Chapter 14
Anton's face hovered in front of Melinda for a few moments. The image was transparent, but his features stood out clearly. The curve of his jaw, the shape of his lips, and the gleam in his eyes were forever burned into her mind from viewing Pearls memoirs. His laughter echoed within her mind although his face was still. She felt no fear, but she wasn't exactly at ease with his presence either.
"What do you want?" she asked him.
"Why would I want something?" he asked her.
"You're the one that has been invading my thoughts and dreams. I know that you want something." She replied.
"I want nothing from you," he told her. "I got what I needed already."
"What was that?" she asked nervously.
"I got to relive my past with Pearl. I got to see her within your mind, vibrant and alive." Though his face was the only thing that Melinda could see, she saw his demeanor change to sadness.
"Well, I'm done reading it now." She told him. "You're still here, so you obviously want something."
"I've been watching you. You remind me so much of her," he told her. "I see the way your family treats you, and I want to help you avoid what they did to her."
"What is it that they did to her?" Melinda asked, her curiosity growing.
"Open your mind to me," he told her. "I'll show you."
Pearl's heart was racing as she turned the corner onto Prescott Street. She saw the usual cliental pouring in and out of the manor steps. Her cousins were going to be ready for her, and it scared her to death. Anton assured her that everything would be fine. He gave her an amulet that would protect her against their powers, and although she wasn't powerful enough to take them down herself, he promised to protect her.
She thought of her daughter as she walked up the porch steps. Her fury raged as she entered the doors, but maintained her dignity. The doorman welcomed her back with a smile, and various people nodded their hello's to her on her way through the house. She glanced in the mirror to look herself over once more before confronting her cousins.
Gordan was sitting at the piano playing a song with his band. It was cheery, friendly, and happy. He caught her glance and a worried look crossed his face. The music he played irritated her to no end, they continued on with life as if nothing had happened. She confronted Pippy at the bar and they exchanged words. She ordered her regular drink and headed towards her booth. Prudence was taking photos as usual and turned to meet her gaze as Pearl approached her.
"We have to talk, soon!" Prudence told her.
"We're done talking," Pearl told her coldly.
There were no words that could describe the betrayal that her cousins had bestowed upon her. She turned on her heel and turned away. Christina was sitting at her booth, pretending to tell the future of an old woman. Fear engulfed Pearl, and she redirected her anger unwillingly to the child.
"Christina Lawson! What in the devil are you doing?" she raged. She picked up the childs doll and threw it to the ground. She wanted to get Christina out of the manor before everything happened. She could never forgive herself if something happened to that dear little girl.
"Spells and charms--- they're not toys, Christina! Do you understand me?"
Pearl was furious. She turned and went outside to try to get her anger under control. She was here for her cousins, not the innocents in the house. She paused just outside the door to catch her breath and felt Anton behind her and convinced her to be strong for their child.
She went back into the house and found Prudence, still taking photographs.
"Do you want to talk now… upstairs?" She asked.
Someone screamed in the distance and commotion broke loose in the house. Everyone ran away in a panic, which left Prudence and Pearl alone facing one another. Prudence blew into her hand and a ray of ice headed straight for Pearl. The amulet that Anton had given her absorbed the attack, and Pearl suddenly felt very powerful.
"How does it feel to be powerless against me?" she asked Prudence tauntingly.
Prudence attacked her, and they were left on the ground wrestling. Pearl struggled to free herself from Prudence's grasp, but she was a strong woman. She felt something go around her neck from behind her. Pippy was behind her with a rope, threatening to strangle her. Pearl was distracted and Prudence ripped the amulet from her neck.
"We know Anton is a warlock," Pippy told her.
"And that he's fallen in love with you," Prudence added.
"And he's turned you evil," Pippy said.
"We can't have you guys join forces, not in this life, not in any life." Prudence finished.
"Please forgive us," Pippy said.
They cast a spell that bound her and Anton from ever being together, and Pearl died.. strangled by her own blood with a rope around her neck. She would never get to live the life she dreamed of with Anton, and she would never get to lay eyes on her daughter.
"Oh my God," Melinda said.
"Yes, they killed her just because she loved me. Because she wanted to build a life with me." He told her.
"No!" Melinda protested. "In the book it said that you tried to kill my Aunt Phoebe and you tried to steal their powers! They vanquished you!"
"Yes," Anton conceded. "I did try to take the powers of the Charmed Ones, but I didn't try to kill your Aunt Phoebe. She switched souls with Pearl, and I couldn't stand the thought of losing her again, so I tried to keep her with me. I didn't care about the soul of Phoebe, I only wanted my Pearl."
"But…" Melinda said. "They vanquished you. How are you here now?"
"They vanquished the warlock in me, but they couldn't kill my human soul." He replied. "Now, I'm here to help you."
"Help me what?" she asked.
"Help you to ensure that you don't end up with the same fate as my beloved Pearl." He replied. "Your lives are so parallel… right down to your family not approving of your fiancé."
"Oh my GOD!" Melinda squealed jumping to her feet. "Is Tony a warlock, or a demon, or something else evil?" Her heart was pounding and she was terrified to think that she had fallen for the enemy.
"No, no. Tony is fully human," Anton said to her.
"How can I trust you?" Melinda asked suspiciously.
"You can't," a third voice in the room said.
The other ghost that had been haunting Melinda came into view. She stood there calmly glaring at Anton. He diverted his eyes to the other ghost and matched her gaze.
"Stay out of this Witch," he told her. "It's your fault my Pearl is gone forever!"
"Don't listen to him Melinda," the woman told her. "His spirit may be human, but even humans can be evil."
"Stop it! Stop it!" Melinda screamed grabbing at the hair at her temples. Her head began to throb and she felt her pulse in her forehead. "I can't trust either of you!"
"Just listen to me, Melinda!" Anton pleaded.
"No!" she yelled. "Go away! Get away from me both of you!"
Anton's face went from serene to angry. He stared at her and started to say something but Chris burst through the door.
"Melinda!" he said. "Who are you yelling at?"
"Them!" Melinda replied pointing at the two ghosts.
"Who?" Chris asked.
Melinda looked from her brother to the ghosts. Why could he not see them?
"Get away from me!" she screamed at the spirits.
"Melinda," Chris exclaimed as his sister collapsed. He quickly rushed forward and caught her before she cracked her skull open on the floor.
"Melinda," he said softly. "What is it?"
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Chris recounted the story of what had happened in his sisters room for the 100th time to his family. It was 9:30 in the morning, and they had all been awake since 3:00 a.m. when Chris discovered Melinda screaming at thin air. Piper immediately called her family, and everyone showed up almost instantly for a family meeting.
"And then she passed out," Chris told Billie who had just arrived.
"I'm so sorry I couldn't be here earlier," Billie told Piper.
"It's okay," Piper told Billie. "You had to take care of your own daughter."
Billie sighed and nodded. She was recently divorced, and her daughter was supposed to spend the weekend with her father, but he called and canceled at the last minute. Otherwise, she would have been at the manor at 4 in the morning when she first got the call.
"So now," Phoebe said. "We have to figure out what is going on inside her head."
"You can't read her?" Billie asked.
"No," Phoebe replied. "She's always been good at blocking it."
"I used to be able to read her," Priscilla said. "But for the past few weeks I can't get a feel on her. It's like—"
"Like she doesn't even know what she's thinking," Patty said.
"The only thing that is for sure is her feelings for Tony," Patience stated.
All three of Phoebe's girls were gifted with empathy coupled with the power of love, which made them all very powerful because they lead with their hearts and were never lead astray. The rest of the family took what they had to say to heart and thought for a few moments on the impact the words had on them.
"Okay," Phoebe said. "So love is muddling her mind. That's to be expected with a first love… remember how crazy I was with Cole?"
"No," Wyatt said. "I think it's more than that. She's been having really vivid nightmares lately."
"How do you know that?" Piper asked.
"Because she told me," Wyatt said.
"When?" Leo asked.
"A few days ago when I went in to check on her. I came in from work and she was still here so I asked her why she wasn't at class. She told me that she had a really bad headache and she figured it was because of the nightmares she'd been having, and she wasn't sleeping from it."
"What?" Piper asked Leo when she saw the look of concern on his face.
"Nothing," Leo said.
"No, what is it?" Chris asked.
"Well…" Leo said. "If you put everything together… she's having nightmares and headaches. She's talking to herself and she really hasn't been herself…"
"And she's been avoiding school and us," Chris finished. He and Wyatt exchanged a look.
"What!" Piper almost shrieked.
"Mom," Wyatt told her. "She's possessed."
