SIX
It had been two days since Leo had come home and none of his memory had returned. Alister had used his mind control power to make the hospital staff, including Dr. Reardon, accept Leo's sudden departure as normal. And with his White Lighter powers, it was a simple matter for him to make sure the records they had on Leo appeared normal.
"I only use my ability to protect a White Lighter's secret," he told the sisters. "That's why it was given to me. My job is to make sure that unauthorized people don't learn about White Lighters."
"So, you don't have charges like Leo does?" asked Phoebe.
"Not normally," said Alister. "At least, not permanent charges. There are different types of White Lighters. Most are like Leo. But some of us serve in other functions."
"So, what do you do if you don't have charges?" asked Prue. "Besides protecting White Lighters' identities?"
"Whatever the Elders need," said Alister. "Some times I fill in for a White Lighter while he or she takes a break from their duties. Even White Lighters need a vacation sometimes. I also give advice to the Elders. Sort of play devil's advocate, you might say. I help the Elders see different sides of an issue so they can make an informed decision.
"And I'm available when a White Lighter needs to just talk. I'm sort of a counselor. When a White Lighter is having trouble making a decision, I help them think it through. Kind of help them discover the consequences and repercussions of any decisions they make."
"You sound like you're pretty busy," said Piper.
"I can be," said Alister. "But I also have enough down time for myself. All work and no play, as they say. And I'm not the only one. Every Elder has an advisor like me."
"Well, Leo seems to be okay physically," said Piper. "But his memory hasn't come back."
"Just give it a few days," said Alister. "It may take some time for his memories to reassert themselves."
"I don't understand why he just didn't orb that guy out of the way of the truck instead of pushing him away," said Phoebe.
"The same reason he couldn't orb out once the innocent was safe," said Alister. "Too many witnesses around. All White Lighters are thoroughly trained to avoid exposing themselves whenever possible. Leo only did what he had to do to rescue the innocent and protect his identity. He knew the truck wouldn't permanently hurt him and that someone like me would be coming to arrange things so that nothing looked out of place. But I'm pretty sure he didn't foresee anything like this happening. None of us did, not even the Elders."
"But if he's completely healed," said Prue, "why isn't his memory back? Shouldn't the healing have restored his memory?"
"Memories are stored chemically in the brain," said Alister. "This is true for White Lighters as well as humans. While those chemicals may be restored by Leo's healing ability, it may take a while for them to become accessible to him. Or for his brain to relearn how to access them again.
"You see, the chemicals are still in his brain. It's not the memories themselves that are the problem really. It's the way his brain accesses them. Look at it this way. Right now his memories are like a jigsaw puzzle that's all jumbled up in his brain. It may take a while for his brain to sort out the pieces and put them in the proper order."
"I hope his memory comes back soon," said Piper. "He's getting rather restless staying around the manor. He keeps talking about going out."
"We can't let him do that," said Alister. "Not as long as there's a chance he might accidentally use one of his powers."
"I know," said Piper. "I just don't know how long I can keep putting him off."
"I've got him doing some work for me," said Prue. "He's rebuilding the shoe rack in my closet. That should keep him busy for a while. His handyman abilities don't seem to have been affected by his memory loss."
"Yeah, but what about when he's finished?" asked Phoebe. "He's been doing repairs all over the manor, just like when he first came to us. But we can't keep having him do that. He's liable to think that's all we keep him around for."
"Just a little longer, I'm sure," said Alister. "Once his memory starts coming back, we can start giving him a little more freedom. And start explaining about his specific nature."
"Oh, that's going to be fun," said Piper. "I can just hear it now. 'Oh, honey, can we have a chat? I need to explain to you how you died.' I'm sure that's going to be one interesting conversation."
"Well, then, let me save you the trouble," said someone with a British accent.
Everyone looked up and saw a man standing in the entryway. The man was holding a crossbow.
"Dark Lighter," said Phoebe.
Before any of them could move, the Dark Lighter raised his crossbow and fired. The bolt struck Alister in the shoulder. Alister fell to the floor, blood pouring out of the wound.
"Looks like I get two for the price of one today," said the Dark Lighter, smiling.
It had been two days since Leo had come home and none of his memory had returned. Alister had used his mind control power to make the hospital staff, including Dr. Reardon, accept Leo's sudden departure as normal. And with his White Lighter powers, it was a simple matter for him to make sure the records they had on Leo appeared normal.
"I only use my ability to protect a White Lighter's secret," he told the sisters. "That's why it was given to me. My job is to make sure that unauthorized people don't learn about White Lighters."
"So, you don't have charges like Leo does?" asked Phoebe.
"Not normally," said Alister. "At least, not permanent charges. There are different types of White Lighters. Most are like Leo. But some of us serve in other functions."
"So, what do you do if you don't have charges?" asked Prue. "Besides protecting White Lighters' identities?"
"Whatever the Elders need," said Alister. "Some times I fill in for a White Lighter while he or she takes a break from their duties. Even White Lighters need a vacation sometimes. I also give advice to the Elders. Sort of play devil's advocate, you might say. I help the Elders see different sides of an issue so they can make an informed decision.
"And I'm available when a White Lighter needs to just talk. I'm sort of a counselor. When a White Lighter is having trouble making a decision, I help them think it through. Kind of help them discover the consequences and repercussions of any decisions they make."
"You sound like you're pretty busy," said Piper.
"I can be," said Alister. "But I also have enough down time for myself. All work and no play, as they say. And I'm not the only one. Every Elder has an advisor like me."
"Well, Leo seems to be okay physically," said Piper. "But his memory hasn't come back."
"Just give it a few days," said Alister. "It may take some time for his memories to reassert themselves."
"I don't understand why he just didn't orb that guy out of the way of the truck instead of pushing him away," said Phoebe.
"The same reason he couldn't orb out once the innocent was safe," said Alister. "Too many witnesses around. All White Lighters are thoroughly trained to avoid exposing themselves whenever possible. Leo only did what he had to do to rescue the innocent and protect his identity. He knew the truck wouldn't permanently hurt him and that someone like me would be coming to arrange things so that nothing looked out of place. But I'm pretty sure he didn't foresee anything like this happening. None of us did, not even the Elders."
"But if he's completely healed," said Prue, "why isn't his memory back? Shouldn't the healing have restored his memory?"
"Memories are stored chemically in the brain," said Alister. "This is true for White Lighters as well as humans. While those chemicals may be restored by Leo's healing ability, it may take a while for them to become accessible to him. Or for his brain to relearn how to access them again.
"You see, the chemicals are still in his brain. It's not the memories themselves that are the problem really. It's the way his brain accesses them. Look at it this way. Right now his memories are like a jigsaw puzzle that's all jumbled up in his brain. It may take a while for his brain to sort out the pieces and put them in the proper order."
"I hope his memory comes back soon," said Piper. "He's getting rather restless staying around the manor. He keeps talking about going out."
"We can't let him do that," said Alister. "Not as long as there's a chance he might accidentally use one of his powers."
"I know," said Piper. "I just don't know how long I can keep putting him off."
"I've got him doing some work for me," said Prue. "He's rebuilding the shoe rack in my closet. That should keep him busy for a while. His handyman abilities don't seem to have been affected by his memory loss."
"Yeah, but what about when he's finished?" asked Phoebe. "He's been doing repairs all over the manor, just like when he first came to us. But we can't keep having him do that. He's liable to think that's all we keep him around for."
"Just a little longer, I'm sure," said Alister. "Once his memory starts coming back, we can start giving him a little more freedom. And start explaining about his specific nature."
"Oh, that's going to be fun," said Piper. "I can just hear it now. 'Oh, honey, can we have a chat? I need to explain to you how you died.' I'm sure that's going to be one interesting conversation."
"Well, then, let me save you the trouble," said someone with a British accent.
Everyone looked up and saw a man standing in the entryway. The man was holding a crossbow.
"Dark Lighter," said Phoebe.
Before any of them could move, the Dark Lighter raised his crossbow and fired. The bolt struck Alister in the shoulder. Alister fell to the floor, blood pouring out of the wound.
"Looks like I get two for the price of one today," said the Dark Lighter, smiling.