Thanx to the Reviewers:
Miriellar: Thank you, thank you. bows Hmm. . . yes, quite interesting what happens when LOTR gets crossed with Charmed.
Soccer-Bitch: Glad you're enjoying this fic, come back for more soon, I hope.
Kurleyhawk2: Charmed is my favorite TV show, and I thought it might be cool to cross it with my favorite book. It's like genetics – one very good thing crossed with another very good thing makes something completely new and, well, very good. Lol.
Minipoe: Lemme guess. This is Britt, isn't it? lol. Yup, c u l8r too.
Lady Fae: Read on, you'll find out what happens to Boromir. The whole Kendall/ Boromir thing was a result of my feeling sorry that Boromir never falls for anyone.
Nikki: I hope to keep up with my one-a-week updates. And don't worry, more mushy love scenes are coming up soon. . . evil grin I can just see the sparks flying. . . Your dark side didn't make an appearance? See, I told you. My advice always works, doesn't it? Lol.
Xoulblade: Well, I checked out your fics, the LOTR ones at least. OMG, they are sooooo incredibly awesome!!! I esp. enjoyed Gone, and the one x-over between LOTR and Elf-something. Can't remember the title. Well, I mean the one with White Star and Twilight, though I don't quite understand the whole wolfrider idea.
Songbreeze1125: Yes, a witch can more than one power. Some have quite a few, like Wyatt. And BTW, old was a figurative meaning, all right? Chill. . .
Salem: Angel's going back to the present, yes, but they'll find that it takes more than just the Power of Three to defeat the Rowes. . . Hmm. . . should I or should I not have her intervene with Borri's fate. . . shrugs
Cindy: So you were the same Cindy as before. Great, I have another reviewer to add to my list of returning reviewers! Koolio!
Ch. 8
Conflicting Emotions
Angel held her silence and followed her sister through the forest. The mallorns blended together into a blur on either side of them. She was just wondering when they would find the portal when she saw a strange sight. As they got closer, Angel realized that she was looking through a wooden frame in the midst of the vegetation at a living room. . . a living room that looked oddly familiar. . .
"You go first," said Kendall. Angel stepped up and pulled herself through. She turned around and held out a hand to Kendall, who grabbed it and followed.
Angel looked around and recognized the place as the Halliwell manor back in San Francisco. It hadn't changed much in their absence. The same furniture in the same places, a few picture frames on the mantelpiece. . .
Kendall pushed the door closed, and it disappeared. "We're back!" she called. Almost instantly, Adrian, Leo, Wyatt, and Paige orbed into the room. They were followed by Piper who came running down the stairs. Piper and Paige beamed at Angel.
"Welcome back, Angelyn!"
Angel smiled back and ran over to give her aunts a hug. "I missed you."
"We did too," said Piper. "Great, so everyone's here now."
Adrian patted his sister on the back. "Hey kid. So what was it like in the past?"
"Weird. People were so formal back then." She looked at each of the Halliwells in turn. "So, what about these Rowe warlocks?"
"Well, we know barely anything about them, except that they are powerful and the Power of Three will be needed for this job," said Wyatt. "We know that they can't be vanquished by a spell though."
Angel walked over to the map of San Francisco and crystal pendant that they had been using to scry for the warlocks. "And you don't know where they are?"
"No," said Kendall. "But we have an advantage because they haven't finished learning the craft yet, and so their powers aren't completely mature."
Angel picked up the quartz crystal and dangled it over the map. "Can we summon them?"
"Haven't tried that yet, but sounds like a good idea," said Leo.
Angel looked away from the map. "If they are learning to control their powers now, then the sooner we vanquish them, the better." Suddenly, she felt a light tug at the pendant. It was drawn to a spot labeled The Hillview Cemetery on the corner of two small streets. "Forget the summoning spell, looks like they've surfaced."
The Hillview Cemetery was one of the more depressing parts of the city. It had been around ever since the early 1800's, and since then it had grown from a small neighborhood burial site to the large graveyard it was today.
It was twilight, and the moon and stars were shining dully through a sky of grey clouds. Mist swirled thickly through the cemetery, giving it an eerie surreal feeling.
Kendall peered out from behind the giant headstone that the Charmed Ones and their Whitelighter were hiding behind. She could see the faint outlines of the Rowe brothers through the fog, who were conversing in hushed whispers. Turning back to the others, she said as quietly as she could, "I see them. What now?"
Wyatt strained his eyes trying to see through the mist. "What are they doing?"
Kendall shrugged and turned back to watch the warlocks. One of them knelt down on the ground and walked around slowly in a circle, pausing every now and then. Kendall stared with mounting confusion. What the hell was he doing? Then a tiny flame appeared close to the ground, it's sudden brilliance cutting through the haze. The light illuminated a small patch, and Kendall could make out a cylindrical shape, with the flame flickering above it. A candle? A second candle was ignited, then a third. Kendall counted as a total of five candles were lighted. The combined light from them was enough for her to see that the candles were arranged in a circle, with white gleaming sticks that looked unpleasantly like bones placed on the grass between them so that they formed a pentagon, with a candle on each of the five corners.
Kendall looked over her shoulders and said, "They're performing some sort of ritual."
Adrian nodded. "Come on. Let's pay them a little visit."
The four of them rose up from their crouching position. Even as they did so, the voices of the warlocks rang out through the still silence.
"Spirits of the past long dead
Warlocks of the Rowe coven –"
Kendall felt a shudder of horror ripple through her spine at the realization of what was happening. "They're performing a seance!" If the warlocks were really calling their ancestors back from the dead, the Charmed Ones would be in more trouble than they could have ever imagined.
The chant continued. "Return now from your resting bed –"
Adrian, Wyatt, and Angel raised their hands to let loose their power upon the warlocks.
Two sizzling white hot energy balls and one red-orange fireball flew through the air, each aiming for a different Rowe brother. Caught off guard, the three warlocks were thrown backwards and hit the ground with loud thuds. Instead of bursting into flames and disappearing into a cloud of smoke as they had expected, the warlocks got up, bruised and surprised, but not vanquished.
Kendall seized the chance. She waved her arm in a swiping motion, telekinetically scattering the candles and bones in all directions. 'There,' she thought. 'At least they can't summon the rest of the Rowes now.'
Four more energy balls were sent at the warlocks in a second attempt to vanquish them. This time, the Rowes sent their own attacks in response. Wyatt narrowly dodged the one aimed for him, and Kendall used her telekinesis to deflect the one meant for Angel. Adrian, however wasn't so lucky. The energy ball hit him straight in the chest and sent him flying back, and he landed over a headstone with a nasty crack of bone.
"Dammit!" she heard him yell.
The youngest Halliwell knelt down beside him. "Are you okay?" She could see in the dim light what looked like a white splinter was protruding from his leg. "Is that. . ."
"Yes, I broke my leg." Adrian pulled himself up, his face contorted by anguish, then saw one of the warlocks shimmer behind Angel. "Look out!" He pulled Angel out of the way, held out his hand and shot out a searing blue-white energy ball at the warlock, who deflected it easily with a quick flick of his wrist. They watched in frozen horror as the warlock formed an energy ball in his palm.
Wyatt, who saw his cousins' predicament, abandoned his battle with the oldest Rowe brother and quickly orbed beside them, forming the forcefield around all three. The energy ball was averted and the warlock snarled viciously, raising his hand to deliver a violent energy blast.
Kendall telekinetically lifted a large chunk of rock off the ground and hurled it as hard as she could at him. The well-aimed boulder battered him in the back of the head. He collapsed forward, unconscious, right into Wyatt's shield. Electrocuted by the high voltage field of the shield he fell back, shaking violently in convulsive fits.
Adrian, and Wyatt flung energy balls at the warlock. The energy balls merged together as one, wreathed by Angel's fireball and propelled forcefully forward by Kendall's telekinetic power. The warlock screamed in torment as he was engulfed by flames when the attack came in contact with his skin.
The Halliwells watched in breathless silence as the Rowe disappeared in a wisp of smoke, and the shrieks were cut off suddenly.
Angel was panting and shaking uncontrollably. She could still hear the tortured howls ringing in her ears.
The other two Rowe brothers stood in shock for a while, then rounded on the Halliwells, approaching with menacing looks.
Angel saw their eyes, burning with grief and the lust for vengeance and shivered. These warlocks were going to avenge their fallen brother. She felt Adrian's hand grab her wrist and the next thing she knew, her vision was obscured by blue-white light. When her vision was cleared again, they were no longer in the graveyard, but back into the warm comfort of the Halliwell manor.
She didn't even notice Piper, Paige, and Leo run up to them. The memory of the Rowe warlock being vanquished and his vengeful brothers burned fresh in her mind.
Piper smiled at them. "How did it go?"
Kendall didn't answer the question. She jumped up and ran over to the door. Piper watched her with raised eyebrow. "Kendall?"
As fast as she could, Kendall explained hastily, "Quick, we need a protection spell fast! The Rowes will be here any second." Calm, with a level head as always in frantic situations, she thought for a while, then recited a makeshift spell.
"Fire, water, earth, metal and air
Cast in cosmic primal brine
Bid the Rowes beware
No passage through this door I bind."
Kendall backed away and let herself collapse onto the couch with an exhausted sigh.
Paige placed her hands on her hips and demanded an explanation. "Okay, what happened?"
Adrian sat down on the carpeted floor and stretched his broken leg out for Wyatt to heal. "We managed to vanquish one of the Rowe warlocks, and now the other two are out for revenge."
"And you're on the run from two mad-with-rage warlocks?"
"Basically," said Wyatt as he healed Adrian's leg. Then he got up and picked up a basket of enchanted satyrite crystals lying on the coffee table and walked around the room, stopping every now and then to place a crystal down. The crystals glowed faintly as they were activated. Wyatt orbed to the other rooms of the house to do the same.
(A/N: Crystals may be enchanted and placed in a circle to entrap a demon or warlock in a forcefield. Wyatt is doing this for protection against the warlocks in case they should get past Kendall's spell and break into the house.)
Devin Rowe glared at the Halliwell manor in loathe. The loss of his younger brother Darien was overwhelming for the warlock. Not having Darien by his side was like having a gaping hole in his own existence. Silently, he cursed the witches who had vanquished him. 'They will pay for what they have done.' Then turning to Derek, the former youngest brother, he said vehemently, "We will avenge him."
The younger Rowe nodded, and answered, his voice bitter with anger and hate intertwined with grief. "Why wait? Why not attack now?"
Devin sighed. Derek was still young and inexperienced in magic and fighting. "Because, the witches will be on the alert, and knowing the Charmed Ones, they will have set up spells to protect themselves." Devin saw the hate smoldering in his cold grey eyes. "We will pay them back, brother." Then, to himself he said, 'It is only a matter of time now, witches.'
Piper pulled a batch of brownies out of the oven and sat them down on the coffee table to cool. She turned away to get plates, calling, "And Wyatt, don't try to taste-test anything before they've cooled."
The Whitelighter dropped the steaming brownie he was holding and smiled mischievously like a five-year-old.
An hour or two had passed, and so far, Kendall's protection spell seemed to be working. The Halliwells were spending some family time together that they had not been able to do in years.
Piper returned with plastic plates and distributed them among the six people seated in front of the TV. Then standing before her younger niece, she suggested, "Angel, why don't you go take a shower and get into some more comfortable clothes? Traveling back in the past is hard on the modern teen, huh?"
Angel smiled gratefully. "It could have been worse," she said, straightening up and walking upstairs.
Half an hour later, Angel was in her room, feeling refreshed and energetic. After taking a long hot shower, she changed into a comfortable outfit, a hot pink T-shirt and sweatpants.
Kendall walked in, and leaned against the doorway with a troubled expression on her face. "We need to talk."
Angel turned, and seeing the look on her face and the anxiety in her voice, she asked, "Hey, what's up?"
Kendall sat down on the bed, closed the door telekinetically and patted the spot beside her, signaling for Angel to sit down beside her. The younger Halliwell did, and prepared herself for a drawn-out Kendall-lecture.
Kendall looked her in the eye intently. "You asked what I saw in the premonition," she started.
Angel tensed, and suddenly remembered what had happened in Lorien. "Yeah?"
"Well, I guess it's safe to say that one of the Fellowship hasn't got much time to live. . . It's Boromir. . . he's going to. . ." Kendall's voice broke and she didn't finish.
The other witch gasped. "He's going to die?"
Speechless, Kendall nodded, and forced herself to break the news to her. "But you can't save him."
Angel felt shock enter her system. "What?" she asked incredulously. "But I have to! He's my innocent. It's my job."
Kendall shook her head vigorously. "No, your job isn't to prevent the Fellowship from dying." She saw the doubting look on her sister's face grow even deeper and went on. "Your job is to prevent Belthazor from intervening anything that's supposed to happen, and that includes Boromir's death."
Angel shook her head in disbelief and horror, and when she spoke, she found herself speaking in a low undertone. "But Kendall, I've already lost one, and then, I didn't see it coming. But now that I know what's going to happen, how can I just stand by and let another innocent die?"
Kendall fought back bitter tears. "Angel, I know how it hurts, trust me, I do," she said as she felt her sister's emotions. "And I want him to live as much as you do, even more –" Kendall remembered the way she had felt near him, how he felt about her. . . "But you can't change history. If you do, there's no knowing how that might alter everything the way they are now. And we can't take that risk." She put as much emphasis as she could
on those last words.
"But what harm could possibly come out of saving an innocent's life?"
Kendall looked away. As much as she came to feel for the Man she had known for so short a time, she knew that he had a dark side, and that part of him had already begun to take over. Her Empathy power allowed her to sense it. "What if he wasn't so innocent?"
"What do you mean?" Angel searched her sister's face questioningly, trying to read her thoughts. "Are you saying that he's evil?" She could not believe that Boromir was evil, he was brave, loyal, and a noble Man.
"No!" Kendall replied sharply. "He's a good person at heart, I believe that, but the Ring is starting to corrupt him. Sooner or later, it will consume him." She thought back to her vision. "When I had the premonition, I first saw him trying to take the Ring by force."
The younger sister's jaw dropped. "He tried to take the Ring?" Boromir wouldn't do that, the whole reason he was chosen as part of the Fellowship was because he was trusted to help protect the Ring, not steal it. But then she remembered the strange gleam in his eyes every time the Ring was mentioned. At those times, she had brushed it off, not really thinking that it meant anything important. But if what Kendall said was true. . . then could he really be better off dead than corrupted and evil?
And if she saved him, would he proceed to taking the Ring anyway? If he did, then Angel would have failed in her mission at any rate. She turned back at Kendall, and by the additional brightness of her eyes, she knew that she was on the verge of tears. 'It's even harder on Kendall,' Angel realized. 'She must really feel strongly about this to not let her feelings for Boromir interfere with her decision.' Holding her sister's hands in her own, Angel spoke at last. "You're right." And she gave her a small hug in an attempt to comfort her.
Kendall returned the hug feebly. "I wish there was some other way."
Angel pulled away. "So do I, but like you said, the past cannot be changed." Forcing a weak smile, she added in hopes of lightening up the situation, "Now, come on. Let's go back outside. I want to have a chance at those brownies before Wyatt eats them all."
Wow, these chapters are getting shorter and shorter, but then again, that's how some people like them.
Thanx to the Reviewers:
Lady Fae: Wow, is the Boromir die or not die thing really creating such a racket? Almost all of my reviewers are asking about Boromir's fate. But you won't find out until I get to that point in the story.
Roos: Thanks so much for being such a consistent reader. And thank you for being my muse also. I'll ask for help when the deadly disease called writer's block hits me, but for now I have plenty to write about. English is my first language, but I also know Chinese and a tiny bit of Spanish and Elven. I have already decided Boromir's fate, but readers won't find that out quite yet. evil cackle
Nikki: Don't worry, all shall be revealed. . . eventually snickers Angel and Leggy make out, huh? Interesting concept. . . And I have read each and every single one of your reviews quite thoroughly. winces painfully
Soccer-Bitch: Thanks for coming back again. It's always nice to see readers returning to read the next chapter. Hope you'll be back soon!
Songbreeze1125: Back again I see. Yay! Like everyone else, you wanna know what I'm gonna make happen to Borri. And, as I've said to everyone else, you'll just have to wait and see. Heehee. I'm gonna miss the double reviews.
Lady Light: There won't be much about the guys in Middle-earth in this chapter either, but I added a small passage or two on your account. Don't you just feel so special? Lol
ElvenWitch13: Sry I still haven't gotten around to reading your updates, but cross my heart and hope to die, I will! Thanks for your support. "One of the best I've read" I'm flattered.
Miriellar: Glad you enjoyed the last chappie. Hope that the rest will live up to your expectations. Lol
Alandra: Sry that I didn't reply to you in the last chapter. It's just that I posted the chapter before I checked to see if I got any more reviews. I'm glad to see that you've started watching Charmed. Don't you agree it's an awesome show? But I missed the last two episodes. breaks down and starts sobbing
You guys rock! bows formally Thank you, thank you. ditches the formal act and pulls everyone into a huge Telitubby hug