by Paul Ruditis
The War on Witches
Paul Ruditis
Based upon the television series Charmed, created by Constance M. Burge
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
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
About the Author
Copyright
Excerpt from Let Gorgons Be Gorgons
About the Publisher
Chapter 1
“No, no, not yet. A little higher. On the left. My left, not yours. Stop! Right there. Perfect!” Piper stepped back to take in the view. Bright sunlight streamed through the stained glass window, bathing the spot where she stood in a kaleidoscope of colors. It was perfect, as was everything else in the new house.
Scratch that. Castle. It was shaping up to be more like a castle. From the outside, at least. It was a floating castle in the sky.
The interior style was modern, with touches of the past. The great room was open and airy, without becoming cavernous. It was exactly the kind of place Piper could imagine her sister living out her life.
Living out her life. She smiled at the thought.
A short time ago, Piper had been standing in an exact replica of the Halliwell Manor, the house where she grew up and now the home where she raised her own children. Every feature of the Manor had been re-created in the most lovingly intimate detail, if a few years out of date. The master bedroom was no longer Piper’s in the doppelgänger Manor. It lacked some of the upgrades Leo had installed in the actual Manor after countless demon attacks. The children’s rooms still looked as they had when they belonged to Piper and Phoebe. But it was still home.
It was also depressing, considering the real Halliwell Manor—their true home—was half a world away. Staring at the familiar walls every day was a constant reminder of what had been lost. No matter how warm and inviting this new living space could be, it was impossible to forget that it wasn’t truly a home. It was, in effect, a prison.
Piper pushed those morbid thoughts from her mind as the de facto prisoner materialized through the stained glass. A bit of the fading sunlight came through with her, illuminating her now-blond hair. “I like it,” Prue said as she floated to the ground.
Piper hugged her sister as soon as Prue’s feet touched the rug. It felt so good to have Prue back in her arms. So right. Outwardly, Prue may not have looked the same as she did before her untimely death, but none of that mattered to Piper. This was Prue. It was Prue in her soul and in her heart. And Piper never wanted to let her go.
“I know you missed me,” Prue said, her face buried in Piper’s shoulder. “But can we cut it down to maybe a dozen hugs an hour?”
Piper clung tightly to her sister. “Fine. But the hugs are going to last longer in exchange.”
“That’s fair,” Prue said as she gave an extra squeeze in return.
After the promised lengthier hug, Piper reluctantly let go. It wasn’t like Prue had returned from the dead yesterday. She’d actually been back among the living for a while.
But this was the first time they’d had to really spend together without demons, Darklighters, or all sorts of supernatural problems getting in the way.
Prue waved her hand, and a brown leather couch grew out of the ground. “Nice,” Piper said as they sat. She leaned back into the overstuffed cushions. “Comfy.”
“I’ve been toying with different design styles,” Prue said. “It was nice having this place look like the Manor at first, but I wanted something new.”
The living room continued to take shape around them. The walls shifted in color, from shades of cream to coffee before moving into the green family and finally settling on a muted gold. The rug adjusted to complement the walls before the room filled with more personal touches of decor.
Piper sat silently as her sister concentrated on the art and sculpture from different periods and places around the world that popped in and out of the room. It had been over a decade since Prue left Buckland’s Auction House, but her memory for antiques was still impressive. Piper recognized several pieces her sister had worked with over the years. She doubted that the replicas had a single flaw that would distinguish them from the originals. Prue’s ability to use magic to create the perfect home gave her an unlimited decorating budget. Her new role in the universe apparently allowed her to work around the whole personal-gain clause.
A couch, two more love seats, and a pair of recliners filled out the space, almost as an afterthought once the decorations were settled. Piper couldn’t help but notice it was more than enough seating for their ever-growing family.
“Convenient that you can just change the environment here however you want,” Piper said.
Prue’s smile faltered, slightly. “Especially since I’m essentially trapped.”
“We don’t know that for sure.”
“The Elders seemed pretty adamant,” Prue said. “This is my fate. It’s the tradeoff for being back in your life. Now that I’m the . . . the what? The Guardian of the Nexus of the All?”
“That’s a mouthful,” Piper said. “Let’s just go with Prue.”
The room stopped changing, settling into its final decor. “Call me what you want,” Prue said. “It doesn’t mean we know what I am. Or what I can do.”
Piper took her sister’s hands in hers. “I know exactly who you are. You’re Prue. My sister. My very first food critic when you spit out that chewy cake I made in that crappy toy oven. I might not have a restaurant today if you hadn’t been so honest about my baking skills.”
“I was a bit of a brat,” Prue said.
“Was?” Piper smiled as she squeezed her sister’s hands. “Okay, sure. You look a bit different now. And, yeah, you’re not, technically, part of the Power of Three. But you’re still a Warren Witch. You’re still a Halliwell.”
Prue pulled away. “Am I a witch? I mean it. I don’t know what I am. I don’t know where I am.”
“Bah!” Piper shrugged her sister’s concerns off in an exaggerated manner. Prue was right, of course. The uncertainty of the situation was a little scary. But Piper didn’t see the point in focusing on that yet. “So you’re stuck at the Nexus of the All. And, yeah, we don’t know a lot about this magical convergence that links the Upper Regions with the Earth and the Underworld. It’s not like it’s the first time we’ve faced the unknown.”
“Do you know you can’t even plot this place on a map?” Prue said. “It keeps changing. Just when you think you know where it is—Surprise!—it’s somewhere else.”
“I can always find you,” Piper said as she hopped off the couch and ran from the room.
“I’m not about to play a game of hide-and-seek,” Prue called after her.
“Funny!” Piper shouted from the dining room. Prue hadn’t gotten around to shifting that part of the Manor yet. She wanted to hold on to some of the memories just a bit longer, which Piper understood. So what if the place was mismatched and confusing as she went from room to room? This would still be the fastest renovation project Piper had ever lived through. And she’d been through a few of those.
Piper returned
with the package that had suddenly orbed onto the dining room table while they were eating dinner. Piper had been having a hard time keeping herself from smiling mischievously ever since, but she refused to tell Prue what it was about or let her open it—until the time was right.
Prue snatched the gift from Piper as soon as it was within arm’s reach. “Guess the time is finally right.”
“Well, no,” Piper said. “I thought Paige was going to orb over along with it. Phoebe too. I wanted us all to be here when you opened it, but I can’t wait. Their loss.”
“What is it?” Prue asked.
“A housewarming present,” she replied. “I think it will go with the new look perfectly.” Piper could see some of the light had gone from Prue’s eyes. It had been a long shot for Paige to make it over, but she could have at least orbed Phoebe in so Prue had more than one visitor. Piper was going to have to have a word with the newest star in the self-help-book world. Finding Love wasn’t even out yet, but the advance reader copies had been getting such great early word of mouth that Phoebe’s publisher had completely revamped the release plans.
“Piper, I can literally make this place into whatever I want it to become.” Prue waved a hand and the coffee table changed from rectangular wood to a round fabric ottoman. “You don’t have to spend any money.”
“I promise, this is something you’d never come up with on your own. Not in a million years,” she said. “Now, open it. Open! Open! Open!”
Prue laughed. Piper was acting like Phoebe did every Christmas morning when they’d been kids. Grams had always made the girls take turns as they opened each of their presents. On more than one occasion, both Prue and Piper took a little extra time with their gifts because they knew it drove Phoebe insane.
At the moment, Phoebe was driving Piper insane and she wasn’t even in the room. That was the problem, of course. Trying to get Phoebe out to visit was harder than getting the kids off to school in the morning. Piper was starting to consider putting her own sister in a time-out.
“Ta-da!” Piper said as Prue lifted the lid on the present.
“It’s . . .” Prue examined the contents of the box. “What is it?”
“The kids made it!” Piper said as if it weren’t painfully obvious. “Well, mostly Wyatt and Chris. But everyone else chipped in with their handprints. All eight of your nieces and nephews. They wanted to make something special for Aunt Prue.”
“It’s special, all right!”
“Prue!”
“Sorry! I’m still new to this auntie thing.” Prue turned it upside down to get a better look. And then she examined it from the side. “But, seriously. What is it?”
Piper ripped the frame out of her sister’s hands. “It’s a painting!”
“That much I figured out.” Prue pointed to the figure in the center. “Is that supposed to be me? With the dark hair?”
“Wyatt drew it. He used the old pictures of you we’ve been showing him since he was born. But he wants you to know he thinks you’re just as beautiful with your blond hair now too.”
Prue seemed genuinely touched. “I’ll be sure to thank him for that the next time you bring him.” Prue looked more closely at the painting. “Am I . . . in prison?”
“You really do suck at being an aunt.”
“Clearly, my nephews and nieces have lacked artistic guidance while I was gone,” Prue said. “But seriously, what’s with the bars?”
“They’re trees,” Piper said.
“Gray trees?”
“Chris is experimenting with color,” Piper said mock defensively. “Don’t judge. Didn’t you notice the leaves?”
“Is that what those are?”
Piper sighed. “They’re the handprints! The tree on the left is for Wyatt, Chris, and Melinda. The one on the right is Kat, Tam, and Henry Jr. And the one in the middle is P.J. and Parker. It’s a picture of you, surrounded by your family trees.”
The smile on Prue’s face faltered ever so slightly as she was overcome with emotion. “Oh, Piper, that really is beautiful.” She hugged her sister before grabbing the picture back to get a closer look. Her eyes welled with tears. “We should have a family party here so I can thank each of my nieces and nephews personally.”
“You really aren’t ready for that, Aunt Prue,” Piper said.
“I have the ability to control this place with my mind. I can clean up any mess they make.”
“Careful,” Piper warned. “We’re always on the lookout for a babysitter.”
“I’d be happy to volunteer,” Prue said. “I want to fill this place with your kids. I can make it as big as I need. A room for everyone. I’ve missed so much of their lives. Of your lives. But I’m back now. Just because I’m trapped here doesn’t mean I won’t enjoy every minute of this second chance I’ve got with my family.”
“You need to tone down the perky,” Piper said. “You’re starting to sound like Phoebe.”
“I could have taken a lesson or two from Phoebe,” Prue said. “Lived a little before I died. That’s it! We are going to have a party! A welcome-home party! Bring the whole family over. I’ll turn this place into a fun house for the kids. We’ll have a blast.”
“That would be great,” Piper said. “But . . . the whole family?”
“The whole family,” Prue said. “Nieces. Nephews. Husbands. Undead ex-boyfriends.”
“Dad?”
Prue’s excitement wilted. “Dad?”
“You have to see him eventually,” Piper said. “We told him you’re back. He’s beyond thrilled. And a little confused you never visited.”
“It’s not that easy, Piper.”
“Well, not now,” Piper said. “But before you were stuck here. You did have free rein on Earth for a bit.”
“That’s not what I mean.”
“You worked through your problems with Dad,” Piper said. “You got past all that ages ago.”
“We did,” Prue agreed. “We got our closure. Became a family again. And then I died without the chance to really get to know him again as an adult. Now I don’t even look like myself. It’s just . . . hard.”
“But not impossible?” Piper asked.
“Not impossible,” Prue agreed. “But it’s something I need some time for.”
“Understood,” Piper said. “Until then, I’ll be here every day to make sure you’re getting back into the swing of things.”
“Spoken like a big sister.”
“I learned from the best.”
Piper ignored her sister’s less-hugging rule and wrapped Prue up in another bone-crushing squeeze. Prue was right. Coming back into their lives wasn’t going to be easy. It was especially difficult with her being trapped in this limbo between Earth, the Underworld, and the Heavens. But the Charmed Ones had faced bigger challenges in their lives. They’d saved the world on more than one occasion. Planning a family reunion wasn’t beyond their abilities.
Chapter 2
“Thanks for calling Halliwell’s. How—ow—may I help you?” Paige got her second paper cut of the day as she flipped open the reservations book. No one had told her restaurant work could be so dangerous, and she hadn’t even been anywhere near the knives. “Yes, we have an opening at eight tonight. Party of . . . nineteen? Actually, that, I’m not so sure. . . .”
Paige held the phone in the crook of her neck as she ran one finger down that night’s reservations page in search of an opening while sucking on the bleeding finger of her other hand and attempting the mental calculation of whether or not they could fit in a table of nineteen at eight o’clock. Piper hadn’t opened a little hole-in-the-wall restaurant, but it wasn’t exactly enormous either. Halliwell’s was already pretty popular before the Chronicle ran their glowing review. Now the phone was ringing off the hook even before they opened their doors for lunch. “We do look a little busy at eight, but how would y
ou feel about the outside—”
“Paige, your presence is needed in the kitchen. Now.” Jackson, the petulant line cook, was suddenly beside Paige with his arms crossed and his ever-present scowl on his face.
Paige paused for a beat with her bleeding finger still in her mouth, blinked once, then turned her attention back to the phone. “Can you hold for one moment?” Paige didn’t wait for an answer before putting the call on mute and losing all the politeness from her voice. “Can’t you see I’m on the phone?”
Jackson let out a melodramatic sigh. “Chef refuses to double my shrimp order even though we ran out last night. I know I don’t need to tell you that—”
“No, you don’t,” Paige said, interrupting the line cook. She’d only been filling in at the restaurant for a week and had already had more than enough of him to last a lifetime. “As I was here last night and my ears are still ringing from your ranting.”
“But—”
“The chef is your boss,” Paige reminded him. “And when she’s not around, you report to Piper. Nowhere along the way do I fit into this equation. I’m just here to answer the phones, which I can’t do if you’re bothering me.”
“This is what I get for working for women,” Jackson mumbled loudly enough that there was no doubt he’d wanted to be heard.
Paige briefly considered orbing him to the moon. It was not the first time she’d considered teleporting Piper’s most annoying employee somewhere far away. The idea of breaking his body up into thousands of tiny balls of light and sending them out of her presence was tempting, but the thought of her sister returning to the restaurant to find a staff member missing always stopped her. To say nothing of the police investigation that would naturally follow.
She had to be extra cautious about these things, considering her husband was a parole officer and some of his best friends were the ones who would be forced to arrest her. Paige’s regular job already put Henry in enough awkward situations with his law enforcement friends. She didn’t need to add this temp work she was largely doing as a favor to the mix.