Thunder rumbled outside the manor as Ayanna gleefully stared as lightning pierced the night sky and struck the force field enveloping the Halliwell home. Suddenly, a gust of wind from inside the attic threw the demon against the wall. As she pulled herself to her feet, she saw black smears on her gloves. She touched the back of her head again. More black blood stained her white gloves. "WHO DARES TO CAUSE ME HARM?!"

Athames appeared in her hands as she turned to the center of the attic. A haggard woman emerged from the portal. She was dressed in white robes, stained with ruby red blood everywhere. On her face was her own crimson handprints smeared across her cheeks and lips. In her right hand was a motionless unicorn heart. "I have done what you asked," she said in a croaked voice.

Ayanna's fierce scowl turned into a smile as the athames in her hands disappeared. She walked closer to Penny; gleeful that the witch's conversion had begun. She pointed to the circle of black candles, and the heart floated out of Penny's hand and into the center. The flames changed from a bright yellow to a sinister black.

Penny blinked and in an instant, she was washed and wearing a clean dark dress and cloak. The demon knew this was not a witch power and her elation soared. "What do I need next?" The witch's fingers twitched and lightning seemed to flow through her fingers.

Ayanna stood in front of her matter-of-factly. "Well, the heart brings her back to life, but without the next ingredient, she will die again within the hour. You must get the bones of a child, for the life force within will sustain her. But the dead child must be a blood relative or her body will reject the force. Do you understand?"

The sorceress smiled. "I know where to find what I seek." She extended her arms in front of her and parted them. The piles of trunks and memorabilia parted exposing the hole in the wall where the window had been. Penny rose off the floor and floated towards the hole. She rested her hand on the edge and turned back to Ayanna. "Stay."

Screaming, the demon was thrown back into a chair and the floorboards rose, moving and hissing like snakes, tying her down. Penny chuckled and jumped out of the hole.

Giggling indignantly, Ayanna reached behind and pulled on the chair. It broke into wooden stakes that piled at her feet. "Stupid witch." She grasped the venom-green crystal and it rocked in her palm. "Make sure she completes her task." With that, the crystal vanished.

The gates of the Restfield Cemetery twisted and coiled backwards, allowing Penny entrance. She walked hurriedly through the rows of headstones until she came upon a small one with a picture of an angel carved above the name.

~BELOVED DAUGHTER~

PORTIA HALLIWELL

1926-1933

A FLOWER TAKEN BEFORE SHE BLOOMED

Penny remembered her lost little sister for a moment. She had been at school and little Portia woke up from her nap early while their mother Helena was trying to vanquish a very powerful demon. An energy ball was thrown wild just as Portia came downstairs. Helena didn't even know she was there until she saw the charred teddy bear. She never recovered from losing her little girl.

Now the mother's heartache had become the daughter's. Penny reached with her mind and the coffin that had rested for nearly fifty years began rose. She wrapped her sister in her cloak and began heading towards the entrance to the cemetery when she saw a familiar name on a fresh grave.

Penny knelt beside her daughter's headstone and laid her sister's remains down. She curled up next the headstone and warm tears sprang from her cold eyes. Hours seemed to pass before she heard a noise.

A twig snapped, and Penny looked up to see two large, venom-green destroyer demons heading straight towards her. In their hands were giant hammers. She flung her arm, but they kept advancing. She rolled out of the way as the first swung his massive weapon down, barely missing her. She kept waving her arms, but her power was gone. Crying now out of fear, she pulled herself to her feet and prepared to run when she heard a loud crunch. The second destroyer had brought his hammer down on her cloak, and Portia's bones.

"Noooooooo!" They were destroying her only chance to save Patty. She ran back at them, but the first hit her with his mammoth arm and knocked her down, nose bleeding. Laughing gruffly, he turned Patty's headstone into pebbles with one swing. Writhing with sinister fury, she flung her arm at him. White-blue lightning surged from her fingertips, striking him in the chest. He stumbled and she outstretched her arms side-by-side. A beam of lightning poured from her hands and he exploded in a white blast.

Growling, the remaining demon grabbed her bundled-up sister and began running. Lightning struck his feet and he fell, losing his hold on the cloak. Penny stood over him ominously and saw the fear in his eyes. Her body pulsing, she poured lightning from her fingertips and in an instant, all that was left was scorched earth.

Grabbing the bones, she walked up to the twisted gate. "Hey, where the hell are you going with those bones, lady?" Penny turned to see the caretaker walking towards her angrily. Before he could get any closer, she pointed one finger and he was eviscerated. Climbing over the coils, she headed home. When she was gone, the caretaker shimmered back in. "It's done."

TBC

Read and Review! ~ SS