A/N: sorry it's been so long. my computer has been away for two weeks while I anxiously waited to be told if my protection plan was going to authorize a replacement and plus work has been hectic. I will try to update more regularly. Please review. It makes me feel all fuzzy inside.

Phoebe's hand clutched the arm of aunt Pearl's settee so strongly her knuckles turned white. She was still gasping for air as she shook off the effects that the premonition had on her. Turning her head up to look at her eldest sister, Phoebe struggled to gain control over. "It was terrible," Phoebe's voice trembled. Her lips quivered, "He tortured her."

"Who, Phoebe," Paige questioned her.

"Reynar."

"Who is Reynar?"

Prue laid a hand on Paige's shoulder. "He was an upper level demon who led a evil fraternity of elite demons. He was also Cole's mentor; you know, when Cole was evil."

"But what would the brotherhood of the thorns want with Henry's mother," Piper asked.

"Not Henry; the package she was supposed to deliver," Prue said.

"So that's it," Paige asked. "We have to figure out what she was meant to give us and why this brotherhood would want it? Why can't we just ask Cole if he knows anything?"

"We will when he comes home. He should be leaving work about now," Phoebe said, slowly coming out of her shock.

"Why don't I fix us all something to eat," Piper volunteered and the family took this time to come down from the stress.

Cole came in through the kitchen door after finding his house empty. He had changed into a red long sleeve tee with a v-neck and sneakers. He could only wear his dress shoes for so many hours before he was tempted to throw them at someone. Seeing the food left on the counter, he put together a plate and headed further into the house looking for his wife and sisters while piling food into his mouth.

Moving into the foyer, Cole heard a scattered discussion seemingly coming from the conservatory. "Hey guys, what's up," he asked in between bites.

"Honey," Phoebe said in an obviously high voice signaling she was trying to get something from him. "We were waiting for you because we need your advice," she told him and her voice slowly trailed down to her normal pitch.

"Uh-huh, what do you need advice on?" He picked up Pearl and started cooing at her.

"We kind of need to know everything you might know on why the brotherhood of the thorn would have gone after Henry's mother?"

"Why would the brotherhood go after a mortal? She probably had access to something they wanted and wanted no one else to have. Why?"

Prue spoke next. "Reynar was responsible for Greer's death. You were close, once. We wondered if you had heard talk of any plans he may have had."

"The brotherhood always had several dealings going on at the same time, in multiple stages. I wasn't made aware of each one's progress," he told them. "This would have been in the late sixties or early seventies?"

"Yeah," Henry told his brother-in law. "Apparently an oracle foretold of something that my mom was supposed to deliver to the charmed ones."

"Have you tried the oracle," Cole asked. "It seems like your best bet of getting the information you want."

"Is that even possible," Henry asked his father.

"No, the oracle has since moved on. The only people who would possibly know are the rest of the council."

"So let's go to the council," Piper suggested.

"You can't go to the council," Harrison explained. "You have to either wait to be summoned for your next charge or wait for the public council meetings held on the sabbat days."

"The next sabbat is only two days away," Prue stated. "Would it be possible for us to go with you and meet the council?"

"I believe they would allow it. To meet the Charmed ones would be a privilege for them."

"So how exactly do we get to the meeting," Henry asked.

"We will cast a circle and perform a ritual that will transport us to the council site," Harrison told them. "I'll prepare it but I'm assuming your herbs are fully stocked, right?"

Prue nodded her head. "I had the feeling that whatever we're going to have to deal with is going to be pretty challenging. I bought in bulk," she said with a soft smile.

Prue and Andy let Harrison stay with them since Paige and Henry's apartment wasn't big enough for them, Billy and Harrison to stay in. The next night, before they would attempt to get information from the council, Billy was asleep after listening to her ipod and dancing around more so than doing her math homework.

Lying together in bed, Paige let Henry hold her against his chest and she gently ran her hands up and down his arms. "So tomorrow's a sabbat, but what exactly is it," Henry asked her.

"Well," she said drawing her voice out in a lyrical manner that made the back of Henry's neck shiver in anticipation, "it's like a holy day for wiccans. There are only eight in the year, four major ones and four minor ones. They celebrate different stages of the god's and goddess's life cycle and the wheel of life."

"So what does this one celebrate?"

"Beltane is what people typically refer to as May Day," she told him and placed a kiss along his neck.

"You mean like with the pole and ribbons?"

"Yeah, it's also when the god and goddess like to frisky," Paige added and kissed his jaw.

"Frisky, huh?"

"Um hum; it's a celebration of the two uniting, when the god impregnates the goddess."

"Um," Henry said after kissing her, turning to the alarm clock to check the time. "Half past eleven; maybe we can celebrate May Day without risking a pregnancy," he joked before kissing his wife and drawing her closer. What he didn't realize was that the batteries in the alarm clock had chosen to die precisely a half hour earlier.