They continued to drive down Interstate 20, through Atlanta, and out of the "Perimeter," which was what the border of Atlanta was called. Around the entire city ran one highway, Interstate 285, that was oval-shaped. On the inside of I-285 was the city of Atlanta; the outside was home to several suburbs, including Alpharetta.

They finally reached James' house late that night. It was around midnight when they arrived. James lived in a huge two-story home that seemed to stretch across the whole street. He pulled into the driveway and led his brothers inside, where his father sat waiting.

James' father looked exactly like Lou Ferrigno, except he was a little older. He was tall like James, perhaps taller, and looked intimidating. To any outsider, he looked like he should have been James' actual father. He hugged James and shook both Wesley and Matthew's hands after he had been introduced to them and invited them into the living room to sit.

"Are you sure we should be talking about this in front of them?" his father, Richard, asked, gesturing towards Matthew and Wesley.

"It's okay," James said. "They know. Actually, we're all kind of in this together. See, we found out that we're all adopted."

"Rather," Matthew continued, "we were all sent to someone. Then we all just happened to end up at Oxford and find each other."

"We're all brothers," James said. "The three of us."

"All of y'all?" Richard asked in disbelief, looking at Wesley.

"Yes," Wesley answered politely, "all of us. And if you meant me, then I'm the tokenhalf-brother with a different father."

"I see," Richard responded. "Well, the envelope, here it is. I can't imagine for the life of me why I can't open it. Here, you try."

With that, he handed the envelope to James, who examined it closely. The outside was completely blank. The envelope itself looked old and tattered; it had been sealed for twenty years, after all. He slid a finger under one side of the back and easily tore it open. Richard gasped in amazement.

"I tried that!" he exclaimed. "It didn't work. What did you do to it?"

"I opened it," James said simply.

"What's in it?" Matthew asked.

James pulled out the contents and studied them carefully. There was a letter and another document of some sort. He looked at Wesley and with his head, motioned towards his father. Wesley got the picture and froze Richard while he and Matthew gathered around James.

"What is it?" Wesley asked.

"There's a letter from our real parents," James said, "and some kind of legal document attached."

"Well?" Matthew said. "Read the letter."

"To my three handsome young men,

"By the time you all read this, I will be dead, but do not worry about me. The important thing is that you are all together, bound as brothers by love, and as witches, by the Book of Light. Use it wisely so that your paths will never be filled with darkness. I truly regret the circumstances under which you are all reading this, but trust me that it is all for the best.

"James, you are the most powerful of the three as the oldest. You have no choice but to lead your brothers. Your power of telekinesis is an advancement of your father's ability to deflect things. Use your powers wisely, and protect over your brothers. They need you, but don't forget that you also need them. Don't let your arrogance cloud your judgment. Just because you're the oldest doesn't mean that you are always in charge.

"Matthew, you are the heart of the three, providing balance and (dare I say) mediation. It is your job to keep your brothers in line; they will turn to you more times than you may care to think about. Your power to phase came from my power of invisibility. It will protect you in more ways than you know. Take care of yourself, and your family.

"Wesley, you are and will always be my very special youngest baby. You were born of very different circumstances, but here you are. While I cannot tell you the truth about your other half, I can say that your paths will cross many times, whether you know it or not. You are the free-spirited one of the three, and as such you will experience the most growth. Trust and believe in your brothers; they will always take care of you. Your power to stop time is an advancement of my ability to slow down time. It suits your personality perfectly.

"I'm sure you're all wondering how I knew so much about you before you did yourselves. Before I gave birth to Matthew, I received a premonition. I saw the three of you meeting each other for the first time. I saw the three of you reading this letter right now, and I saw you three fulfilling your destiny. Needless to say, it was a long premonition (cinema length, almost). I have faith in all of you that you will do what you are all capable of doing.

"I picked three specific people to take care of each of you. I can't explain why, but in my heart I knew that they could raise you well, which they did. I can't thank them enough for what they have done, and you should thank them from the bottoms of your hearts for everything that they have sacrificed in order to give you normal lives.

"But now, your lives are hardly normal anymore. It's something that you all have to realize before you can effectively carry on towards your destiny. You three are going to be the most powerful witches the world will ever know. Don't let that go straight to your heads! Rely on each other for assistance. Above all, you are brothers first, witches later. Cherish the brotherly bond that you have. It will grow into something that you never thought was possible.

"Now I must end this letter. I thought that if I kept writing, eventually I would be able to think of a better way to protect you than sending you off, but no matter how hard I try, there's no better way. Take care of yourselves, and of each other. You three are very special and I love you with all my heart. We will see each other again.

"With All The Love In The World,

"Mom

"PS: The legal-looking document attached is the deed to our house. Everything has been taken care of. It's yours. The keys are also here. Oh, and on the back is the name of the repairman we always call. He gets most of his business from us, so don't let him down!"

----- ----- ----- ----- -----

Some letter, huh? So finally they have some kind of explanation of what the hell is going on, even though it's still not enough for them. But something is better than nothing, I always say. And hopefully some questions any of y'all may have had were sort of answered. More importantly, coming up in the next chapter: James' father, Richard, unfreezes and wants to know what's going on, and a confrontation between two characters that is almost fatal!