Sarah of Salem – The Dark Valentine

Joining hands in the room, the trio faced Griselda and began chanting a crippling curse, aimed at the evil one. They had successfully disabled Griselda's supporter in the anteroom and had gotten in position to defeat the witch.

But Griselda wasn't caught totally flat footed. She had woven safeguard spells around the room before the operation, knowing that she would be compromised by the operation. They were strong protections; the children's curse was deflected back at them, knocking them off their feet as the supporters in the anteroom now piled into the OR and captured the baby's rescuers.

Griselda's cackle rang out, chillingly. "Now, my pretties, we'll wet the Horn One's appetite with some slightly older meat." She cackled again, demanding a scalpel from the nurse. "Bring them over here, so I can slit their throats."

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Will watched, amazed as the glow from the child seemed to burn off the obscuring fog. He felt his heartbeat -- he realized that he couldn't remember feeling its beat in... he didn't know. He raised a finger and watched as his son, (His SON!) grasped the finger with his little fist. Will's chest swelled and he felt love.

As the fog lifted, he saw the glow rise from the child and attach itself to his heart. Suddenly, it burst forth into six new lines, glowing bright and streaking across the room. Awareness of his surroundings came back to Will, and he looked with horror at his children, battered now and beaten, were held in the clutches of Griselda's cabal members. Blaise was being held by the bedside; his head pulled back stretching his neck as Griselda began swinging the scalpel.

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Across town, three lines of gold burst into the house, spearing Circe, Anastasia and Sarah with a blast of love. Sarah felt herself pulled to face East, where she now knew her Will was. She let loose a joyous sob, followed by a horrified exclamation of "NO!" as she became aware of her son's fear and imminent death.

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Will echoed his wife's "NO" as he felt the connection to his family rise in him, as it had when he faced the Tribunal years before. But now there was no struggle, no pushing back and forth with the evil doers. No, this time the frustrations and suffering he hadn't even been aware of in the past year burst out of him in a singular explosion. All the abuse that had been heaped on him, all the love and longing that his subconscious had continued experiencing although suppressed by his enchantment, came spitting out towards Griselda and her coven.

He would never know if he destroyed their powers, as he had done to the Tribunal. Griselda had frozen, mid-swipe, the blade an inch from Blaise's throat. A blank look filled her face, at least he thought it was her face. She had been in the bed, where now a crone, aged and with a face covered in hairy warts and moles, sat. Her breasts were sagging and deflated, her skin blotchy and flaking, with a ring of fat flapping over her waist.

Blaise shook off the hands holding him. His captors also stood frozen; blank faced. He winced when he looked at the corruption on the bed. "Wow! How many spells do you think it took for her to maintain the sexy visage she wore?"

Then he turned and looked at his father, realizing that Will was back, present in his body. "Dad!" he exclaimed and threw his arms around his father and brother.

Slowly, his sisters pulled away from their own rigid guards and joined the joyous huddle.

"What's going on?" Will asked, now confused. His last memory was a painful erection. "Where's Sarah?" He felt her, felt her concern. He wondered why she wasn't here.

"We'll take you home to her, Dad." He looked around. "Or Gwen and Tabby will. I don't know what you've done this time, but I really think you completely burned out their brains. I'm going to have to organize some help."

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Will rushed into the house, followed by Tabitha and Gwendolyn, who held her new brother.

Sarah wept with joy when Will rushed to hold her. They kissed until Gwen interrupted, to point out that the baby was crying and had just released a very smelly mess onto her. "I'd like to clean up, please," she begged. The smell of baby's first pooh was overpowering.

Sarah released Will to rush over and take hold of the baby. She cooed over the boy, kissing him as she took him into the bathroom to bathe the mess off him, sending Gwen and Tabby to the store for supplies. She refused to let Will out of her sight.

"I always wanted another boy," Sarah exclaimed as she looked from the baby to her husband. "Thank you, for this one."

Will still wasn't sure what had happened. He knew, knew instinctively that this was his child, but was unclear on all the how's and whys. But he was content to watch, as he saw a bright line rise from his son to attach to his wife. Whatever connected them, it wasn't by blood. He was connected to his four oldest, although technically they were his stepchildren, having had other sperm donors.

And now he watched as that same magical connection grew to include his wife and his newborn son.

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Griselda's large mansion was turned into a nursing home to house her and her mindless supporters. Those who had suffered under her tyranny had dubbed the group the "Vegetable Coven". Will had indeed wiped their minds. Now the hag Griselda and her friends sat in beds, drooling through the day as nurses turned them to alleviate their bedsores. Griselda's true appearance and that of many others in her coven surprised everyone. They had been hiding the rot of their dark magic for more years than anyone knew.

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Anastasia crawled up onto her daddy's lap as he sat next to Sarah, as she fed a bottle to Erebus Valentine Lawson, the child of their Dark Valentine day. Sarah doted on the child, letting everyone know that she thought him the sweetest child she'd ever seen.

"Daddy, what happened? Mama says you're a mundane; that you have no powers. But Mama, Blaise and the girls couldn't save you from Griselda; she was too powerful." She snuggled against him, reveling in his daddy-scent. She'd missed that big time, she thought to herself.

Sarah spoke up as she moved Evie, as they called the boy, to her shoulder to burp. "You remember how I told you how you helped save us from the Tribunal, honey, don't you?"

"Yes, mama, but I wasn't there when Daddy destroyed Griselda." Anastasia looked puzzled.

"I didn't destroy Griselda, sweetheart." Will hugged Annie tightly, thinking about how close he came to losing her and his whole family. He choked back a sob before continuing. "It was the love of you, your brother and sisters, and your mother that flowed through me. Love always destroys evil, Annie."

"Brothers!" she insisted, pointing to the baby her mother held.

"Brothers," her parents agreed.