"You okay?"

Drew nodded, taking the glass of water from Pru's hand. She sat on the dust- crusted couch opposite Drew's office chair. The flapping of pages filled the silence of the musty attic, with Xan heading the search in the Book of Shadows. Julia stood beside him, anxiously examining the tome's text.

"This book *so* needs pictures," remarked Julia, her brow furrowing in frustration. They had been there in the attic for a time now, after a frenetic Julia and an unconscious Drew had been rescued by Pru and Xan. Fortunately for Drew, the demon mojo seemed to have no other effects aside from his lingering headache.

"There are pictures. Just not a lot of 'em," Xan responded, followed by more pages turning. Six minutes on the book and they had still not been able to discover the identity of their attacker. Xan had hoped that his earlier study of the text would help them out, but it seemed that his efforts were in vain.

Pru's face broke out in a frown of puzzlement, as she began with a question. "I don't get how Drew saw the demon but Julia couldn't."

Julia sighed, crimping the pages of the book from annoyance. "I told you, it was all a blur."

A beat rolled by when Pru said flatly, "He was that fast?"

"Noo... I mean, I would look at what Drew said was supposedly chasing us, and everything was all fuzzy. That's why I couldn't see the black tuxedoed-demon."
"No demons in black tuxedos in the book," Xan muttered, as he left the book to his younger sister and settled down on a tattered couch with stuffing spilling out of broken seams.

"It was a *suit*," Drew emphasized, "not a tuxedo. They weren't spies, you know." He quickly stood up, heading towards the book. A biting pain ran down the back of his head; Drew gritted his teeth, stifling an oncoming whine of suffering. "Ah!"

"Whoa, down boy." Pru guided her brother back to his seat, which Drew took gratefully. "This is the first attack we've had from real, live demons. We don't exactly know what we're dealing with, but it looks like you have to just sit down. Let *us* handle this," Pru said sternly.

Drew huffed, sending daggers at his older sister. In return, Pru gave him a knowing smile, sending Drew to pout on the tattered couch.

"Know what?" Xan spoke. "I will never get over you being so... motherly and protective. To us. When we're *eighteen*."

"Better believe it," Pru said, making her way to the book. "Found anything?" she asked Julia.

"Yeah, what about this?"

"Power brokers?"

"'Demons who capitalize more on business than on death and destruction, they engage in trade and demonic auctions for "power balls", gathered from fallen witches' and warlocks' powers. To keep the powers from thieves, they find human beings and store their powers in them. Human beings possessed of a demonic power will become confused then frightened, paranoid, violent and demonic, will ultimately die if the power isn't withdrawn.'"

"The hell?!" Drew stood up, yelling and temporarily overcoming his migraine.

"Okay, let's just stay calm-" said Pru.

"You stay calm! You're not the one with the 'demonic power!'"

Pru stood straight, tall and imposing, her steely eyes studying her brother's hot behavior.

"Are you confused?" she asked.

"No," Drew answered quietly, cocking an eyebrow. His puzzlement then gave way to understanding, his temper beginning to cool off.

"Frightened?" Pru continued.

Drew shook his head. He drew in a deep breath and let out a long sigh, a sign that he had accepted his sister's control.

"Paranoid? Violent? *Demonic*?"

Drew shook his head. "No."

"Then all is not lost," she spoke simply. She turned to Julia, who was back to rifling the book. "Hey, anything about a cure for the demonic power?"

"Nada." Julia kept her right pinky on the page where they found the power brokers, her left hand turned the yellowed pages underneath. "Only one page for power brokers."

She looked up from the book and at her siblings. "What do we do?"

"I know what," suggested Drew, getting up from his seat and shuffled to the attic door, "I am going to my room and sleep the rest of the day off. You do... whatever."

Xan and his sisters watched Drew exit the attic, their situation not having improved during the last hour. "At least we found who - what - did this. Now we just have to figure out how to beat it."

"I hate to admit it," began Julia, "but I'm really scared. For Drew. And us. What if we can't help him?"

Pru crossed her arms, looking at her siblings with disbelief. "I don't know about you guys, but I am not about to lose my younger brother to something I stopped believing in when I was seven." She strode to the Book of Shadows, scanning the spread of pages before her. "There has to be something here that can help."

"There's one option we haven't considered," offered Xan.

Julia and Pru met their brother's gaze. "What's that?" the younger sister asked.

"Ask Aunt Paige."