A Kind of Magic
part 4
"Do you even realize what you just did?!" Phoebe fumed.
"I saved our daughter," came the response, as Cole simply shrugged.
"You exposed us!" she yelled, pointing an accusing finger in his direction.
"But that demon froze everybody in the room. If-"
"If he would have gotten you, Alex would be gone already. But no. I suppose that that never-"
"Just calm down, all right?"
"Are you upset again, Mommy?"
"No," Phoebe said quietly, putting a hand to her head.
"Look, I wasn't about to let him take her!" Cole snapped. "And if you would even stoop so low as to think that...."
"What? It automatically makes me a bad mother?"
"It means you don't trust me."
"Don't be ridiculous, Cole. I've never trusted anyone more with my child than her own father."
"Oh really? What about your sisters?"
"Hey, leave me out of this-" Paige started.
"Shut up!" Phoebe and Cole immediately threw out in unison.
Paige's eyes grew large, as she hesitantly backed away. "Now that we've fully established whose fault this is, I...think I'm just gonna be outside." Throwing up her hands, she threw open the front door, slamming it shut behind her.
"And we can't forget the fact that your sister keeps making me out to be the ultimate evil."
"Cole, you were the ultimate evil."
"And a few years does not seem to be changing much in this family."
"I just want you to see it from my-"
"And that's all it was ever about, wasn't it? You never even gave me the luxury of a sentence when you kicked me out."
"Because nothing you were going to try to convince me of would do anything to-"
"Daddy said a bad word today," Alex spoke up, smiling.
Her parents stopped, turning toward the little girl who sat comfortably on the sofa, legs flopping up and down. She giggled, offering a glance at her father.
"What is she talking about?" Phoebe asked, shooting a glare at her husband.
"I have no idea," Cole quickly lied, looking away.
"Melinda was going to tell it to Aunt Piper," Alex mused thoughtfully.
"What word?" Phoebe asked again, hands planted on her hips.
"Dam-"
"Darn," Cole cut his daughter off. "I said darn. And that's not entirely bad, you know? In fact-"
"He said damn, Mommy," Alex proudly proclaimed. "Dammit."
"Alexandra!" she hissed.
"But he did."
"See, this is exactly what I mean, Cole. You're teaching our daughter-"
"All right. Need I say again that I just risked my life out there? Someone or something wants her. And they're just going to keep coming. And all you can do is scream at me at the top of your lungs."
"You had to use magic!" she complained.
"What is the-"
"There is something called self-defense."
"But he used his powers first," he protested.
"Okay...and now you're behaving like a child."
"I retent that," Alex offered, her small arms crossing her chest.
Cole tried to hold back a laugh, as he slowly knelt down beside his daughter on the sofa. "Resent," he whispered.
"Resent," she sounded out, smiling.
"Did you even get a good look at him?" Phoebe asked, impatiently.
"Um...completely bald, bad fashion sense, and he was...growling."
"Growling?"
"Yeah, like grrrr," Alex put in. "He was mean."
"So we'll look him up in the Book of Shadows. But first, we need to get a hold of Piper and Leo."
"Done!" Paige shouted from outside.
"Somebody definitely sent him. And he basically had powers extremely similar to Belthazor's," Cole added.
"Or like Julie's," Phoebe quipped, frowning.
"I'm never going to live that down, am I? She was an assistant, nothing more."
"Mmm hmm."
"The teacher at the school liked Daddy too," the little girl confessed brightly.
Phoebe smiled. "Is that right? Well, I guess your daddy is really using his newfound freedom to his advantage."
"Phoebe, it isn't- you know, why should I have to explain myself to you, anyway? You were the one who wanted-"
"So what are you going to do about her p-o-w-e-r-s?" Paige spoke up, her eyes focused on Alex, as she re-entered their house.
"Shoosh!" Phoebe silenced her, quickly putting a finger to her lips.
Cole cleared his throat, as he rose to his full height, nervously shifting from one foot to the other. "That's not my place, I guess."
"I need to talk to you upstairs," Phoebe told him calmly. "Paige? Can you stay with her and watch her? I'm guessing Piper and Leo should be here any minute. We'll figure everything out then. Cole?"
"Coming," he said quietly, trailing behind her.
"Can I get a snack?" Alex asked.
"No, just stay here," Paige instructed, her eyes trained on Phoebe and Cole. "They must have some serious issues," she muttered.
"But Mommy always lets me have a snack when I get home from school."
"Yes, but you didn't actually go to school today."
"Yes, I did."
"No, you didn't- look, why am I even arguing with a four-year-old? I can't believe this. Oh, great going, Paige."
"You're funny," Alex commented, laughing.
"Listen. Do...do you know what happened? I...I mean about the bad man?" she asked.
"A man wanted to take me away, and Daddy used magic to stop him," she finished.
"But you did see your-"
"Yes, I did. And I saw you with all of the pretty blue sparkles."
"Uh huh. Well, what would you say if I told you that you imagined all of that?"
"Then I'd say you were lying, Aunt Paige."
Caught, Paige sighed, plopping down next to her niece.
**********
"We can have Leo erase her memory," Cole suggested. "It won't be that bad."
"Yeah, well, it looks like she's seen too much. And I can't believe you'd even suggest something like that for your own child."
"So where can we go? I mean, chances are these demons...things have been watching for quite awhile. They knew I'd be there this morning."
"And I got my premonition," she sided, nodding.
"It's bad," Cole threw in.
"And I'm scared," she said, her voice just above a whisper.
"Hmm?" he asked, moving closer to her.
She closed the bedroom door, treading slowly over to the bed. She carefully sat her small frame down, her eyes meeting his. "I'm scared, Cole. I mean I've never felt this scared in my life. I mean...we have a daughter now, and suddenly everything's different, you know? I thought I wanted...I thought we could keep her safe, never have her find out who she is, and where she comes from. But there's no way."
"So what are you saying?" He knelt down to the floor, his brow filled with confusion.
"Maybe we should just tell her."
"Phoebe-"
"She saw you, she saw Paige, what more do you need?"
"Like, I said, we could have-"
"Cole, Alex is good. If they get her to use her powers for evil...."
"You mean like when The Source tried to get Paige to? That's impossible. We bound them."
"But it's not hard to unbind."
"Okay, look. I know I was completely against this, and I still am. But we're going to have to do something before they track us here."
"Then they know who we are," she mused. "And...after all this time trying to hide it. Almost seems like a dream, doesn't it?"
"Like it or not, The Charmed Ones will have to resurface. Our lives depend on it."
"And what about you?"
"Well, I've got no problem using my powers, remember?"
"But you're not half demon anymore. What if-"
"What if I can handle myself just fine?" he argued. "Like I did today?"
"The Book of Shadows," she suddenly concluded. "We have to see if he's there."
"Already on it," a voice sounded behind them. Piper Halliwell stood in the doorway, the Book cradled safely in her grasp. "We just got here. Paige filled us in. Thought you might need a little assistance. Well, a lot, actually. I mean, what are sisters for, right?"
Phoebe grinned, relieved. "Thanks."
"The Elders are talking," Leo confirmed. "Nothing good. There's a new evil-"
"In town, blah, blah, blah," Piper finished. "How many times have we heard this?"
Phoebe graciously accepted the Book, setting it down upon her lap. "How's Alex?"
"She's downstairs with Paige yet. And I sent Dad to get Melinda out of school early. If something is after us, they won't suspect him, will they?"
"Good thinking," her sister sided, nodding. She turned to Cole. "So what are we supposed to be looking- I mean, you're the expert here."
"And from what I hear, someone used their powers today," Piper scolded, glaring at her brother-in-law. "Big no no."
"Oh, you too?" he quipped, his eyes scanning the written pages.
"According to the Elders, Alexandra has something they obviously-" Leo began.
"Want," Cole added. "Yeah, I know. That's what he was saying. I mean, for a demon, he made pretty good conversation, especially since we're apparently supposed to know nothing about it."
"Well, did he say anything else? Phoebe pressed. "Like...a name...location..."
"No, I think he was honestly afraid of me when I attempted to vanquish his sorry ass," he joked.
"That really helps," his wife muttered, propping her hand beneath her chin.
"I'm sorry I didn't get his full address and phone number," he countered, frowning.
"Cole, please. This is no time to be taking this lightly," Piper warned. "We could all be-"
"Got him," he interrupted, quickly pushing the Book back into her hands.
The page revealed a carefully sketched representation of the demon that had attacked. Clothed in purely black attire, he was portrayed with his teeth bared, revealing a surprisingly sharp set of fangs. His skin was fairly pale in color, and his head was completely void of hair. The carefully scripted type read 'Minion to The Dark' in bold lettering.
"Looks like a vampire to me," Piper concluded, shrugging. "I don't get it."
"But he's not," Phoebe said, her voice just above a whisper, as her eyes traveled over the black print. "Not much is known on this creature who serves The Dark. His methods of attack are rather unpredictable, as he does not follow a specific pattern. Is commonly known to prefer the night to day. Has the ability to throw energy balls and flames, is capable of shimmering, and is loyal to his cause." She frowned. "Well...I'm still confused, and this tells us absolutely nothing."
"No," Cole stopped her, pausing a moment. Deep in thought, his eyebrows knitted themselves together in tight concentration. He glanced briefly at Phoebe, his eyes narrowing. "The Dark," he mused quietly.
"Yees...like the light. It's probably just a common term for ni-"
"It's a woman," he brought forth. "Well, I think she's a woman, anyway. I'm...not exactly entirely sure, but-"
"What? What are you talking about? Speak."
"In all the time I worked for The Source, I never knew her true name. But, unfortunately, she is very real. And very dangerous. And if she's found something she can use in Ally....God, I've never even seen her face. All these years and I’ve never seen her face."
"Wait. Slow down. What is she? Is she an evil witch, sorceress, enchantress, what?"
"Um...aren't those all the same thing basically?" Piper threw in.
"First things first," Leo spoke up. "You'll somehow need to explain to Alexandra who she is. And being the age she is? I don't know how well she'll deal with it. It's not something that can be ignored. The Elders don't approve, of course, but they say there's most likely no other way around it."
"Yes, honey, and we thank you for stating the obvious. But I'm sure that crossed their minds a long time ago," Piper told him.
Phoebe looked at Cole, her eyes meeting and holding his painful gaze. He nodded, slowly, taking a deep breath. "I'm ready if you are."
"I want you to tell her," Phoebe whispered.
"But this isn't really-"
"Cole, she- you just have a way with her. I've seen the way she relates to you on a certain level...she trusts you. Completely. And- look, I just know she'd probably understand it better if it came from you."
"This changes everything," he sided reluctantly. "I hope you realize that."