Questions
Paige shifted her car from drive to park slowly, watching as the small yellow indicator shifted in front of each letter. There was something off about the entire situation. Actually it wasn't just some thing; there were many things. First, on her lunch break she had decided to check in on Cole, which wasn't as strange as she would've preferred. In the past there had been times when she had gone out of her way to talk to him, or rely on him. And at every other opportunity she had hated him, and it had all been for Phoebe, which is why she and Cole had seen eye to eye, or hadn't. Secondly, there was the 'out of the kindness of her heart' sentiment that drove her just across downtown to the penthouse. As a social worker her lunch break was short and rare already. And yet… probably the strangest thing was that unlike every other time when she came calling, this didn't feel like it was going behind her sisters' backs. It felt normal. She was stopping by to see if her brother in law needed any help with his move. Paige pressed the up button on the elevator, frowning. Was Cole still her brother in law? She shrugged off the question. The way things seemed, if he wasn't, then he would be soon… again.
Paige felt the elevator climb to the top floor, nervousness rising up into her throat. Part of her felt immediately awkward, like she had stepped over some threshold, out of place, out of step. She grinned at her blurry reflection in the elevator doors. No, Paige thought to herself, that would come after the doors opened.
As if on cue, the elevator came to a stop and the doors opened quietly. Beyond, Paige could see the condo, familiar somewhat, filled with memories definitely. However, it didn't look like Cole was moving out; it looked more like he was moving in. Some tables were empty, their surfaces wiped clean, but the tables were still there. The furniture, as far as she could tell, the rugs, the curtains, were still in place. There was a handful of medium sized boxes crowded together in the foyer and that was it. That was what Cole seemed content to leave the place with. A moment of sadness swept over Paige as she slowly exited the elevator, and it must have shown on her face, because as Cole stepped into view from the bedroom a mirrored expression overtook the smile he had initially.
"Paige?" he asked, stepping forward.
"Hey, Cole," She replied, then remembered why she was there. "Oh,"
"Is something wrong?" he interrupted. She shook her head.
"No, no I was on my lunch break and I work around the corner. I just thought," she paused for a moment. "I'm trying to welcoming," she said, hoping that made as much sense out loud as it did in her head.
"Oh," Cole said, looking around "Right. Good," Paige could see it hadn't made as much sense, but Cole seemed content to be confused and not worried. Paige furrowed her brow.
"I'm just trying to do my part. You know, we all are working to put things back on track," Cole's eye contract told her he understood that a little better. Still, she thought it best to change the subject. "So, this all you're taking?" she gestured at the boxes. Cole nodded.
"I looked through the entire place, last night and again today and this was all that I could scrap together that I actually wanted to keep," he folded his arms over his chest and stared down at what amounted to this part of his life somberly.
"You want to help me move it to my car," Paige began, slowing as she came across another awkward topic. Amazing how many of those there were. Cole looked down at Paige, grinning and shaking his head.
"I'm not moving into the manor," he said. "I mean, I'm getting a place, more low key, more in my mortal price bracket. For now," he added so it sounded less final. Paige nodded.
"Oh. Ok, well, Phoebe hadn't told us what she had decided, or, what you two had decided. Is Phoebe, I mean is Phoebe helping, and when, where are you going?" Cole shrugged, turning away from her.
"I can move things along with the lease with little difficulty. This weekend, probably. Leo and Piper offered to help; they're going to let me have some of their old furniture,"
"I can understand why you'd want to move quickly," Paige said. She really couldn't, she realized. It was one of those things you just said, not because you understood, but because the other person seemed to need it. Paige opened her mouth to speak, looking up and paused when two figures shimmered into view. Each was mountainous, with rippling muscles and dark, tattooed features. They grinned mouths filled with sharp teeth. Cole stepped in front of the nearest one and Paige, directly into a backhand that sent him flying into her, and they both slammed against the elevator doors with a thud.
"Witch," the attacker said to his accomplice. There was a question in his voice that Paige heard, though it was less loud than the fire of her bruised body.
"Kill her," she heard the other one say. "Belthazor is to be brought alive," Paige tried to budge Cole. Fortunately, or maybe unfortunately, he was conscious and rose, his posture threatening.
"Alive," the one that had struck him before said "I can do alive," he grinned. As he gestured, flexing one of his huge arms, Paige heard, and felt, Cole inhale as he drew the demon's power into himself and with it, an energy ball forming in his hand. Before the demon could reply, Cole had thrown the offending magic at the demon, who exploded in raging flame. The other stiffened visibly, but then summoned his own energy ball. From the floor, Paige called out, orbing it to herself. At the same time Cole summoned another energy ball, smirking wickedly. The demon shimmered out almost instantly, the two deadly spheres streaking through the place where he once stood.
"You know," Paige said, letting Cole help her up. "I was just thinking how maybe it was a bit sudden for you to be leaving this place behind, that maybe I didn't understand, ow," she rotated her shoulder. "Not anymore," she looked into Cole's face at the lack of chuckle or laugh. She watched him visibly relax and the edges of her perception tingled as she felt the malevolent energies melt from his body. "Uh,"
"It looks like they've started back up," Cole said suddenly, looking down at the spot where the first one had been standing.
"Yeah, and they,"
"You should probably tell your sisters," Cole interrupted her, moving over and scooping up two of the boxes, then walking over to the elevator and pushing the button.
"Cole," Paige said.
"Paige, I know," he replied, not turning to face her. "The faster I'm out of this place, the better. Tell your sisters. Once I get these in my car I'll go to the manor," He stepped through the doors once they opened, turning finally. Paige felt indecisiveness take her.
"This is weird. Why would they want you, Cole?" old conclusions crowded the back of her mind.
"Soon as I find out, I'll let you know," he said, and the elevator doors closed, separating the two of them. Paige couldn't see, but knew Cole was sinking, descending, out of sight. She considered orbing to the manor directly, but Cole would be back up, and he even if he wasn't defenseless, it still didn't feel safe. Paige pulled out her cell phone and began dialing.
Phoebe reflected on how everything had been fine that morning, and then suddenly, inexplicably, they weren't. The premonition had bent her double at the foot of the stairs; at first she had thought that since it had been so long since she'd had one it was just the shock, but she had had to accept that it was also particularly powerful. A portent. Piper had been near and had opened her mouth to ask about what Phoebe had seen, but Wyatt had begun crying, loudly in such a way that he had never done before. Phoebe had been worried, but she wasn't sure she could have, would have, told Piper about what she had seen. Phoebe hadn't wanted to accept the images herself, but she had grown stolid to prevent them from happening.
She was seated at the kitchen table across from Piper drinking tea for comfort and to pass the time. Leo had been summoned by the Elders not long after Wyatt had begun crying. So much had happened in such a short time; the Charmed ones had long left off believing in coincidence. Eventually Wyatt had quieted, so there had been little but tea stirring and silence. Instead of the tinkling of orbing, though, what shook them from their reverie was the house phone ringing. Piper rose from her seat, being closest. Phoebe watched her go, hoping suddenly that it was Cole.
"Paige," Piper said, after speaking a greeting into the receiver. "what were you doing at Cole's?" Phoebe watched her sister turn to look down at her at the table, then her face went from confused to concerned. Phoebe was standing near Piper and the phone before she realized she had moved. "Are you ok? Is Cole ok? Right, good," Piper looked Phoebe in the face and whispered that Cole was on his way to the manor. "Yeah, Paige? Ok, well did they say anything else? I'm sure of it, too, things have been happening here. Well, we're not completely sure, Leo went, yeah," Phoebe breathed, putting her hands on her hips to open her lungs further, as she began pacing. "Ok, I'll see you soon," she heard her sister hang the phone up.
"Paige coming home early?" Phoebe asked, not looking at her sister.
"Yeah," Piper said only; she was thinking just like Phoebe was thinking. "There was an attack. Demons. Paige said they mentioned wanting Cole for something, alive," her voice was empty. Phoebe wasn't ready to admit it, but she had some inkling as to why.
The air glowed briefly as Leo orbed into the kitchen, looking agitated.
"Leo," Piper said. Phoebe watched him look from one sister to the other.
"It's happened," he said, listening for a moment for Wyatt. "A new evil has risen, and the vast majority of the underworld is behind this new force, whatever it is,"
"Cole and Paige were attacked. The demons said they wanted Cole for something," Phoebe looked at the white lighter, hoping something he had learned would help her prevent her vision from happening. Leo frowned, taking all the information in.
"Attacked?" he looked around as if either or both parties were around
"They're fine," Piper answered.
"Do you know why this new Source," Phoebe paused, "or whatever it is, do you know why it would want Cole?" Leo shook his head.
"I could only guess it has something to do with the athame, but it could be something else. The elders are worried, there have been portents all over the world; they want us to be on our guard,"
"Did they say anything else, something, I don't know, helpful?" Piper was reacting with aggression while Phoebe could feel herself receding into numbness. She shook herself visibly.
"Just that whatever it is was thought to be lost, it's old, ancient, and powerful,"
"And it has all of Cole's power," Phoebe added, then immediately wished she hadn't. The following moment of silence stretched and stretched. Leo stretched his arms out to touch each of them.
"We'll get through this," he said. "We knew it would be coming. So, now that it's hear, we fight it," he sounded questionably confidant. Phoebe knew he was right. Still, a large part of her wished it had waited just a little bit longer. Like forever longer.