Eye of the Storm (The Charmed) (12 page)

“Jaden! Hello? Anyone home?”

Jaden came out of the kitchen holding an icepack. “Dad!”

“How come you’re not answering any of the phones? I must have called over a dozen times in the last three days.”

Jaden scratched his head and looked around. “I thought there was something I was missing.” He looked around and saw his phone on a side table, smashed from the trip. “I’m not sure how my phone broke. I also don’t know where the house phone is.” He continued to look around.

Mr. M set his bag down and walked up to Jaden. “What’s going on with you?” He peered into his eyes, felt his forehead. “Jaden, you’re under a spell.”

“Oh, yeah. We figured, but none of us know how to get it off. When we try, we forget.” Jaden had a vacant loopy look on his face.

Mr. M looked around. “Jaden, where’s Chase and Lyla?”

“Oh yeah! They’re….I don’t know.”

Harley walked out holding a bucket of water and some towels. She paused on her way to the kitchen and glanced over. “Oh, hi Mr. M!”

Sam took in Harley’s appearance of complete dishevelment and her tired expression but general uplifted happiness and raised his eyebrows. “Hello Harley, surprising seeing you here. What’s the bucket for?” Just as she was about to answer, the sound of moaning came from his bedroom. He turned left and walked down the hallway and pushed his door open. James McGillicuddy was sitting on the edge of his bed sweating profusely and holding his head in his left hand. He looked up at Sam and waved. “Hello, Sam.”

“James, you don’t look so well.”

“Have Jaden tell you, I think I’m going to throw up again.” He ran to the bathroom and heaved into the toilet.

Sam walked out of the room, allowing enough room for Harley to get by and closed the door softly behind them. He walked back out to his son. “Jaden, what’s going on?” Kayla came through the back door at that moment. “Oh! Hi Mr. M!” She walked past Sam with a handful of berries and around the corner to the hall, opening the door Harley had gone in.

Sam scratched his head and stared after her. “Kayla, too? Why don’t you pour me some of the coffee in that pot and you can fill me in, I have a feeling it’s going to be an amazing story.”

Jaden pulled a mug down from the cupboard and poured his father the coffee. He sat down across from him at the dining table. It was a beautiful sunny day which meant it was hot. The table was situated in a bay window that overlooked the back garden, showcasing the roses Jaden’s father loved so much. He sat down pulling a drink from his own cup and began telling his father about Kayla, Harley’s father, the fire and Brendan’s parent’s involvement.

Mr. M gave a low whistle. “Jaden, that story you just gave me is against Charmed law. Brendan’s parents could be put away for a very long time. Does he still have the picture?”

“I think he dropped it when he went back into the house to get Harley’s dad. Everything is gone dad. The house is leveled. I went up there this morning just to look around, it’s all ash. Not one pot or pan, no pictures, it’s like someone came up behind the fire and finished getting rid of the evidence.

“Most likely that was part of the spell, too, the fire to get rid of anything tying them to it.” He took his glasses off and rubbed his eyes. “All these years I could have helped. I truly thought he’d just lost it.”

Jaden looked at his father, “Dad, I’ve been over there a few times, the spell was pretty big, and we were supposed to feel disgusted when we looked at him.”

He glanced toward the bedroom. “Poor Harley. And Kayla, for that matter, both in your circle overlooked by me and they’re both put under by dangerous situations. Well one thing is for sure, I won’t let Kayla go back to that house, in fact, since her house didn’t get annihilated by fire, we should still be able to see evidence of past spells. I’m reporting them.”

“Uh, Dad. Before you do that…” Jaden hesitated. “Kayla had an incident with her uncle that might put her in trouble.”

Mr. M put his glasses back on. “Spill it.”

“Let’s just say, he wasn’t a very good man and so she turned him into a badger.”

Mr. M’s eyebrows rose. “When did this happen?”

“When she was five.”

“Would he testify against her? Her own blood?”

“Well, he can’t.”

“Why not?”

“He’s still a badger. She meets with a bender every week on parent’s orders to find the spell to turn him back but even he can’t find it.”

Mr. M stood up and paced the room, thinking. “Amazing, really. Little Kayla a powerful Charmed, who knew?” He was muttering to himself walking around the room. “I thought her bow and arrow appearing last year out of thin air was simply amazing but from what you’re telling me, we have yet to see the magnitude of what Kayla can do. How is she about Chase?” He had stopped and had taken his glasses off to clean them.

“She’s getting over him. Slowly.” Jaden looked down at the table. He had hoped she would get over it faster but it was taking a while in light of things. Chase just became another disappointment in her life and that link was hard to overcome.

“Okay, we’ll come back to that. It’s time to get that spell off you, in light of all the abuse going on my own son has been compromised.”

Jaden watched his father prepare a drink mixed with herbs and berries from the garden. He moved through the kitchen with ease chopping this and that up until he knew what he had was perfect.

Jaden looked at the mug in front of him.

“Go on. It tastes pretty good.”

“What did you put in it?”

“If you had paid attention in my class, you would know, but since you didn’t, drink up.”

Jaden rolled his eyes and downed the drink. “Wow, that tasted pretty good. What does it do?”

“It, for lack of a better word, melts the spell off you.”

Jaden’s eyes rolled in to the back of his head which hit the table a second later. Jaden’s body shuddered for a moment. He stayed like that for five minutes while his father waited. He had left the back door to the garden open to allow the spell to leave. The last part wasn’t necessary but Mr. M felt better with a little fresh air, even if it was hot and humid. Jaden looked up, his face flushed and sparkling.

Panic overcame him. He stood and paced the room. “Dad, Chase and Lyla!” Mr. M had been waiting for this.

“Tell me everything, but first, are they alive?” He held his breath waiting for the answer.

“Yes.” He rubbed a hand over his face. “Oh god, what day is it? Why am I here?”

“Jaden, if he’s not dead, try not to panic. It’ll get us nowhere. Where was the last time you saw him?”

“Tennessee.” Jaden slowed his frantic behavior but only slightly. “We found him in the hills. We were camping out trying to locate the safe house when Brendan walked right up to where he was working. When I spoke to him he acted as if it were no big deal he was there. He said he was staying. The worst part is he didn’t know who Lyla was.”

Mr. M paled. The spell was a strong one, he was familiar with it. “What happened next?”

“We followed him to the house. A man came out, Chase started to fight with him hurling energy toward him but the guy I think his name was Tom, sent some sort of wave like spell over us. The next thing we knew, we were thanking him for a great time and hugging Chase goodbye. We drove home so quick we didn’t stop except to get gas.”

“They’ve been gone for twenty-one days. A spell will become more intense the longer it’s placed on a person. We have to get to Tennessee. I can help James, too. Go get Kayla first, where’s Brendan?”

“Brendan didn’t like what transpired the other night. We haven’t heard from him since.”

“How long has it been?”

“Three days.”

“Okay, you get over to Brendan’s while I work on Kayla and Harley.”

“Will do.” Jaden got up. He was feeling clear-headed for the first time in ages. He threw some shoes on, grabbed his keys and got out of there. Two minutes later he was at Brendan’s house. He rang the doorbell.

Brendan’s mother answered. “Yes, Jaden?”

“May I speak with Brendan?”

“No.” She crossed her arms in front of her chest.

“Mrs. Ellis, I really need to speak with him.”

“And I told you no. We don’t appreciate false accusations against us. You and that girl Harley have no business being around our son.” With that, she slammed the door in Jaden’s face.

Jaden turned and walked back to his truck. He looked up and saw Brendan in the upstairs window. He held a piece of paper up. Jaden caught on but Brendan’s mother opened the front door again, waiting for him to leave. Jaden pulled the car out of the drive and glanced one more time upstairs at Brendan. He parked the car in his driveway and raced into the house. His father was sitting with Harley who was looking pained.

“Jaden, any luck?”

“Maybe.” Jaden picked up a book, said the revealing charm and stared at it. A month ago, Jaden and Chase taught everyone a spell for communicating on paper. An old trick Jaden and Chase used when they were young and supposed to be asleep. Words formed on the pages.

My parents confessed. They said it is for the good of humanity. Whatever. I’m stuck now I can’t get my door or window open. They said they would be using the spell on me soon. Me. I’m their son!

Jaden paled. He looked up at his dad consoling Harley. Kayla flitted around the house in a frantic manner and he could hear Mr. McGillicuddy throwing up again.

“Dad.”

Mr. M looked up.

“They’re about to perform the spell on Brendan.”

Harley stood. “No! I lost my dad, I can’t lose Brendan too!” Harley’s face was flushed and visibly upset.

Mr. M grabbed the keys from the hook and rushed out the door. Jaden and Harley followed. “Hey! Where are you guys going?” Kayla was running out after them. Jaden looked back. “Come on! We’re rescuing Brendan!”

Jaden held the door open and she avoided his eyes. The memory of him saying he liked her had come back a well and she wasn’t sure how to feel about it.

By the time they reached Brendan’s house, Harley was in a state of panic. She was the first out of the truck and ran to the front door hitting it with a blast of a spell that blew the door off the hinges. Harley raced into the spacious foyer into the living room and up the stairs to Brendan’s room. She felt the knob. It was warm. She withdrew as if it had burned her. Everyone came from behind to form protection for Harley.

“Why can’t I touch the door?”

“I hit you with a charm for protection.”

Everyone turned to Kayla.

“What? It’s like, the easiest charm in the world.” Everyone else turned back to the door except Jaden, he stared at her in a way that made her face turn red.

Harley screamed in frustration. “Fine, so I can’t get harmed but it still doesn’t help me get in! I can’t blast this door, the spells are too strong!”

Jaden looked at the door, then the wall. He lowered his voice, “Harley, what about the wall?”

A wicked smile spread across her face. “Step aside, kids.” Harley sauntered up to the wall, stood two feet from it and looked left, looked right and shot her hands out against the wall demolishing a large enough portion to step through, which she did immediately. Jaden tried to step after her but Brendan’s parents were faster and sealed off the hole with a sheer field that hurt to touch. Harley looked back at Jaden, a small shimmer of fear ran down her spine. She wasn’t strong enough alone for this. Brendan’s mother walked up to Harley, eyes narrowing.

“You’re going to turn around and leave, little girl.”

Harley felt the spell run over her skin. It was an ugly spell full of hate and greed. It slipped off her like water. Harley realized for the first time, they couldn’t hurt her physically. She took one step toward Emily Ellis. “Your little spells may work on men, but they don’t work on me. Let go of Brendan!”

A gleam sparked in the woman’s eyes, like a challenge. The smile continued to spread across her features. The woman’s smile was pure malice. Harley gulped and prepared for the onslaught of hell. Brendan’s parents separated, each walking around Harley like a lion stalking its prey. Harley watched them both, jerking her head from left to right to keep an eye on them. She didn’t hear anything but could feel spells sliding off her. The feeling was creepy, like having slime run off your body. Harley turned around so her back was to Brendan, who had been standing by the window watching helplessly.

“Mom, Dad, you don’t have to do this.”

“Shut up, Brendan.” His father spat at him. “This is no concern of yours, step out.” His father shot a hand out and Brendan began to disappear in front of them.

“No!” Harley jumped in front of the spell, making it slide off her body instead. Brendan collapsed on the ground. He shook his head and stood. Angry now, Brendan walked toward his father and pushed him against the wall with one of his massive arms. His forearm pressed against his father’s throat.

“You will not harm Harley or her family ever again! Do you understand me? I love her and whatever this is about, whatever strange world you’re keeping from me has nothing to do with her. You’ll leave us both alone!” Brendan was inches from his father’s face. Rage in his features.

Harley looked between the two men and realized how little they looked like each other.

“Like hell it isn’t!” Brendan’s mother shot a binding spell out to Harley who was standing motionless, mouth open and holding her right arm against her body as if it hurt. She hadn’t been prepared for the binder and she fell from impact of such a powerful hit. Harley stood and threw one right back at her. This spell took, dropping the woman to her knees, binding her arms to her body.

Brendan had released his hold on his father. A pain began in his left arm he held it to his side. Brendan’s father dashed over to his wife and picked her up, they both disappeared before everyone’s eyes. Harley didn’t care, she looked up at Brendan, tears in her eyes. “You told your parents you love me.”

Brendan smiled. “Yes Harley, every single pain in the ass inch.” She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him.

Mr. M walked through the opening in the wall first. He stopped cold, making Jaden bump into him. Jaden stopped and froze as well. Kayla used the door and stood in front of the guys. They all watched Harley and Brendan, not daring to speak. Kayla looked back at Mr. M, her face was pale. Jaden caught her eye and moved to stand next to her. He looked over at his father and nodded. Mr. M cleared his throat.