Heaven's Mistaken Gift
by: Piper Chris Melinda Halliwell
Co-written by: That70sShoLova
Chapter 24: Within Enemy Territory
Melinda snuggled closer to Phoebe as her eyes closed again. She'd been up for a bit after hearing a loud noise, but as nothing or no one had entered the room, she figured it was just her being slightly uncomfortable sleeping in a new place.
When her eyes closed, she found herself in the same dark room she'd been in when she and Kali had fought. No, wait, she thought, this isn't the same room. It doesn't feel scary, just dark. There's no light. Feels like the Underworld. As is she had pyro-kinetic powers, the room was suddenly flooded with lit torches upon the walls.
The room was shrouded in black. Four leather chairs and a couch were in the center of the room. The furniture looked to have royal purple coverings made from velvet and though they looked quite comfy, Melinda couldn't bring herself to move a step.
Whether it was in fear or fascination, she didn't know, but everything about the room reflected her alter-ego, Kali. And that frightened her. Kali had tried to kill her mommy and her aunts because she wanted power.
"Well, Melinda," Kali said walking up behind her in her 'true' form. In demonic form, she looked anywhere from age 18 to 21, demons, naturally, developed faster than humans, but because they shared a body, Kali was forced to have a shell of the 10-year-old. She rolled her eyes. "I see you've found my dwelling." She said, walking over and talking a seat in one of the chairs.
"Come sit." She said, staring at her child vessel with fiery eyes which frightened her as she patted the arm of the chair next to her. "We have much to discuss."
"A-about what?" she stuttered, moving feebly toward the seat.
"Oh come now!" she chuckled. "I won't bite. I just want to talk."
Melinda swallowed, moving more steadily.
"Good." Her eyes focused on Melinda's every move. Her irises were a black, that you could barely tell the difference between the iris and the pupil. There was a bright ring of red around the black, separating the whites of her eyes.
She, as every demon, wore black. Tight black leather was painted on her skin under deep violet robes that reached her feet. Her bangs were pushed out of her eyes in a braid and pulled back at her ear by a bobby pin. She set her curly blonde hair over her shoulder and crossed her legs, showing off black combat boots.
She wore no makeup, her skin a flawless beauty. She was a succubus. Her lips were naturally a light red and when she smiled she showed off perfect white teeth. Her lashes were long and her cheekbones were high, drawing everyone in with a single glance. She was tempting, and she knew it.
Kali laughed again. "You can move faster than that, can't you? I promise I won't kill you."
Melinda's bright blue eyes were glazed with tears. "But you tried to! Last time! You threatened me!"
Noticing how fragile the child really was, Kali got up and walked over, kneeling in front of her. She extended her hand to the young one and was grateful her kindness was accepted. "I had to make you tough, Mel. I might not always be around. I had to see if you were strong enough to overcome even your dark side."
With a tremble in her voice she spoke. "What do you mean? As long as I'm here, you'll be here." For some reason, while talking with her other half, she couldn't think about what she'd done or be truly afraid. Deep down, Melinda understood what she did and why she did it. Not that she liked it.
"You know what? Let's not talk about that now." Kali stood up and guided her over to the chair where they sat beside each other.
"Then why am I here?" Melinda asked. "What . . . do you want with me?"
Kali steeled her voice. "You need to know my plan, so you don't mess it up. I plan to become the Ruler of Earth, Heaven and down here. I know I am, we are, but that doesn't mean people aren't going to try to overthrow us."
"Like Mommy?" Melinda asked sadly.
"Mommy?" Kali scoffed. "You mean the woman who gave you life and then forgot about you? Hardly qualifies as a 'Mommy' in my book."
"Bu—but Daddy said he had to keep us away."
"She didn't even know about you—about us—didn't remember anything until 10 years later. How can you defend her?"
Her lip trembled. "I—I don't know!" she cried.
"That's what I mean, Mel! That's why we have to get rid of them." She placed her hand on her vessel's as she looked into her eyes. "Everything will be okay if you just listen to me. Are you with me?"
Melinda wiped her eyes and thought a moment. Kali was right. Her mommy hadn't even bothered to look for her. She couldn't really care about her. All the love and attention had to be fake…didn't it?
She looked at Kali. "You'll protect me, right?"
Kali grinned. "As long as I'm with you, nobody will hurt you."
"Yeah, I'm with you."
Phoebe stretched out, opening her eyes to find Cole staring at her. "Morning."
He smiled. "Good morning. How did you sleep?"
"Great." She answered, turning her head to look at Melinda and run her hands through her hair. "I'm sorry, Mel." She whispered. "I know I've said it before, but I really am. If I would've known, nothing on Earth could've ever kept you from me."
Cole sighed. "Well, I didn't help much there either."
"Stop it! It's not your fault," she said looking back at him.
He shrugged. "I don't think I'll ever believe that."
Hours later, everyone was out doing things and Melinda asked to stay behind and sleep a bit more. Everyone agreed, knowing if anything happened either Paige or Cole could be there in an instant. Melinda sat on the chair in front of Phoebe's mirror and Kali stared back at her through the glass.
It was easier to plot while Melinda was in the house. If she had questions, all she really had to do was find a flat, shiny surface and Kali would be at her side. Though she had to be more careful as she didn't want people getting sick. Kali was so strong that anyone who looked at her who wasn't used to her demonic aura, instantly passed out and become extremely ill or violent. She couldn't let that happen.
"So," Melinda started nervously, "what am I supposed to do?"
Kali smiled, her black-red-rimmed eyes sparkling. "Well, you have to find out their weaknesses, of course."
"Why?"
"Because it will help us get them out of the way." Melinda frowned. Did she really want to do that? "For example, say they were allergic to peanuts, and then if we gave them peanuts they would be less of an obstacle from being – most likely – passed out on the floor or red and swollen in the face."
Melinda chewed her lip. "I...I don't want anything bad to happen to them."
Kali touched her hand lightly to the glass, as if to comfort Melinda. "Nothing will happen to them, sweetie. They'll just be shocked, and we'll be able to sneak through. Like how you trick the evil witch. We're doing that. The Charmed Ones are evil witches and we're trying to sneak around them."
Melinda smiled happily. "Can we dress up?"
Kali creased her eyebrows. "Uh, yeah, sure, whatever you want."
Melinda squealed. "Yay! This is going to be so much fun!"
Kali nodded. "Yes, absolutely. Now, most importantly, while you're on your mission to figure out the evil witches' weaknesses, you must keep a low profile."
"What's that mean?"
"It means that you mustn't do anything to make the evil witches wonder."
"Oh!" Melinda nodded. "This sounds like fun."
Kali smirked. "It'll be a riot."
Author's note: So what do you think? What will Melinda find out? How will they use it?
Reviews are much appreciated. Please?
Review thanks to: That70sshowlova, HalliwellMB, BikerChick101 & LeftWriter224
Piper Chris Melinda Halliwell & That70sShowLova