Volume 1.35: Fall Out

Type: Series

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Rating: M

Characters:  Dana, Carmella, Luann, Luca, Sonja, Stella, Willow
Word Count: 1562

Glossary: 

Warning: language

We all do what we can

So we can do just one more thing

We won’t have a thing

So we’ve got nothing to lose

We can all be free

Maybe not with words

Maybe not with a look

But with your mind

Maybe Not-Cat Power

After the witches waved off the wolves, another impromptu meeting took place at Luann’s house.

There was a change of plans, they were going after Samuel and his hunters, someone (it wasn't clear who at this point) had decided to forego the diplomatic route and unleash hell on earth. The hunters had gone after one of their own, and as much as they hated to admit it, if it wasn't for Luca, Cadence's situation might have been much direr.

Sonja barely listened to the conversation; her mind was inside the Delacroix’s manor, thinking about Cadence.  She was her primary concern, she'd failed to protect her, failed her as a mother, she had to make things right, redeem herself somehow.

"I have to go," Sonja whispered as she rose from her seat.

Evidently it wasn't that much of a whisper. The others turned to her with shocked, confused looks on their faces.

"Are you out of your mind? Here we are, planning our attack to avenge what was done to Cadence, your daughter, my niece, and you have to go?" Luann scowled at her, her lips twisting bitterly.

Sonja could tell that she was trying her damnedest to keep her rage in check, but the sudden jutting of her hands told her she was failing miserably. Any second now she'd conjure an energy ball.

Sonja smiled bitterly when she saw she was right, Luann threw an ice blast at her.

And she countered it with her own fiery one.

"Don’t you fucking start that shit with me!" Sonja warned her sister, surprising everyone with her choice words.

Carmella jumped to Luann's defense, brandishing her magical wand…

…While Stella stood firmly at Sonja's side.

Dana was once again in the middle, she could never choose sides.

The division was more pronounced now. For years Sonja had tried to be part of the coven, but her resentment at them for sealing Warrick in with the vampires always stood in the way, making it impossible for her to feel like she belonged.

Stella understood her rage all too well; it could have easily been hers. She was pregnant with Rachel then. If Rachel was just a little bit older than Cadence, it would have been her blood that sealed the Forsaken.

Sonja's life, her rage, her regrets, her inability to communicate what her guilt was doing to her, could have been all hers now.

Stella knew all too well what Sonja was going through because their lives were not that different. She lost Rachel's father that night too. He never stood a chance, he was dead the minute he stepped outside to help the others. And months later, with the help of her coven, she welcomed Rachel alone into the world, and she spent a large part of Rachel's life lying to her about how her father had died. As far as Rachel was concerned, her father was a police officer and he died in the line of duty. In a way he had, but Rachel didn't need to know the gory details of that night.

"I think we all need to calm down. It's been a long night, let's sit down, I’ll make some chamomile tea and then we’ll talk like the sane witches we all are," Dana suggested after a long angry pause. She was always the peace maker.

"You think chamomile tea is going to fix this?" Sonja asked incredulously. When she didn't get a reply she carried on. "For years I put up with all your lame ass excuses about Warrick and why my daughter doesn't have a father. None of you could give me solid reasons for acting like a bunch of lawless coyotes and I had to keep covering your rash actions with lies and more lies. I am sick of all of you! Sick of this piss ass coven and your hatred for the vampires.”

“I'm going to get Cadence from Luca, and then we're leaving this God forsaken town. We'll go somewhere new, maybe to Bridgeport, where Cade can pursue her dreams, away from all this madness and hate."

With that Sonja stormed off, Stella tried to stop her, Luann too, but nothing would make her reconsider. Her guilt was too much today, maybe it was being back in Luca's house, back where Warrick had died, or maybe it was knowing how close she came to losing her daughter today, but whatever it was, had caused a mind shift.

She ran across the stream, wading in the water, going around it would have taken longer.

She was almost at the manor's door when it creaked open; Luca's form filled the doorway.

"Get out of the way Luca, I'm here to take my daughter!" she warned him. When he didn't listen she sent an ice blast at his feet.

"Crazy bitch!" Luca screamed at her as he jumped aside.

"Be very glad I aimed at the ground," Sonja told him calmly as she brushed past him.

Inside the manor there was no sign of her daughter, and she panicked.

"Where is Cadence?" she shrieked at Luca.

"Calm down, Sonja. What do you think I did to her? Drain her blood while she's in her spectral form?  Is your opinion of me so low?" Luca asked evenly.

Before she could reply, she heard a commotion coming from the basement; pushed by an invisible force she followed the sound.

Luca tried to stop her, but it was too late, she'd already seen Willow at the alchemy station, and heard the voices drifting from inside the cellar.

"Hello?” She banged on the door with her palms.

Her whole world stopped when she heard Warrick's voice. "Sonja?"

For a second there was only silence in the room as Sonja turned to Luca with eyes full of questions.

Luca just nodded his head, silently answering them.

Willow decided now was the best time to leave the two of them alone; she didn’t want to get caught in the crossfire.

"Why didn't you tell me he's alive, why didn't you?" She shrieked at him, her hands glowing with energy bolts.

Luca was grateful for the commotion inside the cellar; it took Sonja's attention from him long enough for her to calm down.

He'd never seen her inherent power in action and it scared the shit out of him. He knew she couldn't cast spells or put curses on him because Willow had cloaked the house with her own spells, and because of this he'd thought he was safe from her inherent ability too. He should never have underestimated the power of Sonja's emotions.

"Warrick? Is that really you?"

Sonja slid to the floor when she heard his affirmative, she touched the door lovingly and wept, reminding Luca of April that night so long ago, her devastation was so palpable he could still taste it now, years later. Or maybe it was Sonja's he tasted now at the back of his throat, making it hard for him to breath.

"Oh Warrick, I thought you were dead! I'm so sorry. All these years, you were right here and I didn't know," the remorse in Sonja's voice broke Luca's heart, making him question his own actions.

Was he wrong for keeping the truth from her? Yes he was, he silently answered his own question.

When it was all said and done, he’d done the same things she'd done to Cadence; he'd kept a life-changing truth from her. He had his reasons, and in his mind and in the eyes of his clan they were justified. But it didn't mean they were right...

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, Sonja," it was all he could muster. And it was the wrong thing to say.

It incited her to action; she sprung to her feet and unleashed her wrath on him as she sent fire orbs his way. "For weeks you made me feel like a bad mother, sitting on your high horse, judging me for keeping stuff from Cadence!"

Luca did his best to dodge her attacks; if he wasn't as quick as her orbs he knew she would have fried him by now. "I was going to tell you!"

"When?" Sonja's rage was unrelenting, not even Julian's stern voice from inside the cellar could get through to her, and he was usually pretty good at keeping people in check.

"When we finally open the door. I didn't want to raise your hopes only to break your heart if it didn't work." Luca explained. His answer seemed to do the trick; it redirected her attention back to Warrick.

"Oh God, we have to help them. We have to open the door," once the thought crossed her mind, she couldn't let it go...

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