Whispers From The Past

Chapter One The warlock backed up against the brick wall.He was cornered, trapped in a shadowed, narrow alleyway behind the colorful retail shops in San Francisco's popular North Beach district.The man with the oddly glittering yellow eyes growled at Phoebe Halliwell and her sisters, Piper and Prue. Phoebe wanted to laugh. Like the guy had a reason to be mad at them! He was the one who had jumped down from a fire escape, grabbed Piper by the hair, and muttered something about the dark side.When the creep crashed their party, the three sisters had been innocently making their way into the old warehouse that had been converted to a shopping mall. Prue had seen a pair of boots she liked at a place called Kick in the Pants, but she had wanted a second and a third opinion before she laid out two hundred dollars for something she didn't really need."Honey, if you love them, you need them," Phoebe had told her, slinging an arm around Prue's shoulders as they'd cut down a narrow side street -- a deserted narrow side street.Phoebe had to admit that maybe her shortcut hadn't been such a great idea. Jeez, she thought. You head out for a pair of boots, you wind up with a hostile warlock in your face.Not that fighting warlocks was anything new to Phoebe and her sisters. They were the Charmed Ones, three witches with special powers. Since they'd foundThe Book of Shadowsin the attic of Halliwell Manor, the home they'd inherited from their grandmother, they had begun to learn the Craft.The sisters made a pact to harm no one, as Gram would have wanted, and to use their powers for good. That included fighting off lots of evil beings, like this guy. They were getting pretty good at it, too. Phoebe was beginning to realize that as long as she and her sisters were together -- as long as they had the Power of Three -- nothing could stop them.For the moment they were winning this battle as well. Piper, who'd gotten her hair out of the warlock's grip by stomping on his instep, now blocked the steep stairway that led to the alley. Prue stood in front of the street exit. Phoebe stood in front of the guy, so close she could reach out and peel the evil smirk off his face. They had him surrounded and he knew it.Phoebe pushed up the sleeves of her favorite black leather jacket, ready to fight."I don't know why you're here," Prue told the warlock. "And I don't know where you come from. But you're going to be sorry you came." Her blue eyes flashed with anger as a strand of jet-black hair slipped down, touching her cheek."Really?" the warlock growled. "If you're trying to frighten me, you'll have to try harder. Much harder.""Happy to oblige." There was no mistaking the mix of hatred and fierceness in Prue's voice.All of Phoebe's senses were on alert, hypersensitive to the musty smell of the alley, the sight of the dirty wooden crates lining its sides, the buzz of cars and buses on the street at its other end, and the scuffling sound of shoes on cement as Piper stepped forward, slowly, cautiously. In tune with the moment, Phoebe felt her palms begin to sweat. Sure, there was a certain rush of adrenaline when facing a warlock. It was either fight like crazy or find yourself eating dirt. But even her free spirit couldn't ignore the danger element. This creep might wind up doing some serious damage to her or to her sisters.Piper stepped forward again, closing the circle. The warlock lifted his hand. In it was a flash of silver -- a dagger!Phoebe felt every muscle in her body go taut. Where did that thing come from?The warlock whipped his hand over his shoulder like a dart champion. Then, with his eyes dead-set on Phoebe, he thrust his hand forward and let the dagger go. Phoebe gasped as the silver blade sailed forward...coming right at her!Phoebe closed her eyes. She couldn't help flinching, expecting the cold, sharp edge of the knife to slice through her leather jacket andBurge, Constance M. is the author of 'Whispers From The Past ' with ISBN 9780671041656 and ISBN 0671041657.