"Wait a minute, what do you mean after he was dead?" Piper asked. "That doesn't make any sense."
"I'll try to explain," said Tru. "At least as much as I can. After I graduated from college I planned to go to medical school. Except that I didn't have the money for it. So I got a night job at the morgue. I figured I'd save up some money and go to medical school in a year or so.
"Well, I don't know how or why but one night one of the bodies that had come in suddenly looked at me and asked for my help. The next thing I knew it was twelve hours earlier. I got to live the day over again only this time I was able to prevent the death. Since then it's happened a number of times. I never know when it's going to happen or who it's going to be but each time the day sort of rewinds and I get to live it over again."
"You can't change the past," said Leo. "Once something has happened it's set. It can't be changed."
"I'm not lying," said Tru defensively. "That's what happens. I don't know how or why but each time it's the same. I get to live the day over again and with a little luck I can prevent someone from dying who died before."
"That's how you knew Leo was going to die," said Phoebe. "You were there when he was killed and he asked you for your help."
"Yes," said Tru. "The first time was in that restaurant. Then it happened again at the airport when you came to see me off. That was at ten o'clock this morning. This guy in black was at the airport and shot Leo."
"And the people who ask you for help are always dead?" asked Paige.
"Yes," said Tru.
"That's not possible," said Piper. "Listen, I don't think you're lying to us. But the truth is that Leo couldn't have been killed by that man."
"He was," protested Tru. "I was there. I watched him shoot Leo both times. He died nearly instantly. That's why he asked for my help. He wasn't supposed to die. That's the only explanation for why I get these chances to help set things right."
"We'd better tell her," said Phoebe. "If Leo died from being shot by a pistol there's more going on here than we know."
"Tell me?" Tru asked. "Tell me what?"
"I guess you're right," said Piper. "Leo, now that we know how Tru knows you were going to be killed, maybe you'd better go... upstairs and check on this."
"Good idea," said Leo. "I won't be gone long."
"What can he find out upstairs?" asked Tru as Leo headed for the stairs. "And tell me what?"
"Tru," said Piper, "we have some explanations of our own. You see, Phoebe's premonitions aren't the only ability in this family. In fact, the three of us have a number of abilities. Paige, why don't you show Tru what you can do?"
Paige looked around the room. She saw a notepad sitting on the desk and stuck out her hand.
"Notepad," she said and the notepad orbed into her hand. "It's called orbing. I have the ability to orb items around."
"Wait a minute," said Tru. "That's what happened at the airport. You tried to, what did you call it? Orb? You tried to orb the gun out of the man's hand. It started to turn blue then it just stopped. And the man said it wouldn't work with him. And he called you a witch. I just figured he was being insulting."
"No, not insulting," said Piper. "We're witches. Our mother was a witch. So was our grandmother. In fact, we can trace our lineage back at least three hundred years. That's why we have our powers. And why we were more accepting of your gift than most people. What you can do is unusual but trust me, there are some stranger things than even that."
"Piper," said Phoebe, "if the man in black called Paige a witch, he must have known who she was. Which means he wasn't a mortal. And if Paige's orbing ability didn't work on the gun that must mean there's magic involved."
"Wait a minute," said Tru. "A mortal?"
"Yes," said Paige. "That's what normal people are called. Mortals. They don't have any special powers or abilities. Well, not as a rule, anyway."
"So what does this have to do with Leo not being killed by being shot?" Tru asked.
"Well, that's another of the hard to explain things," said Piper. "Leo's what's called a Whitelighter. You might call him an angel of sorts. He was sent to us to help guide and instruct us. Many witches have Whitelighter for assistance."
"And you married him?" asked Tru.
"Yeah, what can I say?" said Piper. "We fell in love and we were married about four years ago. We're separated right now, but he still has his responsibilities to us as our Whitelighter."
"So as an angel, he can't be killed?" Tru asked.
"Normally, yes," said Phoebe. "Whitelighters have a natural healing ability. It activates automatically whenever they are injured. And it works almost instantly. So even if Leo was shot a dozen times he couldn't have died. His healing ability would have saved him."
"Unless there was magic involved," said Paige. "Or a Dark Lighter was involved."
"I'm sorry, a Dark Lighter?" questioned Tru.
"Yeah," said Piper. "Dark Lighters are, as you might imagine, the opposite of Whitelighters. They are as evil as Whitelighters are good. And they carry crossbow that are deadly to Whitelighters. Normally, it's the only way to permanently kill a Whitelighter. The poison on the crossbow kills Whitelighters."
"Which means," said Phoebe, "that this man in black must be a Dark Lighter. But that doesn't make any sense either. Why would a Dark Lighter be using a gun? And how could the bullets kill Leo? He'd need his crossbow for that."
"Not necessarily," said Leo, coming down the stairs. Behind him was Chris. "Chris was up there when I got there. When I filled him in on what was going on he told me some very interesting things. Things I think you all need to hear."
"Tru Davies," said Chris, looking at Tru. "I never thought I'd actually meet you."
"Who is he?" Tru asked.
"That would be Chris Perry," said Piper. "He's a Whitelighter from the future."
"The future?" Tru asked.
"Long story," said Phoebe. "So, Chris, what is this news you've got to tell us?"
"Oh, nothing much, really," said Chris. "Only that Tru has been telling you the truth. She's witnessed Leo's death twice at the hands of a Dark Lighter. A Dark Lighter who's figured out a way to kill Whitelighters without using his crossbow."
Piper, Phoebe, and Paige looked at Chris in disbelief. They had always been told that only the poison from a Dark Lighters crossbow could kill a Whitelighter. If he was right, then not only Leo, but also Whitelighters everywhere could be in terrible danger.
