SIX
"I'm still in the future," said Michael, looking around.
"Yes," said Morgan. "I came to the future to get you released from the locket."
"Why would you do that?" asked Michael suspiciously.
"Because," said Morgan, pulling a vial out of his pocket, "you're still too much of a threat. I can't let that threat continue, even if you are my own brother."
Morgan threw the vial on the floor at Michael's feet. As the vial shattered, flames engulfed Michael. Within seconds the flames subsided and Michael was gone.
"It's finished," said Morgan, sitting down. "He's finally vanquished."
"What just happened here?" asked Phoebe.
"I'd like to know that myself," said Piper
"He called you Morgan," said Leo.
"Yes," said Morgan. "My name is Morgan Tate. I was Michael's older brother."
"You vanquished your own brother?" asked Paige.
"That's why I came here," said Morgan. "When Melinda returned from the future, she told me what had happened. We both knew it wasn't finished. As long as Michael was still alive, he was a threat to all witches. Especially since he now had your powers. What I told you about that is true, I'm afraid."
"You're not a warlock?" asked Phoebe.
"No," said Morgan. "I'm a witch, like you are. Like Michael was at one time."
"Wait a minute," said Piper. "None of this is making any sense. Michael was a witch?"
"Let me start from the beginning," said Morgan. "As you know, most witches are female. But being a witch is not gender specific. That's because the lineage is passed down through the women of the family. But there are instances where it's passed down through the male members of the family. My family is one of those. Michael and I were born witches.
"As the eldest, I was more powerful than Michael was. He was always envious of me for that. As often happens, his envy turned to jealousy, which eventually turned to hatred. Over time, it became a deep, intense hatred because he was never quite as powerful as I was."
"And he turned evil," said Leo, "becoming a warlock."
"Yes," said Morgan. "You, of course, are aware of what happened with Melinda. When she told me how you had brought her to the future, we both knew there was always the chance the locket could be opened again. We had to prevent that."
"Wait," said Paige, "if you aren't a warlock, how can you blink? I thought only warlocks could blink."
"Actually," said Leo, "I think Morgan was teleporting. It's a much more powerful form of blinking. Or I guess I should say that blinking is a less powerful form of teleporting. But a good witch can teleport."
"Leo's correct," said Morgan. "Teleporting is one of my abilities. And this," he raised his hand to show them a ring he was wearing, "protected me from your powers. Melinda and I felt that it was necessary to keep you from stopping me before I could vanquish Michael. When I return to the past, it will loose its enchantment."
"So, why did you need our blood?" asked Phoebe.
"For the vanquishing potion," said Morgan. "He got his powers from you, so I need your blood for that. And mine was needed because I was a blood relative."
"Did it ever occur to you to just ask us?" asked Piper.
"Excuse me," said Morgan. "I'm the brother of a warlock, one of your most powerful enemies. I need a sample of your blood and while we're at it I need you to release him from the locket so I can vanquish him. Would you have really believed me?"
"No, I guess no," said Piper.
"And if I had asked you and you didn't believe me," said Morgan, "I would have lost my only chance to stop him."
"I guess I can see your point," said Phoebe. "I guess you were stuck between a rock and a hard place."
"Yes," said Morgan. "I'm sorry for all the subterfuge and intrigue. But I honestly thought it was the best way to get Michael out of the locket so I could vanquish him."
"You seem very comfortable in our time," said Phoebe. "More than Melinda did."
"I've been here nearly four years," said Morgan. "When Melinda told me of all the strange things here, I decided I needed to learn about your time. So it would seem I belonged here. It gave me a better chance of tricking you into giving me your blood for the potion."
"What now?" asked Piper.
"Michael's gone for good," said Morgan. "I've done what I came to do. It's time for me to return to my own time."
"Wait a minute," said Paige. "What about your hostage?"
"She's quite safe, I assure you," said Morgan. "Just some young lady who allowed me to take her picture. I needed some leverage to get you to open the locket. I figured the best way to do that was to make you think an innocent was in danger."
"Well, that did the trick all right," said Piper. "I'm just glad you're on our side. You seem to know us pretty well. That kind of knowledge could be dangerous in the wrong hands."
"Actually it's Melinda who knows you so well," said Morgan. "You are her descendents, after all."
"You need our help or anything to get back?" asked Phoebe.
"No," said Morgan. "I have an incantation that will reverse the magic that brought me here. I'm glad to see Melinda's line continues. You have no idea how proud she is of all of you."
"Phoebe and I do," said Piper. "Tell her we miss her very much."
"I shall do that," said Morgan. "And she misses you, too. I shall also tell her all about Paige. She is, after all, your ancestor, too."
"Thanks," said Paige.
Morgan stood up and walked into the entryway. He turned and faced the four.
"Blessed be," he said.
"Blessed be," repeated the sisters.
Morgan closed his eyes and recited the incantation.
"Into the future, to right a wrong, to vanquish a brother, to evil had turned.
"Return to the past, the deed set right, the threat is extinguished, no more to fight."
Morgan opened his eyes and smiled. The magic enveloped him and within seconds he vanished, returning to his own time.
"That was one for the books," said Piper. "Who would have guessed Michael Tate would have a brother named Morgan who was a witch."
"Morgan Tate?" questioned Paige. "Now I remember where I've heard that name before."
She jumped up and ran upstairs. Several minutes later she came back downstairs with a stack of paper.
"I've been researching our family history," said Paige. "You know, to learn where I came from."
"You were an orphan," said Phoebe. "Sounds pretty reasonable to me."
"According to what I've found," said Paige, "there was a man named Morgan Tate who lived at the same time Melinda Warren lived."
"We know that," said Piper. "He told us that."
"Yes," said Paige, "but what he didn't say was that there were rumors that he and Melinda were a lot more than just friends. In fact, there was a lot of speculation that he was the father of Melinda Warren's daughter."
"It's more than speculation," said Leo. "It's true."
"The sisters stared at Leo in surprise.
"I'm still in the future," said Michael, looking around.
"Yes," said Morgan. "I came to the future to get you released from the locket."
"Why would you do that?" asked Michael suspiciously.
"Because," said Morgan, pulling a vial out of his pocket, "you're still too much of a threat. I can't let that threat continue, even if you are my own brother."
Morgan threw the vial on the floor at Michael's feet. As the vial shattered, flames engulfed Michael. Within seconds the flames subsided and Michael was gone.
"It's finished," said Morgan, sitting down. "He's finally vanquished."
"What just happened here?" asked Phoebe.
"I'd like to know that myself," said Piper
"He called you Morgan," said Leo.
"Yes," said Morgan. "My name is Morgan Tate. I was Michael's older brother."
"You vanquished your own brother?" asked Paige.
"That's why I came here," said Morgan. "When Melinda returned from the future, she told me what had happened. We both knew it wasn't finished. As long as Michael was still alive, he was a threat to all witches. Especially since he now had your powers. What I told you about that is true, I'm afraid."
"You're not a warlock?" asked Phoebe.
"No," said Morgan. "I'm a witch, like you are. Like Michael was at one time."
"Wait a minute," said Piper. "None of this is making any sense. Michael was a witch?"
"Let me start from the beginning," said Morgan. "As you know, most witches are female. But being a witch is not gender specific. That's because the lineage is passed down through the women of the family. But there are instances where it's passed down through the male members of the family. My family is one of those. Michael and I were born witches.
"As the eldest, I was more powerful than Michael was. He was always envious of me for that. As often happens, his envy turned to jealousy, which eventually turned to hatred. Over time, it became a deep, intense hatred because he was never quite as powerful as I was."
"And he turned evil," said Leo, "becoming a warlock."
"Yes," said Morgan. "You, of course, are aware of what happened with Melinda. When she told me how you had brought her to the future, we both knew there was always the chance the locket could be opened again. We had to prevent that."
"Wait," said Paige, "if you aren't a warlock, how can you blink? I thought only warlocks could blink."
"Actually," said Leo, "I think Morgan was teleporting. It's a much more powerful form of blinking. Or I guess I should say that blinking is a less powerful form of teleporting. But a good witch can teleport."
"Leo's correct," said Morgan. "Teleporting is one of my abilities. And this," he raised his hand to show them a ring he was wearing, "protected me from your powers. Melinda and I felt that it was necessary to keep you from stopping me before I could vanquish Michael. When I return to the past, it will loose its enchantment."
"So, why did you need our blood?" asked Phoebe.
"For the vanquishing potion," said Morgan. "He got his powers from you, so I need your blood for that. And mine was needed because I was a blood relative."
"Did it ever occur to you to just ask us?" asked Piper.
"Excuse me," said Morgan. "I'm the brother of a warlock, one of your most powerful enemies. I need a sample of your blood and while we're at it I need you to release him from the locket so I can vanquish him. Would you have really believed me?"
"No, I guess no," said Piper.
"And if I had asked you and you didn't believe me," said Morgan, "I would have lost my only chance to stop him."
"I guess I can see your point," said Phoebe. "I guess you were stuck between a rock and a hard place."
"Yes," said Morgan. "I'm sorry for all the subterfuge and intrigue. But I honestly thought it was the best way to get Michael out of the locket so I could vanquish him."
"You seem very comfortable in our time," said Phoebe. "More than Melinda did."
"I've been here nearly four years," said Morgan. "When Melinda told me of all the strange things here, I decided I needed to learn about your time. So it would seem I belonged here. It gave me a better chance of tricking you into giving me your blood for the potion."
"What now?" asked Piper.
"Michael's gone for good," said Morgan. "I've done what I came to do. It's time for me to return to my own time."
"Wait a minute," said Paige. "What about your hostage?"
"She's quite safe, I assure you," said Morgan. "Just some young lady who allowed me to take her picture. I needed some leverage to get you to open the locket. I figured the best way to do that was to make you think an innocent was in danger."
"Well, that did the trick all right," said Piper. "I'm just glad you're on our side. You seem to know us pretty well. That kind of knowledge could be dangerous in the wrong hands."
"Actually it's Melinda who knows you so well," said Morgan. "You are her descendents, after all."
"You need our help or anything to get back?" asked Phoebe.
"No," said Morgan. "I have an incantation that will reverse the magic that brought me here. I'm glad to see Melinda's line continues. You have no idea how proud she is of all of you."
"Phoebe and I do," said Piper. "Tell her we miss her very much."
"I shall do that," said Morgan. "And she misses you, too. I shall also tell her all about Paige. She is, after all, your ancestor, too."
"Thanks," said Paige.
Morgan stood up and walked into the entryway. He turned and faced the four.
"Blessed be," he said.
"Blessed be," repeated the sisters.
Morgan closed his eyes and recited the incantation.
"Into the future, to right a wrong, to vanquish a brother, to evil had turned.
"Return to the past, the deed set right, the threat is extinguished, no more to fight."
Morgan opened his eyes and smiled. The magic enveloped him and within seconds he vanished, returning to his own time.
"That was one for the books," said Piper. "Who would have guessed Michael Tate would have a brother named Morgan who was a witch."
"Morgan Tate?" questioned Paige. "Now I remember where I've heard that name before."
She jumped up and ran upstairs. Several minutes later she came back downstairs with a stack of paper.
"I've been researching our family history," said Paige. "You know, to learn where I came from."
"You were an orphan," said Phoebe. "Sounds pretty reasonable to me."
"According to what I've found," said Paige, "there was a man named Morgan Tate who lived at the same time Melinda Warren lived."
"We know that," said Piper. "He told us that."
"Yes," said Paige, "but what he didn't say was that there were rumors that he and Melinda were a lot more than just friends. In fact, there was a lot of speculation that he was the father of Melinda Warren's daughter."
"It's more than speculation," said Leo. "It's true."
"The sisters stared at Leo in surprise.