A hand on his arm woke Kevin, and he opened his eyes. The pitch black he looked into was as much of a shock this morning as it had been the night before. He stirred a little, trying to wake himself up in spite of the blackness. "Can I get you anything?" a vaguely familiar voice asked. He remembered her from the night before.
"I'd like a drink of water," he said softly, and sat up, unsteady.
"I'll be right back," she said.
"Wait," he said, wanting the phone as well, and reached out to grab her. His hand found nothing, pulling him off balance, and he started to fall. Someone grabbed him from behind, steadying him.
"Whoa," a voice said gently, one he knew as well as his own. "There's some missing information here."
"Howie?" Kevin drew away from him, wishing he could see his friend, wishing he weren't there at all.
"Guys, be a little careful. He can't see," Piper said. Guys?!? Kevin thought as three familiar voices hurled questions at him far too fast for him to answer them. But only three, so where was Brian?
"All right," AJ said, calming everyone down. Kevin relaxed a little, not even realizing until then that he'd hunched over. "What is going on?"
There was a dead silence, then someone sat next to him. "Kev's got a demon after him," Brian said calmly. The silence continued, and Kevin's mind spun. He could only imagine everyone staring at his cousin like he'd gone insane.
Which, of course, was exactly what was happening. "How did you know?" Kevin finally choked out, breaking the silence. Brian breathed a sigh of relief.
"I... was listening to your conversation with your Dad when he told you. I'm pretty sure he knew I was there," he added softly.
Kevin smiled slightly. "He didn't miss much."
"So, what do we do?" Nick asked.
"Wait for her," Prue said. "She failed last night, but she did get a taste of the power she'd get from Kevin. She'll be back."
"You guys aren't supposed to be here," Kevin protested.
"She won't hurt them," Phoebe said softly.
"How do you know that?" Kevin demanded, clumsily throwing covers off and turning to face them. Brian steadied him as he lost his balance.
"Because, Kevin, she wants you," Prue said, then shook her head. "No, that's not right. She has to take who was chosen for her. No one else will help her, and all they are is a distraction."
"But why Kevin?" Nick asked.
"Better me than my brothers," Kevin said. "And she said I had the most to give up. I think Tim and Jerald have much more to lose. They have kids, families."
"Children?" Prue snapped, and Brian almost flinched from her. "Grandchildren?" Grandchildren? Brian's thoughts echoed.
"Yes," Kevin said. He sure sounded calm, but he was about to rip the cushions on the couch if he didn't let go of them. Brian didn't try to get him to, knowing how futile that would be.
"She'll have chosen her heir from them," Piper said, more to her sisters than to the room at large.
"What?" Kevin demanded, leaning forward. "One of the kids will be like her?"
"Unless something changes, yes," Phoebe said.
"Kevin, who is it?" Howie finally asked, sounding as confused as Brian felt.
Kevin took a deep breath. "My mother." Brian was struck speechless, but apparently no one else was. He stared at Kevin, who stared at the floor, his shoulders hunching again. A hand flashed before Kevin's eyes, and Brian glanced at Nick. He was intently watching Kevin, and when Kevin didn't respond, he looked up. The confusion in his blue eyes when they met Brian's was priceless - and heartbreaking.
"Hey, Kev?" he asked, almost hesitantly, and the hurled questions stopped. Kevin's head lifted, then lowered again. "When will you get your sight back?"
"I... don't know. I don't know if I will. Dad didn't know." He rubbed at his chest again, wincing, and Brian caught the glances in his direction from both AJ and Howie. Is that what he looked like?
"What's wrong?" Prue demanded.
"Where she... last night... my chest hurts," Kevin finally said, and there was a note of fear in his voice.
"She's coming. Brian, I want you right here." She pointed to a spot at Kevin's feet, and Brian obediently slid down to the floor. "The rest of you, arrange where you'll sit and duck behind the couch. One of you should be to either side, and one behind. We're making a primitive circle. Make sure you're touching him somehow, make it look casual if you can." They nodded and lined up behind Kevin. "Brian, if she so much as looks like she's thinking about touching Kevin, you say something, and the rest of you get up around him. Don't let her near him."
"Not a chance," AJ said evenly, and ducked out of sight. No sooner had the other two joined him when the door opened.
"You're welcome, Mrs. Richardson," Eric's voice said, sounding slightly drugged. Brian twisted, catching the vacant look in the body guard's eyes before the door closed behind his aunt. He stared at her in surprise.
He'd always imagined demons as being ugly, but if anything, she'd grown more beautiful. She walked towards them with a familiar grace, past the three sisters who were whispering to each other. Her hand touched his hair, a familiar feeling from past family reunions. His scalp crawled. "Hello, Brian," she said softly. "I didn't expect to see you."
"Aunt Anne," he said. "We're trying to figure out how best to help Kevin."
"Oh," she said softly. "I can do that." She took her hand off his head.
"Now!" he yelled, and the other three popped over the couch. She took a step back.
"Wow, Mrs. Richardson, looking nice," AJ said with a wry smile, perched on the back of the couch behind Kevin. One hand rested lightly on his shoulder.
"Thank you, AJ." Her smile was real, as far as Brian could tell. "Can I speak with my son alone?"
"I'm afraid that won't be possible," Nick said, and flashed her his best smile. His hand rested on Kevin's right arm.
Her smile dropped a little. "Kevin, we have to finish what was started."
Kevin flinched. Brian knew that tone; his mother had used it on him. Disappointment was a high ingredient in it. "No, we don't." Kevin straightened a little; Brian put a steadying hand on his knee. "I'm not going to let you just... kill me without a fight."
Her smile slipped further. "You think you can stop me, you and your pathetic friends?" she snarled, and Brian shuddered. He noticed Nick had done the same thing.
"Yes. If we have to," Kevin told her evenly.
"And it seems we have to," Howie added, and lay a hand on Kevin's left arm.
Anne Richardson took a step back, hands raised as if to protect herself. Prue sent her flying across the room, almost concentrating too hard to see Nick's surprised expression. Piper reacted, freezing the scene, and turned almost desperately to Prue. "You got it all done before they got here, right?" she asked.
Phoebe held up a glass jar as she led the way across the room, stepping carefully around Brian. Piper and Prue followed her, and they circled the woman half crashed against the wall. They'd just gotten into place when time resumed its normal flow, and Phoebe emptied the glass jar on Anne Richardson. She shrieked once, and seemed to almost melt out of existence.
Kevin stiffened suddenly, and his hand went to his chest. He was gasping for breath, his face pale, then he flinched and passed out, slumped over Howie. Brian panicked, lurching forward to get a hand to Kevin's throat to see if he were still alive. He found his cousin's pulse, and sagged bonelessly against the couch. "He's alive," he croaked.
"Can you get him off me?" Howie asked. "He's heavy."
The sisters watched as they did, in the process of attempting to make Kevin at least look more comfortable. Howie leaned against the arm of the couch. "Okay, so what exactly happened?" he asked, aiming his question in their direction.
"She couldn't really get to him with you guys there," Phoebe said, sinking wearily into a chair. "She had to renounce all claims of family and affection for Kevin. Seeing you so ready to fight for him must have hit her hard."
"Why don't we take this into the kitchen?" Prue asked. "Let him sleep a little."
"And call management," Howie said. "They'll be going insane by now." Nick and AJ both groaned as they got up.
"My mother's gonna kill me," AJ muttered.
"Check on Eric," Brian added. AJ glanced at him, as did Piper, then he went to the front door. The conversation with Eric was too far for him to hear, then he returned.
"He's fine. Why?" AJ asked.
"He let her in. He looked like he was... dazed," Brian said, and shrugged, settling himself with his back to the couch. He watched them go into the kitchen, giving Nick a wave as his friend shot him an inquisitive look. Once they were out of sight, he turned his attention to Kevin, and what had happened since the concert had ended. He didn't hear the furor going on in the kitchen caused by the phone call, his thoughts spinning in circles he could barely follow.
Kevin's breath hitched behind him and he turned as his cousin curled up and sobbed. Brian lay an arm across his shoulders, trying to comfort him, grieving with him. Finally, Kevin calmed and relaxed, stretching his legs out as far as he could. Then he sighed. "Bri?"
Brian fought to control his voice. "Yeah?"
"I can't see." He sounded more exhausted than he had last night after the concert. "What do we do now?"
"Get you to a hospital, to check this out. We'll see if one of the girls can take us; Eric can take the others back." He climbed to his feet, pushing Kevin back down as he started to get up as well. "No. You stay here, sleep a little if you can." He gave a short chuckle. "You look wasted. I'll get us moving." He walked across the room, glancing back once as he reached the doorway. He was sure Kevin had been a sleep before he'd taken two steps from the couch.
They all looked at him, sober and quiet - and in AJ's case, quite cowed - when he stepped into the kitchen. "Hey. Eric, can you take AJ, Howie and Nick back?"
The bodyguard folded his arms as AJ and Nick protested. "Where are you going?"
Brian took a deep breath. "Kev's still blind. I was going to ask the ladies if one of them would take him and me to the hospital."
Howie nodded. "Good idea."
"I don't want to face my mom yet," AJ muttered. "Can I go with you?"
"Probably better not," Brian said with an apologetic smile. "That would just make her worse."
"I think," Eric said slowly, "I'd better take you and Kevin. That way you're not on your own."
"Agreed," Howie said.
"Tell me," Phoebe said with a glance at Prue, "was Detective Trudeau at the hotel?"
Nick shrugged. "Yeah, I think so. Looks kinda like Kevin, only bigger?" His band mates stared at him. "What?"
"Yes, that would be him," Phoebe grinned.
"How did you do that?" AJ asked.
Nick scowled. "I know you think I'm a ditz, Bone, but I can see things in front of my own eyes."
"You weren't even awake!" he protested. Nick smirked.
"Apparently you were less awake than I was."
"Stop it, please, you guys," Howie said. "If you ladies aren't willing to take us, we could call a cab."
"No," Prue sighed. "I'll take you."
Go on to Next Chapter | "Semi-Charmed Life"