The War on Witches by Paul Ruditis Page B

can get here fastest.”
    â€œTime to get a move on,” Phoebe said, taking her sisters by the hand.
    â€œThere’s one more place I want to stop before we go home,” Paige said as they orbed out of the dorm room.
    â€œA janitor’s closet?” Piper asked as she took in their surroundings. “Really?”
    â€œNext time you need to travel around the country, catch a flight and then you can enjoy those spacious airline seats.” Paige pulled her foot out of the bucket she’d orbed herself into and listened at the door to make sure no one was outside.
    It was after hours at police headquarters in Philadelphia, but she didn’t want to risk running into anyone on the graveyard shift. The janitor’s closet was a better choice than orbing the three of them into a bathroom stall. Last thing she needed was to be pulling her foot out of a toilet.
    â€œI can’t believe we’re breaking into a police station,” Phoebe said.
    â€œYeah, because our frequent visits to the Underworld are normal things people do,” Paige replied.
    â€œDo we even know where they keep the evidence?” Piper asked.
    â€œCan’t be that hard to figure out. We just need to find a directory.” Paige peeked out the door. The coast seemed pretty clear, except for the camera pointed luckily in the other direction. “Oh, Piper.”
    Paige pointed out the camera and Piper froze the hallway. This gave them plenty of time to escape the janitor’s closet and search for something that would lead them in the right direction without the camera revealing they were in the hall. Whoever was looking at the video feed from that camera would be treated to an image that didn’t change while they made their way past.
    With each turn, Piper froze the halls, keeping the cameras locked on images free of the Charmed Ones. The night shift kept the building active enough that they probably wouldn’t be noticed mixed in with everyone else that was actually supposed to be there. The real concern was later when the police checked the tapes. Considering that evidence was about to go missing, the Charmed Ones wanted to make sure there was no record of their being on the premises after the fact.
    â€œWhat do you all make of this kid wanting to protect Alysha?” Paige asked. “Love at first sight or something else?”
    â€œMaybe he’s stuck in the family business,” Phoebe suggested. “And he doesn’t want to have any part of hurting witches. Could’ve been his dad with the gun.”
    â€œIf these people going after witches are descendants of Melinda Warren’s jurors, could this have something to do with us?” Piper asked as they continued their search.
    â€œMaybe. Maybe not.” Phoebe waited for Piper to freeze the stairwell before they made their way to the next floor up. “They were the same jurors for all the trials. You know, the ones that condemned all the women that had no power to defend themselves.”
    â€œTheir descendants have had over three hundred years to get over the fact that the trials were an embarrassment to their families and a dark spot in our history,” Paige said softly as their footsteps and voices echoed through the empty stairwell. “So why the hell are they going after real witches now?”
    â€œI guess that’s the point,” Phoebe said. “Imagine your family spent centuries living down the fact that your ancestors murdered women accused of practicing witchcraft when everyone now believes there’s no such thing as witches. Then you find out that—
guess what
—witches are
real. They could be in this for payback.”
    â€œIt’s possible,” Piper said as she froze the hallway outside the stairwell. “It just doesn’t make a lot of sense.”
    Paige held the door open for her sisters. “Need I remind you that we’re breaking into a police station to steal