Author's Note – Thank you so much AussieKazza14 and Laurie Lu for your reviews and yes, I have more or less thought the whole story through in my head. All of the three stories I'm planning to write. The hard part is to tell it in a good, understandable way (especially in English… if I had written it in Swedish the whole story would have been published here by now).

Also, I like Benny too! Actually I kind of love him. He is however a Kalla Bong and not a Ripper Demon so they can't kill him to make place for Wyatt and Chris. The Ripper Demons have to kill one of their own family members in order to do so. Hopefully when you read this chapter a couple of pieces will fall into place :-)

Chapter 9. – Days of Our Charmed Lives, Part II – Piper & Phoebe

Benny's Report, Day 109 – around 1.00 (p.m.)
After the meeting with the Ripper Demons Benny took the two small voodoo dolls that resembled Piper's sons, to the basement. There he painted a pentagram with a white chalk around The Nexus on the floor. When he put the dolls inside the pentagram Benny could almost feel how the air crackled around him as the Wheels of Time made new strange turns. Who knew what crazy things would happen because of this?

Piper was sitting on her knees in the attic, writing a pentagram on the floor with goat blood. Esmeralda stood beside her holding a pig's heart. Piper was excited – today was the day when she was going to perform the last ritual to create The Mouyawan Protection Spell. It almost felt like graduation.

The kids were playing together in a corner of the attic and Piper and Esmeralda were both in a formidable mood. All the preparations for the ritual had gone smoothly and they just had a terrific brunch out in the garden. Piper never imagined that Dark Magic could be so fun. Burying the dead man's hand in a cemetery during full moon for example, was not as scary as Piper thought it would be. They actually had a great time doing it. The light from the moon made the cemetery look aerie and beautiful. Esmeralda had brought some coffee in a thermos plus some good old malt whisky for the cold.It had felt more like a picnic than a Dark Magic ritual.

Piper finally put The Last Urn of Moth in the center of the pentagram. The drawing on the floor was light up with a warm yellowish glow. Esmeralda placed the pig's heart near the urn and the heart started to beat with a steady rhythm. It was gross but also cool in a "creepy horror movie kind of way".

Esmeralda wiped her hands. "That's it Piper. That was the final installment. Now all you have to do is to place Wyatt and Chris there and read the spell."

The boys were a little grumpy when they were separated from Justin and Emilia, Esmeralda's two children. The kids got along amazingly well and could play together for hours and hours. The pentagram glowed even more when Wyatt and Chris were inside. Piper couldn't believe it was true, finally she was going to have an effective force field that could protect her sons from the Ripper Demon family. It felt like a huge stone was lifting from her heart. Piper gave Esmeralda a nervous smile: "Ok, here we go."

Her new best friend gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "It will go fine Piper. You're doing good."

The spell was in an old Mayan language. Esmeralda had helped Piper with the pronunciation to make everything right.

Nupul utis waxaklahun chilkay
Kanlahun miyatz witz b'olonlahun
k'oh, k'ohb'a' ahaw sawal-thaan
sahahkuunt chiikbes

While she read the spell the yellow glow intensified and turned red. The pig's heart burst into flames, a weird bluish smoke and echoes from strange voices filled the room. Once the spell was over there was a bright flash. When Piper's eyes adjusted back she couldn't see Wyatt or Chris sitting in the pentagram anymore. The pig's heart was a pile of soot and ashes.

Piper went into panic mode immediately: "What happened? Where are the boys!" Her voice was getting more and more desperate with every word. What had gone wrong? She must have done something wrong! Piper turned to Esmeralda who stood there calmly with a little smile on her lips. Her friend raised her hands in the air and generated a concussion wave that made Piper fly through the room and crash-land into a small coffee table.

Piper lifted herself painfully off the rubble around her. "Esmeralda?"

Esmeralda said nothing. She raised her hands once again and this time Piper flew right into a wardrobe in the corner of the attic. She felt her right collarbone break on the impact with the old furniture. It hurt like hell but the betrayal of her friend hurt even more. Piper lifted her hands and did her best explosion with tears in her eyes. The bang was loud enough to make Justin and Emilia cry in their corner of the attic. Piper blinked with surprise, she had used every ounce of her power but the explosion was more of a whimper than a bang. Esmeralda was still standing, holding a severely burned arm. She must have messed with Piper's power somehow; otherwise she would have been dead by now.

"Bitch!"

"How could you do this to me? I thought we were friends!"

Esmeralda's face became an ugly grimace. "Well, this 'friend' is going to kick your ass!" She raised her hands in the air to throw Piper through the room again but this time she was too late, Piper had tackled her to the ground and held her by the throat.

"How could you! How could you sell my children to the Ripper Demons!"

Esmeralda gave her an evil smile: "You're looking at the Ripper Demon you idiot!" With those words she shimmered away, out of Piper's hold.

Piper broke down alone on the floor in the attic. "Leo, where are you! Leoooooooo!"

Phoebe looked at herself in the mirror while she was dressing. Today was the day. She and Emilio had talked about it back and forth for several days now and she had finally made up her mind. Today was the day when she was going to drink the power-stripping potion and get out of her magic life.

Strangely Phoebe felt nothing. She wasn't excited, she wasn't sad and she wasn't happy. She felt like a zombie.

Emilio came into view in the mirror, hugging her from behind. He was back - early this morning he had gone to his sister to get a new, better power-stripping potion for her to drink. "So today is the big day huh?" He dangled the bottle in front of her.

"Yes." Phoebe took the bottle and looked at it for a long time.

He seemed a little bit unnerved by her lack of emotion. "You don't have to do this if you don't want to, you know."

"I know."

When Phoebe made no move to drink from the bottle Emilio finally got the hint. "What? Do you need a little space? You want me to leave?"

Phoebe gave him a weak smile. "I think so."

Emilio kissed her on her forehead. "Just say if you need something. You might be a little dizzy after you have drunk it."

"Ok, I will." Emilio left the room. Phoebe was alone with the bottle of potion. The little vial of glass was hypnotizing her. Would it be the answer to all her prayers? She opened the bottle and braced herself for the impending feeling of getting her powers stripped. As she brought the bottle to her lips she closed her eyes and held her breath. This was it!

After a second Phoebe opened her eyes again, breathed out slowly and looked at the bottle again. Something just felt off. Call it a whim, call it a hunch – she didn't really understand why she did it but she slowly opened the drawer in the cupboard in front of her and poured the content of the bottle over Emilio's underpants lying there.

"So did you take it?" Emilio was suddenly standing in the door.

Phoebe turned to him and lied without blinking. "Yes."

"How do you feel?"

"Powerless." That wasn't a lie - Phoebe didn't have any active powers, The Council had taken them from her before she met Emilio.

His smile broadened while he formed a fireball in his right hand. "Good!"

"What are you doing Emilio?" Her voice was still calm and detached. For some reason Phoebe wasn't especially surprised at the turn of events – it seemed almost logical at this point.

"I'm putting you out of your misery Phoebe."

"Why?"

"Because you have been miserable since the moment I met you. You should be grateful to me for doing this."

"I have no idea what you are talking about." Phoebe wanted him to keep talking to her; that could buy her some time. He seemed to be one of those who liked to brag and give long meaningless speeches before he killed someone. Her left hand was behind her back, scrambling around in her purse on the cupboard, to find something to defend her with. Finally she found it! Her favorite athame, the one with blue gem stones in the handle.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about Phoebe. You are so extremely good at denial, aren't you? But you must know that you can't fuck away your problems."

Oooh that hurt! Phoebe was going to make him die a slow death for that last comment. All she needed now was a perfect opportunity. And more time: "But seriously Emilio, if that's your real name… why are you doing this?"

"Why? Let's just say that I always wanted to have brothers instead of sisters."

"You are one of the Ripper Demons." It was more a statement than a question.

"Bingo! Am I breaking your heart Phoebe? Do you feel used and seduced? Do I crush your dreams of us getting married and starting a family? If it's any consolation you have been one of the best witch sluts I have ever had the pleasure to fuck and kill." His voice was mean and mocking.

Phoebe rolled her eyes. "Oh please get over yourself Emilio." She really didn't need to hear anything more – she threw her athame with an amazing precision. It hit him right in the chest. He looked at it for a moment then he looked at her with confusion just before he fell backwards. Phoebe walked up to him and cut off a considerable chunk of his meat. Emilio screamed with pain. When she picked up the little bottle of vanquishing potion that Paige had insisted that Phoebe always should carry with her, he started to tell her that he loved her and that they were soul mates. Phoebe dropped the slice of Emilio into the bottle and looked at him before she crushed the bottle with it's content on his chest.

"You are right Emilio. I can't fuck away my problems."

She watched him die a slow agonizing death, burning and melting away. He screamed, pleaded with her, and cursed her until he finally died. In the end he was nothing but a little puddle of green goo on the floor that were evaporating into the air. It smelled like sulphur.

Phoebe tried to call the manor all the way home but no one picked up the phone. She still felt nothing. Absolutely nothing.

Benny read the reports that lay before him on the table on more time. It was too early to tell how everything would turn out. He urged his agents Björn and Agneta to keep following the sisters.

He looked nervously at the clock. Annifrid hadn't come back with her report on Paige yet. Benny wanted to know how The Ripper Demons attack on the youngest sister turned out. He had a feeling that it would be very important for the outcome of the whole event.

To be continued in "Chapter 10. – Days of Our Charmed Lives, Part III – Paige"…