Chapter 2 - Protection
Melinda stormed into Halliwell Manor and crossed the foyer and headed towards the stairs. She was pissed for many reasons, all of which concerned her family. "I seriously don't know why I need to deal with them," she said to herself.
"Deal with whom?" a gentle yet masculine voice asked from behind her.
Melinda turned to see her eldest sibling standing near the conservatory archway.
"No one," she angrily replied, tucking a lock of her hair behind her ear. Wyatt raised an eyebrow. "Fine, I can't deal with you guys," Melinda blurted out. Then, biting her tongue, she apologized. "Look Wyatt, I'm really sorry it's just…"
"Demon!" Chris called from the stairs, and waved his hand, telekinetically throwing the demon onto the black table in the foyer. Wyatt protectively pushed Melinda behind him. "Stand back," he warned her. Melinda opened her mouth to speak, but Wyatt had his hands raised, and in seconds, the demon disintegrated, an orange aura aiding the explosion.
Melinda stepped back in front of her brother. "That!" she said pointing a finger at him and resumed her original trek up the stairs, giving Chris an angry stare as she passed him.
Melinda slammed the door behind her and dropped her handbag on her dressing table. She was still angry, and the knocking on the door made it worse.
"Melinda can we come in?" Wyatt asked in his usual mild tone. "We just want to talk."
"No!" She replied, like a tantrum-throwing child.
"Who needs her permission? The door's open-" Chris told Wyatt, and turned the knob.
"Chris, don't you dare walk through the door or you'll be the sorriest toad in San Francisco!" Melinda threatened him.
"Okay, we'll orb!" And instantly, in thousands of tiny blue and white lights, Wyatt and Chris materialized in front of their sister. Before Melinda could begin barking, Chris shrugged, "You only said we couldn't 'walk through that door'!" Wyatt nudged him with an elbow and took a seat on Melinda's bed.
"So what's really bothering you?" Wyatt asked her, being the caring, protective brother. Melinda looked at him and started to unwind.
"For one, I hate being treated like the baby of the family. I hate being protected all the time. For heaven's sake I'm twenty-one! And then there is the power thing. Pamela, Patience and Pige have the whole Power-of-three-ish thing. The twins are destined to be 'doubly-blessed'. Henry is a Whitelighter. And you, you're like Wyatt Almighty. I mean even Chris had something special to do! Even if it was mere time travel." Wyatt chuckled while Chris pondered on her statement. "I mean I'm a witch too, I wouldn't mind kicking some demon ass once in a while."
"You don't have an offensive power," Chris sternly told her.
"Why do you have to be like that?" Melinda asked him. Chris shrugged, searching for the right words.
"Well, what he means to say is that if you'd be cornered by a demon-"
"-I'd freeze him, kick him in the balls, and run away," Melinda cheekily replied, interrupting Wyatt's rational approach. Wyatt let out a little chuckle and then Melinda asked them a simple "Yes, or no?"
Wyatt looked at Chris and then back at Melinda. He was at a loss of words. They had always been overprotective of her, but now he was in a tough spot. A 'yes' would mean putting her life in danger, and a 'no' would result in another fit of fury.
Chris finally broke the silence. "No," Chris told her, putting his hands on her shoulders, "But try again when you get an offensive power." Melinda backed away from him, anger and disgust flushing her face.
Wyatt stood up and touched Chris. "Didn't you want to go and check on P3?" he asked hastily, trying to prevent any physical damage between his siblings. "I'll orb you!" And in seconds the pillars of tiny blue and white orbs disappeared, leaving behind an enraged Melinda.
Melinda marched up to the attic in anger. She approached the Halliwell heirloom that her matriarchs had been passing down each generation. She angrily opened it and flipped through the pages in desperation. "I'll show you offensive power," Melinda muttered to herself, looking for a spell to help her. But when she found nothing, she slammed the Book shut in frustration.
Hands on the triquetra and eyes on the attic ceiling, she continued grumbling. "I'm a Halliwell for crying out loud. It has been six freaking years since my powers were unbound and they still haven't advanced. This is so unfair!"
Melinda felt a slight breeze shift her ponytail. She instantly moved her hands away from the Book as the pages started flipping themselves. Quickly she grabbed a pen and a notepad from the nearby shelf. "To Call For A Lost Witch…" she read out loud as she noted it down. The pages quickly resumed turning themselves once the title was noted. This seemed new, it had never done this before. "Spell To Accelerate Time," Melinda noted, now skeptical. And once again they flipped, finally stopping at "Lost And Found Spell".
Melinda now understood what the Book was trying to do. Confident, she merged the three spells, editing it where necessary. Once fully composed, she lit a candle, and began her incantation:
"Family spirits I seek your charity,
Lend me focus and clarity,
Powers of the witches rise,
Course unseen across the skies,
Give my powers wings to speed their way,
Let tomorrow's be today's."
On finishing the spell she placed the piece of paper into the flame, causing the flame to consume the piece of paper. All that remained were white fumes — mere smoke. Melinda didn't feel different. There were no signs that the spell had worked. Having nothing else to do, Melinda sighed and left the attic, the white wisps of smoke unintentionally frozen in the air.
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Somewhere deep in the underworld, icy blue irises faded in from the cloudy sclera. A cold wispy voice proclaimed in the eternal night: "She has awoken!"
End of Chapter Two.