[A/N: Hi again!! Hopefully I'll get some more reviews... We're getting to the action part. The rest of the story should take maybe three or four more parts. Thanks for reading! REVIEW!]
Part 7
Before she had a chance to begin, a blue shimmer appeared in the middle of the room and materialized into Thomas. His familiar face and the feel of his presence washed over her in a healing wave. She jumped up to hug him just as the Charmed Ones jumped back in surprise.
"Who the--!?" Piper snapped, shooting an irritated glare at Leo. He smiled apologetically and shrugged.
"Piper, Paige, Phoebe. This is my whitelighter, Thomas. Thomas, the Charmed Ones," Emma introduced quickly. She saw from the look in Thomas' eyes that something had happened.
"What is it?" she asked, feeling that knot tighten in her stomach. Thomas didn't answer, only squeezed her hand before dropping it to reach into his pockets. He drew out a locket and a badge. Laurie's locket and Rich's badge. Emma began to tremble.
"They're okay. Here." Thomas handed her a letter written in a lazily scrawled hand. Hands shaking, Emma gripped the letter furiously as she read.
Dearest Emma,
Your friends are doing just fine. I know you must be worried - your friend's whitelighter found a nasty surprise I expect. Don't send your precious Thomas -- How did he know Thomas' name?! -- or he'll get quite a shock as well. I trust you won't be late for our appointment. I do so dislike tardiness. I wouldn't want to be displeased with you Emma. You've been doing marvelously up until now.
Regards,
Jericho
Rage boiled within her - she could hardly keep from screaming. Keeping her fists clenched tightly and tucked into her body, she sat down on the couch without a word and focused on calming down. Hard to do when all you could think about was punching a wall through and throwing smash-able things about.
"The letter's designed to make you angry, Em. He knows how you'll react instantly in anger. He's trying to draw you out in a rash move." Thomas spoke quickly, defusing her anger in the best way he knew how - by pulling on her sense of responsibility. "Calm down. Meditate. He wants you and he wants you badly. Alone." Already, Emma could feel the anger dissipating. So he thought he could manipulate her this easily, did he? Jericho was about to experience the worst sort of surprise.
"We've figured that much out. But why?" Piper interjected impatiently. She ignored Phoebe's tsking noise and folded her arms. "Why is this demon so intent on getting your powers? And why do you have two?"
Taking a deep breath, Emma tried to remove herself from her pain as she told the story. "My parents were both magical. My mother had a psycho-kinetic ability. Highly trained, very skilled. Most women in our family are born with that same ability. Generation from generation, we're all trained to be very good at manipulating memory and illusion. Reading minds. All that type of thing. My father had power over fire. He was a fire mage, actually." This usually produced big reactions from those who knew. Mages were a rare type, and enormously powerful since they dealt with harnessing the powers of the elements. Emma went quickly on, not giving them a chance to react with anything other than sharply indrawn breaths. "My parents were..." her cheeks colored "... killed by a mortal," she finally managed to choke out. "They walked into the wrong convenience store at the wrong time. My mother died... instantaneously. Her whitelighter couldn't orb in to a public place. I'm not even sure if he could've healed her anyway... since the wound wasn't from fighting demons. My father..." Emma felt tears sliding down her cheeks. It was the first time she'd relived the entire thing since it'd happened two years ago. "He made it to the hospital b-but.. mages don't have whitelighters. He survived long enough to see me. He passed his powers to me, I... I don't know how. It wasn't wiccan. It was... some ancient magic."
Her pulse raced. Emma could feel the seconds ticking by in silence. Somewhere deep in her mind, she felt a vague burden lift from within her chest. She could breathe a little bit easier.
"No wonder Jericho wants you. You've got a strong wiccan power along with a firemage's ability inside of you. With your power, he'd probably be stronger than most in the Heirarchy. He could become the next Source," Paige breathed. "We've got to vanquish this guy." She seemed almost eager to get to it.
"Who wants to check the book for him? I'll keep going with the potion. Leo, Thomas... do you guys think there's any way to get around the whitelighter repellant?" She hurried back into the kitchen, the whitelighters trailing behind her, deep in discussion. Thomas glanced back worriedly, but Emma waved a hand at him, smiling weakly. Go.
Piper and Phoebe glanced at each other, an unspoken message seemed to pass between them. "I'll take the Book," Piper volunteered. She turned and disappeared up the stairs. Emma was vaguely aware that Phoebe was still in the room, but she could spare no thought for her. She clutched the locket in one hand, the badge in the other. Laurie, Rich. I'm sorry. I'm such an idiot. I'll get you two out of this and never be such a thick hotheaded moron again.
"Can I have those for a second?" Phoebe asked, seating herself across from Emma on the coffee table. "I get premonitions," she explained.
"Sure," Emma said, clearing her throat. She handed the two trinkets over to Phoebe who seemed to concentrate over them intently. She took the time to put her face back in order, wipe tears, and pull her hair back into a ponytail.
Suddenly, Phoebe jerked in her seat and took deep gasping breaths. She nearly dropped the locket, but Emma steadied her with a hand.
"Are you okay? What is it? Did you get a premonition?" She waited breathlessly. Phoebe looked up, her eyes wide with worry.
"I saw you. Dying."
