Chapter 1

The roast turkey flew through the air, hitting the apex of its arc just beneath the chandelier, and landing with a splat against the dining room wall. A trail of gravy dripped down the wall as the bird slid to the floor.

"And here I thought turkeys couldn't fly," Paige said, looking at the remains. "So much for dinner."

"Somebody's going to pay for that," Piper said, looking to her sister for assistance. The attack at dinnertime was rude enough. There was no need to ruin the meal as well. That was just bad manners.

Paige held out her hand. "Carving knife!" The knife disappeared from the table and a collection of blue-white orbs gathered above her palm, dropping the utensil into her grasp. She pumped her arm and threw the weapon across the room, where it landed, embedded in the chest of a demon. He barely had the chance to look down at the wound before he exploded in a fiery ball.

Piper silently noted that Paige's accuracy had improved greatly over the past few years. Knife throwing wasn't a talent she had possessed in her life before finding out she was a witch. It was actually rather sad to see the kinds of skills she and her sisters had begun to excel at since they found out they had magical powers and a higher calling.

One demon down. One dozen to go, Piper thought.

Piper and Paige were backed up to the kitchen door. The crashing sounds coming from behind them at least meant that Phoebe was still alive. Once they finished up in the dining room, they'd have to join her. Until then, Phoebe was on her own.

Two of the demons approached the dining room table. Piper still didn't know where they had come from or what they wanted, but now was not the time to ask. She threw up her hands, and the nearest demon exploded. The one who had been beside him grabbed for the serving platter.

"Not the good china," Piper said, making him explode before he could touch it. While she was distracted, a third demon circled around from the conservatory and threw Wyatt's toy truck at her. Piper barely had time to register what was happening before it connected with her head, disorienting her.

"Piper!" Paige cried. She focused on the table. "Silverware!" With a wave in the demon's direction, she sent every utensil on the table into the demon. It was a particularly messy attack, but it got the job done. The demon exploded, sending all the silverware clanking to the floor. Paige cringed over the damage to the silver and the scuff on the floor. "Whoops."

As more and more demons continued to approach from both entrances into the room, Paige took a moment to check on Piper. She was still conscious. "You okay?"

"I think," Piper said, clearing the cobwebs from her head. She stood, taking in the situation. Six angry demons were coming at them, three from the living room and three from the conservatory. Piper and Paige were incredibly outnumbered, with more demons in the kitchen with Phoebe. All of that was typical for a day in the life of the Charmed Ones. It was the demon who was standing back from the fight that concerned Piper the most. He was in the living room holding a video camera and taping the battle. That part really concerned her. It meant something was going on beyond the typical random demons coming to kill the Charmed Ones.

A crash from the kitchen pulled Piper back into the moment. She worried for Phoebe, but there was nothing she could do until she took care of these demons. Hold on, Phoebe, she thought. We're doing the best that we can.

Well, dessert's ruined, Phoebe thought as she picked a piece of chocolate cake off her blouse. She had managed to salvage most of her outfit by ducking behind the center island in the kitchen when the demon threw the serving dish at her. Pieces of glass and cake littered the floor behind her, but she was mostly unscathed. Still, she was in no rush to get up off the floor.

Phoebe had been reaching for the herb cabinet when the demon decided to make dessert into a projectile. She had just managed to vanquish his friend with half the contents of the knife drawer, but now she was stuck hiding.

Conveniently, the cake's impact had caused several containers to drop to the floor around her. She salvaged what she could reach while still keeping the island between herself and the remaining trio of demons. So long as they couldn't see her, they didn't know what she was doing.

"Come out and let's finish this," one of the demons said.

Phoebe chose not to answer him. Engaging him in banter might encourage him and his friends. Besides, she was too busy measuring out herbs for the potion she was re-creating from memory. The demons seemed fairly lower level. Their power was more in their number than their abilities. Most of their attack was relegated to throwing objects instead of power balls or lightning bolts. Still, Phoebe wasn't ready to test her theory unarmed.

If only she had been in the attic when the attack began. That was where the Charmed Ones kept some of the more powerful potion ingredients. Still, a lot of their mixing was done in the kitchen, and Phoebe had a considerable arsenal at her disposal. Ingredients for the basic potion she was creating was mostly composed of the generic stock kept in the front of the cabinet. She had to improvise a few items, but the mixture was easy enough, except for the one missing ingredient key to the concoction: vanilla.

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