Coven

They arrived at the house just in time to hear gunshots.
The Halliwell sisters exchanged horrified looks, and ran up the

sidewalk, Bane and Cara barely half a step behind them.

"Leo? Leo!" Piper sounded terrified.
"Leo, if you're outnumbered, grab Cortez and get the hell out of

there!" Bane yelled.
Leo and Cortez appeared on the lawn an instant later. Leo had a

bloody nose. Both men's clothes were splattered with blood and

ichor.
"The warlock's there," Leo rasped. His throat was bruised. "He was

waiting for us."
"Does he know we're coming?" asked Piper.
"I'm not sure-- but--he said there'd be more ghouls....he's insane. Kept

raving about....armies of darkness."
"He's been 'collecting' them is how he put it," Cortez added. "Said it'd

be interesting to see if even the famous Charmed Ones--what the hell

does that mean?-- could vanquish a hundred of those things."
Bane cursed softly.
"Um, guys?" Paige pointed to the front door.

A young man stood in the doorway. Tall, blond hair and blue eyes,

wearing jeans and a leather jacket....

"God, he's just a kid," Phoebe whispered.
Piper felt a chill go over her, the kind she often felt in a warlock's presence.

"He's old enough to have murdered innocent people, Phoebe." She could

understand her sister's reaction. The warlock didn't appear to be more than

eighteen. He watched them, smiling almost flirtatiously.

"I-- I know, it's--"
"No buts. What are we going to do, put him in jail? He wouldn't stay, and

how many more people would he kill on the way out?" Piper shook her head.

"Break the tie, no demons bound-- the fate he's given, now comes around," she

said clearly, Paige and Phoebe echoing her. Cortez looked at her,startled.
"No. NO!!" The warlock started  toward her as she began speaking.

Bane stepped in front of the sisters. Cara moved to stand protectively beside

Leo and Cortez.

The young man screamed as their improvised spell took effect. He collapsed

on the front porch, vomiting blood.
"What...what's happening to him?" asked Cortez.

"What he did to their victims," Leo said. "He controlled the ghouls, directed them

to hunt--they got the flesh, he drained the victims of any magical abilities or life

energy they had. Like using them for batteries to--"

An emaciated, grey-skinned arm reached through the open door, snagging the

back of the warlock's jacket. He batted at the ghouls' grasping hands as he

was hauled back inside the house. "No....no! Help me, please! Someone!"

He began screaming. It drowned out the other sounds coming from inside

the building. One of the ghouls peered out at them, then slammed the door

shut.
The screams were cut off suddenly.

"He's dead," Leo and Cara said almost simultaneously.
"How many of them..."
"Half a dozen, maybe ten? We had trouble keeping track. They weren't exactly

sitting still."
Piper shut her eyes briefly.

"All right. Let's go."
She pointed at the front door. It burst.  The witches rushed through the opening.

Piper blew up the first ghoul she saw. It exploded, and was gone.

Paige orbed behind another, shoving it viciously forward. Phoebe levitated and

kicked the demon, snapping its' neck. It dropped.  The other ghouls began to

spread out, trying to surround their attackers.
Bane raised both hands. Piper felt her hair standing on end...literally. There was

a smell like ....ozone? and then lightning surged from the electrical outlets

in the living room. Three of the ghouls began to jerk spasmodically, their flesh

smoking. 
Paige jerked away. "Ow! Bane, watch where you're aiming!"

"I...how do I turn it off?!  I didn't--I've never--"

An overhead lamp blew up. A bolt of lightning struck a coffee table next to

Piper.

The half-dozen surviving ghouls turned and bolted toward the back of the house.

"Shit!"
"They're getting away--"
"No. There's no back door," Cortez said. "What--"
"Oh God," Phoebe staggered.Her face turned white.. "Piper--I just saw--they've got someone locked up in another room. A hostage--"
"All right. Bane, get a grip. Clear your mind. Yes, I know that sounds insane,

just do it!" Piper ordered. "Leo,get us back there!" She grabbed her husband's

wrist. Cara held his shoulder as they orbed.

The ghouls had encircled their hostage--an African-American woman, who glared at them

defiantly. She held something in her arms....a blanket? Piper couldn't make it

out.
Then the "blanket" lifted its' head and began to cry loudly. The ghouls moved

closer. One was actually salivating.

Piper began to point. Cara caught her wrist. "No. There's too many for you to

get all at once. You're going to have to trust me.  I know it's too early to ask,

but I have to. I don't want to see innocents die either." She locked eyes with

Piper.

The Charmed One nodded. Cara released her. She spun to face the ghouls.

Piper could feel power--magic--radiating from the woman like heat off a

furnace.  The ghouls froze.

"Stop." Cara's voice was quiet, but audible throughout the room. "By my

power I bind you. By my name I bind you. By my blood I bind you. You

are mine. To free or to command."
The demons, one by one, dropped to their knees. They lowered their

gaze respectfully.

"Gran'mere, can you walk?" Cara asked, not looking away from the ghouls.

The woman hobbled over to them. She was old, her hair gray, face wrinkled

and soft like ancient parchment. But there was keen intelligence in her dark

eyes as she searched Cara's face. "A Caller of the Dead, is it?"
"Among other things."
"A rare gift. Rarer yet for a witch who doesn't belong to the underworld.

My name is Andrea Struewing, and this little one is my great-grandson. May

I know who it is I owe his life to?"

"I'm Cara Morgan, Andrea. But I ask no payment for this; I don't serve the

Dark any more than you yourself."
"You know that, do you?" Andrea sounded skeptical.
"That I don't serve, doesn't mean all of my family are on the same side.
This....wasn't the only time I've had to face down other users of magic

to the death," Cara said. "I...know what it feels like when someone's

magic becomes tainted by hate, or cruelty."

Andrea winced. She hesitated, then touched Cara's cheek, her temple.

She smoothed the younger woman's forehead lightly with warm, brown

fingers. The last bruises vanished from Cara's face and neck.

"Can't let a pale sister go away looking like that," Andrea said, smiling

crookedly.
"Th..thank you. Leo, can you take them home? Or maybe they should go

to the hospital."
"No, that's not necessary. They didn't hurt us. They....were waiting for

later. I would like to get out of here, and no doubt this handful's parents

want to see him safe."
Leo orbed out with Andrea and the baby. The ghouls still hadn't moved.
"How long can you keep them controlled?" asked Piper. She was a little

unnerved by Cara's display.

"Long enough to make sure they don't move while we torch the place,"
Cara said.  She gulped. "I....didn't want you to find out this way, Piper.

If it helps-- I can't hurt you, and I'm definitely not invulnerable. My power

doesn't work on living humans, witch or otherwise. But.....I understand if

you don't want me around....I mean, she was right. Most people with this

ability end up working with the demons, not against them."
"Was I wrong in trusting you with my life, then? With my family? 'Cause

it doesn't look like that to me."
"No!" Cara's response was immediate. "I wouldn't--"
"I know. Come on, we need to find something to start a fire with." Piper

led her out of the kitchen  Neither of them looked back. The ghouls remained

unmoving as Piper firmly shut the door and locked it behind her.

Cortez had the eminently practical suggestion of siphoning about half a

gallon of gasoline out of the SUV, and using that as their firestarting

material. The idea drew odd stares  from the witches, but they wisely

didn't comment on how quickly he came up with the idea.

Bane, having gotten his new power at least temporarily under

control, poured the can of gas liberally over the furniture.  "Light the rug,"

he told Paige. "It'll catch, but slowly enough to let us get out of here."
She complied. They all hurried out of the house, and drove away.