Sorry this part of the chapter is short, guys. The next installment will definitely be longer!
"You're right!"
Piper jumped at the sudden voice and whirled around to find her husband and her eldest son standing right behind her. Leo looked slightly breathless and Wyatt looked… even more pissed off now than before he left. It was a wonder, really, that she didn't notice the light of their orbs. The potion she was working on required all of her concentration and she did not appreciate being interrupted in the middle. Even though it was nice to hear that she was right about something… whatever it was. "Hello to you too," she replied, turning back to her potion. "What am I right about… besides everything?"
"Daphne's demon power enables her to read other people's minds—"
"Correction!" Wyatt interrupted him. "It enables her to read other people's emotions!"
Leo just rolled his eyes and walked around Piper so he was facing her. "The Elders apparently did know about it—"
"And they still found it safe to send her to us?" Piper replied, placing a hand on her hip. "Are they out of their minds… again?"
"They sent her to us because they saw no threat in her," Wyatt told her, walking to his father's side. "And if they don't see a threat, then there probably isn't one!"
"That's bull!" Phoebe snapped, walking into the room. "I can think of at least ten times when their 'judgment' was completely wrong. Those guys know nothing up there."
"Uh… Phoebe," Leo said softly. "They can hear you."
"Like we care!" Phoebe and Piper replied at the same time. "Leo, maybe you're forgetting that their judgment resulted in our son getting trapped in the Underworld with the one person who is most likely to turn him against us?"
"Mom, she's not going to do anything of the sort," Wyatt sighed. "Look, I agree with the Elders this once. I don't think Daphne is evil and I don't think she's going to turn Chris against us."
"She's already turned you," Piper muttered softly, throwing a pinch of paprika into her potion. A small explosion occurred inside the pot, emitting white smoke that Piper waved aside with her hand.
"What are you making?" Leo asked her.
"A power-stripping potion," Piper replied. "If the Elders are going to remain mule-headed about Daphne being all good and stuff, then we need to take our own measurements!"
"Piper, it's most likely that we're just jumping to conclusions here. Due to the potions that the Seer had been giving her, Daphne's magical growth has been stunted for quite some while," Leo told her. "It's entirely possible that she didn't even grow into her demon-powers yet."
"Uh-huh," Piper replied distractedly.
Leo sighed with frustration and turned away from her.
"Leo, if the Seer was giving her potions to stunt her 'magical growth' or whatever, that's great," Phoebe replied on Piper's behalf. "But where's the Seer now?"
Leo turned towards her slightly, quirking an eyebrow in question.
"Daphne's not taking any potions as far as we know and if the Seer and the Elders thought that her coming into her demon-powers would be a threat, then we need to be ready. And remember that they do think she's going to be a threat, that's why they sent her to us."
"They didn't think she was going to be a threat," Wyatt replied heatedly. "They thought she was being threatened! By her father! Who's out to kill her or turn her, remember?"
"Okay, then we'll use this potion on him," Piper shrugged. "Either way, we have at least one demon to get and I'm not taking chances with either."
(0)
Chris stirred slightly, grunting when he felt a hard rock press into his side uncomfortably. He rolled onto his back, edging away from the rock and sighed into sleep again, lightly scratching the side of his neck. There was a small smile on his face as he slipped into the dream that had been momentarily interrupted—he was apparently down in the Underworld with a really hot chick… a dark-lighter maybe? Yes, a dark-lighter; he distinctly remembered her pulling out a crossbow. But that was before he had kissed her and now…
His eyes suddenly snapped open. And now, he was curled up against her on the ground with his shirt covering both of them very meekly. And…
"Daph?" He croaked. She didn't stir. He cleared his throat and nudged his elbow into her side. "Daph!"
She slowly blinked her eyes open, unconsciously curling into a tighter ball, then smiled at him. "Good morning!"
"No," Chris shook his head, not looking at her. "Bad morning. Very bad morning!"
They were surrounded by a group of twenty or so demons; all of them had fireballs in their hands and were grinning down at them in the most sinister manner.
Daphne turned her head slightly to look at them, then closed her eyes with a tired sigh. "Shit."
