Piper Halliwell attached the shade to the new lamp, plugged the lamp's cord into the wall outlet
and turned on the lamp. She liked the warm light the new lamp gave off. And she liked the way it
looked atop the lamp table in the living room.
The lamp was a replacement for the one that the demon Libris had sliced in half with his sickle
when he attacked the Charmed Ones a week earlier. Piper looked at the lamp, took a deep breath
and exhaled.
"Half a dozen demons and warlocks attacked us last week," she said to her sisters Prue and
Phoebe. "All vanquished already once before, and all came back for Round Two against us. And
all had to be vanquished again. And then this week, you both had to chase after and vanquish a
demon in the Coast Guard. And you were attacked by him, Prue.
"I need a break. We need a break. If not a vacation, then at least a long weekend. Somewhere
that's warm, with clean sand and clear water."
"And with a resort hotel that has a spa," Phoebe added.
"Where we could just relax around a swimming pool drinking piña coladas," Prue said,
fantasizing. "With no demons in sight."
"That sounds so good," Piper said. "I could use all of that right now." She took a deep breath and
exhaled.
"But The Elders won't let us," Piper groused. "They'll say," she said in a mocking tone while
making a face, "'You can't go away ‑ you have to be here in case some demon out to destroy the
world shows up'." She sighed. "Our needs are just invisible to them."
Leo orbed in to the living room.
"Hello Leo," Piper said, with a smile in her eyes.
"Hi Piper," Leo began. He stared into her eyes for a moment, then caught himself. They weren't
alone. Others were around.
"Uh...go pack your bags. The Elders are sending you on a trip," he said.
"A trip?" Prue asked. "Where?"
"To an island in the Caribbean," he replied.
"A Caribbean island?" Piper asked, taken aback. "They heard us! They actually heard us and, for
once, are giving us what we want."
"What do you mean 'they heard us'?" Leo asked.
"The Elders," Piper said.
"I don't know what you mean," Leo said. "But start packing quickly. And pack in swimsuits and
anything else appropriate for a resort. You don't want to be conspicuous."
"Not conspicuous?" Piper asked, with a little concern.
"You don't want to stand out from the regular guests," he said.
"Why...don't we?" Piper asked, starting to get a bad feeling.
"You don't want to be obvious to the demons," Leo answered.
"The demons..." Piper repeated, then sighed. "Of course...there have to be demons there. I should
have known better. Why else would we be going."
"What's this all about, Leo?" Prue asked. "Why are The Elders sending us to this vacation island?"
"The demons are having a conference there," he said.
"Demons have conferences?" Phoebe asked.
"That's the best way The Elders could describe it," he replied. "There's at least ten, maybe more,
demons coming together from all over for this...conference."
"Why?" Prue asked.
"The Elders don't know," he said, "but that's what you're going to find out. You're going to pay a
call on them."
"We're going to pay a call on a conference of demons, all of whom would love nothing better than
to kill us?" Piper asked.
"Which demons are coming?" asked Phoebe.
"The Elders can identify for certain only three of them," Leo said. "But they can tell from what's
happening that a lot more are coming. And it's a range of demons from the relatively weaker ones
to the very powerful ones."
"Including the Infernal Council?" Piper asked.
"The Elders don't know," Leo admitted.
"If it does include the Infernal Council, then Dalios could be there," Phoebe said. Dalios was on
the Council and had tried more than once to kill the Charmed Ones. He had finally been prohibited
by the Council from directly killing them ‑ the Council feared retribution from The Elders if a
Council member personally killed a Halliwell.
"Our 'blending in' clothes won't make a difference if Dalios comes," Piper said. "He knows us.
Even if he's prohibited from killing us himself, he'll have plenty of willing demons to command to
do it for him."
"You are going to have to be very careful," Leo said. "But something very big is up and you have
to find out what it is. And then stop it."
"Three of us against ten or more demons," Phoebe said. "Not very good odds,"
"That's why The Elders are sending Kelly Anderson with you," Leo said. "You need all the good
witch power that you can get. She's not as powerful as you but she matured during the two years
she spent in the alternate reality. Now she plans and thinks things out before she acts."
"How are we going to know who's a demon and who's a normal guest?" Phoebe asked. "The
Elders don't know whom we should look for."
"No, they don't. But there is one thing," he said. "The demons that they know are coming all have
a red and black medallion that they will likely be wearing around their necks."
"Why? And what is it?" Piper asked. "Never mind ‑ The Elders don't know that, either."
"Hurry and get packed," Leo said. "And here is the hotel name." He handed a piece of paper to
Prue. "Make the room reservations."
"We'll need plane reservations, too," Phoebe said.
"There's no time for that," Leo said. "I'm going to take you there. One at a time."
Piper looked at Leo. "Well...as long as you're going to take me there, and it is a vacation island,
stay for a while. I'm sure it must be quite romantic. Aside from the demons, of course."
"I...I can't," he replied. "After I bring everyone there The Elders have something else for me to
do." He paused, looking wistfully at her. "But...maybe later during the weekend I can come back
for a while."
"Kelly's not going without me. We're partners ‑ and we're engaged to be married.
We do things together,"
Stuart said emphatically.
"The Elders disagree. You don't have any powers," Leo said. "Kelly will have to be watching you
to protect you instead of watching the demons. She can't be distracted from what she has to do
there."
They were standing, and arguing, in the living room in Kelly Anderson's Russian Hill house, the home that
she shared with Stuart Weston. After coming back from the alternate reality to which three demons had
jointly banished them, and where they had fallen in love and become engaged, Stuart had moved
out of the Halliwell Manor and moved in with Kelly. Leo had just told Kelly that he was taking
her to the island where the demons were holding their conference.
"We've been through this before when I was living with the Halliwells," Stuart pointed out.
"And The Elders felt the same way then," Leo said, "and it has hasn't changed any now."
"You would be safer staying home," Kelly said to Stuart, acknowledging that their was some
advantage in accepting The Elders' refusal. "And I would feel better knowing that you were safe."
"But I wouldn't feel better knowing that you were there ‑ and not safe," Stuart countered. He
went over to her, took her hand in his and looked into her eyes.
Kelly knew that look. The look of love that connected them and linked them to each other in life.
A link that she cherished. She took a deep breath. "We are a team, Leo," she said. "And we do do
things together. Whether normal life things...or demon fighting things. So...we both go or we both
stay home. End of discussion."
Leo was about to say something when he turned his head upwards, as if listening to something.
Then he sighed.
"OK," he said with reluctance. "Both of you go pack your things. And quickly!"
Under a clear, blue sky, palm trees swayed gently in the breeze. Lounge chairs lay along the
freshwater pool, while hammocks and more lounge chairs were set out on the resort's white sand
beaches. Beautiful gardens surrounded the villas and suites.
White Sand Island is a private island at the southern end of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, an
archipelago country in the Windward Islands, separating the Caribbean Sea on the west from the
Atlantic Ocean on its east. The one hundred‑forty acre island resort is a ten minute boat ride
from the public and inhabited Union Island, its closest neighbor.
Piper and Phoebe had already checked out the resort's spa, planning what they would do in it once
their demon investigating was done. Prue had already sampled a Planter's Punch, to give her a
literal taste of the drinks she planned to enjoy when they would be free and could relax.
Phoebe, wearing an open and revealing black cover‑up over a two‑piece black bikini swim suit,
stood behind the trees that were off to the side of the pool. At five‑foot nine, Kelly Anderson, her
blond hair in its usual ponytail, would have fairly towered over Phoebe had they been standing
together. But Kelly, wearing a one‑piece suit, a rose‑colored floral on a cream background top
with a solid rose‑colored bottom, stood about a dozen feet away from her, where they didn't
appear to be together but could still see each other.
On the lookout for conference demons, they saw someone coming along the pool's walkway.
Broad and burly with tousled, curly, dirty blond hair, he wore swimming trunks and a sleeveless
tan t‑shirt. And hanging around his neck was a red and black medallion. The girls looked at each
other and nodded, indicating they would try the plan they had prepared. Phoebe quickly made her
way to the path, then casually walked in the demon's direction, "accidentally" bumping in to him.
"Oh...I'm so sorry," she said, "I should have been concentrating on where I was walking."
"Nothing to be sorry about," he replied. "It's nice to be bumped into by someone as..." He paused
to look Phoebe over, his attention drawn to what he saw of her bikini‑clad body. "...as pretty as
you."
"Well then," she said, with an enigmatic look, "maybe I should bump into you on purpose." She
gave him a half smile and put her fingers on the top of his chest, giving it a little push. Then she
tentatively ran them sideways across it.
"Hmm," she said. "Impressive."
"You are, too," he replied.
Phoebe chuckled. She put her hand in his hair and ran her fingers through some of the curls. "I
like that," she said. "And..." she made a slow look over his body. "...the rest isn't bad, either."
"You look pretty good, yourself," he said. "Actually, more than just pretty good."
"Hey, sport. You are something," Kelly interrupted, stepping over to them. "And I have more to
offer you than she does." Kelly angled her body next to Phoebe, showing off how much more of
her, because of her height, there was. She placed her hand on his shoulder, then slowly ran her
hand across his chest.
"Hey ‑ get away from him!" Phoebe ordered.
"I saw you just walk over to this...hunk of a man," Kelly said, running her hand slowly down his
chest, "so he's fair game for anyone. You have no hooks into him. You don't even know him."
"I was here first," Phoebe said, "so get lost! If you know what's good for you."
"Ladies, ladies," he said, then looked at Phoebe. "You did see me first. But there's enough of me
to go around."
"You're right ‑ I saw you first. And I'm not sharing such a 'find' with this pathetic loser," Phoebe
replied. "Go find your own man...if you can."
"Loser? Are you calling me a loser?" Kelly asked.
"You can't find a man yourself so you try to grab someone else's," Phoebe replied.
"Ladies, please," he said.
Phoebe looked at Kelly and saw an almost imperceptible nod of her head. Then she grabbed
Kelly's hand and pulled it off of him. Still holding it tightly, she grabbed Kelly's throat with her
other hand, then knocked Kelly's leg out from under her, forcefully shoving Kelly away and to the
ground. Kelly fell sideways and landed on the grass near the walkway.
"And you stay away if you know what's good for you," Phoebe added, her hands on her hips in a
defiant pose. "I'm a martial arts expert." Kelly looked up at Phoebe, some hurt and some fear showing
on her face. Then she picked herself up and slowly backed away.
"Now...where were we?" Phoebe asked.
"Huh...you are one determined woman," he said, in obvious admiration. "And I like that your
determination is centered on me."
"And I would like to...get to know you," she said, with another enigmatic smile. "Let's get
something to drink and we can sit down and...talk."
"Oooh...I would love to do that with you," he said. "But I have a meeting at noon."
"A meeting?" Phoebe asked. "You came to this resort for business?"
"Yeah...well it beats meeting in some dingy cave...I mean, uh, office," he said. "The, uh, meeting
shouldn't last more than an hour. Meet me then."
"I'll be waiting for you outside of wherever you're meeting," she said. "Now...where should I be?"
Her eyes and face smiled strongly at him.
"We're meeting in the Northern Star Villa on the eastern side of the island, just off the trail," he
said.
"Then I will be expecting you outside the villa at one o'clock," Phoebe said sensually, putting her
finger on his chest. "Don't let your meeting run late," she added, chuckled and walked away.
"You saw enough?" Phoebe asked, when they were all back in Stuart's and Kelly's room.
"I did," Kelly replied. "Thanks to your acting so catty, that kept him occupied and he didn't notice
my examining his medallion. You are an excellent actress, Phoebe."
Phoebe knew that was a normal thing for someone to say in such a situation, with a
tongue‑in‑cheek inflection in the voice and a partial smile. But there hadn't been any inflection in
Kelly's voice. She had said it in a flat tone, as if she was stating a fact. And there wasn't a hint of a
smile on her face. Kelly doesn't ‑ can't ‑ know that I really am an actress, Phoebe thought. But the
way Kelly had said it...that left Phoebe perplexed ‑ and concerned.
"...Phoebe. Phoebe?" Prue repeated.
"Huh?" Phoebe said.
"You suddenly spaced out," Prue said. "I was saying that your plan seemed to have worked."
"Uh, yes...you were right, Prue, about some male demons being as interested in female people as
they are in female demons," Phoebe said, pushing aside her thoughts about what Kelly had said ‑
and meant. "I got the place and time of their 'conference' from him."
"I'll replicate the medallion," Kelly said, going to the room's safe. Kelly had the power to replicate
something she was looking at, such as in a picture, into the real thing itself. Using the flat,
triangular amplifier, which she brought back with her from the alternate reality, she could now
replicate anything she had seen and was somewhere in her memory, even if its picture wasn't in
front of her.
Removing the flat, triangular amplifier from the safe, Kelly held it tightly and concentrated. In a
moment, a red and black medallion, attached to a leather neck strap, lay on the table in front of
her.
"Make one for each of us," Piper said.
"No ‑ don't!" Prue said strongly. "We're taking a chance that they don't know exactly who will
really show up. We have to take the risk of one of us going in as one extra demon. But we can't
risk having all of us there posing as four extra demons."
"So who's going to be the one going in?" Stuart asked.
"Me," Kelly answered. "I made the medallion so I should be the one taking the risk. And I can
later replicate anything that I see that they have in there."
"No, I'm going," Phoebe said. "If there's a problem in there I can quickly make up a spell to
handle it."
"No, it should be me," Piper said. "If things get bad in there I can freeze them and get out."
"It's going to be me," Prue countered. "I have experience posing as a demon amongst them." It
was true that Prue had once posed as a demon to get in to talk to the demon Cameron, from
whom she needed information. But she neglected to mention that it wasn't long before Cameron
had become suspicious as to how much of a demon she really was, forcing her hasty exit. "And,
I'm the oldest sister ‑ and also older than you, Kelly ‑ so I have the final word.
"Now that this is settled, I'm going to my room to change into something more appropriate for a
demon gathering." She picked up the medallion from the table and left.
"Is she always like that?" Kelly asked.
"When she's decided to pull rank, she is," Piper replied. "But make one more medallion, Kelly.
There's no need to tell Prue about it. We don't know what's going to happen inside that
conference. If something goes wrong we'll need access to the villa. Or to whatever else this
medallion does."
With the medallion around her neck, Prue made her way to the Northern Star Villa. She waited
behind a bush where she could see who was going in. After seven or eight demons went inside,
and feeling relieved that she had not recognized any of them, she made her way to the front timber
deck and went to the villa's door, slipping in unobtrusively behind another demon.
In the villa, chairs and stools had been placed around the spacious dining room's table. Rattan
blinds had been lowered to cover the wide picture windows that were on two sides of the room.
The demons took seats, apparently not in any particular order, but no one took the chair at the
head of the table. That one is reserved for someone big, she thought, as she sat down on an empty
stool. One more demon came in from outside and took a seat. Then a demon walked in from one
of the bedrooms, went over to the front door and locked it. He looked over the assemblage, went
to the empty seat at the head of the table and sat down.
He's in charge, Prue thought. Maybe he is from the Infernal Council. But at least he's not Dalios.
She was relieved to see that there were three empty stools around the table. They didn't know
exactly how many demons were coming so her cover as an "extra" demon was safe. At least for
the moment.
"Some of you understand why we are here; others don't," the demon at the head of the table
began. "So I'll go over this now. We're here to test the power of the Jemba Affect. This is an
isolated island. We can define the perimeter of the Affect to just this island. And easily monitor
the result in a contained area.
"This is what the Jemba will do."
With a little while to wait until the meeting would be fully under way, Kelly and Stuart decided to
grab a few minutes in the water. They made their way between the palm trees on the beach, then
splashed into the Carribean Sea on the island's western side. After a few minutes in the warm
water, they returned to the beach. Kelly playfully sprayed water from her wet hands on Stuart,
then giggling, started to run away. She ran between the resort's guests, who were enjoying the
beach on the lounge chairs and hammocks, running only fast enough so that after half a minute
Stuart would catch her.
Which he did, tackling her around her waist and bring her down onto the clean, white sand. With
Kelly "helpless" on her back beneath him, Stuart took "control" of her. With his hands still around
her waist, he pulled her tightly to him as he placed his lips on hers. Their kiss, filled with love, was
most pleasurable.
Prue, listening to the head demon speak, was terrified by his description of what the demons were
about to do.
"Not everyone who was invited has come," the head demon continued, "but with those of you
who did come we have more than enough power here to effect this. If this is successful, you will
take this back with you. A plan will be laid out assigning who will be working together, with a
schedule to initiate the Jemba Affect all over the world."
He opened his jacket and revealed a larger version of the medallions that the others were wearing.
He held it out over the table away from his chest.
"Now point your Jembas at mine," he said. "And we'll begin the exercise."
This was not what Prue had anticipated. She thought she would sit in the conference, hear what
they were up to and then find a way to counter it. She did not expect that they would be starting
their devastation right here. And certainly not that she would be party to facilitating it.
But what choice did she have? Her powers could not stop all of these demons from what they
were about to do. And even if she tried to, all that would be accomplished was that she would be
killed.
Prue took a deep breath. And with great reluctance, aimed her medallion with the others.
"OK," Kelly said, when their kiss ended. "Enough of a public display. The rest...we'll leave for
tonight, in private." A smile came cross her face.
"Right," Stuart agreed. He rolled off of her and lay on his back next to her.
"We should get over near the Northern Star Villa in case Prue or Phoebe need us," Kelly said. She
flipped over onto her stomach, her head facing away from Stuart, looking at the expanse of white
sand to her left.
"Huh?!" she exclaimed. She raised herself on her arms as she stared at the beach. What had just
been populated with resort guests was now empty.
Kelly turned her head towards Stuart. But he wasn't there.
"Stuart? Stuart!" she shouted. But she was all alone on the beach.
Kelly jumped up and looked all around. No one was there. The beach was empty. She ran up to
the trail that led down to the beach. It was empty, too. Kelly made a three hundred sixty degree
turn where she stood but not a soul could be seen anywhere.
She started to run on the trail in the direction of the Northern Star Villa. Everything was eerily
quiet. As she approached the point where a second trail joined hers she heard footsteps coming
from it. She ran faster and reached the junction just as Piper and Phoebe did the same from the
second trail.
"What's happened?" Piper asked.
"I was on the beach and suddenly everyone's disappeared," Kelly said. "Including Stuart. He's
gone, too!"
"The demons did something before we even found out what they were planning," Piper said. "We
have to find Prue. She'll know what they did."
"But where is she?" Kelly asked. "Everyone's gone."
Phoebe slipped her hand into the pocket of her cover‑up and pulled out the medallion that Kelly
had replicated. She held it up and examined it. Then she slipped it on around her neck.
"No...they're not," she said. "They're here but...we just can't see them. Nor hear them." She turned
around but now she couldn't see Kelly and Piper. She removed the medallion and found herself
back with them.
"All the people are still here," Phoebe said. "When I had on the medallion I could see and hear
them."
"But we can't," Kelly said. "And now you can't, either."
"No," Phoebe replied, fingering the medallion. "And I couldn't see you while I was wearing it.
Whatever this is, it separates everyone from us."
"Something affected all the other people," Piper said, "but didn't affect us. It must have something
to do with our being witches."
"Yes," Phoebe said, "we've seen that happen before. Like our ability to remember things that
happened in time‑line changes while others don't."
"We have to find out what those demons did to all of the people," Kelly said. "And to Stuart."
"And maybe to the temperature, if that's possible," Piper said. "Is it me or is it suddenly getting
warmer?"
"I'm going to put this on again and find Prue," Phoebe said. "Stay here so I'll know where to find
you."
"Keep it hidden under your cover‑up," Piper said. "We don't want a demon to see that you're
wearing it."
Phoebe nodded her head in agreement, then slipped the medallion on around her neck, tucking it
beneath her black cover‑up. She could see and hear all of the hotel guests. Though something
about them seemed odd, she didn't pay attention to it. Concentrating on finding Prue, she hurried
down the path towards the Northern Star Villa where the demons had met.
Seeing a demon coming down the path towards her, Phoebe slowed down, not wanting to draw
his attention, then casually moved off of the path towards some trees. Looking away towards the
beach, she fingered her cover‑up to be sure it was still concealing the medallion. When she was
sure that he had passed her, she returned to the path and continued towards the villa.
Coming closer, she saw two demons stepping down from the villa's front timber deck. She quickly
changed direction, getting behind a bush to hide, when she felt a hand grab her arm.
"Back here!" Prue quietly commanded, pulling Phoebe further away from the villa.
"What did the demons do?" Phoebe asked. "Everyone here is invisible."
"Invisible?" Prue repeated. "I can see everyone. And so can you."
"Only because I'm wearing this," Phoebe replied, partially opening her cover‑up to reveal the
medallion.
"How did you get that?" Prue asked.
"Piper had Kelly make one more in case we needed it," Phoebe explained. "And from the looks of
it it's a good thing that she did."
"Where are they?" Prue asked.
"Back where the path from the villa splits," Phoebe replied.
"Let's get there and I'll tell you what happened," Prue said. "At least as much as I understand."
Prue told Phoebe to lead the way, being careful not to be seen walking with her. It would not do
for a demon and guest to be together.
"They're right here," Phoebe said when they reached the spot, "but we can't see them. Not as long
as we're wearing these medallions." She motioned to Prue and they both turned away. With their
backs to the path, and a bush partially hiding them, they quickly removed their medallions.
"Prue, are you all right?" Piper asked.
"I'm as good as can be after having to be a part of what the demons did," she replied.
"We can't see or hear anyone else," Kelly said. "Including Stuart. What happened?"
Prue told them what had happened in the villa and the Jemba Affect.
"He said that the people would start being out of phase," Prue said, "but I don't understand what
that means."
Kelly thought for a moment, then exhaled. "I think I do," she said. "In college, I took a couple of
introductory physics courses ‑ they seemed to be interesting. One was on Acoustic Physics, the
other on Quantum Mechanics. I'm far from being any kind of an expert in them but I understand
the concepts enough that I'm pretty sure that I know what the demons are doing. It will take an
abridged crash course in basic physics to explain it but I'll keep it simple.
"A standard waveform, like a sound wave, has a top and a bottom ‑ they're called peaks and
troughs ‑ above and below the wave's base line in each cycle. The peak ‑ that's the amplitude ‑
governs the loudness of a sound. The higher the amplitude ‑ the peak of the cycle ‑ the louder the
sound.
"If a second wave is introduced over the first wave, they will affect each other. If the peaks and
troughs of the second wave are in identical positions in the cycle to those of the first wave, they
are in‑phase. No phase difference ‑ which is a difference in angle ‑ between the two waves. Their
peaks are combined and if one wave has a greater amplitude than the second wave, the loudness
of the sound will be a combination of the two waves. That's called constructive interference.
Hmm…I could explain it better if I had paper and pencil."
"Here," Prue said, taking a small resort pad and pen from her pocket.
"I took this from my room in case I needed to take notes at the demons’ meeting."
Kelly took the pad and pen and began drawing a diagram.
"But if the second wave has a ninety degree difference from the first wave in where it starts ‑
that's called a ninety degree phase difference ‑ the peaks and troughs won't line up exactly but will
still affect each other. The technical term is destructive interference ‑ the two waves will be
partially out of phase with each other and negatively affect each other. The sound may be tinny or
hollow."
Kelly sketched a second diagram.
"This Jemba has introduced a second wave over the people's first wave. The fact that we don't
hear the people that way ‑ that we don't hear them at all ‑ means that this Jemba somehow is
imbued with the power to contain the resulting partially out of phase wave.
"Light also consists of waves, electromagnetic ones that are logically similar to sound waves. If
they're starting to become out of phase ‑ the light waves should be refracted through the original
waves or diffracted around them ‑ and we should still see something.
But again the Jemba must have some property which is somehow allowing it to contain those light waves. And has
also linked their cells at the molecular level to those waves."
"That demon said that they can control the perimeter of the result of the Jemba Affect," Prue said,
"so that must be what he meant. But then he said that the Jemba Affect will continue until
everyone is destroyed."
Kelly thought for a second, then exhaled.
"If he can control the angle of that second wave through the Jemba," she said, "and it sounds like
he can, it will continue until there is a phase difference of one hundred eighty degrees. The peaks
and troughs of one wave will be exactly reversed in the cycle from those of the second wave. The
two waves will simply cancel each other out. They won't exist."
She added a third diagram to the page.
"The people won't exist?" Piper asked.
Kelly took another deep breath. "In theory, light waves completely out of phase will have the
same affect," she answered, "and cancel each other out. In practice, the requirements for them to
have destructive interference are difficult to achieve. One of the reasons is that the photons ‑
quantum particles of light ‑ can get in the way of that happening.
"But if the light waves were becoming out of phase, the photons from both waves would still be
there. The physics' Law of Conservation says that energy cannot be destroyed, only changed. The
photons would just remain where they had come together...and generate a lot of heat."
"That would explain why the island's temperature feels so much hotter than it did an hour ago,"
Phoebe said. "And from what you've said ‑ that would mean that they're getting closer to being
completely out of phase."
"And yes, Piper," Kelly said. "If all of the waves were completely out of phase and that Jemba
linked them at the molecular level to those waves...then the people would no longer exist."
"OK...I think I understand most of what you said about the physics," Phoebe said, "but how does
the Jemba stop us from seeing the people when we're not wearing it?"
"I'm guessing it changed their frequencies," Kelly replied. "Just like on a radio ‑ you have
to be tuned
to the right frequency to get a particular station's broadcasts. I suspect the Jemba has also
changed the frequencies of everyone's wavelengths to be different than our frequency. So we can't
'tune them in'."
"Because we're still on the...normal frequency," Prue said.
"And that's why they can't see us, either," Phoebe said. "Prue and I had to take off the Jemba to
see you...because the Jemba is tuned in to their frequency."
"And controlling their frequency," Kelly added.
"How do we stop this?" Piper asked.
Prue shook her head. "I don't know. They're stronger than us. I don't know where we'd even
begin."
"I do," Kelly said, "by finding Stuart. I have to know if he's...OK. And maybe he'll have an idea of
what to do. He often does."
"And we each need to have a Jemba," Piper said. "So make two more of them, Kelly."
"You can't be seen wearing the Jemba," Prue reminded them.
"Kelly and I will change out of our swimsuits," Piper said, "so we can conceal the Jemba under
our clothes when we wear it."
After putting on the Jemba again, Prue made her way towards the Northern Star Villa. She
wanted to see if any of the demons were still there and if so, what she could learn from them
about how their "test" was going.
Waiting a minute after Prue left so as not to risk being seen together, Kelly put on her Jemba and
started walking around the island looking for Stuart. The parts of conversations she overheard
from the hotel guests as she passed them sounded "off". And then she saw that the people also
didn't look normal. It was as if they weren't fully there. She thought of a fantasy TV show she had
once seen, in which the characters would slowly de‑materialize. That's how the people appeared
to her ‑ as if they were beginning to de‑materialize. As she had feared, the sound waves and the
light waves were getting out of synch.
After a few minutes of unsuccessful searching, Kelly decided to try their hotel room. Maybe not
knowing what had happened, Stuart went back there, figuring that Kelly would eventually come
there. As she walked down the path to the Beachfront Cottages on the northwest side of the
island, a woman came towards her from the opposite direction. As they passed each other, Kelly
saw the woman looking intensely at her. Then Kelly noticed the Jemba hanging from the woman's
neck.
A demon, Kelly thought. And then she realized why the demon had been looking at her. Kelly
appeared normal, not lighter as the other guests. Not as she should have appeared had the Jemba
affected her. Kelly knew she had to get out of sight. She didn't turn around to see whether the
demon was still staring at her, or worse starting to follow her. She just quickened her pace to get
to her room in the Beachfront Cottages. And hope that Stuart was waiting there for her.
As Kelly unlocked the door to the her room, she saw Stuart lying on their bed. She rushed over to
him and hugged him tightly.
"What's happened ‑" he began to say but Kelly hushed him. She went back to the door and locked
it, then quickly closed the room's louvered windows.
"How do you feel?" she asked.
"Like I'm not myself," he replied. "Like I'm not...all here."
Kelly sighed. She took Stuart's hands and sat down with him on the bed.
"You're...not all here," she said, then explained to him what had happened.
"I'm not affected because I'm a witch, just like the Halliwells aren't affected," Kelly added. "Prue
said they've seen that happen before in other situations. Something about our being witches
sometimes protects us from the affects of things like this."
She squeezed Stuart's hands in her. "We don't know how to undo this. There are too many of
them. And they're stronger than us."
"No...you won't be able to undo this yourselves," he said, then was silent for a moment. "The only
way to get this undone is to get the demons themselves to undo it."
"How?" Kelly asked.
"If this "test" wasn't successful, they wouldn't continue it," he said.
"But it is successful," Kelly replied, looking at Stuart getting lighter and fading.
"But if it wasn't a complete success," he said, "if part of it didn't work, if it didn't do everything
they wanted, they might feel the Jemba wasn't all that it was cracked up to be. Or if there was
some collateral damage to its use. In either case they might consider the Jemba a failure and
reverse its affects."
"Collateral damage?" Kelly asked. "The more damage the better as far as demons are concerned."
"It depends upon who's on the receiving end of that collateral damage," he said.
Kelly was silent as she thought over what Stuart had said. And then it started to come together in
her mind. Yes, she thought...this was their one chance. This might work. No, not might...this had
to work.
"I know what to do," she said, then explained her plan to Stuart. "I will save you," she added.
Tears came to her eyes as she hugged him.
Stop that! she commanded herself. To make this plan work I have to be thinking dispassionately,
focusing on it with a clear head. Not emotionally. If the plan works, there'll be time for emotions
afterwards.
Kelly released her hug, then lightly kissed him on his lips. "I'll save everyone," she said with
resolve as she stood up. "Stay here. Whatever happens you'll be safer here."
"You were right, Kelly," Phoebe said after Kelly explained her plan, based upon what Stuart had
said to her. "Stuart did have an idea. And now we have to set up your plan to make that idea
work."
"The demons haven't met Piper," Kelly said, "so they'll think that she's an ordinary hotel guest. A
still normal hotel guest. But we'll need more than just one person to make this work."
"Leo said he was going to drop in," Piper said. "I'll get him to come here now, and then I'll tell
him what he'll have to do. That will give us two "normal" people for the demons to see but that's
still won't be enough. There's also you, Kelly but if we had one more person we could spread out
across the whole resort. That would surely convince them. But we don't have any other witches to
call upon to help us."
"True...but we do have someone who's as close to a witch as we can get," Prue said. "I'll call her ‑
I know that she'll help us. Leo will have to bring her here without asking The Elders' permission.
And we'll need Jembas for both her and for Leo."
"I'll make them right away and have them ready," Kelly said.
"And I'll work on the spell for the second part of the plan," Phoebe said.
"How will you do that?" Piper asked. "You don't know anything about any of these demons. At
the very least you need to know one of their names."
"I know how to get that," Phoebe said. "But first I have to make up the spell."
It was about twenty minutes later when Phoebe came back into the room with the spell, written
on resort stationary, in hand. While she was gone working on it, Prue had made the phone call.
Though the person she called was willing to come and help them, she was adamantly opposed to
the way in which she would get to the island. Reluctantly, she relented and agreed to let a
whitelighter bring her.
Piper had summoned Leo and explained the role he would have to play at the resort, as well as
providing the transportation to bring the other person to White Sand Island. At first he balked at
doing that for fear that The Elders would learn of his association with her. But Piper persuaded
him ‑ blackmailed him with their growing intimate relationship, as he looked at it ‑ and he gave in
and agreed to do it.
"We know almost nothing about these demons," Piper said. "Their being close together with each
other combines their strengths, making them even stronger than they would be if we went up
against each one individually. So why do you believe that a spell that just you alone will say
would work on them?"
"What you said would be true if I was trying to vanquish them," Phoebe said, "and we know
they'd be too strong for us to be able to do that. But this spell is only to affect one of them. If I
can get one of them by himself, away from any of the others, I'm sure I can do that much. But
first we'll have to try it out to see if the spell even works to produce the affect we want."
"How do you propose to do that?" Piper asked.
"By your casting the spell on me," Phoebe replied.
"What? No!" Piper said. "This affect ‑ these symptoms ‑ we don't know what they'll really do to
you. We're not going to risk your life with this."
"We have to," Phoebe countered. "It's the only way we'll know for sure that it will work."
"As much as I don't want to do that, Phoebe's right," Prue said. "And besides, Phoebe wouldn't be
able to play her role if she's "normal."
Piper took a deep breath and exhaled. "I still don't like it," she said.
"I don't, either...but there isn't any other way to know if the Jemba won't block the spell," Kelly
said. "I'll go with you, Phoebe, to say the spell. We'll both wear the Jembas. Then you'll take
yours off...and hope that you'll still be there. You can't risk wearing it when you play your role."
"No...I'll have to take that risk," Phoebe said. "This spell just makes the affects. It doesn't make
the real changes. The Jemba has to keep me on their frequency to see them and to be seen."
Kelly and Phoebe needed a spot where they wouldn't be noticed suddenly appearing, especially as
"normal" people. They hurried to the Point Lookout Trail on the southeastern tip of the island.
There were rows of bushes behind the trail that would block their being seen. They put the
Jembas around their necks. As they expected, no one was around to see them.
"Let's do it," Phoebe said.
Kelly took a deep breath and began.
"Out of phase waves' symptoms upon Phoebe, I place
On your voice and on your appearance, let that be the case;
Your voice be tinny in a timbre rare
Your presence be lighter, as if fading into air;
When all the people normal again, we do achieve
These symptoms I've given you shall also leave."
As Kelly looked at Phoebe, she saw a change beginning to come over her. Phoebe became lighter,
similar to how the hotel guests had appeared to Kelly.
"Did it work?" Phoebe asked, then looked down at her hands.
"Yes...too well," Kelly replied. "You're even lighter than the other people. And your
voice...sounds weaker than theirs."
"I can't put degrees of symptoms into a spell," Phoebe said. "I'm just glad that it worked at all.
And if we don't stop this, the hotel guests will be just like me soon enough."
"I'll check back with you here in two hours," Kelly said, then took off her Jemba.
Phoebe walked out of the bushes, then continued up the trail towards the Northern Star Villa. Not
seeing the one for whom she was looking, she reversed direction and
headed west along the main trail towards the palm tree-lined lagoon.
Halfway there she spotted him walking up from the beach. The
demon with whom she earlier had the seductive encounter.
"Hey" she shouted to him. He recognized Phoebe and turned to walk towards her.
"Hi," he said.
"I'm sorry I wasn't waiting there for you when your meeting ended," she said. "I...suddenly
wasn't feeling that well so I went back to my room."
"Yeah...what a shame," he said, as he looked her over. He still liked as much of Phoebe as could
still be seen. "What a loss," he added, thinking of how there soon wouldn't be enough left of
Phoebe for any intimate follow up.
"A loss?" Phoebe asked innocently.
"Uh...I mean...a loss of time," he said, to cover up what he had really meant.
"I wanted to find your room but I don't even know your name. My name...is Alyssa," she said
seductively, using her real name, not wanting to risk the demon recognizing her Charmed name.
"What's yours?"
"Romlag," he replied.
"Romlag," she repeated. "That's nice...and different."
"My family is...different," the demon answered. I'm sure it is, Phoebe thought. Demons and their
families are very different.
"Why don't we pickup where we left off before," Phoebe suggested in her seductive tone.
"Yeah," Romlag said. While there's still some of you left to enjoy, he thought. "Let's go
somewhere private."
"That sounds good," Phoebe replied. She took his hand in hers and they started walking up the
path. After checking that no other demons were nearby, Phoebe made a show of weakness by
falling against him.
"Oh...I...I guess I still feel kind of strange...and weak," she said. "Maybe...I need to sit down for a
bit." Holding onto Romlag, she slowly made her way to a lounge chair on the far side of the path.
Sitting down under the bamboo thatch‑roofed "umbrella", Phoebe doubled over so that her mouth
wasn't visible, then quickly said the spell under her breath, substituting the demon's name for hers.
"Did you say something?" Romlag asked.
Phoebe slowly sat up straight. "I said I...don't know...what's wrong with me. I think I need to go
back to my room and rest. We can...get together later. Now that I know your name I can ask for
you."
"Yeah," the demon said with a sigh. Only there won't be any "later" for you, he thought. What a
shame...with such a body.
Phoebe shakily stood up, then slowly began to wobble away from Romlag. The demon watched
her for a few seconds then went back on the trail in the opposite direction.
Leo stood in Piper's room, looking for all the world like a vacationing tourist. He wore a rather
loud Hawaiian shirt, chosen because the layout of its buttons kept the shirt's opening at the collar
close together, the better to cover up the Jemba. Standing near him was the woman he had just
brought to the resort.
"Thank you so much, Jordanna, for helping us with this," Prue said.
Jordanna Amsel turned to Prue. A Federal Agent with CGIS ‑ the Coast Guard
Investigative Service ‑ Jordanna had worked with Kelly and the Halliwells to uncover a demon in
the Coast Guard a few days before. Five‑foot seven, slim with long dark hair and a semi‑round,
attractive face, Jordanna wasn't a witch. But her mother Margie Amsel was.
Jordanna didn't like whitelighters. She felt that they, along with The Elders, had abandoned her
mother after she had been terribly hurt ‑ both mentally and physically ‑ by a demon. And so she
didn't want anything to do with whitelighters, which is why she had initially refused to let a
whitelighter bring her to White Sand Island.
But after the Coast Guard demon had been vanquished, Prue and Piper had "convinced" Leo to
heal Margie's mind without The Elders' approval or even their knowledge, lest they prohibit Leo
from doing it. And now Jordanna saw that the person whom she recognized as the one who had
done the healing ‑ Leo ‑ was in fact a whitelighter. By the time they reached the resort, her
gratitude for what Leo had done for her mother had changed her attitude towards him.
"You helped me and vanquished my demon a few days ago so the least I can do is to help you
save the world from all of your demons, now," Jordanna said, with a wry smile. "And it's what I
would have been doing ‑ what I had wanted to be doing ‑ had my mother's witch powers not
skipped over me. I didn't tell my mother that I was coming here for this ‑ I didn't want her to
worry about me ‑ but I know that if she could have she would be here with you, too."
"Here's your Jemba," Kelly said, handing it to Jordanna. "Just be sure that it's covered all the
time so it can't be seen by a demon."
"Do you have a specific part of the resort where you want me to be?" Jordanna asked.
"Grab one of the bicycles and ride around the island," Prue replied. "There's a rack of them
between the lobby and the gift shop. I remember you told me how much you enjoy riding your
bike every chance you get back home in San Francisco. That will give you
visibility as a normal person. And it will also let you keep an eye on what's happening all around
the resort. Kelly, Piper and Leo will walk around the trails, the lobby, the swimming pool and any
other place where they spot a demon. The sight of the four of you being normal should give them
the impression that the Jemba is not as reliable nor as powerful as they expected it to be in
affecting people.
"And the spell that Phoebe put on that demon will make them think that the Jemba can't
accurately focus the power it does have only on people. And that the demons are not immune to
their waves being put out of phase by exposure to the Jemba's power. And they'll soon disappear
along with the people."
"If this works it will put an end to the demons' plan for unleashing the Jemba all over the world,"
Kelly said, "and make them undo its affect they've already done here in the resort in order to save
themselves."
Leo started to stroll at the northwestern end of the island. Looking for demons, he walked past
the tennis courts, which were deserted of any resort guests, past the Tranquility Spa and the art
gallery, then continued towards the Sea Feather Villas on the northern side of the resort.
Approaching the villas, he came across a female demon, who stopped in her tracks and stared at
him.
"Lovely resort, isn't it," Leo said. His clear, full voice registered a shock on the demon's face. She
continued to stare at him as he proceeded along the villas.
Piper went into the Sunset Grill, the seaside bar and restaurant on the southwestern side of the island. A
handful of hotel guests were seated at tables, trying, or at least wanting, to enjoy items from the
distinctive Caribbean menu. But Piper could tell that they were not eating much, seeming
confused as they saw and heard themselves not as they should be.
A tall dark‑haired demon, wearing his Jemba, was standing at the bar watching the guests. Piper
made a show of walking right past him and seating herself to his left at the bar, getting his
attention. Startled, the demon turned and stared at her as she appeared normal. He was even more
perplexed as he heard her order a drink ‑ in a completely normal voice.
Turning to the demon, Piper said "I know it's perhaps a bit early in the day for this...but I am on
vacation." She smiled and winked at him.
The demon just continued staring in disbelief. Then he slowly backed away from Piper, turned,
and ran out.
Prue had come up the walkway from the beach when three demons coming towards her came
quickly up the path.
"We've got to see Amdor," one of them said, grabbing Prue by the arm and turning her around to
walk with them. "Have you seen them?"
"By them...you mean the people who haven't been affected?" Prue asked cautiously.
"So you've seen them, too," the demon said. "We've got to know what's going on with this
Jemba." He said nothing more and in a minute they were at the door of the Northern Star Villa.
He opened the door and went inside, followed by Prue and the two demons who had been with
them. Three other demons were already in the dining room, pacing around and clearly upset.
After a moment the bedroom door opened and the head demon came out. "What are you all doing
here?" he demanded.
"The Jemba isn't working right, Amdor," one of the other demons answered. "There are people
here who are still completely normal."
"Impossible!" the head demon proclaimed.
"Not only is it possible but it's what's happened," a third demon said. "Your Jemba is faulty."
"I personally worked on getting the Jemba," Amdor snapped. "And from what I've seen it's
working perfectly."
"That's because you're looking at it inside your...fancy villa," the first demon said. "But get
outside and you'll see the truth."
"This was supposed to be a test of the Jemba. Well, it's failing the test," a female demon chimed
in. "I saw a perfectly normal man. And he spoke to me in a perfectly normal voice."
"A girl in the bar sat down right next to me," the tall dark‑haired demon said. "And she was as
normal as a girl could be."
"I saw a normal girl riding a bike," another demon added. "This Jemba is not what you lead us to
believe it was."
Amdor moved towards the demon who had just spoken.
"Are you daring to call me a ‑" the head demon began when the door flew open. The demon
Romlag stood in the doorway. Everyone turned towards him ‑ and then stared at him.
"Look at me!" Romlag shouted. "It did the same things to me. This Jemba...it's un‑controllable."
The female demon slowly approached Romlag. "Your voice...it's just like how the people sound."
"My voice...my body. I'm disappearing," Romlag cried. "Do something! Stop the test! The Jemba
is a failure. It doesn't discriminate as to who it changes. It doesn't affect only people. It affects
everybody. None of us are safe. Stop this test and undo the Jemba's affect now," he pleaded.
Amdor strode towards Romlag. He gave the affected demon a long look for a moment, then
turned around to the other demons.
"No!" he announced. "I am not stopping this test. Most of the people are dying. If one or two
manage to survive we can take care of them separately. And as for you, Romlag ‑ you're a weak
demon. And also maybe you've been around human females so much that they've rubbed off on
you. And that's why the Jemba affects you like a human."
"That's nonsense," Romlag protested.
"You can't let this test continue," the demon who spoke earlier said. "We're all at risk."
"No one is at risk," the head demon replied. "Except for people."
"Then come outside and see all of the people who aren't affected," the first demon challenged.
"It's more than just one or two of them."
The head demon looked at the first demon then nodded his head. "Yeah ‑ I'll come outside and
walk around. And you'll come with me, Dermitt," he said, looking at the first demon. "And you
too, Carmelita," pointing to the female demon. "And you'll see how successful we've been. As
soon as I finish what I was doing when you all barged in here and interrupted me. Now the rest of
you get out of here and get back to watching the people!"
"No...you can't let this happen to me," Romlag cried. But two demons came to the doorway,
looked at Romlag, then lifted him up and dropped him onto a lounge chair on the timber deck.
The other demons, together with Prue, filed out after them.
Letting the other demons go ahead of her, Prue casually made her way to the Point Lookout
Trail. Kelly had told everyone what time she had arranged to meet Phoebe there, which would be
in just a few minutes. As Prue approached the spot off the trail behind the bushes she saw Phoebe
slowly making her way there.
Prue was aghast at how bad Phoebe looked. "I made it," Phoebe said, her voice a hollow version
of how she normally sounded.
"Sit down and rest," Prue said as she helped Phoebe sit down on the ground. There was some
rustling from the bushes and as they turned they saw Kelly coming from behind them to join them.
She looked at Phoebe and exhaled.
"This can't go on much longer," Kelly said. "Are they convinced yet that the Jemba test is a
failure?"
"The ordinary demons are ‑ some are really frightened after they saw Romlag, the demon on
whom Phoebe cast her spell ‑ but the head demon is adamant that the test will continue," Prue
said. "He's writing off Romlag's being affected by the Jemba because he's a weak demon."
"He didn't look weak to me," Phoebe noted.
"Be that as it may, the only way we can stop it is to put the spell on a stronger demon," Prue said.
"So put the spell on me. There's no reason for him to think of me as a weak demon."
"We're lucky he thinks of you as a demon at all," Kelly said. "We can't make you the focus of his
attention. He might start asking just who you are."
"Amdor hasn't asked anything about me until now," Prue said. "We'll have to take the risk that he
still won't ask once the spell is on me."
"Amdor ‑ you know the head demon's name?" Kelly asked.
"One of the other demons mentioned it on the way to the villa ," Prue replied.
"No ‑ the strongest demon there is the head demon," Kelly said. "That's on whom we have to
place the spell. And now that we know his name we can do that."
"I...can do that," Phoebe said with some difficulty, "but how...do I get to him?"
There was another noise from the bushes. Turning, they saw Jordanna walking her bike towards
them.
"Where do we stand?" she asked and Kelly quickly brought her up to date.
"Amdor's going out in a few minutes to observe the test 'results'," Prue said.
"That's our...opportunity," Phoebe said.
"But he's not going out alone," said Prue. "Two demons will be going with him on the inspection.
We need him by himself without other demons near him or the spell won't overcome their
combined powers."
"Leave that to me," Jordanna said. "I've been riding all around the island for
half an hour and I know the resort's layout.
Just get them to the top of this sloping trail. It's near the
Northern Star Villa where he's staying so that shouldn't be hard to do. And describe the demons
so we'll know which is which."
"One of the demons is female ‑ Carmelita," Prue said, then gave descriptions of Amdor and
Dermitt.
"I'll be near the trail when he comes out," Kelly said. "I can do some warm‑up exercises in place
so I won't look suspicious staying in that one spot. When they come out and see me being 'normal'
that will draw them to me for a closer inspection."
"OK...just...help me up," Phoebe said.
"Make your way to a lounge chair and just rest there," Kelly said. "You're not up to casting
spells."
"I...I have to..." Phoebe said.
"It's OK, Phoebe. I'll cast the spell," Kelly said. "Just review it again with me now. And then we
need to get into place and be ready."
Ten minutes later, Kelly was waiting in position, doing her warm‑ups to the left of, but still visible
from, the Northern Star Villa and just to the right of the top of the Point Lookout Trail. After a
few minutes the villa's door opened and three demons walked out onto the front timber deck.
From Prue's description, Kelly recognized Amdor as being in the lead, the other two demons
slightly behind him to his right.
Kelly switched from warm‑ups to full calisthenics to get their attention.
"Look there!" Carmelita said, pointing at Kelly. Amdor turned to look at her, then started walking
over for a closer look. The two other demons followed, keeping their position to the right of, and
in deference slightly behind, Amdor. When they were about a dozen feet from Kelly, just at the
top of the trail, Jordanna came flying down the path on her bike from behind them.
Carmelita sensed someone coming and partially turned to look behind her. She saw Jordanna
weaving her front wheel back and forth, as if she couldn't control the bike. But of course, the
experienced rider that she was, Jordanna was precisely controlling the bike. She slammed hard
into Dermitt and Carmelita, sending the two demons rolling down the sloping trail. As the trail
gently turned, they could not stop themselves and continued rolling down until they were out of
sight. Physically and visually separated from Amdor, who was now alone.
Jordanna had brought her bike down sideways, "falling" off it onto the ground.
"Oh I'm so sorry...I'm...oh, what have I done," Jordanna started running off at the mouth. "I've
only started riding and I'm not very good at it. I couldn't control it...oh, I couldn't stop." She
picked herself up, turned towards the sloping trail, then looked back at Amdor. "Oh...I...what do I
now?" she added and acted flustered.
The combination of the demons rolling down the trail, Jordanna's near hysteria and the fact that
she had not been affected by the Jemba and was normal had Amdor's full attention. And therefore
he didn't notice Kelly standing behind him casting the spell on him.
Acting frightened about what she had done, Jordanna stood up her bike and got on it. "I...oh...I
can't face them," she cried and quickly rode away.
Amdor looked after her but then turned back as he heard running coming up the trail.
"That human...I'm going to kill her ‑" Carmelita, her face and clothes covered in dirt, was saying
when she stopped short. Dermitt, equally dirt covered, came up behind her, and they both stared
at Amdor.
"Look," Dermitt said, pointing at Amdor.
"What?!" the head demon demanded, then heard his own voice. It wasn't his normal voice. He
looked down at his arms and then his body. He had begun to fade.
"No! This can't be!" he shouted.
"It is," Dermitt replied.
"We warned you that we're not safe from the Jemba's affects any more than the people are,"
Carmelita pointedly said. "But you wouldn't listen. Maybe now you will."
"Romlag wasn't weak," Dermitt added. "It's your Jemba's that's at fault. And this test has proven
that."
Twenty minutes later, all of the demons, having been summoned by Amdor, were assembled once
again around the table in the Northern Star Villa. Prue, at the far end of the table, sat next to
Romlag, who stared at Amdor with barely contained anger. The rattan blinds had once again been
lowered to cover the wide picture windows.
"This test of the Jemba has not been the success I expected it would be," the head demon said.
"I've decided therefore that I have to not only end it...but we have to undo its affects on this
island."
"Only to save your own skin," Prue heard Romlag mutter under his breath.
"The test could be ended by combining the powers of our Jemba's as before," Amdor continued.
"But to undo the affects that have already happened will require...using the powers to destroy the
Jembas themselves." He opened his jacket and took hold of his larger Jemba.
"Aim your Jembas at mine as before," he said. "But this time, everyone concentrate on undoing
the Jemba's affect." Along with the other demons, Prue aimed her smaller Jemba at Amdor's large
one. She hadn't needed to concentrate on anything when they had done this the first time. But
now that concentration was required, she hoped that somehow her witch's powers would enable
her to focus her Jemba to combine with the others ‑ and destroy them all.
As the demons, and Prue, aimed their Jembas, narrow bands of light came from each, joining
together on Amdor's large Jemba. After a few seconds smoke became visible at that spot on his
Jemba. The smoke then became stronger and the large Jemba began glowing red‑white. After a
moment Amdor's entire Jemba was covered in smoke and glowed even brighter. And then it and
all of the smaller Jembas exploded. Small piles of grey dust, all that remained of the Jembas, lay
on the table in front of each of them.
Romlag looked at his hands, which still appeared as faded. "How long will this take to undo?" he
demanded.
"It...will have already begun," Amdor answered, as he looked at his own fading hands. "I expect
that I...that everyone will be back to normal within fifteen minutes."
"The next time you have a bright idea ‑ don't invite me to the party," Carmelita said as she stood
up to leave. "My answer, in advance, is 'no'". Amdor glowered at her but refrained from
admonishing her impudence. He realized that his position in the demonic underworld was now
significantly weakened after the disastrous failure of this carefully orchestrated, high profile
demonstration of his "weapon".
It was an hour later when everyone had gathered in Kelly's and Stuart's Beachfront Cottage room.
Stuart and Phoebe, along with all of the hotel guests and staff, had returned to appearing and sounding
normal. Still being thought of as a demon, Prue had been able to check on Amdor and Romlag.
The spell had returned both of them to being normal, as well, and they and the other demons were
quickly leaving the resort. Leo had started a rumor about some rare Caribbean hallucinatory plant
that the winds had brought in and deposited on the island. Happy that they were normal, and not
wanting to think any more about what had happened, the people in the resort were all too happy
to accept the rumor's explanation of what they experienced.
"And now we can have that relaxing, long weekend ‑ that we all need ‑ in this fabulous,
demon‑free resort," Piper said.
"Tranquility Spa ‑ here I come," Phoebe said enthusiastically.
"Stay with us for the rest of the weekend, Jordanna," Prue said.
"I...should get back home," Jordanna replied. "And anyway...this place is way beyond my price
range."
"Leo has gotten some time off from The Elders and he'll be, uh, sharing my room ‑ to avoid extra
expenses," Piper said with a mostly straight face. "So your transportation will be here for you after
the weekend."
"And if you don't mind sharing a room, my Palm View room has two queen beds," Prue said. "I'd
be very happy to share it with you, Jordanna.
And you wouldn't have to worry about the expenses, either.
After everything you did with the Coast
Guard demon and your dealing with the demons again today, you deserve a weekend here, too."
Jordanna exhaled. "I could...really...use a break," she said. "So...I'll take you up on your very kind
offer Prue."
"Great!" Prue said. "Right now I could use a tall drink on a beachfront lounge chair under a palm
tree. And I know just the spot. Care to join me?"
"You bet!" Jordanna replied. She picked up the few things she had brought with her and walked
out with Prue. "We'll treat you to whatever resort clothes you don't have with you," Prue said as
they headed to her room.
"Are you up to continuing our swim," Kelly cautiously asked Stuart.
"I...don't think I'm ready for that just yet," he replied. "Maybe we can get something to eat first."
"The Royal White Sand bar is open," Kelly said. "Let's grab something there on a beachfront
table."
"Perfect," Stuart replied and they headed out of the room.
"There's a complimentary small sail boat excursion in a few minutes," Piper said. "There's room
for only two people so it's rather cozy. Interested?"
"Very," Leo replied, smiling. "Let's go!"
Stuart lay under the blanket in their Beachfront Cottage bed, looking up at the woven rattan,
peaked roof ceiling. The night was pleasant and the rustic ceiling fan was set to low.
Kelly came out of the bathroom and approached the bed. She untied her short robe
and dropped it to the floor, leaving her naked as she slipped into the bed and under the covers.
"I was so worried about you, honey. Are you feeling all better now?" she asked. "Is everything
back to normal?"
Stuart turned to face her and felt the warmth of her body against his. He put his arms around her
and embraced her, pulling her body tightly to him.
"It is now," he said and smiled.