Author's Note:
You really should listen to the song "Fire (Aim Your Arrows High)" by VersaEmerge – it fits this chapter SO well.
Chapter Five
"Lights in the Void"
The Halliwells stayed together in the parlour with a shame that hung heavy on their hearts. The family of witches stayed silent and kept their thoughts to themselves for some time. They were still reeling from their crushing defeat at the hands of Umbris, the dark demon that had plagued their day from the beginning, and if things carried on the way they had been… he'd be plaguing them long passed the day's end.
Leo stepped into the room holding a silver tray that held and stacks of cups and saucers and a pot of tea on top of it. No sooner had he set it down onto the parlour coffee table had Piper dived at the tea pot, hurriedly filling a cup with the hot beverage.
She took a sip and uttered, "Ooh, chamomile! Good – I'll need three cups."
"What is the matter with all of you?" Leo began, looking around at his gloomy family, "You can't give up because you didn't win the first time! Not all wars are won with a single battle."
"It's not just that we didn't win, dad. It's the fact that Umbris handed our asses to us on a silver platter! How do we know it won't happen again?" Chris replied.
"Because you're descendants of the most powerful line of witches the world has ever seen! And to boot, you come from the most powerful witch of all," Leo smiled at his tea-drinking wife who couldn't resist smiling back, "and if Astrid, one of your ancestors, could deter this demon for so long then surely with all of the power you guys possess you can put an end to him once and for all."
"There's absolutely nothing in the Book that can help us though," Melinda sighed, flipping through the Book of Shadows which she held on her lap, "I've been through it a dozen times. There's nothing."
"What about Astrid's entry?" Leo asked.
"Let's see…" the youngest witch hastily flipped through the ancient tome until she arrived at the desired page, "-for if he ever regains the use of his body he will be nigh impossible to vanquish… yeah, I think we're screwed."
"Stop focusing on the negative! You can't give up because of a few setbacks! Focus on what Astrid and Grams did right and go from there," Leo urged.
"As much as I don't want to admit it," Piper said as she put down her cup and stood next to her husband, interlocking their hands together, "your father's right. We can't give up – not now! Not when the world needs us most."
Chris poured himself a cup of camomile tea and quickly began to drink it.
"Chris?" Piper laughed, "Are you okay? You hate tea."
"I know," he grimaced at the taste, "but if drinking this helped you get over how badly Umbris pummelled us then maybe it can help me too." Piper smiled is her son guzzled down the calming beverage.
"How badly can the world really need us anyway?" Melinda asked, lazily turning on the television with the remote control in her hand.
The screen flashed on and upon it was a newsreader with the headline BREAKING NEWS behind her."Numerous reports have been flooding in today from the San Francisco area about a mysterious, thick fog that has been covering parts of the city. Earlier today this phenomenon was allegedly seen at a local cemetery and then disappeared without a trace… This just in," the newsreader said as she held her earpiece, "the fog has reportedly appeared again but this time near the Golden Gate Bridge area. We go to Peter Barrett for an update."
The screen flashed once more and a male news reporter was seen standing on the Golden Gate Bridge with a looming grey fog in the distance behind him up a nearby hill. "As you can see here, the fog has appeared over the hill behind us which is very strange since fog usually appears around bodies of water which begs the question: why is it up over on the hill and not where I'm standing on the bridge, over one of the largest bodies of water in the city? It has been reported that people who attempt to enter the fog can expect to pass out or even exit the fog in the exact same position they entered, even if they only travelled forwards and made no turns. This bizarre occurrence has scientists baffled. That's all for now."
"Does that answer your question?" Piper asked. Melinda sighed in defeat. "Honey," Piper continued, turning to her husband, "do we have any leftover fireworks in the garage?"
"I think so. Why do you ask?"
"Well, by the looks of things Umbris is trying to cloak himself from us. He likes to hide in the dark, right? So, why don't we crash the party and give him a light show he'll never forget."
"Is that a good idea?" Chris asked, "Wouldn't that just attract more unwanted attention?"
"Have you seen that fog?" Piper replied, gesturing towards the television, "Chances are that if nothing mortal can get in then nothing mortal can get out either."
"Mortal? What makes you say that?" Leo inquired.
"Well, fireworks are man-made and regular people couldn't enter it without some strange side-effect. I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that you were able to enter it before because we bypassed the fog by orbing in – meaning that you were protected by Chris' magic." Piper explained.
Leo smiled, "See, you guys? Your mom's got the right idea! You can do this if you just focus."
"So…" Melinda began, closing the Book of Shadows, "the plan would be to weaken Umbris with the light the fireworks create? We could even go a step further, maybe? Make a magical light show of our own aswell, to use as a weapon against him? I mean, we have two half-whitelighters here, so it shouldn't to too hard to whip up a light storm, right?"
"Now you're thinking!" Leo beamed. "What do you think, Chris? Wyatt?" he asked, looking at his two sons. Chris nodded enthusiastically but Wyatt said nothing as he silently stared out of the parlour window, gazing upon the darkened street beyond.
"Wyatt?" Piper said, eying her son with concern. "Are you okay? You've not said anything since we got back."
Wyatt shook his head gently. "I can't do this," he said, swiftly making his way past his parents into the hallway.
"Wyatt?" Piper asked again, uncertain of how to get through to her son. The eldest whitelighter's body erupted into spiralling lights and headed upstairs.
"Oh no you don't!" Chris exclaimed, his body also becoming a wash of bright lights. He quickly shot through the air, tackled his brother's orbed body and dragged him back downstairs into the hallway. The two swirls of glowing lights disappeared as the two brothers faded into view. "You do NOT get to walk away! Not when we need you!" he raged.
Wyatt turned away and leaned on the dining room table. Melinda rushed passed her parents and stood by the circular table in the middle of the hallway between the living room and the stairs.
Piper tried to reach out to her daughter but Leo stopped her. "They need some time to figure things out. Come on, let's go get those fireworks." Piper opened her mouth to argue but then stopped. The two slipped past the fireplace and out of the parlour. They headed through living room, into the conservatory and out into the garden.
"What the hell are we doing? There's a demon out there that we need to vanquish and what, we're just gonna stand here and argue? Pull yourselves together!" Melinda said as she looked at her brothers distastefully.
"Gee, Melinda. When did you become the older sibling?" Chris smirked.
"When you two stopped acting like older brothers!" she snapped back. Chris frowned.
"… You don't understand. I can't do this," Wyatt said softly with sadness in his eyes.
"Do what?" Melinda asked.
"This. Fight Umbris. It's so easy for you all to think that this'll be a piece of cake because I'm apparently some amazing force of good. But I don't feel so good right now."
"What's gotten into you, Wyatt? What's the matter?" the youngest witch probed further.
"I hurt someone today – an innocent. I wasn't strong enough to fight against Umbris and someone got hurt because of it – and because of me and my so-called power Umbris was reunited with his body. I could have gotten you all killed at the cemetery! I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if anything happened to you because of me," he confessed.
"Wy," Chris said, gently smiling through a look of concern, "I understand how you feel. Because of me, mom could have died. I wasn't strong enough. I know what it's like to feel evil-"
"But you can't let it get to you!" Melinda encouraged.
"Easier said than done, Mel," Chris sighed, "You just don't understand-"
"LIKE HELL I DON'T!" the youngest witch exploded, making her two brothers jump in surprise. "Let me tell you two a little something! Were you there for my last field assignment for school? My job was to protect an innocent, Robbie Thornton - it was a routine thing, protecting a future whitelighter. Were you there when all of a sudden a demon shimmered in and started to attack us? I panicked and froze everything, Robbie included.
Have YOU ever had demons take advantage of your weakness and almost kill your innocent right in front of you with a fireball? Have YOU ever felt like your own magic has BETRAYEDyou? That what you've done is the most EVIL thing you could ever do? Have YOU ever had your friends look at you as if everything that happened was YOUR fault?" she cried as streams of searing tears slid down her rosy cheeks. Her voice began to crack as she fought back a flood of infuriated tears. "I hated my power. What good could come of it if it could actually get innocents hurt? What happened still haunts me!
"But you know what?" she said softly, "I know I'm not evil – and you know why? Because I did something about it! I stepped up and I set things right! I knew that if it was my magic that had done that to him then it had to be MY magic that fixed it. I kept freezing him so he wouldn't die while the others fought the demon and we waited for help. I pulled myself together and I SAVED HIM! I … I saved him and I apologised. I set things right … You're both so quick to dismiss me, because I'm poor, helpless little Melinda… WELL GUESS WHAT? I understand! I probably understand a helluva lot more than you two do! So don't you DARE say that I don't!" Melinda stood still, her body shaking in rage. She took one last look at her brothers before the emotion overwhelmed her and the tears erupted from her eyes.
Wyatt shot towards her and wrapped his arms around Melinda, pulling her into a tight hug. She sobbed heavily into his chest as Chris joined the embrace with his brother and sister.
"Mel…"
"We had no idea…"
The three siblings stood in silence for a moment in union before the youngest spoke, "You're not evil," Melinda breathed gently through the sobs and tears. "Neither of you are. You're not evil. You might've been forced to do terrible things today but that does not make you bad people. It wasn't your fault – it was out of your control.
Wyatt, you helped mom today after Umbris attacked her. You healed her – you saved her. She's still here with us because of you. And Chris, when Wyatt was unconscious in the cemetery you took the lead. You stood head-to-head against the most powerful demon we've ever faced and you held your ground. Because of you, Wyatt and I were able to get home safely, as were mom and dad. You've both saved us all today. You two are the white lights in this family – you are angels after all," she laughed.
"No, Melinda. Whitelighters or not, we're not the light in this family. You are," Wyatt corrected, "I might not mention often, but you're a ray of light and hope in my life-"
"Our lives," Chris corrected. Melinda smiled.
"You always bring us back together. You stop this family from falling apart. You're the glue that holds us together," Wyatt said, gently kissing his sister on the head.
"And you're always there to kick our asses when we need it," Chris said as the three of them laughed. Their embrace tightened as they all closed their eyes.
The room was illuminated by a dazzling light that radiated outward from the chandelier above the three siblings. The funnel of light danced around them as globules of dark energy were swiftly ejected from each witch. Melinda opened her eyes and jumped, taken aback by the display of light and dark.
"What's happening?" she asked.
"I have no idea," the eldest sibling replied as he looked around the room at the spinning lights and floating darkness.
The three siblings stood back-to-back as they faced the unknown forces that swirled about them.
Melinda flicked out her hand towards the lingering darkness. "Well, they're not freezing, so it's not demonic."
The entities hissed and mounted an attack, forcing their way through the air to the Halliwells. Their path was blocked by the funnel of white light which suddenly erupted outwards, decimating the oncoming shadows into nothingness. The light faded and left the young witches confused.
"Again – what the hell was that?" Chris said, perplexed.
"A ploy of Umbris' to corrupt us again?" Melinda suggested.
"Whatever it was, it's gone now," Wyatt said as he quickly surveyed the area just to make sure. "Is it just me or do you two feel … lighter? Like a weight has been lifted off of your shoulders?"
"Now that you mention it, yeah, I do," Chris agreed.
"I do too," Melinda said as a smile jumped to her lips. "Based on what just happened, I think we're both right."
"Right about what, Mel?"
"It's not just you two and it's not just me who's the light in the family. We all are. We conquered whatever the hell that was with the light that we hold within ourselves. So, what're we waiting for? Let's go and do the same to the demon that's out there waiting for us!"
"Let's do it," Wyatt agreed with a new sense of vigour and hope that had been ignited inside his heart.
"Together," Chris finished, holding out his hand as the two other Halliwell witches held his hand with their own.
As they let go of each other's hands Piper and Leo came bustling through the kitchen doorway. "Are we all set?" their mother beamed. Her offspring nodded cheerfully.
"So, now that we're rearing to go – what's the plan?" Wyatt asked.
"We orb in and crash the party with these babies," Piper said, gently patting the explosives that she held in her arms.
"Hopefully that'll weaken Umbris enough for us to vanquish him … with a spell maybe?" Melinda added.
"Have you thought of one?" Leo asked his daughter who shook her head.
"I've been thinking about it," Chris interjected, "and Grams has come the closest to subduing Umbris. While Astrid's work was amazing, Grams' spell has been the main thing keeping his essence at bay for the past twenty-odd years. So, we could rework the spell slightly and make it a vanquishing spell. Grams may not have been powerful enough to vanquish Umbris by herself but I'm thinking that with all of our combined powers we will be able to."
"Have you thought of how to change the spell?" the mother witch asked.
"I have the general jist of it, yeah," her son replied, pulling a pen and pad of paper from the living room sofa-side drawer. He wrote down the edited spell and slipped the note into his pocket.
"Is that everything?" Piper inquired, casually looking around as if there was possibly something that they had all forgotten.
"I think so," Leo answered.
"Alrighty then – let's go!" Wyatt encouraged, huddling together with his family as they all disappeared from sight in a blur of shimmering orbs.
As they reformed in a swift glow of lights, the Halliwell family were encased by a surrounding blackness. The fog had grown thicker, darker and more suffocating than ever before. It threatened to bind and choke the witches and mortal where they stood. They coughed continuously, trying to fight back against the smoky invasion.
"The fog-" Melinda tried to say before the impending shadow slithered tightly around her throat.
The two brother whitelighters glanced at each other and nodded. They closed their eyes and focused… but nothing happened.
"We can't orb!" Chris noted, a noticeable streak of fear in his voice.
"How were we able to get in then?" Piper asked.
"We were let in. A trap set by Umbris no doubt," Leo quipped.
Wyatt suddenly threw out his hands and a large explosion of bright, orbed lights illuminated the area, piercing through the encroaching darkness, revealing the surrounding area. They were in a small wood of some sort, where thin, densely packed trees were spread as far as the family could see.
Whispers whipped around them in the darkness. Shadows stirred and stared at the humans who stood before them. A sudden gust of wind howled through the trees and washed over the surprised family. The voices surged about them, beckoning them from behind, calling them from the left, the right, and even luring them from above. An eerie, twisted wail radiated out from the trees and grew louder and louder.
In the midst of the confusion, the Halliwells twisted and turned, trying to keep up with the shifting sounds. They did not see the cannonball of shadow burst forth from the darkness beyond. It was too swift, even for the combined reflexes of Piper, Melinda, Wyatt and Chris, as it slammed into the family and sent them flying backwards. It was an exceptionally powerful blast, as they seemed to fall through the air for an abnormally long time. They were pushed back through an opening of trees into a clearing, where at last they reunited with the floor with an agonising thud.
Wyatt was the first to his feet. He zipped around and raised his hands in preparation for the oncoming darkness … but nothing came. The fog was still and the wind silent. It was as is nothing had engaged them.
"Ow," Melinda groaned as she peeled herself from the floor and stood up, casting her gaze to the opening plateau before them as her eyes widened. "Get down, quick!" Melinda urged her family as they hid behind a thick hedge in front of them.
The clearing was rather large and the border to the woods encased them in a semi-circular formation, for the other half of the opening ran on to the edges of the cliffs that overlooked the Golden Gate Bridge. A cloaked figure hung in mid-air above the edge of the cliff, with its arms held open and its head rolled back. In front of the figure was a blood-stained blade which glowed red as powerful currents of purple lightning coursed through the blade and shot into the figure's palms.
"What is he doing?" Piper exclaimed; shocked at the sight she beheld.
"Drawing power from the athamé by the looks of things," Leo replied.
"Astrid did say that it'd be bad if Umbris had the blood of the Warren matriarchs at his disposal …" Chris said.
"If he absorbs the magic of the Warren line then he'd be impossible to defeat – that's our magic he's absorbing if he has it we won't be able to use it against him," Melinda deduced.
"… I don't think it's the Warren magic he's siphoning … look closer." Wyatt said as he narrowed his eyes and strained his sight. Dark clouds of energy clung to the blade that swirled about it in a circular motion. It seemed as if the very night sky was being sucked into the floating weapon. "I think he's channelling the power of the night itself."
"No way," Piper and Melinda said at the same time.
"That could throw off the balance of the entire world," Leo warned, "we have to do something."
"Don't worry," Piper began, "we have a window of opportunity here. Even with the power of our family's magic a ritual like that would take a very long time to complete. If we distract him and break his concentration he shouldn't be able to finish what he's started. So, let's get these babies set up," she fondly patted the fireworks in her arms, "and then vanquish him." The family got started in setting up the fireworks.
The largest fireworks were firmly set into the ground and pointed directly at the dark demon that floated before them. Piper was about to set them off when a voice echoed through the enclosure:
"You think that those toys can defeat me?"
The Halliwells whipped round to find Umbris' eyes fixed upon them. They glowed crimson as the power the Warren magic brought him surged through his body.
"No – but I do hope they piss you off," Piper quipped as she flicked out her fingers and ignited the gunpowder-filled rockets. They blasted off their stands and shot across the sky towards Umbris. One blew up right in front of him, exploding in shower of golden sparks. The other two erupted either side of him in a flurry of blinding blues and greens.
The demon hissed as the show of lights illuminated the darkness that surrounded him. "Foolish witch," he said as he let out a bellowing laugh that radiated across the enclosure and to the darkened woods beyond. The noise dissipated and lines of dark figures began to emerge from the borders of the trees. "You've met my minions already, I believe? Let's hope that they can finish you off for good this time."
"Minions?" Piper gasped.
"Somebody's been busy organising the Underworld," Chris said.
"No, little boy, I've no need of organising the Underworld. I have always had my loyal subjects – who else do you think would attempt to steal the Urn in which I was kept from your ancestors all those generations ago?" the demon smirked.
"Enough of this," Leo cut across, "Kids, you get the minions and your mom and I'll take Umbris."
"Easy for you to say," Piper said dryly as she moved to her husband's side. "Have you got the spell, Chris?" she asked holding out her hand.
"Um … the spell needs more than one person to say it and since dad's mortal …"
"We'll get Umbris." Wyatt announced boldy. "There's three of us," he glanced at his siblings, "and I'm not risking you getting hurt, dad."
Piper and Leo's eyes met, as if they were debating the decision without a sound escaping from their lips. The two nodded and then smiled at their progeny. "Okay," Piper said quietly, "but if you need us…" The family split into two groups and moved in opposite of shadowy figures circled around Piper and Leo as they headed toward the borders of the trees they'd not long emerged from.
The mother witch began the battle, flicking out her hands and watching as several of Umbris' minions erupted into dazzling red and purple flames in unison. Enraged, the seemingly endless wave of demons pounced on them, launching bolts of smoking energy at the duo from every angle. Piper swiftly froze the demons in place with a wave of her hand, leaving their powers suspended in mid air.
"Honey, grab these," Piper said as she threw a package to her husband.
"Sparklers?" Leo asked, confused.
"Just open them," Piper urged. Leo did so and held the dozen sparklers in his hand. Piper gently flicked out her fingers and the sparklers set alight.
"Ah, clever," Leo smiled as he proceeded to stab the frozen demons in the void where their heart should be with the lit sparklers. Each stabbing broke Piper's freeze as the demons began to scream in pain before being consumed by unholy fires.
After the twelfth demon became a pile of ash on the floor, Piper flicked her wrist and time unfroze. The frozen balls of demonic energy were released from the magical grasp and they zipped through the air and collided with the other demons, reducing what remained of the encircling threat into nothing more than dust in the wind.
Leo hooked an arm around his wife and smiled, "And I call that: teamwork."
"Oh really? I call that kicking ass," Piper replied with a big grin across her face.
As the three Halliwell siblings moved closer to the dark demon lord before them they couldn't help but feel small in comparison to the power Umbris displayed. With each step their hearts sunk heavier into their chests and the world around them seemed to drain of all light. They stopped and looked up at the darkness that seem to tower over them.
"We ready?" Chris asked, his voice wavering slightly as he pulled out the spell from his pocket.
"… It's now or never," Wyatt replied softly.
The three of them stood equidistant from each other in a triangle formation and Chris held the spell away from him so his siblings could read it. They began chanting:"We are light,
We are-" A bolt of radiating dark purple energy soared through the air towards the spellcasting Halliwells. Wyatt instinctively threw up his hand and a blue barrier surrounded them. The projectile made contact with the shield but, while it protected them from the blast, the energy exploded outward and knocked the three siblings down to the ground.
"You impudent witches actually think you're a match for me?" Umbris laughed. "At first I thought it was hopeless optimism, but now it's just pathetic."
Wyatt, Chris and Melinda stared at the darkness that floated above them. A swirling orb of purple shadows coalesced in the demon's hand and he leered at them with hatred dripping from his eyes. As he motioned to launch the power in his hands at the helpless Halliwells below, Umbris suddenly exploded in a sea of roaring flames and was knocked off his floating perch. He fell through the air before regaining his posture and dismissing the fire that had hoped to consume him.
The young Halliwells whipped their heads around to see their mother standing proudly with her hands out in front of her. "Stay the hell away from my kids!" she commanded.
"As you wish," the demon snarled before his body evaporated into nothingness. He reappeared behind Piper and his dark, wispy essence engulfed her body. Her eyes surged with dark power and a twisted smile sprouted from her lips as her gaze fixed upon her offspring.
"Piper!" Leo called out.
The possessed witch zipped around and her smirk broadened. She forced out her arm and a surging blast of energy shot across the enclosure towards her husband. A flurry of white lights appeared, clung to him and disappeared along with Leo. The demonic power seared through the white lights and disappeared into the dark mists that shrouded the woods.
Chris and Leo dissolved into view behind Wyatt and Melinda.
"Thanks, Chris," Leo breathed.
"Anytime, dad."
"So, any ideas on how to get your mother out of this mess?" Leo asked.
Drawing a blank, Melinda slipped her hands into her pockets instinctively. Her hand brushed past something that made a beaming smile spring across her face. "The potions! The dispossessing potion we made to use on Wyatt!"
Chris and Leo quickly fetched the vials from their pockets as Melinda hastily threw hers at her controlled mother. 'Piper' flicked her wrist and the bottle exploded into a hundred pieces. Chris flung his potion at 'Piper' and forced it through the air with his mind. It suddenly froze in mid-air inches from its target. With a smirk, the possessed witch shot a bolt of dark energy at the suspended bottle, turning it to dust. "All out of potions? I guess it's my turn then." Spirals of flaming purple shadows surged from 'Piper' fingertips, growing in size until the energy could barely be contained within the palms of her hands.
With a subtle gesture of his hand, Wyatt orbed the last remaining potion vial from his father's hand and out of sight. It reappeared behind his mother and, with a swift motion of his arm, smashed itself against the witch's back.
Piper exhaled suddenly as the darkness within was expelled from her body and the power dissipated from her hands. The shadow demon reformed in front of her, looking around hastily, unsure of what had happened. He zipped around and stared dumb-struck at Piper who smiled back at him.
"Hi," she smirked before lashing out her hands and blasting the demon away from her. He soared through the air fell to the ground with a thud. Umbris hurried to his feet only to be stopped in his tracks as his body froze in place. His inner demon fought against the magical imprisonment until at last he broke free of the active power a dozen seconds later.
He broke free only to erupt in black flames and smoke at Piper's onslaught. The demon instantly began to reform from the darkness of the night.
"Kids, the spell," Leo urged.
"How do we know it's even gonna work? He might just reconstitute. We're not the Power of Three," Chris pointed out.
"The way mom's goin' there won't be much left besides a black hole in the ground," Wyatt quipped.
Chris stared at his brother in amazement. "Wyatt, you're a genius!"
"… I am?"
"Yes! We'll turn Umbris into a Black Hole!"
"… You're kidding, right?" Melinda asked.
"No! We turn him into a Black Hole," he pointed at the wording of the spell on the scrap of paper he held in his hand, "because not even light can escape!"
"… That might actually work," Leo encouraged.
"And how are we gonna make him into a black hole?" Wyatt wondered.
"Well, we were in a pretty dark place before we came here. If we evoke those emotions again, especially with all the built-up turmoil Melinda bottled up, we could – in theory – transform him into a black hole of all things dark. Think of it as overloading his own darkness with our own," Chris replied.
"Wait, you want us to go to that deep, dark place again? I thought we were past that?" said Melinda.
"We are, but it'll always be a part of us. We just need to make it a part of him too."
As the three Halliwell witches discussed their plan of attack their mother ceaselessly assaulted Umbris. Determined to destroy him once and for all, the witch repeatedly combusted the demon into dust only for him to reform from the shadows.
He had had enough of this agonising torture. While regaining his form from the darkness he twisted his ethereal body into a great tendril and lashed out against Piper, striking her shins hard and knocking her off her feet to the ground. With her guard down the demon threw a twisted ball of energy at Piper.
The three Halliwell siblings and their father materialised in front of the injured witch in a shimmer of lights. Leo helped his wife off the ground and onto her feet.
Wyatt, Chris and Melinda all joined hands and closed their eyes, focusing their darkest thoughts and memories on the demon in front of them. As the demonic power was to make contact with them it was suddenly deflected by a twirling wall of bright light that sparkled around the trio. The ball of energy flew through the air back towards Umbris and struck the demon, causing him to stumble and groan in pain.
"You can't hurt us anymore," Wyatt said softly, remembering the dark thoughts that invaded his heart only hours ago. "We are good people. We are good witches. As long as we're around, evil like you won't be allowed to exist. You're done."
A tear slowly slid down Melinda's cheek as she let go of the pain and torment she kept hidden for so long. The embodiment of their darkest memories emerged from the shadows surrounding the family. They swirled through the air until they arrived at their target, devouring Umbris whole.
A jolt shot through the demon's spine as he let out a gasp of breath. Crimson electricity coursed through his body as the darkness about him began to swirl in a vicious circle. The fog that had blanketed the area was drawn to him like a vacuum as Umbris' body began to spasm beyond his control.
"Are we ready?" Wyatt asked, turning to his brother and sister. "Without a shadow of a doubt?" The two siblings nodded. "All right then, let's do this." Wyatt held out his hand. Chris and Melinda followed suit, holding his hand with one of their own. The wall of light that surrounded them dissipated into a soft mist and floated gently around their tightly embraced hands in a piercing white light. The three Halliwells nodded once more before they began to chant in unison:
"We are light,
We are stronger than the night,
The power of we Halliwells,
Sends you to the brightest hell,
Beyond the dark and out of sight
Forever in a void of white!"
The light that radiated from their joined hands pulsed three times before bursting through the air and striking Umbris hard in the chest. The light split apart in three directions around the demon and slowly began to form a symbol very familiar to the Halliwell family: the triquetra. The symbol expanded outwards as streams of light poured out of it, drawing in the dark fog that dominated the area. Umbris writhed in agony as the light pierced his body.
The triquetra pulsed once again and delivered the final blow, sending out a devastating light that utterly dispersed Umbris' body. With a terrible scream the last remnants of the dark demon were sucked into the powerful void of white light. The triquetra stood boldy in front of a backdrop of terrible shadow energies. The display of light and darkness merged into each other, spiralling around one another in a desperate attempt at victory. The powers that be continued their struggle until they simply shrank and faded from view.
The Halliwells stood mesmerised at what had just taken place. Umbris, the scourge of the Manor's basement who had plagued them all day, was defeated.
"You okay?" Piper asked her children.
Melinda wiped the tear from her cheek and smiled. "I think we're just great," she said, beaming at her brothers.
"What is that?" Chris said, looking up at the star-studded sky that was previously hidden from view by the demonic fog. A spiraling trail of dark spheres zipped through the air above them with a distinct buzzing sound.
"Paige'll take care of that. Now, let's get out of here before we make the evening edition of the news," Piper replied.
The two whitelighters embraced their family and disappeared from sight in a shower of twinkling lights.
The hour grew late as Piper Halliwell enjoyed a pleasant conversation with her two sisters, Phoebe Halliwell and Paige Matthews in the comfortable embrace of the parlour sofas.
"And that's how it ended," Piper sighed. "I'm just so happy that this day has almost come to an end."
"You and me both," Phoebe said. "You and our long-lost demon, my girls disappearing to god-knows where and your destined daughter," she said, motioning to Paige, "… it makes me wonder if today was just a test."
"A test? For what?" Paige wondered.
"To see if they're ready to take up the fight against evil and live a life of magic," Piper answered, smiling, "and you know what? I think they areready." She took a sip of her drink before setting it down on the coffee table, "I'll be back in just a sec."
She exited the parlour and made her way to the kitchen. She knocked on the door that lead down to the basement and said, "Chris? Are you okay?" before opening the door and looking down the stairs that led to her son's bedroom.
"Yeah, I'm fine," a distracted Chris replied.
Piper saw him grabbing a box of matches and lighting a circle of candles that stood around the cracks in the floor from the earthquake. "Chris," she laughed, "what are you doing?"
"I just thought I'd do a ritual or two to make sure that there isn't anything else down here. There was the Nexus, then Umbris … I don't want any more surprises in the future," he said, getting ready to cast a spell.
"Okay then, but if you do find anything, give me a call."
"Will do," Chris replied, smiling up at his mother.
Piper closed the door and left the kitchen. She spotted her husband coming down the stairs and swiftly moved over to talk to him. "How're Mel and Wyatt doing?"
"They're fine," he smiled. "You worry too much."
"I know I do," Piper admitted, burying herself into Leo's arms. "I'm just worried that maybe it would be too much for them. I mean, if I had to face Umbris at their age, I probably would have been a neurotic wreck."
"You've always been a neurotic wreck," Leo pointed out. Piper laughed. "They can handle this. We brought them up well. They know their stuff. We just need to have a little faith."
"You're right," Piper sunk into her husband's chest. "Honey … I think I might have been too hard on Melinda this morning. I was really on her case about the Magic School Student Committee thing."
"Don't worry about it. I had a talk with her before and I agreed that she doesn't have to be a part of it if it's not where her heart lies."
The youngest Halliwell of the house descended the stairs and headed for the front door.
"Ah! Melinda! Just the girl I wanted to see," Piper began, removing herself from her husband's arms. "I was wondering, seeing as you're no longer a part of the Student Committee, if you'd maybe like to work at the restaurant? I could always use another beautiful waitress," she beamed enthusiastically.
"I'll think about it," her daughter smiled back.
"… Are you going out? At this time of night?" Piper asked, realising that Melinda was fully dressed, unlike herself who proudly wore her pyjamas and night gown.
"Is that okay? I was meant to meet a friend before but then the whole ordeal with Umbris got in the way."
"Okay, but-"
"Oh, you're not gonna give me a curfew are you? Not after I just helped vanquish a really powerful demon …" Melinda smiled cheekily.
Piper sighed in defeat, "Are you staying out?"
"If that's okay."
"In that case, yes, I'm giving you a curfew. Be home tomorrow morning by half ten."
Melinda laughed, "See you tomorrow," she said as she finally left the Halliwell Manor.
Piper turned to her husband and said, "She knows I was serious about the curfew, right?"
Wyatt lay on his bed exhausted. He was drained both physically and mentally by the day's events. He and his family had faced one of the most powerful demons he had ever come across or even heard of! A smile appeared on his lips as he mused over what had happened in the last twenty-four hours - the good and the bad … but especially the good.
A buzzing from his cell phone diverted his attention away from his thoughts. He brought the device to his face and read the message on the screen:
Hey, Wyatt. Thank you for this morning, it really made my day. Speak soon?
- Debbie x
His smile widened as he frantically typed a message back to his newly made acquaintance.
Melinda anxiously knocked on the door in front of her. A moment later, a tall, dark-haired man opened the door.
"I'm reallysorry that I'm so late," Melinda said, her eyes not looking up to meet his. "Something came up – family emergency."
"Hey, it's okay," the man smiled softly, bringing a finger to her chin to lift her face to meet his, "you're here now, that's all that matters."
Melinda sunk into his chest and sighed in delight.
"… You hungry? I just ordered a pizza."
Melinda couldn't help herself from laughing, "Pizza would be pretty damn perfect right about now, Jeff." The two made their way inside and grabbed a bite to eat.
Sometime later, the two sat on a sofa in a small, cosy-looking room. The television showed some rather uninteresting images and an empty pizza box lay open on the coffee table.
Melinda was curled up next to Jeff, his head leaning on hers. "So, how was your day?" she asked through a yawn.
"My day? Oh, pretty much a typical day in the life of Jeff. Although, I did go to a bookstore."
"What did you get?"
"Oh, they didn't have the book I was looking for," Jeff said, leaning over to fetch the remote control from the coffee table and, unknown to Melinda, he gently kicked something with his heel underneath the sofa, away from view.
"Well, if your day wasn't very interesting… how about we make it more fun?" Melinda suggested as she began to kiss down the long, thin scar on Jeff's neck. He smiled and returned the favour, kissing Melinda with passion.
The two adults hastily moved out of the room to further enjoy each other's company. The only remnant of their night in the living room was the empty box of pizza crumbs and the object underneath the sofa, a book entitled: Black and White Magic: Through the Ages.
Author's Note:
I hope you enjoyed the conclusion to this episode! What did you think?
P.S: PLEASE leave a review!