Post by StoryGirl83 on Nov 10, 2011 23:13:21 GMT -5
Chapter Nine – The Extra Day
5:45 AM
Jani picked up a blanket from the pile they had made earlier and covered Chris to his chin. “Do you think we can do this?” she asked in a soft voice as she walked over to where Ladybug was looking through potions Piper had stockpiled on the shelves.
“We have to,” Ladybug replied. “Or someone does, so why not us?”
“It’s an awful lot of pressure,” Jani admitted. “And what if we have to use this spell that kills everyone who’s sick?”
“We have to find the spell first,” Alanna retorted. “Right now we don’t have the slightest clue where to look.” She rumpled up a piece of paper and tossed it into a trashcan they had brought up. “And I stick at writing a new one.”
Ladybug gave a shallow laugh. “You and me both. Mom despairs of my ever being good at any type of magic. I can’t write spells and I can’t make potions. I can’t control me levitation power. It seems to only work when I’m asleep. And I can’t fight.”
Jani chuckled. “I know that’s not true. I’ve seen you.”
“When?” Ladybug demanded.
“Oh, not against demons,” Jani admitted, “but I know several people in school who are more than a bit scared to mess with anyone named Halliwell because ‘Rudy’ Halliwell will get them.”
“Rudy?” Ladybug asked, genuinely laughing this time. “Sounds like Tanya Randolph. Most people at school call me Prudence or Prue, but she always did want to be unique.”
“There’s a lot of Randolph’s in school,” Jani laughed. “I don’t think anyone still in school thinks of you as anything but Rudy. You’ve got a reputation and I believe a bloody nose and a black eye were involved.”
“I forgot about that,” Ladybug admitted. “She was picking on Cilly because Cilly had managed to break up her and her boyfriend. I hadn’t meant for it to get physical, but thinks got out of hand. I hardly think a street brawl qualifies me to fight demons.”
“No,” Jani conceded, “but it’s a start.”
White orb lights filled the center of the room drawing the attention of the three girls to the center of the room. When they formed into Josias the three girls looked at each other puzzled.
“Who are you?” Alanna was the first to ask.
Jani aimed her palm at him. “We can take you.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Josias returned. “I’m not your enemy.”
“Then, we’ll hear that name,” Ladybug informed him.
“Josias,” he answered easily. “Ask him if you need confirmation,” Josias suggested pointing to Chris’ slumbering form.
“He’s earned his sleep,” Ladybug argued. “It’s been a long week.”
“I think I know that,” he replied. “I’m based in New York City. I’ve already lost one charge,” he informed them with a catch in his voice. “And pretty soon most of my other charges will be in mourning. A few more hours and . . .” He heaved in a deep breath. “But this isn’t about me. Kevin asked me to come here, because he trust your family. I’m supposed to talk to the Charmed Ones, though.”
“There are no Charmed Ones,” Ladybug scowled. “Mom’s missing. Don’t you understand that? No Mom, no Charmed Ones.”
“I don’t suppose it really matters,” he sighed. “They believe the spell can be lifted by thirteen witches, but I’ve thought it through and you don’t have that either.”
“Thirteen witches?” Paige asked from the doorway. “Why’s that?”
“Elizabeth believes that thirteen warlocks cast this,” he informed her, “and They believe it would take a like number of witches to reverse it.”
“That’s easy enough,” Paige replied. “Piper, Prue, and I make three. Add Piper’s three kids, Phoebe’s three, Prue’s two, and my three and you’ve got fourteen. And that’s without Phoebe.”
He shook his head. “Unfortunately, that’s not correct. They can’t just be witches. They have to be able to cast spells. Three of those cannot which means you only have eleven.”
Paige frowned. She was silent as she tried to figure out who he meant. Two names came to mind. “You mean because Pat hasn’t gotten her powers back? And Hope hasn’t come into them yet?”
He nodded.
“But that’s only two,” Paige protested.
“That still leaves us one short,” Jani admitted.
Josias shook his head. “Three. You’re missing one.”
“But who?” Alanna asked confused. “Vicki got her powers back and Melinda can cast spells.”
He frowned. “Perhaps it isn’t my place to tell you, but rest assured, there is another witch in your family who can’t cast spells.”
“But who?” Alanna demanded.
He sighed. “Can we get back on topic?”
“Hank’s been trying to hide it,” Ladybug commented, “but something’s been bugging him for months now. I think that’s who you mean, isn’t it?”
Hanks’ mom and sisters looked at Ladybug sharply.
“But Hank can cast spells,” Alanna protested. “When we were little, he was always besting both of us in spell casting. He always knew where to find the spell we needed for our lessons. He always was the quickest to cast a spell when Uncle Leo was trying to teach us.”
“I don’t know what happened or why he could cast spells then, but not now,” Josias informed her apologetically. “However, your cousin is right. Your brother cannot cast spells.
“He must absolutely hate that,” Alanna commented, looking upset.
“I should have noticed,” Jani lamented.
Paige didn’t respond, but she looked sad. She hadn’t noticed what was going on with her son either. “Unfortunately we don’t have time for helping Hank right now. You said you thought thirteen witches could reverse this. Why don’t we just make some phone calls? We know a few other witches.”
Josias shook his head. “That won’t work.”
“Why not?” she leveled him with a look.
“Because the thirteen warlocks Elizabeth believes are responsible for this,” Josias replied unaffected by her annoyance, “were, maybe are, a mother, her children, and grandchildren. Familiar bonds, as you must know well, make a spell stronger. It’s part of what allows you harness the power of three, to be Charmed. That’s as strong as an family coven, probably stronger. The bond of family works in your favor, but it also works against you when someone else uses it. They are looking in to it, but so far they haven’t found any families of witches large enough. But you’re the Charmed Ones.”
“No Charmed Ones,” Ladybug repeated. “Remember. No Phoebe; no Charmed Ones.”
He sighed. “There’s still three of you. You are sisters. Have you ever tried to cast a power of three spell?”
Paige nodded. “We did. It didn’t work.”
He sighed. “Then, I don’t know what to say.”
“Perhaps tell us what spell to cast if we actually find something,” she suggested. “Or maybe tell us who we’re looking for.”
“Elizabeth said . . .”
“Who’s Elizabeth?” Paige demanded.
“Someone who was there when Duxbury was first infected,” he informed her.
“You have a date for that?” she asked surprised.
“April 27, 1637,” he confirmed.
“You’re sure?”
He shook his head. “No. But she is. She was just a little girl, but she says they found bodies on what looked like an alter that day.”
“That’s horrible, but that doesn’t mean it has anything to do with . . .”
“What’s today?”
She frowned. “May 6th.”
“To be more precise, it’s May 6, 2027,” he announced. “Three-hundred-and-ninety years and nine days ago.”
“Nine days?” Paige shook her head. “No one started showing symptoms until . . .”
“The next day,” he interrupted. “Believe me, I know. One of my charges had a friend who lived in Duxbury. That friend is now dead. He first started showing symptoms on April 28th.”
“Which doesn’t prove that he was infected the day before,” Ladybug pointed out.
“I know,” he agreed. “Catherine Jackson didn’t show any symptoms, but in 1897, she died when a spell was cast to end this.”
“Catherine Jackson?” Paige looked at him questioningly.
“A charge of Elizabeth’s,” he informed them. “I guess I don’t really have a lot to tell you, but Kevin wanted you to know what we did know. Someone cut off the way to Up There. They’re working on it, but they don’t know how it happened. We can only assume that Willamina, one of her kids or grandkids was behind it.”
“Willamina?”
Josias looked at Jani. She hadn’t said much. “Willamina Richmond. Elizabeth said she was the matriarch of the family. Elizabeth described her as a rather cold woman who enjoyed pain. She also said that she was good at hiding that. She wasn’t friendly, but she was respected. Her daughter was the scary one. No one would have thought Willamina was evil, but Elisa scared them all.”
“If she knew this, why didn’t she say anything sooner?” Alanna wanted to know.
“I believe the saying is ‘hindsight is twenty-twenty’,” Josias commented. “She always thought Elisa was creepy, but she didn’t connect the dots until 1897 when she was visiting family graves in Duxbury and ran into Marie, one of Willamina’s other daughters. Marie didn’t see her, or so she believes, but the fact that she was there told Elizabeth she was in some way magical. She started putting together the pieces then, but it had been over one hundred years since she’s even thought about this. When she heard this started in Duxbury, she remembered. She doesn’t know how to stop it and since she has known about magic she hasn’t been involved beyond the loss of her charge in 1897, so she doesn’t know what they did to stop it then. She doesn’t even know why they are.” He sighed and looked at them sadly. “I wish I knew more. In a matter of a few hours five of my charges will have lost their dad, grandfather, and great-grandfather. I’ve lost one charge and three more are in different stages of this.”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. “If you have any questions for me and Chris isn’t awake to call me here, call this number. It belongs to the husband of one of my charges. Despite being a nonmagical human who lives in New York City he has yet to show any symptoms, but his father-in-law is the one that’s on his deathbed.” He handed the paper to Paige. “He’ll know how to reach me. And I can reach the elders. As things stand right now, I’m one of only two people that appear to be able to do that. I’m going back to my charges now.”
They watched him orb out and then looked at each other.
“Did we learn anything?” Jani asked.
“Well, it definitely started in 1637,” Ladybug announced.
“And we’ve got names,” Alanna added. “They may have found a way to erase all data on the witch’s fever, but maybe there’s some data on them somewhere.”
“I think we need everybody helping with this,” Ladybug commented looking over regretfully at Chris.
Jani shook her head. “He’ll be no use to us. Let him sleep longer.”
“We need someone who can write spells,” Ladybug persisted.
Jani looked at her mom. “Well, Mom can. Can’t you?”
Paige nodded. “I can try my hand at it. It’s been a few years, but I’ve managed to write a spell or two in my time.”
Alanna exhaled. “Then, let’s get on it. I’m going to downstairs and check the news. It may not help much, but I want to know.”
Paige shuddered. “We’ll see you in a few minutes.”
As Alanna headed downstairs the other three got back to work. They needed to make sense of what Josias had said and they needed to find a way to put a stop to this soon.