Post by StoryGirl83 on Feb 11, 2010 22:43:32 GMT -5
Chapter Eight – Unwanted Guests
Melinda was finding it rather interesting to watch her brothers at work. So far they had found nothing of use. Though Wyatt had looked through the Book of Shadows while Chris was at work, nothing seemed to fit their demon. It was a good thing that they had time, because she would certainly rather stop the demon before anyone got hurt.
“Are you hungry?” Chris asked suddenly. “I made some food earlier and I know Wyatt hasn’t touched it, so there’s probably enough left for two. Interested? Either of you?”
Wyatt shook his head. “No, this whole thing is too distracting. I’m not really hungry at the moment.”
Chris looked over at Melinda. “You?”
She nodded. “I haven’t eaten since breakfast except for a few bites before I heard that conversation. Thanks.”
Chris headed out of the room and into the kitchen. He stopped at the doorway and turned around. “Drinks?”
“Water, please,” Melinda requested.
“I think there’s some sort of red punch at the back of the fridge,” Wyatt added.
Chris raised an eyebrow. “I’ll take that as a request for the punch.”
“Uh huh,” his brother agreed, standing. “Do you mind if I borrow your laptop?”
“What’s wrong with your computer?”
“It’s not portable.”
Chris sighed. “Yeah, sure. You know where it is.”
Wyatt was in the hall before Chris even finished speaking.
Chris snorted and glanced back at Melinda. “One water coming up.”
Melinda smiled and leaned back. Her body filled with tension as the sound of shimmering filled her ears. She looked up wide eyed as Seth appeared in the room. “Demon!” She climbed to her feet and looked around for a weapon. She grabbed a book off the book shelf and threw it at him.
The book orbed half way to Seth and into Wyatt’s hand, the other hand balancing Chris laptop. “Care to explain why you are throwing books at my best friend?”
Melinda gulped and looked at Seth who had covered his face with his arm and was peaking out at her. “Care you explain why your best friend’s a demon?!”
“Who’s the freak?” Seth asked Chris as Chris ran into the room, empty handed.
Chris groaned and accepted the book Wyatt offered him.
Wyatt put the laptop on the table and looked at Melinda. “I guess he’s a demon because his mother was one.”
“Their mom vanquished her,” Seth added helpfully.
Melinda glared at him before looking back at Wyatt. “I meant, why is a demon your best friend?”
Wyatt shrugged. “I guess because Seth is a demon and he’s my best friend. I’ve known him since before I turned one.”
“How are you so calm about this?”
Wyatt glanced at Seth. “For starters he wasn’t raised by demons. He was raised by his very human dad.”
She stared across the room at Seth, distrust in her eyes.
“Who is she?” Seth repeated.
“I’ll let you explain,” Chris informed his brother.
Wyatt scowled at him and turned to look at Seth. He offered him a fake smile.
Seth snorted.
Wyatt looked back over at Melinda. “Melinda, this is Seth Silberman, my best friend. He is one of the good guys.” Looking back at Seth he exhaled slowly. “Seth, this is Melinda Wyatt, my . . . twin sister.”
“You don’t have a twin sister,” Seth returned.
“I also don’t have a living Aunt Prue, but I would love to introduce you to her sometime,” Wyatt retorted. “She lives in Boston with her husband, Andy, who is also ‘not living’ and their two daughters who ‘don’t exist’.”
Seth frowned at him. “That whole thing made no sense.”
“Melinda and I were born on the same day of the same year to the same parents,” Wyatt added. “We just happen to have been born in different realities.”
Seth’s eyes widen. “So what, she’s you except a girl?” He scrunched up his nose and eyed her critically.
Wyatt backhanded his shoulder. “No!”
Chris laughed at this.
Melinda shook her head, still keeping a safe distance between her and Seth. “Not really. If you met someone who had twins the normal way, would you ask if they were the same person?”
Seth sighed, rubbing his shoulder. “Point taken.” Looking back over at Wyatt he asked, “So what was that bit about your Aunt Prue? Didn’t she die a couple of years before you were born?”
Wyatt nodded. “In this reality, yes, but not in Melinda’s. The five of them, Melinda, Aunt Prue, and Aunt Prue’s family, showed up in our reality a month and a half ago. They couldn’t return and they almost couldn’t stay, but now Chris and I have a sister . . . an older sister, from what I gather.”
“Older?” Seth questioned. “I thought you said she was your twin.”
Wyatt shrugged. “She was born earlier in the day than I was by several hours. It’s not a big deal.” He looked over at her. “Now, will you please stand down, Melinda. He is my friend.”
She looked at Seth with narrow eyes. “Just stay away from me. They may trust you, but I’m not prepared to quite yet.”
“Wy and Chris’ word isn’t enough?” Seth asked, leaning against the wall.
Melinda sighed and slumped down on the couch. “My head says it is,” she looked across the room at him, “but this just doesn’t make any sense. Demon’s aren’t good.”
“This one is,” Chris informed her. He shared a concerned look with his brother and retorted, “I guess it’s a good thing she doesn’t have any powers right now.”
Wyatt nodded.
Seth sighed. “Fine, I have a few things to tell you guys. Nothing about the demon we’re looking for, I don’t think, but might be important.”
Chris inclined his head and waited for Seth to continue.
Wyatt sat down on the couch and looked up.
Melinda frowned and watched them.
Seth shook his head. “I told you that I’d heard someone is out to get you two, specifically you two. I’m having a hard time pin pointing info on that, but apparently this guy actively recruits demons to go after you. He appears to be part of a coven that included a darklighter called Damien Hartgrave, a darklighter I understand you two vanquished around the time magic came back.”
Wyatt and Chris looked at each other, each remembering the darklighter that had attacked them in the park at the beginning of the year.
“He attacked us,” Wyatt commented. “We even tried to retreat and he followed us. Not that I like the idea of leaving a darklighter out there ruining lives, but we didn’t seek out that battle. He sought us out.”
“That may be,” Seth conceded, “but someone from that coven wants revenge. I thought I’d found the house of one of the members of the coven, but . . .”
“What?”
Seth looked up at Wyatt. “There was this little girl in front of the house. She clearly knew about magic, but she didn’t seem evil, so I might have confused her family’s home for that of one of the coven. I’m not sure though. The way she talked . . .” He sighed. “I’m going to look into it more and if I find something I will let you know.”
“Did you find anything else?” Wyatt asked.
A knock on the door caught their attention and Chris turned pale. “She wouldn’t.”
Wyatt and Seth looked at him confused.
“Who wouldn’t?” Melinda asked, frowning in Seth’s direction.
Chris shook his head. “It’s nothing. I’m sure it’s nothing.”
Wyatt frowned at him. “Did you do something?”
Seth laughed at that. “Chris do something? Your brother doesn’t get into trouble.”
“I don’t know,” Melinda mumbled, eyeing Chris. “I think something happened.”
“He is home early,” Wyatt commented.
“Would someone just answer the door,” Chris ordered a bit louder than he should have.
The other three looked at him surprised. What was wrong with Chris?