Disclaimer: I do not own Charmed or any of its characters. They all belong to Brad Kern and whoever. I do own Amarie, Melissa, Heather, and Grace. Please don't steal them.

Chapter 3

Chris spent the next few weeks following the dark-haired girl around, just shy of stalking, but found nothing of use. He learned that her name was Kacela Lindstrom and she was a freshman at Tillman. She volunteered part time at a hospital and was a favorite with the pediatrics wing. She had already made several friends, but none of them were very close to her. "She's quiet," her friend Lacey noted. "Not quiet as in shy, but more…reserved, I guess. It's hard to get her talk about herself, come to think of it."

"What do you mean?"

"Anytime you ask her a question, she'll direct the conversation back to you. Like, if you ask about her family, she'll give a quick answer and then ask if you'd heard from your sister lately. She just doesn't talk about herself."

Lacey grinned knowingly at him. "You like her?"

"Something like that," Chris answered easily.

"Smart, quiet, works with kids at the hospital, she sounds about perfect," Chris commented to Wyatt later on.

"Then of course she has to be a demon."

Chris glared in response to his brother's sarcastic comment. "Wyatt, no one's that perfect."

"Chris. Even her friends have only known her less than a month. They probably don't know her flaws yet."

"Whose side are you on?"

Wyatt gave him a look that said, you idiot. "I'm just playing devil's advocate. We're a team, remember?"

"I just figured you were too busy flirting with Cassandra Weston to pay attention."

"Cass has nothing to do with this," Wyatt answered irritably. "If I were the one who had spotted a potential demon, you would be saying the exact same things that I am."

Unwilling to admit that his brother was right; Chris gave up. The phone rang, startling them both. Wyatt answered it. "Hello? Yeah, he's right here." He passed the phone to Chris.

"Chris? It's Kacela Lindstrom, from lit class."

"Hey, Kacela," Chris answered in surprise.

"Do you have tonight's reading?"

"Yeah. It's chapter 8 of The Turn of the Screw."

"Thanks. I hate that story, so I haven't been listening in class."

"I'm so bored, I'm not even sure what the story's about."

"Chris…" she broke off.

"Did you need anything else?"

"No, that's all." Her voice sounded oddly subdued.

Chris frowned thoughtfully at the phone as he hung up. Wyatt raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure all this interest in her is because you think she's a demon?" Chris lunged, reaching for Wyatt's throat. Wyatt laughingly fended him off. "I want you to meet her. And don't even think of making a comment. You can sense evil sometimes."

"All right. Where can you usually find her?"

"She eats lunch outside around noon."

"I'll meet you there, then."

The next day was brilliantly sunny. It was too bad it was so humid, Wyatt thought. He only liked hot weather when he could go swimming. Chris spotted Kacela from ten feet away. "There she is." Kacela looked up when she heard their approach.

"Hey, Kacela," Chris said as if surprised. The slightly ironic twist to Kacela's mouth made Wyatt wonder if she had noticed Chris shadowing her. "This is my brother, Wyatt."

"Nice to meet you," Wyatt greeted politely as he shook her hand. A cool, silvery shield met his deft mental probe. She definitely had magic. Kacela's eyes narrowed slightly. They were extremely dark brown, almost black, Wyatt noticed. "I'm glad to meet you, Wyatt Halliwell," she answered calmly. Wyatt felt a slight chill run down his back. He didn't know if she was evil or not, but she was certainly dangerous. "If you'll excuse me, I need to get to class." Her bag suddenly slipped off her shoulder, falling to the ground. "I've got it." Chris picked it up and handed it to her. She slipped past them and headed towards the science building.

"Now do you believe me?"

"She definitely is pretty," Wyatt commented aloud. "I still think Tess is better looking, though."

"Tread carefully, little brother. I don't know if she's a demon or what, but she definitely has power."

"Should we ask Aunt Paige?" They continued both the misleading verbal conversation and the more important mental one. "Smart idea."

"I've got one of her strands of hair, so that might come in handy."

"Good thinking. We need to make sure she's evil, though."

"You check the Book, I'll work on making a potion."

A thick layer of clouds covered the stars that night. Kacela glanced longingly at the sky. She hated nights like this. The room seemed to dim somewhat. She shivered, knowing what was coming, yet unable to prevent it. If anyone had been watching, they would have seen her eyes turn a dark, cold gray. "Oh, do stop whining, Kacela," the icy voice that only she could hear commanded. Kacela's body straightened from its huddled position and assumed a regal pose. Erisen looked smugly at her reflection. The only marked change in her appearance was the eye color, and people didn't notice eye color as frequently as some seemed to think. "So we're in the same class as one of the Halliwell witches, are we?"

"Leave them alone, Erisen," Kacela demanded.

"You're in no position to give me orders," Erisen snapped. She activated a spell that had the idiot girl shrieking in agony. She then closed the mental box that allowed Kacela's trapped soul a window into the world. She had work to do, and she didn't want to listen to the girl's constant complaints. "So you want to play, Wyatt Halliwell," she asked out loud. "We'll see how you like this game."