The sisters ducked and covered their heads, expecting a slime bath. But all that came of the explosion was a huge poof of shimmery, silvery dust, pulsing in the air like a swarm of supernatural bees.
“The spell!” Piper cried, pulling a slip of paper from her pocket. “All together!”
The Halliwells began to chant as one:
Lupercalus, vengeful soul,
We bind you from your evil goal.
Through Catherine's will
And our Charmed power
Let this be your last cruel hour.
As the last word echoed through the room, the shimmering swarm began to vibrate and writhe. Then the cloud seemed to recoil. It was trying to fight off a force that was sucking it in. But Lupercalus—ephemeral and helpless once again—was no match for the Charmed Ones' magic. The swirl of dust became compact as it began to shoot into the mason jar on the kitchen counter. As the last specks popped into the jar, a horrible howl filled the house, a scream of agony and frustration. It was one last, fruitless call for revenge.
Piper popped the top on the mason jar and twisted it until the vacuum-seal gave a little pop.
Then all was quiet.
As Paige and Phoebe slumped over in exhaustion, Piper grabbed a permanent marker and a label out of the desk drawer.
“Revenge Demon—Do Not Open—EVER!” she wrote on the label before sticking it onto the jar. Then, without ceremony, she went to the pantry and tucked the dust-filled mason jar onto the back of the highest shelf.
“And that, as they say in the tennis world, is a match,” Piper said, turning to her sisters with a weary smile. “Halliwells, forty. Lupercalus, love.”
Epilogue
Phoebe tiptoed into the bedroom where Cole was sleeping and got to work. She placed a huge, foil-wrapped chocolate kiss on the nightstand. Then she scattered red rose petals all over the comforter. Next she poured a cup of Cole's favorite French roast coffee into a mug and wafted it beneath his nose.
Bingo. The boy was rising.
“Phoebe?” he said groggily. He blinked sleepily and raised his head off the pillow. “What time is it?”
“It's Valentine's Day, that's what time it is,” Phoebe announced. She planted a sloppy kiss on Cole's forehead. “Which leads us to a very serious question: Will you be my Valentine, Mr. Turner?”
Cole gave Phoebe a sly grin and said, “Only if you'll be mine, Ms. Halliwell.”
“Drink,” Phoebe ordered, thrusting the fragrant mug of joe beneath his nose. “I know you can't be taken at your word until you've had your A.M. caffeine. Then again neither can I. Can I have a sip?”
Cole took a loud slurp of coffee, then passed the mug to Phoebe. He scooped a handful of rose petals off the bedspread and sprinkled them playfully over her head.
“Hey, you're ruining the romantic set design,” Phoebe protested with a laugh.
Cole laughed too. Then his face darkened a bit and he pulled Phoebe into his arms.
“Phoebe, are you really sure this is what you want?”
“Being your Valentine?” Phoebe asked, still grinning.
“Being my fiancée,” Cole said. “The whole Lupercalus episode . . . well, it was a bit illuminating.”
Phoebe looked down guiltily.
“I never did tell you what happened with Josh in ancient Egypt,” she said. “But I want to tell you now.”
Phoebe felt Cole stiffen. His blue eyes went steely as he said, “Okay, I'm ready to hear it.”
“Josh finally explained to me what went wrong in our relationship,” Phoebe said. “While we witnessed Maxentius putting Saint Catherine through torture, we had a little torture of our own: Revisiting the past.”
“And . . .” Cole asked, his jaw clenching.
“And I realized what our problem was,” Phoebe said, cupping Cole's cheeks in her hands. “He wasn't you. Cole, I'm so grateful to have you. Not only because you're strong and smart and a total babe but because . . . you're not afraid to marry a psychic, levitating, butt-kicking witch who's very, very close with her sisters.”
“Now that you put it that way,” Cole said, “um, I think I have to leave!”
“You!” Phoebe giggled, giving him a swat on the arm.
“Seriously, though,” Cole said, “I'm not just grateful for you, Phoebe. I'm proud of you. Your strength is nothing but good. For me . . . and for us.”
There was nothing else Phoebe could say. She could only lean into her sweetie and plant a soft, sweet kiss on his lips.
“Speaking of strength,” she murmured as Cole nibbled her earlobe, “mine is waning. Let's sneak down to the kitchen and make a little breakfast picnic.”
“Perfect,” Cole said.
They tossed on some bathrobes and crept down the stairs.
“Stay quiet,” Phoebe whispered over her shoulder as they padded across the dining room to the kitchen. “I love it when we have the place to our—oh, uh, hi guys.”
Piper, who was lounging at the kitchen table in her pajamas, jumped. And Leo, who'd been dangling a chocolate-covered strawberry over Piper's lips, went hot pink in the cheeks.
“We caught you being mushy!” Phoebe teased.
“Yeah, happy Valentine's Day to you, too,” Piper said, mock-glaring at her sister and Cole.
“I guess we're all in the mood for love, now that we don't have a bitter revenge demon messing with our heads,” Phoebe said. As Leo and Cole flopped into a couple of kitchen chairs, she headed to the fridge. She emerged with a bowl of eggs and a stick of butter.
“Of course, none of our heads were messed with as badly as Paige's,” Piper said, guiltily. She pulled a loaf of homemade whole-wheat out of the breadbox and started slicing it.
“You're right,” Phoebe said. “It's such a bummer. Here she was, looking for love, and instead, she got revenge, death, time travel, demonology . . .”
“There's got to be some cultural message in that,” Cole piped up.
“Nah, just the usual trials and tribulations of singleton life,” Phoebe said. “Ooh, am I glad it's behind me.”
“Really?” Cole said, locking eyes with Phoebe from across the room.
Phoebe abandoned the eggs she was cracking into a bowl and went to sit on Cole's lap.
“Really!” she assured him, giving him a kiss on the cheek.
“Now, now, enough with the PDA,” Piper said. “I think we should try to be sensitive to Paige today. The whole reason she went on Kiss.com was to find a Valentine's sweetie. So she might be really bummed this morning.”
“Good morning to you, too!” Paige said. She'd just popped through the door. She practically bounced into the kitchen. “What's for breakfast, Ma?”
“Oh, how about omelets, Biff,” Piper said, scanning Paige's face for angst. How much of that had she heard?
“Cool,” Paige said, sitting in a chair next to Cole and Phoebe. “Can you make mine first? I've got to take off in a few minutes.”
“No prob,” Piper said, taking over the breakfast prep from Phoebe as usual.
Chime.
“Ugh, the dreaded doorbell,” Phoebe said, shivering as she slid off Cole's lap into a chair of her own. “Ever since Paige's dates from hell, I hate that sound.”
“Um, Phoebe,” Piper said through gritted teeth. She pointed her eggy whisk at her sister threateningly. “Remember what I said about, you know, sensitivity?”
But Paige was oblivious.
“I'll get it!” she sing-songed, dashing out of the room.
“Well, for someone who's romantically crushed, Paige is pretty cheery!” Phoebe said. “And what's she wearing? A sparkly tube top and miniskirt? That's a little racy for work clothes. Even for Paige!”
“Well, maybe I'm not going straight to work,” Paige announced, re-entering the kitchen with a triumphant grin. Spilling out of her arms were three bouquets of flowers.
“Who are those from?” Piper gasped.
“I don't know, let's see!” Paige said with a grin. She sifted through th
e pink roses and frothy hydrangeas, fishing out three cards.
“Aw, Just James,” she said, reading one. “Such a doll. And Teddy remembered how much I like sweet peas. And who's this weird-looking one from? Oh! Lung Chow!”
“Paige?” Phoebe said. “I'm confused. Weren't your dates total duds?”
“They were, but now they're studs!” Paige said. “You guys were right. Lupercalus totally hexed me. When I gave the guys another chance, and, more importantly, they gave me one, I found each one more irresistible than the last.”
“Did she say, ‘fast’?” Leo muttered with a grin.
“I'll pretend I didn't hear that because I have to leave,” Paige said, sticking her tongue out at Leo and grinning. Then she went to the walk-in pantry and dug out Sweetie's cat carrier.
“Sweetie!” she called. “Time for your checkup!”
Sweetie, who must have thought Paige was talking about food, trotted into the kitchen. Paige wiggled the skinny Siamese into the cat carrier and snapped the door shut.
“And can I ask where you're going with our familiar?” Phoebe said.
“To the vet,” Paige said innocently. “Just a little check-up. No spaying, I promise.”
“And would this vet happen to be a red-haired cutie?” Piper said.
“A red-haired Kisser,”
Phoebe corrected her. “Let's just say,” Paige responded, picking up the cat carrier and sashaying to the door, “that this year, I'm having a charmed Valentine's Day.”
CONTENTS
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Epilogue
Date with Death Page 13