A Kind of Magic
part 16
"Did you imbeciles not hear me when I told you to guard these doors? Did I stutter?!"
A short minion slowly took a step back, his mouth fumbling for words. He gently fingered the athame in his hands, tossing it from side to side. "We...we've been discussing things, boss. You know?" He swallowed hard. "And all votes accounted for, we really don't want to die a horrible death at the hands of The Charmed Ones. We'd only go down in history as being seriously pathetic."
"Oh, so that's how you think, is it?" The Dark laughed silently to herself, her face transpiring into a large smile. She studied him for a moment, hands on her hips. "You work for me," she snapped. "And if any of you are questioning it now, I'll just vanquish you right on the spot. Understood?" She sighed. "So if you don't want to be dust-"
"Why do you even waste your time on them?" a voice added quietly. "They're useless."
"Why, Julie. So nice of you to show."
"Cole Turner really has reached a new low," she grumbled. "He's no fun anymore."
"Out playing, were you?"
"And I almost had him in my grasp too," she complained.
"Well, whatever went wrong?"
"Those stupid little mind games of his. He used them to break the damn spell."
"Mind games, hmm? Well, that's new."
"He tried to kill me," she told her adamantly.
"Well, certainly you didn't expect a warm welcome."
"Oh, it isn't over between me and the little witch yet."
"And...what's this I'm hearing? She's not dead yet?" She frowned. "What is the-"
"You tell me," Julie snapped. "You had all the chances in the world."
"Look, when the girl is fully-"
"She's right, boss," another minion piped up. "She should have been out of the way ages ago."
"What?" The Dark returned, immediately turning on him.
"About...about the girl. Her parents still live- one of them is a Charmed One. Surely you knew this."
"Glad someone's catching on," Julie offered, giving her blonde hair a brief shake.
"And will they really matter when all hell comes crashing down on them?"
The minion bravely stepped forward, crossing his tiny arms over his chest. "And what if they win? What then?"
"You're really asking for a sorry fate, aren't you?" she growled. "How dare you."
"Well, what do you expect us to do?" Julie continued. "All you do is sit on your ass, stalling your plans. How-"
"Are you-"
"The Underworld needs fresh blood. And it's not going to be that little girl."
"What are you saying?"
Julie snickered. "Guess I'll be taking over."
"You little bitch," The Dark hissed, her face a mask of confusion. "What gives you the right to claim power you know nothing about?!"
"I'm a fast learner."
"You used me."
"No, don't you have that backwards?" she protested. "All I did was your bidding."
"You try my patience, Julie. You and that mouth of yours."
"Greatness doesn't last forever. Look at the last Source. Beaten by The Charmed Ones- his essence consumed by a helpless former demon. What a way to go down in history. I'm sad to admit that you'll soon be joining him."
"Not if I can help it," her opponent snapped.
"We're almost there!" a voice suddenly rang out into the distance, as running footsteps became faint. "Hurry! Dammit, Paige! Over here! Paige!"
"Um...boss?" the petite minion again proclaimed, shrinking back a few steps.
"That's bad," another echoed, following the other.
"Guard the doors!" The Dark shouted. "Now!"
"Actually, I think this is more convenient," Julie pressed, grinning.
"You say another word, and I will not hesitate to-"
"You're just as helpless as them," she teased. "The little girl is your only advantage. You know that as well as I do. Stop fooling around already."
"And all this- for a petty little showdown with that witch? Am I hearing this correctly?" The Dark accused, raising her voice.
"I told you. I want power. I want what should have been mine when the Seer was in control. You owe it to me."
"I owe you nothing," she hissed. "Of course, if you now want instant death, it's currently being arranged."
"You're still bluffing."
"Am I?"
A flash of blue sparkles appeared before them then, as Paige orbed into view, Piper at her side. "Okay. Looks like it's time to party." She scrunched up her nose. "Sorry we were late and all, but we couldn't find the right place. Lack of directions. Forgive us?"
"You!" The Dark shouted, her eyes flashing red. Impulsively, she tossed a single hand into the air, watching as an invisible prison immediately trapped the two of them in place. "Don't think I haven't anticipated your little-"
"Aw. Now why does she gotta go and use the cage on us again?" Piper complained, frowning. "We were going to be good, we promised. Ugh. Melinda?! Leo?! Dammit!"
"You deal with them!" she instructed Julie. "I'm going to finish off the ritual!"
Julie smiled. "Good luck." Narrowing her eyes at the two Charmed Ones, she suddenly raised her eyebrows. "Okay. This could have some potential in it just the same. Defenseless, are we?"
The short minion cleared his throat. "Should we kill them now?"
"Go after The Dark. Leave them to me. The little witch and her husband will be going for the girl. You know they'll try just about anything to get their baby back."
"But you wanted-"
"Go," she repeated, sternly.
He nodded. "As you wish."
Piper let out a helpless yell, gritting her teeth. "We should have anticipated this."
Paige shrugged, rolling her eyes. "I know."
"Oh, I am so going to blow her sorry ass up. The hell with- wait a minute....isn't she supposed to be dead?"
"Yeah, well, magic's a funny thing," Paige added. "Just not what it's cracked up to be anymore. Personally, I keep hoping for a weekly paycheck, but I think that's asking them for too much."
Leo and Melinda orbed in at that moment, catching their captor offguard. Julie went to throw both hands out, a ball of green sailing their way. Leo pulled his daughter out of the way just in the nick of time, bringing her to the floor.
"That was....new," Piper quipped, clearly surprised. "And honey. It's about time! What were you two doing back there?"
"Orchestrating a plan," Leo managed. "And...I think you guys are going to need a miracle right about now to free yourselves. Maybe next time you'll listen to me."
"It's always the men," Paige pointed out, shrugging.
Julie smiled. "You know, I've got nothing against any of you. It's just Turner's wife that irritates the hell out of me."
"Yeah, she has that effect on most people," Paige retorted sarcastically. "Bet you weren't too happy when she killed ya before though, were you?"
"But if leading her to me, means eliminating all of you, well, then, I've got no problem with that." Casually, she sent a few more green globs of energy their way.
Melinda instinctively threw up her hand, easily deflecting the blows. The little girl grinned, clearly shocked, and began to confidently hold her own against the demon. "Mom, look!"
"That's great, sweetie. Kick the bit- I mean, keep it up!"
**********
"Well, shall we begin?"
"Leave me alone!" Alex screamed. "Mommy!!! Daddy!!!"
"Oh, they may be getting closer by the minute, but your pleas are of no use to them now. You only have one choice."
"Mommy!!!"
"And for the last time, do stop that dreadful whining. If you knew-"
"I want to go home!" Alex snapped.
"And I'd like to rule the world in a matter of hours. I'm afraid your request is beneath mine."
"Boss, if you're going to get on with it-"
"Yes, yes of course. Do not rush me!" she hissed, glaring at the minion to her side.
"We should take this to the ritual chamber-" another started.
"I've no time to get through that. It ends here, and now."
"I'm afraid you have no idea just how right you are," a deep voice stated calmly, as the figure shimmered into view before her, his wife at his side.
"You...are too late," she told him eagerly.
"Daddy!" Alex shouted.
"I don't think you want her at all," Cole said softly, his eyes trained upon hers. "In fact, I have reason to believe you never did."
"Cole, I should have destroyed you a long time ago," The Dark admitted, clearly torn. "Only-"
"Only you fell in love with my husband," Phoebe quipped angrily, her arms going across her chest. "Granted, we were probably separated at the time-"
"Honey. Calm down," Cole added, laughing, a grin spreading onto his handsome features. "No need to get violent."
"I have no idea what you could possibly be getting at," The Dark scoffed, throwing her hair back over her shoulders.
"It ends here....now. Me and you. What do you say? Hmm? Want to take me on?"
"And what would it solve?" she sneered. "I can't......forces of the pure, forces of night-"
"You don't want to do that," he interrupted, cutting her off. "It's me you want."
"Stop saying that!"
"Why? Too complicated to believe you could have fallen-"
"I have not fallen for you! I gave you a choice! Which is more than I ever gave your daughter."
"You don't even have a heart," he whispered.
"Stop it," she threatened.
"Let the girl go," he urged. "Deal with me. Again."
She turned away from him then, her hands clenched into tight fists. Her flawless complexion drew in the shadows of her surroundings, clouding her expression. She briefly shook her head, taking a few steps back. "Forces of the pure....forces of night....bring the power to me-"
"Alright. You know what? That does it." Phoebe wasted no time in throwing an expertly staged kick her way, sending her sprawling to the ground. "That's making up for the damage back at the cabin," she stated, clearly proud of herself.
"Phoebe-" Cole started, as he simply tossed out his hand, watching as the minions were engulfed in flames, reaching out for his wife with the other.
"What?! What's wrong?" she complained, rolling her eyes.
"Quiet," he hissed.
"What?" she whispered back. "What's going-"
"Why do I just get the feeling we were tricked?"
"Tricked? Tricked how? That's-"
"Phoebe."
"But Alex is right...." Phoebe whipped around to face the magical prison she'd spotted on her way in. But nothing but air lay in its place, and the bars were bare.
The image of The Dark quickly vanished from her place upon the floor, fading to a deep nothingness. Cole frowned. "Alright. What the hell is she playing at?"
"But Alex was right there," Phoebe said again, confused, as she knit her eyebrows in tight concentration. "I saw her."
"I did too. But this was-"
"The wizard," Phoebe accused.
"Wizard?" he returned, just as puzzled.
"Remember that power he had? You know, the one where could duplicate himself?"
He shook his head. "Phoebe, he probably couldn't have gotten out more than two sentences that weren't remotely alike. She-"
"She's been building on her powers. Maybe-"
"Now if there were no demons above ground, that means they all have to be around down here somewhere yet. Right? Those that we haven't vanquished? It's the only thing that makes sense."
"So where's Alex?" Phoebe asked fretfully.
"I don't know."
"Well, you sure as hell don't know a lot," she roughly sided, crossing her arms in front of her.
"Phoebe, don't take this out on me-"
"Couldn't you have detected that she wasn't-"
"Like I told you before, I can't get through her shielding activities. She's using them to their full extent to keep us out."
"So...."
"So if she still wants me, she'll be waiting for me."
"But she's probably almost finished that ritual on Alex by now, which means..."
His eyes softened, as he met her tired glance. He slowly nodded, taking a step closer to her. "I know what it means, Phoebe."
"Cole, dammit, I just want her back. I want her back so bad, and I can't even find her-"
"I know. And like I said, we will. It's only a matter of time." He winced, his eyes threatening to cloud themselves with defeat. "You know....I....a part of me actually feels like I'm dying inside, Phoebe....and...and I can't do anything to stop it. I just can't- and I want to. Believe me. I just miss her so much."
She fell into his embrace, as his arms tightly secured themselves around her waist. "I love you," she whispered.
"And I never doubted it."
"Not even for a minute?" he teased. "That's funny, because-"
"No, I mean it."
"We have to get to the others," he reminded her.
"Well, if she's looking for one hell of a fight.....she's now got one."
**********
"It's time," The Dark whispered, as she moved closer to the frightened little girl seated in her prison. Alex flinched, wiping a small tear from her eyes. She stared at the woman before her, her eyes widening. Shaking her head, she began to whimper, slowly rocking back and forth ever so slightly. "Welcome. All of you. Pleasure so many of you decided to show. Believe me, you won't be disappointed. Tonight, you are about to witness something truly extraordinary...something- of the Halliwell line." She smiled, pulling back the hood of her cloak, spreading her hands out before her. "Something that will bring them to an end once and for all. No more fear, no more stopping us. A magic more powerful than The Source rests in this small child alone, and I am about to bring it to the surface. Chaos will reign on Earth, and our kind will be supreme. So join me on this generous occasion. Patience is clearly not of the essence, and it's about time we make those witches suffer. Just as they've made the demonic race pay over the years. My friends....it ends now."