HERO
SAND WITCHES
[the
seventh in The Scorpion Chronicles]
by Nat
Faul <pruesdoux@hotmail.com>
DISCLAIMER: (November 2000) This is not
posted for any profit but to share creative ideas with other Charmed fans
on this and other websites. The characters of Prue, Piper, and Phoebe
Halliwell, Leo Wyatt, Darryl Morris, and Andy Trudeau are property of Warner
Brothers Television. The Cthulhu Mythos is a creation of HP Lovecraft
(1890-1937) and is now the property of Arkham House. Other characters were
created by this author. Any similarities to real persons living or dead are
purely coincidental. The following account is fiction. Its sole purpose is to
entertain. Being conceived during the second season of the Charmed series, this
and the following stories may not be congruent with the current season. (Like
Phoebe never met Cole; etc.)
RATED PG-13: A few sexual references
Phoebe and Derek stood in each other’s
embrace. They were in heaven, mutually drinking in the bliss of their
sensuality. With one hand, he rubbed her back. With the other, he ran his
fingers through her hair. He slowly covered her face with tender, gentle
kisses. With her eyes closed, she moaned and sighed with pleasure. They had
been doing this for a week. She wants this to go on forever.
Between the curtains of the livingroom
window, prying eyes peered. Piper smiled upon the scene. She was so happy to
see her sister once again immersed in the dizzy bliss of romance.
But it seemed all too soon, he had to say,
"I got to go."
"Awwww! Do you really have to?"
"Yes. I really have to. But I’ll be back
for this evening."
"I’ll be counting the hours and
minutes."
"So will I."
After one more kiss, they reluctantly broke
their embrace. Derek put his Australian hat back on and adjusted its jaunt. He
went back to his pick-up and Phoebe opened the door to go back into the house.
She turned and called to him, "I love
you, Derek!"
He called back, "I love you, Sugar
Doll!"
She watched him get into his pick-up and drive
away. She went inside and closed the door, beaming widely with her head
dreamily swimming. Then she walked into the livingroom to find Piper laughing.
"What!"
"He calls you ‘Sugar Doll’! That’s so
cute!"
"Oh please! Don’t!"
"No, really! I think that’s so cute!
None of your other boyfriends ever called you by a cutesy pet name."
Prue walked in. "What’s going on?"
"Derek calls her ‘Sugar Doll’!"
"Oh how sweet!"
"Oh please! Both of you!"
When Prue stopped laughing, she asked,
"So, did he accept our invitation to dinner?"
"He did."
"Does he have any preference?"
"He says he’s been all around the world
and usually samples the local fare. So he’d like something San Franciscan. The
only foods, I know that are San Franciscan are hamburgers, burritos, and pizzas.
Piper, you’re the chef. What’s San Franciscan?"
Piper thought for a moment. "Seafood.
Since we’re surrounded by water.... And our famous sourdough bread.... So, ...
Let’s say baked salmon, ... wild rice, a salad, warmed sourdough bread with
butter, and a Napa Valley wine; ... perhaps a pinot noir."
"Perfect! I just have one class today.
So I have plenty of time to shop and prepare the dinner."
"Buy a salmon fresh at the Wharf. I’ll
fillet it."
"You’d do that for me?" Phoebe gave
Piper a hug. "Oh, you’re such a sweet sister!"
"Anything for love."
Prue commented, "It always thought you
were looking for a man like Billy; you know -- the one in those old horror
movies."
"Oh, but he is! He is!" Phoebe
insisted. "He’s kind, compassionate, considerate, brave, ... adventurous,
... and a lot of other things Billy is!"
Piper added, "And he leaves a smile on
your face every morning."
"That’s a bonus. Oh! What a bonus!"
"So, how is he?"
"Fantastic! Every morning, every cell in
my body just feels so good!"
"Wait a minute!" Prue interrupted.
"You’re telling us your bedroom secrets?"
"If you don’t want to hear it, you’re
free to leave the room."
"Are you kidding? I wouldn’t miss this
for the world! So, how is he?"
The sisters sat in the livingroom, conversing
for awhile, when a cloud of blue light appeared in the room. A whitelighter was
orbing in. They were expecting Leo but got a surprize. There stood a stranger;
a middle-aged man, slightly heavy set, with a small mustache, dressed in a
black suit and bowler derby, and a black umbrella hanging on his right forearm.
"Good day," he flatly greeted them
in a blubbery English voice. "Leo is away on a special mission. My name is
Reginald. I am your whitelighter for the day." [Author’s note: I picture
Terry Jones, of Monty Python’s Flying Circus, as Reginald.]
The sisters exchanged confused looks, not
knowing what to make of this. This was the first whitelighter they’ve seen,
other than Leo. This peculiar stranger removed his hat and hung it and his
umbrella on the coatrack. He walked over to where they sat and a clipboard
appeared in his hand. By his facial expression, he seemed bored or indignant
about doing this job. His eyes were half closed and he spoke in a monotone.
"As you know, your powers are growing.
The Elders feel it is time to test the limits of those powers, individually and
collectively. This is to show you your own potentials and let you see how you
must adapt to their growth. I am giving you each an individual assignment. When
all of you are finished, we will meet here again for your collective
assignments."
He took three sheets of paper from the
clipboard and set them on the coffee table in front of each of the sisters. The
clipboard vanished and he went back to the coatrack, where he picked up his
derby and umbrella.
"Good luck, Ladies! See you this
afternoon. Cheerio!"
He orbed out. The sisters simply sat back
speechless, not knowing what to say for awhile. Finally Piper broke the
silence. "Uh ... Was there a strange looking man just here, talking to us
about the Elders, our powers, and stuff?"
Prue gave her a curious look and nodded.
"Uh-huh."
"Oh good! I thought I was
hallucinating!"
Prue and Phoebe broke down giggling.
"Really! I mean, can any of you believe
that was real?"
Prue picked up the paper in front of her and
looked it over. "Well, this paper is real. And so is the printing on
it."
Piper looked over the paper in front of her.
"This is strange. They tested us before, but we’d find out afterwards,
that it was a test. Leo never told us beforehand. And he never put it in
writing."
"Well, this test has a different
purpose. Before, we were tested on moral decisions. This one is a test of
power. Remember when we went into the future? We didn’t realize how much our
powers had grown. I nearly destroyed the house and you froze a whole street
full of people. So it would be beneficial to see how much stronger we have
grown and how to adjust to it, mentally and emotionally."
"Right," Phoebe agreed. "We
should learn how to measure our growth on our own and how to readjust each step
of the way. That way, we won’t need the Elders testing us every few years or
months."
She had been looking over the paper before
her, but when she touched it, a vision flashed in her head. She saw a little
girl, about six or seven years old, hanging onto a high rocky ledge. She had
her face pressed against the rock and was crying in desperation. Below, on a
beach, her mother helplessly cried and kept calling out her name.
"Oh my God! Someone’s in trouble! I’ve
got to get to her!"
Prue asked, "You had a prediction?"
"Yes! When I touched the paper! You
think this might be my test?"
Piper propounded, "Would you risk
someone’s life to find out?"
"No! I just don’t know where she is! All
I saw was a beach!"
Prue asked, "What does you assignment
paper say?"
Phoebe looked it over. "It’s just a list
of suggestions. It says nothing about an assignment."
"Maybe, because of your power, they knew
you’d see your assignment, without having to read it written down."
"Wait! Here’s something! ‘To prolong the
duration of your inner sight, hold the catalyst tighter, longer, and
concentrate. Note all details: persons, background, clothing, etc.’ All right!
Here goes."
She pressed her paper tightly against herself
and closed her eyes. She had the vision again, but this time, didn’t let go of
the paper until she saw enough. "Baker’s Beach! I recognize it! Prue, can
I borrow your car?"
"Yes! Take it! Go! Go! Go!"
Phoebe ran out the front door.
"Wow!" Piper exclaimed. "I
wonder if my assignment is that urgent."
"What is your assignment?"
"It just says ‘The Cannery’."
"Does it say when?"
"No."
"Mine neither. So I’ll assume they
aren’t urgent."
She got up and went to the stairs. Piper
followed her to the hall. "So, what do you have to do to make the
assignment wait?"
"A little research on our dinner
guest."
Out of curiosity, Piper followed her to the
attic. "Research on Derek? How?"
They went to The Book of Shadows. Prue
began flipping through it. "By looking up Cthulhu, R’lyeh, Necronomicon,
and anything else to do with Dunwich."
"What do you suspect of him?"
"He could belong to a cult of the Great
Old Ones. If so, we’ve got to find out what he has planned for San
Francisco."
"That’s a switch. First, Phoebe had
suspicions and we thought it was nonsense. I wonder what changed her
mind."
"She’s blinded by love."
"Oh yeah! She seems so happy with
him."
"She seemed so happy with all the other
men in her life ... at first."
Phoebe drove along Lincoln Boulevard, from
where she could view Baker’s Beach. She carefully scanned the coastline for
surroundings that matched her vision. In a parking area, she parked the car and
took out a coil of rope and a pair of gardening gloves. Along the path, leading
to the beach, she veered off to climb a rock. She looked north and south,
looking and listening. "Where can they be?"
"Yes! Where indeed?" She looked
around and spotted Reginald standing on a nearby rock. "How long do you
think a little girl can hang on?"
"How did you know...? Did you put that
child in danger just to test me?"
"You have little time. It’s a long way
north and a long way south. How do you decide?"
Phoebe took a moment to think hard. "In
my prediction, she’s on a sheer cliff, with plenty of trees over hanging. From
what I remember, there’s nothing like that to the north, so it must be to the
south."
"Good show!" he praised, with out
any sincerity, then orbed out.
Phoebe got down from the rock and ran along
the path on the rocky shelf over the beach, heading south.
Prue closed The Book of Shadows,
sighing with frustration. "Nothing! I can’t believe it! Many of our
ancestors lived in Massachusetts but not one mentions Dunwich!"
Piper suggested, "Maybe none of them
found any reason to go there."
"But they must have heard about it. They
should have written something; at least a warning to stay away from there. I
read about it, mentioned in passing, in other books. You’d think one of our
ancestors would have at least made a passing remark on it."
"I agree. It’s a mystery. So, what will
you do now?"
"You did some on-line research at that
house, during the incident with the warlock in the jigsaw puzzle.
Remember?" (She still contemptuously referred to the branch office of the
American Psychic Society as that house.)
"Miles Heolster. Yes."
"Well, you can do it again on Dunwich
and the Great Old Ones. Meanwhile, if I can get my hands on the Necronomicon
again, I’ll give that a thorough going-over."
"But all that will have to wait. We
still have our assignments to do."
"Oh yes! Our assignments! Let’s get that
out of the way. But I’d really like to know what Derek is before Phoebe gets
too deeply involved."
"Too late. She’s already way over her
head in love."
"This is not going to be easy for me, is
it?"
"It never is. So, where is your
assignment?"
"London Jack."
"That’s in Oakland, isn’t it?"
"Yes."
"How will you get there? You let Phoebe
take your car."
"I’ll take a taxi to BART and BART to
Oakland."
"I can at least drive you to BART."
[Author’s note: For you
non-Californians, BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) is the local railway
system.]
Phoebe came running to a group of trees,
overhanging a sheer drop. Looking down, she saw no one there. She looked
further on south to the row of trees overhanging the rocky shelf. "They
all look alike!"
"Do they?" Phoebe looked up to a
higher shelf to see Reginald looking down on her. "What do you do
now?"
Phoebe took out her assignment paper, pressed
it to herself, and concentrated. She got nothing this time. "I got my
first prediction from touching this paper! But now I’m not getting
anything!"
"How do you usually receive your
predictions?"
"I touch an object or person or stand in
a particular spot! Sometimes just being close to an object or making eye
contact with a person will do!"
"Are you not also a factor in the
matter? Since you are coming to the rescue, you are also part of the
scene!"
"So what do I do?"
"Touch yourself!"
"What?!"
"Oh for heaven’s sake! Put your hand on
a part of yourself! Put your hand on your head!"
She did and concentrated. It worked. She
began seeing the scene from above; from the perspective of where she will be. She
backed up her view to see more details of the surroundings. "All right! I
got it!"
"Brav-o!" he called out
sarcastically and orbed out.
Phoebe shot a glare in his direction then
continued running down the path.
Piper walked up to the large red brick building.
The walls of the second floor were covered with ivy, hanging down from the
terraces above. The giant star, over the front gate and under the large white
letters THE CANNERY, reminded her of an inverted pentagram -- the symbol of
evil. Not a good omen of things to come within. Despite her apprehensions, she
felt duty-bound to enter. She was confronted by stairs and corridors, leading
to a multitude of various shops. She didn’t know what was expected of her or
for what she should be searching. Wandering the maze of hallways, she pretended
to be window-shopping, while looking all around for anything out of place.
Phoebe ran along the trail until she came to
a spot where she recognized a pattern of trees and rocks. Looking over the
edge, she saw the woman from her vision, looking up the shelf face, with tears
in her eyes and calling out the girl’s name. A few other people were gathered
around, trying to climb the shelf or comfort the mother. Phoebe went to the
spot where the woman faced and looked down. In the middle of the sheer 80-foot
drop, the little girl clung to what she could, crying loudly. Phoebe quickly
tied one end of the rope to the nearest tree and the other end around her
waist. Making sure the knots were snug enough, she put on the gloves for a
better grip. Holding onto the rope, she carefully back up over the cliff’s edge
and began descending the shelf’s face.
"Hold on, little girl! I’m coming down!
Don’t be afraid! I’ll be right there!"
Climbing down, she felt the traction, between
her boots and the rock, faltering. She found that holding up her own weight was
harder than she thought. Trepidation crept over her as she more and more
realized how high off the ground she was. Then she wondered what she would do
when she reached the girl. She needed both hands on the rope. Then she wondered
if she could hold the combined weight. Then she wondered if she brought enough
rope. If she couldn’t safely lower the girl to the ground, she’d have to climb
all the way back up, carrying all that weight. It looks so easy in the
movies!
The train pulled into Oakland Station. Prue
stepped out into the sun and oriented herself. Her immediate need was a taxi to
get her to her assignment point. Through all the riding and waiting, she kept
going over her paper. There wasn’t much to cover one page, but she felt it
would be important.
Piper sipped her cappuccino as she continued
through the winding halls. She briefly looked around in each shop to see where
her powers would be needed. One shop was an art gallery, filled with people
sipping champagne and eating caviar on crackers. A sign outside announced the
opening of new exhibits and listed artists’ names she didn’t recognize. She
dropped her cup into a trashcan before entering. (It might appear gauche to
walk among champagne drinkers with a paper coffee cup.) She glanced at several
of the paintings displayed, but mostly concentrated on the people. Would a
warlock, terrorist, or some other kind of criminal strike where there are so
many people? She accepted a glass of champagne to fit in, but took only tiny
sips. She wanted to be clear-headed when faced with the test.
Phoebe awkwardly inched her way down the face
of the rock shelf. She felt her arms tiring and her spirit floundering. Then
she noticed she didn’t hear the girl crying anymore. She looked down to see her
looking up to her wide-eyed. It’s a look Phoebe will never forget. The little
girl was looking to her with hope. She had faith in her and Phoebe couldn’t let
her down. She found within herself a renewed strength, a refreshed vigor, and
began taking longer strides downward. From that point on, it took very little
time to reach her.
"All right, Honey, now put your arms
around me! Just hold onto me tight!" The girl carefully put her arms
around Phoebe’s midriff, just under her breasts. "Okay! Ready? Here we
go!"
When Phoebe felt her hold snug enough, she
continued her descent. She could hear people below cheering and applauding, but
knew it wasn’t over yet.
Prue got out of the taxi and paid the driver.
She looked at the building up and down and decided to look around on the
outside first, wanting see if her assignment could be near the building rather
than inside. It was at the rear of the building she was proven right.
"Hey! Stop that man! Give me back my
child!"
Prue looked across the street to see a woman
chasing a man, carrying a little boy, about five years old, over his shoulder.
She didn’t stop to think but also ran. She quickly and carefully maneuvered
across the busy street and got ahead of the woman. The man glanced back to see
Prue gaining on him with a fierce determination. So he swiftly turned down an
alley, leaving Prue to awkwardly compromise this sudden maneuver. Down the
alley the man made another turn. Before she could reach the corner, Prue heard
the slam of a metal door. After turning, she found herself in a dead end,
surrounded by doors. She went to the only metal door, but it had no handle and
was labeled, "EXIT ONLY. DO NOT ENTER." How could he have opened it
from the outside? Either an accomplice was waiting for him or he’s a warlock.
Prue used her power to pull the door open.
On entering, she found only darkness. She
felt around for a light switch and flicked it up and down. But no light came
on. When the door slammed shut behind her, she couldn’t find anything else. A
life was in danger; in need of her help. But how could she help when she
couldn’t even see where she was going? Then she remembered one of the
suggestions on her assignment paper. Her powers can not only be used to move
objects but also to feel around in unseen areas. She tried that. She sent out
her mental powers in all directions; lightly at first, then pressed a little
more. She was surprized that she could "feel" where she was. The
energy, she sent out, was like many hands and fingers feeling around in the
dark. It was just like a cat, using its whiskers to feel its way through a dark
narrow passage. She felt the walls, floor, ceiling, furniture, and rubble on
the floor.
But the urgency of the situation pushed her
forward. She began moving down the hall quickly, with anxiety for the little
boy, but at the same time drunk with this new sensation. In total darkness, she
could "see" everything up to 20 feet or more. She could
"see" every tile on the floor, every crack on the walls, and even the
treads inside empty light sockets.
Phoebe continued descending the rock face,
with the little girl hanging on. Then one of her fears came true. She ran out
of rope. Looking down, she estimated that they were still about 30 feet off the
ground. The little girl remained silent, which Phoebe took as a sign of her
continued confidence. Not wanting to let that confidence down, she controlled
her feelings of panic. With no more need to hold onto the rope, she took the
girl into her arms. (She kept her feet planted on the rock face while hanging
by her waist.) For the girl’s sake, she had to swallow her pride and ask for
help.
Twisting her head around, as much as she
could, she called out, "I’m out of rope! I can’t come down any
further!"
She heard the gasps of anxiety and groans of
disappointment. Some again tried climbing up to her, but here wasn’t enough
finger or toehold to support anyone’s weight. Phoebe craned her neck around
enough to spot a blanket on the beach.
"Hey! Bring that blanket over here!...
That one!... Yes, that one!... Now eight or ten of you hold the edges and pull
tight! I’ll drop her into it!"
Soon she had more than enough volunteers
holding out the blanket under her.
"All right, Sweetie. I’m going to let
you go and those people down there will catch you. Okay? You’re going to be
fine now. Okay?"
Phoebe carefully maneuvered herself into an
upside down position while holding the little girl by the wrists. The girl
looked down at the blanket far below then back up at Phoebe. Her eyes were wide
with some reservation but still held faith in Phoebe. Phoebe smiled at her.
"You’re going to be fine. Okay?
Ready?"
She unlocked her fingers and the girl went
falling falling falling. Phoebe stopped breathing as she watched the girl go
down down down. It seemed that time had slowed down. It was the longest fall she
had ever witnessed. It seemed like forever when the little girl finally hit the
blanket and bounced, then the surrounding people rushed in and caught her in
their hands. Cheers and applause broke out. The mother scooped up her child and
held her tightly, weeping. People shouted thanks and congratulations up to
Phoebe, who still hung there upside down, smiling and waving back to them.
Some called to her, "Are you all right?
Do you need any help?"
She called back, "No, thank you! I’m
fine! I can make it!"
Taking hold of the rope, she righted herself
and began the long arduous climb back up.
Prue continued making her way through dark
hallways, checking each room along the way. She came to a hall with a row of
dirty windows, letting in enough light to see. As much as she had enjoyed the
new sensation of this new use of her powers, she decided to conserve her energy
for the fight ahead.
The door at the end of that hall led to
another. On the opposite side of the windows was a low wall, over which hung a
vast blackness. Prue leaned over the wall and projected her powers outward,
"feeling" the area out there. It was a very wide-open space,
surrounded by other mezzanines. The depth was further than her power could
reach. She tried narrowing the scope of her "view" to lengthen it. It
worked. She began reaching beyond 30, 40, 50 feet. At six stories down, she
"touched" bottom, but, at that distance, couldn’t pick up as much
detail.
She sat on the floor, her back to the wall,
holding her knees. Concentrating on the area six stories below, she took a deep
breath and went into a trance. Her astral body projected to the main landing.
In the dark she couldn’t see anything and doesn’t have her powers when outside
her body. So she had to feel her way around with her hands. She moved towards
what she guessed was the center of the floor and walked into something big and
hard. Prue felt it over and visualized a large block of stone. The sound of
breathing stopped her cold. She cocked her head side to side to home in on its
direction. It was coming from the center of the stone table. She felt around in
that direction and found the little boy bound and gagged. Then it came to mind
that this is a sacrificial altar and she realized why the boy was snatched. She
quickly began fumbling with the ropes, trying to untie him, when a light broke
through the crack under a door. Someone was coming. She returned back to her
body. She needed to be fully intact to have her full powers to deal with the
sacrificer.
She guessed that the next door down the hall
might lead to a way down. On throwing the door open, she was startled by four
men in red robes and hoods and gold chains. Warlocks! They moved forward
on her. She used her powers to throw them back, but they simply swayed back,
for a moment, then continued their advance. She tried again. The effect was the
same. Then she tried to throw a punch at the nearest one. But he caught her by
the arm. His hand felt hard as a rock and just as cold. With one flick of his
wrist, he slammed her onto the floor. Prue lied dazed, with pain pulsating in
her back and hips. Looking up, she saw the four hooded figures reaching down
for her. Quickly she concentrated her power on their surroundings, whipping up
a storm of wood, plaster, broken glass, paper, and dust. This occupied them
long enough for her to push herself up from the floor and run for the door she
had entered.
In the other hall, she used her powers to
scoop up the rubble into a bank against the door. But soon, her pursuers were
ramming the door and her barricade was beginning to give. As she backed away,
she noticed Reginald standing off to one side.
"Your power has little effect on them
and you are outnumbered. What do you do?"
"Run!" She took off for the other
end of the hall.
"Exactly!"
Then she stopped and whirled around in
surprize. "What?"
"What good are you to the one, whom you
wish to rescue, if you are dead? Run for your life first, then return with a
fresh approach."
He orbed out. Prue threw up her arms, rolling
her eyes, thinking "Duh! I could have told you that!", then
continued running.
Piper concluded that there was nothing for
her to do in the art gallery. She put down her champagne flute and headed for
the door. On the way, one display caught her attention. On a canvas, which ran
floor to ceiling, ran a crooked line upward, branching out here and there. At
first Piper wondered, "Of all the things people consider art...!"
Then she noticed it moving. It crept upward, putting out new branches along the
way. It took awhile for her to realize that she was not looking at a painting,
but a crack in the wall, growing before her eyes. Wondering why not else could
see this, she made her way through the crowd towards this developing disaster.
"Excuse me, people! Excuse me! Could you
move away from that wall? It’s about to...!"
With a loud crack, a huge chunk of the wall
broke away. Piper threw out her hands and froze the stones and plaster in
place, as well as the entire room full of people. She made her way through the
immobilized crowd and stood at the crumbled wall. If she unfreezes the people,
she would also unfreeze the wall, letting it come down on them. But how can she
move a room full of frozen people?
"What do I do now?"
"Yes! What do you do?" Reginald
stood by the door.
Phoebe finally made it back to the top of the
rock shelf. She untied the rope from around the tree, rewound it into a coil,
and slung it over her shoulder. On her way back to the car, she kept looking
around for Reginald, wondering if there’s something else she should be doing.
"Hey! Is that it?... What was all that
suppose to prove?... Hey!... What do I do now?"
She paused awhile, putting her hand on top of
her head and concentrating. She suddenly received a vision of her sisters at
her office desk at the American Psychic Society. Piper was sitting in front of
the computer, while Prue stood beside her with a large book. Phoebe felt that
she should be with them and headed out in that direction.
Prue sat in the dark, listening carefully for
any sound of movement. Cautiously she pushed the cabinet door open and climbed
out. The room was still in total darkness, so she was sure she was alone. (Had
someone else been in the room, the lights would have been on.) She quietly made
her way back to the hall of windows, listening for the warlocks every step of
the way.
She entered the mezzanine and looked over the
low wall. Torches lighted up the main landing. Prue could make out 13 robed
figures. A coven of warlocks! Since all 13 had to be present for the
sacrifice, none of them would be guarding the door. She opened the door, where
she had first encountered the warlocks, and found a stairwell leading up and
down. She stood there awhile trying to formulate a plan.
"The boy will be sacrificed soon."
Startled, Prue spun around. Reginald stood by
the low wall.
"Don’t do that!" Prue demanded.
"And I was just putting a plan together."
"Will it be put together before
or after the boy is dead?"
"Just one can crush me like an egg! So
it takes time to figure out how to charge in on 13 of them!"
"You don’t need to charge anyone; simply
use your powers to snatch up the lad and escape with him."
"Right! Just walk in an snatch up...!
Wait! Up! That’s it! Up! I’m above them! I can pull the boy up, without having
to go into that area itself! I can just lean over the terrace just above and
pull him up."
"Would that give you a good start?"
"What?"
"Could you outrun them from only one
level above?"
"Well, the second level then.... Maybe
the third."
"Can your powers lift him all the way to
the third?"
"Sure.... I guess."
"For the boy’s sake, you must do more
than guess."
"All right! I know I can do it! I know I
can do it."
"Good show!" (Again with no sincere
expression.) Then he orbed out.
Prue took a wooden board and propped the door
open, to make her escape a little easier. Then she quickly made her way down
the stairs, stepping as quietly as possible. She counted three stories down and
went out onto that mezzanine. Quickly and quietly she propped that door open
then looked over the wall.
The 13 red-robed figures stood in a circle
around the stone table. They seemed to be chanting something. The little boy
was still bound and gagged in the middle. When the chanting ended, one came
forward with a jewel-encrusted dagger. He held it up above his head, in an offering
gesture, then pressed it to his forehead. They all bowed their heads as if in
prayer. Prue saw her chance. She concentrated on the boy, lifting him up from
the altar. It was awkward at first, since a person’s body weight is not even
distributed throughout the body. So Prue concentrated on the center of his
body, knowing that the rest will follow. This made levitating him easier.
However, a few times her hold on him wobbled due to anxiety and inexperience
with this particular maneuver. So as soon as he was within reach, she seized
him in her arms.
Just at that moment, she heard, "Up
there! It’s the witch! Get her!"
Prue wasted no time in running for the
stairs, clutching the child tightly. In seconds she could hear footsteps
rumbling up the stairwell, not far below. She soon reached the waiting door of
the ground floor, kicked away the wooden prop, and shoved the door shut. With
her powers she piled as much rubble as she could against the door, then ran for
the other end of the hall. By the time she opened the other door, she could
hear the door behind burst open, scattering the rubble far into the hall. She
ran across the next hall, then looked back to scatter everything not bolted
down all over the floor to impede her pursuers.
In the hall after that one, she was in total
darkness and, once again, using her powers to feel her way through. After two
more of such hallways, she kicked open the metal door to the alley. While
catching her breath and re-adjusting her eyes to the daylight, she loosened the
boy’s bonds. He cried hysterically and Prue held him and rocked him gently.
"You’re all right now, Honey! You’re all
right! We’re going to Mommy right now!"
She carried him out of the alley, to the
street from where she had entered, looking around for the mother. Looking up
and down the street, she spotted her down the block, at a pay phone, shouting
and crying. Prue ran to her. "Here he is! Here he is!"
The woman dropped the phone and ran to her.
She took her child, holding him tightly and weeping with gratitude. "Thank
you! Oh thank you! Thank you!"
"You’re welcome. But he’s still in
danger. They’re not too far behind us."
"They? Who are they?"
"I’m not sure. Some cult sacrificing
kids to Satan or something. So get him out of here now. I’ll go back and lead them
off in another direction."
"Thank you! Thank you so much!"
Prue rushed back to the alley; back to the
metal door. She stood in the alleyway, which leads to the other side of the
block, poised to run out that way. She just needed to let them see her, then
run, leading them in the opposite direction of the boy and his mother. She
waited, expecting them to come crashing out the door any moment now.... Any
moment now.... Any moment now.... Any moment now?
They weren’t that far behind. And the
darkness wouldn’t have delayed them this long. And they certainly wouldn’t have
just given up. She wondered what could be keeping them. Curiosity replaced
trepidation. She cautiously approached the door, keeping in mind all the
garbage lying around, which she could hurl at them should they suddenly spring
out. She crept up to the door and pressed an ear to it. Nothing. Silence. She
backed away to a safe distance then used her power to pull it open. She peered
in at a distance then slowly approached. Still hearing nothing, she entered,
this time propping the door open. Halfway down the hall she started wondering.
Are they using her curiosity to lure her back in? But then how would they know
she’s back? But then they’re warlocks. Who knows what they can do?
"What are you doing here?"
Prue jolted and quickly turning around. There
stood a uniformed security guard shining a flashlight on her.
"Uh ... Uh ... I thought I saw some
people come in here.... I just wanted to see what was going on."
"What sort of people?"
"Actors ... I think. They were in
costumes, ... Medieval robes ... and swords.... I’m from out of town and I’m
looking out for cultural events while I’m here. So I saw a group of people in
costumes come in here, and I was following them to ask if there was a play or
festival going on."
"This building is empty. No one’s
allowed in here without the permission of the owners." He went past her to
the inner door and tried to open it. He pulled as hard as he could but it
wouldn’t budge. "Are you sure they came in this way?"
"No. I just saw them go around this
corner and when I followed, this was the only door opened."
"Well, this door is rusted shut. No
one’s been through here for a very long time."
Prue stood dazed with confusion.
Piper went through her purse and took out her
assignment paper. Reginald kept watch at the door.
"Someone may come along at any
moment."
"I’m aware of that!"
"Come now. Your sisters are doing much
better in the thinking department."
"I could use a little help here!"
"This is your test, not mine."
Piper seethed with rage at his insults and
discompassion. But the problem at hand had her first priority. She scanned her
list for the answer. "Here it is -- ‘Split Control’!"
After quickly reading, she faced the people
with her back to the wall. She closed her eyes, took a few deep breaths,
concentrated on the people, then wiggled her fingers. The people began moving
and speaking again. Some began reacting to Piper’s warning before she froze the
whole room. She looked above her and saw the broken pieces of the wall were
still suspended in time.
"Ladies and gentlemen! This wall is
about to collapse! Could all those on my left please move back to the opposite
wall, and those on my right exit the door in an orderly manner?"
The people moved according to her suggestion.
She moved along with them, staying between the crowd and the wall. When at a
safe distance, she released the time freeze and the wall came down. Stone,
wood, and plaster came crashing to the floor, sending out a huge cloud of dust.
The gallery manager conducted everyone out. Piper blended into the flow of
people.
Outside, in the promenade, she looked around
for Reginald. She stood by a wall, leaning on his umbrella and sipping a flute
of champagne. She stormed up to him. "What was that all about?"
He didn’t answer. He didn’t even look at her.
He simply orbed out, leaving Piper enraged.
Phoebe reached the APS and went to her
office. No one was there but she expected her sisters to arrive. While waiting,
she logged on her computer and began a few research projects, Irene had left in
her "in" basket.
Prue was on the train back to
Piper’s voice came through. "Prue, where
are you?"
"Somewhere between
"I’ll come pick you up."
"Thanks. How did your assignment
go?"
"Don’t ask!"
She hung up, leaving Prue a bit puzzled. As
the train pulled into the station, Prue looked out for Piper and found her
sitting on a bench reading a magazine.
"So, what was so bad about your
test?"
"That whitelighter is insufferable! He’s
such a snoot! He looks down on me through his nose! And he talks down to me
like I’m some sort of ... stupid peasant!"
"Well, I guess he hates this assignment
as much as we do, so he’s taking it out on us."
"That inexcusable! He has no right to
treat us that way!"
"I agree."
"How was your test?"
"Confusing."
"How?"
"I’m not sure it happened or not. I
rescued a boy from being sacrificed by a coven of warlocks. I got him back to
his mother then went back to distract them way from the kid and his mother, but
found all trace of them gone. That’s not how real warlocks work. So I’m
wondering if we are just put through illusions as a test."
"Wait a minute." Piper flipped open
her cell phone and dialed 411. "
She put away her phone. "It never
happened. This morning, I stopped a wall from falling on a crowd of people. I
learned how to split my powers, to unfreeze the people but kept the wall
frozen, until everyone was out of the way. Now, it never happened."
"That’s too bad! I liked that kid! And
his mother was my age. I wanted to get to know her. We could have been
friends."
"Now we have to go home and face our
collective assignment."
"That can wait. I want to go to the Morehead
House and do that research we talked about this morning. It’s more important to
see if Phoebe’s making a big mistake. Besides, he never gave us a specific
time."
"He said this afternoon. It’s just a few
minutes past
"Well, we don’t owe him any favors. Let
him wait."
"Right!"
At the APS, Prue managed to get Derek’s copy
of the Necronomicon, then, with Piper, went to Phoebe’s office. She
still felt uncomfortable dealing with that evil book, but urged her self
on with the philosophy, Know your enemy. They were surprized to find
Phoebe already there.
Piper asked, "What are you doing
here?"
"I had a prediction that you’d be here,
so I got here ahead of you."
Prue asked, "You had a prediction of us
here? Why would you?"
"All my predictions are for a reason. So
I’m suppose to be here to see what you’re up to. So, what are you up to?"
"We’re studying up on this Cthulhu
affair. There’s nothing about it in The Book of Shadows and we may be
vulnerable without this knowledge."
Phoebe got up and allowed Piper to take her
seat at the computer. "Does this have anything to do with your suspicions
that Derek is a warlock?"
"My suspicions? You’re the one who first
had the idea! Remember?"
"Yes, but all tests have proven
negative. And he’s proven himself against evil when he drove Cthulhu’s
influence out of
"All we saw were tricks with chants and
charms. It could have just been a show for our benefit."
Piper tried to change the subject. "Did
you know many of our ancestors lived all their lives in
Phoebe volleyed, "Just what is your
problem with Derek?"
Prue rebounded, "He is something we
can’t identify! Not a warlock! Not a witch! But he has powers! I’d like to know
if he’s something out to kill us or not!"
"He’s already proven he’s not
evil!"
"We’ve been fooled before! He could just
be putting on an act to win us over!"
"Then why hasn’t he killed us by now?
He’s had plenty of opportunities!"
Again Piper tried to divert her sisters from
pitch battle. "All right! I got it! I found something on Dunwich!"
They huddled around the computer screen and
read along with Piper. "Dunwich -- A small village in central
Massachusetts, reputed to have been founded by witches during the Colonial
Period. Scholars of the Necronomicon, an ancient book on mysticism, identifies
this site as one of the locations of the Gates, through with the Great Old Ones
were imprisoned. See Necronomicon.
"Wow! Derek told us about the Great Old
Ones. They were evil and defeated in a war, then imprisoned in these
interdimentional ‘Gates’."
Prue pondered, "So that’s why he owns
property there. He could be one of those, looking for a way to open the Gates
and release the Old Ones."
Phoebe countered, "Or making sure they
stay closed and the Old Ones stay locked up."
Piper grew weary of being the peacemaker.
"Can’t you two be objective just for one minute?"
This quieted them down for awhile. "I’ll
look up Cthulhu."
She entered the name in the search engine,
while Prue began leafing through the black tome. Phoebe backed up and viewed
them. They were in the same position she saw in her vision. There was a reason
for her visions. She knew she had to be here to learn something about Derek. So
far, it didn’t seem favorable. Her heart ached as she prepared for the worst.
Then Jules entered the office and went to his
desk to take a few things. "Afternoon, Ladies!" Prue and Piper
responded but Phoebe just eyed him suspiciously. "Hey Chief, whatcha up
to?"
Phoebe blazed but she didn’t want to make a
scene in front of her sisters. "We’re just doing some supplementary
research on a former project."
"Say, I just heard you’re now the Big
Guy’s main squeeze. Is he gonna let you run this place?"
"No, he won’t! Even if he does, I
wouldn’t accept!"
"Get it while you can. A guy would give
anything to the one who warms his bed."
Phoebe erupted. "I ought to kick your
butt, you disease-ridden rodent! Now get the hell out of here before I throw
you out the nearest window!"
Prue and Piper exchanged a surprized look. Is
this our sweet and innocent Phoebe? Jules just walked out laughing.
Prue ventured, "Trouble with your
staff?"
"He’s not my staff! But I’d like to hit
him with one!"
Prue and Piper burst out laughing.
Piper asked, "What is your problem with
him?"
"He just has this natural talent for
getting on everyone’s bad side!"
Prue wondered, "Aren’t you all suppose
to pull together? Weren’t you and Irene talking a lot about teamwork?"
"Yes, we do pull together, when we need
to. Then afterwards, he reverts to his usual pain-in-the-butt self."
Continuing research, they found information
on Cthulhu but it was nothing other than what Derek had already told them.
Piper then decided to look up the Star of Mnar. Prue did also. She
remembered seeing Mnar in a passage and sought the page. On finding it,
she read the Latin and translated for her sisters.
"Armor against witches and demons,
against the Deep Ones, the Dholes, the Voormis, the Cho-cho, the Abominable
Mi-Go, the Shuggoths, the Ghasts, the Valusians, and all such peoples and
beings, who serve the Great Old Ones and their spawn, lie within the five
pointed star, carven of gray stone from ancient Mnar, which is less strong
against the Great Ones Themselves. The possessor of the stone shall find
himself able to command all beings which creep, swim, crawl, walk, or fly even
to the source from which there is no returning."
Piper thought this over. "Okay. I got
the first part. It can protect you from servants of the Great Old Ones but not
the Great Old Ones themselves."
"Right."
"But the second part -- Does that mean
this can be used to control the animals?"
"I guess so."
"That’s great!" exclaimed Phoebe.
"Just think of what we could do with that! We could command dogs to sniff
out warlocks and demons ... or people kidnapped by them! And we could command
swarms of bees to stings warlocks all over!"
"Uh ... Yeah.... But that last part --
What is the source from which there is no returning?"
Prue scrutinized the page then shook her
head. "I’m not sure. Could be death. I’ll have to study this whole thing
to find out.... What did you find on-line?"
Piper read from the screen, "Mnar,
star of -- One of many gray stone disks with a carving of a pentagram, used to
repel evil beings and their magical powers. Its principal use is protection
from the disciples of the Great Old Ones and their spells. No evil can
withstand its presence except for the Great Old Ones in person. It is so named
for its origin --
"No evil can withstand its presence,"
Phoebe repeated. "Yet Derek carries it around with him."
Prue still doubted. "But are we sure
what he has really is a Star of Mnar?"
"We saw what it did to that altar stone
from
"I want proof positive that we’re safe
from him and whatever powers he has!"
"We have plenty of proof! You just don’t
want to see it!"
Piper felt another battle brewing and just
wanted to scream. However, Prue disarmed.
"Honey, I want you to be happy. But I’d
like you to be safe and live a long life, so you can be happy a long
time."
"I know that." Prue and Phoebe held
each other for a moment. Piper felt a pressure valve release. Phoebe patted
Prue on the back.
"All right then. Carry on with your
research. I’ve got to be in class in a few minutes. Can I still use your
car?"
"Sure. Go ahead."
"Thanks. And I still have that salmon to
pick up."
"I’ll do that!" Piper volunteered.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. No problem. I think we’ll be
finished with our research before you’re finished with your class."
"But will you remember?"
"Of course I’ll remember! I remember all
dinners I cater!"
"Oh, you just too nice to me!"
"It’s not that. I just don’t trust you
to choose the right fish. You wouldn’t know a fresh salmon if it swan up and
bit you in the...."
"Piper!" Prue admonished.
Phoebe walked out laughing. She also felt
relief to find proof that Derek is nothing evil.
They made it home later that afternoon. Piper
carried a large white-papered bundle and Prue followed with two armloads of
groceries. As they unpacked and unwrapped, Phoebe came running through the
front door.
"Hello! Hello! I’m here! What have you
started so far?"
Piper called back, "We just got here
ourselves!"
Phoebe joined them in the kitchen, rubbing
her arms. "So what did you find out in your research."
"Nothing further on the Star of Mnar;
just a little more on the Great Old Ones."
"So what’s your verdict on Derek? Do we
serve him dinner tonight or vanquish him?"
Prue announced, "We’ll trust him enough
to have dinner with him. We’ll trust him enough to let him sleep with you. But
until we know what he is, it’s best we don’t tell him what we are."
"Fair enough. But he knows I’m a member
of a coven. So when I tell him ‘I’m a witch’, it’ll be meant to be taken in
that sense. So don’t freak out when you hear tell him that."
"All right. But that’s all you’ll tell
him."
Piper noticed she had been rubbing her arms
and thighs with an expression of discomfort. "Is something the matter with
you?"
"I’m just sore all over from this
morning."
"Why? What were you doing?"
"I was scaling a completely vertical
cliff to rescue a little girl stranded over the side. I climbed down to where
she was, carried her to the bottom, then climbed all the way back up. I’ve been
aching all over all afternoon. Funny, I never bothered to ask how she got
there. That’s odd that a child so young would get into that position."
Prue and Piper exchanged looks. "So what have you two been up to?"
Piper summarized, "I kept a wall from
falling onto a room full of people."
Prue recapped, "I ran through an
abandoned building, rescuing a little boy from a coven of warlocks. One of them
threw me around pretty badly, so I’m as sore as you."
Phoebe reflected, "We were suppose to
learn something about our powers. What have you learned about your powers today?"
Prue recounted, "I found that I can use
my powers to feel around in the dark. I can feel details of everything around
me up a little more than ten feet. And if I narrow my focus, it can go even
further."
"Cool! That’s like finding a brand new
power!"
"Yes. It does seem like that."
Then Piper related, "I found that I can
split my powers to freeze some but not others or unfreeze some and not others.
What about you?"
"Well, since I can see the future of
someone or something, but touching the person or object involved, I can see
what my involvement will be by touching myself."
"Now there’s a visual." She and
Prue burst out laughing.
"All right, you two! Get your minds out
of the gutter! I mean by putting a hand on a part of myself, like the top of my
head! Jeez!" She looked over the unpacked groceries. "So, what do we
start on first?"
"First you start your next test,"
called Reginald from the livingroom.
The sisters looked at each other with
disappointment then walked out of the kitchen. In the livingroom, he stood
waiting with his clipboard. "Let’s move along now. The sooner we get this
started, the sooner we will be done with it. You all proved yourselves slow in
creating strategy. Let us hope your performance will improve in this
exercise."
The three were incensed. Piper protested,
"That’s not fair! We didn’t ask for this! The Elders pushed this on us
without warning! We didn’t have time to prepare for all this!"
Phoebe added, "And we have lives to
live, things to do; better things to do than run around and jumping through
hoops just to entertain the Elders!"
Reginald propounded, "Have demons or
warlocks ever attacked because you asked them? Did they ever give you warning?
Did they ever give you time to prepare?"
Gradually they noticed that Reginald was no
longer the English gentry man, in a black suit, but a British military officer,
with swagger stick under one arm, barking at his troops. "Does the enemy
attack at a convenient time; when you are prepared? No, suh! It’s when you are
the weakest, when you are distracted, when you are preoccupied, that they
strike! Does the enemy wait until you are recovered from exhaustion or illness?
No, suh! They wait for that very moment to have you at their advantage! They
take no prisoners! They grant no mercy! This is war! It’s destroy or be
destroyed! If you are slow to react and act, you are dead! And if the Charmed
Ones die, so do millions more all around the world!"
In disbelief, the sisters rubbed their eyes
and shook their heads. But they looked at him again, they saw, once more, the
English gentleman in the black suit. "So, you see, I was sent to train you
to prepare for the unexpected. It’s only your safety and lives of those, whom
you protect, we have at heart. So what do you say, Ladies?" Reluctantly they
nodded. "Splendid! We shall begin immediately."
"Where are we going?" Phoebe asked.
"Not to worry. This time I shall provide
the transportation."
Soon a whirlwind was blowing around the
sisters, right in the middle of their livingroom. As it grew louder, their view
of everything around them blurred out of sight. When the wind stopped and the
air cleared, they found themselves among sand dunes, with blades of long grass
waving in the breeze.
Piper wondered, "Where are we?"
Phoebe deduced, "A beach. I can hear
waves breaking and smell salt air."
"But which beach?"
Prue observed, "The sun is lower. We
must be in a time zone later than
"The east coast of what?" Piper
picked up a handful of sand and let it flow through her fingers. "Well, it
feels real enough."
Phoebe asked, "Why wouldn’t it?"
"Our tests were illusions."
"What?!"
"I called the Cannery, where the wall collapsed.
The people there say that it never happened. Prue went back to the building,
where the warlocks were about to sacrifice a boy, and there was no trace that
they had ever been there. And like you yourself said, it’s odd how a little
girl got herself in the position in which you found her."
"Damn! I liked that girl! I was hoping
to meet her again afterwards!"
Prue empathized. "I feel the same about
the boy I rescued."
Piper turned around and saw that they had
been standing in front of a cave. "Oh no! A cave! Another cave! I’m not
going down there! I’m never going down into another cave in my life! Nothing
can make go down there!"
Soon they heard a clamor over the dunes. An
army of squat figures, in shiny metal armor, came charging over the sands.
Their helmets and shoulder plates were lined with horn-like spikes. They
attacked with glaves and halberds. As they drew closer, their faces could be
discerned. They were pointed and scaly like lizards.
"Demons!" Phoebe cried out.
Piper tried to freeze them but her powers had
no effect on them. Then Prue tried but didn’t even slow them down. She even
concentrated on the sand, sending a sandstorm into them, but they continued
their advance without deviation.
Piper complained, "What’s the point in
having these powers if they don’t work on everybody?"
Phoebe wondered, "Could this be an
illusion?"
Prue asked, "Are you willing to take the
risk?"
Piper shouted, "Into the cave! Into the
cave! Run!" The three ran into the darkening passage. "Oh great! We
didn’t bring a flashlight and I’ll bet they can see in the dark!"
"So can I!" Prue reminded.
"Take my hand! I’ll lead you!"
Holding onto her sisters, she plied her
telekinesis to all areas ahead of them. She could "see" every turn of
the passageway and every stone on the ground. Soon they came to the
familiar-looking smooth-cut hall, illumined by the familiar red glow. They
stopped and looked around, surprized and frustrated.
Piper vented, "Oh not again! Not
again!"
But the uproar, not far behind them, spurred
them on. Soon they saw a yellow glow, up ahead, amidst all the red. They went
into it and found themselves in a dome-shaped cavern and in front of a
semi-circle of 13 stone thrones, where sat 13 red-robed demons. Above, a
luminescent sphere hovered in mid-air, lighting the entire area. The pursuing
army of armored lizard-trolls stopped at the threshold of the chamber. The
sisters moved to a midpoint between the two lines of evil.
The demon enthroned in the center, on the
throne higher than all the others, spoke. "Well, what have we here?"
Reginald orbed in next to the sisters.
"These are the Charmed Ones; the most powerful witches in the world! And
you’re not taking them without a fight!"
The sisters looked at him in shock.
Prue hissed, between her clenched teeth,
"Reginald! What are you doing?"
The central demon then challenged, "So,
it’s a fight your looking for? Would you be willing to face our champion?"
Reginald answered, "Yes, they would!
They are not afraid of anything!"
Piper erupted, "Yes, we are! Now shut
up!"
The demons laughed among themselves. The
central demon turned to call to someone behind, "Send out the
champion!"
A large iron door slid open. Loud pounding
footsteps could be heard within.
Phoebe hissed to Reginald, "If this is
not an illusion, we’re going to kill you!"
Then from out of the metal door, crawled a
dragon. It stood over ten feet tall to the shoulders, while on all fours. It
belched blasts of fire from its mouth.
Reginald declared, "There he is, Ladies.
Have at him," then orbed out. They stood stunned, just staring at the
place where he had stood. But a stream of fire, from the dragon, reached
dangerously close to them, snapping their attention back to their current
situation.
Piper noted, "That did not feel like an
illusion to me!"
Phoebe threw out, "What have we learned
to do in a situation like this?"
Prue shouted, "Run!"
Piper said, "Fine with me!"
The three ran out through an unguarded
passage, as the lizard-trolls cheered on the dragon. This corridor had no red
glow to light their way, so, once again, Prue had to guide her sisters, using
her powers to feel way in the dark. Laughter of the demons followed them down
into the darkness. So did the dragon.
"Rocky ground!" Prue warned.
"Pick up your feet!"
"Ow!" Piper uttered.
"I told you to pick up your feet!"
"All right!"
"Come on now! Toes pointed upward!"
The dragon fire was seen further and further
behind. Apparently they could move faster than the beast. But, at one point,
Prue came to a stop.
Piper asked, "What’s the matter? Why did
you stop?"
"I think we’re faced with a lake."
"A what?"
Prue put her foot forward until she felt cold
water get into her shoe and all three heard the wet sploosh. "Yep!
That’s a lake all right!"
"All right. Now where do we go?"
"Yes. Where do you go?" came Reginald’s
voice from behind.
Phoebe growled, "Where is he? I just
want to...!"
"Wait!" Prue restrained. "One
thing at a time! We’ve got a monster a hundred feet behind us...."
"Seventy-five feet and closing,
"Reginald corrected.
"All right. Less than seventy-five feet
behind us. Come up with a strategy! Now!"
Phoebe proposed, "If we can trick the
‘champion’ into going in the water, that would put out his fire."
Reginald prodded, "And how would you do
that?"
Phoebe clenched her teeth and fists. Must
control Fists of Death!
Prue suggested, "We could swim for
it."
"No way!" Piper objected.
"You’re not getting me into that! We’re in demon territory. No telling
what’s in there; either another monster or an evil potion, that’ll turn us into
hideously deformed creatures."
"Exactly," Reginald agreed, which
surprized Piper.
Phoebe urged, "All right! Let’s think of
what we have learned on our assignment sheets."
"Fifty feet and closing," Reginald
warned.
"All right!" Piper snapped.
"We’re reacting and acting quickly! Okay! I remember something! I can
freeze the natural physical qualities of things; such as water, so that we
can’t fall through. That way, we can walk across, and when the creature tries
to cross, I unfreeze the water and it goes under."
"Thirty feet and closing."
"All right! Here goes!" She threw
out her powers ahead of her, even though she couldn’t see a thing. "All
right, Prue. Did it work?"
Prue put her foot forward again and felt a
hard surface. "Yes! Let’s go!"
With hands joined, they stepped forward just
in time to avoid another blast of dragonfire. For a split second, their
surroundings was revealed to them and they could see the water standing solid
under their feet. This gave them the confidence to break into a full run again.
On the way, Piper thought to ask, "Prue?
Is there another side to this lake?"
"Yes. I sense a whole region sloping
upward in about 200 more feet."
"Good. I was wondering if this thing
just goes on forever. Did my freeze power reach all the way across?"
"No."
"What?"
"It only reaches half way. But I’ll stop
a few feet before that point and you can freeze the rest from there."
This way, they did make it to the other side.
Once on permanently solid ground, Piper unfroze her effects on the water and
they heard a tremendous splash of the dragon going under.
Prue aimed her powers out there to monitor
the results. "Uh-oh!"
"What?" demanded both Piper and
Phoebe.
"It’s swimming!"
"Of course dragons can swim,"
Reginald cut in again. "Now what do you do?"
Piper suggested, "We could run some
more."
But Prue offered, "I’ve got a better
idea."
She sent her powers to the ceiling and
scanned its surface. Finding a group of stalactites, she chose the largest one
and pulled on it. At the same time, she monitored the monster’s advance. When
it was at just the right position, Prue gave the stalactite a powerful yank,
bringing it and several other large stones down. It speared the dragon through
and pushed it to the bottom of the lake.
"What happened?" asked Phoebe.
"What did you do?"
"I just pulled down the ceiling on it.
It’s gone for good."
"All right, Prue!"
"Yes. Excellent," Reginald
commended.
Then they heard a wind and felt a breeze
encircle them. Soon light phased in and they could see a rushing blur, spinning
around them. When it cleared, they were standing in their livingroom again.
Reginald was there with his clipboard.
"Well, you were a little better this
time. Now, for your next test, ...."
"Hold it!" Prue interrupted.
"Wait right there! No more tests! It’s over!"
"But the Elders...."
"The Elders don’t pay us a salary or any
other benefits, so they don’t give us any orders!"
"That’s right!" Phoebe added.
"They’ve done nothing for us! We owe them nothing!"
"This is not for them! This is for the
innocent ones, which you are required to protect!"
Piper charged in, "We protect the
innocent because we care; not because of orders from a stuffed penguin! So it’s
over! We’ve had it!"
"You must!"
"No! We don’t must! You must get out of
here!"
Prue asserted, "She’s right. This is our
house. You’re not welcome here. Get out!"
"Out!" Piper insisted.
"Out!" Phoebe added.
Flustered, Reginald put on his derby, picked
up his umbrella, and orbed out. The sisters plopped down on the sofa and sighed
with relief.
Prue vented, "Can you believe
that?"
Phoebe pondered, "Is it just me or
weren’t those tests kind of ... Mickey Mouse?"
Piper asked, "In what way?"
"They were all straightforward. As
difficult as they were, they were simple; just one thing done and it’s
over."
"Well the tests were more on our powers
rather than problem solving skills."
Prue cut in, "Look! I don’t want to
discuss this any more! I just want a long hot bath, a good dinner, and
then...."
Phoebe jumped to her feet. "Dinner?
Derek will be over for dinner...!" She looked at the clock. "...In
less than an hour!"
Piper got up. "Don’t panic! We can do
this. You start the water boiling for the wild rice. Prue, you start on the
salad. I’ll start on the fish."
In another part of the world, Leo walked
along a sidewalk, which led him past an English pub. Glancing through the
window, he caught sight of Reginald at the bar, downing a mug of ale. He turned
around and went on in.
As he approached, Reginald saw him and
cheerfully greeted, "Ho, the lad!"
"Reginald, what are you doing
here?"
"Taking in a bit of refreshment before I
turn in my report."
"How did it go?"
"Splendid! I had to behave beastly, for
which they may hate me for the rest of their lives, but it did bring out their
best."
"So they did all right."
"All right? They were magnificent! Well,
dear boy, I must be off. I have an excellent report to turn in; one that will
do you proud. Cheerio!"
He orbed out, leaving Leo beaming with joy.
The wild rice was cooking on the stove. Prue
wrapped up the completed salad and put it into the refrigerator to chill.
Phoebe helped Piper wrap the salmon filets in foil, with butter and herbs.
Piper arranged them onto a baking dish and placed it in the pre-heated oven.
"That should take 25 minutes. So after a
few minutes of pre-dinner conversation, we serve the salad and bread. And by
the time we’re finished with that, the fish and rice will be ready."
"Great!" Phoebe vented. "Now
we have to get ourselves ready. Since he’s my date, I get to shower
first." She quickly left the kitchen for upstairs.
Piper called after her, "Sure! It
doesn’t matter if the rest of us are dirty and smelly!" She and Prue
laughed. "That was nice of you to let her continue pursuing a relationship
with Derek, despite your suspicions."
"Well, ... I can’t really put my finger
on any evidence that he will endanger her. But this contradiction, of
displaying powers and resisting all proof of being a warlock or witch, has me
wondering just what is he. From past experience, mystery men have
been...."
Just then Leo orbed in.
Piper commented, "Speaking of mystery
men."
She and Leo hugged and kissed each other.
Then the telephone rang.
"I’ll get it," said Prue. "I
see you’re busy."
She went into the main hallway and picked up
the phone. Morris’ voice came across. "Prue, were you in Oakland this
morning?"
"Yes. What’s up?"
"I’ve got word from a precinct there,
that an Olive Howell wants to thank a woman, fitting your description, for
saving her son’s life. And five-year-old Stewart wants to thank ‘the magic
lady’ who rescued him from ‘bad men, wearing red’."
"It really happened!"
"Well, ... Yes, it did."
"Could you get word to her that I’d like
her, and her son, over for tea sometime?"
In the kitchen, Leo and Piper stood in each
other’s arms.
Piper pleaded, "Please, be our one and
only whitelighter, always. We can’t take any other."
"Reginald was a bit hard on you,
huh?"
"A bit hard? I don’t know which was
worse -- the demons or him! And before you hear what he has to say...."
"He said you were magnificent."
"What?"
"He said he’s turning in an excellent
report to the Elders."
"That’s not what it sounded like to
us."
"He had to be that way, to bring out your
real selves."
"You mean that was all a...?"
"Yes. He’s a whitelighter, like
me."
"What was the point?"
"When you said that you protect the
innocent because you care, not because you’re ordered, that concluded the
test."
"They didn’t know that before?"
"They want to make sure you remember
that."
"Will they ever stop testing us?"
"Just a few more, at different turning
points in your lives."
"Derek is coming over for dinner
tonight. Care to join us?"
"Thanks. But I have a few more things to
do. But I can meet up with you at the club later tonight."
After he orbed out, Prue returned to the
kitchen. "That was Darryl. It looks like parts of our tests were real and
parts were illusion."
"Really? Which parts were which?"
"What you went through was illusion.
However, after you made that phone call, the staff checked out the wall, you
mentioned, and found a huge crack in it. They immediately evacuated the gallery
and called in maintenance, who put up a scaffolding to hold it up while
repairing it. They said it would have soon collapsed, killing anyone near it.
So, they’d like to thank whoever made that call."
"And they’d want to know how anyone
would know about that crack in the wall."
"Well, you’re a member of a psychic
society. Just show them your card."
"I don’t think so. It’s better that it
remains a mystery to them. So, what about your test?"
"The mother and child were real. The
warlocks weren’t."
"And Phoebe’s."
"That really happened. All of it."
"She’ll be glad to hear that."
"I know. I sent out an invitation to
both mothers and children to come over for tea."
By the appointed time, the sisters were all
cleaned and dressed up. Phoebe had set the table and was back to fussing over
her hair, make up, and dress. Prue was doing some last minute clean up in the
kitchen. So when Derek came knocking at the door, Piper was the only one
available to let him in.
He wasn’t in his usual khakis and Australian
hat. He wore a long grey coat and wide brimmed Stetson, of the same grey and
green material as his cowboy boots. The crown of his hat is wreathed with
linking silver circlets with a silver scorpion in each.
Piper offered, "Let me take your hat and
coat."
"Thank you."
He took them off and handed them to her.
Under the coat, he was wearing a vest of the same material, a long-sleeve
charcoal shirt, and black jeans.
Piper commented, "Wow! You look
sharp!"
"Thanks. You’re not bad yourself."
Phoebe quickly dashed downstairs, greeted him
with a kiss, and led him into the livingroom. Prue dried her hands and came out
to join them. Piper followed, curiously scrutinizing Derek’s coat.
"What is this coat made of?"
Derek answered, "Dragonskin."
Piper looked shocked. "Dragon?"
Prue asked, "Where did you get the
dragon?"
"The Komodo Islands, Indonesia."
"Oh! A Komodo dragon."
Phoebe asked, "Aren’t they an endangered
species?"
"Yeah. But, back then, no one knew that.
This was years ago. I was in Thailand on business. An acquaintance had shot a
dragon, while on Komodo, and skinned it. It was so big, he didn’t know what to
do with all that skin. So I bought half, not knowing anything about the
dragons, just being impressed with the word ‘dragonskin’. Even our government
didn’t know that much at that time. At customs, they just checked it for
disease and parasites then let it on through. Back in Chicago, I handed it over
to a friend who processes leather for a living. He tanned it and made the coat,
hat, vest, belt, these boots, and many other things. Whatever was leftover I
let him keep. Since then, I got attached to them despite what I learned about
the dragons."
Meanwhile, Kit had been rubbing against
Derek’s leg. When they sat down, he jumped up on his lap.
"Oh no, Kit!" Piper scolded.
"Get down!"
"Oh that’s all right." Derek
assured. "I love the li’l critters."
Derek rubbed his head and back, as he purred
and rubbed his face into Derek’s chest.
Phoebe noted, "I’ve never seen him do
that to a complete stranger before."
"They can sense your ‘vibes’ and tell
who the animal lover is."
Prue began the next round of questions.
"I heard you grew up on a farm. What does your family grow?"
"Corn and soy beans, for commercial
purposes. For family use, they raise pigs and chickens."
"So if we have questions about our lawn
and gardens, you’re the man to call?"
"Absolutely. In fact, I’ve been noticing
how more and more Californians are growing their own vegetables and fruit,
right in their own back yard. That’s a lot better than just complaining about
the rising cost of food."
"Hmmmm! A possibility we should
consider."
"I’d be glad to help in any way."
"I’ll remember that. I notice that your
accent seems to change. One moment you sound like an English professor. Next
moment, you sound like you just got off the farm."
"Actually everybody does that. You just
don’t notice when you do it. But it all depends on the situation, the people to
whom I am speaking, and, most importantly, what mood I’m in. At times, I’ve
been known to change in mid-sentence."
"How did you get into treasure hunting
as a career?"
"I had a job at an uncle’s company after
I got out of high school. It was a boring desk job, which I hated. But it paid
for vacations and I love traveling. During one of my visits to India, I
explored a cave, following a stream on my hands and knees. In the water, I
found a pretty green stone and kept it. In Belgium, ‘the diamond capitol’, I
showed it to an acquaintance, who identified it as emerald. I went around
Antwerp, from one buyer to another, and sold it for the highest price I could
get, which was huge wad. The stone was a good size and good grade.
"At this, I found my calling. I took my
new found wealth home and went to the University of Chicago. I studied
archeology, mineralogy, art, history, several languages, and everything else a
treasure hunter needs to know. And life has been one adventure after another
ever since. And now, as I look around, I can see there’s a treasure hunter in
this family."
He got up and walked around the livingroom.
(He put the cat down first, of course.)
"The curio cabinet is 17th Italian, the
console 18th century English, the clock is 17th century German, the end tables
19th century French, and the carpet early 20th century Turkish. However, the
roll-top desk is recent but made to look antique."
The sisters were impressed. Prue commended,
"Very good! Right on all counts! These are family heirlooms, handed down
by our ancestors. The roll-top desk is my addition and will be passed down to
my descendants."
"Which of your ancestors practiced
magic?"
"What?" The sisters became worried.
"There are pentagrams worked into this console.
On a column, in another part of the house, I saw a carved crescent, a symbol of
several mother goddesses and deities of fertility. And the stain-glass window,
over your front door, has patterns to keep out evil spirits."
Phoebe blurted, "Our grandmother! She
... dabbled in it ... a bit."
"So you joined a coven to carry on for
her."
"Right! She was ... a strong woman, whom
we admired."
At dinner, they talked about their
childhoods, teen years, and jobs.
At one point, Piper commented, "I just
don’t see you as a millionaire."
Derek replied, "Neither can I."
"You have no taste for gracious living
at all?"
"As the saying goes, ‘You can take the
boy out of the country, but you can’t take the country out of the boy.’ I could
never hang around with rich snobs, dressed in fancy silk suits, sipping
expensive champagne, while talking about our stock portfolios, croquet scores,
and problems with the servants. I’d rather hang out with a bad biker gang, in
some dirty back alley, drinking beer, while talking about the places we’ve been
and how we got our knife wounds."
Phoebe turned to him in surprize. "You
have knife wounds?"
"No, but I sure like talking about
them."
The sisters burst out laughing.
After dinner, they sipped gourmet coffee with
their dessert. At this point, Prue
ventured to ask, "Speaking of magic earlier, how long have you been
practicing?"
Phoebe and Piper exchanged anxious looks. But
Derek answered straightforward, "About six years. Got involved with the Necronomicon
and the legacy of Dunwich."
"How did that get started?"
"Well, property in Dunwich is so easy to
come by. Being an out-of-the-way, obscure place, with no real industry, there’s
nothing to keep the young people their. They move to the big cities, to go to
college, get a job, and settle down. So when their parents, or other relatives,
die and bequeath their property, they don’t really care for it.
"This happened to an acquaintance, I met
in New York. He sold me his inheritance for a very low price; lock, stock, and
barrel. The house is very old but still structurally sound. But the real
treasures are the books (including a copy of the Necronomicon), diaries,
and other writings. I had to read them all to see that they are genuine. And
that’s how I discovered and got involved in the struggle against the Great Old
Ones. Since then, I’ve been accumulating more and more property there."
"So, are you a witch, warlock, or
something like that?"
Phoebe and Piper were shocked at Prue’s
bluntness. But Derek casually responded, "Oh no. Nothing like that. Just a
traveler, who accumulates knowledge. So many of the treasures, I hunt, are
connected with religion and magic. So, I spend a lot of time with mystics,
monks, medicine men, witch doctors, and various types of occultists. My prime
target is the treasure. The metaphysics is incidental."
"Where did you get your powers?"
Derek gave her a curious look. "Well, for example, when that hungry
book was jumping, you commanded it to stop and it obeyed you."
"Oh! The Griam More Book....
Well, ... All I did was yell at it. I do that at anything that doesn’t work the
way I want.... No power really. Just my Irish temper. But then we Irish are
known to be a magical people."
Later that night, Piper had to leave soon for
the opening of the P3 for the night. Derek also had some business to attend. He
put on his coat and hat and the sisters accompanied him to the door.
As he was leaving, Prue had one last
question. "How well did you know Andy?"
"Not really well. I didn’t use to come
to San Francisco all that often. But when I did, he was here to arrest me, ...
whenever I got into trouble, ... that is before he was transferred to Homicide.
But what I did know of him I liked. He had all the qualities of many of my cop
friends worldwide. It was a terrible loss. By the way, I heard that it happened
hear, ... him getting killed, that is."
"Yes. It happened while ... he was
protecting us ... from an intruder."
"That would be just like him -- to go
out, protecting three beautiful women." The sisters smiled. "The best
thing I can do in his memory is to take his place." The sisters gave a
curious look. "Whenever you’re in any kind of trouble, if you have any
kind of need, don’t hesitate to call me. Here’s my number. Hold onto
this!" He gave them each a round card, with a caricature of a curled red
scorpion printed on, along with telephone numbers and other information.
"This is the number of my Chicago headquarters. Call this when I’m out of
town. They’ll always know where I am. When I’m in town, someone at the APS will
always know where I am."
They said "Good night" and Phoebe
walked with him back to his pickup. They kissed and she watched him drive away.
She went back into the house feeling dreamy and giddy.
"Isn’t he wonderful? Didn’t I tell you
he’s just like Billy? -- so caring, so compassionate, and ... just ... so
wonderful! And Kit likes him!"
Piper felt happy for Phoebe. "Yes, he is
wonderful. And we had a very interesting evening with him."
Prue just absently nodded. She was hardly
listening. Her eyes were vacant; her mind elsewhere. She was thinking of Andy.
******************************************
[Next
episode: Derek and Phoebe -- the bad bikers]
