as she looked at Alaric. Rebecca … Sweet, innocent Rebecca had grown up and she wanted power. Alaric threatened to lock her up and they had a huge blow up. The situation wasn’t going to get any better until they could convince Rebecca not to pursue the spell.

“I can’t believe that she can’t see how dangerous it is. After everything we have been through. Everyone we lost.” Alaric waved his hands through the air. They were at a literal crossroads. Something had to be done and nobody knew exactly what.

Rebecca and Ben were very close, but they didn’t want to involve their little boy in all of this. He was still too small and they didn’t know if he was a hybrid. Lena fought the tears that were threatening to fall. She thought they were finally going to have some peace. Why couldn’t they just have peace? Lena suggested that they give Rebecca a couple of days to calm down and think about everything they told her. In the meantime, she would have a guard with her at all times.

Rebecca was furious, but Alaric wasn’t going to budge. Lena knew they didn’t have much time. They had to figure it out fast. How did you break the spell of power? How did you convince someone that they had to live without it? That kind of power was like a drug. That was why it kept their ancestors trapped for so long. All they had to do now was wait to see if Rebecca would withdraw and then hopefully it would all be over.

Sadly, Rebecca sneaked out within the first couple of hours and Alaric and Lena were informed the second the guard realized she was gone. They found Rebecca already halfway through the spell in the center of the crossing. Lena stopped her just in time before the demon could appear. Rebecca was more determined than they thought.

She gathered the ingredients without any of them realizing it. She was a lot more like her mother than they realized. Her mother hid so much from her family that it was scary. It wasn’t just about the power, Lena realized. Rebecca was still searching for her mother after all these years. When she found magic, she felt closer to her.

“Sweetheart, your mother will always be with you.” Lena tried to comfort her sister-in-law, but Rebecca didn’t want to hear about it. It was going to take a lot more than just words. They needed to find a way to show Rebecca that her mother was still there. That she still had something of her mother. Lena had to show Rebecca that magic wasn’t just about power.

She could understand why Rebecca was chasing power. Everyone did. They just had to somehow show Rebecca that power wasn’t everything. Lena took Rebecca to her old coven grounds. She was hoping that if she could link Rebecca to the ancestors, they could help her to fill the hole she suddenly felt. Lena hadn’t realized how much all of this had affected the young witch.

Now it was looking her square in the eyes. Rebecca didn’t know her mother. Rebecca had built her up the best way she knew how …