"Death Undone" (R) - Chapter Five
"DEATH UNDONE"
Chapter 5
The two witches and the mambo teleported into the middle of a small alley. "Well, here we are," Paige declared. "Only I don't see anyone."
Harry added, "Perhaps we got here before everyone else."
Cecile glanced around. An uneasy feeling struck her that this was not the alley she had seen in her vision. "Or perhaps . . . this is the wrong alley." She walked toward the alley's edge and glanced to her right. The Vodou priestess saw police cars and what seemed to be two ambulances converge at the edge of another alley, two blocks away. "We're definitely in the wrong alley."
Both Harry and Paige joined her. "Shit!" the redhead exclaimed.
"Don't worry," Paige assured them. "I'll just orb us to the other one."
"Make sure that we're not seen," Cecile instructed. She took one of Paige's hands. Harry took the other. Seconds later, she orbed them out of the alley.
They found themselves materializing next to a dumpster in another alley. They also found Darryl Morris and Scott Yi, standing over an inert figure. "Oh my God!" Paige cried, as she rushed toward the two detectives. "We're too late!"
Cecile and Harry joined them. The inert figure turned out to be a dead tramp. "Shot twice," Scott commented. "One to the heart and the other to the head. Very professional." He paused to stare at the newcomers. "What are you guys doing here?"
"Good question," Darryl added. He stared at Cecile. "Olivia had never said anything about you visiting San Francisco."
A sigh left Cecile's mouth. "That's because Olivia doesn't know I'm here. I assume that you're looking for her."
"Yeah," Darryl replied. "She disappeared on us, after we got here. Only, we found this guy."
Scott added, "And blood stains over here." He stood in a spot, not far from the dead man. "Along with shell casings."
"Oh my God! She must have shot Olivia by now!" Harry cried.
The two detectives stared at the male witch. "Okay, what's going on?" Darryl demanded.
"We're from the future and we'll explain it all later," Cecile replied curtly. "First, we've got to find Olivia." A small murmur or groan breached her psyche. It sounded as if the sound came from . . . She walked away from the others. Again, the sound permeated her mind. Cecile thought she heard Paige call out her name, but she ignored the latter. Then Harry joined her.
"You heard it too," the red-haired witch commented. "The voice." He stared at Cecile with wide eyes. Olivia's eyes.
The pair made their way to a junction where the alley met with another that ran horizontally. Cecile spotted a dumpster near the edge of the other alley. "Over there!" she cried. With Harry, she rushed toward the dumpster. So did Paige and the two detectives. The Vodou priestess peeked inside the dumpster and found a pale and bloodied Olivia. "She's over here!"
The others raced toward the dumpster. Scott reached it first and peered inside. "Oh shit! She's barely alive. Step back. I'll get her out." Scott held out his hands and murmured a few words in Mandarin. Then to Cecile's surprise, Olivia's body levitated out of the dumpster and settled on the ground, next to it.
Cecile and Harry immediately knelt beside the badly wounded woman. "Oh God! Livy!" Harry exclaimed. "Livy?"
"Ha . . . Har-r-r-ry," Olivia whispered. Blood gushed out of her mouth. She began to cough.
Cecile cried, "Paige!" The Charmed One knelt by her side. "You're half-whitelighter, right? You can heal her."
Paige's dark eyes grew wide with doubt. "I don't know. I mean . . . I'm only half-whitelighter. I can't heal like Leo."
"Well, you have to try," Harry insisted. "You know Livy won't make it to the hospital."
"Maybe we should just . . ."
Darryl cried out, taking everyone by surprise. "Hey! Paige! Just do it! If you can't heal her, we'll just take her to one of the ambulances."
A sigh left Paige's mouth. Cecile held her breath as the Charmed One knelt beside the wounded Olivia. A light emitted from the younger woman's hands, as she placed them over the redhead's gunshot wounds. Seconds later, Olivia's body jerked, as she inhaled deeply. Cecile noticed that the gunshot wounds and the blood gurgling from Olivia's mouth disappeared.
Harry helped his sister to her feet. Paige stood up. "Oh my God!" she exclaimed. "I actually did it! I actually managed to heal someone on my own!"
"That's great," Olivia murmured. She paused to stare at Harry. Then her gaze fell upon the Vodou priestess. "Cecile? What are you doing here in San Francisco?"
Before she could control herself, tears pricked at Cecile's eyes. She enveloped her best friend into a bear hug. "If you only knew," she whispered back.
"Knew what?" Olivia withdrew from her friend's embrace and gave the latter a wary look. "Did you have a vision of me being killed . . . back in New Orleans?"
A sigh left Harry's mouth, as he drew Olivia into his arms. "You did die, Livy," he said. "In another timeline. Paige, Cecile and me . . . we're from the future. Nearly two weeks from now."
A long silence followed, as Olivia stared at her brother with wide eyes. "I was dead?"
"Yeah."
Darryl exclaimed, "Damn! No wonder you guys knew where to find her."
"We didn't know," Paige replied. "At first. In fact, in the other timeline, you and Scott," she nodded at the third police officer, "were able to find Livy. But she . . . um, she . . ."
Cecile let out a gust of breath. "She had died on the way to the hospital."
Harry picked up the story. "The killer . . ."
"My other self," Olivia added. Everyone stared at her. "It was my other self who killed . . . I mean, nearly killed me. She wants the Aingeal Staff for herself." The redhead glanced at her right hand. "She even took my wedding ring. And my keys."
Her friend's last words reminded Cecile that they had another person to save. "Oh my God! Cole! We have to get back to your place!"
"What?" Now Olivia looked upset. "What are you talking about? What about Cole?"
Harry explained. "If your other self is the killer, then she'll run into Cole at the penthouse and kill him. Strip away his powers and stab him with a knife."
"Oh Goddess! I have to get home." Olivia turned to the Charmed One. "Paige, could you give us a lift?"
"Sure thing," Paige replied. "Just grab hold of me."
Darryl cried out, "Wait a minute! What about the two other bodies we found . . . and this guy?" He pointed at the dead tramp.
"Just tell everyone that you had sent Olivia on an errand," Scott suggested. He nodded at the three witches and Cecile. "Need any help?"
Olivia shook her head. "I don't think so. We'll be fine." Seconds later, Paige teleported herself, the two McNeills and Cecile out of the alley.
END OF CHAPTER 5