Legacy 105: With Mortals Like These
Part 8
Xxx
Inside the warehouse that served as their temporary hiding place, Melinda paced around on the concrete floor while waiting for news. At the same time, Wyatt was checking to make sure the possessed could not get in while Henry stood guard at the door. They were in a large open space, with only some old steel pipes lying around. At least Ryan was safe, she kept telling herself. When she heard movement behind her, Melinda spun around and raised her hands to freeze, though it was only Payton holding bottles of water.
"I found these in the back office." Payton said. "You want one?"
"Thanks, sorry I am a little nervous." Melinda replied as she took a bottle.
"Of course, we all are." Payton said. "I just wish the others would get here. I am starting to freak out over them."
"I am sure they are alright." Melinda said. "They can take care of themselves, they probably just can't reach us."
"I hope you're right." Payton replied.
"Well, there are no other ways in. Everything alright here?" Wyatt asked as he joined them from the other side of the warehouse.
"Yeah, we're fine." Payton replied as she handed him a bottle of water.
"Guys, I hate to be the bringer of bad news… but I have bad news." Henry called out from over by the door. "You might want to take a look."
The others ran over to the door and peeked out the window. When Melinda looked outside, she gasped. A seemingly endless crowd of possessed mortals were gathering around the warehouse, all staring at the building with their empty black eyes. Melinda wondered how they were able to find them. Either way, all that mattered was that they were in big trouble.
Xxx
Chris and the others carefully snuck past a couple of possessed mortals wandering the street as they headed for a large dark-looking mansion surrounded by a large fence. This was the place Julian was hiding in, and Chris found it very creepy. They circled the fence until they found an unlocked back entrance. Chris looked at the mansion and saw two large men in leather standing by the back door, clearly demonic.
"Two guards at the door." Chris whispered as he turned to the others. "There are lights burning on ground floor. Can you guys sense anything?"
"I feel a nearly overwhelming sense of anger and hate, it feels human, so I am pretty sure it is Julian." Prue replied. "He is clearly not alone in there."
"Definitely not." Penny added. "I can pick up thoughts from the guards, but there definitely is someone else in there, someone very evil and dangerous."
"So is this person working with or against Julian?" Chris asked.
"Hard to tell." Penny replied. "I can't pick up their thoughts, they are too powerful for me to read without them sensing it."
"Can we take the guards?" Chris asked.
"I think so, there are only a handful of them." Prue replied. "It is the other presence that worries me."
"Well, we need to do something." Chris said. "We're not going to find out what we're dealing with standing out here."
"I know." Prue said impatiently. "I can take out the guards at the door without alerting them, if you can distract them for a moment."
"Got it." Chris replied.
Chris turned back to the gate and flung his hand, causing a rock to fly off the ground and hit a dumpster with a loud bang. The demons turned and headed over to inspect it, while Prue snuck in the garden and slowly headed toward them. When she was close enough, she unleashed a powerful blast of pink energy which instantly knocked out both demons. Chris and Penny then ran up to the door to meet up with her and went inside the mansion. If only they knew what they were getting themselves into.
Xxx
Julian watched tensely as he observed Elizabeth flipping through the darkened pages of the Grimoire. His impatience caused his hands to spark with electricity, but he knew he had to wait. When the time was right, he would strike and finally be rid of her. As she finally found what she was looking for, Elizabeth picked up the book and turned to him.
"Let's rid you of that soul, shall we?" She remarked with a satisfied smile.
With the book in her hands, Elizabeth started casting a spell in a demonic language and black smoke started pouring from the book onto the ground. A being rose from the smoke, cloaked in black rags with red burning eyes. Its face was hidden under the cloak, but its arms were rotten like those of corpse. Julian knew what it was, a Spirit Extractor, also known as a Wraith. It had the power to rip the souls from people.
"Claim his soul so he will become his true demonic self." Elizabeth ordered.
The Wraith hovered through the air and extended its clawed arm. However, before it could rip out Julian's soul, the door burst open. A demonic guard flew in and exploded as he hit the wall. Elizabeth barely managed to avoid him and dropped the Grimoire in the process. Chris, Prue and Penny ran into the room and stopped when they saw the Wraith.
"What the hell is that?!" Penny called out.
The Wraith seemed temporarily confused, but quickly turned its attention back to Julian. However, the time for waiting was over. Using his telekinetic abilities to increase his strength, Julian broke free from his restraints and threw a stream of fire at the Wraith. The floating demon let out an inhuman wail and flew off, disappearing through the window.
"No!" Elizabeth screamed. "You fool! Now there is no controlling it."
"That doesn't matter, whatever is going on here, is over." Chris said as he flung his arm and threw Elizabeth across the room. He then turned to Julian. "Free the mortals from whatever you have done!"
"You idiot, you think I did this?" Julian snapped at him and pointed at Elizabeth. "She is responsible."
"And I am supposed to believe you had nothing to do with it?" Chris replied sarcastically.
"I don't care what you believe." Julian replied.
"Wait, hold on, both of you." Prue said. "Who is she?"
"My name is Elizabeth Turner, you little witch." Elizabeth replied as she stood up and corrected her blouse and hair. "And you are going to pay for this interruption."
"Turner?" Chris asked confused. "That is impossible."
"Far from it." Elizabeth replied. "Haven't you wondered how Julian survived his supposed death?"
"You're the mysterious woman that saved him from the Seer, the one my mother saw in those memories." Penny concluded. "You're Cole's mother."
"It doesn't matter now, you are all going to die." Elizabeth replied.
When Julian saw her eyes turn bright red, he quickly moved aside and covered his ears. Elizabeth opened her mouth and unleashed a sonic scream. The others cried out in pain as the scream shattered their eardrums and forced them to the ground.
For a moment, Julian did not know what to do. Should he take the opportunity to finally kill Elizabeth or let her kill the Halliwells first? He looked at them crawling on the floor in pain and felt conflicted. He owned them nothing, so why should he bother to help them? But if he did nothing, he would be as evil as Elizabeth, and that was something he never wanted to be.
Julian raised his hand and unleashed a bolt of lightning, which struck Elizabeth in the chest. She fell back and the screaming stopped.
"Why did you save us?" Prue asked confused as she got up.
"I didn't do it for you." Julian replied. "She had it coming."
"Did you have anything to do with the possession?" Penny asked.
"No, I didn't." Julian replied.
"So why are you here?" Chris asked.
"Not that it is any of your business, but I grew up here." Julian said. "I came here to find answers about who I am."
"So did you find an answer?" Prue asked.
"No." Julian replied.
"We don't really have time for some soul-searching." Chris remarked. "We need to reverse the possession and free the mortals. Can you help with that?"
"I think so." Julian replied.
He did not really know why, but Julian walked over to the Grimoire and carried it to the table. He figured the mortals did not deserve the same fate he suffered. He flipped through the book until he found the spell Elizabeth used.
"How can you touch that?" Penny asked skeptically.
"I am neither good nor evil." Julian replied. "Do you want me to do the spell or not?"
"Yes, please." Prue said.
Julian nodded and started casting the reversal spell as he opened the Urn of Asar. A moment later, streams of black particles arrived through the windows and poured into the urn. When they were all trapped inside, Julian closed the urn and backed away.
"No!" Elizabeth suddenly screamed out as she sat up and threw an Energy Ball.
Before the Energy Ball could hit Julian, Prue held out her hand and the ball stopped right in front of him. Prue gasped in pain as she clenched her fist and threw it back at Elizabeth. However, before the attack could hit, Elizabeth disappeared in a shimmer. She reappeared next to the table and grabbed the Grimoire and the urn. Julian threw a bolt of lightning at her, but she managed to get away. Julian looked at Prue and realized she had tried to save him.
"Why did you do that? And how?" Julian asked.
"I tapped into her power through her emotions, though she is so evil it actually hurt." Prue explained. "As for why, I figured I owed you one after you saved us and freed the mortals."
"Right." Julian replied doubtfully, unsure of how to respond.
"What about Elizabeth?" Chris asked.
"She'll be back. She will not give up." Julian replied. "I will handle her."
"So what happens now?" Prue asked.
"Nothing." Julian said. "Nothing has changed between us. We might share a blood connection, but nothing else. We are not family, so get out. You should be able to teleport again."
"Fine by me." Chris replied.
While Chris and Penny were ready to leave, Prue seemed somewhat conflicted. However, Julian had no interest in dealing with them any longer, so he turned around and walked away. With his back turned to them, he waited until he heard them orb away. He then let out a relieved sigh and leaned against the table. With the Wraith and Elizabeth still out there, this was all far from over, but at least tonight he could get some peace and quiet to think.
Xxx
Wyatt and the others backed up as the possessed mortals bashed against the door. They could break through at any moment, so everyone had armed themselves with whatever weapon they could find. When the door finally shattered under the pressure, the possessed mortals poured in like a wave of violence and growling. However, before they could attack, streams of black particles rose up from their bodies and they all fell to the ground.
"Is it over?" Payton asked nervously after a moment of silence.
"I think so." Wyatt replied. "Chris and the others must have found a way."
"And not a moment too late." Henry remarked.
"I need to see Ryan." Melinda quickly said.
"What about them?" Payton asked as he pointed at the unconscious people.
"They will be fine." Wyatt said. "I think we can come up with some kind of memory spell. Let's get out of here."
Wyatt established contact with everyone and they all dematerialized in a column of white and blue orbs, leaving the crowd of unconscious people passed out on the warehouse floor.
xxx
After a quick visit to the manor and Magic School, Melinda arrived back in her own apartment in a swirl of orbs courtesy of Wyatt. She had expected to find Ryan back at the school with her father, but he told her Ryan had asked to be sent home. As she looked around, she called out his name, but there was no response. She headed to the bedroom and found him standing by the bed. In wave of relief, she ran over to him and hugged him in tears. He wrapped his arms around her tightly but remained silent.
"I am so glad you're okay. I was so scared." Melinda said. "Why did you leave the school? You need to get checked out."
"I am fine, Melinda." Ryan replied. "I was aware the entire time, but I did not feel anything. It was so weird to feel my body move on its own, and I am so sorry for attacking you."
"It wasn't you." Melinda said. "I am so sorry this had to happen to you."
"Melinda, we need to talk." Ryan said.
Ryan moved away to create some distance between them and Melinda felt something was wrong. She looked down on the bed and saw his suitcase open with his clothes inside.
"What is going on?" Melinda asked.
"I need some time to deal with all of this." Ryan explained. "I thought I had accepted magic, but I am not sure I can handle this. Something took over me and I tried to kill you, how can I live with that? I just don't know what to do."
"What are you saying exactly?" Melinda asked tearfully. "Are you breaking up with me?"
"No, no, no." Ryan said quickly as he took her hands in his. "I am not saying it is over between us, but I need some time to think, alone. I decided to head to my parents for a few weeks. I think it is best if we both take some time."
"I want to believe you, Ryan." Melinda said. "So why does this feel like the end?"
"I can't talk about this now, Mel. I need more time." Ryan admitted. "I already called a cab."
Melinda sat on the bed in painful silence as Ryan finished packing his suitcase. When he was finished, he kissed her on the cheek and headed out. He stopped for a moment and the door before leaving, and when Melinda looked up, she saw a small black box standing on the dresser. Tears welled up and she threw herself on her pillow to cry.
Xxx
After a long overdue warm and steamy shower, Prue settled on the couch with her sisters back at the apartment. She was exhausted and wanted to sleep forever, though something was keeping her awake. Everything that had happened was bothering her. She looked at her sisters and sensed they felt the same way.
"Are we going to talk about this?" Prue asked.
"About what?" Penny asked.
"You know what." Prue said with a sigh. "Julian, mom, everything."
"You heard him, nothing has changes between us." Penny said with a shrug. "Let's leave it at that."
"I can't." Prue admitted. "Now that I have met him, I can't pretend we don't have a brother out there. I feel horrible about how we handled this, especially with mom."
"You don't have to." A familiar voice said.
The three sisters turned around and saw their mother standing in the door opening. She was dressed in a dark purple poncho, with a sympathetic smile.
"Mom, what are you doing here?" Penny asked confused.
"I called her." Payton admitted. "I figured we needed to have a talk."
"Payton is right." Phoebe said as she closed the door. She headed over and sat down on the chair across from them. Prue was nervous that she was upset with them, but she felt nothing but love from her mother. She felt relieved and happy she was there. "So let's talk." Phoebe said.
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The End