She walked through the looming, dark woods timidly. The forest was alive despite the dark. Sounds of the night's creatures echoed through her. Despite the warm weather, she pulled her cloak closer around her. Her breathing was getting shallow but she tried to school her features. It wouldn't do to have the daughter of the most powerful witches alive, be afraid. But she was. She was all alone for the first time in her life, without the protection of her two older brothers. Her lower lip trembled when she heard a lone howl. Just a wolf, just a wolf, just a wolf, she hoped.
The temptation of turning around and going back home flickered through her mind, but she shot them down. No, she came all this way. She had to do this. She had to prove herself worthy of being called a Halliwell.
By now, her mother discovered her absence and is trying to scry for her. Too bad she already cast a magical cloak on a literal cloak. While wearing this long black cape, no one can find her. She can just imagine her mother's fury when she gets back but it'll be worth it. They always told her she was too young to join in on the hunts. Her older brothers and younger cousins always teased that she would be too scared to do much good in battle anyway. It was true that she wasn't as powerful as her brothers though. She couldn't even orb! And to be compared to golden boy Wyatt is an absolute nightmare. From now on, no one would ever look down on Melinda Halliwell ever again.
She found the article on the mysterious disappearances in this forest online. Two whole groups of campers vanished on separate occasions. While she would have normally alerted her family, she kept quiet this time. The dark blue potion glimmered at her under the moonlight. She knew it was dangerous to try to kill something she hasn't identified yet, but she took that risk.
"You shouldn't be here," the boy's voice came from behind her.
She nearly dropped the explosive potion out of fear. She whirled around to find a much older boy. A hot blush spread across her face. Her lips parted to say something, but nothing came out.
"Haven't you heard these woods are dangerous?" he stalked closer. "You're too pretty to be alone out here."
He stared down at her with a kind of intensity that had her looking away. She tensed, unsure of what to do. Is he a demon? She couldn't be sure. Through the darkness, she could tell he's good looking. He had thick, light brown curls, carved features, and a broad, lean form. He was at least a head taller than her, dressed in a simple black t-shirt and jeans. But there was something about him that she couldn't put a finger on. Then again, she can't exactly throw the potion at him over suspicion. What if he's an innocent?
"Uh, my, uhm, friends dared me to spend the night here," she stammered.
"Some friends," he snorted.
"What about you?" she asked breathlessly.
His blue eyes darkened noticeably, his tone solemn. "Nature walk."
"In the middle of the night?" her hands tightened around the potion as her safeguard.
Before he could answer, three horrendously ugly green creatures shimmered behind him. Their sharp facial structures and gleaming yellow snake eyes reminded her of fish. She screamed, "Behind you!"
He jumped out of the way of a blow. Spinning around, he kicked the demon in the face which sent it flying. A second one tried to attack but he punched its chest. His fist lodged into its chest. She gasped at the sight. He used its body as a shield from the third one. It died when he ripped his hand out. The first one came back with a vengeance and swiped at his back. He hissed in pain before retaliating.
While this was happening, she felt a sudden blow from behind. Knocked to the ground, she threw the potion at the fourth creature. It made a high-pitched sonic scream but didn't die. As yellow blood poured from its wounds, it ran at her using hyper speed. Uttering a squeak, she hovered onto a tall tree branch to get out of its way. She watched it claw at the place she was supposed to be, its claws shredding chunks of bark. She shuddered to think that it was nearly her. In the pocket of her purse, she took of the rest of the potions she had.
She threw two more at the wounded creature and it screamed before its fiery death. When she heard the loud grunt coming from that boy, she hovered down to help. He was still fighting off the other two, though they were wounded. Melinda threw her last two potions at one that was about to claw him. It disappeared in the fire.
He finished off the last one by ripping out its throat with his bare hands. He emitted the same sonic scream at it as it died.
Melinda suddenly realized she was in a very dangerous situation. He's not human and she's all out of potions. She cursed her very limited active powers. Backing away slowly, she turned and fled. Tears filled her eyes as she couldn't run fast enough. If she could take a pause, she would have thrown off her cloak and hoped her family could find her in time, but she couldn't. She screamed when he shimmered in front of her.
"Rock," she screeched and orbed a palm-sized rock at his face.
He didn't flinch, touching the gash on his cheek. "Stop that," he growled, obviously annoyed.
When he reached for her, she hovered to a high up branch. Taking the chance, she hurried to undo the knot on her cloak. This is not happening. She was supposed to prove herself but now she's going to die. If it were her brothers or her aunts, they would keep fighting but she's terrified. Maybe her family's right. She's not ready for fighting demons.
He shimmered in front of her before she could get the cloak off. "I won't hurt you," he said, grabbing her hands.
"What do you want?" she asked, shaking.
"You're a witch, aren't you? And not just any witch. You had orbs around you. You have to be a Charmed One's kid," he surmised, getting a better look at her. Straight, dark brown hair framed big doe brown eyes and trembling ruby red lips. He chuckled, "Man, you're one scaredy-witch. I wouldn't have expected that."
She pouted, "I'm not scared."
His forked tongue stretched across the close distance and flickered against her cheek. She shrieked, struggling to pull away from him. "No?"
"My brothers will vanquish you if you kill me," she whimpered one last threat.
"And where are they now? I thought the Charmed Ones' kids were supposed to fight together," he egged her to answer.
She finally admitted, "I wanted to do this alone… If you're going to kill, get it over with!"
He rolled his eyes. "I already said I won't hurt you. My dad told me about your family. He said three beautiful women saved me when I was a baby from the manticores and turned him back to human."
He took her in with a hungry look, noting her long straight chestnut hair, big doe eyes, pert lips, and soft innocent features. In a warmer tone, he said, "Looks like beauty runs in the family."
"What are you? Why did you vanquish those things?" Melinda asked, trying to distract herself from the warmth in the pit of her stomach.
"Peter: half-manticore, half-human. Nice to meet you," he brought her hands (still in his grasp) to his lips. The feel of his tongue made her blush further. "Those 'things' were a few hungry manticores. If you knew that, you would have had the right potions. You almost got yourself killed."
Pointedly ignoring that last part, she focused on the demons, "Manticores? Aren't they cannibals that eat other demons? What are they doing taking humans?"
"I don't know," Peter shrugged.
"Why are you even doing this anyway? Aren't half-demons supposed to be evil, like my aunt's ex-husband?" she narrowed her eyes at him.
"Are we playing twenty questions here? Hasn't your mommy told you it's rude to interrogate someone who saved your life? You didn't even tell me your name," he sounded annoyed again.
That felt like a pike to her pride. She answered out of embarrassment, "Melinda Halliwell, Piper's daughter. Most people call me Mel."
"Melinda," he tasted her name.
She worked to push down the bloom of happiness at the sound of her name on his supernatural tongue. Up close, he's even more attractive. Somehow, she got the feeling that he sensed how she felt. Vulnerabilities are a big no-no right now. Though, he does seem to be a good guy for the moment.
"How's your back, Peter?" she mumbled, touching the bleeding cut on his cheek.
"Don't worry about it," he nonchalantly told her, thinning his lips into a mulish stance.
She peered down, "Wanna get to the ground? I don't really like heights."
Without another word, he pulled her flush against him. It felt strange to shimmer. It was nothing like orbing which felt light and instinctual. This felt dizzying. They shimmered outside the forest area, where she had her car parked. Head swimming, she looked up at him in a daze.
She had to ask, "How'd you know my car was here?"
"I didn't see anyone else in those woods," he shrugged as they headed to the small, beat up car. "When you get home, don't tell your mom you were here. This is my problem. I don't need anyone's help."
Mel swung around, "Wait a second. You're going to take on the whole pack by yourself?"
"That's the plan," he nodded. "I've been tracking them in the Underworld."
"No! I can't let you do that. Now that I know what they are, I can help."
"You can help by going back home, little girl. I can't hunt them and focus on keeping you safe. You're cute and all, but you shouldn't be in this stuff. If they'd have scratched you, you'd have been paralyzed. I'm half manticore so you can say I'm immune to my own venom. Those neat little potions can't help if you can't throw 'em," the finality in his tone echoed in the way he straightened his back and folded his arms.
She bit her lower lip, her eyes dropping to the ground. Hearing that from her family hurts, but hearing it from a stranger hurts worse.
A thought occurred to her. If a scratch can supposedly paralyze her, what can it do to him? She quickly hovered around him, getting a good look at his back for the first time. When he told her not to worry, she didn't think it'd be this bad. The wound looks deep and it's still bleeding. She barely touched it and it literally sent him to his knees. He was hissing in pain, blindly grabbing handfuls of dirt.
"Oh my God!" she gasped. "Have you been forcing yourself this whole time? Come on, Wyatt can heal you."
She tried to take him by the arm but he resisted. "No. I won't get the Charmed Ones involved. This is my fight. Damn it, I didn't want you to see that. Now you'll have to play goody-goody and try to help."
"Well fine then. I'll just leave you for dead and then you'll never be able to fight those manticores. Boys are so stubborn," she sighed. "Peter, car."
He was orbed flat on his stomach into the back seat of the car. He groaned in pain, protesting, "Don't take me to your family."
"I won't," she relented, getting into the driver's seat. "I get it. You want to do it on your own. I want to do the same but I can't let you die. I'm sorry I can't heal you myself but I can compromise. I'll help you get better and then you can take on all the demons you want. Where do you live?"
He calmed at the deal, mumbling some kind of agreement and giving her the address. His eyes started to close reluctantly, listening to the car's muffled hum. Thoughts of the girl drifted through his mind. She might be a timid, naive, and a little unconfident, but there is a fire in her; nothing less from a Halliwell. She was also the most beautiful girl he's ever laid eyes on, not that it mattered.
Good and evil rarely played nice. Once she figured him out, he'll never see her again.