A Charmed Reincarnation (Season 2)

０８ • Ｆｅａｒ ｉｓ ａ Ｃｈｏｉｃｅ

𝑻𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈: 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔 𝒂 𝒔𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒑𝒊𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒔𝒖𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒅𝒆. 𝑰𝒕'𝒔 𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖.

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𝘼𝙢𝙗𝙧𝙤𝙨𝙚

It's been a couple of weeks since the whole getting kidnapped incident. The first couple of days were difficult. Not because I was traumatized or anything. I'm entirely over the whole thing, but my family and friends, on the other hand, not so much. Daily calls from the girls and Anthony persisted for the first two weeks until I had to sit down with them and assure them they were going overboard. I've increased security to the apartment and the whole building to prevent any evil from entering the premises. I felt slightly bad at erasing the building manager's memory when he caught me drawing runes on the apartment complex's front door. That would have been hard to explain, and I was sure protecting the greater good covered any personal gain that may have occurred. As for Mason's... confession? I haven't had time to really think about it, what it means, or how I feel about it. There are more important things going on that need my attention. For example, the group of demons sitting at a round table smoking cigars and laughing about their recent kills and investments in the human market. You could say I've taken up my vigilantism from last year without the persona included. I've realized what the problem is when dealing with demons and warlocks. They don't take me as seriously as they did the Reaper. Though most of them should know we're the same person by now, the fear that used to strike their hearts at their bare mention of my name just doesn't have the same effect when they hear Ambrose. They still think of me as the newbie Charmed One who's not as experienced as the girls and thus not much of a threat. At most, you just need to be cautious of me, but going after my life is not off the table completely. That will change because now I'm showing my true face, so there's no mistaking who the real danger is.

"Is this the last group for tonight?" I ask Anthony.

"It should be. I've been scrying since your last vanquish; this is the only significant evil I could find. I mean, I'm still new to the whole scrying thing, so I could be missing some."

"I doubt it. Remember, scrying is all about intention and intuition. Once you feel that tug, you know you're good. I just want to make sure this is the right group of demons and not a random bunch."

"Don't some demons just look like humans? How can you tell the difference?"

"I can almost sense it now. It feels like an incoming migraine when I look at them. My powers might be advancing." I smirk to myself. "Have you figured out that warlock powder yet?"

"I'm close. It's kinda hard not being able to smell it to figure out what's in it. I think I've got the sleeping effect down, but I still don't know what makes it turn yellow."

I frown as I survey the room of men, confirming that none of them feel like warlocks, just demons. "There are no warlocks here, but I can summon one back at the Sanctuary and just force him to tell us what's in it?"

I feel him consider and then dismiss the idea. "I think that may be going too far, Ambrose. I mean, what would you do with him after?"

"Vanquish him, of course."

"Just because? I mean, he didn't choose to be summoned."

I sigh and shake my head. "We can't take any more chances when it comes to these things, Anthony."