Piper and Phoebe made their way to the attic. As the climbed the last set of stairs that led to the attic they saw that the door was open. That was decidedly odd. They never left the attic door open and certainly not when they were all going to be away from the manor.
Quietly they moved up to the door and peered inside. Inside the attic they saw a man rifling through the boxes and furniture stored there. He was throwing items out of the boxes and furniture in a haphazard fashion. All the while he was mumbling something to himself that neither of the sisters could understand. Piper stepped inside the door and Phoebe followed here.
"Need a hand?" Piper asked, her arms folded across her chest.
The man spun to face them. He appeared to be about forty with brown hair. He was clean-shaven and dressed in blue jeans and some type of work shirt. He glared at the sisters for a moment, pure hatred flashing in his eyes.
"Where is she?" the man demanded taking a step toward them. "We had a deal and she double-crossed me. I want what's mine."
"Listen fella," said Piper, "we're the ones asking the questions here. Who are you and what are you doing in our house?"
"I've come to get what was stolen from me," insisted man. "You must be the granddaughters. She told me about you. Now, where is she? She'll soon learn she can't betray me and get away with it."
"Okay, I've had enough of this," said Piper, raising her hands and freezing the guy. She turned to Phoebe. "Go call the police. This guy is nothing more than a common burglar. We'll just turn him over to the police and let them handle it. I'll keep him frozen until they get here."
Phoebe turned and started to head down the stairs when an energy ball suddenly struck Piper from behind, sending her crashing against the wall. Phoebe turned to see the man free of the freeze. He was forming another fireball.
"Witches," he hissed. "That's impossible. Your powers were bound. She told me she did it herself. Now, where is your grandmother? Tell me what I want to know and I'll make your deaths quick. Unlike hers. She's going to pay for betraying me."
"Piper," said Phoebe, rushing over to her sister.
Piper was hurt but conscious. Phoebe knelt down to check her as the man advanced on them again another step.
"Well," said the man, "I guess I'll just have to show you that I mean business. First, I'll kill her," indicating Piper. "Then you'll tell me what I want to know. Before I'm done you'll beg me to stop."
The man raised his hand and cast the energy ball at Piper. Still groggy from the attack Piper was unable to bring her power to bear against the weapon. As the energy ball flashed toward her sister, Phoebe suddenly reached over and pulled a cloth from an object leaning against the wall. In one fluid motion she pulled the object in front of Piper.
The object turned out to be a mirror. The energy ball struck the mirror and was cast back at the man from the reflective surface. The energy ball struck him sending him flying across the room. As he started to regain his feet, Piper and Phoebe stood up again.
"I guess we take care of this ourselves," said Piper, anger in her voice. "I don't like to be sucker-punched, bub, especially from a warlock."
"This isn't over witch," said the warlock. "I underestimated you. That won't happen again."
Suddenly the warlock just vanished from the attic.
"Great," said Phoebe. "He blinked out before we could finish him."
"He'll be back," said Piper as they both noticed the phone downstairs ringing. "And when he does we'll be ready for him. Go answer the phone. I'll see if he found whatever it was he was looking for."
"Will you be okay up here by yourself?" Phoebe asked.
"Yeah, I'll be fine," said Piper. "I don't think he's coming right back. See who's on the phone and then call Prue. We need to get ready for when he returns."
"On my way," said Phoebe, heading for the stairs.
As Phoebe went to answer the phone, Piper looked around the attic. She had just finished straightening it up. Now she would have to do it all over again. That was two she owed the warlock. The attack from behind and the mess he'd made in the attic. She was going to make sure he paid for those mistakes.
