Manos del Dios
Third episode in the Fourth Sister Series
"Hey, welcome back," Piper said as Price entered the Manor. She grabbed one of Price's bags, and glanced out the front door. She saw the truck with Massachusetts plates. Price had spent the past week driving across country to tie up loose ends in Boston. "U-Haul, huh? Do you really have that much stuff?"
"I'll probably end up getting rid of a lot of it. There's some furniture in there that just won't fit anywhere in here, and it'll cost too much to put in storage," Price said. "So, are you going to help me haul all my crap up to the attic?"
"No," Piper said. She started up the stairs with Price's bag.
"No? Um, okay…" Price said, wondering if she struck a nerve somehow. She followed Piper up the stairs.
"I have a present for you," Piper said. She led Price to Prue's old bedroom, and turned. Price joined her to find a large ribbon and a bow on the door. Piper smiled. "Happy birthday. Open it."
Price was simply shocked. She turned the knob and found the room was totally bare. The bed had no sheets, the wallpaper had been taken down and all the furniture was cleared off. There were two cans of paint, rollers and brushes sitting on the desk.
"How did you know it was my birthday?" Price asked. She saw the slight look of pain in Piper's face and remembered. "Oh right, Phoebe. Twins usually have the same birthday. But still, this just doesn't feel right."
"Well, I figured, if you're living here," Piper began. "You can't stay in the attic. We're always running up there, and there's absolutely no privacy. I've accepted that Prue's gone, and leaving her room the way it was just wasn't going to help any. It would have been a waste of space and a constant reminder."
"This is definitely not the typical birthday present I'm used to," Price commented, looking around.
"Well, there's paint, and it's yours to do what you want with," Piper said. Then she looked concerned. "Do you like blue?"
"Yeah, blue's fine," Price replied. She set her bags down on the bed and approached the cans of paint. She just stared at them for a moment. Then she looked over at Piper, who was just leaning against the door watching her. "It's still so odd…all of this."
"What do you mean?" Piper asked.
"Alicia and Rebecca were the only family I ever knew. Now I have you and Leo and we're going to get Phoebe back," Price said. "It's all so new to me."
"I keep forgetting because I'm used to sisters," Piper said. "I know how it's all supposed to be. I keep forgetting that you're flying blind."
Price smiled. "But I've got you to guide me."
Piper smiled back. "Um, actually, while we're on the subject of family, I think you need to meet our dad."
Price looked back at the paint cans. "I guess we can't keep dodging it."
Piper nodded her head. She had spent the past month since she found out about Price thinking about how she would tell Victor. How do you tell a man that the young woman that he had loved as his daughter held no blood ties to him whatsoever? And then how do you tell him that he has another daughter, a different one, that had been magically forced away from her family at birth? The only solution Piper came up with was the Band-Aid solution. Do it fast and maybe it won't hurt as much. She sighed and tore herself out of her thoughts.
"I don't have to go in to P3 tonight and Leo's away on assignment," Piper explained. "I thought I'd make dinner and we could just spend tonight bonding over our Phoebe strategy. What's your favorite meal?"
"Oh, whatever, I'm not picky," Price said, trying not to impose too much. She still felt uncomfortable. It was difficult for her to adjust to having a sister.
"No, come on," Piper said. "I can cook just about anything. It's your birthday. What do you want to eat?"
Price smiled and thought about it for a moment. "Well, it kinda sounds dull, but Alicia had this awesome recipe for meatloaf with green chiles mixed in with the meat and it was…"
"…covered in salsa and cheese," Piper finished with a grin. "Grams had that recipe too. Mexican meatloaf. No problem." She started to walk away, but then she stopped. "I know you're still adjusting, but you don't have to worry about it. This is your home now. You don't have to be afraid to do anything here or say anything here."
Price nodded her head and watched Piper leave to start dinner. Price sat on the bed and stared at the paint cans. She was home. This was her home now.
In a meeting room in a building across town, the group of ten men and women sat in meeting. One man stood at the head of the table. He was wearing a long dark cloak. On the back was a purple, upside-down pentagram.
"Where Arun failed someone else must continue. Our lord must be freed," the man said. "Who among you will take his place as the Chosen One?"
"But Marlett, the next Friday the 13th is not for several months. How can we wait that long to complete the ritual? And we will have to start over," one man said.
Marlett turned to him and grinned. "Ramsey, in dire circumstances, ritual can be overridden." He pulled a dark orb out of his pocket. "With this at every sacrifice, we will not need the 13th to be successful. And we will not need to start over entirely. Only the hearts must be redone."
"How do we determine who the new Chosen One will be?" another man asked.
"Draw lots," Marlett replied. "As it is foretold, the Chosen One will draw the black stone from the bag. Marshall, get the bag."
Another man retrieved the bag and the group approached Marlett one by one, each of them drawing a stone. Finally, a woman chose the black stone. Marlett looked upon her solemnly.
"He has chosen you, Luana, to complete the ritual where Arun could not," Marlett said. Luana simply nodded her head and grinned. He placed the dark orb in her hand. "Retrieve the hearts, the same as before. One each night. Do not make the same mistakes that Arun made."
Luana nodded her head and then left the room, all the others nodding approvingly as she went. Their god would soon rise, and he would rule the earth.
Piper cleared the table and started to put away what little remained of the meatloaf. She smiled as she watched Price finishing up her dinner.
"You know, ironically enough, Phoebe is a vegetarian," Piper said to Price, who obviously did not share her twin's distaste for meat.
"No way," Price said. "I like beef too much."
"I can tell," Piper said with a smile. "I'm guessing you won't be hungry for dessert."
"Oh no, you made dessert? I would have saved room," Price said in distress.
"We can save it for later," Piper said. "No big deal."
"So, what did you make?" Price asked playfully. Piper laughed.
"Chocolate cake. Nothing special. I wasn't really sure what you liked," Piper replied.
"Ooh…I love chocolate," Price commented.
"Now there's something you and Phoebe do have in common," Piper responded with a laugh. But their laughter was cut short when they heard the front door slam.
"Piper!" someone yelled from the foyer. Piper recognized the voice, but Price didn't.
"Oh my God," Piper said. She dropped the dishes in the sink and hurried out of the kitchen with Price close behind.
There she was, collapsed to her knees in the foyer. She looked like she had been to hell and back. Her clothes were dirty and she looked like she hadn't eaten in a long time. She was trembling and crying a little. Piper just stared at her in shock. She hadn't seen her for over a month. She could only manage one word. "Phoebe?"
Price heard Piper say the name and she went on the defensive. "Woah, Phoebe?" Piper started to step forward toward Phoebe but Price grabbed her arm. "Piper, are you forgetting something?"
"No," Piper said calmly. She knelt in front of Phoebe, who was still trembling weakly. "Phoebe."
"I'm so sorry, Piper," she said through her tears. "I never wanted to hurt you. After I shot you…I just wandered around from place to place. I almost killed a couple innocents. I almost lost the fight."
"Almost?" Piper asked quietly.
"I'm a good person, Piper," Phoebe said. She was breaking down into sobs. "I never wanted to hurt you."
Piper looked to Price, who just shrugged her shoulders. She was skeptical, but she wasn't even sure if evil could even pretend to cry. She didn't know what to think.
"Phoebe, are you really back?" Piper asked. Phoebe tried to control her sobbing. "Are you really not evil anymore?"
After she managed to calm down, Phoebe looked to Piper. "It was so hard to do. Now I know how Cole feels. But I'm back. If you don't believe it, try to freeze me."
Piper looked at Price again, and again, Price shrugged her shoulders. Piper attempted to freeze Phoebe, but it didn't work. That convinced them and Piper pulled Phoebe into her arms, crying tears of joy.
"Oh God, Phoebe, you're back," Piper said through her tears. Price just stood there, stunned. She honestly had believed that Phoebe would freeze. After all, it just seemed so sudden and they had done nothing to help get Phoebe back. But she was there, crying in her older sister's arms. Phoebe had her soul back. It was a damn good birthday present. Price thought to herself with a small smile, 'Happy birthday, sis.'
The scream resonated through the darkness of the alley, but nobody would hear it. The club's music was too loud for anyone to hear. Luana held the heart in her hand and just watched it beat as the young woman died with a look of stricken terror on her face. Luana bagged the heart and left.
"Hey, Darryl, you've got another weird one here," Daniels said, dropping the file on his desk. "The statistics on the victim don't match up, but the manner of death does. Heart removed. No marks on the body."
Darryl read over the report and cursed under his breath. He had hoped it had all been over, but it looked like he was in fact dealing with a cult. Piper and Price knew more about this than he did. So, he picked up the phone and prepared to dial the Manor.
Piper answered the phone while she cut three pieces out of the cake. Phoebe was upstairs in the shower, and Price was up in the attic doing something.
"Hello," Piper answered.
"Piper, it's Darryl."
"This sounds like a business call," Piper said as she put the last piece of cake on a plate.
"It is," Darryl said. "I've got another psycho-surgery murder. Looks like we're dealing with a cult."
"We? Darryl, they are human," Piper commented, really not wanting to get any more involved in this case.
"Yeah, but they're doing something important here," Darryl said. "I'm sure of it. From what Price said that the guy told her before, they're trying to raise some kind of evil thing. That's your department."
"All right, we'll look into it," Piper said. "But we didn't find anything before. So, I don't see us finding anything new. And Phoebe's back, so things are a little crazy here right now."
"Phoebe? You mean she's back to try to kill you again?" Darryl asked with concern.
"No, she's back on our side," Piper replied. "She didn't freeze, which is a surefire sign that she's good again."
"You're sure about this?" Darryl asked.
"I'm sure, Darryl," Piper said, although it wasn't the whole truth. "We'll look into the psycho-surgery thing."
"All right, thanks," Darryl replied. Then the two of them said goodbye and hung up. Price entered the kitchen then. She had on her jacket and appeared to be going somewhere.
"I've got something I need to do real quick," Price said.
"I thought we could sit down and have cake, and talk about things with Phoebe," Piper said. "We've still gotta explain everything with you, and I'm not sure she even knows about Prue yet."
"I'll be back in, like, 30 minutes," Price said, looking at her watch. "I just really need to do this one thing."
"Okay," Piper said. Price started to leave, but Piper stopped. "Price, something we try not to do in this family is keep secrets. Secrets cause problems, and we really don't need problems, especially now."
Price nodded her head and then continued out the door. She knew that Piper wanted her to be totally open and say whatever she wanted to say, but Price wasn't ready for that yet. She had a feeling that Piper was blinded by love for Phoebe to realize that it could all be a trick. The youngest Halliwell wasn't entirely convinced that Phoebe was back. Freeze or no freeze, something wasn't right about the whole situation.
She approached the mausoleum to find the one person who would truly be able to tell if Phoebe was still evil. Piper had mentioned how to find Cole, and Price had buried the information in the back of her mind, not really intending to use it. She knew Cole was also Belthazor, and that really confused her. Phoebe fell in love with a demon. Price wasn't sure how it could happen. But she knew he was her only option right now.
"Cole," she said, hoping he could hear her. "Cole, are you here?"
He shimmered in behind her and she spun around in surprise. "What are you doing here?" he asked. He had met Price only for short time, but he had accepted the whole backstory faster than anyone else.
"Phoebe's back," Price said. Cole was obviously surprised.
"Did you and Piper do that spell?"
"No, we didn't do anything," Price said. "She just showed up at the Manor, and that's what concerns me. She didn't freeze, but I'm still not entirely convinced that she's good again. It just doesn't add up."
"You're right," Cole said. "That doesn't sound right. She's been underground so long, it wouldn't just happen like that."
"What about you?" Price asked. "You turned good."
"That's a different situation altogether," Cole replied. "Phoebe started out good. She was not born with demon inside her like I was. The Source is using magic to keep her evil, and only white magic can turn her back to good."
"So, she's not back," Price said. "I have to tell Piper."
"Wait a minute," Cole said. "Phoebe didn't freeze, and you left Piper alone in the house with her?"
Price realized what he was getting at, and she realized what a huge mistake she had made. "Oh my God. I'm an idiot. Can you go there and make sure Piper's safe?"
Cole nodded his head and shimmered out while Price rushed back to her car.
"So, she's our sister and Prue wasn't?" Phoebe asked. She and Piper were sitting in the kitchen eating cake.
"It's not that simple. Prue was our sister. She just had a different father. Sam," Piper explained.
"So, Price is actually the third in the Power of Three?"
"Yes," Piper said. "It's all really confusing, I know, but I guess we just have to accept it." She stood and took her plate to the sink. She had her back turned to Phoebe and didn't see as Phoebe grabbed the knife that Piper had used to cut the cake. She slowly approached Piper with the knife clutched in her fist. "The important thing now is that we're all together, and we can start working on making that connection we need as the Power of Three."
"Yeah," Phoebe said quietly. She raised the knife, seemingly to stab Piper, when Cole shimmered in.
"Phoebe!" he said, quickly reaching forward and grabbing her wrist. She quickly dropped the knife to the floor. Piper spun around to see what was going on.
"Cole, it's okay," Piper said.
"She was about to stab you, Piper," Cole said, still keeping a firm grip on Phoebe's wrist while Phoebe tried to struggle out of his grip.
"I was just bringing the knife over to put in the sink," Phoebe said defensively.
"Cole, let her go," Piper said. "It's okay now."
Cole glared at Phoebe for a moment. Something was clouding his perceptions of her. She appeared to be good, but something just didn't seem quite right. He released her wrist. Phoebe glared back at him.
"It's good to see you, too," Phoebe said sarcastically. "That's not exactly the welcome I expected."
"This wasn't exactly the way I expected things either," he said. They all turned when they heard the front door slam.
"Piper!" Price called as she ran into the kitchen. She saw everyone there and stopped.
"Price, what's going on?" Piper asked. "You look worried about something."
"Nothing," Price said. "Nevermind."
Piper looked from Price to Cole and realized what was going on. She didn't want to believe it, but it wasn't totally out of the question. "All right, well now that we're all here," Piper said, trying not to let on to Phoebe what everyone was thinking. "Darryl's got a case that he needs our help with."
"What about Leo?" Phoebe asked. "Where's he at?"
"On assignment," Piper said quickly. "Pheebs, the laptop is in my room. Would you mind getting it, and Price and I will go get the Book."
Phoebe hesitated, but then she left the kitchen. Cole was about to follow her, but Piper stopped him. "Okay, you two. Spill."
"She saw an alchemist," Cole said suddenly.
"What do you mean?" Piper asked.
"An alchemist can be very useful when it comes to dealing with witches. I saw an alchemist to build immunity against your vanquishing potion," Cole explained. "I think she saw an alchemist to gain immunity to your freezing power. And he also did something to her so that I can't sense the evil in her."
"That seems like a stretch," Piper said skeptically.
"Not really," Cole explained. "I can sense good in her. Until she kills an innocent that won't change. But there's this confusing void where the evil would be. It phases in and out, and for a second I think I sense it, but then it seems good. Something isn't right with her."
Piper turned to Price. "So, that errand you had to run was really an excuse for you to go tell Cole about all this?" Price nodded her head. "What I said before you left is important here, Price. We've kept secrets from each other before and it's nearly killed us. We have to trust each other. Which means you can't worry about offending me or over-stepping boundaries with me because trust comes before anything else. Let's go get the Book of Shadows and we'll figure out how to test Phoebe while we're doing it."
"I'm telling you Piper," Cole interjected. "She's still evil. Watch your back."
"Thanks for the advice, Cole," Piper said. "But I would really like to test her somehow first."
"Call Leo down," Cole said with a snide smirk. "There's your test."
"Not funny," Piper said. She left the kitchen and Price followed her. Cole watched them go, trying to think of a way to protect Piper and Price from the horrible deaths that Phoebe could deal to them.
The rest of the night passed uneventfully. They all researched the psycho-surgeons, with Phoebe coming up with the most information from the Internet. The ritual seemed to resemble that of one cult in particular, Manos del Dios which translates to Hands of the God. The cultists believed themselves to be the instruments of their god, a demon known as Ramashan. There was very little information on Ramashan, only on the cultists.
"They're breaking ritual," Piper said. "This Friday isn't the 13th and today is Tuesday, which means they'll collect the last heart on Saturday."
"Maybe they found a loophole in the ritual," Price suggested.
"Most rituals are very temperamental," Cole commented. "The loophole would have to be a really sure thing or they wouldn't be able to complete it."
"Here," Phoebe said, continuing to read from the Internet. "The Orb of Valios. It's their loophole. If the ritual is interrupted in the final stage of gathering the hearts, the Orb of Valios will allow another member of Manos del Dios to break ritual and continue on starting the final stage over at any time."
Their conversation was interrupted when Leo orbed in. Piper, Price and Cole were instantly nervous. Leo didn't notice Phoebe at first and he leaned in to kiss Piper. When he saw Phoebe he jumped back a little.
"It's okay, Leo," Phoebe said. "I'm back to good."
Leo looked at Piper for confirmation. Piper knew she had to make sure Phoebe thought she believed it, so she nodded her head.
"It's okay, honey," she said. "Hey, I thought you would be gone for another day or two."
"Things worked out faster than I had planned," he replied. "So, what's going on here?"
"The psycho-surgeons are back," Price replied. "It's a cult called Manos del Dios."
"Actually, it's kinda late," Piper said, looking at her watch. "I'll call Darryl and let him know what we've found out, and we can pick this up tomorrow."
"That sounds like a good idea," Price commented. "I'm kind of tired still from driving back from Boston."
"Okay, so tomorrow morning then," Cole said. He leaned over and kissed Phoebe. He was about to leave when Phoebe took his hand.
"I just got back. Aren't you going to stay?" she asked.
"I'm sorry, but the Source sent out another wave of zotars after me. Ever since I escaped from down there, he's been desperate to hunt me down," Cole explained. It wasn't an entirely false statement. But he hadn't sensed any zotars for days. There was no danger at that time. "I'll try to make it back tomorrow."
"Okay," Phoebe said, feigning disappointment. She watched him shimmer away and then shut down the computer. "I'll see you in the morning." The others bade her goodnight and watched her leave.
"While we're sleeping I don't think it's a good idea that you're here," Piper said. "We're still not entirely sure that Phoebe's good again."
"Are you saying the spell and potion didn't work?" Leo asked.
"That's the thing," Price said. "We never used them. She just showed up tonight. Cole believes that with the Source's magic making her evil there's only one way to turn her good again—white magic. She couldn't have done this on her own."
"I agree," Leo said. "I just assumed you had used the spell and potion. But I'm not going to leave you here with her. It's not safe. She could kill you in your sleep."
"Who's sleeping?" Price asked. "I sure as hell ain't. We're working on finding a way to test her. She didn't freeze, which means she found some way to gain immunity. We're thinking an alchemist."
"We?" Piper asked with a smirk.
"Okay, Cole, but whatever," Price replied. "Piper's right though, Leo. You're Phoebe's prime target. The Source wants her to kill you."
"We'll call you if we figure something out," Piper said. "I promise. I just don't want you to get hurt."
"All right, but if you find anything…" Leo trailed off. He leaned over and kissed Piper. Then he orbed out.
"Okay, so we need to decoy Phoebe," Piper said. "She has to think we're sleeping. Go get ready for bed, and we'll meet in the attic in an hour."
"I'm still going to stay in the attic until I get the room painted. So, I'll be there," Price said. The two of them headed upstairs and convinced Phoebe that they were truly going to bed. Right before she shut off her light, Piper called Darryl and relayed the information on the Manos del Dios cult.
Phoebe crept down the hall and checked in Piper and Leo's bedroom. She saw only Piper in the bed, and she cursed under her breath. For a moment, she wondered if they suspected her of being evil. But she brushed that thought away. Leo always got called away at odd times. He was probably on an assignment. Phoebe shut the door to Piper's room and went down to what used to be Prue's room. She assumed that the room now belonged to Price. But she saw that the room was completely bare and Price was not there. So she went downstairs to check the couches.
While Phoebe was looking for Price, Piper snuck out of her bedroom and headed up to the attic. She found her looking through the Book of Shadows for a test.
"Don't bother," Piper said in a hushed tone as she sat next to Price. "There aren't any tests in there. Prue and I looked once before and found nothing. And I'm not about to do the hearing secret thoughts spell again." She chuckled remembering what that spell had resulted in.
"Huh?" Price asked.
"Nothing," Piper said. "We're going to have to make something up."
"It couldn't be too hard, could it?" Price asked.
"I don't know," Piper replied. "Phoebe was always the spell writer in the family."
"I've written a few in my time, but this is a little more serious than what I've done," Price explained. "How are you at potions?"
"Better than spells," Piper replied. "I'll go play around and see what I can come up with." She stood and turned, and she nearly screamed in surprise when Leo orbed in.
"Leo! What are you doing here?" she asked in a whisper.
"Piper, there's more to the psycho-surgeon thing than you know," Leo said. "It's very serious. If you think Phoebe is still evil, then you need to turn her back now."
"Why? What's going on?" Price asked. Before Leo could answer, Phoebe appeared in a black mist. She jumped forward and threw Piper against the wall. Then she brought out her crossbow and shot Leo. "No!" Price screamed. She threw Phoebe telekinetically into the wall and stunned her. Piper hurried forward and knelt next to Leo.
"Oh no, Leo, hang on," she said in desperation. Phoebe stood again and Price threw her telekinetically yet again.
"Cole!" Price shouted. Seconds later he shimmered into the attic to find Phoebe and Price fighting hand to hand. Cole hurried forward and tackled Phoebe to the floor. Phoebe struggled with him, but he held her down.
"Can you change her back or not?" Cole asked the other two sisters. He saw Leo resting in Piper's arms and looked worried. "It's too late."
"No, he's not dead," Piper said, her voice shaking with fear and worry. "Price get the spell and the potion. We're turning her back now."
Price ran down to the kitchen and grabbed the potion. She quickly returned and smashed the bottle on Phoebe's shoulder. Then she grabbed the spell and knelt next to Piper.
"No!" Phoebe cried out as they began the spell. She cringed in pain as they said the words. Finally she stopped struggling against Cole and laid limp in his arms. Seconds later she opened her eyes and looked very distraught over the scene before her.
"Oh no," she said. "Leo. I can't…I couldn't…" Tears rolled down her cheeks, but Cole still held her tight in his arms. He knew that the second Leo died, the spell that the two sisters had said wouldn't make the slightest difference. Phoebe would revert back to being evil.
"Can you save him or not?" Cole asked seriously. "Because if you can't save him then you better come up with a vanquishing spell for her fast."
"But we just…" Piper began.
"It doesn't matter," Cole said. "If he dies, what you just did doesn't matter. So, you better come up with something soon."
"Piper," Leo said weakly. "There's nothing…"
"No, Leo, don't you say another word," she said. "We're saving you. Price bring the Book over here."
Price complied. Leo looked up at Piper. "You can't do the power switching spell. It will switch everyone's powrs. You can't."
"It's only temporary," Piper said. "I'm not letting you die."
"I've got a better idea," Price said. Leo realized what Price was thinking.
"She won't come," he said. "She's not allowed."
"There's more at stake here than just your life, Leo," Price said. "The Power of Three is at stake here, too. She'll come." Price looked to the sky. "Rebecca! I know you can hear me! You have to come now! Rebecca! We need you!"
Finally, she orbed in and observed the scene before her. "Price, what's going on?"
"Quick, you have to heal him," Price said. "If you don't, not only is he dead, but the Power of Three is lost forever. You have to help."
Rebecca knelt by Leo and then looked to Price. "You have to remove the arrow. Don't touch it. Use your power."
Price complied and the arrow shot deep into the floor. Leo cried out in pain and Piper just clutched his hand. Rebecca held her hands over the wound and slowly the familiar glow started to heal Leo. Once he was healed completely, Piper helped him over to a chair. Cole saw that Leo was fine and released Phoebe, who simply knelt on the floor in tears. Piper and Price slowly approached their sister.
"Phoebe," Piper said timidly. She knelt down next to Phoebe and slowly reached forward, resting her hand on Phoebe's shoulder. "Are you really back this time?"
"It hurts so much," Phoebe said through her choked sobs.
"What hurts? Rebecca could heal you," Piper said not even sure if that statement was true.
Phoebe shook her head. "Not like that. My heart," Phoebe explained. "I'm so sorry, Piper. I was so horrible. It's all my fault."
Piper and Price glanced at Cole, knowing he would be able to tell if this was real. He shook his head.
"This isn't a trick," he said. "She's really back this time."
Piper took Phoebe in her arms and held her, crying a few tears of her own. Price knelt down next to the two of them and took each of their hands in her own. The Power of Three was complete, and so was the Halliwell family.
After they finally got Phoebe to sleep, Piper, Price, Leo and Rebecca talked in the kitchen. Cole stayed upstairs with Phoebe. Rebecca was about to leave.
"Price, I'm sorry," Rebecca said. "This is the last time I will respond to your call. You have a new family now, and you all must rely on each other. But always remember, I love you as family, and I always will, even if we can't see each other."
Price nodded her head and embraced her former whitelighter. They pulled apart. Rebecca turned to Leo. "And you need to be more careful, Mr. Wyatt," she said with a grin. "I don't wanna see you with any more darklighter arrows sticking out of your body."
"Got it," Leo said. "Hey, Becca, thanks. You really did a great thing tonight."
"Yeah, well, for the Power of Three," she said.
"Hey! What about me?" Leo asked.
"Yeah, I guess I did it to help you, too," she replied. She laughed and then orbed out.
"What's up with that?" Piper asked, grinning at her husband. "You seem to be pretty popular with the lady whitelighters."
"And you're surprised by this?" Price asked. "I mean, have you looked at him lately?"
Leo and Price burst out laughing. "Hey!" Piper said.
"Don't worry, honey," Leo said. "No matter how many women have eyes for me, I only have eyes for you."
"Well, I guess that's a little reassuring," Piper said. The laughter died down and the three of them sat in silence.
"She thinks Prue's death is her fault," Piper said quietly.
"What?" Leo asked.
"Phoebe," Piper replied. "She blames herself for Prue's death. She thinks it's all her fault."
"You have to understand how she feels," Leo said. "Time didn't reverse for her. She made the deal with the Source to save your life, the life of one of her sisters. Now, Prue's dead, and it seems to her that it was all for nothing. She still lost a sister after everything that's happened."
"It's still not her fault," Piper said. "My guess is that something bad would have happened to Prue anyway. It would have been only a matter of time before the mob got to her, too."
"Give her time," Price advised. "You've mourned Prue. Right now, it's almost like Phoebe just found out. She wasn't capable of mourning before."
Piper nodded her head. "I know. It just hurts me to see her like this."
Without even thinking Price agreed, "Me too."
Piper looked confused. "Really? You just met her, and most of the time you were fighting her."
"I know. It's weird. It's like this feeling in the pit of my stomach, like I can feel her pain and anguish," Price explained. "I've felt it from you, too. Like when I was attacked by that first psycho-surgeon, and when Leo was shot. I could feel your fear and anger and frustration, like this lump down deep."
"Have you ever had these feelings before?" Leo asked. "Have you ever gotten them from other people?"
"No," Price said. "It only started when I came here."
"You know, when you were attacked by the psycho-surgeon I got the same feeling. I thought it was just my own emotions, but it might have been your fear and not mine," Piper explained.
"It's the connection," Leo said under his breath. Piper and Price just looked at him, confused. He explained. "It's the connection of the Power of Three. You three are empathically bound. You will feel the emotions of your sisters. You will always know if one of you is upset, angry, in pain, in danger, happy, excited…"
"Woah, excited?" Price asked. "What kind of excited?"
Piper's eyes widened and Leo blushed. "Not that kind of excited," he responded. "At least I don't think so. But this isn't like when Prue had the empathic power. The connection is only between the three of you so you will be able to control it. There may be a point when you will be able to block out certain emotions."
"So this is the connection we had to make," Piper commented.
"It will bind you as sisters, and it will help you to protect each other," Leo replied. "Knowing when one of you is in danger is a serious advantage. And it will make keeping secrets that much more difficult. It will force you three to rely on each other and to help each other with any problems, demonic or family related."
The awkward silence returned and finally Price broke it. "Well, we should all probably get some sleep. We still have the psycho-surgeons to worry about and helping Phoebe cope and I have to meet dad."
"Oh man, I forgot we were going to do that tomorrow," Piper said. "I guess we have to now. We have to tell him that Phoebe's back. I think he's been starting to wonder why you've been hanging around so much."
Price smiled. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow. Goodnight."
Leo and Piper wished her goodnight and then went to bed also.
In the morning, Price was the first up. She hadn't slept very well, being nervous about meeting Victor and having to explain about Prue. It's one thing to find out you have more family than you knew about, but to find out someone you cared about was not your blood family was a tough blow. She didn't know the man, but from what she gathered from Piper, he was going to have a little trouble with the idea. Price watched the sun rise and sipped her coffee, wondering how things would go with her father.
Phoebe came into the kitchen about an hour later. She poured herself a cup of coffee and then noticed Price.
"Good morning," Phoebe said quietly.
"'Morning," Price replied. Phoebe sipped the coffee and then just stared at it, seemingly confused. Price looked to her, concerned. "Something wrong with the coffee?"
"Well, uh, it's been a while since I've had coffee, but I don't remember it tasting this good," Phoebe said. She sat on a stool by the kitchen island. "What kind is it?"
"Oh, um, Alicia taught me a few things about making really good coffee," Price commented. "What kind of filters to buy. Grinding your own beans. That kind of thing."
"It's good," Phoebe said. They just sat in silence for a while. Phoebe still looked confused about something. Price could feel that Phoebe was still distraught over her actions for the past couple months.
"You okay?" Price asked.
"Yeah, don't worry about it," Phoebe said. She stood and headed out of the kitchen. "I'm going to take a shower."
Price watched her leave and knew she would be hard to get close to. After everything she had been through, Phoebe wasn't ready to open up to Price. She could tell that Phoebe thought of her as Prue's replacement instead of a long, lost sister.
"When's he going to be here?" Price asked, pacing back and forth in the living room. She was extremely nervous.
"Ten minutes," Piper answered. She watched Price pace and suddenly reached out, grabbing Price's arm. "Sit!" She pulled her down onto the sofa.
"What's he going to think of me? How is he going to react?"
"He'll be angry," Phoebe answered. She was standing by the windows, watching for Victor. "Not at you, but he'll be angry."
"It's too soon," Price said, jumping up from the couch to pace again. "We shouldn't be doing this yet. He's still mourning Prue."
Piper grabbed Price again and pulled her down to the couch. "It doesn't matter when we do it," she said. "It could be two years from now. He'll still be upset about it. I mean, he's had over twenty years to get over mom's affair with Sam. You should have seen how he reacted when he found out I was marrying a whitelighter."
"He's here," Phoebe said from the window. She started to head for the foyer.
"He's early," Price said. She and Piper stood and followed Phoebe. Before he could even knock, Phoebe opened the door. For a moment, he just looked at her, like he didn't believe she was really there. Then he stepped forward and pulled her into his arms.
"I thought I'd lost you forever," he said. "I don't think I could bear losing two daughters."
Piper and Price looked at each other and then back to Victor and Phoebe.
"I'm back, dad," Phoebe said, still not releasing her hold around his neck. "I'm not going anywhere."
Finally the two of them pulled apart and smiled at each other. Then Victor looked to Piper and Price.
"You know, Piper, you still haven't introduced me to your friend here," he said.
"Uh, dad, that's actually one of the reasons we asked you to come over today," Piper said. "You'll wanna sit down."
They all went into the living room, Piper and Price sitting in two chairs across from Victor and Phoebe, who sat together on the couch.
"Dad, this is Price…Halliwell," Piper said, not knowing how else to start this conversation.
"Halliwell? Is she a cousin of yours? I don't remember Patty having any sisters or brothers," he said, not catching on.
"She didn't," Phoebe replied. "Price is your daughter, dad. She's our sister."
"That's impossible," Victor said. He looked over at Price, who was staring down at her feet. She didn't know what to say. At this point, she figured it would be better for Piper and Phoebe to handle the explanation. "I only have three daughters."
"That's right," Piper said. "You only have three daughters. Us."
"Piper, what are you saying," Victor asked, starting to get frustrated and angry.
"Dad, Prue…she wasn't your daughter," Piper continued nervously. "Prue was Sam's daughter."
"Sam? Who's…" Then it hit him. He stood and walked away from the sisters. He glared at them accusingly. "This is a lie. This isn't true. Something's going on here and this is all a lie."
"Dad…" Phoebe began, trying to calm him.
"No! Prue was my daughter. I was there when she was born. I signed the birth certificate," he said angrily.
"Dad…" Price began, finally finding the courage to say something. But Victor quickly destroyed that little shred of courage.
"Don't you dare call me that," he said sharply. Price looked down in shame.
"Dad!" Piper exclaimed. She grabbed his arm and pulled him back over to the couch. "Sit down!" He sat, looking suddenly surprised. He had never seen Piper be so forceful or angry. "Price is your daughter, and, by blood, Prue was not. I'm not going to try to explain all of the magical specifics because I'm sure you really don't care. But basically, Price is Phoebe's fraternal twin. The Elders took her away from us and erased everyone's memories because they thought Prue, Phoebe and I were the Charmed Ones. They didn't know that Sam was Prue's father. They didn't know that Price was really the third witch in the Power of Three."
Victor looked at his hands, trying to process it all. Then he looked at Price. She was looking down, so he didn't have a clear look at her, but he could see something in her facial features that reminded him of himself. He could see himself in her. She was his daughter. After a few moments of silence, Price looked up to see his face and his reaction. He was taken aback by how he could not have noticed sooner how much she looked like him.
"I'm sorry," he said quietly, now feeling guilty for how he had reacted to her simple act of calling him 'dad.' She had done nothing wrong. It was the Elders that had done something wrong. It was Patty and Sam who had made the mistake. "I have no right to be mad at you." Price just nodded her head. "But Prue…"
"…was still your daughter. In your heart," Phoebe said. "Nothing will change that, just like nothing will make her less of a sister to us. It's like adoption. All that matters is love and caring."
Victor looked at Phoebe. She was right. For the short time before and after he left San Francisco, Prue had truly been his daughter, blood or no blood. It was still so hard for him to believe, though.
"I just…I need to think about this," he said. "I need some time."
"We understand," Price spoke for the three of them. She smiled a little. "It's really confusing, huh?"
Victor smiled back. "Yeah, it is. Always has been." He stood and headed for the door and they followed him. Piper and Phoebe walked with him to the door while Price stayed further back in the foyer. He turned to his two oldest daughters and stood in the doorway. "How do you do this?"
"Do what?" Phoebe asked.
"This. How do you deal with things like this? All these huge changes that magic makes in your lives, how do you do it?"
"Patience, perserverance and practice," Piper said with a smirk.
"P3," Price added. They all turned and smiled at her and then they watched Victor leave, hopefully not for good.
Later that night, Luana struck again, taking another woman's heart to further complete her mission to aid in Ramashan's arrival. She picked up the heart and the Orb of Valios, and she headed back to the sacred temple.
"Okay, Leo, so last night you said you had more information about the Manos del Dios people," Piper said. "You looked really freaked. So spill."
"Well, they're trying to raise Ramashan from the Nether Realm," he began.
"Yeah, we know," Phoebe said. "But we couldn't find anything specifically about Ramashan. Just stuff about the cult."
"Ramashan is extremely powerful. He even goes above the head of the Source," Leo began.
"I thought you said the Source was the top of the ladder, head honcho, big cheese," Price interrupted.
"He is for right now," Leo said. "Think of it this way. Think of the Source as Zeus, and then think of all the upper-level demons as the other gods and then lower-level demons and warlocks are humans. To put it in those terms, Ramashan would be one of the Titans, say Cronus for example."
"So, the Source and all the upper-level demons overthrew Cronus…I mean, Ramashan… after he created them and then they created all the lower-level demons and warlocks," Phoebe guessed.
"Right," Leo said. "Now, while the Manos del Dios cultists aren't demons or warlocks, they're on the same level. They would be the humans that would overthrow the gods, using Ramashan, their Titan, to overthrow the current hierarchy and take over for themselves."
"But don't they worship Ramashan as a god?" Piper asked.
"It's their way in. They believe that if Ramashan believes that they're worshipping him, he'll do whatever they want."
"I still don't see how this makes things any worse," Price said.
"The cultists don't know Ramashan's power," Leo said. "If Ramashan is freed and destroys the Source, the world as we know it will vanish. Ramashan has the ability to break down the walls between dimensions. Everything will flood together and it will be chaos."
"All right, so how do we stop the cultists?" Piper asked. "From the sounds of things, we have to stop the ritual because Ramashan is way too strong for us."
"If you can get the cultists arrested it should stop them for now," Leo explained. "Their numbers are extremely limited. No more than twenty, I'm sure."
"Well, see, the problem is, we'll only be able to get one of them arrested," Price said. "That would be the one that's taking over where that other guy left off. There's hardly any proof to put away the actual murderer, let alone the entire cult."
"Is there no way that we can permanently put the ritual to a halt?" Phoebe asked.
"I don't know," Leo said.
"Even if we destroy the Orb of Valios, which would be a good temporary solution, they'll still have the regular old Friday the 13th thing," Piper explained.
"All right, so first things first," Price said. "Find our current killer and smash the Orb of Valios."
"Sounds like a plan," Piper said. Then she looked to Phoebe. "Now all we need is to find the killer."
Phoebe realized why Piper was looking at her, and tried to think of how she could call a premonition.
"I can't believe I'm doing this," Darryl said as he snuck Phoebe down to the morgue.
"I'm right there with you," she commented. She figured that the only way she could call a premonition concerning the Manos del Dios cult was to touch something that the killer had touched. The only thing they had access to that the killer had touched was the corpses of the young women who had been murdered. "Just take me to the most recent one."
Darryl made sure the coroner wasn't around and then led Phoebe to the freezer drawer with the latest victim. He slid it open and started to pull back the sheet, but Phoebe stopped him. He smirked.
"I thought Piper was the one that got squeemish about this stuff," he said.
"Yeah, well, it's bad enough I have to touch a dead body," Phoebe said. She moved to the side of the slab and pulled the sheet up enough to reveal the woman's left hand. Phoebe noticed the engagement ring on the woman's finger. "Oh man, how did the fiance take it?"
"He was devestated," Darryl replied solemnly. "He said that she was his soul mate."
Phoebe just shook her head. Then she took the woman's cold hand in her own and tried to call a premonition. Darryl waited patiently. But nothing happened. Phoebe saw nothing. She pulled the sheet back down and shook her head. Darryl pushed the freezer drawer back in and the two of them started to leave. As Phoebe walked by one of the surgical tables she bumped it and was suddenly pulled into a premonition. She saw a woman in a white lab coat in the morgue. The woman closed her eyes and held her hands over a young woman's corpse. There were no surgical instruments in the woman's hands. Then the woman opened her eyes and started writing on a clipboard. Phoebe came out of the premonition somewhat confused, but then something dawned on her.
"Darryl, open that drawer again," Phoebe said. Darryl looked confused but did as she asked. "An autopsy was done on this woman, right?"
"Yeah, I was told it was done this morning," Darryl said. He opened the drawer and Phoebe pulled back the sheet. There were no marks on the woman's body, nothing to suggest that an autopsy had been done.
"Don't autopsies usually involve cutting?" Phoebe asked Darryl. He just nodded his head, shocked by what they had found.
"Why would the coroner lie about doing the autopsy?" Darryl asked.
"Oh, the coroner didn't lie. She did the autopsy," Phoebe explained. "But your coroner is a psycho-surgeon. She very possibly could be your killer."
After finding out the name and address of the woman in her premonition, Phoebe called the Manor and told Piper and Price to meet her at the address. There just happened to be a coffee shop across the street from the woman's apartment building so the three Halliwells sat near the front windows sipping coffee and staking out the woman they thought to be the killer.
"I feel like a cop," Price commented as they watched the building. "All I need is a badge and a donut."
"Well, the donut won't be hard to get," Piper quipped, gesturing toward the front counter of the coffee shop.
Phoebe was watching intently out the window as she saw the woman from her premonition emerge from the front door of the building. She was approaching a cab. Phoebe stood quickly and headed out the door. Piper and Price followed and they all got into the car. Piper had to make a u-turn once the cab took off, and she almost lost it already. But she caught up and Phoebe helped keep an eye on the cab while Piper followed it.
The cab stopped at a large building that had previously housed a community theater. The first floor was the theater and changing rooms and other theater related rooms. On the second floor there were several meeting rooms and the third floor was entirely storage. Piper parked her Jeep a block down and watched the woman enter the building. Then they got out and walked toward the building. Piper led the group through the lobby toward the theater area. They entered the darkened house area and walked down the aisle toward the stage. The three of them climbed onto the stage and looked around. Price walked forward, not watching where she was stepping. Piper noticed the trap door was open.
"Price, look out!" Piper said, reaching forward and grabbing Price's arm, pulling away from the twenty foot fall to the basement. Price looked through the trap door and breathed a sigh of relief.
"Thanks," she said. Piper just nodded her head and they were about to head off the stage when a spotlight came on, blinding them from seeing who was out in the house. They shielded their eyes from the light, trying to get a look at who had caught them by surprise.
"Looks like we have some trespassers, Marlett," Luana said as she walked down the aisles. She was the woman that Phoebe had seen in her premonition. Marlett and several others were walking down the other aisle. Ramsey was up in the balcony controlling the spotlight. The Manos del Dios cult approached the sisters, all of them grinning smugly. Luana climbed up on stage and approached the sisters. "Why did you follow me?"
The sisters said nothing. Marlett joined them on stage and approached Price. "The one who got away," he said. He smiled at Luana. "It seems you won't have to work too hard to make Ramashan known to the world. The final three sacrifices have fallen into your lap."
Four more cultists climbed onto the stage. Three of them were holding ropes. The fourth, along with Luana and Marlett, held his arm outstretched with the palm facing one of the sisters. Price and Phoebe screamed as they felt some unseen force tighten around their hearts.. It was like someone was reaching into their chests and squeezing their hearts. Piper suddenly stopped breathing as Marlett focused on her lungs. They all fell to their knees and the three with the ropes had an easy time tying their wrists behind their backs. When it was certain that three were tied up tight, Marlett, Luana and the other man lowered their hands and the screaming ceased. Piper coughed and gagged and started spitting up blood.
"Oh dear," Marlett said, not sounding upset at all. "It seems I squeezed a little too hard. She's for tonight, Luana." Marlett gestured toward Piper and Luana smiled. She left to retrieve the Orb of Valios. Only three cult members remained to keep an eye on the sisters. They smiled smugly down at the three of them, believing that Ramashan would soon rise and they would be that much closer to victory.
Phoebe and Price sat on either side of Piper. They were holding her up, knowing that she would be able to breathe better if she was sitting up. They watched with deep concern as their older sister breathed raspy breaths in and out, pain evident on her face. Occassionally she would cough up blood and it just ran in trails down her chin and her shirt. They both knew that if they didn't get Piper to a doctor soon she wouldn't make it.
Phoebe looked over at Price and saw that she had her eyes closed. She wondered what Price was doing.
"What are you doing?" Phoebe asked in a whisper, hoping that the guards didn't hear her.
"I'm trying to untie our ropes," Price said.
"But you can't see them," Phoebe said.
"Well, unless you've got a better idea, I'm trying it. I need to concentrate," Price responded. Phoebe hoped Price could do it. Because they ran out of options the second the spotlight turned on. Phoebe focused on Piper and tried to use their new empathic connection to will strength into her older sister. Piper felt what Phoebe was doing and looked up at her. She managed a small grin and Phoebe grinned back.
"You're gonna be okay, Piper," she said encouragingly. "Just hang in there."
Piper nodded her head and then proceeded to cough up more blood. Phoebe watched this with a twinge of horror inside of her. Then she saw that Luana had returned with the Orb of Valios. She motioned for the guards to bring Piper over. Two of them grabbed Piper by the arms and brought her over to Luana at center stage. Meanwhile, Price's ropes loosened slightly.
Luana placed the Orb of Valios by Piper's head and then held her right hand above Piper's heart. Seconds later, Piper cried out in pain and her screams turned into strangled coughs as she spit up more blood. Moments later, however, Luana flew across the stage, thrown by an unseen force. Price stood, her hands untied. The three guards approached her and she threw them across the stage as well.
"The orb, Price!" Phoebe shouted once Price had untied her wrists. Phoebe advanced on the guards, throwing punches left and right. They were not very good fighters and they couldn't get a chance to use their power as Phoebe pummeled them with kicks and punches.
Price ran over and grabbed the Orb of Valios, ready to smash it. But Luana returned and knocked Price down. The orb rolled out of the youngest Halliwell's hand and rolled toward the trap door. Luana tried to take Price's heart instead of Piper's but suddenly everything froze. Price looked over and saw Piper lying on her side. She wasn't looking so great, but she was using what little strength she had left to keep everyone frozen. She struggled to speak.
"Smash…the…orb," Piper said through raspy breaths. Price used her power to cause the orb to roll into the trap door. She smiled at their success when she heard the shattering glass below them. Then she sent Luana and the three guards flying into the wall, knocking them unconscious. As she and Phoebe knelt by Piper's side, they looked up when Darryl and several police officers burst into the theater, their guns drawn. Darryl saw the sisters on the stage and ran forward.
"Check the rest of the building," he bellowed to the police officers. He knelt by Piper and pulled out his radio. "This is Inspector Morris. I need an ambulance at the old Repertory Theater on Mason Street. Fast."
"Darryl, how did you know?" Phoebe asked.
"While you were gathering the troops I had Luana's phone tapped," Darryl said. "I called the cab company and found out where she went."
"Well, now you can get her for murder and attempted murder and kidnapping," Price said. She helped Piper sit up so she could breathe easier. Piper looked to her sisters and then to Darryl.
"There were…more…" she gasped.
"How many?" Darryl asked.
Phoebe answered, "About ten total. There was one that Luana called Marlett. An older man."
"There's no one else, sir," one of the officers said when he returned to the theater. "Just these four."
"Not much of an allegiance," Price said. "I wonder if they'll be able to continue with raising of Ramashan."
"They won't be able to do anything for a while without the Orb of Valios," Phoebe said. She took Piper's hand in hers and the four of them waited for the ambulance.
After receiving a normal surgery and antibiotics to fend off infection, Piper was proclaimed to make a full recovery. She just had to spend another couple days in the hospital. Leo was by her side at every opportunity.
Price and Phoebe weren't getting much further with their sisterly bond, at least not as far as Price could tell. Phoebe was very quiet and spent a lot of time alone. She didn't even spend much time with Cole. Price had a feeling she would have to make the first step with Phoebe.
She found her in the cemetery on a gray, cloudy day. Not a rarity for San Francisco, but Price had wished the day could have been nicer. She was kneeling by Prue's grave, just staring at the headstone. Price approached, hoping that she wouldn't be over-stepping any boundaries. She stopped when she heard Phoebe talking.
"I'm sorry, Prue," Phoebe said. "You would be here today if it weren't for me. If I had been there to call Leo, you'd be alive. It's all such a mess. I don't know what to think of Price. I know she has no intention of being a replacement for you, but it seems like that's what she is. It's just so hard to accept. I believe that she's my sister, but how can I just accept it like that? Piper's accepted it. I don't understand. It feels like I'm betraying you…again." Phoebe stopped talking when she felt a twinge of guilt that wasn't her own. She turned and saw Price standing behind her.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to eavesdrop or anything. I just wanted to find you so we could talk," Price said, her guilt and discomfort evident. "I'll go home. We can talk later. I'm sorry."
She started to walk away, and Phoebe looked back at the tombstone. Suddenly, it all became clear to her. It was like a veil was lifted and she could see and understand it all. She caught up to Price. She had to teach Price what it was like to be a part of a team. She had been a lone witch for so long, and now she had to work with sisters. She was ready to love, but not quite ready for the whole package. Phoebe knew that Prue would want her to accept Price. Prue would want her to move on. There would be no betrayal. They were family.
"Hey, wait," Phoebe said "It's okay. I admit that this is all still hard for me. I've got some things that I need to sort through. But we are family, and I do want to make this work."
"I don't want you to feel like you're betraying Prue," Price said quietly.
"I'm not," Phoebe replied. "Prue would tell me that I'm not. I'm just confused right now. You know?"
"Yeah, I understand," Price said. "Look, we can talk later…if you still want to talk to Prue." She gestured toward the mausoleum. "Or Cole."
Phoebe smiled. "You're too perceptive for your own good."
"That's what people tell me," Price said with a smirk. But then she got serious. "But it's not just perception. I feel what you feel. Remember? He'll forgive anything that you've done. I'm sure of it. He's been evil. He understands it. He understands what it's like to be under evil's spell. Anything that happened while you were under the Source's control is forgivable. Because that guilt you're feeling right now…that's humanity. Good humans feel that guilt and embrace it and try to do their best to correct it." Phoebe nodded her head. "Go talk to Cole. From what I've seen, you two were meant to be together just as much as Piper and Leo. It's fate."
Phoebe smiled. "Thanks," she said.
"Anytime," Price replied. "Do you wanna go pick up Piper together tonight?"
"Yeah, that'd be great," Phoebe said. "Six o'clock?"
"Okay, I'll see you then," Price replied. She watched Phoebe head toward the mausoleum for a moment and then turned back to her car. Things were going to be all right. She knew it.
Marlett stood before the remainder of his group. They had suffered the loss of four more colleagues, but most importantly the loss of the Orb of Valios. Now, they had to wait for the next Friday the 13th. There was a bit of dissention in the ranks.
"How can we succeed, Marlett, when there is this constant interference?" Ramsey asked. "We must leave this city before the rest of us are killed or arrested."
"We cannot leave San Francisco," he replied. "It is the final point in the portal. We must finish it here."
"But the next Friday the 13th is in three months," a man named Harold said. "How can we wait so long?"
"We wait," Marlett said sharply. "We will be successful. Witches or no witches, we will raise Ramashan and then we will conquer.
THE END