Chapter 7 – Powers, Demon and Death ...

"Prue, you can move things with you mind, Piper, you can freeze things, Phoebe, you have premonitions – visions of the future – and Paige, orbing." Mum said softly.

"This is crazy." I said loudly, pinching myself still.

"Stop that." Paige hit my hand away from my arm.

"Piper, after everything you've been through, this is hard for you, but please ... try it." She looked at Prue. "Concentrate on that lamp." She told her. "Try to move it."

Prue looked uncertain, but she wasn't pulling the skin off of her arm in a desperate attempt to wake.

She squinted at the lamp and it shot off of the table, smashing on the floor.

Oh my. This is one vivid dream.

Then mum looked at Prue again, and Prue nodded. A secret eye-conversation.

Next thing I knew, an ornament came flying towards my face.

I jumped – didn't they thing enough things had hit my face? - and threw my hands in front of my face.

I waited for it to hit me, but it didn't. And, peeking through my fingers, I saw it immobilized, hanging in the air.

"Wha-?"

"Piper, I know this is hard -" Leo began.

"Why didn't you tell me?" I demanded. "I trusted you, poured out my soul and you – you -" I almost broke down, but the next thing I knew his arms were around me and he was making shushing sounds.

"Trust me, it's all gonna be OK." He said quietly.

"What are we supposed to do?" Paige asked mum. "With these powers, I mean."

"Protect the innocents, vanquish demons and warlocks."

"Demons and warlocks?" Prue repeated.

"Yes. They'll come after you – I'm sorry, my darlings, I have to go."

"No, mum -" Paige protested.

"I'm sorry. I'll be back. I'll never leave you. Be well." And she was gone.

The next morning I was home alone. Completely. I'd walked down the stairs to see a note on the kitchen counter telling me Phoebe had taken Patty out, and everyone was working.

Oh, and Dan had been bailed.

I shivered as I dropped the note. He wasn't allowed near me, my family, Patty or the house.

I was safe.

So I was alone. No biggie.

Totally alone.

In a big empty house.

Dan knew where the house was.

I have to get out of here.

I ended up at the park where I'd sometimes take Patty. I just sat on a swing. Alone.

I was no safer here.

"Piper?" I froze, looked up, ready to run. But it wasn't Dan.

"Jeremy?" I asked in surprise.

I'd briefly dated him, after grams death, before Dan.

"Hi? How are you?"

"I'm OK." I nodded.

"So, how've you been. Still with Dan?"

"No, we, um, broke up." I said.

"You look really down ..." He said.

"I kind of am." I said quietly.

"Come on. I want to show you something." He said, pulling me up.

"I -"

"Come on. It'll cheer you up."

I gave in, and he took my arm.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"Relax. I just wanna show you the old Bowing building. The view of the Bay bridge is amazing." He told me.

We finally stopped outside a building – the old bowing building, I assume.

"Well, here we are." He told me.

I don't care how amazing the view is, I'm not going in there." I said, eyeing it nervously.

"Come on, relax." Reluctantly I let him pull me into an elevator. He pressed the button and it started moving.

"You're going to love this." He told me. "It'll make you forget all about Dan and the abuse."

I was half-way through nodding when I realised something.

"I never told you about that."

"Whoops." He smirked, pulling out a knife.

"Jeremy, what are you doing? Stop it!" I begged. "You're scaring me! I'm serious!"

"So am I. See, I've waited a long time for this. Ever since Grams died. I knew once she croaked you'd get your powers – all I had to do was wait for Phoebe to come home. Then you messed it all up, moving in with him. But now -"

I screamed, and he and the elevator froze.

What is it with me and the physcos?

"OK, think, stay calm, I've got to get out of here ..." I looked up, and realised I could climb out of the elevator onto the next floor. I was almost there when the freeze wore off, and he grabbed my leg.

He tried to pull me back into the elevator, and as I panicked I saw a wooden two-by-four nearby. Without thinking, I grabbed it and hit him over the head with it. He slumped to the floor, unconscious and I began to run.

"Phoebe!" I screamed, running into the manor. "Paige! Prue!"

"Piper, what's wrong?" Phoebe asked, walking out of the living room with Prue and Paige right behind her.

"Lock the doors, check the windows, we don't have much time. Did that book saw how to get rid of a ..."

"Warlock?" Phoebe supplied. I nodded.

"Oh my god." Prue muttered.

"What happened?" Paige asked as we all ran towards the attic.

"Jeremy. He tried to kill me." I explained. "Patty, where's Patty?"

"Leo took her out for ice-cream."

"But it's getting dark -"

"He's an angel, Piper, you don't have to worry." Phoebe reassured me. "Now come on, I know what to do ..."

"Okay, we've placed the nine candles anointed with oil and spices in a circle." Prue said quickly.

"Wait, I only count eight." I told her.

"You forgot this one." Phoebe help up a birthday candle.

"A birthday candle?" Paige asked, raising her eyebrows.

"I guess grams was a little low on witch supplies." Phoebe shrugged.

"Alright, we need the poppet." Prue said.

"Got it." Paige said, passing it to me.

Phoebe lit the birthday candle, then threw it into the pot.

"OK, we're set." Prue said.

"Get ready to cast the spell." Paige nodded.

"First, make it stronger." Phoebe said, handing me a rose, which I placed onto the top of the poppet.

I nodded, took a deep breath and began to chant; "Your love will wither and depart, from my life and my heart, let me be, Jeremy, and go away forever." I pressed the rose into the poppet and threw it in the pot.

"Done." We watched as the poppet and the rose burnt.

We looked at each other and began to clear up. That was scary.

Phoebe picked up the pot, closed her eyes and gasped.

"Wait!" She cried, flipping her eyes open again. "It didn't work!"

"What?" Paige was almost through the door, Prue right behind her.

"The spell didn't work. I had a premonition. He's alive. And he's on his way here."

We ran downstairs, to the front door, and Prue opened it. Jeremy was stood there.

"Hello, ladies." He smirked.

Wow, he's so smarmy. What did I ever see in him?

Prue sent him flying into a wall.

"Piper, Phoebe, Paige, get out of here now!" Prue yelled.

We reluctantly ran for the stairs.

"Cool parlor trick, bitch. You always were the tough one, weren't you, Prue?" I heard him say. I turned to see him fly into the wall again, then Prue ran after us.

"Put as many things against the door as you can." I said desperatly when we were in the attic. Prue and I pushed a dresser against the door and Paige and Phoebe heaved a chair on top.

We heard Jeremy laughing. "Take me now, Prue. My powers are stronger than yours. Do you think a chair will stop me?"

It slid off the dresser and onto the floor.

"Do you think a dresser will stop me?" It moved away on it's own. "Have you witches figured it out yet? Nothing, nothing can keep us away!"

"What do we do?" I asked weakly. "We're trapped." All I could think off was Patty, and Leo ...

The door exploded, and Jeremy was stood there. We all screamed.

"Today is the day you die." Dan had told me, just a day ago. And now ...

At least we'll die together.

"Come on, we'll face him together." Prue said suddenly. "Remember the spirit board?"

"Prue found it a few weeks ago." Paige explained. "Phoebe swore it spelled attic out to her, but she couldn't get in."

"The inscription on the back." Prue continued. "With The Power of Four, your spirits soar." A circle of fire surrounded us while Jeremy laughed. We gripped hands – Phoebe, Prue, me and Paige. "Come on, we gotta say it together."

"With The Power of Four, our spirits soar, With The Power of Four, our spirits soar, With The Power of Four, our spirits soar." We chanted in unison. A wind began to blow.

"With The Power of Four, our spirits soar, With The Power of Four, our spirits soar."

"I am not the only one!" Jeremy yelled. "I am one of millions! In places you can't even imagine! In forms you would never believe! We are hell on earth!"

He exploded and disappeared.

"The Power of Four." Prue murmured.

Well, this is the longest chapter I've ever written. You probably got a bit board there, but I wanted to do that bit, to show the magic side to the story.

Next chapter: Dan comes to the manor, begging for forgiveness. Will Piper give in?

Oh, and charmedscripts.tv was a big help writing this chapter.