Summers' Purpose

Chapter 68

The knocking on the door became more urgent as Wanda stared at the door. She hadn't even completely accepted and processed what just happened when something else forced itself at her literal doorstep. She wiped her tears away, suppressing her pain so she could handle this first. Using her magic, she changed her appearance to look more presentable. She walked up to the door and swung the door open widely, seeing a fist hanging in the air. The man moved his fist out of the way and assessed Wanda's appearance.

"Wanda."

"Stephen? How did you find me here?"

"There are not many people who could conjure this amount or type of magic. It wasn't hard to track and eventually guess who was behind this. If anything, you exposed yourself," Stephen said calmly.

Wanda clenched her jaw as she silently wondered when her hex was taken down. She reminded herself to calm down and to see what Stephen wanted from her. "And to what do I owe this visit?"

"You know why I'm here," Stephen replied, a little more seriously this time. Wanda was careful not to show him any reaction but he already knew enough. "Whatever you're doing, you need to stop it, Wanda. You're disrupting the balance."

"What are you talking about? I'm not doing anything," Wanda scoffed.

"Then you won't mind if we take this conversation inside?" Stephen pretended to take another step towards the cabin. Wanda blocked his path, her patience starting to run thin. He looked at her, gauging her reaction. "Is there something you didn't want people to know about?" Wanda's silence bothered him and he didn't want to assume the worst, but his instincts were telling him otherwise.

"I heard about what happened in Westview. I'm sorry for your loss. But I don't think that excuses—"

"Excuses what, Stephen?" Wanda's voice was low, barely hiding her anger and sadness this time. "I told you; I wasn't doing anything."

"I wasn't implying anything. But whatever you do, please remember. We can't do anything to reverse what has happened. Certain, more delicate, things are out of our rights to tamper with. Regardless of our grief. Regardless of what we can do."

Wanda chuckled bitterly at what he said, shaking her head. "You don't understand. You don't know what I lost. What I had to give up. And what I did to—," Wanda breathed in shakily, recollecting her composure before she continued. "I'm merely fixing what I did. That's all. Nothing harmful about that, is there?" She questioned almost nonchalantly.

Alarm bells rang in Stephen's head at her words. "Wanda. If you're doing what I think you're doing," he spoke as Wanda tilted her head, watching him with emotionless eyes, "then I cannot allow you to continue. That is a violation of natural law. You cannot bring back someone who has passed on. The consequences of doing so are more damaging than you think."

"I think you've overstayed your welcome," Wanda said coldly. "I wish you were visiting for a better reason, but you need to leave. Now."

"Wait," Stephen tried to reach out to her but he stepped back when the cabin and the area around it changed, turning into a rotten landscape of red. He caught sight of something behind Wanda that further confirmed his suspicion. "The Darkhold. Wanda, that book is dangerous. It corrupts everything and everyone that it touches. Why do you have it?"

"The Darkhold only showed me the truth. Everything I lost can be mine again."