Chapter 4
Chris and Nathan orbed into the kitchen of the Potter house, startling Gloria Potter, who was cooking dinner, with their sudden appearance. "Christopher Larabee and Nathan Jackson, How many times have I told you two not to orb into the kitchen? Especially when I'm cooking."
Chris looked very apologetic, not meaning to upset his adopted mother. "I'm sorry, Mom. We need to call an urgent family meeting - there's someone with urgent news who'll be here as soon as we call for him."
"That would explain the premonition," said Gloria, recalling the premonition she'd had that morning when she'd been making Chris's bed. Gloria had seen a demon standing in their house, but the premonition had ended before he'd spoken. To begin with, Gloria hadn't had sound in her premonitions, but as time had gone on, she'd started to hear noises in her premonitions, such as talking or background sounds. "Has Ezra come home yet? Vin and JD said he stayed behind to fight a demon; I hope Ezra didn't get hurt."
"That's what we need to have a meeting about, Mom. That demon only went to Ezra to get our help; not to fight him."
"We don't help demons, Son," said Terrence Potter sternly, as he walked into the kitchen. Terrence walked over to the stove and lifted the lid off a saucepan to see what was inside. He hastily replaced the lid and stepped back in disgust.
"That's a special remedy to cure JD's stomach bug, Terrence," said Gloria, with an angry look directed at her husband. "He complained of having one when he came home this afternoon."
"That should certainly kill the germs; I don't even want to know what's in it."
"Dad, Ella Gaines is in the Underworld," informed Chris urgently. They had to take action before they were attacked.
Terrence looked at Chris questioningly, trying to remember where he'd heard that name before. "Have I heard of Ella Gaines?"
"Terrence, Chris was almost turned evil by her," reminded Gloria, not surprised that her husband didn't recognise the name. Terrence had a terrible memory for names of people they met.
"Oh, THAT Ella Gaines."
Gloria looked at her husband with an exasperated expression.
"She wants to destroy your whole family, Terrence," informed Nathan seriously.
"Don't all demons?" commented Gloria, smacking Chris's hand away from the cookies cooling on a baking tray on the counter. "Those are for the children. Last time I looked you were TWENTY years old and no longer a child."
Chris stared down at his feet; ashamed of himself for even thinking he could snatch a cookie when his mother was there.
"I seem to remember asking earlier if Ezra had come home yet," pressed Gloria, worried about her only adopted son who was half-demon, rather than just a witch.
"He was going to blink here while we orbed," said Nathan, before he tried to sense his half-demon charge.
"Why didn't you let him orb with you?" asked Terrence, upset that they'd left Ezra on his own when he would be most vulnerable to demonic attacks.
"He likes his independence, and 'sides he can defend himself. Damn, I can't sense him anywhere."
Terrence became angry with Nathan for leaving the younger boy on his own. He shouted at Nathan. "You're right 'damn'. If anything happens to that boy you'll be in big trouble - and not just with the Elders."
"Sir, I didn't think anythin' would happen," said Nathan, feeling very guilty now. "He was goin' to blink straight back here." Then Nathan orbed out, knowing that if a charge couldn't be sensed, it meant that they were either on another plane or were dead. Nathan didn't think Ezra was dead, as he would've sensed the teenager's pain while he was dying. The Whitelighter then orbed upwards to see the Elders – they would know what to do about the situation; they always knew what action to take next.
"Let's meet this demon of yours in the living room and find out what he knows." Terrence had calmed down a little, knowing that staying angry wouldn't help matters.
Most of the group walked into the living room, but Gloria stayed in the hallway and called Vin and JD down from their room upstairs. They came thumping down the stairs, until Gloria told them to come down quietly.
"TURNER!" called Chris, hoping that the demon could be trusted to arrive on his own and not attack them. Chris had never trusted demons, because they had been the type of evil who had attacked his real family's ranch and killed everyone except Chris, who'd only been two then.
Turner appeared, looking grim. "Despite warning your brother, he was still caught. Ella's plans have changed; she is even less trusting of demons than we first thought. She captured your brother herself and he has been hypnotized to carry out her orders. He is on his way here."
"Damn Whitelighter," fumed Terrence. "If he'd orbed Ezra here as well, he would've been safe."
"TERRENCE POTTER, I am sick and tired of you blaming people for things that aren't their fault. Even if Nathan had orbed Ezra here, a demon with the right power could've taken him out of the orbs before they arrived at the house."
Terrence looked regretful - he realized now that he was just looking for someone to blame for his son's disappearance. He hadn't wanted to blame his family, so he'd blamed their Whitelighter instead. Now the Whitelighter probably felt very guilty for something that wasn't really his fault.
"This fighting won't help your son," said Turner angrily. "He has been programmed to capture Chris, so that Ella can use him to lure the rest of you to the Underworld. For some reason, Ella didn't just want to capture Chris herself. "
Vin now stood in the room, listening to all that was being said. After hearing Turner's last sentence, he spoke up; "When she tried to turn Chris into a warlock before, Ezra helped him turn back to normal – Ezra told me."
"She must've found that out, and now she wants revenge on Ezra for ruining her plans. By turning him against his own brother, she's going to get that revenge," deduced Turner.
"NATHAN!" called Terrence, deciding what must be done.
Nathan appeared. "I am so sorry, Terrence; you were right..."
Terrence interrupted before the Whitelighter could go on blaming himself. "I shouldn't have blamed you, I'm sorry. Now, you have to take Chris away to a safer place. Ezra's been hypnotized to capture Chris and take him back to Ella."
"Okay, just call us when it's over."
Chris walked to Nathan and took his hand so that when Nathan orbed, he would orb with him. Then Chris and Nathan orbed away.
CH7 - CH7 - CH7 - CH7 - CH7 - CH7 - CH7
Ezra continued to keep up the pretence of being in a hypnotic trance – his mind-control power had somehow fought against the hypnotism rays and stopped the boy from being under Ella's control.
From a very young age, Ezra's mother had taught him how to act and lie – to help Maude in her scams. Now, his acting was being put to good use in helping him fool Ella. She thought her plan was working, so Ezra would have the element of surprise when she later discovered he hadn't carried out her commands. The female warlock would learn the truth too late hopefully, and by that time, the Potters would've gained the upper hand on her, from knowing what she didn't.
Ezra quietly thanked his mother for teaching him ways of gaining an advantage over others – he could finally use his skills for a good cause.
CH7 - CH7 - CH7 - CH7 - CH7 - CH7 - CH7
Just after the orbs containing Nathan and Chris had disappeared, Ezra blinked into the living room; his eyes were back to normal so it was hard to tell if he was under Ella's influence or not.
"Ezra? Son, are you okay?" asked Gloria, very concerned for her son.
"Must...capture...Chris," said Ezra, sounding like he was in a trance. If anyone evil and unseen was watching, they would be fooled into thinking Ezra was still hypnotized and would report back to Ella that the boy would soon be on his way back with Chris. Ezra knew how demons thought and knew that no demonic spies were smart enough to stay and watch the boy actually capture Chris.
"No, you mustn't. He's your brother and if you capture him, you will lose him forever. You don't want to lose him, do you?"
Ezra shook his head from side to side, pretending to shake off the trance. Then he looked straight at Gloria. "I would estimate that you just de-programmed me, Mrs. Potter. I don't desire to take Chris to Ella anymore." Ezra walked to his mother and found himself quickly pulled into a tight embrace. Even his adoptive mother couldn't see through Ezra's convincing acting.
"We have to vanquish Ella, before she causes any more damage," said Terrence, very upset at the female warlock for trying to control one of his sons and turn him against one of his brothers.
"It won't be that easy," informed Turner. "She is very powerful while she holds the Staff of Powers. It holds the powers of any demons or warlocks she kills with it. No-one knows how many powers it holds which she could use against her attackers."
"I think we may need Josiah to help us - Vin, you orb over to Josiah's place with Ezra and bring your older brother back here. I'll have a look in the Book - there might be something useful in there." It was a good thing that Josiah had that day off and had said he'd be at home all day if they needed him.
"I wish we hadn't had ta send Chris away. I miss him already," said Vin sadly, as Ezra left Gloria's embrace and walked to Vin, ready to be orbed to Josiah's home by his half-Whitelighter younger brother. Vin was very fond of Chris, as the two got along very well, so the younger boy was worried about any harm coming to his favorite older brother.
"I think it's better if Chris stays away until we've vanquished Ella," said Terrence; even though Ezra was back to normal, the demons might think of another way to capture Chris.
"What do I get to do?" asked little JD; the eight-year-old felt left out.
Ezra left Vin's side and walked over to his youngest adopted brother. Then he knelt down to be level with the little boy. "Why don't you help your father look through the Book?" suggested Ezra gently. "You might be able to find something before he does."
"Can't I come with you to Josiah's place?" JD turned on his cute puppy-dog eyes; he really didn't want to stay home while his half-brother went somewhere else. If they took JD as well, he could freeze any demons that tried to attack them - he didn't want Vin to get hurt.
"We won't be gone long. I'm sure you'd help far better if you looked through the Book."
"Okay," said JD, sounding disappointed that he didn't get to go with his real half-brother, Vin. The two had always been very close and were virtually inseparable. It was going to be hard when Vin went up to high school, leaving JD on his own at elementary school. JD was so clever though, that he might be able to join high school at the same time as Vin.
"Be careful, you two," said Terrence to Ezra and Vin, before they orbed out.
JD dashed toward the stairs, eager to look in their magical book.
"Slow down, before you hurt yourself," warned Gloria, wishing the little one would be more careful.
"Sorry, Mom," said JD. Then he walked quietly upstairs, followed by Gloria and Terrence.
To be continued...