A/N: Hey guys! Sorry for the lag – I was writer-blocked yesterday, and I worked today. I'm also working tomorrow and Wednesday, so I apologize if the chapters are slow, short, or less than my best the next few days.
RandyOrtonxWifexx: Let's hope they do!
CharmedOpal: Yes, they do suck! Rebecca does not have telekinetic orbing. She does have the ability to heal, but she only healed once, when she brought Corrine back from the dead. Otherwise, she's still having a terrible time getting control of her powers. But more on that this chapter... :) (Also, saw your latest PM but I have to go to bed right after posting this, so will respond tomorrow night.)
Semper Fi Witchlighter: Yes, she definitely has! Corrine and Melinda kind of take turns with that, since at one time, Prue was the oldest and bossiest, and then Piper. Like mother, like daughter.
YugiohObsessed: Thanks so much! Glad you're enjoying!
lizardmomma: Grams is definitely cryptic! Technically, Rebecca is the Whitelighter for the Power of Four because she has the full powers of a Whitelighter, despite being part witch. However, she's still not great at controlling her powers and, while she can heal, she only healed Corrine when she brought her back from the dead. She hasn't done it since. But more on that this chapter!
I'm so sorry if I missed anyone! I'm like, drop-dead tired and I got confused on where I left off with thanking people in the reviews.
Also, again: I apologize if this chapter is less than steller. I did NOT want to hit day 3 with no updates for you guys, but I'm truly exhausted :\
Hope this chapter is awesome, despite the above. Enjoy!
...
Rebecca rummaged through the bathroom cabinets, gathering materials to replenish the first aid kit with. When she had gathered everything she needed, she smiled triumphantly, wincing when the movement caused her split lip to burn, and fresh blood to bubble up. When Katelyn had slammed into her, one of Katelyn's rings had smacked right into her lip.
Rebecca licked the blood away and applied a fresh coat of lip-gloss to slow the bleeding. She stared at herself in the mirror for a long time, contemplating all that her life had become in such a short period of time. She sighed miserably, making her way out of the bathroom and back to the attic.
But just before she stepped around into the doorway, she heard voices. She heard her name and hung back, straining her hearing.
"I don't see why she can't just heal us," Melinda complained. "It would make things a lot easier."
"Because," Corrine replied, "She still doesn't have the hang of healing, remember?"
"She brought you back from the dead, Cor," Melinda pointed out, voice flat and irritated.
Rebecca winced, clenching her hands in guilt and anger.
There was a long pause. "I don't get it either, Melinda, okay? She should know how to use her powers by now – all of them and all the time. But she doesn't. No sense making her feel shitty about it," Corrine finally replied.
Rebecca tried to smile; Corrine was, after all, defending her. But Melinda's accusations, though true, made her feel terrible.
Taking a deep breath, she quietly slipped down a few steps, then made a show of stomping back up, braking into the conversation mid-argument. She plastered on a big smile.
"Okay, fresh band-aids and gauze." She placed the stuff down on the big table, then crossed her arms and looked around at everyone.
Despite Melinda's vicious arguing, she was still seated and holding an ice pack to her head. Whenever she attempted to feel the back of her head for lumps, she winced.
Katelyn sat on the floor beside a low coffee table, scrying for demons. She had a pillow under her ankle, and an ice pack draped over it.
Corrine stood before the Book of Shadows. Her burned arm was covered, but she kept playing with the bandage., an uncomfortable scowl on her face as she flipped pages.
Rebecca couldn't help but notice the way the tension in the room intensified when she entered. Despite everything, she still wasn't completely welcome, still the odd one out. She hadn't grown up with them, hadn't been forced to carry the weight of their secret for so many years. She didn't know their inside jokes, and still wasn't privy to certain information. It stung.
"How's the demon hunting going?" She asked, forcing some cheerfulness into her tone, so they wouldn't suspect anything.
"You're chipper considering we just got our asses handed to us," Melinda griped, narrowing her eyes.
Rebecca's smile fell from her face. "Oh... Well, I just thought..."
Melinda quirked a brow at her, and Rebecca mumbled a "never mind" and stared at the floor.
"Okay, so. We scryed using the demon blood from the glass," Corrine said, filling Rebecca in. "Katelyn found a group of them hiding in a park, but they keep moving every few minutes, so we need to continuously scry for them."
Rebecca nodded. "And if we find them, they take us to the demon who hired them?"
"We hope," Katelyn replied. "Corrine is going to start prepping a vanquishing potion, and we're going to bottle a ton of it so we can use it to force them to talk. Or, we hope it will force them to talk."
Rebecca nodded again. "What can I do?"
"You can learn to use your damn powers," Melinda scolded her. At Corrine's furious scowl, Melinda snorted a laugh and closed her eyes, her head throbbing.
"Eyes open! Eyes open!" Katelyn commanded, nudging Melinda's leg with her shoulder. Melinda groaned in annoyance but opened her eyes.
"I'm sorry. I know I'm useless," Rebecca replied, her tone full of nothing but sincerity; she truly believes herself to be useless.
Corrine sighed. "You aren't useless, Becca," she said cautiously. She brushed her raven hair from her face. "But you do need to learn to use your powers, seriously. We're all injured and we need to go up against these assassins and then whoever the big bad is. It would help if we were, you know, strong."
Rebecca hung her head. 'I'm sorry."
"Don't be sorry," Katelyn said firmly. "Just practice. I'm sure Melinda won't mind if you practice on her," she said, her tone singsong, daring Melinda to contradict her.
Melinda flipped her cousin the bird, but otherwise didn't comment. She dropped the icepack and scooted in her seat, enough so that Rebecca could sit beside her and concentrate on healing her head wound.
Rebecca pursed her lips at Melinda, but sat and placed her hands above the wound. She concentrated. And concentrated. And concentrated some more. She felt sweat trickling down her back, but still she tried.
'Okay, I'm keeping tabs on their locations," Katelyn informed Corrine. "So that's good. No cloaking spells and no disappearing to the Underworld. As long as I can keep track of them, we'll be able to get to them no problem."
Corrine nodded. She had pulled out the small black pot they used for potion making, as well as a few choice herbs that Piper, Phoebe, and Paige had kept in the attic for emergencies. She began mixing.
"Good. This is a pretty easy potion, so it should be done soon. Once it's done, we arm up and head out," Corrine replied, measuring a precise amount of blue powder and tossing it in to the cauldron; the smoke turned dark blue, then a lighter shade as she mixed.
Rebecca gasped in shock, and Corrine and Katelyn turned to watch, in awe, as golden light emanated from her hands.
Melinda's eyes widened in surprise, as she felt the back of her head, then stood. "Well. Guess you can work well under pressure, then," she said, by way of apology.
Rebecca rolled her eyes before making her rounds, healing Corrine and then Katelyn.
"Okay, this is seriously awesome," Rebecca said with a smile, staring at her hands.
"Alright guys, time to get serious," Corrine said firmly, going back to her potion. "We finish this, bottle them up, and head out. No games."
Everyone set to work; Katelyn continued scrying for the demon assassin's location, keeping tabs on them. Melinda helped Corrine fill potion bottles, and Rebecca jotted down the vanquishing spell for the assassin demons, in case the potion needed back up. She also copied down a few generic vanquishing spells, for the upper-level demon they were preparing to face.
"Okay," Corrine said after a few minutes. "We're all set. Remember guys, don't back down. No matter what happens, keep fighting." She paused, staring at each of her cousins. "If we lose, we die. We have to get the name of this demon, and get it vanquished."
"Let's make our mothers proud," Katelyn said firmly.
This was their first big demon hunt. Katelyn was right: they had to win. They had to fight and kick ass and make Prue, Piper, Phoebe, and Paige proud of them.
"I'll go with Melinda," Corrine said. "Katelyn, you're with Rebecca."
"What?" Rebecca asked, startled. "We're splitting up? Isn't that... unwise?"
"We aren't splitting up," Melinda sneered, rolling her eyes. "We're orbing, and it's easier if we each take one person. At this skill level, that is. Once we're more powerful, we'll be able to take more than one person, no problem."
Orbing? Rebecca's eyes widened. She had to try and orb now?