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Something surged inside the Nexus, sending a whirling mass of air upwards, encircling everyone in the bookshop. The evil witches reveled in it, drawing upon its power.

But then something remarkable happened. Outside in the street, a continuous droning skirl pierced through the night, the dissonant and humming undertone resonating beneath the detached melody. Was that…Eye of the Tiger?

Nadine cried a shrill shriek, covering her ears. “What is that terrible noise?”

The other four witches likewise crouched in agony, clawing at the sides of their heads.

“Well I’ll be,” Willow muttered under her breath. Dale was right. Bagpipes really did work against evil.

And in a way, they did. But the power of the Nexus was too strong, and Dale was already halfway down the street. He would probably upset a lot of neighbors soon.

Enraged, Nadine drew power among her coven sisters and together, they curled their magic around Montgomery, bringing him right to the edge of the Nexus.

“I didn’t want to have to do this,” Nadine said. “There is more power in numbers but if you won’t cooperate, you will have to be no more.”

Willow realized in that moment, the only reason the coven wanted her to join them willingly was because she was the primary holder of the Nexus. They needed her, and were willing to get rid of all she loved to take what they wanted. And if that meant sending her to her death so they could inherit the power, they would do it.

“He could be immortal, you know,” Astrid hissed like a serpent. “We know he won’t last in his current form. We could fix that.”

“Imagine,” Rowena added. “You, in your full power with your beloved at your side. You’d be unstoppable.”

“Don’t listen to them,” Montgomery cried. “They’re lying to you.”

Daria cackled and twisted her wrists, pulling Montgomery backwards over the opening to the Nexus. He was at a forty-degree angle, only held there by magic and the balls of his shoes on the edge. Willow reached out and clamped her hands over his arms.

“You can have your happily ever after,” Jewels said in a slightly softer tone than her coven sisters. “Just like your books.”

Then Willow felt a growing strength from the Nexus, like it was feeding her intravenously, and she pulled with all her might bringing Montgomery into her embrace. But she felt the tug of the other witches’ magic and she fought with every ounce of strength to hold onto him.

Montgomery looked into her eyes with a tender sorrow.

“Do you know what’s more powerful than love?” he said softly. “Sacrifice.”

And that, she thought, was not Velveeta at all.

He studied her eyes as though he would be asked to paint them from memory and seemed so at peace.

“You have to let me go,” he bade.

“No,” she said, fighting back tears. “I can’t.”

But Montgomery gave her a gentle kiss, giving himself to her completely.

“My soul was meant for your soul. We’ll find each other again. In eternity. I’ll wait for you, and we’ll find each other.”

“Don’t you dare give up now, old man,” Willow sobbed even as her grip began to slip. “There’s another way.”

“It’s okay,” he said. “You can let me go.”

His eyes sparkled a magnificent green and with a look of understanding, he nodded. And she returned the gesture.

He kissed her again, this time with all the love, all the dignity and noble sacrifice, and Willow felt a piece of her heart go with him. With unbearable pain in her soul, she let her fingers slip, and watched him as he plummeted down, down, down, until he was gone in a brilliant, white light.

Everything inside her ripped down the middle and she screamed a primal, horrid cry. Tears poured out of her eyes, and out of that deep sadness, rage surged forward, and the torrent of the Nexus filled her.

Nadine and her coven cackled with glee, and said in unison, “Now you go to a horrible end. From dust you came, to dust we send.”

But Willow was far too furious to waste time on their icky incantations and began to chant over and over, “Ego flexilis et lentum est. Quodcumque dixeris, resilit mihi et tibi haeret.”