A/N: Everyone wants to know about the shimmering circle demon. This chapter and the next should explain most of your questions.

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"Chris, what is that smell?" Piper asked, horrified as she waved her hand in front of her face.

"Phyra's potion. Noxious, huh?"

"Oy… and she said this was supposed to promote love? Seems more like it'd promote distance." Her eyes were watering at the strong odor.

"Yeah, well, only one way to find out. DAD!" Chris yelled as he grabbed two potion bottles.

"No, no, no. You are not using us as guinea pigs, Chris." Piper protested as Leo orbed in.

"I was coming back in a second, I swear, Piper. This one student just had a lot of questions, and well…" Leo's voice trailed off as he saw Piper wasn't angry with him.

"Actually, Dad, I need you and Mom to try out this potion for me. Making a long story short, Phyra made a love potion, she thinks it'll work to strengthen our bonds with the ones we love. I want to try it out, but I figured it would be best to test on you guys, since you've been in love longest."

"Come on, Chris, do you really think we'll need this?" Leo asked skeptically.

"Maybe, maybe not, but either way, isn't it always you who told us better safe than sorry? What harm can it do? These assassins aren't going to be easy to defeat from what Cole said. Why take any chances when we don't have to?"

"You know, it's not fair using my own lectures against me, son. Give me the bottle." Leo sighed. Chris handed each of his parents a bottle with a grin. Piper cautiously tipped the bottle to her lips and swallowed it quickly. Leo quickly followed suit.

Chris stood in front of them expectantly. "Well, do you feel anything?"

"Not really Chris, I..." Leo broke off suddenly, staring at Piper. "God, have I ever told you how beautiful you are? Your hair…your eyes…your smile…Michelangelo couldn't have captured perfection better."

Piper grinned beautifully, and Chris watched in awe as he eyes softened, and she blushed a little. "Leo…you haven't said anything like that in years. I…You are the most perfect man I can ever imagine. I've loved you for twenty nine years, and I'll love you for a hundred more." She lovingly ran her fingers down his jaw.

Chris murmured to himself. "Well, I guess it's safe to say the potion works. Now when everyone else gets here too, I'll hand it out, and we should be safe."

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The shimmering circle appeared in the back room of P3. The club was deserted, and he knew he'd be alone. Since he had been a little boy, this club had been his refuge. It was the one place that no one looked for him. All the times he had fought with his mom, his aunt & uncle, his grandparents, his cousins, and especially his father, this was the one place that he was able to hide in plain sight. He swallowed hard, over the lump in his throat as he thought of his family. They'd given up on him long ago, leaving him with only his baby sister. Then his father had even taken her away. He had to pay. He'd make him pay.

The young man stood and looked up into the mirror above the cot that still lay in the office. Reflecting back on him was the same reflection that had always been there- a tall, wiry kid trying desperately to be a man. His face hardened as he stared at his reflection. If he had control of his powers, he'd glamour permanently into something else, someone else. But that had never been a priority. The priority, as always was saving innocents.

He hated the dark hair and wiry build he'd inherited from his father. Luckily, he had his grandmother's eyes, a chocolaty brown that warmed to the color of brandy when he was happy. He stared for awhile longer, seeing all the things that no one else bothered to look for. He saw his own innate goodness, while everyone else only saw his powers that gave him a demonic look. It was the powers that had never let his family quite be convinced that his actions on that day so long ago were an accident.

He grimaced at the thought. He hadn't thought of Keira in months. His cousin had been the brightest person in his life. They were the same age, and had grown up closer than twins, sharing everything from secrets to Halloween candy. The mere two week age difference was no barrier to their closeness. No matter what they all thought, he NEVER would have hurt her. It wasn't his fault that he couldn't heal. He had no control over the powers that were doled out to him.

Against his wishes, that day came rushing back to him.

"Keira, come back. We're not supposed to play here!"

"Whatever, you chicken. What are you afraid a big bad demon will come get us?" Keira laughed, the sound echoing in the dark alleyway.

"Keira, my dad is gonna be really mad when he finds out we're here. Both our dads will be."

"Oh, come on, Reilly. This is the only place where we can practice our magic without an audience. Come on, please? Let's just play a little bit."

"Okay. Hit me with your best shot, cuz." Reilly laughed as Keira conjured a knife, and threw it telekinetically. Reilly immediately held up a palm and froze it in midair, and with a twist of his finger made it disappear.

"Go hide, Rei. I wanna try my sensing skills." Reilly nodded, and orbed away. Keira ran behind a dumpster, and closed her eyes, concentrating on finding Reilly.

"Well, well. A little witch…all alone." The demon appeared from out of nowhere, and grabbed Keira from behind.

She screamed shrilly and yelled for her cousin "REILLY!". He immediately orbed back in, having a funny feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"Keira, orb! Go!" he yelled, feeling his powers start to bubble in his stomach.

"I can't! Reilly, help!" she screamed, as the demon plunged his razor sharp hands into her chest. She screamed again, shrilly in pain.

Reilly closed his eyes and prayed that he wouldn't miss, as he called up a fire ball, hurling it at the demon's head. It connected, with a hiss as the demon vanished, hurt but not vanquished. Reilly fell to his knees, seeing that there was still a gaping hole in Keira's chest. "NO!" Reilly screamed, as he realized what demon had just attacked. As if he was standing next to him, his father's voice echoed through his mind. 'A Kintajou demon will appear instantly and steal the hearts of his victims.'

He laid his hands over Keira's body, trying desperately to heal her. "Oh, God, work, please, please work! Keira….Keira no! Please!" Reilly wept as his hands remained over her chest, but without the healing glow that both his father and uncle possessed. "DAD! UNCLE WYATT!" he screamed, knowing that it was too late, but needing to try anyway.

Chris and Wyatt orbed in immediately, taking in the scene before them. "KEIRA!" Wyatt screamed, scrambling to get to his daughter. He immediately laid his hands over her, trying to heal her. After long minutes, he looked up at Chris with tears in his eyes. He shook his head silently.

"No! No, Uncle Wyatt. You can heal her. Maybe if both of you try. Please, please!" Reilly begged.

"It's no use, Reilly. She's gone." Wyatt's voice was unintentionally harsh.

Chris stood silent, staring at his niece's body. A look crossed his face, as he looked to his son. "Let's go home, Reilly. This isn't the place for this discussion." He grabbed his son's arm and orbed them both to the manor. Wyatt followed, cradling his daughter's body in his arms.

"Reilly, I'm only going to ask this one time. What the HELL were you doing in that alley? I've told you a thousand times, it's too dangerous to be there. It's a known demon area! What were you thinking?" Chris' voice was rough and hard with emotion.

Reilly's mouth worked, but nothing came out. He wanted to tell the truth, that Keira had wanted to go, but it wasn't fair to blame her. She was already gone. "I thought that we could go there and work on my powers. Since mine are so different, I thought that maybe they wouldn't be noticed by demons, cause I got mostly demonic powers."

"You're lying." Chris stated coldly. "Don't bother to deny it, Reilly. I can feel it with my empathy."

"But, Dad, I…"

"No! I don't want to hear it! You wanna know what I think happened? I think you got careless. You and Keira were playing your normal games, and you got a little carried away with your roughness. Your powers are demonic. They are rooted in evil, and you can't control them. You think I didn't see the scorch mark on her cheek, Reilly? I'm not stupid! Do I really need to have your Uncle Wyatt touch it to get a premonition on whose fire ball left that mark?"

"D...dad…I'm sorry. I didn't…"

"Quit lying to me! For Christ's sake, Reilly! I really didn't want to have to do this. Wyatt…touch the mark." Chris' voice broke as Wyatt solemnly nodded and touched the mark.

Wyatt's eyes were hard, the normal twinkling blue, a harsh cobalt color. "It was your fire ball, Reilly. Why did you hurt her? She loved you!"

"Uncle Wyatt…I didn't hurt her. I didn't. It was my fire ball, but…I didn't kill her, I swear. There was a demon. He shimmered in… just appeared." Reilly's voice was stumbling for words, not able to talk normally under the harsh, condemning glare of both his father and uncle.

"A demon… how handy." Wyatt snorted angrily.

"What demon, Reilly?" Chris asked at the same time.

"He was there…I swear…he was! The Kint…Katn… I can't remember how to say it!" Reilly sobbed.

"I've heard enough, Chris. How much more of this are we expected to take? He either killed Keira, or got her killed! We can't trust him anymore!" Wyatt burst out angrily.

Chris sighed. "Reilly, I need the truth, and I need it right now. Too many lies are catching up to you."

"I'm…not…lying!" Reilly gasped through his sobs.

"Like you weren't lying about what happened at Magic School? Or did you think Grampa Leo wouldn't tell me about that? You remember that right? The little incident where you used your fire power against three younger boys, injuring them so badly that Grampa Leo had to heal them all! Reilly, I'm sick and tired of this. Your powers are demonic. And I hate to even think this, but you're starting to act like a demon! And that's one thing that I will not allow."

"Dad…Magic school...those boys, they were t…teasing Ph..Phoenix!" he protested remembering the incident a few weeks ago when three boys a few years younger than him had been teasing his youngest cousin with conjured snakes.

"Oh, I don't believe this!" Wyatt burst out. "Phoenix wasn't even there that day! Paisley kept her out of school because she was sick!"

"No!" Reilly protested, knowing that it seemed that way, but it was really a spell he and Keira had cooked up to protect Phoenix from having to tell the family about it.

"That's it! I've heard enough, Reilly. First thing tomorrow, me, Wyatt and Phyra are binding your powers. You've hurt enough people already. I'm not letting you hurt anyone else. I should have done this months ago, then maybe Keira would still be alive. It's a regret I'll carry with me forever." Wyatt and Chris left the room abruptly, as if they couldn't stand the sight of Reilly. He sank down on the floor of the living room, sobbing and crying, knowing he'd lost his family forever.

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Reilly stood lost in memories as he stared at himself in the mirror. His father hadn't gotten the chance to bind his powers the next day, because Reilly had left the manor hours later. For years, the only contact he'd had with his family was the occasional visit by his youngest sister, Raven. After Chris had found out about the clandestine visits, Raven's every move was monitored, and she could no longer visit him. He'd lost everyone he'd ever cared for, or ever loved. This time, he'd have his revenge, and no one could stop him.