Post by StoryGirl83 on Nov 17, 2021 0:00:20 GMT -5
Chapter Thirty-Eight - Richmond v. Warren Round 2
12:36 PM (3:36 PM in Duxbury)
Slow clapping reached his ears as the sparks flew from the chain holding him in the forest. Wyatt and Chris had quickly given up on magical solutions as nothing they did with magic even touched the chains let alone released them. Wyatt had even tried calling the chains and the shackles to him, which sounded extremely strange to Dave, but there really wasn’t anything he could do to remove them himself, so he let them try.
“I’m impressed,” a much hated voice proclaimed as the clapping came to a stop.
Whatever was going on had his new powers on the fritz, again, which meant he was as blind as he’d been most of his life. It didn’t take eyes to identify the voice as belonging to Willamina Richmond. That woman was responsible for a lot of death, starting with his parents and moving to much of the town of Duxbury. Now, much of the city of Duxbury had been decimated, again, and once more it was her fault. He only wished there was something he could do to save all those people who were left, in Duxbury and elsewhere.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a witch wield such tremendous power over movement like that.”
For a moment the world around him was awash with the weird colors his power seemed to perceive as vision. It was just long enough for him to see something pull Paige away from where she appeared to be healing a wound on Prue’s leg and throw her high into the air. It was a good thing Paige could orb, because that was the last thing he saw before his powers blinked out, again.
“Shackles,” he heard Chris’ voice call and suddenly he felt the weight on his ankle vanish. At the same time his powers started working again and he could see, or at least what was passing for vision these days. Considering how long he’d been without any ability to see, he’d take what he could get.
“What!” Willamina didn’t sound amused anymore. “You can’t defeat my spells!” Before they could react, she raised her arms in the air and a tree that hadn’t been there a moment before came barreling at them, roots and all.
He felt a hand clamp onto him and he was enveloped in multi colored lights just as the tree went right through him. Strangely he felt nothing other than the disorienting sensation of the lights surrounding him. As suddenly as they appeared, they were gone and he found himself wobbling back and forth, the grip on his arm lessening and disappearing.
He whipped around to look where Wyatt had been working on the chains holding Sam in the forest and his eyes widened in shock. The chain was still there resisting magic as it had been since they first saw it, but inches in every direction from it was some sort of energy shield. Wyatt stood in front of Sam, his arms thrown up, shielding his face, both of them safely behind the shield.
As for the tree Willamina had thrown at them, he could see it in the distance, cut in two. He looked back down at his brother, who looked about as shocked as he felt.
“Wyatt! Your shield!”
“My what?” Wyatt asked, moving his arms away from his face, the shield instantly dropping. “What are you talking about?”
12:42 PM (3:42 PM in Duxbury)
Piper did not like the idea of using her sons as bait, but at the moment they were doing a really good job of keeping the attention off her and her sisters. She’d already reset her freeze several times, never affecting Willamina and with the other Richmonds resisting it sooner and sooner. One of them, one of Willamina’s sons as best she could figure, had stopped responding to her freeze all together, but instead of using this to his advantage, he watched the scene around him with a thoughtful look on his face.
Unless assessing the scene was his way of taking advantage of this, he really wasn’t accomplishing much.
Nearby her, Prue pushed to her feet and tested her leg. She stayed upright so Piper assumed Paige had managed to heal the break before she had been thrown out of the way.
Paige appeared in blue and white lights at her side. “I think it’s time we do something about this warlock before she gets her allies back.”
“I’ve seen you before.”
Piper looked startled at Willamina’s son. “What?”
“I’d almost forgotten, it has been so long, but I remember you.”
“You don’t know us,” Paige shot back.
He chuckled as Piper’s freeze broke again. This time nothing happened when Piper tried to bring it back. No one froze.
“Marie, you mocked me before, but this is the women I saw in my vision.”
Oliver’s mother stopped her attack on them. “What are you talking about, William? What vision?”
“The one I had when we were still witches,” William informed her. “The one all of you mocked as impossible. Women in breeches is scandalous after all.”
Breeches? Piper blinked and glanced down at her slacks.
“Piper, focus!”
Piper nodded and looked at her sisters.
“It’s now or never on that spell of yours, Prue,” Paige called.
“It’s yours actually,” Prue retorted.
“Mine?” Paige shook her head. “Never mind. Just cast it.”
“They aren’t all here, so grab my hand,” Prue called back to her. “We need this to go long distance.”
Before they could say another word, Piper was yanked away from her sisters and sent flying.
One of Willamina’s daughters gave her a haughty grin. “If you need to be together, best not let that happen.”
Piper made a face. She couldn’t freeze them any more, but that wasn’t the only power she had. With a flick of her hands, an explosion sent seven of the eight warlocks flying toward the trees. She ran over to where her sisters had gathered and grabbed Prue’s hand. “Let’s do this.”
12:48 PM (3:48 PM in Duxbury)
Chris breathed a sigh of relief as Willamina was lifted high into the air by a whirlwind. He sent a thumbs up at Rebecca and rolled his eyes when he realized there was no way she’s understand the gesture even if she could see if from this distance. She was still stuck on that altar with her daughter. “Thanks!” At least she’d likely hear that, but he didn’t stop to listen for a response as he grabbed Dave up off the ground where he’d fallen with Willamina’s last attack.
Behind him he heard his brother call for the shackle holding Sam to the forest as Wyatt finally managed to get the chain cut from its tether. Good. One less problem to worry about.
Looking at Dave, he realized his many greats-uncle was holding his arm at a weird angle. “You okay?”
Dave frowned. “Is Sam free?”
“You can’t see him?” Dave was looking straight at him.
“I’m blind, remember?”
Actually he didn’t. Dave hadn’t acted like he couldn’t see.
“And no, right now, I can’t.”
“We’d better get you away from here,” Chris commented. Not waiting for a response, he orbed the two of them to the edge of the forest. From what Seth had told him, orbing was slow in this general area, so he couldn’t go very far. “I appreciate you help,” he said and as they materialized, “But if you can’t see.”
“No, this is my fight,” Dave protested. “You can’t take me away from it. My little brother is there.” He shook his head, sounding almost awed as he added, “My little sister, too, and my mom. You can’t keep me away from there.”
Chris groaned. “Look I don’t have time to argue this.”
“I’m going back,” Dave told him, taking a few steps in one direction before stopping. “Which way?”
Before Chris could answer, an explosion rocked the forest sending them both backwards. In a panic Chris orbed as he fell to the ground, but the explosion hit him before he was fully orbed out and smashed him into the dirt. Pain registered in him for only a moment before he blacked out.
12:48 PM (3:48 PM in Duxbury)
“Flesh and blood of mortal men, the lifetimes lived time and again. A curse stopped the flow of blood in their veins. It’s time to end their ill gotten gains.”
“Ah!”
Not expecting such an immediate response, Prue looked toward the screech.
“Is this my blood?” a curly haired blonde screeched, shaking as she stared down at her hands covered in blood. “But I don’t bleed,” she protested, as if that would help. “Other people bleed. Not me.”
She started rocking back in forth, shaking even harder, with fear or anger, Prue didn’t know. She didn’t know her name, but she had definitely identified her as one the Richmond granddaughters. There appeared to be a thick pointed branch sticking out of her stomach.
“Miriam!”
Marie ran over to Miriam screaming even harder. “No! I already lost Oliver! You can’t die, Miriam!”
“George, wall,” William yelled at his brother.
Piper jerked her head around, but by the time she raised her armed a wall of ice had sprung up between them and the Richmonds.