~BOOK 4/PART TWO~ Paranormal: The Battle's Only Just Begun (Multi-Bandom FanFic)

Rachael was sitting in a bus stop, her head in her hands and her elbows resting on her knees. Her fingers were tangled in her hair and her eyes were closed as she performed a spell that allowed witches and wizards to locate people. It was a simple spell for most, but it was taking everything in the witch's power to not lose herself to the darkness that was whispering in her ear and just focus on the spell to find her daughter. She needed to get Halsey out of New Orleans, whether she wanted to leave or not.

"Rachael!" The witch heard her name be called, snapping her out of the daze she'd fallen into. Rachael looked up and saw her sister approaching. "There you are, I've been looking for you all morning. Whatcha doing?"

"I was just, um, waiting for the bus," She lied.

"You running from someone?" The younger of the two siblings sat down beside the older one. "Or maybe two someones?"

"No," Rachael sheepishly replied, her cheeks growing red. Natalie gave her that look that let her know she didn't believe her. Hell, she didn't even believe her. "Maybe..."

"Well that sucks." She sighed. "I mean, I came all this way just for my sister to ditch me."

"I know, Nat, and I'm sorry, but I can't stay here. I have to go. If you want to stay, though, Brendon will be more than welcome to let you stay in his house for however long you need."

"But I didn't come here for Brendon. I came here for you."

Rachael chuckled. "Well you must really want something because you never want to see me, not unless you need something from me."

"I'm just trying to make sure you're okay. That's why I came in the first place."

"Well I'm fine, Nat." The older witch placed a hand on her sister's shoulder and stood up, getting ready to leave. "Thanks for checking in on me, though."

"I may stick around for a few more days, being it's close to Mardi Gras and all. I hear the parades are great." She smiled.

"They really are," Rachael told Natalie, smiling back, "Halsey used to love them."

"Speaking of my niece, how has she been? I haven't seen her since I came into town."

She shrugged her shoulders. "She's been okay. I was actually just about to go get her. I'm taking her with me. I don't want her to be around for what's going to happen."

"What is happening?" The younger witch inquired, standing up and crossing her arms over her chest.

"Don't worry about it, Nat. It's nothing."

"You know you can trust me, right?" Natalie nudged her older sister, a smirk crawling onto her face.

Rachael nervously laughed. "Yeah, of course I know that."

Natalie rolled her eyes, knowing that she wasn't going to get anywhere or learn anything like she intended to. "Just call me whenever you get to where you're going, okay?"

"Of course," The older of the two replied replied, daring to give her sibling a hug. It didn't last very long before she pulled away and waved goodbye, abandoning the bus stop and rolling her eyes. She raised her hand and snapped her fingers, making herself vanish and then reappear where she'd finally pinpointed Halsey. The mother of the hybrid heaved a sigh, rolling her neck as that unfortunately familiar feeling spread across her entire body. She shook the feeling off and looked around the department store, spotting Halsey looking through a few racks of clothing, finding a wrap she liked. The blue-haired girl snapped her fingers and the cloth appeared on her body.

"You know, it's one thing to steal, it's another to steal while you're still in the store," Rachael commented, attracting the girl's wide-eyed gaze. The witch walked up to her and tugged on the garment. "It's much better to go online, see something you like, and then snap your fingers to make it appear in your hands."

"What are you doing here, mother?" Rachael could hear the resentment in Halsey's voice as she ripped the tag off the article of clothing.

"You and I are going somewhere for a little bit."

"I can't tell if you're brain dead or just plain stupid - I don't know nor do I care to find out - but I'm not going anywhere," She muttered while marching for the door.

"Halsey, please!" Rachael begged, catching her daughter by the arm before she could get far. Within the same moment - knowing that the longer the two of them talked, the more Halsey was going to resist - the witch transported the two of them to the destination Rachael knew she and Halsey would be safe, at least for a little bit. The mother and daughter duo straightened their postures and took in their surroundings, a quaint little neighborhood with adorably small houses lining the street. The sun was shining and the sky was blue, a happy carefreeness to the atmosphere. It was quite different from New Orleans.

"Are you fucking kidding me!?!" Halsey screamed while ripping her arm from her mother's grasp.

"I told you we were going somewhere," She muttered, turning around and seeing the front door.

"And I told you that I wasn't going anywhere."

"Well it looks like you did, so suck it up and be quiet," Rachael snapped back, walking up the few steps onto the porch and approaching the door. She raised my hand and knocked on the red door three times. She took a step back and folded her arms over her chest, looking back over her shoulder to make sure her daughter was still there. Halsey rolled her eyes and mirrored her mom, shaking her head in disbelief.

A smirk crawled onto the witch's face as she pointed her finger in her daughter's direction and cast a spell, temporarily taking away her powers. The spell was really for taking someone's powers and using them for yourself, but there wasn't much difference between Halsey's and Rachael's powers, aside from the fact that she had her father's abilities too.

Just then, the door opened and the witch returned her attention forward. "Rachael?"