Coven

"Paige, wake up! Wake  up, damn it!"

Paige opened her eyes, blinking drowsily. "Piper?"  She sat up. "What?"

"Leo needs help, now. One of his charges is here...and she's bleeding to

death."
Paige didn't argue or ask further questions. She scrambled to her feet,

and the two witches dashed  back to the bedroom Piper and Leo

shared. Leo was leaning over Cara. The young woman was still unconscious.

Paige turned slightly green at the sight of her face and throat; tried to

not look too carefully at the places where flesh had been ripped away to

show the muscle or bone underneath. She climbed onto the bed, laying her

hands atop  Leo's.

It was like trying to push a stone wall. Healing was normally not difficult,

though sometimes taxing; but--it was as if something was fighting their

 power. Paige clenched her teeth and "pushed" back, redoubling

her efforts. 
Finally, they managed to heal the most deadly wounds, those that would

kill without intervention.
Accomplishing that left Paige weak and dizzy. She stared at Leo, who

looked little better. "What's wrong? Why can't we heal her completely?"

Cara's face was still a ruin, and there were jagged tears along her

arm and over her stomach. Her clothing remained  gory, shredded.


"She's one of the Ri'alan."

"The what?"

"Halfblooded, witch mother or grandmother and nonhuman father. No,

not demons. Sidhe. Magical races,  not necessarily evil. Cara's

paternal great-grandfather was a man of the Wild Hunt. So it's like what

happened with Mylie, or Pacific Phoebe."
"What?"

"You know, when she--"
"Oh, right. Gotcha....you came up with a nickname for someone

who's turned herself into a mermaid? Leo, hon, you need to get out

more."  Paige grinned at him, shaking her head.

Piper got the first aid kit from the bathroom. She began cleaning and

bandaging Cara's injuries. The "patient" was still unconscious. 
"Leo,what happened to her?"

"Demons. She killed one of them...barely. Ghouls," he specified. "Three

of them. I don't understand why she got overwhelmed like that. Cara's

strong, and while ghouls are vicious, she should have been able to handle

it."
Cara stirred slightly, coughing. Blood trickled from her lips.  "L...Leo?"
"I'm here, Cara."
"It...hurts... Why--"
"I can't, not entirely. I'm sorry. I tried, so did Paige...Do you want to go to

a hospital? We'll think of something to tell them."
"No. In my tote-- the jewelry box-- there's a crystal in it that's bespelled

for healing. Devlin said...it'd work on me. White quartz, carved in a pyramid shape."
Piper gingerly unzipped the muddy, bloodstained tote.  She rummaged through it.

"Here we go."
Cara sat up. The bruises and cuts on her face looked like a bizarre mask of various

ugly colors. She reached out a hand, palm up. Piper set the pyramid against her

skin. 
The cuts vanished as they watched. The bruises faded, but didn't heal altogether.

Some color returned to Cara's face. Her voice when she spoke was no longer

hoarse or weak.
"I tried to burn the other ghouls...Someone had a protection spell on them. It

took most of my strength just to nail that one. "

"You should have called me sooner."
"This wasn't anything I expected. I was on my way to a motel and I...I sensed

them. They'd  killed at least two people. I didn't see waiting around for

reinforcements as much of a choice." Cara shrugged. She scrutinized  Piper.
"Mrs. Halliwell?" she asked. "And --you'd be  Paige Matthews?"

"Guilty as charged."


"Cara Morgan. And thank you, both, though I--can't exactly say I'm pleased to

meet you. I do  try  not  to get myself turned into hamburger and tap

people to come rescue my butt at insomnia a.m. often, if that helps."

"Glad to hear it. I understand. Are you--" Piper's question was interrupted by

Cara's yawning.

"Sorry!  Healing spells do that to me. Part of why I'd still rather have a 'Lighter

do it. That, and the scenery," she jibed.   Piper abruptly

noticed that her husband was mostly undressed. Leo gave Cara a look that

stopped any further wise-ass comments, though her grin  lingered.

"She's  lost a lot of blood," Leo said. "She needs to rest. "
"She can take my bed," Phoebe said. She'd come in while Leo and Paige

were trying to heal the newcomer. Seeing what was happening, she'd decided not

to risk distracting either of them. "Doesn't sound like I'm going back there tonight."

Paige groaned. "Another late-night monsterfest?"

"Not tonight," Piper said. "If the ghouls have already hunted, they'll be on their

way to their lair by now. They've eaten, after all." Her expression turned

briefly murderous. "Wandering all over town looking for them isn't going to

do anyone any good. You're hurt, Phoebe and I are both tired. If we have to

fight a warlock on top of vanquishing ghouls, we need to be at full strength.

Go to bed, Paige. Phoebe, will you take book duty, see if we need to

write a power of three spell for these nasties?"
"Sure." Phoebe sounded faintly surprised.
"And in the morning we can check with Darryl-- or maybe Cortez. See if there

have been any weird occurrences lately. Ghouls avoid sunlight-- if they can,

they'll stay underground. Tunnels, caves-- maybe the sewers or subway system."

"Doesn't sound we need the BOS all that much."

"That's where I got the information, Pheebs, but I know I don't have it all memorized. It's

after the spell for the Grimlocks and before the spell to call a lost witch."

"On it." Phoebe left.
"You going to get some more sleep too?" Paige wanted to know.

"Maybe. Leo, can you help Cara get settled? Then I'd like to have a word with

you--in private."

Her husband gulped. He knew that tone of Piper's. Thankfully, it wasn't one he'd

heard often. "All right." He helped Cara to her feet. They walked out, Paige

drifting after them.

Leo returned. Piper had replaced the bedspread with one that didn't have half-dried

smears of red.  She was sitting tailor style at the head of the bed.

"What didn't you want Paige and Phoebe to know about Cara? And don't tell me

nothing. You said she's strong--but you didn't say anything else about her powers.

Or about her family. Isn't Morgan one of the families we're supposed to be

contacting? You didn't mention them yesterday."


He sighed. "Cara does have specific powers like you three, yes. I'll tell you, if she

doesn't. I...I hope she'll be able to do it herself. I didn't mention her family because

I'm not sure they would help even if they could. Her mother is the head of the

family and to put it bluntly, she can be a witch with a capital B. Some of those bruises

Cara has...weren't caused by the ghouls, Piper. That's another reason why neither I

nor that talisman could help her. I will tell you that she--Cara--is very knowledgeable

about witchcraft, she grew up among witches who belonged to a coven in Los

Angeles. She's powerful enough to be a real asset if that's what she wants. Or if

you want."

"I don't know yet," Piper said. "We'll see what happens tomorrow. Do you think

she'll be recovered enough by then to work with us?"

"Yes, she should be."

"Then the four of us will go finish the job she started. I'll decide on whether or not

to invite her into the coven when I see how she handles that. If  she makes a

habit of playing Lone Ranger-- We need her to cooperate with us, not go off

half-cocked. That will get her killed if she keeps it up. If she can't or won't learn to be

part of a team...I don't want our lives depending on her. I'll give her a fair

chance, I do promise that."

Leo slid in close to Piper. "That's all I'm asking." He kissed her lips softly. "Let's talk about

something else, shall we?"

"Talk? Is that what you feel like?"  Piper rested a hand on his chest. "I thought I might do

a little' sight-seeing' of my own..." her fingers ran down over his flat stomach, tracing hard

muscles, caressing lower-- "Up close."

"Only seeing ?" Leo feigned disappointment as she moved away a short distance.


"Did I say that?"  She pounced on him, tackling him to the mattress. Leo "surrendered".

His laughter joined hers while they sank into the pillows.