"Are you sure this is the spot?" Prue asked her sister as they exited the Jeep in the warehouse district, looking around for some sign of demonic activity.
"Yes! God!" Piper exclaimed.
"Why are you snapping at me?" Prue questioned.
"Because I know how to read a map, Prue!" said Piper.
"Alright, fine, jeez!" said Prue, coming to a halt and raising her chin.
"What? You hear something?"
"No, smell something."
At that moment, Cole Shimmered into view before the girls. "Found you!" he declared.
Piper expelled a puff of air in amusement, thinking of Prue's words and the pungent green substance that had coated the man that morning. "Well, that solves that little mystery. He must have missed a spot."
"What mystery?" Cole enquired.
"No, not him," said Prue, ignoring the man's arrival and her sister's joke, her serious expression unbroken. "Smoke. I smell smoke."
Prue, Piper, and Cole scanned their surroundings. Pointing to the large wooden doors of one of the warehouses, Piper said, "It's coming from in there." From the gap beneath the doors, smoke was rising steadily.
"A fire?" Cole suggested as he approached.
"Stop! Stop! Get away from me!" a man's voice pleaded from the inside of the building.
"Not an ordinary fire, at least," Prue determined, waving her arm at the heavy door. It rattled but resisted her magic. "It must be bolted from the inside."
"I'll Shimmer in—"
"I got it!" Piper declared, raising her hands with a flourish, but rather than blowing up the door bolt as intended, Cole was frozen in his tracks.
"Uh, Piper?" Prue chastised. "There's an Innocent in there!"
"Yeah, yeah, gimme a minute!" Piper snapped irritably in reply, tearing off her jacket and throwing it on the ground. She shook off her tension, took a focusing breath, raised her arms, and opened her palms with purpose.
This time, the right power was triggered, but the doors were hit with so much magic, the force of the ensuing blast reduced them to splinters and sent Cole flying across the alley. He landed hard on top of a parked car before falling to the ground with a thud.
"What the...? Oh no," Piper muttered, more surprised than anyone by what she had done.
Prue's jaw dropped. She eyed her sister with a modicum of concern, then moved to check on Cole.
Before Piper could enquire about him, a man emerged from the now doorless warehouse amid a field of smoke and knocked Piper over in his zeal to escape. And no wonder, since he was closely pursued by three female demons, easily recognizable as such by their wild hair, ragged burgundy attire, tribal markings, and cloven hands.
"Piper, let them go," Cole advised weakly, still winded.
Not fully cognizant of his warning, Piper raised her hands to use her power again, this time missing the demons and igniting a parked car. This act of aggression caught the demons' attention, and they rounded on her, growling, baring their teeth, and raising their three-pronged talons in a threatening manner.
"Uh-oh," Piper muttered.
"Piper, freeze them, so we can regroup," Prue urged.
Remembering herself, Piper did as her sister suggested. However, the demonic women continued to advance on her. "They're, they're, th-th-they're immune to my powers!" she stammered.
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Third Time Charmed
Fanfiction*New chapters every Wednesday at 3:30 PM (GMT/BST)!* Experience the magic of Constance M. Burge's Charmed as you've only imagined! Join the third iteration of the Charmed Ones as they struggle with the loss of their sister and the implications of he...
