And So It Begins
"To Wyatt and Gwen, I don't know what you see in him Gwen, but there is a no return policy so he is all yours now." Chris joked as he held his glass up to give a toast.
"To Wyatt and Gwen." The rest of the table laughed and clinked their classes together in celebration.
"I can't believe you finally did it." Caleb said to his best friend.
"I can't believe you got engaged on my birthday." Melinda said a little peeved
"I am sorry Mel, we didn't mean to steal the focus." Gwen told her future sister-in-law.
"Its not that, its just if you had waited 4 more days I would have won $200." Melinda said and everyone, except Hank who had also lost the bet, laughed. "No I am very glad my birthday will forever be the day you got engaged. Ugh, this is just so exciting. So when are you going to have the wedding? Are you going to have it at home because I personally think with all the people we know you are going to need a bigger venue. And you should really start the planning process as early as possible because…"
Fearing his sister would ramble on till she was blue in the face, Wyatt cut her off by reminding her "Linnie, we just got engaged 3 hours ago."
"Right, sorry. Just got overly excited."
"I just can't believe my baby boy is engaged. It seems like just yesterday I was changing your little diapers." Piper beamed, she could have not been more pleased that her eldest son was engaged, and to Gwen who she had grown to consider like another daughter.
"Mom, stop. Between Melinda planning the wedding with out us and you gushing and telling embarrassing stories, I am surprised Gwen hasn't changed her mind yet." Wyatt said only half joking. He loved his family but they could be a lot to take some times.
"Well we will just leave the two of you alone. I am sure you have a lot to still discuss." Leo said in an attempt to save his eldest son from the family. Everyone slowly left the table and eventually the newly engaged couple was left sitting alone.
"So." Wyatt said to his bride-to-be, suddenly at a loss of words now that everyone had left.
"So." Gwen smiled back.
"We are getting married?"
"Yes, we are." Gwen laughed. She could tell that her fiancé was still in shock, though she couldn't see why. After all he had been the one who had been planning this for over a month now.
"I just can't believe you said yes." Wyatt admitted. He had been worried that she would say no and it would ruin everything they already had.
Gwen sighed. She now understood why he was acting so weird. "Of course I said yes. I love you and I want to be with you for the rest of my life."
"Well good because according to Chris, you are officially stuck with me." Wyatt said and the two laughed.
"So what did my dad say when you asked if you could marry me?" Gwen asked cuddling up to Wyatt.
"What do you mean?" Wyatt asked pulling away from Gwen so he could look her right in the face.
"You did ask my dad for permission first right?"
"I didn't realize people still did that." Wyatt said, he hadn't even thought about asking Gwen's father for permission. In all honestly he was a little afraid of Gwen's father. Gwen's family came from a long line of witches, like his own, but they were a bit more old fashion. Wyatt thought it might have something to do with the mass amount of wealth they had. They were also a lot smaller then the Halliwell clan. Gwen was an only child and while her father, Ethan Callaway, had a sister, she had died before Gwen was born. Gwen wasn't uptight like her family though, she enjoyed the utter chaos that seemed to follow the Halliwell family around but she still loved her own family and followed their rules to make them happy.
"He is going to be so angry." Gwen said shaking her head in panic.
"Don't worry about it your family loves me." Wyatt said with a smile. Gwen just glared at him. While her family did like Wyatt, she wouldn't go as far as to say that they loved him. "If you are that worried about it I will ask him tomorrow and we can just pretend I haven't proposed yet."
"You would do that?"
"Of course I would. As long as at the end of the day I get to marry you." Wyatt smiled and kissed her on the forehead. The couple sat in the corner the rest of the night and cuddled and talked while the party went on around them.
Melinda had been enjoying her party but the noise from everyone's thoughts was beginning to intensify and she felt as though she might pass out again. She quickly ran off to one of the back rooms in the hopes it would help drown out some of the noise.
"Hey Mel, are you ok?" Caleb asked entering the room after her. He was concerned that his girlfriend had been rubbing her temples a good majority of the night.
"Ya, I am fine. It is just kind of loud in here." Melinda said as she paced back and forth, feverishly massaging her head.
"We could probably ask to turn the music down." Caleb said trying to be helpful but missing her point entirely.
"Not that noise, it's just everyone's thoughts. They are starting to become clearer and much louder." Melinda explained as she continued to rub her temples.
"Oh." Caleb said nodding, understanding now why his girlfriend had escaped to the back room. "Well maybe we could get out of here and then you would only have to worry about hearing one other voice in your head." Caleb smiled as he pulled her close to him and kissed her ever so gently on the lips.
"I'd like that but I can't just leave. This party is for me after all." Melinda said sighing as she rested her head on Caleb's shoulders.
"Hey Mel we were just…" Prue began to say as she entered the back room but stopped short when she saw Caleb and Melinda holding each other. "I knew it!" She exclaimed pointing an accusatory finger at the pair but smiling all the while.
"Prue this isn't what it looks like." Melinda said pulling away from Caleb and trying desperately to think of an excuse.
"So you two weren't in here making out?"
"No." Melinda lied, technically it wasn't a lie though, they had only kissed.
"Then what were you doing?" Prue asked, not convinced.
"I wasn't feeling well and Caleb just came in here to comfort me." Melinda said, again not fully lying.
Prue knew her cousin was lying, but since it was her birthday she decided to let it go for now. "Well I just came to tell you that we are all heading out."
"Oh ok hang on one second I will come and say goodbye." Melinda said relieved her cousin had dropped the subject of her and Caleb making out.
"I should probably be heading home as well. It's getting late and I have work tomorrow." Caleb told Melinda and hugged her goodbye before shimmering out.
Melinda sighed. This whole secret thing was starting to suck, but she was too scared to tell her family. Caleb was six years older then her and he was practically family. If it didn't work out for some reason she was not really sure what would happen. There was too much fear surrounding the relationship as it was, she didn't want to bring everybody else in on it too, at least not yet.
Melinda hugged the rest of her family and friends goodbye and thanked them for coming. It really had been one heck of a party.
"Ready to head home?" Alice asked her roommate after everyone had gone.
"Ya." She said. "Thanks again, this party was great. I love you guys." Melinda said hugging both of her parents before taking Alice's hand and orbing out.
"What a day." Piper sighed to her husband who was the only other person left in the club.
"It was quit eventful." Leo laughed and the two embraced before walking hand in hand out of the club.
That night Melinda had another one of her dreams, only this time it was different. This time instead of watching the scene take place, she was in it. It was dark and she could not see much, but she knew exactly where she was. She was in the back of a carriage taking her to be burned alive. The fear was building as she drew closer to the opening in the woods. All of a sudden the carriage stopped and a man in a black hooded robe opened the back of the carriage and pulled her over to the Pyre. The man in the black hooded cape tied her to a pole so that she could not escape. A second man emerged from the crowd and Melinda couldn't help but feel like she had seen him somewhere before.
"Come to enjoy your handy work, Jonathan?" Melinda found herself saying. It was as if she was not in control of this body but rather trapped inside.
"This is your last chance Melinda Warren, tell me where the stone is and you may yet escape the pyre's flame"
"I will tell you nothing." Melinda said to the man. She noticed that her voice did not sound like her own, but it was coming from her. She was moving her lips but the voice that came out belong to someone else. "You may kill me, but you cannot kill my kind. I vow that with each generation of Warren witches will grow stronger, culminating in the arrival of three sisters. These three sisters will be the most powerful witches the world has ever known. They will destroy all kinds of evil and shall be called the Charmed Ones." Melinda yelled in the voice that was not her own and spit blood so that it hit where Jonathan stood.
"Have it your way." He replied softly so only Melinda could hear and as he leaned in close to her, she was certain that she had seen those blue eyes before though she did not recognize the man. Jonathan turned from her toward the crowd. "Let this be a lesson to all of those who stray from the path of good and righteousness." Jonathan nodded to the hooded guard and he began to light the pyre. "Melinda Warren you have been found guilty of committing the darkest art, witchcraft. For this affront against God, I hereby condemn you to burn in the fires of Hell of which you so eagerly seek communion."
Melinda could feel the heat of the flames all around her.
She woke up in her bed screaming, as if the flames had been real and she was being burnt alive.
"What, what happened? What's going on?" Alice said as she ran into Melinda's room.
Melinda took a few seconds to take in her surroundings. It had all just been a dream. But it had felt so real. In the past her dreams had been vivid but never this realistic. She could still feel the cold night air and how the flames licked at her skin. "Sorry, bad dream." Melinda finally said after she had collected herself.
"They're getting worse, aren't they?" Alice said, concerned for her best friend. Alice knew Melinda had been having bad dreams, but this was the first time she had been awoken by one.
"It was just so real." Melinda told her. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you."
"Don't worry about it. Though maybe you should go talk to your dad about this. I'd rather not make this a nightly thing." Alice said before leaving to return to her own room.
Melinda desperately wanted to believe these dreams were not related to magic, but it was getting harder and harder to do. Maybe Alice was right, she should go talk to her dad about this, if only to assure herself that these dreams were nothing to worry about. Melinda resolved to go see him in the morning and went back to sleep, praying the rest of the night would be dreamless.
"I can not believe they got away." The warlock said through gritted teeth as he sat on his thrown.
"Forgive me master, but why did you let them go so easily?" A woman asked. Aside from the warlock she was the only other person in the room. She wore tight black leather from head to toe and had beautiful olive skin and dark black hair.
"I was out numbered. And besides I don't want to kill the girl, I want to use her." The warlock mused. "Perhaps I have been going about this the wrong way though. There are far too many of them, I am powerful but not powerful enough, yet. Once I have the stone I will be able to rid myself of them but until then I must go about this quietly."
"So what do we do now Master?" The woman asked.
"Our families go way back, all the way back to the Salem witch trials. Did you know that?"
"I know, your family murdered mine." The woman said with bitterness in her voice.
"Yes, I am afraid we did." The warlock said as he lifted the woman's arm and examined the tattoo of a red Phoenix she had right under her wrist. "But how wonderful now that we can work together for a common goal."
"My only goal is to collect my bounty." The woman said pulling her arm away from the Warlocks grasp.
"And you shall have it, once you complete your task." The warlock said with a wicked smile across his face.
Wyatt was beginning to regret telling Gwen he would go and speak to her father. As he stood outside the large mansion where the Callaway's lived, he no longer felt like one of the most powerful magical beings alive, he felt as small and insignificant as an ant and he didn't like it. He was dressed in his Sunday best and his hair was slicked back making him look very sophisticated. Still he couldn't help but feel like this was a bad idea. What if her father said no, what would he do then? He had been tortured by the idea of Gwen saying no for well over a month now but somehow this felt worse. He sighed and mustered up all the courage he had left before ringing the doorbell.
One of the maids answered and escorted Wyatt to Ethan Callaway's office. He straightened his tie and smoothed out his jacket before knocking on the office door. He almost fell over when the door swung open and Ethan was standing in the doorframe. Ethan Callaway was not a big man, he was a good 5 inches shorter then Wyatt and being in his late fifties he was rather small and grey. Still he commanded a presence that was like no other.
"Mr. Halliwell, what are you doing here?" Ethan asked looking his only daughter's boyfriend up and down.
"Actually sir, I came here to talk to you." Wyatt said. He could hear his voice sounded shaky.
"Well then come in." Ethan said gesturing for Wyatt to take a seat. Ethan walked behind Wyatt and sat in a big leather chair behind an even bigger desk. It made him look powerful and it made Wyatt sink in his chair ever so slightly.
"Well sir you see I have been dating your daughter for quit some time now." Wyatt mumbled. "And I would like to ask for your permission to ask her to marry me."
"No." Ethan said flat out. Wyatt was caught of guard, sure he has been worried Gwen's father would say know but he never thought he would actually say no.
"I'm sorry sir. Why not?" Wyatt asked.
"You are fine as a boyfriend but how do I know you will make a good husband."
"I love your daughter, and I will do everything in my power to make her happy and I promise I will be the best husband to her I can be."
"I am sorry but my answer remains the same. Now if you don't mind I am a very busy man. I can't just sit around here all day arguing with you. I am sure you can see yourself out." Ethan said in a voice so cold it gave Wyatt goose bumps.
Wyatt was at a loss for words. He could not believe what just happened. His head was spinning as he left the Callaway mansion. He knew that he was not Mr. Callaway's favorite person in the world, but he had been dating Gwen for years now. Did he not think this would happen eventually? Wyatt was not sure what he was going to do next but he knew he couldn't just give up. He loved Gwen and he was going to marry her no matter what it took.
Parker's kidnapping had the whole of magic school in a buzz, partly because an extremely powerful Warlock kidnapping one of the students wasn't something that happened on a regular basis and partly because Parker had a big mouth and a vivid imagination.
"And then he tried to throw me across the room using magic but I, being quick on my toes as I am, was able to dive out of the way. And I told him he could never defeat me or my family, he said I was being ridiculous but obviously I was right because here I am." Parker recounted an embellished version of the kidnapping to a large group of students that were sitting around, hanging on to her every word.
"Were you scared?" Asked a red headed girl who looked to be about 15.
"Of course not." Parker said but she had actually been terrified. "We Halliwells don't get scared. Its not in our nature."
Before Parker could continue her story she saw two figures shimmer in on the other side of the room, she stiffened at first fearing a demon had some how been able to break in to Magic school but relaxed once she saw it was only Melinda and Caleb. She was intrigued how ever as to why they were here. Both had graduated Magic School years ago and even though they came back every now and then, especially because Melinda's father was the head master, it was odd that they would be here in the middle of the day during school hours, together.
"If you will excuse me, I have to go speak with my cousin." Parker said excusing her self from her avid fans and walking over to Melinda and Caleb.
"Hey Parker, do you know where my dad is?" Melinda asked her cousin as she walked over.
"He is probably in his office. What are you guys doing here?" Parker asked
"We just happened to be hanging out together and I needed to speak to my dad so Caleb gave me a lift over, it's not weird. We are friends." Melinda said nervously. Caleb just stared at her like she had lost her mind.
"Never said it was." Parker said, a little confused by her cousins behavior.
"So Leo is in his office then?" Caleb asked trying to break the tension.
"Ya that is where he usually is around this time." Parker told them.
"Thanks" Caleb said and escorted Melinda down the endless hallway towards her father's office.
"Well that was weird." Parker mused to herself once Caleb and Melinda were out of earshot.
"What was that?" Caleb asked his girlfriend once the two were far enough away from Parker.
"Sorry I have just been really on edge about this whole secret relationship thing this Prue walked in on us last night." Melinda confessed.
Caleb sighed. He really hated having to be so secretive. If it was up to him they would have just told everyone already but Melinda wouldn't have it. Though he could see she was starting to crack. He figured he would just give it time and eventually she would tell them. Before Caleb could say anything though, the door to Leo's office flung open to reveal Chris standing in the doorway.
"Chris, what are you doing here?" Melinda asked, surprised to see her brother at Magic School. She was even more surprised because he was dressed in his work clothes and had obviously come from the Police Station.
"Just came to spend some quality time with my father." Chris told his sister.
"You're lying." She said to him, looking him up and down. The clothes were a dead give away but thanks to her new powers she could also hear what he was thinking. "You came here to talk to dad about a case you are working on. But why?"
"How did you know that?" Chris asked, completely taken off guard by how accurate his sister was.
"Telepathy, remember? It's getting quit annoying actually." Caleb reminded Chris. Melinda smacked Caleb lightly over the head. She knew that her being able to hear every thing he thought was getting on his nerves but did he ever stop to think how she felt about it.
"Right." Chris nodded forgetting about his sister's new powers. "What are you two doing here anyways?"
"We came to talk to your dad about the strange dreams Melinda has been having. See I think…" but before Caleb could finish, Melinda smacked him on the head again. "What?" he asked looking all hurt and defensive.
"You're still having those dreams?" Chris asked, thankful for a change in subject.
"Don't change the subject." Melinda said catching on to what Chris was trying to do. "Why do you need dads help with an investigation. Is there magic involved?"
Fearing he might think something he didn't want his sister to hear, Chris quickly told her it was nothing and that he had to go.
"Well that was strange." Caleb mused once Chris had left.
Melinda just rolled her eyes at Caleb and knocked on her father's office door.
"Come in." Leo shouted through the door. "Melinda, Caleb, what are you two doing here?" Leo asked surprised to see his daughter and the half demon at Magic School.
"I actually wanted to talk to you about something." Melinda said shyly as she and Caleb entered the room. "Caleb could you maybe wait in the hall?" She didn't really want Caleb hearing this plus she feared it would make her dad suspicious if she allowed him to stay.
"Ya of course, I will just be outside." Caleb said and went in to kiss Melinda on the forehead before remembering that was probably a bad idea and awkwardly made a B line for the door.
"So what is it you need to talk about?" Leo asked his only daughter.
"Well" Melinda said hesitantly as she made her way into the office and sat down at the chair across from her fathers "I have been having these strange dreams lately."
"I know your mother told me about them."
"Are there no secrets in this family?" Melinda said a little peeved her mother had told her father about her dreams.
"Your mother and I are just worried about you." Leo asked noticing his daughter's overly fraught expression.
"Well, I am not even sure they are anything to worry about. I just wanted to be sure." Melinda said hopefully. What she really wanted was for her father to tell her these dreams were the result of too much caffeine or falling asleep with the TV on.
"I have not encountered anything like this before. Perhaps you are right that it is nothing but better safe then sorry. I will ask the Elders what they think, maybe they can shed some light on the matter."
"I would rather not get the elders involved." Melinda was not a huge fan of the elders, no one in her family really was. Regardless of her feelings towards them however they did come in handy every now and then but for some reason she felt the need to keep this from them.
"I know they are not your favorite people but they can be very useful at times." Leo said but he could tell by his daughter's expression that she wasn't buying it. "Well if you are that dead set against it the only other thing I can suggest is looking through the library. Maybe you could fine something there."
"Thanks Dad. I will definitely see what I can find." Melinda lied, she had no intention of going through the thousands of books in the library.
"How is your new power coming along?" Leo asked his daughter as she began to leave but sank back in her chair at his question.
"Its fine." She lied. It was not fine. She hated it. It was starting to grow and she was starting to be able to hear clear thoughts and they were becoming more frequent as well. She had lost track of the amount of Advil she had taken though it wasn't really helping.
"Good, you know it might not hurt to come back for a course on controlling and channeling it. We don't have very many telepaths here, it is a very rare power but there is a professor on staff who might be able to help. He is a telepath himself and your mother and I have known him for years. Very talented man."
"Ya, maybe." The idea of taking a class to control her powers did not sound like something Melinda wanted to spend her time doing, but maybe it would at least help with the headaches. "Well I think I am going to go hit the books." And with that Melinda slipped out of her father's office and out in the hall where she found Caleb sitting outside waiting for her.
"Hey, how did it go? Did he have any leads?" Caleb asked.
"No, but I think I might have an idea of someone who will. Can you take me back to see the seer?"
"Hey Halliwell, what did your dad have to say?" Michael Morris, Daryl Morris' younger son, asked Chris as he entered the police station. Michael worked as a detective, like his father, and had been assigned to work as Chris' partner since they both knew about magic and could handle the 'freakier' cases.
"Not much though there was something but maybe we should talk about this somewhere a little more private." Chris suggested looking around at the overly crowded police station.
Michael nodded in agreement and the two slipped away into Daryl's office. Daryl had been promoted to chief a few years ago, so he got his own private office in the back of the station. He was out at the moment so the office was completely empty.
"So what did you find out?" Michael asked eagerly. Though he was not a magical being himself, he grew up with the Halliwells and knew all about magic and was always ready to help out when he could.
"He said the victims have definitely all been witches, the elders have been closely tracking the situation. As to who the culprit is though, they're still not sure. The killings are too generic to be able to pin it on any particular demon." Chris said relaying what Leo had told him.
"But all the victims have had giant round wounds on their chest, how do the elders explain that?" Michael asked, using the word 'elder' in a mocking tone. Even he was not a fan of them.
"They say that it's consistent with wounds on victims whose powers have been drained from their bodies." Chris explained.
"So what are we suppose to do now?" Michael asked. Disappointed Chris hadn't found more to go on.
"I don't know. I guess we go check the book and see what we can find." Chris said and held out his hand so he could orb the two back to the Manor to look in the Book of Shadows for the killer.
After leaving the Callaway Manor, Wyatt orbed himself back to his apartment that he shared with Gwen. He found her sitting on the couch reading a book and eagerly awaiting his arrival.
"So how did it go?" Gwen asked when she heard the familiar sounds of her fiancé orbing into the apartment.
"He said no." Wyatt said plopping down next to Gwen on the couch.
"He said no? That's impossible why would he say no?" Gwen was as shocked as Wyatt had been.
"Apparently I am not husband material." Wyatt told her.
"That's ridiculous. Are you sure he said no?" Wyatt just nodded at her. "Well maybe I should go talk to him."
"And have it look like I tattled on him. No I am going to fix this on my own." Wyatt said, he was not going to have Gwen go running to her Dad, that would be plan B.
"And how exactly are you going to fix this?"
"Still working on that part."
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Caleb asked as he shimmered himself and Melinda into the underworld. "Seers can be tricky. They can't always be trusted."
"You trusted her before to help us find Parker." Melinda reminded him.
"Yes but that was different." Caleb argued. "It was an emergency situation."
"So is this." Melinda said forcefully as she walked along a corridor trying to find her way, though she had no sense of direction when it came to the underworld.
"Melinda, please." Caleb begged as he grabbed his girlfriend's arms and forced her to stop and look at him. "It's not safe down here. Whatever it is you are trying to find, it can't be important enough to risk your life over."
"But it is." Melinda said defiantly, pulling her arms away from Caleb. "I need to figure out what these dreams mean. I know I said that they were nothing before, but now I am not so sure. They are trying to tell me something and I need to figure out what. I need to know."
Caleb sighed, he knew there was no use arguing with her. She had made her mind up and she wasn't going to change it no matter how much he pleaded. "Fine, the seer is this way." Caleb pointed in the opposite direction of where Melinda had been leading them.
"Right then," Melinda said a little embarrassed by her lack of directional skills.
Chris and Michael orbed into the attic of the Manor to find Prue sitting on Aunt pearl's couch, flipping through the Book Shadow.
"What are you doing here? Don't you have work?" Chris asked, surprised to see his cousin at his house in the middle of the day.
"No, your mom gave me the day off because she was over staffed and I was bored so I decided to come over and study up on the Book of Shadows." Prue worked as a chef at Piper's restaurant. "What are you two doing here? Don't you have work?"
"We are working." Michael said but stopped when Chris gave him a dirty look. Chris knew if Prue found out what they were up to, she would want to join in and he really did not want that.
"We were just going to quickly check something in the book and then we were going to be on our way. So if you don't mind…" Chris said trying to take the book from Prue but she held it close to her chest so he couldn't have it.
"What are you two up to?" She asked suspicious of Chris and Michael.
"Fine, we think that a demon may be behind one of the cases we are investigating." Chris finally confessed.
"Really?" Prue asked intrigued by the idea of a demon hunt. "Do you know which one?"
"If we did would we need to look in the book?" Chris asked sarcastically.
"Good point." Prue said and handed the book to her older cousin.
Chris began to frantically flip through the pages of the book looking for a demon that would fit the MO of the killer. He passed the pages on Furies, Valkyries, Phoenixes and Banshees before slamming it shut in frustration.
"The killings are too generic. It could have been anyone" Chris said, frustrated that he had so little to go on.
"Now what?" Prue asked but before either boy could answer, Michael's phone began to ring.
"Hello?" Michael said into the phone. He listened intently for a few seconds, nodding every now and then before closing it shut. "There has been another murder."
Wyatt got up the courage to go back to the Callaway mansion to speak with Gwen's father again. This time he would not leave until Ethan said yes, he would stay there all night if he had to. It didn't matter; he wanted to marry Gwen and one way or another he was going to do it. Wyatt did not bother with pleasantries this time he barged right up to Ethan Callaway's office and swung the door open.
"Back again Mr. Halliwell? What can I help you with now?" Ethan asked a little annoyed by the intrusion.
Wyatt straightened up. He had been practicing what he was going to say all afternoon. "Mr. Callaway while I respect your decision to refuse to give me your daughters hand in marriage, I must tell you that I plan to marry her regardless. I don't know what I ever did to make you not like me but I am a good person, and a good witch and I am going to make a good husband. And while I plan to go ahead and marry your daughter, I would greatly appreciate your blessing. So please tell me what can I do to make you like me?"
"What ever gave you the impression that I don't like you Wyatt?" Ethan asked keeping a cool tone of voice.
"Well for one you wont let me marry your daughter."
"I have nothing against you as a person Wyatt. You are an honorable young man, you have a good job and you make Gwen very happy."
Wyatt was confused. If Ethan didn't hate him then why wouldn't he let him marry Gwen?
"My boy, it has nothing to do with your character." Ethan continued. "Rather your family."
Wyatt was offended. No one insulted his family. "What is wrong with my family? We are just as powerful as yours. We may not be as rich but I make a good living so what should it matter."
"I have nothing against your family. I just don't want my daughter marrying in to it. The Halliwell name brings danger with it. You are all constantly under attack and that is not the life I want for my daughter or my future grandchildren." Wyatt now understood why Ethan had said no and he couldn't say he didn't see his point. His family was one of the most powerful families of witches and with that brought a lot of danger from constant demon attacks. Wyatt was again at a loss for words. He said nothing to Ethan, he just showed himself out, still trying to process everything. It was time for plan B.
Caleb and Melinda finally emerged from the endless tunnels of the underworld and found themselves in the seers cave.
"I thought you might be back." The seer said peering into her big pool of water, not even looking up to see who had entered her cave.
"We need your help." Melinda said. She was desperate for answers.
"I know what you seek." The seer said, still staring into the pool. "But you will not find it here."
"I just want to know what my dreams mean. Why can I see what Melinda Warren sees? You must have some answers." The desperation in Melinda's voice was growing.
"Answers I have, but they will be of no use to you. What you seek is far more precious." The seer said running her hands across the pool, creating ripples in the water.
"I don't seek anything else." Melinda corrected her.
"Oh but you will." The seer said with a wicked smile. "The only problem is finding it. You see it is very small and has been lost in space and time for many moons now. Finding it will be like trying to find something smaller than a needle, in a haystack, when you don't even know if you're in the right field."
"What is it?" Melinda asked eagerly.
"That I can not tell you, but I think you already know."
"The stone." Melinda breathed.
The seer smiled and nodded.
Melinda had remembered Jonathan asking Melinda Warren about a stone in her dreams but she had never given that detail much thought.
"But what is it?" Melinda asked still unsure of what this all meant.
"The stone is an amulet. It holds the greatest power in our world." The seer told her.
"What power? And why did Melinda Warren have it? And what does this all have to do with me." Melinda blurted out every question that was currently running around in her head.
"These things I can not tell you."
"No but you must." Melinda said in desperation. She had been trying to read the seers mind to find the answer but either her power was not strong enough yet or the seer was blocking her thoughts because she could not hear anything.
"You two should go. I sense a great power coming this way and you wouldn't want to be caught."
"Melinda we should get out of here." Caleb said trying to grab his girlfriend's hand so he could shimmer them both out to safety.
Melinda looked from Caleb to the seer. How could she leave now when she still had so many questions? But Caleb was right, if they didn't leave now, it might not matter what answers she found, they would both be dead. Melinda reluctantly took Caleb's hand and he shimmered them both back to the Manner.
A mere five seconds after the two had shimmered out, a dark hooded figure entered the cave.
The seer bowed her head in respect to the figure, who pulled back his hood to reveal his long dark hair that was as black as a raven and his blue eyes that burnt with hatred and cruelty.
"Where is the girl?" The warlock asked in a deep and cold voice.
"I don't know what you are talking about" the seer lied.
"I know she was here and I know you were helping her." The warlock walked over to the seer and grabbed her by the throat so that her feet were barely touching the ground. "What did you tell her?"
"Kill me and you will never know." The seer spat back in his face.
"I am not going to kill you." The Warlock said with a wicked smile as he let go of his grasp on the seer. "No I have other plans for you." He turned to his guards who had escorted him to the seers cave and motioned from them to take her.
Michael, Chris, and Prue orbed in behind a dumpster in a crowded alleyway. Michael has gotten a call from his father, the Chief, that there had been another murder and that the Chris and Michael should come over right away.
Daryl, seeing them rushed over. "Whoa, you guys can't just orb in here. What if somebody saw you?
"But nobody did." Prue said looking around to see that everyone was too preoccupied to even notice their arrival.
"Prue what are you even doing here? This is a crime scene." Daryl asked.
"Oh I just tagged along for 'extra' assistance." Prue said using air quotes around the word extra. She actually meant magical but that wasn't something you just said out loud at a crime scene.
"Well we wont be needing any 'extra' help." Daryl told them. "We already caught the guy."
"But how?" Chris asked amazed. "Are you sure it's the right guy?"
"Positive. The victim's friend was with her when it happened. She already identified the killer and we have him in custody." Daryl told them.
"That doesn't make any sense." Chris argued. He was certain these killings had to do with magic. All the victims had been witches. "Did the suspect confess?"
"No, we are taking him down to the station for more questioning, but the victims friend already identified him." Daryl said.
"Can I speak with the her?" Chris was still not convinced they had the right guy.
"Sure she is over there." Daryl said pointing to a young women standing in the corner speaking to one of the paramedics. "But please no freaky talk ok?"
Chris just nodded and headed over to the girl. Chris couldn't help but think she was beautiful. She had olive skin and silky black hair and the most beautiful brown eyes Chris had ever seen.
"Excuse me miss, do you think I could speak with you for a minute?" Chris asked as he approached the woman.
"Yes of course." The woman smiled. She turned to the paramedic who had been tending her wound on her arm and thanked him before turning her focus back on Chris. "I already told the other detective what I know. I don't know what else I can really help you with."
"How did you know the victim?" Chris asked trying to find the best way to go about this.
"We worked together." The woman said.
"And where do you work?"
"A flower shop, just around the corner. I just started a few weeks ago though. I am new to San Francisco. Sarah, that was my friends name Sarah, she was just showing me around."
"So you don't know if she was into any weird stuff?" Chris asked and the second he did, he wished he hadn't. He could tell this woman had no idea what he was talking about.
"I am sorry, I don't think I understand. But I really should go. They want me to go down to the station to identify the killer again."
"Of course" Chris said nodding to the woman as she walked away. "Wait" Chris called out after her. "What is your name? You know for my records."
"Bianca."
Wyatt had returned back to his and Gwen's apartment and told her everything her father had said. Gwen was furious. How dare her father deny her this? What right did he have to say the Halliwell family was not good enough for her? As soon as Wyatt told her the whole story she had him orb the two of them back to her childhood home.
"Daddy how dare you?" Gwen practically yelled as she stormed into her father's office. Wyatt had decided to wait outside.
"Sweetheart understand I am only looking out for your best interest." Ethan protested.
"Daddy, I am going to marry him whether you like it or not. He is the strongest, bravest, kindest man I know and he would give his life before he would let anything happen to me. After all these years, what will marrying him change? I have fought along side him and his family before and I am fine. Why does marrying him change that?"
"I have never liked that you demon hunt with them. And what about your children? Do you really want to put that burden on them?"
"If that is how you feel then you are an ignorant fool. I will marry him and if you can't except that then I will go but don't expect me to come back." Gwen said with a great sense of sadness in her voice as she began to walk toward the door.
"Wait." Ethan said stopping his daughter before she made it to the door. "Does he make you happy?"
"Very much."
Ethan sighed. He could see his daughter's feelings for this boy written all over her face. How could he deny her this happiness? "If he lets anything happen to you I swear I will kill him."
Gwen smiled and rushed to hug her father. "Oh thank you Daddy!"
Wyatt had been pacing outside the Mansion in the similar fashion to what most of the Halliwells did when they were nervous. His heart jumped a bit when he saw Gwen walking towards him.
"How did it go?" Wyatt asked eagerly.
"Looks like you're your stuck with me." Gwen smiled and Wyatt picked her up and spun her around before kissing her passionately on the lips.
"So we are really doing this? We are getting married?" Wyatt said, it was all starting to hit him.
"Looks that way." Gwen smiled back. She could not be happier.
Michael left to return to the police station and Chris and Prue orbed back to the Manor.
"It just doesn't make any sense." Chris complained to his cousin. "All of those victims were witches. Why would a mortal be targeting witches?"
"I don't know." Prue said shaking her head, she was just as confused as Chris.
"I think I am going to go check the book again." Chris said as he ascended the stairs to the attic, Prue not far behind him.
The two stopped however, half way up the steps when they heard the sounds of Melinda and Caleb in the middle of a heated argument.
"I am not taking you back down there." Caleb practically yelled. The two had been fighting ever since they had gotten back from the Underworld. Melinda wanted to go back to see the seer but Caleb refused to take her.
"If you wont take me I will find someone who will." Melinda yelled back. She knew that Caleb was only trying to protector her but she had so many more questions still unanswered.
"No one else is going to be able to find the seer." Caleb reminded her. The underworld was a tricky place, you couldn't just orb in willy-nilly.
Melinda knew he was right and decided to change her tactics from yelling to pleading. She walked over to him and lay her head on his chest and rapped her arms around him. "Please." She said in the cutest voice she could muster up.
"No." Caleb said forcefully, putting his hands on her shoulder and puller her away from him. He was not fooled by what she was doing.
"Fine." Melinda sighed.
Caleb felt kind of bad. He knew how much she wanted answers but he couldn't let her risk her life for them. He pulled her back into a hug and kissed her lightly on top of her head. "I promise we will figure this out, but going to see the seer is not the answer."
"I guess your right." Melinda said smiling up at him and stood up on her tippy toes to give him a kiss.
Caleb smiled. Melinda was a good deal shorter then him and it took a great deal of effort for her to reach his lips if he wasn't bending over. "Now then I don't know about you but I am starving. What do you say we go back to my place and find some food?"
"Why can't we just eat something here?" Melinda asked.
"Because someone might come home and then I can't do this." Caleb said kissing her passionately on the lips ands shimmering the two of them out of the Manor.
"What just happened?" Chris asked ask as he and Prue entered the attack once Melinda and Caleb were gone.
"See I told you there was something going on." Prue beamed.
Chris was at a loss for words. He had forgotten all about the murder investigation at this point. He couldn't believe Prue had been right.
Prue saw her cousins shocked expression and laughed. She figured they would have to pick up on the demon hunt tomorrow.
After eating Dinners over at Caleb's apartment, Melinda went back to her own apartment for the night. As she put on her pajamas and got under the covers she prayed that she would not have another one of her dreams. Her wish was granted, that night she did not dream about Melinda Warren. Instead she found her self on what looked to be the surface of a cloud. She had never been up to the elders before, but she thought that this might be what the heavens looked like. Everything was white and misty and it was hard to see more then three feet in front of you.
"Hello?" Melinda cried out to no one in particular. "Is anyone here?"
"I have been expecting you." A male voice said behind her. She whipped around to see the warlock who had kidnapped Parker standing in front of her.
"Where are we?" Melinda asked feeling a sense of familiarity with the warlock.
"This is the Psychic Plane." The warlock said motioning to the space around them. "This is the realm of consciousness, where one finds a sense of self."
"What are we doing here? What do you want from me?" Melinda asked still confused by the current situation.
"Your understanding" The warlock replied.
"I understand you perfectly, you are a Warlock. You don't follow the creed you just take whatever you want." Melinda spat.
"If I were to simply take whatever I wanted you would already be in my bedchamber." The warlock said, walking closer to Melinda.
Melinda shifted slightly away from the warlock but did not lose her composure.
"Who are you?" Melinda asked, though she already knew the answer. She had recognized his face but she was praying she was wrong.
"I think you already know the answer." The warlock said moving so close to Melinda that their faces were almost touching.
"Jonathan." Melinda breathed his name.
"Don't worry my pet, I am not going to hurt you. All I want is for you to find me the stone."
"Why would I help you?" Melinda asked, trying not to suppress the fear in her voice.
"Because if you don't, I'll kill you and your family." Jonathan said with a wicked smile. "You have until the winter solstice to bring it to me, and lets keep this between us shall we. We wouldn't want your pesky family to interfere. Understand?"
Melinda could do nothing but nod.
Suddenly she felt the dream world slipping away and she was back in her room. Melinda was not sure what she was going to do next, but she knew that she had to find that stone, and fast.