Charmed Again

Chapter Three

Phoebe

Phoebe sat on the couch with her legs curled at her side as her fingers danced along the rugged and stained pages within the Book of Shadows. The sound of screams came through the tv, enough noise to pluck her from focusing and earned a glance to the screen as a man with a machete chased the main character.

"I don't get how you can still like these movies with our line of work." Prue spoke towards the younger sister, as she playfully rolled her eyes. Phoebe recognized it as Prue's way of coping with the stress of their situation, by trying to lift the mood in the room. She'd always done it, it was one of the things Phoebe had grown to really appreciate about her older sister.

"I don't know they're just so... cheesy and predictable. But I still manage to jump every time someone gets offed." The words giggled out of Phoebe's mouth, which was enough to make all three siblings smile if even for a moment.

Just as the sister was returning her attention to the book, a blue flash snagged her attention once more as Leo solidified from the blue orbs.

"Hi honey, you're just in time for the climax of the first movie. Want some popcorn?"

Piper's warm welcome was quickly silenced by the defeated face of Leo. It was the type of face he got when he knew he was told to do something that Piper wouldn't like.

"Oh no." The three sisters let out in unison, which earned a humored glare from the three if only for a moment before the attention was back on Leo.

"Sorry Piper... I just came to inform you guys, I gotta go away for a while. I just got assigned another charge that really needs my undivided protection. I don't know how long I'll be gone but it's pretty dire..." Leo's voice held a knowing sadness, the three witches had grown rather comfortable with the white lighter's presence. He'd been spending a lot of time in the manor recently with the pair being married now.

"Oh... okay... Well thank you for coming to tell us and say goodbye." It was evident that the second oldest sister was broken by the news of her partner being relocated, but she forced herself to flash a small smile as she walked towards Leo to hug him. Just as the brunette took his lips with her own, he vanished.

"Oh honey... are you gonna be okay...?" Phoebe questioned sympathetically, the worry and empathy for her sister evident in her eyes.

All Piper could do was shrug as she fidgeted with her fingers, clearly trying to push through her emotions. "I don't have a choice. It's his job, his duty. And we have a duty here too, we need to find that warlock."

After a moment of silence as Prue and Phoebe exchanged glances in order to quietly communicate their concerns for their sibling, it seemed they were able to subconsciously ride the same wavelength and focused up at the same time. It would be best to distract Piper for the moment.

"Okay, Phoebs have you found anything about the warlock from your premonition?" Prue asked, which was the green light for the three of them to put the Leo situation on back burner.

"No not yet, I don't even know what I'm-" The words paused as she flipped to a page, it was as if she were staring at the Warlock right in the eyes. The same man from her premonition. "Wait, this is him."

"Are you sure?" Piper asked, finding her way to sitting on the arm of the couch just beside the younger brunette, getting a good look at who they were dealing with. Prue also moved closer, taking in the information.

"No doubt about it, he was huge. He has that same awful expression, heartless and full of bloodlust." With the confirmation, Prue took the book and began to read the log on their demon.