Into the Light

117 Anna's POV

How would we ever get the help we needed, if the witches weren't on the same page. I sighed and stepped up in line. It moved pretty quickly and we had our plates in hand after a few minutes. There had been such a great selection that I had no clue what to get. So, I just went basic and got a smoked turkey breast sandwich with bacon. Ash led us to a large circle table and sat down. Once we were all seated, he smiled at us. "Would you like to eat first, or eat and listen?" "Eat and listen," Sam and Colby said, in unison. I was beginning to realize that they were so in sync with one another sometimes, that it was almost scary. They needed each other. Anyone could see that. Yes, Sam loved Katrina with his entire heart, but Colby was his best friend. His brother. Possibly, his soulmate. I didn't think that I had ever seen a friendship like theirs, including mine and Holley's. They were incredibly different, but sometimes, they were almost the same person. Like two sides of the same coin. We sat down at the table and I took a huge bite of my sandwich. My stomach started rumbling, letting me know that I was actually hungry. Ash pulled a large manilla envelope out of his jacket and laid it on the table. That jacket must have huge inside pockets or something. Or he spelled it. H-e pulled the papers out of the envelop and removed the paper clip holding them together. "This is the information that I've collected on the Darkness. It contains her history, her family, her relationships, any connections with other people that we could find, and just about every spell that she performed or created. If there's anything missing here, it will be a surprise. I even had to go way back and speak to her  mother and father. Well, their spirit form anyway. I think that what we've learned is going to exponentially help us all." He picked up the papers and shuffled through them, muttering to himself, until he found the one he was looking for. "This right here," he said, and pushed the paper towards us on the table. "This part right here explains how her relationships with other people were. The Darkness has always had a problem showing her emotions. We didn't really understand why, and it's so simple that someone should have noticed before now..." He let his voice drift off, looking at the papers. "What Ash?" Colby asked, impatiently. Ash looked up in surprise. "Oh. I'm sorry. Got lost in my thoughts. The Darkness is a psychopath." "Well, we knew that," Sam joked. Ash shook his head. "No. I mean, she's actually a psychopath. Psychopathy is characterized by persistent antisocial behavior, impaired empathy and remorse, and bold, disinhibited, and egotistical traits. She has no remorse for what she does. She doesn't feel bad for others. She only cares about herself and what she wants and she's willing to do anything to get it. She believes that she can't be beat." We were quiet for a moment, letting that sink in. "So, what does that mean for us? Honestly, it just makes her sound more terrifying," Katrina replied, quietly. I had to agree. "It's actually good news for us," Ash responded, as he started shuffling through the papers again. "Here. It says that she tortured her family for no other reason than she wanted too. It was fun to her. She felt no empathy for the pain that she caused, emotional or physical. All of her spells are worked with strength and knowledge. There is no emotion in them. Every good witch knows that the strongest spells are those done with a clear intent, and especially those done from the heart. You know the feeling that you get when you see that person that you love? Doesn't matter if it's a girlfriend, boyfriend, best friend, family. Your heart just kind of swells when you see them, right?" I snuck a glance at Colby, then nodded with the rest of them. "She doesn't understand that. Her spell work has always rooted in specifications for the physical that she wanted. She wanted to stay young forever. She worked her spells, tweaking and tuning them, until she figured out how to accomplish that. It's all scientific." "In English, Ash!" Colby replied. "Get to the point, please bro." Ash nodded, one quick jerk of his head. "It means that she can be beat by an extremely strong bond. One that will go through hell to come out on the other side whole. A bond between two people that will never die, no matter what happens. They are always there for each other, through thick and thin, even putting their own lives in danger to help the other. Or even to help the other help someone else." He made a point to let his gaze travel between Sam and Colby. "Us?" Sam asked, raising his eyebrows in surprise. Ash nodded. "No offense to these beautiful ladies, but yes, Sam. You and Colby. The bond between you two is something that I have only seen a handful of times. It may be the strongest one yet. You two will throw caution to the wind to help the other one. You gravitate towards each other, even if you have others around. It's why she didn't try to beat you when you were in the Demon Realm. She felt it. I didn't know it then, but it makes sense. Why hasn't she killed either of you yet? Because you're always together. She's tried, yes, but even she doesn't know why it hasn't worked. I'm sure that she believes you've just been lucky, but that's not it. You're soulmates. The strongest bond of all. A spell worked in that bond, performed with the help of you two, will almost definitely defeat her." This was intense. I knew that Sam and Colby had an amazing friendship, but using that to beat the Darkness. She was pure evil. I wasn't sure that this would work. "Ash, are you sure?" I asked, softly. "Won't it be...dangerous?" "Of course it will be," he replied. "Any situation concerning battling her head on is dangerous. However, I firmly believe that this is the only option. Now, if you guys aren't prepared to do this, then I can find another bond, another relationship."