Man Destroyer

Part 5

Chapter 9: Home Sweet Home

"Are you real?" Zelda cupped Sabrina's face in awe, her eyes filling with tears.

Having heard the commotion on the stairs, Hilda Spellman stepped out onto the porch and gasped, her hand flying to her mouth to see her sister beneath her niece and Lilith sitting on the stairs with her babbling lamia in her lap. Zelda pulled Sabrina into a tight embrace as tears fell down her cheeks, looking over the girl's shoulder to meet her sister's gaze.

Hilda took a deep breath, "I'll put a pot of tea on, we all need to sit down and have a chat. Sabrina, clearly you won't be going to school today, I'll give them a call to excuse your absence." Then she turned on her heel and headed back into the house.

Sabrina carefully dislodged herself from her aunt's embrace and stood, reaching down to grab Zelda's hand and pull her to her feet, "Are you okay, Auntie?"

"Just bruised. I'll be fine. I still....I can't...." Zelda wiped at her tears as Sabrina smiled uncomfortably and started gathering her things.

Seeing her love overwhelmed, Lilith grabbed her by the hand and pulled her up the stairs, "Come on love, let's go get settled and see what we've missed."

Entering the house, Lilith paused to lightly kiss Zelda's lips, "I'm going to go put Deianeira down for a nap in my room. I'll meet you in the kitchen in a bit." Lilith felt it would be best to leave Zelda alone with her family to sort through whatever brought Sabrina back from the dead.

Still stunned, Zelda nodded, leaning forward to kiss the babe's bright red hair. She watched her little family walk away up the stairs to the room she'd created for Lilith when she was pregnant, a grand gesture that had sealed the fate of their relationship and led to a formal union months later. Sabrina walked passed Zelda with an uncomfortable grimace of a smile and into the kitchen, the High Priestess followed. With a deeply furrowed brow, Hilda was puttering around setting the table with teacups, saucers, and baked goodies. When the kettle's whistle screeched, she jumped and pressed her hands to her heart.

The redheaded witch slowly sat down, unsure of what to say, her eyes focused on Sabrina, scanning every inch of her for any sign of magic or necromancy. Hilda spun around with a blaze in her eyes having read Zelda's mind, "We absolutely did not bring Sabrina back from the dead where you so cavalierly put her." Clapping her hand over her mouth, Hilda spun back around and threw some teabags into the boiled water, ashamed of her outburst.

Zelda swallowed hard, Hilda's words stung as if she'd speared her with a sword and she responded carefully, "It was not cavalierly, Hilda." Sabrina's gaze remained on the table as she stacked sugar cubes into towers and watched them fall, refusing to look up at either of her Aunties.

"What was it then?" Sabrina whispered, looking up from her sugar stack with wounded eyes.

Zelda felt that question like a dagger to her heart and it left her weak, she leaned against the table and reached out desperately for Sabrina's hand but her niece stayed put. With a shuddered sigh, her tears just on the cusp of spilling forth, Zelda shook her head, "It was desperation, Sabrina. I didn't know what to do and I acted on impulse. Lucifer was using you as a pawn in his game and, in the end, he would have killed us all."

"So you killed me instead." Sabrina's voice grew cold.

"No! You must understand, I never intended to kill you, Sabrina. I wanted to stop you and break Lucifer's hold on you. I thought we would have no problem sewing up the wound and throwing you in the Caine pit.....wait...is that - ?" Zelda looked at Hilda but she shook her head.

"No, Auntie. No one put me in the Caine pit and no one saved me." Sabrina looked up with tear and rage-filled eyes. "I died."