Chapter 3

Wyatt's Thoughts

How could I have been so stupid? He questioned himself. Chris was finally starting to trust him. The boy was beginning to see things his way. Now because he let his anger get the best of him, he's now lost his baby brother for good, the person he had ever lived for. Part of him wanted to die at that very moment, but there was something that Chris had said that stopped him. Before the boy left, he had said that he still loved his brother. That gave him a little hope, a little something to hold on to. Getting off his knees, he flamed out to the boy's room. He felt as if his heart had broken into a million pieces. It was as if he lost his mother all over again. The sadness, the pain, the guilt, was all too familiar to him. The only difference this time was that Chris was the one he was grieving for.

Memories of their life together came flooding back. Teaching the boy his alphabet, his numbers, how to walk, walking him to school on his first day, his first spells, his first heartbreak, it was as if he was the boy's father. By this time he was crying so hard that he no longer had the strength to stand, so he sat in a chair on the side of the boy's bed. He didn't want anything in the room touched just in case his younger sibling returned. He wanted to make sure that his bedroom would be just as he had left it. He prayed that day would come, and prayed that it wasn't wishful thinking on his part.

After reflecting on the events of the day and letting the tears flow freely, Wyatt had, had enough. He was tried of crying. Now he was getting angry. How dare that little ingrate leave him, after all he had done for him? He built his world around him, giving into whatever it was the boy had wanted. No, it would not end like this. He was going to get the boy back whether he came back willingly or not. And this time he would hold him hostage if he had to. Chris belonged with him, and that was that. He would make him see that killing that dumb ass witch was for the best. After all she was going to have them all killed and that included his naïve kid brother who wanted to believe the world was such a wonderful place. He would teach him the truth even if he hated him for it in the end. I'll get you back Chris, he thought as he rose from the chair. And there's nothing you can do to stop me. With that he flamed out to his thrown room.

"Malachi!" he called shortly after his arrival.

"Yes my Lord" the demon spoke.

"I have a rather delicate assignment for you, the master spoke. I need you to find my wayward brother and bring him back home. Take who ever you have to, to complete the mission" he finished.

"Dead or alive? My lord" Wyatt snapped at the demon immediately.

"ALIVE" he shouted, looking at the demon with a look that said if you ever mention my brother and the word dead in the same sentence again, I'll kill you on the spot. "And if there is so much as one hair out of place on my brother's head, he spoke again, you and/or who ever else was responsible will die a slow and painful death. So consider yourself forewarned. Now go" with that he send the cowering demon off on his mission.

Thinking to himself he added, and you better not fail.

Chris's Thoughts

Run he kept saying as he increase his speed, run until you can't any more. He didn't know where he was or where he was going, but he knew one thing for certain, he couldn't go back there, he wouldn't. Making his way into an alley he collapsed onto the pavement, sliding down the brick wall. It was then that the tears started to fall, as thoughts of his brother overwhelmed him. He didn't understand how his life had spun out of control again. Just before the incident this morning he was actually starting to feel happy and safe for the first time in a long time. But it was all over now. His brother had betrayed him for the last time. The truth was too much to bare, maybe if he closed his eyes for just a little while, he'll discover this was just a horrible dream. Closing his eyes he slowly drifted off to sleep, in the cold wet alley, feeling more alone now, than he ever had in his life.

The day had almost pasted completely by the time Chris woke up. After trying to focus for a few minutes he noticed that he was in an alley. Well I guess it wasn't just a bad dream he told himself. Rising to his feet he thought it was time to get a move on. He knew that if he stayed in one spot for too long with his guard down, Wyatt would easily find him and try to bring him back to his underground mansion. The thought seemed to be bitter sweet. He missed his brother so much, how could he let go of the one person he loved with all his heart and soul. But as much as it hurt him to say it, Wyatt was certifiably insane. It had only been a few hours since his brother had killed another witch, right in front of his eyes, breaking his promise to him in the worse of ways. The look on the girls' face combined with her blood curdling screams, kept haunting Chris in his sleep. He wished that he could erase it all from his mind and go right back home to the only family he had left, but it wasn't going to happen. Not as long as he was still the ruler of all evil.

As he walked along the streets of San Francisco he felt as if he was in some kind of war movie. The streets were littered, with debris, glass, garbage and what he was sure was the blood of those who opposed his brother. He shook his head trying not to think about it. Looking around he realized that he knew this place, or what it once was anyway. This is where the beach was he said out loud into the crisp fall air. Looking up at the sunset that used to be so beautiful, he thought, how could he do this?

As if reading his thoughts a girl answered "because he's an evil bastard".

Chris turned around to come face to face with a stunning young woman with long dark hair and pretty hazel eyes. She stood about 5'4"and was wearing a pair of form fitting leather pants and a black halter top. She literally took his breath away.

"Hey there, the girl continued. I'm Amber, and you are?" The boy stood there speechless for a few seconds longer before answering.

"Chris, he said, my name's Chris".

"Well it's very nice to meet you Chris" the girl replied with a slight smile. He could tell that she was looking at his wet and dirty clothes courtesy of the alley he slept in. Out of no where she plunged an athame into the boys' side.

"Argh, he screamed out before he collapsed down to the ground in immense pain. But as fast as the pain had started it immediately stopped.

"What the hell was that all about?" he yelled as he jumped to his feet.

"Sorry, the girl said with a smirk. I had to make sure that you weren't an evil witch or a demon. If you were the athame would have had an acid like affect killing you instantly."

"Isn't there some other kind of test you could possible do, cause that one hurt like hell" Chris said while looking down at his side.

"Listen I really am sorry I just had to make sure you weren't working for him" the girl replied.

"Him?" Chris questioned.

"Lord Wyatt, you have to know who he is" she looked at him with a look of duh on her face.

"Oh" was all he could say, feeling that wave of sadness again.

"Hey why don't you come with me? There's a haven of sort that's protected by good magic for witches and all good magical beings were they can be safe from him and his demons. Not knowing what to say, Chris nodded his head and followed the girl.

He couldn't believe what he was seeing. The "haven" was an old abandoned building in the middle of San Francisco. This place wasn't fit for a dog, let along human beings. As they walked further smiling and nodded at the people greeting them, his heart sank when he saw a boy holding the hand of his mother who was being healed after being hit by what Chris believed to be an energy ball. Instantly he thought of his mother. Even though Wyatt never allowed him to see his mother's body that day he imagined that it looked something like the woman in front of him.

After a few more meetings they stopped in front of a tall man with blonde hair, blue eyes and a very muscular build. For a second his heart skipped a beat. At first glance he thought that it was Wyatt. Thank God he was wrong. Chris was in no way ready to see his brother and he wouldn't be any time soon.

"So the man spoke in a deep voice. Welcome friend, I'm Steve" the man said as he shook his hand.

"Hi, I'm Chris. Thank you for allowing me to stay here."

"Don't worry about it, the man continue? All are welcomed. So are you a witch or a mortal?"

"I'm half witch half white lighter" he choked out. The man's face immediately changed.

"That's not a common occurrence. After a short pause, the man turned pale. Senescing what the man was thinking Chris spoke up.

"I know what you're thinking and I'm nothing like my brother, in fact I just escaped from him this morning and I have no intentions of ever going back" he said trying to put Steve's mind at ease. With a stern look on his face the man spoke up once more.

"How do we know you're telling the truth?" Chris thought for a second, making sure that he gave just the right answer.

He simply replied "You don't". I hope that was good enough, he thought. The tall man's face returned to it's initial state.

"That's an honest enough answer."

After being silent for some time Amber spoke up with a smile, Looking at him "I trust you". Steve's face now also had a smile on it.

"You're very lucky to have such a beautiful woman in your corner" Steve added before turning to the crowd.

"May I have everyone's attention please? I would like you all to meet the newest member of the Alliance, Chris Halliwell."

Slice fell over the room. And in that slice you could almost hear the thoughts going through his mind. The Alliance, SHIT, Chris thought to himself. Wyatt's going to KILL me.