Chapter 6 – Arrest, Book ... and Charmed ...
"OK, thank you." The police woman said. "We'll be in touch."
I nodded, and Prue got up to show them out.
It's been a long night. Prue asked lots of questions, after the police officer's finished asking me lots of questions, about Dan, what would happen to him, and that kind of think.
I tuned out. I can't quite manage to care.
"Are you OK?" Leo asked me quietly.
He really has been my angel these last few hours. I couldn't have done it without him. Paige sat on one side of me, took me hand, Phoebe sat on the other side, holding Patty. Prue paced, listened, make coffee, and coped in her own way. And Leo sat in a corner. Which may not sound like much, but was reassuring.
"I will be." I replied. "Thank you."
"For what?"
"Saving me." I replied. He smiled a little, and I looked away. Because there was sympathy in his eyes, and I couldn't quite face it yet.
"So, Leo," Phoebe said. "The attic door really needs looking at -" She smiled sweetly and he nodded, getting up. I guess he knew I had to face my sisters alone at some point.
"Piper." Phoebe said softly. "Promise me you won't go back."
"I won't." I said stiffly. Annoyed, a little. Which is ridiculous, when you think about how long I stayed. So I avoided Phoebe's eyes, and instead looked at Patty. She was asleep, blissfully. And safe. Finally.
Phoebe nodded. "Good. Without you, we wouldn't be the four Halliwell sisters. We'd be, like ... three."
I had to laugh. She laughed too. And for a few seconds I forgot about Dan, about everything.
"You're OK now, sweetie." Paige murmured. "You're home."
"Hey – Phoebe – the attic door's open." Leo said, reappearing.
"It – What? But the attic hasn't opened in years." Phoebe said, a little too loud. Wincing, she looked back at Patty.
"Well...Now it is. If you want to go take a look, I'll watch Patty." He said.
"Right." Paige said distractedly. "Prue -" She headed out, and I watched while Phoebe carefully handed Patty to Leo. Then she grabbed my arm and pulled me with her, after our sisters.
The attic never opened, even when we were kids. But...
"He's right." Phoebe said, stopping suddenly.
We all looked at it, open wide, revealing a large dusty room.
Phoebe stepped in first, then Prue, and me and Paige, Paige gripping my arm excitedly.
A beam of light was shining through one of the dusty windows onto a large wooden box. I had a moment to think that it was very clichéd, then Phoebe was stepping forward, opening the box. As we followed, she pulled out a big dusty book.
"It looks familiar." Prue said, tilting her head. "Doesn't it look familiar?"
"Maybe." I said after a moment. "Maybe it was Grams'. She used to store things up here, when we were kids. Before the door got stuck."
Phoebe lifted the cover of the book, and we all leaned forward. "The Book of Shadows." Phoebe read, then turned the page, and began reading aloud.
"Hear now the words of the ... witches ... The secrets we hid in the night..." She looked at us, looking a little sceptical.
"Weird start to a story." Paige said, and lifted her left hand to her right upper arm, rubbed once. I guess we all felt a little uneasy.
"The oldest of Gods are invoked here..." Phoebe continued. "The great work of magic is sought...In this night, and in this hour, we call upon the ancient power...Bring your powers to we sisters four, we want the power, give us the power."
The moonlight disappeared, and reappeared a second later. "Went behind a cloud." Prue muttered, her eyes on Phoebe.
"Have you seen this?" Paige asked, taking the book from Phoebe and flipping the page. "Three essentials of magic ... Timing ... Feeling and Phases of the moon."
"If we were ever going to do this, now – midnight on a full moon is perfect – the most powerful time." Phoebe said. She and Paige had their heads together, reading.
"Do what?" I asked.
"Receive our powers." Phoebe answered.
"Excuse me?" Prue said. She snatched the book off of Phoebe. "This is a book of witchcraft." She said weakly.
"I know." Phoebe said. "Look at this. One of our ancestors was a witch named Melinda Warren."
"Sure. And we have a cousin who's a drunk, an aunt who's manic, and a father who's invisible." I replied. It felt, just a little, weird to be sarcastic again. But Paige was right; I'm home now. And home, with my sisters, it's easier to be myself.
"I'm serious." Phoebe said. "Look!"
Paige leaned over. "It's true. She practiced powers. Three powers. She could move objects with her mind, see the future and stop time ... Before Melinda was burned at the stake, she vowed that each generation of Warren witches would become stronger and stronger, culminating in the arrival of four sisters."
She looked up at us.
"This is ridiculous." I said, taking a step back. "It's just a story book. Paige, it's just a story." I looked at Prue; her expression clearly showed she was on my side.
"Piper, just open your mind to the possibility, OK?" Phoebe said. "These sisters would be the most powerful witches the world has ever known. They're good witches, and I think we're those sisters."
"Phoebe, that's stupid. We are not witches. We are ordinary people." Prue said flatly.
"No, we're not. We're witches!" Paige said. Sounded a little excited, a little nervous.
"Prue?" I said, finally.
"It's not possible." Prue said firmly. But it was a little weird, being in the dark, dusty attic.
"It is." Phoebe replied. She sounded a little annoyed now. "We're the protectors of the innocent. We're known as the Charmed Ones."
"No. No." Prue said. "Phoebe, we can't be. It can't be."
"What powers?" I asked reluctantly. Not that I believed it. I was just curious.
"OK, we each have one power, to start with. To freeze time, move things with your mind, see the future and..." Phoebe trailed off, frowning.
"And what?"
"Well, one of us is half whitelighter..."
"What's that?"
"I don't know, but it makes her powers different. To start, she'll be able to teleport."
"But that wasn't one of Melinda's powers." I said. Then I caught myself, and winced a little as Prue rolled her eyes.
"I think I can explain." We looked up to see Leo in the doorway.
"Patty." I asked, instantly.
"Ah, she's still asleep. In one of the bedrooms." He looked a little pained. "Piper...I need you to trust me. I need to ask that from you."
"I do trust you."
"All of you. I need all of you to trust me."
Prue narrowed her eyes. "You said you could explain. Explain."
"I'm...not a handy-man. I am a whitelighter." He said, looking me in the eye.
"What?" I whispered. I took a step back, away from him. Just one step, but we both noticed it.
"What's a whitelighter?" Phoebe said excitedly.
"I..It's a kind of guardian angel. I'm yours."
"What?" I said again. Just a little louder, a little stronger, this time..
"I'm sorry, Piper, I couldn't tell you until you got your powers. But I'm here to guide you, to help you."
"OK, explain this. Why does one of us have an extra power? The teleporting thing - orbing - that wasn't Melinda's." Phoebe asked.
"I know. OK. Here it is. You know that your parents split up when you were little."
"Yeeaahh."
"Well ... I could really do with some help!" He called to the ceiling.
Maybe this isn't real. Maybe everyone's just gone crazy.
Or not.
White lights appear, then clear away before we can even expresses shock at them. And there's a person, standing where there wasn't one a moment ago. A familiar person I hadn't seen since I was a child.
"Mum." Prue whispered.
"How -" Paige managed, finally. Because her voice shook a little, I took her hand. And a little because I needed the support, too. "You're dead. Have been for years."
"Magic." Mum said. "You are the Charmed Ones, you have powers. I'm sorry you had to find out like this." Her gaze met mine, and showed a sympathy I didn't want. "And when you're dealing with other problems."
"You need to explain." Leo murmured.
"Originally there was going to be three sisters." Mum explained. I was barely listening to her crazy talk. I must be dreaming, that's all. I'll wake up soon, laid on Patty's bedroom floor ...
I'll just have to pinch myself and wake up. Just as soon as I'm done staring at my mother.
"But over the years, destiny changed." She smiled at Paige. "A miracle ... Paige, you know you have a different dad to the others."
Paige nodded. It had never bothered us that we were only half-sisters. Paige's dad, grams told us, left after mum died. He couldn't cope with the grief, apparently. And while I wondered from time to time how mum had managed to pick two men who managed to be useless fathers, it made little difference to us.
"Your dad was my whitelighter, Sam. And that means your power changed. You can teleport like a whitelighter." She looked at Leo, who disappeared in a swirl of white lights, then reappeared.
I'm pinching myself. Hard. But I'm not waking up ... and it really hurts ...
Oh, my. I really have gone crazy.
OK, the Piper/Dan situation hasn't gone completely, he'll be back, and when Piper faces her first demon ...