Still Charmed

32. Suspicious Souls

Wyatt's POV

Wyatt: Chris, you've been lying to him too.

I moved to join Chris on the rock. Chris nodded his head as he moved over to give me some room.

Chris: I know. I hoped you wouldn't come across that realization.

He put his head in his hands as I sighed then patted him on the back.

Wyatt: Hey, he may not even be supernatural. Maybe he's just a person who gets cold easily.

Chris lifted his head and shook it.

Chris: The signs have all been there. I just never put them together. He wore that same heavy jacket to school this morning, but he took it off after first period. He then spent the rest of the day shivering. I didn't think much of it at the time. It is December after all. But now, it was a clue.

I shrugged.

Wyatt: It'll be fine.

I looked up to see everyone walking toward us, as well as another man. The man was talking to Phoebe and Paige while Melinda and Prudence eyed him carefully. Mom smiled as she approached us.

Piper: This is John; he's a Firestarter.

We nodded but still looked at him with confused expressions. Mom shrugged.

Piper: We've got a lot of explaining to do.

Piper's POV

We brought John back to the manor to show him the Book of Shadows; first as a "good" test, then as a way to learn more about the elemental gathering.

John: Anything?

I shook my head as I continued flipping pages in the Book at the dining room table.

Piper: Nada.

John sighed as he took a seat at the table.

John: I just want to know why it isn't working. We have to be doing something wrong, right?

Phoebe: How about your leader? Does he know anything about this?

John shook his head.

John: No. It's a new leader every hundred years. I mean, we don't live forever. We have a normal human lifespan.

We nodded.

John: We grow up knowing that someone has to do the ceremony, but generation after generation, the story gets mixed up. Figuring out the correct way to do it is the tricky part.

Phoebe nodded as I found something in the book.

Piper: I think this may be it.

I read from the book as Phoebe and Paige looked over at it.

Piper: "Every century, the planets align in such a way that it causes the winds to shift and the climate to change. During that period, weather becomes unstable and the Earth begins to shake as the world falls out of balance. By the light of the full moon, the elements must come together to set everything in its proper place. To do this, Elementals gather to perform the Ritual of the Guardians."

John nodded as I continued reading.

Piper: Here's the spell: "Guardians of the North, the West, the South, the East... Join together in the spirit of the circle and bring about peace. Calm the winds, holds back the rains, subdue the fire, and let Earth rest. We implore you to take back your power by using our strength."

John nodded again.

John: That's what we said; although, we said it in an ancient language called Birue. Maybe English is the key?