Charmed T

by Yusho MinChao

A Charmed Reimagining. After separating six months prior, three brothers are brought back together, and that's when they are started on a path that will change their lives forever.

2. I'll Keep My Light In My Window

Charmed T =

Thriller

Three

Trio

Triquetra

Trinity

The T can stand for any one of these words. Pick one.

Charmed T

It's close to midnight,

Something evil's lurking in the dark

Under the moonlight,

You see a sight that almost stops your heart

You try to scream,

But terror takes the sound before you make it

You start to freeze,

As horror looks you right between the eyes

You're paralyzed

Cause this is thriller, thriller night

And no one's gonna save you from the beast about to strike

You know it's thriller, thriller night

You're fighting for your life, inside a

Killer, thriller, tonight

They're out to get you

There's demons closing in on every side

They will possess you,

Unless you change that number on your dial

Cause this is thriller, thriller night

There ain't no second chance against the thing with the forty eyes, girl

Thriller, thriller night

You're fighting for your life, inside a

Killer, thriller, tonight

I'll Keep My Light In My Window

Clive had been cooking all night at Chef Molay's third-top restaurant in the city. Chef Molay had told him he would have to work his way up to the top restaurant. Chef Molay had a soft spot for him, and he saw Clive as his protégé because of his work ethic, timeliness, and creativity: his dependability. He told Clive this, and he advised him that he take it slow, saying that the more he gained and learned the fewer mistakes Clive would make that he himself made on his way to the position he held now. Clive respected Chef Molay, so he had no problem throwing himself into hard work, especially after everything that happened last week. After he finished for the night, he came out to the bar to sit with Coronado, who would come to pick him up. Coronado borrowed his car while he was work. These days Clive was craving a cigarette more than ever. His right leg was bouncing up and down on the stainless steel barstool pedestal. Clive couldn't take his mind off of some of the good times he shared with Violet. He gazed out in front of him, but he was seeing her.

Coronado arrived, and he saw Clive sitting there. He was going to call out to him, but he saw the look in Clive's eye and saw that Clive was jonesing for a cigarette. On Clive's day off, he had pretty much stayed in his room. The past few days Clive had spent most of his free time in his room. Cliff had told Coronado to leave it be when he had stood outside Clive's door one evening, thinking about going in to talk to him.

"Leave him alone," Cliff had said. He had just come home from his third date with Elli. "You're not going to help. You'll just push him farther down the rabbit hole."

Cliff headed for his room, and Coronado followed after him, even though he didn't want to.

"Is this really all about Violet?" Coronado had asked. He spoke low but still shut the door to make sure Clive couldn't over hear him.

"He dated her for about six months," Cliff said. "Yes, it's about her. It's also probably about the fact we're Witches now. At the end of the day, it's mostly about him."

"What do you mean?" Coronado asked: not quite understanding.

"This attractive woman, who he never would've approached on his own, didn't want him because of his looks, his personality, or because she felt strongly for him," Cliff said. "She wanted him because she secretly wanted to kill him and us to rip out our hearts and steal our powers. Did that make it plain?"

"His self-esteem took a hit: his self-worth," Coronado said. "He lets people and things get to him. I don't know what he thinks or feels about being a Witch. We haven't had much time to talk about it: other than when you two outvoted me. You think he'll spiral out or get deeply depressed?"

"I'm not worried," Cliff said, "so you don't need to. He just got a higher-stress job on top of everything else. You know he needs his adjustment periods. Let him have it."

"I won't say anything," Coronado said, "but if I see him smoke a cigarette I'm going in."

"That's fair," Cliff said. "Keep me updated."

"Got you," Coronado said.

Clive hadn't smoke yet, so Coronado figured slowly Clive was processing through his recent gains and losses. He sat beside Clive for a minute or two, ordering a Rum and Coke while he left Clive to his thoughts. When his drink arrived, he took a drink, eyed the sexy men and women at the end of the bar, and then got Clive's attention.

"You ready to go?" Coronado asked.

"Can you drive?" Clive asked over his shoulder. "I'm beat."

"I'll get us home in two shakes," Coronado said.

"Finish you're drink first," Clive said. "I can wait."

Down the bar, Coronado noticed and heard a man order a Seven and Seven. He saw another person he wouldn't mind rolling around in the bed with tonight. This man had gelled black hair, which was slicked to the side, and steel gray eyes. He put Coronado in the mindset of a real life James Bond. Coronado loved fucking women and getting fucked by men. He was working on not getting turned on by almost everybody he met; he wasn't making much progress. He started seeing glimpses of images. They came in and out. They were like an old black and white TV, trying to show him clear images or a clear scene. Here was a Premonition. The scene he saw was of this man coming to greet him; he introduced himself and he seemed to recognize him and inquired about whom he was. Then, someone behind Coronado grabbed his attention.

The Premonition took a few seconds for him to come back from.

"Hey," Coronado said, getting Clive's attention. "You see that guy over there."

"Yeah," Clive said, looking in Coronado's direction.

"His name is Zack," Coronado said. "He's about to come over here and try to find out who I am. I don't think I've ever been with him. I think I would remember. Do you know him?"

"We both know him," Clive said, "but you don't remember him because you got stupid drunk. That's what happens when you meet an open bar. How'd you know he's about to come over here?"

"I had a Premonition," Coronado said.

"We voted," Clive said.

"We just got these powers," Coronado said under his breath. "I didn't make it happen on purpose."

"We're not going to use them," Clive said. "We got to learn some control, but we don't want to alert anything to our heritage."

"I know," Coronado said. "Only at the house. However, in my defense, I didn't exactly agree with the voting results. I am, however, abiding by them as best I can."

"Can you try harder?" Clive asked. "I don't want to invite anything else into our lives."

Coronado didn't say anything for a moment. Had Cliff said this he would've commented, but this was Clive.

"I'll try," Coronado said.

"You don't think he's a Warlock," Clive said, eying Zack with suspicion and worry.

"No," Coronado said. "If my Premonitions are an altert system, nothing's going off. Who is he? You look concerned."

"Hey," Zack said. "You two both look familiar. It's been a while since I've been back here: to Chicago. Do you know who I am? Have we met before?"

"Yes," Clive said, standing and extending a hand. He and Zach shook hands.

Coronado was sure he was looking at Clive with a confused expression on his face.

"We attended your wedding and the reception," Clive said. "I'm Clive Halliwell. This is my little brother Coronado. He's probably responsible for why your liquor bill was so high."

Coronado's look of confusion turned into a frown of annoyance.

Someone behind Coronado made Zack smile.

"Can't believe you're back in town," Clive said to this someone.

"I can't believe Coronado Halliwell is back in town," a familiar voice said.

Coronado turned around with a giant grin on his face.

The young woman slapped him.

"You fucked up," she said. "I'm not talking about at my reception either. You know what I'm talking about. Despite that, I'm glad you did it, and I still love you." She hugged him right after.

Coronado picked her up, hugging her back.

"After you went on your honeymoon Elsie," Coronado said, "I didn't think you were ever coming back."

"Zack's got some business to which he must attend," Elsie said, "and you know I would have to come back. Elli's here."

This was Elli's younger sister Elsie and her husband Zack Mason.

"Zack wanted to come here before he went back to the hotel," Elsie explained. "I'll be staying with Elli for the next couple of days."

"Does she know?" Clive asked. He laughed.

Only Coronado picked up on the laugh being laced with anxiety.

"I'm surprising her," Elsie said.

"Sweet tattoos," Coronado said. With one hand, he picked up her hand with the Butterflies and Musical Notes tattooed on it. With his free had, he stealthily texted Cliff.

[Thought you should know that Elsie's in town. She'll be staying with Elli. Elli doesn't know. It's supposed to be a surprise.] Coronado slipped his phone back into his pocket.

"Thank you," Elsie said.

"I just got a new tattoo a couple days ago," Coronado said. He took off his suede jacket, unbuttoned his collared shirt, and showed her his right shoulder and bicep. There he had a White Ink Triquetra tattoo.

"This is your fifth one," Elsie said, "right?"

"Right," Coronado said. "I have the Dragon-Fox Fusion on the back of my left leg, the Crescent Moon within the Radiant Sun on my right pec, the RIP for my Dad and Gramps on my left forearm, and now this."

"Impressive," Elsie said. "This makes for my third. I still got the Ladybug over my right shoulder and the Ankh on the backside of my left wrist."

"We'll leave you to it," Coronado said. "I'm going to take Clive home. We'll meet up again before you fly out of Chicago. I can take you to a party I know about."

"Uh oh," Elsie said. "I don't know about that. I'm married now, and I know you have a habit of getting people into trouble. He has a habit of charming the pants off people too. Luckily, I was always immune to the Halliwell Brothers' charms." She laughed.

"If I had used them on you," Coronado said, "you would've been putty in my hands. You were off limits."

Elsie punched him in his left arm. They both started laughing.

"Don't mind those two," Clive said to Zack. "Whenever they get together, they get goofy." He made Zack laugh. "They've known each other for years. They always have been and always will be just friends."

"I know," Zack said. "I couldn't remember the face, but I can't forget the name: Coronado. He sent a tidal wave through all our lives."

Clive and Zack glanced at each other before returning their attention to Coronado and Elsie, who were joking and ribbing each other, continuing to make each other laugh.

~~~!~~~!~~~!~~~

Cliff had gotten ready for work. He had plenty of time to spare. He was tempted to read The Book of Shadows….again, but he would leave that to Coronado. It bothered him that his Gramps never told them about this aspect of their lives. The Halliwell Men kept their secrets, but they always came out, even after death it seemed. He was thinking it might be good if he went in early. He wouldn't have to dwell on the rest of his life if he was hard at work. He received a text as he climbed into his truck.

[Hey. I wanted to ask you a question.] He received a text from Elli.

Elli was one of the topics he tried to refrain from dwelling on. They had met about Violet, and the ensuing investigation into Violet led to a few dinners that doubly functioned as dates. They talked about everything. It was like they never missed a step. Every time they were together Cliff wanted her. When they walked downtown, when they listened to jazz music, and when they stargazed in the park, Cliff couldn't help imagining holding her again and being with her like before. This wasn't like before. He couldn't and wouldn't make a move. If this would be the extent of their relationship, it would suffice. Anything that might happen or could happen had to be at her behest.

Clive had tentatively questioned him about Elli, but Cliff knew the questioning was more about the case. Clive knew Cliff wouldn't go into much detail about her, but that's how Clive would get the conversation started. Cliff explained to him what he would hear and learn from Elli. She told him about what happened the next couple days after Cliff, Clive, and Coronado were interviewed about Clive's attack. They discussed their story beforehand. Cliff had learned from Elli when she had been a beat cop. They gave Violet a brother and didn't include the attack at their home. Elli and Sora found Violet's apartment empty. All records of her had disappeared. However, witnesses were able to corroborate about the blond man that had visited certain Wiccan establishments and events. He couldn't tell Elli about this: this world. He wouldn't admit to his brothers he was afraid it could get her killed. He hated omitting parts of the truth, but Elli was smart. She already figured there were pieces of the case that didn't make sense. She might figure out the Halliwell Brothers' secret one day, but until the day came he wouldn't say a word. If it was just his secret again, he'd tell her, but this time it wasn't so… As long as his whole family line was tied up in this world, a secret it would remain.

Elli sent the text to Cliff, pacing her living room in an overly large t-shirt, shorts, and socks. She shouldn't have sent the text. She'd been pacing for about a half an hour to forty minutes contemplating this decision. She had taken a shower and gotten ready for bed, but her thoughts wouldn't move from Cliff. Cliff, along with Clive and Coronado, had brought them lead suspects on a silver platter. She and Sora found the site of Clive's attack. They discovered Violet's disappearing act and witness accounts of a supposed brother, but while Clive wasn't much himself for good reason during his interview, Coronado was and always had been hard to read, Cliff could not lie to her. He never had, which meant he made an effort to do so, which told her he had given her part of this story. The murders had stopped. How and why were questions left unanswered: because Violet and her brother's identity had been uncovered seemed too simple an explanation. She didn't believe the Halliwell Brothers had anything to do with the murders, but there was an explanation she wanted to get that she knew they had. The cat she had seen the day she had brought Cliff his favorite pastry or rather the Triquetra on the cat's collar was what made her decide to open an investigation on them. The Halliwell Brothers weren't Wiccans, but Elli's idea was that the Triquetra would lead her to answers, tell her a complete and real story, and ultimately unveil the truth behind Violet and the heart-stealing murderer.

Her investigation of Cliff and his brothers was complicated by the fact that every time they were together the way he looked at her made her want to just forget the past and everything her sister had told her. It did hurt to be close to him, but it hurt more that they weren't closer. He still had that stupid truck, which brought back too many memories, especially the one on the night when they had sex for the first time. They had sex for the first time in the back of that truck when they were 16, and she remembered him holding her in his arms. He told her: "I would never hurt you." He was afraid to say the actual words. She figured it was because his Gramps never said them or it went further back than that. The topic made him uneasy and uncomfortable, so she wouldn't ask and didn't push, but she knew what he was telling her that night: "I love you." Cliff hadn't meant to do it, but he did hurt her in so many ways. And yet, the more time she spent with him she just wanted him back…in so many ways.

[Would you come over?] She sent the text, and she immediately wanted to throw her phone. They both knew what it meant.

[Are you sure?] Cliff responded.

Here was her chance to back out. She wouldn't.

[Yes.]

Cliff gave Elli plenty of time to freak out about the decision. She wondered if she would just turn him away when he arrived. He would understand, which would frustrate her more. Cliff had been a fighter his entire life, but when it came to her he didn't know how. That's how she had even snagged a Halliwell Brother's heart: a feat no one thought possible. She was the one fight everyone knew he couldn't win.

Cliff knocked on the door when he arrived at her apartment. It had taken him a little while to get there because he went and bought condoms. He hadn't had sex in a long time; he wanted to be prepared if that were to happen tonight.

Elli opened the door when she heard the knock.

Neither said anything. For a moment, they just shared a look.

Elli stepped on her tippy toes because she was shorter than he was and kissed him on the cheek.

That was the initiation…the permission…the catalyst.

Cliff kissed her deeply, then passionately, and then hungrily. He picked her up with one hand and shut the door behind them with the other. She wrapped her arms around him and her legs around him as he pressed their bodies closely, firmly, and tightly. He held her and carried to her room, laying her on her bed, looking down upon her, before he lowered himself between her thighs. He didn't bother to remove any clothes. He planted a few kisses on her inner thigh before he grasped her shorts aside and devoured her. He made her toes curl. She moaned as she held onto his head. She closed her eyes and let herself feel everything. He took her high, and she didn't think she would come down. Just this topped all the times they shared together in the past. She rode the waves of pleasure. When she opened her eyes, he had finished wrapping himself and slipped inside her. She had forgotten what this felt like. It was intense. Neither of them had their clothes off. Something fell to the floor, but it didn't even register for either of them. She wanted to see him naked again, but she wasn't about to talk or order him because while it looked and felt like a fuck, like he was fucking her, it wasn't. He gazed into her eyes. He kissed her neck, sucked on her neck, bit into her neck. She couldn't take it. She couldn't breathe. He gazed into her eyes again. He was making her produce sounds she didn't think she could make. He was making love to her. He climbed on top of the bed, on top of her, holding her up, moving in closer and deeper. She was sent on a roller coaster. She kept going up and coming down. When she reached her third climax, he reached his first. He rolled over beside her. They glanced at each before they started laughing. He took the condom off himself and held it in his fist to throw it away when he got up. She climbed on top of him, letting her hair cascade around her shoulders, before she bent down and gave him a kiss that took his breath away.

Elli got up, took the condom from him, and went to her bathroom to dispose of it before she freshened up. She put on music. This song played – Skin I'm In.

Cliff rose up because he thought he heard a noise earlier. His phone had fallen out of his back pocket and across the floor. He glanced at the bathroom door, saw that she had shut it, and used his Telekinesis, channeling it through his eyes, to bring the phone to his hand. He reprimanded himself because he was so caught up in everything that just happened he didn't realize he had just used his power outside the house. He saw that he had received a text from Coronado a little while ago, and it was a text that was cause for alarm. Elsie was in town.

"Hey Sis," Elsie called out.

Elli threw her door open and stuck her head out.

"Surprise!" Elsie exclaimed from the living room. "I feel like I'm interrupting something, or I would have if I had said something a few minutes sooner." She started laughing.

Elli and Cliff looked at each other. Elli hurried and shut her bedroom door.

"Stay there," Elli said. "I can't believe you're here. No. No, you're not interrupting anything."

"I heard you," Elsie said. "Liar. We both know you're not a fan of the vibrator, so who you got in there?"

"I am so sorry," Elli mouthed to him.

He was hurrying to get dressed. She was helping. She held his face in his hands and kissed him a few times.

"Can you please go out the window?" Elli asked: still mouthing. "We'll fight about this, and I don't want us to fight. We haven't seen each other in while."

Cliff just nodded.

Elli walked him to the window and opened it. He climbed out. He turned back to her. He reached back to her, pulled her close, and he left her with a kiss he wanted them both to remember. Letting her go, he let a lock of her hair pass through his hand. She left him with a neat smile.

Elli closed and locked her window, pulling the curtains shut. The song that had been playing ended, and she turned the music off.

As Cliff climbed down, he heard Elsie.

"You didn't," Elsie exclaimed. "You did!"

Cliff left the fire escape and looked up. Just as he did, he saw Elsie, who looked down upon him. If you could kill someone with a look, in that moment, Cliff would've been dead many times over. He left for his truck; he had to get to work.

~~~!~~~!~~~!~~~

"I can't believe you," Elsie said, walking from the window out of her sister's room. "You're never going to get over him. How long have you been sleeping with him?"

Elli followed Elsie to the living room, and she stopped when Elsie stopped at her door and turned toward her.

"We haven't been sleeping together," Elli said. "This just happened; this was the first time."

"I can tell you really enjoyed it," Elsie said. "I set you up with Greg for a reason, and I don't think you even gave him a chance. Yes, Greg might've been a little on the boring side, especially if you compare him to the ex-Army Airborne Ranger Cliff, but he was solid."

"I really did," Elli said. "He's still got it." She almost fanned herself, but Elsie slapped her arm and brought her back. "I'm sorry."

"I'm not trying to make you feel guilty or anything," Elsie said. "You're a grown woman; you make your own decisions. You were supposed to get married first, wear mom's dress down the aisle first, and I'm afraid if you let yourself get wrapped up in him again you'll be back in my arms crying your eyes out."

"That wouldn't happen…" Elli said.

"He took you out," Elsie said. "You used to get me through bad, depressing breakups. As your younger sister, I never thought I'd see you reach such a low point, and after having done so I'll fight like hell to make sure you never reach it again."

"I know you're disappointed in me," Elli said, "but it's complicated."

"Can you explain it to me?" Elsie said.

"Nothing's concrete," Elli finally said. It was too much to lay on the table right now, so she offered the words to bring this conversation to an end: at least for now.

"When you decide you want to be honest with me, your sister," Elsie said, "your flesh and blood, call me. I'm going to go stay with Zack at the hotel: The Crown Imperial. I'll only be here a few days, so don't make me wait long."

Elli watched Elsie open the door and leave. She couldn't help roll her eyes, but she was glad they didn't fight about it. She barely knew what she thought and felt, so she would call Elsie tomorrow and explain that. For now, she would take a quick shower and get some rest. She felt like she'd been ravaged. She was going to need time to recover.

"Text me when you get there," Elli instructed her sister. She shut the door when her sister was out of sight and went to prepare for bed: again.

~~~!~~~!~~~!~~~

Elsie sat in her rental car with the doors locked and thought. No one knew how badly Coronado's confession had impacted and affected Elli, except for her: not even their parents knew. Elli was a fighter. Nothing scared her. She was always confident and cool. When kids would pick on her for being fat, Elli would beat them down: no matter how big. It was because of a misunderstanding that Elli tried to fight Cliff. Cliff wouldn't fight her, and everybody knew Cliff had no problems beating up anybody. He had fought many times on behalf of younger kids, especially his brothers. Clive had been a victim of bullies many times, and Coronado was just an instigator or getting himself into trouble. While Elli had been the future Nancy Drew, Veronica Mars, detective-in-training, Elsie had been the one to figure out that Cliff had gotten a crush on her. It came soon after Elli had decked him one good time for not fighting her because she was girl.

"You're really not going to fight me?" Elli had shouted. "You fight everybody!"

"I never fight girls," Cliff had said. "I would never fight you."

Elsie had also been the one to discover that Elli had a crush on him.

"Tell me why," Elli had demanded.

"That's how my Dad raised me," Cliff had said.

"He sounds like an idiot," Elli had said.

"He wasn't," Cliff had said.

The 'wasn't' had registered on Elli's face.

"That's fine that you don't fight girls," Elli had said, trying to change the subject for Cliff. "You don't have to fight me, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to fight you."

That was the reason Elli kept trying to start fights with him after that first time.

The only thing to scare Elli was the future, and so when the plan she had, which had taken her years to get comfortable with, fell apart around her, she didn't know what to do. Elli had always known what she wanted, but thinking about what could happen, what she could lose, and how it could end paralyzed her. Elsie carried her out of it. She was the one that made Cliff understand the she was freeing Elli from him. And while at the time, it hadn't been clear how devastating this had been for him too, Coronado's departure and his and her subsequent, brief conversation on the subject indicated that it had indeed been bad. Elsie wanted to mind her own business, but unlike Elli she had relationship experience. She was afraid that if Elli got back with Cliff her heart and mind wouldn't be able to take what an end to it might mean.

Elsie adjusted her rearview mirror to head to the hotel. That's when she saw another set of eyes. She immediately tried to get out the car, but she didn't get the chance.

~~~!~~~!~~~!~~~

Clive finished making breakfast while watching the History Channel. He found they did a special entitled: Religion and the Supernatural. He listened to part of it as he plated everyone's food:

The Narrator: The Bible has a lot to say about Witchcraft. Witchcraft and its many cousins, such as Fortune Telling and Necromancy, are Satan's counterfeits to Holy Spirituality. The Bible expressly condemns all forms of Witchcraft. The penalty for practicing Witchcraft under the Mosaic Law was death.

"Uh," Coronado said, after coming to the kitchen and hearing the narrator's last sentence, "what are you watching?"

"Nothing," Clive said nonchalantly. He turned off the special.

"No one actually believes Witches exist," Coronado said, "and because Good Witches do exist, we exist, God is not going to strike us down dead and the masses are not going to come hang and stone us to death. We haven't dropped dead yet, have we? Don't spiral out. I'll tell Cliff."

"I'm not…" Clive said barely audible. "I won't." He said this more confidently.

"Good morning," Cliff said, coming in shirtless from a run through the back door.

"Morning," Clive said.

"Hey," Coronado said. A wide grin came onto his face. "You had sex."

"What makes you think that?" Clive asked Coronado.

Cliff didn't respond; he just went to the refrigerator and grabbed a bottle of water. He opened and drank the water, letting the door shield his face.

"He comes in smiling," Coronado said, leaning back in his chair at the table trying to get a look at Cliff's face. "He went for a run because he has all this energy. He's all happy. I know when Cliff gets some action."

"With who?" Clive turned to Cliff.

Cliff only closed the refrigerator door, placed his water bottle by his plate, and continued to say nothing, going to the downstairs bathroom to wipe himself off with a towel and wash his hands before he came to the kitchen to eat.

"I can answer that," Coronado said when Cliff sat down at the island. "Elli."

"We're not going to do this," Cliff said.

"Do what?" Coronado said. "It's nothing to be ashamed of. I myself also had a hot fuck last night. He was amazing as I'm sure you were."

"It's not the same," Cliff said, narrowing his eyes.

"He's right you know," Clive said. "You're a man ho."

"A person going after what they like and want doesn't equate to a ho," Coronado said. "You could learn a thing or two from me Clive."

"I have," Clive said. "How not to end up burning."

Cliff almost choked on his steak and eggs. Coronado laughed. The both of them were glad to hear him joking and roasting people.

"I'll let you have that one," Coronado said. "For the record, I can agree. With you and Elli, it's not the same."

"I'm not ashamed of anything," Cliff said, allowing himself to relax a bit and enter the conversation. "I appreciated your heads up, but Elsie caught us afterward. This was last night before I went into work."

"Oh shit," Clive said.

"Let me guess," Coronado said. "You haven't heard from Elli since."

"Not at all," Cliff said. "I half expected it."

"Don't think that way," Clive said. "If you put it on her, she probably didn't have the energy to contact you right away."

Coronado laughed, and Cliff tried not to laugh.

"Shut up," Cliff said.

"That is if you still remember how it goes," Clive said. "I know it's been awhile. But if you did it right, you probably made her late for work. She'll contact you when she can."

"Now you know why I never told you two anything," Cliff said. He moved, taking his food and water bottle to the living room.

"Don't leave," Coronado said, going after him with his plate and his newspaper.

Clive, while laughing, followed suit.

"We needed to call a family meeting anyway," Clive said when they were all situated.

"About what?" Cliff said.

"We'll get there," Clive said. "How you doing? Honestly."

"I'm good," Cliff said. "If Elli wanted to use me for sex for the rest of her life, I'd let her. She knows how I feel. She should know. That's never going to change. I'm keeping something from her again, but this time I know she'll figure it out on her own. She might not believe it, but she won't be blindsided."

Clive noticed that Coronado didn't say anything, and neither Cliff nor Coronado looked at each other while Cliff spoke. Coronado read through his newspaper.

"I would say tell her," Clive said, "but it should wait. We should get a handle on what it all is or means first."

"I agree," Cliff said.

"While I know you prefer to have your escapades elsewhere," Clive said, turning to Coronado, "try having them at the house from now on. It would be safer. There's the option of you cutting back…"

"But we all know that's not going to happen," Coronado said, putting down his newspaper. "I want to get you back out there."

Coronado was the only one who noticed out of the corner of his eye Cliff shifting his head, indicating that wasn't the direction to take this conversation: too soon.

"I'm a slow and steady kind of guy," Clive said, wanting to show them, especially Cliff, that he would be okay. "No sex until we've at least been together a month. We got to go over our history, get checked, and then we can commence with proper love making or sex: you two know which term you prefer."

Coronado and Cliff both tried not to laugh.

"Proper love making?" Coronado questioned. "It always amazes me that you manage to sound like the oldest man in life. Gramps seemed younger than you."

"Coronado used his power yesterday," Clive said.

"You were saving that," Coronado said and frowned. "You were just waiting to rat me out."

"We agreed not to use our powers outside the house," Cliff said.

"You two agreed," Coronado said. "I want to use my power all the time."

"That's not a good idea," Clive said. "For obvious reasons, the main one being that it could draw unwanted attention and danger."

"Until I can control it," Coronado said, "you two are going to have to deal. The only way to learn to control it is practice."

"I accidently used mine last night," Cliff admitted.

Clive gave him a look.

"My brother," Coronado said.

"It was accident," Cliff said. "I was feeling pretty zen at the time."

"A pittance of Telekinesis and a lousy Premonition are not going to bring about the end of our world as we know it," Coronado said. "No worries. That leads me to bring up this idea I just had from reading the newspaper. Turns out women are being abducted. We should look into it."

"You want to go looking for trouble," Clive said: he sounded hardened.

"I want to help people if this is a supernatural problem," Coronado said. "It could be something the police can't handle."

That caught Clive's attention and softened him.

"That's an idea I can get behind," Clive said.

"This could be a first step into a Supernatural business," Coronado said, "partnering up with our lead detective: Elli."

"At the same time," Cliff said, ignoring Coronado's last comment to not entertain it, "this might not be a supernatural problem. We should try to say out of anything the police can handle."

"I know we should stick to our day jobs," Coronado said.

"Speaking of which," Clive said, getting up. "We need to get to those. You can be late when you get your own car Coronado."

"I got you," Coronado said. "Let me finish. We should stick to them, but I'm still going to look into this. I want to look into anything that doesn't look or feel right. This doesn't feel right. Would you two support me?"

Cliff and Clive glanced at each other. It wasn't like Coronado to ask them for anything if he could help it.

"I recognize that I seemed to take a break," Cliff said, "but I've got your back: whatever you need anywhere and anytime."

"Same goes for me," Clive said. "You should know that by now University. Don't let all that fancy book learning make you forget."

Coronado laughed.

"I'll try not to let it happen again," Coronado said. "Thanks."

~~~!~~~!~~~!~~~

Clive contemplated eating. He felt like he should before someone noticed he hadn't eaten lunch for days. The only reason he decided to eat lunch was because his local pastor came into the restaurant. This had been the pastor's wife's favorite restaurant before she died, so he liked to eat there from time. Clive asked if he they could have lunch together and could speak with him.

"Thank you for having lunch with me Pastor Armin," Clive said. "I know I haven't been to church since my Gramps died. That was his church, and he always had us there every Sunday. It was hard afterward. I apologize."

"No need to apologize," Pastor Armin said. "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: a time to break down, and a time to build up; A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance. When you're ready to come back, the Lord will be waiting. Until then, he remains at your side."

"You're right," Clive said, thinking to last week's ordeal when he was almost killed twice by Violet.

"What did you want to speak about?" Pastor Armin asked. He was a young pastor, and by younger he was about half the age his Gramps had been, which placed him in his early thirties: dark hair and brown eyes. He was clean-cut and dressed well: put together. He had an old soul.

"My ex-girlfriend was a serial killer that tried to kill me," Clive began, "and I didn't know. It never dawned me. What does that say about me? She wanted to kill me because she saw me as a Witch. She killed Witches. Were they considered Evil? Did they deserve to die? Were they an abomination against God? She escaped, and she told me she'd come back for me. Should I be allowed to connect with other people, with anyone, if I know it could endanger their lives?" He tried not to think about lying to a pastor. "I can't talk to my brothers about any of this because until recently they couldn't be in the same room with each other. The fact that I'm trying to hold myself together after feeling like a worthless failure, an idiot, brings them closer together because they're both concerned about me. I don't want them to see how pathetic I am: mourning someone I thought would be the one. I do want them to continue on the road of reconciliation."

Clive mixed lies with the truth, but it wasn't because he wanted to lie. He didn't think they were exactly lies because this was basically the situation that he was in. More Warlocks would come. Violet hadn't lied about that. He unloaded on the pastor, and he felt bad about it. His personal and supernatural life and problems blended and flowed out.

"Clive," Pastor Armin said: his voice was soothing. He wanted to calm Clive down. "You went through a traumatic experience. No one deserves to die. People who practice Wicca, Witches, aren't abominations against God. God grants people talents and gifts. It's how they decide to use them that can make them abominations against God; even then he still loves them as his children. You are a good man with a good heart. Don't let this one event in your life make you think or believe otherwise. As for your brothers, you need to be honest. I can tell that you're not honest with them about how you think and feel about their relationship. If they care about you, which it sounds like they do, they'll listen to what you have to say and should even act in accordance to your wishes or in regards to remedying the problem that exists."

Clive was left astonished.

"I see now why they voted you in," Clive said, "and I can see why my Gramps had such respect for you. You helped clear my mind. I don't know what I'll do, but thanks for pointing me in the right direction."

"Whenever you need to talk," Pastor Armin said, "call on me. Whenever a person feels they're out of options, God is always an option. He won't magically fix all your problems, but he's good at putting you on track in the right direction."

"I'll remember that," Clive said.

"Now let's dive into this good food," Pastor Armin said.

Clive nodded in agreement and couldn't help a short laugh.

~~~!~~~!~~~!~~~

"You going to tell me what happened?" Macias asked as he and Cliff took turns on the sandbag.

"What do you mean?" Cliff asked.

"You called me to come to the gym," Macias said, "which we both know is rare, but the longer we've been here the more aggressive you've gotten with that sandbag. You were in too good a mood at work last night, so I know you had sex, but I'm trying to figure out why you're starting to veer left."

"How does everybody know when I have sex?" Cliff said.

"You relax considerably: become more lighthearted," Macias said. "Some would say you're a little less prickly too. Not me."

Cliff said nothing. He laid into the sandbag a couple more times.

"Are you two back together?" Macias asked cautiously.

"No," Cliff said quickly. "I don't know."

"Would it be easier if I took off?" Macias asked seriously, which wasn't a color that Macias wore often.

Cliff hated when Macias did that: put the ball in his court.

"You've got a life here," Cliff said. "You're not leaving."

"That's a relief," Macias said. "I didn't want to go."

Cliff shoved the sandbag at him.

"I know how much you want her back," Macias said, serious again, "but don't lose yourself in the process. What Coronado did wasn't the best, but he did give you an opportunity that most don't have: to be true, to be real. If Elli's for that, then she's as great as you always said she was."

They shared the silence. Macias hit the sandbag a few times. Cliff heard Coronado's words from last week: a new normal.

"We did have sex," Cliff said. "I haven't heard from her since. Her sister caught us; she's back in town. I hurt Elli, so she gets to decide: the order of things. I get what you're saying. I got lost." He didn't say anything else. He took his turn on the sandbag.

Macias waited. Cliff was attempting something he rarely did with words: express himself. Macias saw that Cliff was attempting to unharden his heart and possibly even forgive.

Cliff wasn't looking at Macias; he focused on the bag.

"I got lost," Cliff repeated. "You helped me find my way back. Appreciated it. Appreciate you."

"Dear Lord," Macias said, raising his arms to the sky, "let him have sex more often."

"I hate you," Cliff said, shaking his head as he rested it on the sandbag, hiding a smile.

"I'm aware," Macias said, grinning outright.

~~~!~~~!~~~!~~~

Coronado was at work. He had just got on the elevator from the basement with the cart filled with antiques, high-value odds and ends and paintings, that he had catalogued and had to deliver to the Specialists to identify and authenticate before they could be auctioned off. Coronado had met with and talked with a few of the Specialists, and he wasn't one to toot his own horn but at the rate they worked he could do half their work twice as fast. Unfortunately, experience kept him from getting the more rewarding and profitable position. It was no big deal. He had other work to do, which was why he was on his phone as the elevator began to carry him toward the 12th floor and people got on and off of it. Using his phone, he learned about the women who had been abducted. He also learned that the last place most of them had visited and frequented before their abductions was The Velvet Aria. Because he wasn't a cop, there would be no way they'd let him view security footage. However, he had something better. If he went there, maybe he could get a Premonition of the next victim: prevent her abduction and catch the abductor in the process. Sounded like a plan, and he liked it.

"Are you on the clock?" A young woman asked. She was about his age. She had a classy look and appeal. She put Coronado in the mindset of a 40s movie star like the women in the movies his Gramps used to watch on AMC (American Movie Classics channel). Her hair was a mix of black and maroon. It was cut short and fell in tresses. Her eyes seemed to alternate between blue and green. She had her eyes on his phone until they met his eyes.

"I read over policy," Coronado said. "I didn't think it was against the rules to check your phone on a short elevator ride."

"I'm sorry," the young woman said. "I meant do you work here. A lot of people who work here are older, and I was surprised to see someone closer to my age."

"I do," Coronado said. "I work in the basement." He patted the cart. "I catalogue pieces: nothing special."

"You sound disappointed," the young woman said.

"Between you and me," Coronado said, "I should be a Specialist here. I know I don't have the experience, but I was top of my classes. I do my homework. I do my research. Given a chance, I could be the highest paid Specialist here."

"You getting a job here at all at your age is a feat," she said. "I hear they're selective. You should consider yourself charmed. You got your foot in the door. You never know, you could get an interview as Specialist: end up as one."

"If that happened," Coronado said, "I'd be charmed alright."

On the 11th floor, someone got onto the elevator. As they traveled to the 12th floor, Coronado had a Premonition. He saw flashes: the young woman was giving him a great smile. She was introducing herself. She shook his hand. She gave him her business card.

The elevator doors opened.

"Talk you later," Coronado said to the young woman. He left the elevator with his cart, slipping his phone back into his pocket.

He saw more flashes: of the business card. It had her office number, cell number, and email address. It also had her name and job title.

"Talk to you real soon," the young woman said.

Coronado took a look at the young woman again, and as she walked passed him to go in the opposite direction down the hall he realized who she was. Her business card had identified her: Prynn Louise: Owner of Macquarie Auction House

Coronado made a face before he turned to drop off the antiques.

"I'm not charmed at all…" Coronado said. "There goes my job."

~~~!~~~!~~~!~~~

"She's going to fire me," Coronado said, talking with Clive. He went on a late lunch after dropping off the antiques. "She left a message with my supervisor that she wanted to speak with me after I returned from lunch."

"I find that hard to believe," Clive said.

"Why do you say that?" Coronado asked.

"As good as you are at getting yourself into trouble," Clive said, "you're better at getting out of it, usually…sometimes. Looking at this picture of her, you're going to be fine." He returned Coronado's phone to him. "You're here which works in my favor because I want to talk to you and Cliff in a place that will require you both to be on your best behavior. Cliff's going to take me home from work, so when you get off work: don't get lost. Bring my car home."

"I'm about to be unemployed," Coronado said. "I think I'm going to grab a lottery ticket, so I can win some money and I won't have to work."

"You wouldn't like that," Clive said. "You'd get bored too easily."

"You make a good point," Coronado said. "Part of the reason I'm here right now is for work anyway: supernatural work."

"Oh?" Clive questioned.

"The women who were abducted I traced some of their last locations here," Coronado said. "I want to say this is the place where the Warlock found or scouted victims. I was hoping I'd get a Premonition off this place and find out who the Warlock might be."

"Is this going to be a reoccurring thing?" Clive asked.

"What?" Coronado asked puzzled.

"Evil is connected to my personal life," Clive said.

"No," Coronado said, shaking his head. "Every new venture comes with its own set of initial obstacles."

"Oh yeah?" Clive questioned. "What obstacles are you and Cliff trying to overcome?"

"I'm not going to answer that because you already know the answer to that," Coronado said.

Coronado was right. Clive knew that Coronado was working on the repair of his broken, damaged relationship with Cliff, and Cliff was trying to figure out and adjust to what his life was or would be after the fallout of Coronado's confession and now acceptance of the role of Witch.

A bartender named Ximena, according to her nameplate, with curly locks of black and blonde hair and brown eyes set down a drink in front of Coronado. This drew Clive and Coronado's attention. Ximena turned to her right, and she, Clive, and Coronado looked to the striking young man who looked to be in his mid twenties. He had dark hair, dark eyes, and the scruffy makings of a goatee and beard.

"Hot damn," Coronado said under his breath.

The bartender went about her business, and the stranger held up his drink to him.

"I'll be right back," Coronado said.

"Don't you have to get back to work," Clive said, "and aren't you trying to conduct an investigation?"

"If I get fired," Coronado said, "I'll need someone to help cheer me up. I choose him. I'm going to get his info, and I haven't gotten a Premonition yet so I'll come back later when the abductor might actually be here. "

"I still want to talk to you and Cliff," Clive said as Coronado sauntered over to the stranger.

"I'll come back," Coronado said. "I'll meet you two back here after I meet with the owner."

Clive went back into the kitchen.

Coronado sat with the stranger. He noticed his photography equipment next to the table and his camera on the table.

"Coronado," Coronado said, introducing himself. "Bold of you to send the drink."

"I have an eye for beautiful things and beautiful people," the stranger said, "Khalid."

"I do as well: inside and out," Coronado said. "A toast to them." He raised his glass.

They toasted, and each took a drink.

"I know your work," Coronado said. "You're not just any photographer. You're Khalid Shihab-Eldin: famous for your travel photography."

"Guilty," Khalid said. "Not many know my face. Can you keep a secret?" He spoke low.

"You'd be surprised," Coronado replied in kind.

"I have a job I have to complete in a little while," Khalid said, "but I would enjoy your company later tonight if you'd be available."

"Give me your card," Coronado said, looking him in his eyes. "I'll let you know when I'll be available." He held Khalid's gaze. It overwhelmed Khalid, causing him to look away and reach into his pocket. It was a tactic Coronado used to gauge if he could have a person: if he could get them and get them to do what he wanted. He had Khalid.

"Later stranger," Coronado said after he received his card. He slipped it in his pocket as he left Khalid. If he didn't get a clear lead after meeting with Cliff and Clive, he would have another fun night.

~~~!~~~!~~~!~~~

A grimy, terrifying-looking old man with mangled teeth and blood-shot eyes walked out of the shadows within a warehouse. Fastened to a steel table was Elsie.

"Who are you?" Elsie cried out.

"Javna," the old man replied.

"Javna…" Elsie whispered. "Please, let me go."

"I will after you've given me what I need," Javna said. He unleashed beams of energy from his eyes into Elsie's eyes; she screamed out and cried from the pain. He stole her youth, draining her life, causing her to become a wrinkled old woman and him to become a striking young man: Khalid.

Elderly Elsie was not in her right mind. She muttered to herself: disoriented and gone.

Khalid turned around and walked until he stood before a mirror: to admire himself and his work.

~~~!~~~!~~~!~~~

Elli and Sora came out of a meeting with their Captain. They had been in meetings all day. Elli checked her phone, and she realized she hadn't heard from her sister. She also saw that Zack had called and left multiple messages. Zack was brought to her when she returned to her desk.

"I didn't want to interrupt your meeting," Zack said.

"Song," Elli said, making introductions. "This is my brother-in-law Zack Mason. Zack, this is my partner Sora Song."

They shook hands.

Everyone in the office could see he was stressed.

"It's nothing," Zack said. "I know it's not your department. I didn't want to say anything or do anything until I checked with you. You know? Your sister can be a little flighty sometimes, but that's what I love about her. She keeps me on my toes…always…always…" He was starting to ramble.

"Tell me what's wrong," Elli said.

"Where's Elsie?" Zack asked. The way he asked sent a chill down Elli's spine that brought her fear. "It's not like her to not text me before bed, but I figured she was with you, so she was preoccupied. Then, she didn't text this morning, and she didn't answer my calls. She skipped breakfast with me too. She was supposed to bring you."

"She never came back last night?" Elli asked him.

"No," Zack said.

"Officer," Sora chimed in, seeing that Elli's mind had gone to work. She spoke to the officer that had brought Zack to them. "Take Mr. Mason to the Missing Persons Unit."

"A report can't be filed until she's been missing for 24 hours," Elli said. "She hasn't been missing 24 hours." She came back and refocused on Zack. "Go back to your hotel. Don't tell my parents. Wait for me to call. I will find her."

"I knew you would," Zack said. He turned and slowly walked away.

Sora gestured with her head to the officer to go with him.

Elli turned to Sora.

"Lead the way," Sora said.

Elli didn't have to ask.

"Zack," Elli called out him, walking toward him with Sora behind, before he left the station. "Where was the last time you two were together before she came to my place?"

"We went to The Velvet Aria," Zack told her.

"What are you thinking?" Sora asked when they were headed to her SUV. "She would make the sixth this week."

"My sister hasn't been in town for months," Elli said. "I'm hoping that someone from the restaurant followed her, and that will give us a lead. I want to pick up security footage from the restaurant and my apartment building."

"That's what we'll do," Sora said. "We should also try to track her by her phone."

"Of course," Elli said. "Yes. I'm glad you're my partner Song."

~~~!~~~!~~~!~~~

Coronado stopped by the gas station to put some gas in Clive's car. It was the least he could do considering Clive was allowing him to use it so much. Also, he had been serious about that lottery ticket, so he decided he'd stop by the gas station to grab one. He overheard the elderly couple getting attended to on the other side of him.

"If we hit it big honey," the elderly woman said, "we'll have enough to save the house and finally go on our dream honeymoon: Paris, the City of Lights."

"We've got to dream big to win big," the elderly man replied.

They laughed together.

"Pump 3," Coronado told his attendant. "I'll take a lottery ticket too."

"That'll be $27.50," the attendant told him.

Coronado paid, and when he was handed his lottery ticket had a Premonition. The scene he saw was of the winning lottery numbers being displayed on TV.

The Premonition took a few seconds for him to come back from, but this time faster than his last Premonition. When he came out of his Premonition, he saw the elderly couple.

"Excuse me," Coronado said.

"Yes young man," the elderly woman said, giving him a sweet smile.

"The winning numbers are 7, 5, 15, 27, 12, and 2," Coronado told her. "Trust me." He turned to his attendant. "Did you catch that? I'll be playing those numbers too."

"Guess it wouldn't hurt to buy one more ticket," the elderly man said to his wife. "You never know."

The elderly couple turned back to their attendant. Coronado received his ticket, and he couldn't help smiling to himself as he headed back to the car for work.

When he got back to the office, he went for the 12th floor to speak to Prynn. On her side of the floor, they were doing some remodeling: a little bit of construction and a little bit of painting. The secretary had him go right in when he arrived. Soon as he entered the office, he had a Premonition. The scene Coronado saw was of a tin of paint falling on him and leaving him covered.

Coronado stepped out of the way as the paint fell, avoiding it completely. He loved being a Witch.

"Watch out," Coronado heard a man to his left. He had been a little late, standing over by the ladder. "I rocked it. Sorry about that." He didn't look like he was a part of the remodeling crew: too sharply dressed.

"No problem," Coronado said.

This man was about Cliff's age, but he didn't look like he belonged in the office. He had the look of a mountain man, who preferred the company of animals and the wilderness to people and modern society. He had black hair: one eye was brown and the other was green.

"Coronado Halliwell," Prynn said, coming from the Conference Room that was on the side of her office. "I see you've met my Second-in-Command, Trenton Warsaw."

Trenton nodded before he moved toward Prynn's window to gaze out at the sight of her amazing view.

Prynn walked toward him, took his hand into hers, and shook it. She gave him a great smile.

"I thought it best now that I know who you are we be properly introduced," Prynn said. "Prynn Louise." She slipped her business card into his hand.

Coronado read over it: already knowing what was on it.

"Ms. Louise," Coronado said, "Owner of the Auction House, I stand by what I said. While I would like to keep my job, I do think you should interview me to become a Specialist, so I can better serve the Auction House."

"You can call me Prynn," Prynn told him. "You really are something." She looked him over before she gave him a look. "Trenton wanted to fire you, but I thought I'd go in a different direction."

Trenton glanced over at them with a frown on his face, indicating that Prynn was not only messing with Coronado but him too.

"Test you out," Prynn said. "Follow me into the Conference Room." She turned around and walked away.

Coronado followed.

Trenton brought up the rear.

On the long Conference Table, Prynn presented three pieces: one a painting, one a sculpture, and one a relic.

"Identify these three pieces," Prynn said. "Share with me their history, and tell me whether they're real or fake."

Both Prynn and Trenton saw the excitement on Coronado's face at getting a chance to view the pieces. Then, he started talking. He talked fast, but everything he said was factual. He told them the painting and the sculpture were counterfeits, but the relic was genuine. He was right.

"Impressive," Trenton said.

"I'm a little taken aback," Prynn said.

"I'm sure you two are well aware," Coronado said, turning from the pieces to face them. "Young doesn't equal dumb."

"I'd like to hire you as Specialist," Prynn said. "This was my Mother's Auction House. She wanted to retire early, so she left it to me. I think you would do excellent work here, but I also believe you'd attract a lot of new business: bring back old faces and bring in new. When I met you, I knew you had a certain charm. Would you be interested?"

"I'm yours," Coronado said, knowing exactly what he was doing and saying by using those exact words.

"You're free to go for the evening," Prynn said. "We'll finalize your new position in the morning."

"Thank you," Coronado said. "Sincerely, thank you." He spoke to both of them. "I'll stop by your office in the morning." He left the room.

"What do you think?" Prynn asked, taking a seat on the edge of the conference table.

"If the paint incident wasn't proof enough," Trenton replied, "I smell it on him. He's a Witch."

"Hmmm," Prynn said, "but is he one of the Witches we're looking for?"

~~~!~~~!~~~!~~~

"We found her car and her phone," Elli said, talking to Sora, "but they yielded nothing. Neither did the footage from my apartment building."

"We do have a general idea of who we're looking for," Sora said. "We saw some of his face. That'll narrow down our pool of suspects."

They were in Elli's SUV outside of The Velvet Aria.

"That's Cliff's truck," Elli said. She realized she hadn't contacted him all day. "I can't talk to him. He'll know something's wrong, and he'll know it's about my sister."

"How?" Sora asked.

"He knows me," Elli said. "He's borderline psychic when it comes to me. I don't get upset easily, and so if I am out of sorts he'll know it'll have something to do with my family, and because my sister came into town last night and saw him he's going to put it all together."

"I can get the tapes," Sora said.

"No," Elli said. "Thanks… But, she's my sister.

"If you want me to take over at any point in time," Sora began.

"I'm fine," Elli said. "I already know what he'll do too. Seeing him will be a comfort. Makes me believe I will find her." She climbed out of the car.

~~~!~~~!~~~!~~

"Are we waiting on Coronado?" Cliff said, sitting beside Clive at the bar.

"Yes," Clive said.

"Can I ask you something?" Cliff said.

" You can ask me anything," Clive said, turning to face him because this was new.

"If I'm such an asshole," Cliff said, "why do people want me in their lives? Why won't they leave me be?"

"My theory has always been because disappointing you is a kind of torture," Clive said.

"Explain," Cliff said.

"You can take or leave people," Clive said. "You don't give a fuck: that's the air you put off. Then, you let certain people into your sphere, and it's like being deemed worthy. You'll fight for them. You'll do anything for them. You'll be loyal to a fault. They cut you deep, and all of that goes away: like that." He snapped his fingers for emphasis. "You inserted yourself into their heart, and then tore yourself out of it. They can't recover from it: not without your forgiveness, not without closure."

"It's hard," Cliff said. It was all he could muster; he didn't know the right words to express or explain.

"I wouldn't say this is positive or negative," Clive said. "It just is. I know why you are the way you are. It is hard. But for someone like you, it's not impossible."

"Coronado talked to me about a new normal," Cliff said, lowering his head. "I want them both Clive. I'm afraid if I admit that…I'll lose them both."

"I can't tell you what'll happen," Clive said. "I don't have Premonitions like Coronado. I can say this though with more than a little bit of certainty. They stayed connected to you this long. I don't think they're going anywhere."

"Hey brohams," Coronado said, popping up between his two brothers and throwing his arms around their shoulders. "This day has been so good it deserves some kind of award: and the Oscar goes too...!"

Ximena, the bartender, couldn't help laugh.

"I'm out of here for the night Clive," Ximena said. "Have a good night."

"You too Ximena," Clive said. "Try to get some sleep. You won't lose your ranking overnight."

Ximena chuckled and winked at him before she left.

"I spy with my little eye Clive's next girlfriend," Coronado said.

"We just met," Clive said, "and it's too soon."

"It's never too soon," Coronado said. "The best way to get over a bad partner is to get in-between a new one: if you know what I mean."

"Calm down thot," Cliff said.

Clive burst out laughing. He laughed so hard it surprised some patrons and his brothers.

"That was a good one," Clive said. "I know what you mean Coronado."

"Don't laugh at that," Coronado said. "I'm not surprised being as old as he is that he'd use such an outdated term."

Cliff put Coronado in a headlock.

"I give," Coronado said after several seconds.

Cliff let him go.

"Why was today such a good day?" Cliff asked him.

"I got a higher position at the auction house," Coronado said.

"I'm not even shocked," Clive said.

"I've got a rendezvous on my schedule in a little while," Coronado continued. "And, thanks to my Premonitions, we're going to be rich."

"Because of your lottery ticket?" Clive questioned.

"Yep," Coronado said.

"What?" Cliff said. "You used them again?" He stood up from the bar counter.

Clive should've known a public area wouldn't make a difference. That was Clive's cue to drag Cliff and Coronado to the back, so their argument wouldn't get him fired. He got them as far as the kitchen.

"We can't use our powers to win the lottery," Cliff said. "That falls under personal gain. The Book of Shadows goes over it in painstaking detail. I know you couldn't have missed it."

Good thing a lot of people had already left for the evening. Nobody overheard anything.

"You've been reading The Book of Shadows?" Clive said, interjecting.

"I have the time," Cliff said. "Why not?"

Clive realized he was the only one who wasn't necessarily diving into the Witch lifestyle. So far, he hated being a Witch.

"It wasn't just for personal gain," Coronado said. "I helped a family in need. Also, I can't control it. Let's remember that little detail."

"How many Premonitions have you had today?" Cliff asked.

"More than I can remember," Coronado muttered.

"You're not trying to control it," Cliff said.

"Well if I want to learn to control my power I have to use it," Coronado said, "and because I use it I'm getting used to it."

"Not so loud," Clive said.

A waiter came into the kitchen carrying a tray full of plates. He didn't see Coronado. He bumped into Coronado, and he and the plates went down for the floor. Clive froze both the waiter and the plates before that happened. He froze everybody in the kitchen, except for Cliff and Coronado.

"Shit," Clive said. He looked around. "Everybody's frozen. Hey, you two aren't."

"Our powers don't work on Good Witches," Cliff said.

Coronado looked out the kitchen door window.

"Everybody's not frozen," Coronado said. "Looks like your power has a range: limited to the room you're in."

"Fascinating stuff," Clive said. "We need to turn it off."

"How long does it usually last?" Cliff asked.

"I don't know," Clive said. "I'm the only one of us who hasn't been using his powers: on purpose or accident!"

"He's got us there," Coronado said.

"You're not helping," Cliff said.

Clive looked out the other kitchen door window, doing his best not to panic. He managed not to when he saw Elli talking with the manager. He handed her a few DVDs.

"Elli's here," Clive said. At that moment, he heard the waiter, the tray, and the plates hit the floor. Everybody in the kitchen unfroze.

"What?" Cliff said, looking for himself.

"Go," Clive said. "You two shouldn't be back here anyway. I'm going to clean up, and I'm going walk part of the way home."

"You don't have to do that," Cliff said.

"I know," Clive said. "I just want to walk and think for a minute. We'll talk later. Go."

"I can take you home," Coronado said. He didn't want to leave Clive alone.

"Call if you need us," Cliff said. He laid down the law: respect Clive's wish.

Cliff and Coronado glanced at each other. Cliff went out the front to meet with Elli. Coronado went out the back to go meet up with Khalid.

~~~!~~~!~~~!~~~

"Elli," Cliff called out to her.

She had her back to him; she was headed out. She stopped. She turned around to face him. She was trying to steel herself against him. Something was wrong. He could see it in her body language.

"I was in meetings all day," Elli said before he could say anything. "That's why I never got back to you."

"What's wrong?" Cliff asked.

She looked at him, and for a moment she looked exhausted.

"My sister was abducted last night," Elli said. "I'm investigating, trying to find her."

"I'll take the day off and help you look for her," Cliff said.

"You don't have to do that," Elli said.

"It's already a done deal," Cliff said.

"We don't even know where to start looking," Elli said. "She was taken from the parking lot at my apartment building, but the man who took her could've followed her from here. She got mad at me, so she decided not to stay with me and go back to the hotel."

Cliff felt guilty. If Elsie hadn't caught sight of him, she wouldn't have left. He blamed himself. He didn't want Elli blaming herself, but he knew she was.

"Is it possible that the man scouted her out from her hotel?" Cliff asked. "He could be staying at the same hotel, followed her, and waited until she was alone."

"It's possible," Elli said. She hadn't thought of that. "If he is staying at her hotel, we might be able to get a clearer picture of him from the hotel's security footage."

She hugged him: out of the blue.

Cliff was apprehensive about making her feel uncomfortable, but recalling his conversation with Macias he wrapped his arms around her and held her a moment.

She pulled back from him.

"That wasn't very professional of me," Elli said.

"Feel free to hug me anytime," Cliff said.

"My partner and I need to go back to the station and check this footage," Elli said, showing Cliff the DVDs.

"Call ahead," Cliff said. "I'll go grab the hotel's security footage and chat with some of the patrons. The night staff or hotel bartender might've seen something."

"You're halfway to becoming a part-time detective yourself," Elli said.

"I learned from the best," Cliff said. "If you ever had any doubt I was listening when you talked about your work, here's the proof."

"Never had any doubt," Elli said.

"What hotel?" Cliff asked.

"The Crown Imperial," Elli answered.

"If you don't find her Elli," Cliff said, "I promise I will."

"It's crazy Cliff," Elli said, "but I believe you." She turned and walked away from him to return to her partner.

Cliff walked after her, heading toward his truck. He would wait until he was in it to call Coronado to see if a Premonition might help find Elsie.

~~~!~~~!~~~!~~~

Clive began his walk toward home. He would call for a driver to pick him up on one of those apps, sooner or later, but for now he wanted the peace and solitude that his own company brought him.

Coronado accepted becoming a Witch because he thought it was cool, fun, and a fascinating connection throughout their family tree.

Cliff accepted becoming a Witch because he saw it as a challenge, and he never met a challenge he didn't plan on somehow overcoming.

Clive felt like he couldn't accept it if it only brought fear and pain and could possibly bring death. It could ruin their lives and end them. They were supposed to be Good Witches, but even if they were what Good would being a Witch bring…

This made Clive wonder. They were Witches through their Dad's family line. If their Gramps and Dad were Witches, had their Mom known? If she hadn't, if or when she did find out, was it the real reason she left?

Clive was brought from these thoughts when he came across an elderly woman, who looked lost. She didn't seem like she had any idea of what to do or where she was going. The expression on her face was one of confusion.

"Are you looking for someone or trying to get some place?" Clive asked, intending on helping her.

"I-I don't know," the elderly woman said. "My sister…She can help. I have a sister…"

The clothes she wore were familiar. He found it odd that an elderly woman would be walking around alone at this hour dressed this way. It was the tattoos on her hand that sent a chill down his spine. He got a bad feeling: a feeling of dread.

"You don't know your name?" Clive asked her.

She shook her head no.

The tattoos on her hand were of Butterflies and Musical Notes.

"I think I might know who you are," Clive said. "Do you mind if check?"

"Please," the elderly woman said.

Clive found the Ladybug over her right shoulder and the Ankh on the backside of her left wrist.

"Oh," Clive said: afraid for her. "Elsie…" If this had been last week, Clive never would've entertained the idea, but this week… Somehow, Elsie had lost her youth. Clive's first thought – a Warlock was behind the abductions. "I know who you are, and I'm going to help you." He called Cliff.

"Thank you," Elsie said. She was brought to tears.

"Cliff," Clive said when he answered his cell phone.

"Can't talk," Cliff said. "Elsie's been abducted. That's why Elli was at the restaurant. She's investigating. I'm helping to try and find her. I promised Elli I would. I was going to call Coronado: see if a Premonition would help."

"I found her," Clive said.

"I don't like that tone," Cliff said.

"Come pick us up," Clive said, "and then we need to get to The Book of Shadows."

Clive gave Cliff his location, and Cliff came in his truck to get them. They agreed a Warlock was behind this, but before they attended to it they agreed they should see if they could find a way to restore Elsie's youth. They headed for the house.

Clive settled Elderly Elsie with some tea and a blanket on the living room couch. She drank some before she nodded off into a nap. Afterward, Clive joined Cliff upstairs in the attic with The Book of Shadows.

"When you were telling me what you think happened to her," Cliff said when Clive joined him, "I recalled reading about similar circumstances in The Book of Shadows."

They both stood at the podium to read together when Cliff found the page he was looking for.

"This is it," Cliff said. "Javna. It's not a Warlock. It's a Low-Level Demon."

"Demon?" Clive said, looking from the book to Cliff before looking back to the page in the book.

"The Evil we'll face will take on many forms," Cliff said. "Demons will be one of them. Javna feeds one week out of every year, stealing the life force from the young."

"He invokes the Black magic power: The Evil Eye," Clive said, reading the rest of Javna's entry. "This allows him to gain eternal youth."

"Javna used The Evil Eye on Elsie," Cliff said. "We have to find a way to reverse this."

Clive turned the page and read over it: The Hand of Fatima. It was beside a page that depicted The Hand's appearance.

"There is," Clive said. "Here."

At first, the entry was about half a page, but The Book of Shadows began to add to it in their presence.

"Did we do that?" Clive asked, looking to his brother.

"Maybe," Cliff said. "The Hand of Fatima." He read the first half of the entry. "Centuries ago, the Prophet Muhammad invoked The Hand of Fatima to banish Javna back to Hell."

"With the Power of Three," Clive read the part that had been added, "instead of being banished Javna can be vanquished for good, reversing the Demonic effects of his magic."

"Vanquish," Cliff said, "meaning defeat thoroughly. We know what we need to do."

"We summon The Hand of Fatima," Clive said, "and we fix this. But we don't know who Javna is or where he is. It's safe to say he's not walking around in his Demonic form."

"I've got that covered," Cliff said. "Coronado can get Premonitions, but if he can't get one off Elsie his power might show him who Javna is and where Javna is: show him his next victim."

"I better call him," Clive said. "He might not answer for you."

Neither had to call him. Cliff's phone rang. He checked it, and it was Coronado.

~~~!~~~!~~~!~~~

Coronado had talked to Khalid earlier. Khalid told him he had to finish with another job, but he would be done shortly. He suggested Coronado meet him at his hotel room; he would call ahead so they would give him a key to get in. He hoped Coronado would be ready for his arrival.

It had been a little bit of a drive, but Coronado made it in no time. Khalid was staying in a five-star hotel downtown: The Crown Imperial. Coronado went to the front desk, and they gave him a key, directing him to room 656 on the sixth floor. After a short elevator ride, Coronado reached the door. He grabbed for the handle; he received a Premonition. The scene he saw was of Ximena; she stood outside a warehouse, holding a cocktail napkin in her hands that had an address on it. The scene flashed. He saw Khalid grab her. He saw Khalid fasten her to a steel table. The scene flashed. He saw Khalid transform into a Demon right in front of her before he unleashed beams of energy from his eyes into her eyes; she screamed and cried out. He stole her youth, draining her life, causing her to become a wrinkled old woman and him to become a striking young man.

This time when he came out of the Premonition Coronado had all his wits about him.

Coronado hurried back to the car. He ran. He didn't even wait for an elevator. He took the emergency stairs. This must've been Khalid's job; he was the Demon behind the abductions. The reason none of the women had been found is because no one knew to look for the older versions of them. When he got to his car and was back on the road, he called Cliff. They had a disagreement earlier, had exchanged words, but this was bigger than that.

~~~~!~~~!~~~!~~~

Cliff put the phone on speaker, so he and Clive could hear and speak if need be.

"You need to get home," Cliff said. "We've got Demon business to attend to. One named Javna."

"I know," Coronado said. "I had a Premonition about the Demon. It's Khalid: the man I met at the restaurant earlier Clive. If he hasn't already, he's about to drain the life out of Ximena. I have a location; I'm headed there. I'll text it to you. Meet me there."

"We go together," Cliff said. "Meet us here."

"I'm not waiting," Coronado said. He hung up the phone.

"Hardheaded," Cliff said, shaking his head. He read the address right after. "We better hurry before he gets into trouble he can't handle."

"We can't leave Elsie here," Clive said. "We should take her with us."

"You think that's a good idea?" Cliff asked.

"If we do reverse the effects," Clive said, "I don't know how we would explain how she got here. I don't want to."

"You're right," Cliff said. "We're fresh off one strange and mysterious police investigation. We should wait a month before we're added to another. I'll carry her to the truck."

"I'm going to write the incantation to summon The Hand in my phone," Clive said. He tried to take a picture, but The Book wouldn't let him. "Then, I'll meet you at the truck."

Cliff nodded and left the attic.

Clive did write the incantation into his notes on his phone, but then he made a phone call to Elli. Both his brothers… No fear. No hesitation. To do Good.

"Clive?" Elli asked.

"Hey," Clive said. "What I'm going to tell you isn't going to make sense. You're going to have questions, but unfortunately you can't expect answers. This will cast suspicion, but I'm hoping our long history will grant me…clemency I guess is the word I'm looking for. I'm going to send you an address. In about a half an hour, go to it. What you find there should close the abduction case."

"What?" Elli asked. "Clive…? You've got to give me more."

"Sorry Elli," Clive said. "All I'll say is: promise kept." He ended the call and went for the truck.

Clive wasn't sure why he called Elli, but he began to think of the future. If this was going to be his future, his and his brothers, helping innocent people against the supernatural, doing good, Clive thought they might need help, allies, for their own protection. He thought: these were steps to prepare for that future.

Slowly, bring Elli into the fold.

The thought of telling Cliff about this idea or plan scared Clive more than any Warlock or Demon. That could wait.

~~~!~~~!~~~!~~~

Coronado arrived at the warehouse. He searched the outside until he found a door and slipped inside. He wasn't sure where to go until he heard Ximena screaming and yelling for help. He hurried but took his time. He didn't know the extent of Javna's powers, and he didn't want to endanger Ximena further. When he found the two of them, Ximena tied to the steel table and the Demon Javna before her, that's when Javna unleashed beams of energy from his eyes into Ximena's eyes. The closet thing Coronado could find near him was large camera lens, large enough to throw anyway, so Coronado grabbed it up and chucked it at Javna's head. He hadn't lost his pitching arm from years of baseball. Javna took the hit, and it affected him. Coronado went for Ximena. When the beams of energy broke contact with her eyes, she'd fallen unconscious. Coronado tried to unfasten her restraints, but he wasn't fast enough. Javna unleashed his beams of energy into Coronado's eyes this time. Coronado was paralyzed. He couldn't move, and he felt like his eyes were going to melt out of his head. A moment later, Javna was sent flying across the warehouse, which broke his contact with Coronado's eyes.

"Next time," Cliff said. "Wait." He and Clive had arrived and entered the warehouse. "You good?"

"Yeah," Coronado said. "Still in one piece. Must be Witch resilience."

"Don't do that again," Clive said, giving him a once over. He unfastened Ximena from her restraints. He headed back to Cliff, taking his phone from his pocket and pulling up the incantation.

"Get over here then," Cliff said, "so we can end this."

Coronado got in step with Clive.

Javna got back on his feet, and he unleashed his beams of energy upon Cliff. Clive immediately froze Javna using his Temporal Stasis: afraid for his brother's safety.

"We've got to do this together," Clive said to Coronado. "The Power of Three."

Clive stood to Cliff's right, and Coronado stood to Cliff's left.

"The Hand of Fatima," Cliff said.

Cliff positioned and placed his left hand forward. It began to change. The animals that appeared on the picture of the incantation's entry in The Book began to appear on Cliff's hand. Clive handed Cliff his phone, which Cliff held in his right hand. They read the incantation together.

Evil Eye look unto me,

May you soon extinguished be,

Bend thy will to the Power of Three:

Eye of Earth, Evil, and Accursed.

The animals on Cliff's hand provided magic that combined with the magic of the Power of Three. A single beam of energy is produced from Cliff's hand. It hit Javna, unfreezing him, keeping him in place, and causing him immense pain and agony.

Cliff, Clive, and Coronado chanted the incantation one more time. They and the incantation incinerate Javna. They vanquish him.

"Done and done," Coronado said. "Good job fellas."

Clive looked upon Ximena. They had saved her, and if they did their job right they had restored the youth to all of Javna's victims.

"Let's get Elsie in here," Cliff said. "Afterward, I'll call in an anonymous tip, and we can get out of here."

Cliff headed out with Clive right behind and Coronado going along. They saw Elsie. She climbed from the truck. She was young again. She went to Elli. The two of them were glad to see each other. They hugged. Elli looked to them.

"I'll go try and explain this," Cliff said. "You two get Ximena and bring her out here."

Cliff went toward her. Clive and Elli shared a look before Clive went with Coronado to get Ximena, and Elli went toward Cliff, leaving Elsie by her SUV.

"I need to bring you in for questioning," Elli said when they were directly across from each other.

"Do what you have to do," Cliff said, "but leave my brothers out of it."

Elli saw as Clive and Coronado brought an unconscious Ximena from the warehouse. She turned to Sora. Her partner opened the back door to the SUV, and Clive and Coronado helped put and settle Ximena in it. Once this was done, Sora closed the door. Sora, Clive, and Coronada stayed by the SUV but looked to Elli and Cliff. Elli turned back to Cliff.

"My partner and I aren't officially on this case," Elli said: her head was bent low. She raised it, looking Cliff in his eyes. "You're free to go."

Cliff gestured with his head for his brothers to get in the truck. They complied. Cliff tossed Clive his keys. Clive got in on the passenger side of the truck. Coronado jumped in the back. Clive started the truck.

"Call me," Cliff said, looking Elli in her eyes. He turned and walked away.

Right before he reached his truck, Elsie got in front of him and stopped him.

"Cliff," Elsie said. "I want to apologize."

"Don't," Cliff said. "I don't know if I'm good for your sister Elsie. One thing will never change. I would do anything for her."

"Elli just told me you helped save my life," Elsie said. "I won't apologize then. I'll thank you. I never doubted you were a good man… If you ever hurt her like you did last time, you'll never see her again."

"Fair enough," Cliff said, realizing while he pictured it had been bad for Elli it had been much worse. He wouldn't let it happen again.

Cliff walked around her, got into his truck, and drove him and his brothers back to their house.

~~~!~~~!~~~!~~~

"Sora," Elli said: with her back to Sora, watching as her sister walked back toward her.

"This will stay between us partner," Sora said. "As long as I've been on the force, I believe The Case of the Halliwell Brothers will be the most interesting one to date. We'll keep this and them between us."

"I agree," Elli said.

Elli wrapped an arm around her sister and walked her back to her SUV.

"You're safe," Elli said. "Time to get you back to your husband."

After she got Elsie situated in the SUV, she stood by the driver's side, and she watched as Cliff drove off. Sora stood by the passenger's side, watching along with Elli.

"One thing will never change," Elli said. "I would do anything for him."

"Normally," Sora said, "to someone else, I might say that's worrisome."

They didn't face each other.

"But with him," Sora said, facing her and opening the SUV's passenger door.

Elli faced her as well.

"It's clear he'd do the same," Sora said.

With that, Sora climbed into the SUV, and Elli did too.

Elli nodded to herself, agreeing with Sora, before she drove them off.

~~~!~~~!~~~!~~~

The Halliwell Brothers made it home. They took showers. They got food to eat. Coronado rushed to the living room to see the lottery numbers he played. Cliff joined Coronado after he made himself a sandwich. Clive did as well after her warmed up leftovers. The winning numbers came across the TV screen. As they did, the winning numbers disappeared from Coronado's lottery ticket.

"So much for being rich," Coronado said.

"If our magic falls under personal gain," Cliff said, "The Book was clear. We won't benefit from it."

"We've got our health," Clive said, "and that's better than being rich." He turned off the TV. "Now's as good a time as any other."

After he saw the numbers played, Coronado put on his favorite show for the umpteenth time.

"You wanted to talk to us," Cliff said. "About what?"

"About being a Witch," Clive said at first. "About me… About us. You two have always been fearless. Nothing scares you. We become Witches, and it doesn't surprise me that Coronado dives right in: into this lifestyle, into saving people. Cliff, you might have been careful about all of this, but it caught your attention. You want to know more, learn more, and I think it's because you feel like it connects you more to Dad."

"What about you?" Coronado asked.

"The idea of being a Witch made me more paranoid and suspicious than ever," Clive said. "That's why I withdrew to my room. All I could think was: who isn't who they claim to be? Who might try to kill me or us next? What if our powers make us a form of Evil? I thought about God…"

Clive heard his favorite song from the Coronado's favorite show begin to play – I'll Keep My Light In My Window.

"I told you we're not Evil," Coronado said. "Witch or not, you're definitely not Evil. I might be a little Evil, but you? You're damn near a Saint."

"We agree on that," Cliff said. "You're…" He struggled with finding the right combination of words but mostly he struggled with expressing them. "You touch people's hearts. You help people. You always leave everyone better than when you found them. That has been one of your gifts. Being a Witch gave you another one: to do what you've done most of your life."

"Oh man," Coronado said. "I didn't know you could talk like that. That was good."

Cliff wanted to glare at Coronado, but he ignored him and focused on Clive.

Clive chuckled to himself because he could see exactly what Cliff was doing.

"I hated being a Witch," Clive said, "but after today after Javna, I'll do this with you guys. I figure it'll grow on me like most things do. What I won't do is deal with the two of you. I can't do it all."

Hearing Clive talk like this grabbed Cliff and Coronado's attentions. He was not one to be this forthright.

"I can't try to fight for my dream," Clive said. "I can't fight Warlocks and Demons. On top of, fighting to make sure you two won't stop talking to each other for another six months. We could die. Our chances of dying young have risen exponentially. I can't die with you two where you are. I worry I'm the only thing keeping you two together, and if I go…"

"One," Coronado said, "you're not going to die. I see the future. You're going to live. Two, we're going to figure things out." He gestured to himself and Cliff. "You don't have to fight on our behalves. Not anymore. It's not your job. This is something we have to do and repair on our own."

"We're working on it," Cliff said. "We'll work on it."

"All right," Clive said. "I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize," Cliff said. "Don't ever be afraid to talk to us about us."

"Frankly," Coronado said. "It's about time."

Clive kicked him over off the end part of the couch sectional.

"Should we worry about Elli and her partner catching us?" Clive asked, directing his question toward Cliff.

"If anything happens," Cliff said, "it'll fall on me. So, no, we don't."

"If she ever catches on," Clive said, "she'd make a great ally."

"If we did ever put together a Supernatural Detective Agency," Coronado said, "we're definitely putting Elli in charge of it." He laughed. "Dial V for Vanquish."

Clive couldn't help chuckle at this.

"Let's leave her out of this as much as possible," Cliff said. "She doesn't have powers or Witch resilience, and I refuse to let her die."

Clive and Coronado both nodded their understanding.

"Now," Coronado said. "Let's watch this episode of my show."

"Haven't you seen this show all the way through too many times?" Cliff asked.

"You can never watch this through too many times," Coronado said. "It should've never been cancelled in the first place."

"Be right back," Clive said, stepping out into the kitchen. He took out his phone. He went to his favorite contacts list, and he called a person he hadn't talked to in six months: before that…years. If he did have the ability to touch people's hearts, Clive decided he might try to use that ability to help do what being a Witch might be doing for him and his brothers: bring his family back together.

Clive still heard the song playing. The phone rang and rang until he was able to leave a message.

"I know we haven't talked in a long time," Clive said. "You took care of Coronado. I took care of Cliff: as best as one can take care of Cliff. There's been a change. It's time you came back." This needed to happen, but also there were questions and Clive believed she had answers. "You need to meet with Cliff, and you need to tell us finally why you left. I look forward to seeing you soon. I love you Mom."

Clive ended the call as his song ended, and he rejoined his brothers.