Forever Charmed

Not After All This

"So... you told Laura that you will support her decision to be sacrificed, when actually... You have no intention of doing so," Mattie says slowly.

Carmilla nods sheepishly. "Mattie, she told me she loved me back. I can't lose her now."

"For the love of God, Carmilla," Mattie says exasperatedly. "If the little bean doesn't go through with this, Hell will be unleashed on Earth."

"I know!" Carmilla runs a hand through her hair. "I know. And I know why you and Laura are all on board to go through with this, but I can't. Especially not if– If––" She lets out a long sigh. "Can we sacrifice someone else?"

Mattie raises an eyebrow. "You really think Laura would go through with that?" She shakes her head. "Even if we could find someone else powerful enough to sacrifice to Lophiiformes, she would never agree to it. We're just wasting time, sis. The longer you sit around hemming and hawing, the stronger Vordenberg's army grows, and the sooner he can sacrifice them all and keep the gates of Hell open for eternity until an army just as vast and powerful is sacrificed. You'd just be delaying the inevitable, and making it that much worse."

Carmilla buries her face in her hands and lets out a long sigh. Her phone rings and she jumps. She answers it immediately. "Laura?"

Mattie watches as she listens to Laura's rambling and her eyes grow wider and wider.

"Shit. Shit. Okay, I'm coming. See you at the violence." Carmilla hangs up and swallows hard. "Vordenberg is attacking the school and rounding up as many people as he can get his hands on. A full-scale assault. His Corvae army is killing people who actively fight back."

Mattie clicks her tongue. "Looks like we've waited too long, already." She seems to mull something over and speaks slowly. "I'll send some demonic reinforcements. The time for good versus evil is over. Right now, we need to keep the gates of Hell from opening, no matter what."

Carmilla swallows hard and nods.

She orbs into Magic School and her mouth drops open. She had heard the commotion in the background of the call, but there was nothing to prepare her for a battle of this magnitude.

Young witches are being herded away by the older ones, but demons were making quick work of them.

Vordenberg had obviously managed to use his knowledge of Magic School to his advantage. The security measures had been updated over the centuries, to be sure, but the basics such as the protection spell or the entries had remained the same.

The Corvae forces–– both good and evil beings–– are wearing a sort of body armor, capable of blocking weapons. LaFontaine is throwing fireballs at them, but they simply get absorbed. Some Elders who had been teaching courses when the battle erupted are trying to shoot lightning at the demons, but those are also being absorbed.

This is it. This is the final fight, Carmilla realizes in horror.

Whitelighters and other teleporters are entering and leaving with whatever beings they can get their hands on, taking them anywhere else for safety. Carmilla squints and sees Laura tripping a lower level demon, stabbing him with a small dagger in a very small area not covered by the vest.

Laura reaches out and takes Kirsch by the arm, whispering something in his ear and waiting for him to nod his understanding and orb out. She grabs a young girl nearby and points to where whitelighters are orbing in for transport. There's a male witch standing nearby, coordinating the entire mess.

"Run to Theo!"

Carmilla runs past Danny, who's waving her hands to send demons flying away from the students and other powerless beings.