FIVE
Piper, Phoebe, and Leo sat in the living room looking at Patricia. The twelve-year-old was staring at the floor guiltily. As if she had done something wrong and was waiting to be punished.
"It seems you left something out of the story you told us," said Piper.
"I'm sorry," pleaded Patricia. "I didn't mean to hurt him. It was an accident. I'll leave. You don't have to worry about me. I'll go away and you don't ever have to worry about me again."
"We don't want you to leave," said Piper.
"You don't?" Patricia asked. "You must really be angry with me."
"Oh, sweetie, we aren't angry," said Phoebe. "And Piper's right. We don't want you to leave."
"Of course not," said Piper. "Patricia is that why your daddy called you a freak? Because of what you can do?"
"Yes," said Patricia. "I didn't mean to hurt mommy. I just got so angry. All of a sudden mommy was knocked back like that man in the kitchen."
"It's called telekinesis," said Leo. "It means you can move things just by thinking about it."
"Prue had that power," said Piper.
"So, I'm not a freak?" Patricia asked.
"No, honey, you're not a freak," said Phoebe. "I'm sure your father didn't mean it. He was probably just scared when it happened. A lot of people don't know how to react to something like that."
"How long have you been able to do that?" Piper asked.
"A few months," said Patricia. "Mostly when I get real angry or upset. It just kind of happens."
"Just like Prue," said Phoebe. "I remember in that drug store just after we got our powers. I was taunting her. She knocked everything in the entire aisle off the shelves."
"Powers?" Patricia questioned. "You mean my mom could do other things?"
"Oh yeah," said Piper. "We all can. Look, Patricia, if you are Prue's daughter that makes you our niece. We're witches. That would also make you a witch. Even if you aren't Prue's daughter it still looks like you're a witch."
"A witch?" Patricia questioned. "You mean like riding a broom and the pointy hat and bubbling cauldron and all?"
"It's not really like that," said Phoebe. "Witches are just like everyone else. They just have certain powers, that's all."
"And unfortunately," said Piper, "there are some bad people out there who want to take that power. That's what the man in the kitchen wanted."
"I really am sorry about that," said Patricia. "I didn't mean to hurt him. But when he tried to hurt Phoebe I got angry. I won't do it again, I promise."
"Patricia," said Phoebe, "what you did to that man wasn't bad. He came here to hurt Piper. Maybe to hurt Paige and me, too. You stopped him. He's a very bad man so don't be concerned if you hurt him."
"He came to hurt you?" Patricia asked Piper.
"Apparently so," said Piper. "He's one of the bad people I told you about. He's called a warlock and he's a very bad man. If you hadn't been there he might have killed me so what you did wasn't a bad thing."
"Why would he want to kill you?" Patricia asked. "He doesn't even know you."
"That doesn't matter to him," said Leo. "He wants to steal their powers. That's what most warlocks do. They kill witches to steal their powers."
"Will he try to kill me?" Patricia asked.
"Probably not for a very long time," said Piper, trying to make the girl feel better. "He'll probably want to wait until your power develops a little bit more."
"Hmmm," said Patricia. "Then I wonder what he wanted."
"He was after Piper, like we told you," said Phoebe.
"No, I mean in Tacoma," said Patricia. "I met him after I got that telekinesis thing. But I didn't trust him. That's one of the reasons I came to find my mom. I thought she might be able to explain some things to me."
"You knew him in Tacoma?" Piper asked.
"Yeah," said Patricia. "I guess he followed me here. When I saw him in the kitchen I just figured he had come after me again."
"He might have," said Leo. "Maybe he was after her. Patricia, instead of Piper. The question is what's so important about a twelve-year-old girl that a warlock would risk attacking her here in the manor?"