“Aunt Phoebe!” Polly yelled.

“Mommy! Nooooo!”

The massive black, fire filled demon backed Phoebe up against the wall, holding her their with it’s long, slimy tentacles. She tried to scream, but was paralysed with fear. The demon inched closer to her, scorching her skin with the licks of flames that shot from every part of it’s grotesque body.

“Mommy!” Pippa screamed again and rushed forward blindly. She was roughly pulled back by her older cousin. The three of them cowered on the stairs, watching in wide-eyed horror as Phoebe was engulfed in flames.

Tears flooded down their faces as the watched. Priya, the oldest, shielded her little cousins’ eyes and hugged them both close. The demon had not seemed to notice they were there, for that they were thankful, but that didn’t help the situation at all.

This was it. Priya knew what was coming. She had watched before as her own mother, and other aunt had perished fulfilling their destiny, each time feeling that little bit more power course through her.

She had been Polly’s age when her own Mom had died. She was only young, but she knew. She felt in her gut the power that had coursed through her and knew that Pippa, despite her grief, felt the same thing now.

The demon, that they had tried so hard to kill, was winning. But yet, it could never truly win the fight between good and evil. The fight would go on, it would never stop. And soon the burden would be passed to her and her cousins.

“Priya.” Pippa buried her head deeper into her cousin’s abdomen, unable to watch the events that were unfolding before them. Polly still watched, but Priya felt her grip her hand tighter. She was strong, stronger than she knew, they all were, but not quite as strong as they would become.

The whole room glowed a brilliant orange. As the flames grew, and the heat became more intense, they could feel the warm glow on their cheeks. Pippa sobbed harder, clinging to her cousin’s waist as tightly as she could.

The light grew and grew until everything was filled with a mystical fire. They couldn’t see anything now; only hear one last sickening scream as the battle ended. They all shut their eyes tightly, they knew what had happened.

As the light subsided, the demon disappeared. Phoebe’s lifeless body lay against the far wall. As they stared in disbelief, her spirit rose up, surrounded by light. The white glow filled the room, traveling towards where the three girls stood.

Pippa still had her head turned but Priya and Polly stood strong. They looked at each other with a determined stare. “You know what’s coming, right?” Priya asked in a whisper. Polly nodded.

The light came further and further towards them. It split into three and engulfed their whole beings: Mind, body and soul. Priya gasped. She could feel the power. More intense than she had ever felt it before. Both her hands were gripped tightly and all three of them shared one feeling.

Then everything went quiet. Save for the broken objects around the room and Phoebe’s body slumped against the wall, everything was back to normal. Priya collapsed with exhaustion and leant her head against the banister.

She took a deep breath and sat up again, looking from one of her cousins to the other.

It was now their job. Where once their mothers fought the demons, it was now their job. They were the most powerful witches in the world, Priya realised and a small smile creeped over her face.

Pippa tugged her sleeve and looked up at her. There was terror in her eyes, worry about what was to come, but she put her arm around her reassuringly and slowly, all three of them stood up with pride.

Now it was up to them. To save innocents, to fight the forces of evil and to follow on the families tradition. It was up to them, the new generation, to follow on where their parents had left off.

They were the Charmed ones. The Power of Three.