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callmebrycelee · 2 years ago

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9-1-1 REACTION

This reaction is for the season 6, eleventh episode "In Another Life" which originally aired March 13, 2023. This episode was written by Lyndsey Beaulieu and directed by Joaquín Sedillo & Jann Turner. Spoilers ahead!

***LAST TIME ON 9-1-1***Maddie and Chimney prepare for the arrival of Margaret and Phillip Buckley at their new home. Albert surprises Chimney when he brings their father all the way from Korea. Bobby investigates the death of his sponsor, Wendell, with the help of Athena and May. Buck gets struck by lightning while responding to an emergency.

Now that we're all caught up, let's chat about episode eleven - IN ANOTHER LIFE.

We begin the episode at Maddie and Chimney's house. We see Maddie making tea and talking to her mother, Margaret Buckley (Dee Wallace). The latter offers to go shopping for flowers and plants with Maddie. It seems like she is really trying to have a better relationship with her daughter. Reading some of the comments on Reddit this evening, a lot of folks aren't into the whole parent redemption storyline. I don't mind it because it seems like Maddie and Chimney's primary motivation for bringing the families together is for their daughter to have grandparents.

While Maddie goes to check on Jee-Yun. There's a knock at the door. Margaret goes to answer it and we don't immediately see who is there. Margaret calls out to Maddie and when Maddie comes to the door we see an officer. Maddie sheds her first tear of many in this episode when she asks him, "Which one?". Speaking of which one, we see the ambulance arrive at the hospital with Buck. Bobby, Chimney, Hen, and Eddie are working on Buck, trying to get a pulse which they get. Bobby tells the doctors that Buck is prone to having blood clots and that he has an allergy to naproxen. As they wheel Buck away, the rest of the 118 look beyond miserable.

Title card (sort of)!

Buck wakes up in a hospital room. His doctor (Aaron Staton) tells him he fell off a ladder and hit his head even though Buck's memory tells him otherwise. Maddie arrives and she's sporting the cutest pigtails. She calls the doctor Daniel. Maddie is Buck's nurse? The doctor tells him he is free to go home. Maddie tells Buck about family dinner and he asks, "Whose family?"

Buck arrives home with Daniel (his doctor and also his older brother). Buck is fascinated to see his parents doting on him. We learn via Margaret and Phillip (Gregory Harrison) that Buck is a school teacher in this reality. It totally makes sense that someone like Buck, who has compassion for everyone, especially children (as evident through his relationship with Christopher Diaz). is a teacher. Buck, however, is shocked by this revelation. He then sees a toy ferris wheel which reminds him of the tsunami that hit the pier back in Season 3. We even hear Christopher's screams. Buck sits down to watch a game with his dad and older brother, Daniel. He seems content with his new reality.

In our next scene, Buck and Daniel arrive at Maddie's house. Buck sees a painting of a winterscape which reminds him of the time Maddie was abducted by her ex-husband and she ended up fighting for her life in Big Bear. We (and Buck) learn that in this reality Maddie has a daughter named Genevieve (Autumn James Hallisay) and Chimney is not the father. Turns out, even in this idyllic fantasy world, Maddie is married to Doug Kendall (Brian Hallisay). Buck, like me, is very confused.

Back in the real world, Buck remains in critical condition and has been placed in a medically-induced coma. Maddie arrives at the hospital with Margaret and Phillip. Bobby tells them that the lightning strike sent Buck into cardiac arrest. Maddie sees Chimney and tells him she's worried about Buck. Chimney feels extremely guilty because it was supposed to be him on the ladder until Buck asked to swap places with him.

Back in Buck's fantasy world, Doug is talking incessantly about being a surgeon. It appears that Doug Kendall is an asshole in any reality. Maddie seems annoyed and uncomfortable especially when Doug says her food was salty. Everyone goes into the living room to play cards giving Buck the opportunity to confront his sister. He asks her what she's doing with Doug and tells her that he's not a good guy. Maddie assures him everything is fine but Buck sees the bruises on her arms. She tells she had an accident but he's heard that line before. Maddie gets upset and walks away from him just as Daniel comes into the kitchen. When Buck asks him about Doug, Daniel seems oblivious although he encourages Buck to stay out of whatever's going on between Maddie and her husband. Buck asks Daniel if someone in a coma can have dreams but Daniel says he doesn't know. Bucks asks him if he can take him somewhere.

Buck goes to see Chimney who doesn't recognize him. In this reality, Buck never became a firefighter so he never got to meet Chimney. Chimney shuts the door in Buck's face but decides to invite him inside when Buck says he knows the meaning behind his nickname. Naturally, we, the viewer, do not get to hear the meaning behind Howard Han's nickname. Well played, writers! Buck sees a toy firetruck which reminds him of being a firefighter. Chimney likens Buck's situation to the film It's a Wonderful Life which I should see at some point since it always seems to be in the cultural zeitgeist. Chimney believes that like the main character in the movie, Buck needs to learn a lesson in order to return to his real life. Buck thinks he needs to fix Maddie's issues and tells Chimney that Maddie is with him. Chimney asks him to leave and Buck decides he's going to go see Bobby. A dark look falls over Chimney's face. He tells Buck that Bobby died five years ago. Bobby Nash is dead. The news is enough to stop Buck's heart and he collapses on the floor.

Back in the real world, Buck is having trouble breathing and Chimney calls for help.

In the next scene we see May talking with Athena. The former asks her mother about Bobby. Athena tells her that Bobby's not doing great and that he blames himself for what happened to Buck. May thinks that's ridiculous. It's not like Bobby has the power to control lightning. Athena reminds her that Bobby will always feel responsible for his team - especially Buck. May says she wishes there was something more she could do to help him. Athena believes that Bobby seeing her face will be enough. May worries that with Bobby dealing with the death of his sponsor, if something happens to Buck, it's gonna send him spiraling. I have the same worries, too, May. Buck's nurses and doctor (Ana Dela Cruz) arrive in his room. Back in the fantasy world, we meet Dream Hen who has been summoned by Dream Chimney to help Buck. In the real world, Chimney, Maragaret and Phillip watch as the doctors manage to stabilize Buck. Back in the fantasy world, Buck appears to be okay.

In the hallway, Real Chimney talks to Albert and updates him on Buck. Chimney makes a comment about how it's easier handling your kid dying when you're a thousand miles away. This is clearly a dig at his father, Sang. Eddie and Real Hen arrive and the latter tells Chimney to go home and get some rest. Chimney points to Bobby who has been at Buck's bedside the entire time.

Back in Buck's fantasy world, Dream Hen tells Buck about the plane crash (Season 1). Neither she nor Dream Chimney knew about Bobby's addiction prior to him dying. It makes sense. Back in Season 1, Buck tries to sneak a peek at Bobby's black book which causes the latter to lash out at Buck. It is Buck and Hen who head over to Bobby's apartment after he fails to show up for his shift at the firehouse. They find Bobby and this is where Bobby tells them about his drug and alcohol addiction. Bobby then asks them for help. Since Buck became a teacher, he never got to meet Bobby and therefore he never had a chance to intervene. Buck asks about Eddie and Chimney tells him that Eddie went off the deep end when he lost Christopher. It was at this moment that my heart stopped. Thankfully, Chimney quickly clarifies by saying that Christopher was taken by Eddie's parents. Because Bobby died, by the time Eddie showed up at the firehouse, there was a new captain. The new captain wasn't as accommodating as Bobby when it came to Eddie having a child with special needs. Oh, and because Buck never became a firefighter in this reality, he never met Abby (Connie Britton) which means he never met Carla Price which means he never got a chance to introduce Carla to Eddie and Christopher.

Back in the real world, Carla (Cocoa Brown) brings Christopher to the ICU unit. While Carla distracts a nurse, Eddie sneaks Christopher in to see Buck. Poor Eddie looks so sad in this scene. Christopher tells Buck that he's going to be okay. He asks Buck to come back.

Meanwhile, Buck, Dream Hen, and Dream Chimney arrive at the hospital. Buck feels like he's running out of time. Dream Hen tells him that the hospital is connected to Buck.

We then see May bring Bobby food. She tells him to eat and Bobby teases her by saying she reminds him of a certain person. Bobby says there's no change in Buck. May says it must be hard not being able to do anything. She reminds him that her mom brought two kids to their marriage and Bobby brought one - Buck. May says that Buck is stubborn and that he will find his way back to them. She tells Bobby she loves him. I love their relationship so much.

Buck's doctor tells the Buckleys they are gonna check to see if Buck can breathe on his own. They take him off the ventilator. Now it's up to Buck. Back in the fantasy world, Buck sees a toy plane. He has flashes of the plane crash from Season 1. Buck thinks he sees Bobby and goes after him. I thought it was cool how the hallway kept getting longer and longer. Buck finds Dream Bobby in a medical supply cabinet filled with drugs. Dream Bobby is serving some serious junkie realness. Buck thinks he's in purgatory. Dream Bobby tells him to relax and warns him that if things become too real in his dream world, he will end up getting stuck there. Dream Bobby sees the real Bobby in Buck's hospital room. Dream Bobby tells Buck he could be dying or he could be fighting for his life. He has to choose. Dream Bobby believes Buck can fix things. Buck says his parents never really saw him when he was growing up because they were too caught up in their grief over losing Daniel. For the first time, even if it isn't real, they are seeing him the way he has always wanted to be seen.

Back in the real world, Bobby has his rosary in hand and is keeping a vigil over Buck. Athena arrives and tells him to take a break. Now that Athena is alone with Buck, she reminds him that he never gives up. She reminds him that Bobby has lost two children and won't survive losing him. She tells him to wake up.

Back in his fantasy world, Buck yells at Athena and tells her he's trying. I thought it was a nice Easter egg to show all of the pregnant women in this scene. It reminded me of the scene in Season 1 where a bunch of women in a yoga class all go into labor at the same time and Buck and Bobby have to deliver three babies. Dream Bobby reminds Buck that he can't fix everything. Buck tells him that he fixed the real Bobby. We get flashes of Buck and Bobby over the years. Dream Bobby reminds him that he is Buck and that's enough. He tells Buck to go and Buck starts running. He runs past Chimney and Christopher (who is looking for his dad) and his parents. When he gets to his room, he is stopped by Daniel who tells him he can't leave. Buck tells Daniel he loves him but he isn't real. Daniel blocks the door. Buck manages to get through the door but Daniel tells him it's too late. Buck sees himself in his hospital room being removed from the ventilator. His oxygen levels are dropping and if he doesn't take a breath, the doctors will have to reconnect him to the ventilator. Buck takes an axe and breaks the glass separating himself from the room. Daniel turns into Buck or as RuPaul would say, his inner-saboteur. Buck does manage to breathe on his own which releases him from his dream world. Buck regains consciousness and is told he needs to take two weeks off from doing any heavy lifting or rigorous work. The doctor tells him he has visitors and the entire 118 including so rando firefighters enter the room. Buck hugs Christopher.

We then see Buck relaying all of his dream to Bobby while they play cards. Bobby tells Buck that his parents do care about him. Buck tells Bobby that he saw him sitting next to his bed with his rosary beads and honestly, if I were Bobby I would've been so confused as to how Buck knew that. Buck tells Bobby that he is the one who helped him find his way home.

In our penultimate scene, Myung-Soon (Jenny Baek) talks with Chimney. She tells him that his dad is sorry. She tells him that his father was ashamed and he felt like a failure. Everything about being in the United States reminded him of his failures. He couldn't save his business nor his marriage which is why he left the country. His ultimate failure was not being able to convince Chimney to come back to Korea after his mother died. Myung-Soon tells Chimney that he and his father have a lot in common. They're both prideful. Chimney sees his father, Sang (David Young Lee) playing with Jee-Yun. He asks if he and Myung-Soon can stay longer. I thought it was funny that even with Buck being in a coma, he was still helping his friends.

In our final scene, Buck comes home to his apartment. He has so many flowers and cards and Maddie tells him there's even more at the firehouse. Margaret and Phillip offer to buy Buck a sofa since he no longer has one. While they go off in search of a tape measure, Maddie kisses Buck on the forehead and he hugs her back.

While others may disagree (I'm looking at all you bitter Redditors out there who are acting super pissy about there being no 'Buddie' in this episode, I think this is one of the best episodes of the show. I first binged this show back in 2020 when we were all in lockdown and I've rewatched every available season at least four times a piece. What makes this show so special to me is how well-written each of our main characters are. Buck is the heart of this show. At first glance he is a bit of a loose cannon who likes to go off half-cocked. But, upon deeper exception, he is also very loyal to those he calls a friend. He would move heaven and earth if it meant keeping his sister, his best friend, his teammates, his captain, and his mother figure (Athena) safe. I love how this episode was a celebration of the very thing we all love about Buck.

I thought this episode was well done. I like the bouncing back and forth between the real world and Buck's fantasy. I love that we got to not only see Daniel, we got to see him as an adult. I thought they did a great job of casting someone who looked like he could be related to both Oliver Stark and Jennifer Love Hewitt. The biggest complaint I've seen about this episode is how little Eddie we got. It is pretty obvious what the writers are doing this season. There has been very little interaction between Eddie and Buck which is so funny considering they are best friends. I've been a fan of their friendship since Eddie's introduction in Season 2 and as a queer man, I never thought there was anything romantic about their relationship. I find it baffling, honestly, that this show has had multiple gay and lesbian characters, most of them POC, yet a very vocal part of the fandom would rather ship the two straight-coded characters. I get it though. Buck and Eddie are extremely attractive and their friendship is free of toxic masculinity which is a breath of fresh air. Plus it's very rare to see two men, two straight-coded men, co-parent a child on-screen. But at the end of the day, what I wish Buddie shippers would realize is that these two are not a couple and it would be way more revolutionary if they remained as is. Unfortunately, the writers, who are most likely as weary of these shippers as I am, have gone out of there way to ensure that Eddie and Buck never get together (which I'm perfectly okay with) but it's at the expense of not having them on screen together (without Christopher serving as a buffer) and that honestly sucks. This is the reason we can't have nice things. Sigh.

Anywho, as I mentioned before, this was a perfect conclusion to the events of last episode. I'm happy our beloved Buckeroo is safe and it won't be long before he's back in action with the rest of the 118. Until next time ...

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blueathens · 2 years ago

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Saving Maddie - Agape Series

ACT TWO, CHAPTER 3

Song: The Wisp Sings by Winter Aid Quote: ‘Maddie Buckley is a survivor.’

A/N: Not edited or read through.

Previous || Next

Masterlist//Main Masterlist//Agape Masterlist

"9-1-1, what's your emergency?"

"I'm at 1832 Bryson Avenue. I have an adult male with multiple stab wounds to his torso! Need medical and police response!"

"Okay, sir, can I get your name?"

"Evan Buckley. I'm a firefighter with the 118."

"Buck?"

"Yeah, uh, victim is Howard Han. He's got profuse bleeding to his abdomen. Breathing is laboured. Might have hit a lung." "Come on, Chim. Hang in there."

"Buck, RA unit's two minutes out. Do you know how this happened? How long has he been down?"

"I don't know. I just got home and found him. Given the amount of blood, I would say minutes, not hours."

"How's his pulse?"

"Weak, but it's there."

"Jason."

"H-Hold on, he's, uh, he's talking." "Chim, it's me. It's Buck. I'm here, okay? I just need you to stay with me, Chimney."

"Jason took her..."

"Chimney, who's Jason?"

"Maddie..."

"Where is Maddie? Chimney, where is Maddie? Chimney, where is Maddie? Wh-Where is Maddie?"

"We got it, sir."

"Maddie! Maddie!"

Buck runs towards the house, "Maddie." His hands were shaking, and he screamed his sister's name out of desperation, hoping that when he entered the house he would hear the voice of his confused older sister.

But no voice welcomed him back when he entered the house.

"Maddie!" He runs up the stairs with such little hope that maybe she was fast asleep, and his voice wasn't loud enough to wake her from her deep slumber. "Where are you?! Maddie! Maddie, are you in here?"

Still nothing.

Nothing but the sound of barks.

The same barks that haunted the apartment of the night where he thought he was going to lose Kasey. It was all the same sounds, the sound of barks, the sound of paws scratching – it was all too similar.

Buck rushes towards the door where the scratching was coming from, and out came running Bear who had a fierce look upon his face, softening slightly when it notices the panic that was coming off from Buck. The dog ran towards Buck, jumping up on his hind legs and leaned himself against Buck, who patted the top of Bear's head whilst his eyes furiously glanced round the room for a glimpse of Maddie.

"Where's Maddie, Bear?" Buck asked and from the question Bear ran down the stairs, Buck following behind as he calls for his sister's name. But when he reached the area he has already been in before, he stops behind the dog that stopped too who whined softly as he lays down.

Buck brings his phone to his ear.

"She's, uh...she's not here. She's gone." Buck turns around as he spots something. "Oh no."

"Buck? What is it, Buck?"

Buck picks up the phone from the ground.

"Did you find something?"

"All of her stuff is still here."

"All units responding to 1832 Bryson, be advised we also have a critical missing adult female: Maddie Buckley Kendall."

"He found her."

"Buck?" A voice uttered, and the man in questions spins and his heart falls into his stomach whilst his eyes welled up before he took off running towards the one who called his name.

Towards Kasey.

Buck felt weak when he felt his best friend's arm wrap round him. He felt even more weak when he buried his face into her neck and cried out his sister's disappearance. Kasey said nothing though as she just runs her hand up and down his back.

"I know, I know," she finally says. Her eyes made contact with one of the detectives. "And I promise I'll help you in any way possible," her voice trails off as she gently pulls away from him, and she offers him a look of sympathy whilst she wipes away a tear that fell. "But the detective needs some words with you."

"I don't want to speak to them," Buck shakes his head in defence. "I just want Maddie back."

"We'll find her, I promise, but you need to talk to them before we can do anything."

Buck purses his lip whilst his span on his heel, and before the detective could even speak, Buck already was.

"It was Doug. Doug Kendall."

Kasey's eyes widened behind Buck as she stood next to Buck with Athena and Bobby – the two people who she came here with due to her having spent the night – well spending – the night round there's. Of course Kasey knew who Doug was, Buck told her about his childhood and how evil the guy is and how it kept the two siblings apart.

"He told Maddie he would kill her if she left him. He did this."

The detective opens his notebook.

"You said he lives in Pennsylvania. He knows she was here?"

"No, she-she..."

"She was filing for a divorce," Athena interrupted. "That could have put her back on his radar."

"Well, we'll take a look at him, but before your friend lost consciousness, he said he was attacked by a Jason Bailey. Either of you know who that is?"

Buck looks at Bobby.

Bobby shakes his head, "I don't think so."

Kasey folded her arms as she shifted on her feet whilst looking at down whilst she thought. "Maybe it was Doug."

"Pardon," the detective blinked.

Kasey looks up and half shrugs. "Perhaps it was Doug with a different name. Perhaps he used the name Jason to get close to someone who's close with Maddie and easy to find alone, and Chimney just happens to be the perfect victim for Doug to use to get close to Maddie."

"That's quite a reach."

"But it's a possibility and it's a possibility that makes sense."

The detective shakes his head before entering the house. Buck looks to his right, raising his brows at his best friend as he looked at with eyes that asked her if she was sure on her theory.

Kasey gives a small nod and Buck looks away before he began to follow behind the detective with the other three on his tail

"Wait, uh...Wait. Hold on, Detective." Buck tried to grab his attention again as he thought of something that could back his best friend's theory. "I know he had a new friend, some guy he was, he was playing pool with. I never met him, but now I know why, you know, 'cause it was Doug. Like Kas said, he got close to Chimney so that he could get close to Maddie." They walked out of the house and Buck lets out a frustrated sigh. "You don't believe me? You don't believe Kasey? You don't believe us?" Buck tired as he threw his hand out in desperation. "I mean, I mean, Chimney's phone is right there. You know, ch-check for yourself."

Buck moves in front as he tried to reach towards the phone.

"Phone's locked." The detective grumbled. "Can't open it without the victim's consent."

"So," Kasey whistled behind the detective before she took a step forwards to stand next to him. "You're telling me that you wouldn't hack into the phone or some shit for the possibility that we're right? You wouldn't unlock a phone that could hold all the proof of who the kidnapper and attempted killer was?"

"You were a detective once, Kasey. You know the protocols."

"Which I call bullshit on," Kasey snapped. Athena grabbed her arm to pull Kasey back slightly from the detective. "No wonder there's so many cases unsolved. It's because the government isn't allowing you – allowing us – to have more power to save people. Maybe if they did, then more people would be alive." Kasey's jaw stiffened as she looked away.

"They'll subpoena his phone records, but it'll take time."

"Well, Maddie doesn't have time, okay?!" Buck cried. "Kas, do you still have your detective badge? If so, then lets go get it and get Maddie back our–"

"I had to hand it in when I took my leave from the military, Buck." Kasey watched as Buck's face fell more, and Kasey wished she could just magically make Maddie appear again – but she couldn't. "But I thought we were going to find her ourselves anyways – even if we do it the illegal way."

Athena gave Kasey a look whilst the Detective cleared his throat.

"I mean," Kasey blows out some air as she gave a light laugh, "of course we were planning to find Maddie legally."

"You mean you'll let us find her ourselves." The Detective corrected and Kasey looked around at all the eyes on her.

"Sure," she dragged the word out before giving Buck a swift wink.

Whilst Buck screamed some more words at the group, Kasey took a quick look at the crime scene once again, not noticing that Bobby moved towards Buck to calm him down. And her eyes continued to move around the area until she was snapped out of her thought by the sound of Buck's weak and quiet voice.

"How did you know I was going to go out and find Maddie."

She snapped her head to look at him and she gave him a kind-of-there smile.

"Because you're my boy Buck. I know what you're thinking." She tilts her head as she brought her lips into a fine line. "I don't have to come with if you don't–"

"Please," Buck sighs a breath of slight relief, "I need you there."

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Buck and Kasey leaned against the archway of a blue painted door as they awaited for all the doctors and nurses to leave Chimney's area.

"This could be one of the stupidest ideas we've ever had." Kasey mutters to Buck.

"It's the only way we can find Maddie."

"I know," Kasey breaths, "but it's still one of our most stupidest plans."

"I don't think that's a word, or even grammatically right."

"Do you want to give me an English lesson right now or do you want to find–"

"Come on," Buck grabbed her elbow and ushered her to walk in front of him. When they reached Chimney's bed, Kasey stayed standing at the end of it, awkwardly swaying side to side as she awaited for Buck to open up Chimney's phone so they could get out this place.

Buck held the phone out in one of his hands as he looked at Chimney with a sympathetic look. "Sorry about this, buddy." Buck sighs as he gets closer to Chimney's hand.

"You two aren't supposed to be in here," a nurse scolded, coming out from no where and nearly scaring Kasey who instantly began to fake sob.

"Please don't let him die!" Kasey begged.

"Oh, oh, God, please don't let him die." Buck continued, following Kasey's lead as he laid his cheek down onto Chimney's chest.

"Please, sir."

"I can't lose my dad!" Kasey cried as she raised her hands to her face to cover it.

"You have to go back to the lobby."

"You can't, you can't die on me." Buck said to Chimney whilst he secretly placed Chimney's thumb onto the fingerprint scanner of the phone.

"Sir, you need to leave. No."

"He's so young! He can't die!"

"You can't, please..."

"What am I supposed to tell your other 27 adopted kids, dad?"

"Sir, you and your friend have to go."

Buck held his hands in surrender, and Kasey mimicked his actions as she side stepped away.

"Okay, we're going, we're going," Buck assured the nurse before proudly showing off the unlocked phone to Kasey the second he stood net to him.

"You know," a familiar voice that the two firefighters thought they left back at the crime scene said, "Detective Marks didn't believe me." Kasey and Buck turned their heads to look at Athena with slightly open mouths. And behind Athena stood two other officers. "He said 'no one could be that stupid.'" She placed a hand on her hips, looking at the two like a mother has just caught her kids eating sweets before dinner. "I said, 'you don't know Buck and Kas.'"

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Kasey and Buck was separated after that. One officer took Kasey to a different room, whilst the other officer took Buck to a different room too. In Kasey's room was just her and the officer, whilst with Buck he had an officer, Bobby, Athena, and Eddie.

"If I win a game of rock, paper, scissors, will you let me go?" She batted her lashes at the officer. Her head was leaning back onto the white wall behind her, and her eyes were focused on the officer who shook his head at her. "You're no fun."

"Strand's dog is outside with an officer." A voice said over the officer's radio and Kasey instantly looked up with a cheeky smile.

"Can I please see my dog?" Kasey begged. "I need fresh air anyways. Hospitals make me queasy." The officer opened the door, nodding his head back to gesture she can go, and Kasey jumped up and threw her arms in the air.

"Yes! Yes! Yes!" And she didn't wait a second longer before she rushed out of the corridor and made her to the area that she heard Buck was in. But instead of seeing Buck, she saw Eddie instead.

"Eddie?" Kasey questioned as she walked through the door.

"Aren't you meant to be...not here?" Eddie asked, standing up as he watched her still figure stand in front of the closed door she just walked through.

"I got away, thanks to Bear." Kasey's eyes wondered round the hallway. "Now, I just got to find Buck so we can go out and get Maddie back. Oh, I also have to break Doug's nose because he's hurting one of the nicest people to ever walk this–"

Eddie's eyes softened sadly as he watched Kasey begin to panic. She was hiding it away good, but not good enough for Eddie not to see it. Kasey knew how dangerous this all was for Maddie as she was the one that got away from her abuser and getting away is when it's the most dangerous.

Eddie came up to her and placed his hands on her cheeks to bring her in close and lay a kiss upon her forehead, something he has never done before, but it felt so normal between the pair. And his lips lingered there for a while, even when he pulled away slightly, Kasey could still feel the slight touch of his lips upon her forehead.

And her eyes were closed to breath in the moment – to remember it – and in her head she silently begs for him to kiss her there again – but he never does.

He pulls away and she opens her eyes to listen to his soft words of, "it will all be okay," and she watches him take a step back, and that was when that little voice in her head began to scream at him to come back.

To touch her again.

To come back and place his hands on the sides of her cheeks. To come back and pull her in close. To come back and kiss her forehead...

Kasey has never had this feeling before. The feeling of want – the need of somebody's touch. But here she was, craving the feeling of Eddie's touch. Her body began to crave it like it craves air, and it confuses Kasey because why would she crave one of her best friend's touch?

She never craves Buck's touch.

So why was she craving Eddie's?

Kasey nods slightly as she takes a quick look at Eddie before turning around to walk down the corridor, walking round the corner and spotted Buck who was waiting for her.

If it was anyone else, Buck wouldn't have waited, but he needed Kasey there whilst looking for Maddie, because if Kasey wasn't going be there, Buck knew he would just simply break down.

And breaking down wasn't going to save Maddie.

So, he awaited for the one person who could keep him stable whilst looking for his sister and her crazy ex-husband.

"You ready?" He asks, which was answered by a nod from Kasey, who stood by his side as they walked further down the corridor towards the exit.

"Let's take Bear," Kasey sys to Buck. "He's trained in this sort of thing, and I'm sure you've–"

Buck pulls out a beanie – Maddie's beanie – from the back pockets of his trousers as he gives her a small smile and raised brows, telling her that he was already one step ahead of her.

"Oh," Buck bumps Kasey's shoulder, "Athena is waiting for us out front, and Bobby gave us some 'ground rules.'"

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"I don't know how we can help, Sergeant, but whatever you need" Sue says as the four of them exited from the elevator. Bear was in the car, a window down, as he awaited for everyone to come back in a few minutes.

"Athena, please," she corrected. "I'm off duty."

Sue chuckles. "This is Josh." She gestures her hand towards a man in a blue tucked in 9-1-1 shirt. He raised from his seat in a hurry as he stood in front of the group. "Athena." Josh shakes her hand. "You already know Kasey," Sue places her hand on the young firefighter's shoulder, tapping it lightly in comfort. "And Buck, Maddie's brother."

Buck shook the 9-1-1 operator's hand, "Maddie's told me a lot about you."

"Same here," Josh breathes. "Any word on her?"

"Well," Athena begins, "the police don't have much to go on yet. So, neither one of us are good at sitting around and waiting, so I thought I'd come by and ask you some questions, unofficially."

"Well," Kasey drags out. "Usually these type of people would take the other to a place that had meaning between them," Kasey looked at Buck who shook his head, telling her he wouldn't know what that place would be. "But we have no clear where that be," Kasey's hands brushed against the side of her legs as she gave Josh an awkward smile. "So, yeah, we're still on square one."

"So the questions," Athena turned away from looking at Kasey and back at Josh. "When people dial 911, you can see where they're calling from, right?"

"If they're calling from a landline, absolutely. Cell phones are trickier. We don't get an automatic address."

"Our systems have to digitally request the phones location from the cellular network," Sue comments from behind Kasey.

"Okay, well, this is Chimney's phone." Athena holds up the unlocked phone. "We think he was in contact with his attacker."

"Maddie's husband."

"uh, Chimney didn't know it was him; he-he thought his name was Jason." Buck said protectively.

"Now, I'm wondering, hypothetically, if this number called 911 and hung up, is your system able to request location data after the call was disconnected." Athena asks.

"Hypothetically," Sue removes her hand from Kasey's shoulder and moves to stand next to Josh, arms folding as she says, "sure. But we'd–"

"Of course, we could." Josh interrupts, taking the phone out from Athena's hand with a smile. "You know, it's funny, this number seems familiar, and in fact, I think I might have taken a call from it earlier." Josh looks at Sue. "An emergency call." He confirms before sitting down at his desk.

"Sure," Sue says. "Josh, are you sure?" Sue's arms were no longer folded, but now was at her sides as she looked at her employee with a look of certainty.

"I'm sure."

Sue nods. "Okay. Let's make a manual request."

Josh spins his chair forward and places his fingers onto the keyboard in front of him.

❥๑━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━๑❥

"Detective Marks," a male voice said over the phone.

"Andy, it's Athena," Athena greeted when he picked up. Her phone was connected to her car radio system as she was sitting in the drivers seat. Buck was in the passenger trying to keep his cool. And Kasey and Bear were sitting at the back, him on her lap whilst she petted and gave him loads of attention. "Listen, you're gonna get a call from Sue Blevins at 911 dispatch. She might have a lead on Doug's location."

"Do I wanna know how she obtained this very important information?"

"Let's just call it an anonymous tip and not look any gift horses in the mouth." Kasey's face scrunched up at the saying. "We'll meet you there."

"Copy that."

The phone beeps.

"You're awfully quiet over there, Buckaroo." Noted Athena.

Buck scratches the side of his head. "Uh, when we get there...what-what do you think we're gonna find?" Buck couldn't lie that he was scared for his sister. But he was also scared to think that this be another Kasey situation. That he would turn up to find someone he loves nearly dying, surrounded by blood, and he would stand to the side helplessly watching them continue to fight to survive.

He couldn't go through that again.

He just couldn't.

He needs Maddie to be alright and unharmed.

"I mean," Buck half shrugs, "he-he threated to kill her, you know, a-almost did kill Chimney. What if, what if he..."

"No," Athena raises her index finger to get Buck to stop thinking of such a thing. Athena then took a quick look in her rear-view mirror to get a glance at Kasey who just kept her eyes on Bear. Athena sighs before taking another look at Buck. "My gut is telling me not to count your sister out just yet. Maddie didn't just rebuild her life. She rebuilt herself. Doug may have her, but I don't think he has any idea who he's dealing with now."

They soon came to a stop behind a truck and all of them climbed out the car as they made their way towards the truck driver.

"It's not my phone," the driver stresses with a shake of his head. "I don't know where it came from."

Detective Marks turns around at the sound of footsteps to see Athena, Buck, Kasey, and Bear. "Found the phone," he alerts them, waving the object in the air to show them before taking some steps forwards to stand closer to them. "No sign of our suspect or your sister."

"Yeah," Buck gestures towards the driver with his hand, "but he had Doug's phone. How?"

"Well," the Detective turns his head over his shoulder to give a quick glance at the driver. "Driver left Salt Lake City yesterday. Been on the road ever since. Says he's got no clue how the phone ended up his truck."

"Sir," Athena walks towards the driver. "Made any stops?"

"Gas station, just before sunrise."

"Doug was there, threw his phone into the truck, so we can track him." Kasey mutters to Buck.

"See anybody else there?" Questioned Athena.

"When I was leaving, saw a couple going into a store." Buck and Kasey gave each other a knowing look before Athena turned to face them with her lips pressed together in a thin line.

"He knew we could use the phone to track him," she says, and Kasey and Buck shared another look between one another due to it being the same thing Kasey just told him. "Probably dropped it in the truck just to throw us off."

Kasey raised her brows at the side of Buck's face as he now turned to face Athena.

"So they could be anywhere by now," Buck runs a hand down his face.

"Yeah. And Doug's way ahead of us."

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"I don't think I brought enough." Shannon tells Eddie after she eyed a pizza crust being dropped into the empty pizza box. Eddie's eyes didn't falter away from watching Christopher play.

"No, you brought everything I needed." Eddie responds as he continues to watch his son. His hand rubs his tired face as he sighs. "Missed the whole day with him."

"I know. That's why we came." She smiles. "Well, that and I remember what it was like to live at the hospital. Uncomfortable chairs, terrible food."

"You don't have to say," Eddie suddenly says, discretely shuffling away to create some form of distance between him and Shannon. "I-I mean," he quickly says when he notices the confusion on Shannon's face. "If you have stuff to do..."

"No," she says, reaching over to hold his hand. "I'm good here."

Eddie looks at her hand touching his, before looking at her. And a feeling of sadness washed over Eddie because the hand that was touching him wasn't the hand he wanted to hold.

Nevertheless, he gives Shannon a fake thankful smile, before looking to his other side where he purses his lips in thought and let out a quiet sigh.

And Eddie now knew that he no longer loved Shannon like he once did years before.

This moment right here confirmed that for sure.

He has fallen.

He has fallen hard.

And he knew he would never be able to get back up from this fall, and Eddie knew that even if he could get back up from the fall, he wouldn't.

He wouldn't get up as he has fallen for Kasey Strand.

Eddie is indescribably, ridiculously, stupidly, fallen for his best friend.

And he doesn't know where to go from here.

❥๑━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━๑❥

“We only have eyes on the pumps and register.” Detective Marks states. “Now, best we can guess, she goes out the back window, husband catches her.”

Everyone’s words didn’t function in Kasey’s head after that as she was too busy watching Bear sniff around the place. Maddie’s beanie was in her hands, she was knelt down to the ground as she waited to see if Bear needed to sniff the hat again.

But after a few moments Bear bucked, signally Kasey to come over to inspect his findings. Bear’s tail wagged happily at the founding of a loose fabric of an item of clothing Maddie was wearing. Bear looked between the hat and the fabric as if telling Kasey that they both had the same smell.

And it confirms that Maddie was once here, and that she was close to the bathroom where the back window was.

Kasey stands up and gives a quiet nod at Buck who was watching Kasey’s actions the moment Bear barked. And Buck nodded back whilst he listens to Athena and Mark begin to discuss something he already knew due to Kasey.

And a second later, an officer steps out of the bathroom with a book in his hand. He hands it over to Detective Marks.

“It’s a rental car agreement.” He looks up before looking back down at the paper. “For a dark grey, four-door sedan. Looks like she started to write ‘help’ on the back. Rented near Burbank Airport. I’ll put out an APB.”

Detective Micks hands the book over to Athena who gets a closer look at it.

“Well, we know where he rented the car. Maybe we can use that to track him.”

“Uh, like LoJack.” Commented Buck.

“Well, rental car companies don’t use GPS tracking. It’s too expensive.” Detective Marks informs them. “It’s too expensive.”

“Yeah. Major companies don’t. But if you’re Bob and you only have 12 cars in your fleet you might want to know where they are at all times.” Athena handed the book back to Detective Marks, and he takes it with one hand whilst the other held his phone to his ear.

“Hey. It’s Marks. I think we got a lead on our suspect.”

❥๑━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━๑❥

“We found the rental car. No sign of the suspect or the victim.” A voice over the radio says.

“We found the kidnapper’s abandoned vehicle nearby, so we’re looking for a couple–”

The detective’s voice fades out and becomes background noise for Buck and Kasey who stood offside, arms touching as they awaited for more information on where Maddie is.

Kasey notices Buck’s hand begin to shake.

She holds his hand, squeezes it as if she was silently telling him that this was all going to be okay.

Bear began to get impatient as he heeled at Kasey’s side, and Kasey eyed her dog as he got onto all fours, looked around, before he went off running in some direction through the woods. Kasey followed immediately, yelling out his name, whilst Buck and Athena tried to catch up with them.

“Do you think he smelt something? Heard something?” Buck yelled as they ran.

“That’s impossible, they could be – Bear where the hell are you going buddy?!” Kasey tried to catch up with her dog, but the dog was a lot faster than the three humans that were chasing him.

As Maddie stumbled to walk through the snowy woods, a hand against the wound from the knife that had been recently impelled into her, she began to wonder if she was hallucinating at the strange noises she wearing – the sound of barking. It was faint and familiar, and followed by the barks were two familiar screams of her name that belonged to a man and woman.

She couldn’t see much expect a blurry figure of someone in a white shirt, someone in a black shirt and a smaller figure that she presumed was a dog.

In fact, Maddie was certain that the people she was seeing was Buck, Bear and Kasey.

They had found her – she was going to survive – she was going to get out of here.

Kasey and Bear stopped as they watched Buck rush in front of them, and the two Buckley’s stumbled their way towards one another.

“Maddie!”

“Buck?”

“Maddie!”

“Buck?”

“Maddie!”

“Buck!” The older Buckley lets out a broken sob, fallen to her knees but her brother was there to catch her. He held her and put more of her weight onto him. Buck had Maddie and he sure as hell wasn’t going to let his sister go.

His eyes took a look at the blood – there was quite a bit of blood. But Buck knew she would survive – Maddie would survive as she got herself out.

Maddie had saved herself, and Buck had just simply found her.

“I didn’t give up.” She tells him, and Buck knew that already, he knew she would have never given up.

She was, in his eyes, a superhero.

They held each other on the snow and cried to the heavens that they had found each other.

Cried to the heavens that she had survived.

Maddie Buckley is a survivor.

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holycartoonwarrior · 2 years ago

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Kendall was definitely a band kid at Buckley. I’m sure he tried model UN and debate but his public speaking skills were so bad and he was so humiliated he decided he’d much rather do something he was decent at.

And that was playing the clarinet. Okayly…..

Roman always joked it’s cuz he’s already constantly spewing nothing but hot air anyway

Stewy was definitely a sports kid, a soccer kid specifically.

Kendall like enjoyed going to any sports games stewy played in but insisted that NO ONE he know go to the crappy band recitals, but Stewy would still go and sit through the whole thing just to fucking laugh at him after. But he sat through the whole thing which Logan certainly wouldn’t do lmao.

He gets like a 5 second solo in one song senior year and and when he comes out Stewy’s like “if it isn’t the fucking maestro himself” and gets him a Comically large, like tuba sized, bouquet of flowers as a gag. And Kendall’s like “bro, what?” And he’s like “What cant a guy celebrate his best friends magnum opus of musical prodigy”

Kendall shoves him and hisses "FUCK off" in the lobby or whatever but holds it like a bride-to-be and grins to himself, carrying the damn massive thing all the way home happier than he had any right to be.

But as soon as he gets home Logan’s like “what the fuck is that? That could have bugs. Throw it out.” And Kendall’s all like :-(

He calls stewy on some pay phone outside to personally apologize that he has to throw them out and Stewy’s like “you haven’t already dumped them?? What are you holding onto them for? Aw shucks bro, did you like them that much??” Trying to quip because he can definitely tell Kendall sounds a little hurt on the other side of the line and and Kendall wants to say “Dude, I like you that much” but he just is like “yeah, but I cant keep ‘em. You know how dad is”

I’m soooo normal

#stewy hosseini #hbo succession #kendall roy #succession hbo #kenstewy #kendall x stewy #kenstew #succession headcanons #ooc af but idc

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monsterrae1 · 2 years ago

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Throwback Thursday

rules: Dig back into your archive, published (post the link too!), not published, WIPs that are side-eyeing your new babies. Anything and everything. Let’s show love to the days of yore! Post a snippet, a summary, a plot point…anything at all!

Starting it today, cause I haven’t been around much but I’ve been itching to re read this fic of mine and I figured it’d make it everyone’s problem.

Tagging if they want to do this today: @peaceofficerdiaz @loveyourownsmiilee @spotsandsocks @the-likesofus @jacksadventuresinwriting @bekkachaos @ajunerose @dickley-buddie @rogerzsteven @fearlessdiaz @evan-bumpkin-buckley @elvensorceress @eddiediazisascorpio @vampirebuckleys @witchlydiaz @blaidddrwg1982 @prettyboybuckley

The 118 Protection Program

28.4k | 3 Chapters | Complete

[Read on AO3]

Summary

King Evan Buckley III is ready to rule his country, after finishing his preparation and coming of age he is ready for his coronation, only for it to be interrupted by General Kendall who's been after their kingdom for years. His sister has arranged a plan B for him to be safe, even if it means leaving her behind and be placed in the care of one Eddie Diaz and his team. * Or another story about King Evan falling in love with his protector Eddie Diaz, and Eddie falling in love with his charge.

Excerpt to get you all hooked.

“Eddie?” Buck said softly, a shy smile on his face.

“Yeah?” Eddie answered turning around to face him better, Buck took a couple of steps towards him.

“Are you ever going to kiss me?” Buck asked taking another couple of steps to him, Eddie froze “Because the anticipation is killing me, and I know you want to, or am I reading this wrong?” He reached Eddie, placing both of his hands to his sides, boxing him into the counter.

“Buck” Eddie answered in a whisper, looking down at his own hands, closing them into tight fist to keep himself from reaching out to Buck, to hold him in place and never let him leave “I can’t”

“Why not?” Buck voice was soft against Eddie’s skin, he closed his eyes and enjoyed the closeness of their bodies, finally losing the battle and settling his hands on Buck’s hips.

“Because you’re my charge” Eddie argued weakly making Buck chuckle “And because you’re leaving, you have a kingdom to go back to, sooner or later, and I can’t… we can’t lose someone we care about, not again”

“But we have time, Eddie, all the time I still have here, and when I do go back we can call, and video chat, and I could fly here, or fly you guys out” Buck counterpointed, Eddie took a deep breath “Eddie, I know you feel it too, this thing between us” After a beat of silence, Eddie finally nodded, feeling Buck’s lips brush against the skin on his temple “And I think It’s worth giving it a shot” Still with his eyes closed, he tilted his head up and rested his forehead against Buck’s, one of his hands leaving Buck’s hip in order to tangle itself in Buck’s hair, keeping him just where he was “Please” Buck pleaded, breaking Eddie’s resolve more and more.

“If we do this” He quieted for a beat, feeling Buck’s breathing on his skin, the warmth of his body so close, committing it to memory in case it never happened again “If we do this, you need to promise me something”

“Anything Eds, anything” Buck moved one of his hands off the counter to press it to Eddie’s back, holding into him as much as Eddie was.

“When you go back to Thera Ferno, don’t forget us? I know it’s a lot to ask, realistically speaking, you have your royal duties, and who knows the mess Kendall it’s making and it’ll need to be fixed, but just, spare us a thought now and again?”

Eddie felt the loss of Buck’s warmth, grieving it even before the cold could settle back on his skin, and sighted, opening his eyes with caution, expecting to finally find rejection, that despite Buck’s insistence that they could make it work long distance, the reality of the situation wouldn’t allow it.

Instead, he found him smiling sadly, the hand that was left on the counter, keeping him pinned in place, moved to a new home on Eddie’s chin, rubbing his thumb across the side of Eddie’s face, down his jaw.

“Even if we don’t do this, I will never forget my time here in America, in your home, and how your family took me in. You and Chris, you’ve become my family these past months, and I do not leave people behind” Buck said with conviction, Eddie nodded along as much as Buck’s hand still on his chin would allow “And you have been on my thoughts this entire time, I don’t think you’re leaving them any time soon” Eddie smiled in response “I promise I’ll call, I’ll promise I’ll visit, even if we just stay friends”

“You’re very good with words, aren’t you?”

Buck shrugged and Eddie couldn’t help himself and brought him back into him, leading his head the way the wanted it to so the kiss was just at the right angle, letting their lips easily just collie into each other.

Eddie kissed him, and then again, and again, taking all the kisses he could get, letting the moment settle between them until Buck started smiling halfway through the kiss that it probably no longer could be called a kiss, and Eddie parted from him with a low chuckle, wrapping Buck in a hug and hiding his face on his neck, making sure to take a deep breath to memorize this moment, memorize the feeling of Buck’s arm around him, and how they’re were both keeping the other close, memorize his scent, memorize everything, for when he inevitable lost it all.

#throwback thursday #buddie #buddie fic #fic the 118PP #excerpt under a read more cause it was longer than i anticipated #also shout out to the person who bookmarked this fic as based on that movie with demi lovato and selena gomez it made me laugh when i saw i

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totallyjustabunchofhocuspocus · 6 days ago

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Fic: Something to Sink Your Teeth Into 30/35

Pairing: Buck/Tommy

Vampire/Witch!AU

Read on AO3 (current chapter)

Read on AO3 (from beginning)

Why didn’t you tell me? You can’t expect me to believe she forbade you to speak immediately. From the very first?

Sally tried very, very hard to keep her voice calm, even. Tried not to let judgement creep into her tone, tried not to let a hint of the panic that was clawing up her own throat, choking her breath, show in her words or her manner. Sebastian was a weeping mess in front of her, nearly plucking his own feathers out in his despair.

I’m sorry! he wailed, his wings fluttering and flapping as he struggled to rein in his wild emotions. I swear to you, I never thought it would go this far. He wasn’t…he wasn’t like this at first. She thought she could handle it, she thought they could work through it, that he loved her enough to change. And then…and then when it got worse she was afraid of what it would mean for the coven, for her parents. For Evan. You know his family could make life even more difficult for Evan; we couldn’t…we didn’t want to risk it. I begged her, Sally! Please believe me, I begged her to ask for help. She bound me to keep silent the first time he left a mark. I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!

Sebastian dissolved once again into great, hiccoughing sobs, and Sally was struck anew by just how damned young he was. One of the youngest familiars in the coven. Maddie Buckley was his first witch. His first experience with the sacred duty to guide and protect the practitioners of the magic they served that all familiars took up when they took physical form in the human world. His first experience, and he had to contend with…this.

She had never liked Doug Kendall. She knew his type—too in love with power and prestige and his own image for the meat beneath the veneer to be anything good. She’d counseled her witch’s sister to look elsewhere for a match as best she could, but Maddie had been too eager to escape the oppressive atmosphere of her parents’ house and her parents had been too eager to curry favor with the Kendall coven. Maddie Buckley, sadly, was not the first young witch to be offered up on the altar of coven politics and she would not be the last. Sally had not expected her marriage to be happy.

But she had not expected it to be violent, either.

She’d been arrogant, she saw now. So certain in her ability to take the weight and measure of any witch after so long on this plane of existence. Stupid. Stupid.

Anger warred with the panic that wanted to overtake her, her magic crackling and snapping beneath her skin. Fury like she hadn’t known in centuries pulsed in her heart, so intense she barely knew what to do with it. She could almost hear her mentors from centuries past whispering in her ear. Who does anger serve Sally? What does anger help Sally? Channel it, Sally. Make it productive. Anger wouldn’t help anyone right now…but it was better than the panic.

The problem was the obvious target for her anger was already dead…and so she was left to keep it from splashing all over every other available target.

She was angry with Sebastian. A familiar’s first duty was to protect their witch. There was no getting around the fact that he’d judged the situation between Maddie Buckley and her husband poorly; let Maddie’s desires outweigh what he had to have known was the best course of action and had failed in his duty.

She was angry with herself for not seeing signs that she absolutely should have recognized if she was so damned smart and observant. For not stepping in to help the woman she’d watched grow up, the woman her witch adored above all others in his life, even herself. For not realizing the desperate, foolish plan her witch had come up with to protect his sister until it was too late.

Heaven help her, she was angry at Evan. Why hadn’t he called to her when he realized that he wasn’t going to be able to just drive to his sister’s house and bring her back to their parents’ home? Why hadn’t he called? He knew she would have come. He knew there was nothing she would not risk, nothing she would not give up to protect him. Maddie had had no choice but to defend herself, and she would have stood proudly by her witch to testify to that fact. He had to know that. She was one of the few beings in the state that had the clout to even begin to mount a defense for Maddie, though it mightn’t have been enough. The laws around using your magic to take another witch’s life were strict and all but merciless, for good reason, but…

No.

No, she knew exactly why Evan hadn’t called for her.

She could have done more for his sister than just about everyone else in their coven, but there was still a very large chance that Maddie would be executed. She could not truly guarantee that Maddie would not have faced the death penalty, particularly with a coven and family as politically powerful as the Kendalls on the warpath, seeking revenge for their son’s death. Evan…Evan was still technically a child, by human and coven law. There were those on the Pennsylvania high coven that would push for his execution, as close to the age of majority as he was, but Sally was confident that they would be outnumbered by those who favored banishment.

Banishment.

Evan was facing banishment.

Her witch. Her little love. Grown so tall and broad now, but forever small in her eyes. The boy she’d practically raised—alongside his sister—since he was ten years old. And banishment was the best case scenario. She was confident that the high coven would not vote to execute a seventeen-year-old boy…but she had been confident that Doug Kendall was only a political animal. Not a monster.

Foolish. Sebastian had been so foolish not to tell anyone the first time Doug Kendall lashed out at his wife in anger. Maddie had not recorded any evidence of the abuse she suffered with the human authorities, using her own magic and training to treat the worst of her wounds and hiding the rest until they faded from view. She had never come to her coven for protection, had never lodged any complaint that her marriage—an alliance between the Buckley and Kendall covens first and foremost, with certain rights and protections guaranteed to her because of it—was causing her harm. There was no paper trail, no evidence, nothing they could use to claim Maddie was justified in killing her husband. Intellectually, Sally understood. Oh she understood how well shame and fear and despair could work to silence even the strongest person. But Evan was in danger now. She cared for Maddie, but Evan was hers.

Pull yourself together Bastian, she said firmly, forcing her anger and fear back under her control by sheer force of will. Neither would help her witch. There must…there must be some way out of this.

There had to be.

How? Sebastian sniffled, shaking himself again and heaving in great gulps of air, visibly trying to regain his composure. Neither of us were there to witness. Maddie…Maddie’s still ill from the drain defending herself put on her magic, but Phillip and Margaret are already spinning a story of her having a breakdown over Doug’s death and her brother’s supposed betrayal. With Evan already confessing, no one will push to question her before she’s recovered—there won’t be any evidence that she’s the one who expended the magic to kill him.

And Evan was well-known to be a powerful witch. A powerful witch trained by a veteran of the Annihilation, no less. No one would question why Evan was not an insensate heap on the ground after murdering another witch. Maddie was in no condition to call her brother’s story into question or confess herself, and by the time she was…

Lying to the authority of the high coven was not as serious a crime as murder…but it was not far off.

Sally had only seen her witch briefly before he was hauled off for questioning by the high coven. If she lived another thousand years, she knew the sight of him would be burned indelibly into her heart and mind. Pale and shaking, hunched in over himself so that even with his great height he seemed little more than a child. Bound and shackled like the worst kind of criminal, left to stew in his own fear in a hastily warded room in his parents’ house while the local covens worked together to ensure that the true nature of Doug Kendall’s death was hidden from the human authorities. Neither of his parents had even deigned to come sit with him.

To her dying day, she would never be able to recall the pain in his eyes when she approached him, the way they’d instantly filled with tears, the way he’d breathed her name like the sight of her was the only comfort he had left in the world to cling to.

And in the next breath, he’d forbidden her to help him. Bound her in silence the way Maddie had done to Sebastian. Tears spilling from his eyes, shaking like a leaf—but his voice had been steady and sure. He’d known exactly what he was doing, exactly what it meant. He’d had to have known she would wait to speak to him before she did anything, would want the full story so she could decide how best to approach his defense; minimize the risk to Maddie.

At every turn, Evan had orchestrated everything to protect his sister. Terrified and traumatized, well aware that he was risking death or banishment, he’d taken the terrible, terrible cards he’d been dealt and played them all perfectly in service of making sure Maddie wouldn’t suffer any consequence for defending herself. In any other circumstance, she would have been bursting with pride.

As it was, all she could be was worried.

Sebastian looked around the attic space where he’d spent years training Maddie Buckley, misery in every line of his body. Seven years ago, in this very room, Sally had first laid eyes properly on her witch…and felt something about him call to her in a way that no Buckley witch had in over fifty years. She’d known in that moment that he was hers. She was meant to train him, to protect him, to make sure he was ready.

Ready for what, she’d never been able to tell. Divination, true divination, was a rare gift…even moreso in this day and age, and one that had never run in the covens to which she’d pledged her magic. It was true, though, that all familiars were at least a little sensitive to the whims of fate. You had to be, when your entire purpose in existence was to guide young witches in service of magic. The currents of magic that flowed around Evan and off into whatever fate had planned for him were so peculiar. She’d noticed it the first moment she’d laid eyes on him. Logic would dictate that what she’d sensed were the remains of the terrible thing his parents had tried to do when he was only a baby—but Sally had never felt like that was it. Or at least, that was not all.

All she knew was that Evan was meant to be her witch. That she was meant to make him strong, that he needed the kind of training that only a familiar of her age and experience would have been able to provide. There had been many in the coven that looked at her strangely for the way she trained Evan. And the heavens knew she’d clashed often with Margaret and Phillip over the perceived old-fashioned nature of the education she was giving their son. None of it mattered. She knew in her heart she was doing what was best for her witch. Her finest and most favorite witch she had ever bonded with, in all the hundred of years that she’d been training witches.

She could only pray that she had done enough; that Evan would be strong enough to face whatever the currents of magic were pushing him towards.

Sally, Sebastian said miserably. What are we going to do?

For the first time in what felt like forever, Sally had no answer.

She had known what it would mean when—not if, she had never let herself entertain the notion that Evan would be executed—Evan was banished. She thought she had prepared herself for it. Told herself that as long as he was still alive, that was all that mattered. She was, when all was said and done, a product of war…even as old as she was, more of her life had been spent in conflict than out. She well understood that hope was only gone when you were dead. As long as Evan was alive, she could have faith that there was some way to fix this mess. As long as her little love lived, she could still have hope. When the high coven handed down the sentence, though, the full enormity of what she would have to do hit her.

She had lost witches before. Of course she had lost witches. Many. Some to age and sickness. Some to accidents. Some…some had died far, far too young, screaming their pain and defiance as they lost their lives to another damnable coven war. She had lost her first coven, her entire coven, in one of the opening salvos of the Annihilation and that pain had never left her. That wound had never closed. She knew the pain of coven bonds going dark. Slowly and gently as her witch left this world for the next at the end of a long life. Harshly and violently as the bond did not fade, but broke, a jagged, pulsing injury that left her reeling for days on end. It was not an unfamiliar pain.

But never, in all her centuries, had she had to sever the bond herself.

She sat in a vestibule of the Pennsylvania high coven’s meeting hall, separated from her witch as she had been from the moment formal charges were brought against him. Nearly a month since she had been allowed to speak to him, see him, comfort and guide him. Their bond felt stretched to the breaking point, for all that she knew that was mostly in her head. She had spent her days trying to project calm and reassurance to Evan, even as she grew more and more frantic in her search for some way to prove that Evan had not murdered his brother-in-law within the directive her witch had bound her to, to not speak of it.

She could not even encourage the investigators indirectly to look for other explanations—the investigation had been a farce. Over so quickly that it was obvious they had not even entertained the possibility of another explanation than the one Evan gave. Especially after Maddie was questioned and confirmed Evan’s version of events.

Sally didn’t blame her. Well. She was trying not to blame her. By the time Phillip and Margaret had allowed the high coven investigators to talk to her, the lie had already taken root. Confessing what she had done would have resulted in her death and Evan would have possibly been banished anyway. The purely practical part of her—forged to diamond-like hardness in the fires of the Annihilation—understood that Maddie had not had a choice but to go along with the story, and also acknowledged that Maddie was sick with guilt over it. She regretted dragging her brother into the mess with every fiber of her being and even if things somehow, somehow turned out all right, Sally knew that guilt would stay with Maddie until the day she died. There was only one person responsible for this entire mess, and he was dead.

Sitting here, flanked by the Pennsylvania high coven’s familiars, flanked by Doug fucking Kendall’s familiar as witnesses to what she was now required to do…it was hard to remember that.

Evan was banished. It was forbidden for a familiar to remain bonded to a covenless witch.

My lady, the sentencing is over, one of the high coven familiars said, his voice quiet. She was older than all of the familiars surrounding her by at least a couple of centuries. Most of them knew her by reputation at the very least, and their discomfort was obvious in every interaction. At least they had been respectful.

Hrmph, Doug Kendall’s former familiar, a creature named Ichabod that had taken the form of a copperhead snake. The younger familiars tended to be more free with the forms they took—eschewing older generations’ habits of choosing common, innocuous animals like cats, dogs, and native birds. One of the high coven familiars sat in the form of a peacock in the middle of Pennsylvania. At least Ichabod had chosen a native animal for his form. Banishment. Too good for the bastard.

Sally’s eyes found his, and she stared at him coldly until he shifted in discomfort and slithered further away from her. It was a terrible thing to lose one’s witch to death. Even the long-expected death of old age was difficult. To lose your witch to violence was a pain Sally would not wish on anyone…but nor did Ichabod inspire an ounce of her sympathy. Not when she had no idea if Doug Kendall had bound him to silence over his treatment of Maddie, or if the creature simply didn’t care. Not when he was so damned gleeful over Evan’s trial, over the possibility that he would be executed for Doug Kendall’s death.

My lady, the high coven familiar—Joseph? Jeffrey? He’d introduced himself, but she couldn’t remember his name for the life of her—said again, dipping his head in a small bow that somehow managed to convey both sympathy and an implacable expectation that she would do what he had been charged with witnessing her do. He was nearly as old as she was, probably a veteran of the Annihilation himself, and spoke in a stiffly formal, old-fashioned manner that she hadn’t heard for a very long time. No one had called her a “lady” in over a hundred years. You must sever your bond with the boy.

She swallowed, closing her eyes briefly as she tried to draw on the strength that had carried her through the centuries. Through war and death and fear and chaos. Through the world changing all around her in ways she could never have imagined when she first took physical form on this plane. Through every trial and challenge she had ever faced. She had lost witches before.

But not like this. Never like this.

It was Evan.

It was wrong. It went against everything she stood for as a familiar, every vow she’d sworn to the Buckley coven to be fair and impartial, to be a guide and always treat her witches the same…but Evan had always been different. She’d loved all her witches, it was true, but Evan had worked his way into her heart in a manner that none of the others ever had. None of the others had ever needed her the way that lost, lonely little boy had. None of the others had ever called to her the way Evan did. He was hers. He was hers.

Well? Ichabod scoffed, a greedy, satisfied light glittering in his eyes. He was enjoying this. Reveling in the fact that Evan was about to lose everything. Get on with it.

Ichabod, the high coven familiar—Joseph, his name was Joseph, it came to her—said, a hint of reproach in his tone. Give her a moment.

Ichabod hissed, raising himself up to sway menacingly back and forth like a striking cobra instead of a copperhead. Why should I? Her bastard of a witch is banished! He deserves every bit of what’s coming!

Bite your tongue, Sally warned, her body going still, her magic churning within her. Ichabod whirled on her, scoffing again.

What? Can’t stand the truth? Perhaps if you’d accepted the rot in him sooner, like the rest of the coven, he wouldn’t have— The rest of his sentence was cut off with a choked cry as Sally flashed forward, faster than he was expecting, faster than any of them were expecting judging by the startled cries that went up around her. Between one breath and the next, Ichabod was pinned to the floor, her claws digging into his throat as he hissed and thrashed.

Bite. Your. Tongue. Or I’ll do it for you,she said, her voice deadly even.

My lady, Joseph interceded, stepping cautiously closer to her. My lady, this isn’t going to help anything.

She glared down at Ichabod, at this creature who had known what his witch was doing to Maddie Buckley. Even if he was bound to silence, even if he didn’t realize that it was Maddie who killed Doug Kendall and not Evan…he had to know that Kendall had deserved it. She pressed down harder on his throat, just to watch his eyes widen, just to watch the fear start to creep into his gaze as he thrashed helplessly under her. Then she released him, stepping back to sit primly down and wrap her tail around her feet.

Out, she said, the cold of the between dripping from the word. All of you. Joseph will witness when I sever the bond. She sat herself up ramrod straight, meeting each of the high coven familiars’ gazes unflinchingly while Ichabod sputtered and spit, hissing in fury.

Agreed, Joseph said immediately, nodding sharply at his companions. Sally watched in silence as Ichabod was escorted out of the room. Only when she and Joseph were alone did she let her shoulders slump, her head hanging.

I…apologize, she said softly. It has been a difficult month.

I’m not sorry to see that asshole put in his place, Joseph replied with a small smile. His witch had been one of the strongest voices on the high coven advocating for leniency for Evan, and Sally found herself comfortable in his presence in a way she only really felt with familiars around her own age. For what it’s worth, I don’t believe justice is being served here. Your witch…Randall and I both have our suspicions about what happened, and why you’ve not contested his account. If it had been almost any family but the Kendalls…

The players change, but somehow the story always remains the same, she said tiredly.

Joseph was silent a moment. Then, You love him as a mother loves her child, my lady. That’s a dangerous position for any familiar to be in.

She laughed, and Joseph was politely silent in the face of how wet and ragged it sounded. If fate had given him a better mother, perhaps I wouldn’t have felt the need to put myself in that position. But I did. And I do not regret it.

I am sorry, Joseph said, and he sounded sincere. He bowed his head again, and then said gently, It’s better not to draw it out.

Sally closed her eyes again, taking a deep, shuddering breath. I know.

There was no other choice. Regardless of her age or power, regardless of whether or not the law was just or fair or even still useful, she had to follow it. A familiar could not be bound to a covenless witch. She had to let Evan go. Her eyes stinging with unshed tears, she reached for the bond that had burned in the back of her mind for seven years, brighter and truer and more important than any of the bonds she’d had in her long life. She curled herself around its warmth for just one moment more, wishing, wishing, wishing that she could see Evan again. Talk to him. Tell him that she forgave him…that she understood why he did what he did, and that no matter what she was proud of him for defending his sister so fiercely.

Evan would be kept under guard for the seven days and seven nights he had to vacate the Pennsylvania high coven’s territory. He would not be allowed to see or speak to any of his coven except for the last night, when he’d be allowed to choose one member of his coven to accompany him to the edges of their territory…if any member of his coven was willing. It would not be wise, given the optics of the situation, but she knew Maddie would be the one to take that journey with him. They’d find a way to hide it, somehow. It had to be Maddie, however much she knew that Evan would want them both. It could only be one of them, and she would never take the chance to say goodbye from either of them.

Even if it meant she would not be able to say goodbye herself.

The bond between a witch and familiar was not quite an empathetic link. She could not share her thoughts with Evan, or even much more than vague emotions. She opened herself to the bond now, concentrating on the love she felt for her witch—as Joseph had said, a mother’s love for her child. She just hoped he could feel it. That he would understand.

I’m sorry, little love, she thought to herself. She steeled herself.

Took one more moment to bask in the light of her bond with her witch.

And then severed it.

She had been loyal to the Buckley coven for over three hundred years.

Once upon a time, she had thought she would be loyal to them until the day she left this plane of existence. They had taken her in when she was still reeling from the destruction of her first coven in the beginnings of the Annihilation—given her a home, a purpose, a coven again. They had been friends, family. She had trained many witches in their line. Even…even when things started to go wrong; when she started to notice a growing preoccupation with reputation, prestige, and power among the coven leaders. Even when she found herself turning away from the idea of training any of the young witches coming up in the coven, instead devoting herself to mentoring new familiars that found themselves called by the magic they all served to take physical form on this plane.

She had still thought she would stay with the Buckley coven.

When she found Evan, she thought she had at last found a reason to become more fully integrated in the coven again. She’d been aware of the boy, of course—she knew all the young witches in the coven. She’d even been vaguely aware that his parents and some ranking members of the coven seemed to think there was something wrong with him. Or at least, they seemed put off by him. A few of her friends among the coven familiars attributed it to Evan having been born shortly before Philip and Margaret’s other son had died, and it had seemed a logical explanation. Awful. But logical.

And then she’d followed one of the young familiars she was mentoring to his family’s house, after he’d announced that his witch was calling for him and it felt like she was frightened. She’d had no idea how much that single night would change.

She had learned so much about the current state of the Buckley coven since that night. More specifically, she had learned much about what certain members of her coven were willing to sink to in desperation…and what other members of her coven were willing to cover up in pursuit of maintaining an image.

If she had not already bonded with Evan when she discovered that Philip and Margaret Buckley had used a forbidden ritual in an attempt to save Daniel Buckley’s life, she would have left the coven that night. What they had tried to do was a relic from some of the darkest times in history for witches…and should have remained there. Even when Sally had been young, covens had gone to war over such rituals. That they had been willing to sacrifice their child…that they had conceived Evan solely to be a sacrifice…

She might still have reported them to the high coven if she’d had any faith that Evan and Maddie would not have suffered any consequence. If she’d had any faith that the coven would have taken care of Evan the way he deserved to be taken care of, that he would not have been blamed for something that was never, never his fault. She didn’t, though. The fact that coven leadership had been willing to sweep Philip and Margaret’s actions under the rug to preserve the coven’s reputation was proof enough of that.

She…she had no faith in the coven anymore.

She had planned to wait until Evan turned eighteen, until he was able to be out on his own in the world before she did anything. But with her bond with Evan broken, with her witch already out in the world alone…what was she staying here for?

Maddie and Sebastian were the only ones she’d even spoken to with any regularity in the three months since Evan’s banishment. She tried to be gentle and understanding, but the truth was talking with Maddie was painful for her. There was too much guilt, too much uncertainty between them and Sally…Sally knew she should be the one to breach the wall that had sprung up between them. For Evan’s sake, for the boy they both loved so much, had worked together to raise. She couldn’t bring herself to do it, though. It hurt too much. She couldn’t bear to even look at Philip and Margaret. Ignored any overtures that Philip’s familiar tried to make. The other members of their coven seemed not to know how to even approach her.

Why was she staying?

The coven that had taken her in and given her a home during the worst moments of her life had changed almost beyond all recognition. What was keeping her here? What was she being loyal to?

She could move on to a new coven. Any would take her, would be glad of the chance to add a familiar of her power and experience to their ranks. She could start over somewhere new. Couldn’t she? Or…

Or.

The thought came to her in the late hours of the night as she restlessly paced the perimeter of the Buckley coven lands. And once it came, it would not leave. It was forbidden for a familiar to stay bonded to a covenless witch—and familiars needed a coven bond as much as witches did. Without a coven bond, a witch’s power would eventually fade and die, and until then the strain of casting would grow ever, ever harder to bear. For a familiar? A being made of pure magic? For a familiar to be covenless would eventually mean death. A return to the source of the magic they wielded. Death.

Peace.

Rest.

Sally had walked this plane for over four hundred years. It would take a long, long time for her magic to fade to the point she could no longer maintain a physical form. Years. Decades, even. She would have her magic long after even Evan’s faded.

Hadn’t she always sensed that Evan would be her last witch?

Evan needed her. From the very first, something about him had called to her, told her he needed her. She had sworn to answer that call—sworn to protect him and guide him for as long as he lived. He was her witch. He was her witch, and he was all alone in the world. She might not be able to maintain this form for the rest of his life, but she would not fade for a good long while. Hadn’t…hadn’t she served magic for long enough? Hadn’t she done her part to guide young witches, bring stability to her covens, mentored young familiars?

Couldn’t she give herself over to a life lived with her last witch?

The idea would not leave her.

She had no way of contacting Evan. Maddie said he had promised her he would call when his magic faded…the girl had some notion of giving up her own coven bonds to make her way in the world with her brother. A beautiful idea, but Sally was skeptical that the Buckley and Kendall covens would allow her to leave so easily. Besides—it would be years yet before Evan lost the last of his magic. There were scrying spells, locator charms, but all of those worked best in fairly localized areas. If Evan had traveled more than a few hundred miles away—and in her heart, she knew he would be forced to be on the move fairly constantly, always driven away from coven territories as soon as they realized his banished status—most spells would be about as useful as picking random cities and asking people on the street if they had seen a young man with a birthmark. There had to be a way. There had to.

As Evan’s familiar, there had been no distance too great for her to be able to sense him. Find him. He would have been able to call to her from halfway across the world and she would have felt it. She could have followed him anywhere. Without the familiar bond, he was lost to her. She could no longer sense his presence, his magic.

Perhaps it was fate that the answer came to her on the day of Evan’s eighteenth birthday.

For years, Evan’s birthday had been mostly a private celebration between him and Maddie. No gigantic parties attended by the whole coven. Occasionally he would gather friends from school and go out for movies or pizza. Mostly, though, he and Maddie would pile into her car and spend the day together—sometimes they went shopping, or to arcades or amusement parks, or just out to dinner at Evan’s favorite restaurant. She and Sebastian would follow along at discreet distances, content to just watch their witches be happy together.

Evan’s eighteenth birthday was supposed to be a day of celebration for all of them. The day Evan was finally free to make a life of his own choosing, the day Sally had planned to finally make sure his parents paid for the horrific thing they had done to him when he was helpless and dependent on them, the day that was supposed to be the start of the rest of his life. Instead, Maddie was forced to pretend not to acknowledge the day at all. The Kendall coven was still circling around her like vultures, under the pretense of ‘helping her through her grief.’ Gloria Kendall, Doug Kendall’s mother, was particularly…intense around Maddie. Sally wondered if the woman didn’t suspect the truth of what had happened to her son, and was just looking for some kind of proof to bring punishment down on Maddie’s head. She knew Sebastian was almost afraid to leave his witch’s side these days.

The other familiars of the coven were avoiding her, barely able to meet her eyes when they did happen to cross paths. Once, it might have wounded her deeply—but there was nothing that could hurt as much as knowing her witch was waking up to a world that would barely acknowledge his existence, let alone his birthday.

She didn’t know why she found herself in the attic where she and Sebastian had spent so many years teaching Evan and Maddie. Philip and Margaret didn’t like her showing up at their house anymore, though Hepzibah and Gregor rarely made an issue of it. There were other places that held the same kind of memories for her, other places that made her feel close to Evan just by being there. Better places, even, as Evan had never been truly happy in this house, however much she and Maddie had worked to make it otherwise. The attic was where it all began, where she had truly been introduced to Evan, where his magic—so much stronger than it ever should have been for such a terrible reason—had called to her for the first time.

She wondered, sometimes, what would have happened if Maddie had never chosen to try and cheer her brother up by casting with him that night. Would she have come across Evan in some other way? She’d always been aware of the children of the cove, of course, but she had not been looking for another witch to train at the time. She’d even had vague thoughts of officially announcing that she would only be mentoring the coven familiars from then on, fading into the background of the coven’s day-today life even more. If the finding spell Evan had cast that night had never gotten so tangled in the outsized magic that Evan wielded…

The realization was like being struck by lightning.

She had been curled up on the threadbare carpet where she’d sat with Evan so many times, teaching him how to harness the magic inside him, how to channel the immense power he held, but now she leapt to her feet. Her eyes darted around the expanse of the attic, her magic curling within her and reaching outwards. Evan was eighteen now. An adult, by coven and human law. And that meant…

The spell he’d cast that night Sally had first met him would have found its anchor and solidified between them.

Any other witch, any other witch, and any other familiar, it would have been madness to even try. The echoes of years and years of magic and spells were thick in the attic, layers upon layers of Buckley magic that never quite faded from such an established focal point. To try and find the echoes of a singular spell…to try and follow it. But Evan’s magic was stronger and brighter than anyone else’s in the coven. Sally was stronger and older than any other familiar in the coven. This. This was the way she could find him.

The finding spell he’d cast when he was just a child…a powerful tether he’d unwittingly created with a child’s simple wish to be loved and a level of power that ought to have been impossible. The spell had spiraled out of control in Evan’s untrained hands, but it had been cast. Sally had always known that eventually Evan would be drawn to the person the spell had tethered him to. It had never worried her—it had been a foolish spell for Maddie to attempt, but Evan’s innocence would actually have acted as a shield against many of the ways it could have gone wrong. The spell as Evan had cast it really would find the person it was meant to—someone who would love her witch the way he deserved to be loved. Someone who would take care of him and protect him the way he deserved to be taken care of and protected. How could she be worried about that?

If she meant to do this—she would have to commit. She would have to give up her coven bonds. She would have to take the risk that the tether that bound Evan to the person he was meant for would lead her far, far away. And she would have to follow it to that person. Trying to trace the magic back to Evan himself had far less of a chance of success when he was all but guaranteed to be constantly on the move. Once the spell led him to where it had anchored, there would be nothing left for her to follow…she could waste all of the time she had constantly playing catchup to him. No…no, better to find the anchor point. It would still be like searching out a needle in a haystack—heaven help her, it might take years to follow such an ephemeral thread of magic—but at least it was less likely to be a moving needle.

If she meant to do this…

She did. She did.

She had never seen the value in dithering over a decision once it was made. This place, this coven—it was not home anymore. Home was with her witch, her little love…wherever that ended up being. Even taking the time to tell Maddie and Sebastian what she intended to do seemed an unnecessary delay. They might try to talk her out of it—might even insist on trying to come with her. As much as she cared for Maddie, the purely pragmatic part of her was forced to acknowledge that she had to play the part she was playing right now. It was not safe for her to leave her coven and seek her brother out. It might not be safe for a very long time. Still…she would not be so cruel as to simply vanish, not when she knew exactly how important having any kind of connection to Evan would be to Maddie right now.

She didn’t dare leave anything so mundane as a note on the table—Philip and Margaret did not seem to venture up here often, but they did occasionally make their presence known. Sebastian knew her well enough to know that she wouldn’t simply leave with no warning, though…and he would know to look in the between. A simple mimic burst, spelled into the between in the attic—something no one but someone who knew her well would think to look for. Something only Sebastian and Maddie would want to look for.

How had the coven she had loved for over three hundred years come to this?

There was nothing she could do about it now, though…and Evan needed her.

She closed her eyes, breathing deep, and concentrated on the echoes of magic that swirled through the room, seeking out the remains of the wild burst of magic that had first drawn her to her witch’s side. She poured all of her power into her senses, clawed for the echoes of the tether that would eventually lead her to her witch’s side once more. Her heart beat wildly when she found it, a shining thread of magic that she could follow. It was faint to her senses—and she could tell that wherever the other end of the tether was, it was very far away. But it was there. It was there.

Sally stood in the quiet of the attic, contemplating what she was about to do—what she was about to give up. This had been her home, her coven for almost four hundred years. It should be a harder decision, shouldn’t it? She should feel some reluctance, she thought. Some apprehension. But no…

No.

This course of action would lead her back to her witch’s side, where she belonged. Where she would always belong. What could compare to that?

Sally gathered her power and reached for the connection that bound her to the Buckley coven, and had for centuries. Allowing her focus to shift to the faint tether that would take her to the person Evan was destined to be drawn to, she closed her eyes…and let go of her coven.

Then she plunged into the between.

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