~How can you see into my eyes like open doors?

Leading you down, into my core
Where I've become so numb, without a soul
My spirit's sleeping somewhere cold
Until you find it there, and lead it, back, home~

General P.O.V at an Elder gathering.

"You only have one real option my child, the faith of good magic rest on your still so inexperienced shoulders, if you accept this burden and take on the power of the hallow to stop what is to come." One of the Elders said.

"The cost would be your own existence, as you cannot be allowed to live after this." Another Elder said without much emotion.

"Unfortunately for you, as blameless as you may be, Icarie has long been indebted to us for the grave wrongs that lead to your unsanctioned existence. As heartless as it may sound, you were never supposed to come into this world the way you did and initially your father was to pay penance, but you have so nobly chosen to take his place as to not rob us of another Elder."

"We commend you for this and you will be honoured forever after."

***************

Without thinking, both mom and I blasted our front door, it got torn to bits with a huge blast and we all stormed in and then to the attic as it was clear that's where they were.

There was a large gathering in the attic, they were surrounding something.

They parted as we entered, to reveal Killess on the floor of our attic with the dark ghastly black fog that was the Nexus above her.

It was obvious to me what they had done.

"They sacrificed her." I uttered.

"To bring back the Nexus." Polly added.

"There's no use fighting the revelation, consider this the beginning of our take over." An older wizard said, then they all vanished along with the Nexus.

"You. You knew that this was going to happen, that they were going to sacrifice that child, to bring back the Nexus." Mom said staring intensely at Icarie.

"We knew that it would take the blood of a dark charmed one." Tafarie answered.

"There is no need to lie. Yes we did know, as you know there is an angel of death and he does have a list, which as you also know is absolute, she could not be saved today." Icarie said.

"Get out."

"Piper, please listen to reason."

"Get out!"

Icarie and Tafarie orbed out in silence.

"Alright everyone upstairs, we have to call her parents." Dad said and we all obeyed and begun to ascend the stairs too sad to even breathe too loudly.

"No." we heard two very distinctive voices gasp behind us, we were already half way out.

"Moon!" I gasped, not loudly but with emphasis.

The rose on my hand was glowing and so was the rest of me at the sight of him.

He was kneeling down next to Killess with his back turned to me, I was about to go to him when Ravven shimmered in front of me.

"What happened?" He asked darkly.

"The Wizards." I uttered.

"The Wizards you trusted and brought into our home did that, and they also now have the Nexus." Chris spat bitterly. Ravven nodded affirmatively in a vengeful way and he clinched his fists.

I made to move past him, but he stopped me again.

"You can't go to him, look at your tattoo." He said and I looked to it, it was turning black and stinging.

"What's going on? Moon?"

My efforts to get his attention were futile, I was so struck with all kind of distorted emotions, I didn't even have time to notice that he grew his hair.

I was about to go to him when Ravven took hold of my shoulders.

"He's been cursed. If you even so much as make eye contact, you both lose your humanity." He said then released my shoulders.

"That doesn't make any sense!" I shouted pushing passed him.

"Fine! Go, he's not going to need any humanity for what we need to do next." Ravven shouted, Moon shimmered out with Killess's body before I could reach him.

"No." I whispered defeated and confused.

"Where is Matt?" Paige asked Ravven who was about to leave.

He didn't look like he was in a mood to answer, he did just loose one of his best friends, but he spoke any way.

"At our place a few blocks away, you can enter." Is all he said then left.

"Let's get over there, you guys know where?" Chris asked.

"I should go you guys, Joey is transferring tomorrow, which is a few hours from now, I'll fix the door you on my way out." Billie said twitching her nose at the last sentence, we had disheartening farewells.

I think that's when it dawned on us how late it was.

Since magic made its big comeback in our lives the days always seemed longer, but that one was one of the longest.

"Billie's right, you kids should get some rest before school, we'll check on Matt." Aunt Phoebe said.

"No way, we're going!" Henry protested.

"Henry." Paige hissed.

"We should definitely stay back and see what's become of this place." Dad said refering to himself, Chris and Wyatt.

"Mom, I'd never be able to sleep." Polly declared.

"Me either, we have to see him." I said.

"Alright, you three know where, right?" Mom asked.

"Yeah, allow me." Henry said and we all connected hands.

When we arrived a grimmlock dressed like a doctor met us and motioned for us to follow it, we did despite my mom who wanted to blow him up, he lead us to a huge luxurious bedroom straight out of game of thrones and showed us Matt who was like a statue lying still on the bed in the center of the room.

The grimmlock spoke before we flooded him with questions.

"He's still very much alive. He is in a stasis, brought on by the experiments, but not to worry it is part of the process."

"Don't worry, the demon standing next to the comatose child says not to worry. I should blow you up where you stand." Mom exclaimed.

"You're delusional if you think that's all you're telling us." Aunt Paige said.

"I've been hexed, if I even start to tell you something you are not supposed to know I burn." The grimmlock said darkly.

"Well we're not leaving him here." Henry said and the grimmlock made to grab Matt, but aunt Paige orbed him over to her then we orbed out.

****

When we got home our parents ordered us to go to sleep and they summoned every magic being that they knew and thought could help, nothing worked not even a whole gathering of Elders.

I didn't sleep that night from Killess dying, Matt's situation and seeing Moon again, I was emotionally drained and even though sleep was all I needed it eluded me for three whole weeks, we had no rest, no peace, Matt stayed the same, seeing his parents was like the worst kind of torture.

I thought that my emotions were the only things running on low until a Monday that marked a new month.

I was in English class and when it ended, I was singled out by Miss Cane to stay back.

"Melinda, I'm very concerned about you." She said looking at me curiously, I immediately felt like I was under a microscope.

"Why?" I asked not really knowing how else to respond.

"Melinda, for the past couple of weeks you've hardly spoken to anyone outside of your two cousins, you're falling back in all of your classes and I can't say that I've seen even a slither of a smile on your face." She said said not meaning to, but sounding like she was accusing me of horrible crimes.

I still don't know what it is that causes you to almost fall apart when people probed you when you're going through something, but you just want to collapse and break.

"I'm fine." was my automatic reaction as I tried to slip away, she held my hand before I could.

"I don't mean to pry, but it's my job to find out what's affecting your grades and of course I do care about your well being Melinda." She said and my heart tightened she really did care she always was a considerate person, one of the few teachers that would look out for you.

"My family is just going through a lot right now with our friend Matt being sick." I replied hoping that would appease her.

"Is that what happened to Matthew? last I heard he was being home schooled." She replied and I remembered that, that was the initial cover.

"Yes, and it's because he's very ill." I replied.

"I hope it's nothing too serious." She replied.

"I wish I could say, but no matter which healer-doctor he goes to they can't tell us a thing, it's awful and too heavy to bare with a smile." I replied.

"I can imagine." she replied.

No you can't.

"Yeah. Thank you for checking up on me Miss Cane, but I really need to get to lunch."

"Of course, go. My prayers are with your friend."

I was out the door before she finished and as I headed to my locker I noticed someone trying to catch up to me and I hoped that it would not be another person asking me how I was.

"Hi Melinda, you probably don't remember me." it was Marc, the youngest of the blond ones, he had such an angelic face I couldn't help but being nice or at least trying my best to be.

"You're Marc, right?"

"Yeah. Listen I wanted to ask you something." He said and I hoped that he was not about to ask me out.

"I can't talk right now, it's not a very good time." I said.

"It's about Matthew, Matt."

I stopped trying to walk him out and looked at him.

He wasn't the first to ask me about Matt, but he didn't seem like the inquisitive type and I was sure he didn't know Matt as he was a year younger than us and was quite popular, so not exactly Matt's crowd.

"What about him?" I asked cautiously. The more I examined his face, the more curious I got, he looked worried like he's had whatever he wanted to say on his mind for a really long time.

"Well he hasn't been at school in awhile and I know that he's like sick or something, but he doesn't even seem to be using his phone, do you know if something happened to it or.." He said, confusing me.

"What? How would you know if he's using his phone, were you and Matt friends?" I asked dubiously as I was well aware that Matt didn't really have friends outside of our circle.

"We are friends, and I've been trying to reach him and he never responds." He replied with emphasis on are, and I realized that it was because I said were as if there was a reason why they wouldn't be able to still be friends like Matt being in a magical induced coma.

"Oh, he's not really using his phone these days. I'll have to let him know you're trying to reach him." I said then headed to lunch horridly.

*********

"Marc don't make me have to repeat myself, we are not getting involved with the Charmed ones, and that goes for you too Sweet, back off that Polly chick, you know our moms would vanquish us if they heard you two were even considering hooking up with their most hated rivals." Martin the eldest and most logical said to his younger cousins.

"Matt isn't a part of the Charmed ones!" Marc protested, even though he was the youngest he and the elected leader of their three man coven consistently butted heads.

"He's too close to them, is all we're saying Marci." Marlon said.

"Don't call me that, and I don't care, they're hiding something about his disappearance." Marc replied more concerned than angry, but very much enraged all the same.

"What disappearance? He's switched to home schooling." Martin said folding his hands and shrugging dismissively.

"That's what I thought until I over heard her telling a teacher that he's sick and that they don't know what it is." Marc replied.

"So?" Martin replied.

"It sounded like a cover and I just know he's not okay and you know how I thought I saw him with the resurrected source's son and we said it couldn't be him, it was, I'm sure of it, I remember meeting him that old apothecary's place." Marc said passionately trying to appeal to Martin's sleuthing side.

"Yow, not gonna lie Marty I was hanging around and I caught a look at the guy and he looked a hell of a lot like Ravven and he did give off a demonic vibe." Marlon added.

"What would that freak want with a human?" Martin asked himself.

"Probably trying to get to the charmed kids through him." Marlon said.

"I mean we all heard about what happened with them, they're the ones who got his entourage locked up on Happy island, maybe he got some revenge by taking out the Morris kid." Marlon continued.

"Hmm they didn't just get them locked up, they had a hand in Vladimir's resurrection." Martin said.

"Matt's not dead, his spirit still visits the dream world." Marc said, one of his abilities was to be able to see into other worlds and alternate dimensions.

"Alright we'll take a look into this, for you Marc, but you'll owe me one cousin." Martin said.

"Wait there's one major problem, how are we gonna use our magic without getting detected?" Marlon asked and no one had a response.

**************

Quote at the beginning from " Bring me back to life" by Evanescence.