Disclaimer: All previous disclaimers apply.
Chapter 19: All in a Morning's Work
A Desert
In an Undisclosed Location
December 11, 2031
2:00 pm
Everywhere the eye can see is a sea of sand, interrupted by a cactus. The sun beats down on the sand and the winds blow the sand around in every direction as if they are forever tearing down and rebuilding their masterpiece like an artist striving for perfection. Most people avoid this world like the plague. However, a hut stands in between two sand dunes. The hut consists of strong cement walls and a straw-thatched roof that is supported by strong steel beams. In the center of the east-facing wall is a red door. On either side of the door are two windows with red shutters. A light inside the hut indicates that someone is home. Most people believe the young brown-haired, brown-eyed woman who is sitting on a wooden stool beside a black cauldron that is full of a bubbling pink liquid to be foolish.
However, the young woman is not foolish. She just needs a place to plot, plan and execute her revenge against the Twice-Blessed for murdering Ailin Callahan. She and Ailin had been teacher and student, but Ailin became like her little brother. The fact that he was a Phoenix was only icing on the cake.
Flashback begins.
The day that she had met Ailin at the library in Dublin, Ireland, had been a fortuitous day. The young Ailin had been very out of place as he stood in line, waiting for the librarian to assist him. He was wearing baggy blue jeans and an oversized red sweater and squirming around. As he waited, he would look around his shoulder as if someone was stalking him and pull the sleeve of the sweater down even more. However, the sweater could not completely hide the picture of the Phoenix on the inside of his wrist. When she saw the Phoenix, the young woman knew that the library would not hold the answers the boy desperately wanted. So, she grabbed his arm and dragged him off to some tables in a quiet corner of the library. Then, she showed him her birthmark and explained that she was Phoenix just like him and that Phoenixes were assassin witches. She had been a little surprised when he had asked, "What did I do when I disappeared after the village boys chased me and threw sticks and stones at me and then reappeared after they had left?"
"You shimmered. Shimmering is how Phoenixes transport themselves from place to place," the young woman had replied.
Flashback ends.
The black magnetic stopwatch on the steel refrigerator door beeps, proving that she does not have time for silly reminisces. She adds powdered toadstool to the pink liquid in the cauldron and stirs the mixture. When smoke billows out of the cauldron, Bianca smiles, showing her straight white teeth.
"Soon, Twice Blessed, I will have my revenge," Bianca says and cackles.
Halliwell Manor
1329 Prescott Street
San Francisco, CA, USA
December 11, 2031
12:00 am
Miles away, Wyatt wakes up. Beads of sweat run down his face. He gets up, turns on the lights and looks around him. Nothing has been touched and Chris is fast asleep in the bed on the other side of the room. Satisfied, that Chris is unharmed, he tries to convince himself that whatever scared him is a figment of his imagination. However, he cannot shake his feeling that something bad will happen or is happening. So, he grabs a robe from the closet and slips into it. Next, he opens the top dresser drawer and takes out the flashlight. He makes sure the flashlight has batteries, turns off the lights and steps out into the hall. He pads over to Melinda's room and quietly opens the door. Melinda is fast asleep and unharmed. So, he closes the door and heads over to his parents' bedroom. They are also safe.
Then, he goes to check on Emily. He opens the door and peeks inside. Emily's red hair fans around her porcelain face. A couple of errant curls fall over Emily's closed eyes. Wyatt approaches the bed to push the errant curls back into place. After he places the curls back into place, he can't help noticing her lips. He kisses her soft lips and tiptoes out of the bedroom. Emily waits for Wyatt to quietly close the door and leave before she opens her eyes and lets out the breath she has been holding.
After leaving Emily's bedroom, Wyatt goes down to the kitchen to get a glass of water. He sits at the kitchen table and drinks one glass of water to calm his nerves. He refills the glass and takes it up to his bedroom. He places the glass of water on the end table and gets into bed. He slips under the covers and after and interminable amount of time, he falls asleep.
On the Sidewalk in front of Stacy's Dance School
San Francisco, CA, USA
December 11, 2031
7:00 am
Emily is happily skipping down the sidewalk on her way to Stacy's Dance School. She is wearing blue jeans and a white t-shirt with a picture of an orange monarch butterfly with black spots on it. Most passersby believe that Emily is crazy and are careful to steer clear away from her, but Emily has two very good reasons to celebrate. One reason is that she has earned one of the highest grades in Dr. Sutton's class. Albus may have received the highest grades, but she can't wait to tell him how well she did and thank him for tutoring her. The second reason is the kiss Wyatt gave her eight hours ago. Was it really only eight hours ago? It seems like a lifetime ago. After one kiss, she can't seem to keep the goofy grin off her face. What would another kiss do?
Because she really isn't paying attention to her surroundings, she is surprised when a tall man who is dressed in black robes with a black hood over his head effortlessly tosses her over his shoulder like a 20-pound bag of flour.
When he picks her up, she kicks him and shouts, "Wy, Chris, Paige! Anyone! Help me!"
However, nobody comes rushing to her aid.
Two seconds later, the tall, black-hooded man deposits her in a room. The tall, black-hooded man exits the room and locks the door with a gold key. However, Emily doesn't notice the gold key because her head is still spinning from the tall man's mode of transportation. As soon as the tall man locks the door to her prison, Emily succumbs to the darkness.
When she wakes up, she looks around her. Gray limestone walls with patches of moss in its crevices that appear as grout surround her with the exception of a steel door. She walks over to the door and pushes it, hoping that it will open and she can escape. However, the door doesn't budge. She tries again and again, but her attempts are futile.
So, she looks around even more, hoping to find another escape route. The limestone walls form a dome. The only things that make the room look like a dungeon are the torture devices. Thousands of sizes and types of rope and whips hang on a coat rack in the far left corner of the room. A guillotine stands next to the coat-rack. All types of swords and shields that bear various coats-of-arms adorn the wall. On the right far wall is a medieval water-dripping torture bed and above it on a little shelf is a little vial full of water.
Finding no immediate help of escape, Emily sits down on the floor in a corner of the room, pulls her knees towards her and cries.
Stacy's Dance School
San Francisco, CA, USA
December 11, 2031
8:00 am
"Aisling, is Emily here with you?" Stacy asks when Aisling enters the dance studio.
"No, but why do you want to know?" Aisling asks.
"Emily called me last night and told me she would come here early in the morning, but she hasn't arrived, yet," Stacy replies.
"Don't panic, Stacy. I'll call some people and see if they can find Emily," Aisling calmly says.
"What if the people to whom you are referring are unsuccessful?" Stacy asks as Aisling pushes her into a chair.
"Then, we will call the police," Aisling replies as she goes over to the hot pink boom box and turns on some salsa music.
Stacy taps her foot to the rhythm of the music and gets up to dance to the music. As she dances, she looses herself in the music and forgets about Emily. While Stacy dances, Aisling goes to the restroom and shouts, "Chris!"
Chris materializes in little blue and white lights. He looks into Aisling's eyes and sees that something is bothering her.
"What's wrong, Love?" Chris asks.
"Stacy says that Emily was supposed to come here early this morning, but she hasn't arrived, yet. Would you be a darling and scry for her?" Aisling asks.
Melinda's premonition has happened right under our noses. How could we be so careless? Chris thinks.
Aloud he says, "Sure."
Thinking that he is going to need reinforcements, he says through his bond with Wyatt, "Wy, Mel's premonition has come true. Meet me at the Manor."
Then, he orbs to the Bay Mirror to take his Aunt Phoebe to the Manor. When his Aunt Phoebe is in the attic, Chris orbs to the kitchen of the Charmed Restaurant and orbs back to the attic with his mother. Then, he calls his Aunt Paige. Paige arrives in little blue and white lights. Afterwards, Wyatt arrives with Darryl. Before Wyatt and Darryl fully materialize, Chris turns invisible and says through his bond with Wyatt, "Wy, you will have to tell them that Emily has been abducted, since I am still on Uncle Darryl's most wanted list.
Wyatt claps his hands and all eyes turn to him.
"Melinda's premonition has come true. Emily has been abducted," Wyatt says.
"Then, why are we waiting? Let's go," Piper says.
Just as Wyatt is about to say that they need a plan to trap her, the young woman they are discussing shimmers behind Wyatt, kicks him to the ground and pins him there with the heel of her boot. Next, Bianca touches Wyatt and takes his powers away from him. Everyone except for Paige stays in his or her place and remains spellbound as he or she watches Wyatt grit his teeth to stop from screaming out against the pain.
Paige says, "Vanquish potion vial," and a vial full of red liquid flies into her outstretched hand.
When the vial reaches her hand, Paige throws the vial at Bianca, hoping to distract her.
Bianca dodges the vanquish potion vial and throws a vial of pink liquid at Wyatt. With her job done, Bianca shimmers away.
When Bianca is gone, everyone gathers around a still writhing Wyatt.
"What did she do to me?" Wyatt asks.
"She took away your powers," Paige replies.
"She did more than that," Harry says as he apparates into the attic.
"Before you ask why I am here, the wards I put on the Manor warned me of trouble. So, I came here. As for your question, dear pupil, the answer is that she has made you a muggle," Harry says.
"A muggle? Why?" Wyatt asks.
"You have always been praised for those powers. She wanted to see what you would be like without those powers," Harry replies.
"That explains my powers, but what about my magic?" Wyatt asks.
"She didn't want you to use wizarding world magic or any other kind of magic to fight her," Harry explains.
"So, it won't be a matter of fixing the floorboards this time?" Leo asks as he enters the attic.
"I am afraid that method won't work," Harry says.
"What will?" Wyatt asks between bouts of coughing and sneezing.
Harry gestures toward the gold chain around Wyatt's neck that has the time turner that Harry gave him as a last resort before he went to battle Ailin Callahan attached to it.
"I'll think about it," Wyatt raspily says.
"You know, Wy, we could just use the time travel spell from the Book of Shadows instead of that time turner," Chris says through his bond with Wyatt.
"That's a good idea. How do you know about the timeturner, anyway?" Wyatt replies through the bond.
"I have seen you finger it every once in a while," Chris repliesthrough the bond.
"Well, at least our bond works. I wonder if Excalibur will come to me," Wyatt says through the bond.
"There's only one way to find out," Chris says through the bond.
"Excalibur!" Wyatt shouts and Excalibur flies through the air and lands in his outstretched hand.
"What do you know? I am not so helpless after all." Wyatt says through the bond.
While Chris and Wyatt talk through their bond, Harry says, "See you later." Then, he apparates back to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
When Harry leaves, Darryl, who has not understood any of the events that just transpired in the attic before his eyes, clears his throat and says, "I brought the darts that killed Mrs. O'Keeffe and Mrs. Jones with me. Will you use them to scry for their murderer?"
"Why not? It will give us something to do," Paige says.
Using the darts, Piper, Phoebe, and Paige scry for Mrs. O'Keeffe and Mrs. Jones' murderer. They take out a map of the world and wait for the crystal to show them where their bounty is. After a while, the crystal lands on San Francisco. Piper takes out a map of San Francisco. This time the crystal lands on Stacy's Dance School.
"It looks like Aisling is his next target. Let's go," Piper says.
Piper and Phoebe grab some vanquishing potions and Paige orbs Piper and Phoebe to Stacy's Dance School.
Stacy's Dance School
San Francisco, CA, USA
December 11, 2031
11:00 am
"Back straight, Sara," Aisling calls over to a 4'8" tall blonde-haired girl.
The girl immediately straightens her back and tilts her head a little higher.
Just as Aisling is about to praise Sara, an old man with a jagged scar running across his cheek throws a knife at Aisling. Aisling freezes, not knowing whether or not to use her new powers. Fate takes that choice away from her in the form of Paige who appears with Piper and Phoebe. Paige calls the knife to her and directs it toward the black-eyed old man with the jagged scar. The man dodges the knife. Angrily, he takes another knife from his pocket and aims it at Phoebe. Paige redirects that knife back at the old man. So, he throws the knife at Paige who dodges. This game continues for a while with nobody getting the upper hand.
While the knife throwing occurs, Phoebe has time to make up a spell. She quickly hands Paige a vanquishing potion, picks up the trash can next to Stacy's desk and says, "Piper and Paige, repeat the following words after me: Make this six foot tall evil six inches tall and make him fall into this trash can."
The Charmed Ones say:
"Make this six foot tall evil man
Six inches tall
And make him fall
Into this trash can.
While saying the spell, Piper, Phoebe and Paige throw their vanquishing potions at the man. The old man dodges the vanquishing potions, but the spell makes him six inches tall and puts him in the trash can that Phoebe is holding.
Phoebe holds the trash can toward Aisling and says, "Do the honors."
Aisling walks over to Phoebe and places the trash can on the floor. Then, she says, "This is for my family," and stomps on the little man.
Then, Aisling dismisses her class and runs over to Stacy's class to tell her that she will be going home early.
With Stacy's permission and their job done, the Charmed Ones return with Aisling to the attic where Darryl, Wyatt, and an invisible Chris are patiently waiting for them.