Chapter Seven: P3²

In the Underworld cavern the Eldest Jenkins sister stood expectantly, waiting for her destiny to be complete, so much of her time had been spent waiting for the day she would ascend to power and now here she was, the future Source. With her newfound power, no one would be able to challenge her not even Billie, her estranged sister would rue the day she killed her, and maybe she would just kill Billie herself. The possibilities were endless now. A head of the witch the High Priest stood and looked down at the Grimoire; the famed dark book had been concealed by the Elders for years and now it was back in the Underworld were it belonged. Dark obsidian eyes wavered past Christy and through the crowd as the High Priest raised his voice to speak.

"May the world's evil flow through your soul tonight and grant you eternal darkness. Are you prepared to take the power and position of the Source before these leaders of the underworld?"

The blonde-headed witch had hoped that the priest would skip the ritualistic etiquette and just proceed to her vows but then again she thought that old habits died hard in the Underworld, even with demons. The last Source had been crowned almost five years ago and it was no surprise to her that these demons were so desperate to hang on to the tradition, considering that was all they had left of the Underworld, there leader the Source had been vanquished numerous times by the Charmed Ones. Even to this day the Jenkins witch remembered what Billie had told her of the Charmed Ones, at one point the sisters had vanquished three Source's within the period of a year, it was no wonder the Underworld was in such disarray. As far as Christy was concerned if their leader was weak then so was the Underworld itself. She had spent much of her natural life in the Underworld and strangely enough, she never noticed when one demonic leader was vanquished or another.

It was just how it was, most demons had the same age old claim, they would destroy the fabled Charmed Ones, take over the Underworld and bring hell on earth to all those in the mortal realm.

It was the same claim all other the Underworld but she would be different, she had too, her masters the Triad has sacrificed some much by teaching her their ways and turning her into a weapon against their enemies the Charmed Ones, They had started the path that she had followed and she was determined to complete it. Slowly, the words of the Jenkins witch came out as she spoke before the Underworld and the High Priest. "Yes," A silence fell within the cavern as the many demons watched Christy casually. The last time a female Source had taken the throne her reign had been short by any demons standards, The Seer herself could not have foreseen the results of her scheme, blinded by her lust for power her actions led to her own demise. No one survived the ceremony but rumour had spread by word of mouth of the demoness's plot for the throne. Her ploy for the throne was still fresh in the mind of most demons and many secretly wished the Firestarter would meet the same end.

Christy stepped forward to the altar, she knew what came next, it was the moment she had been waiting for the moment when she would rise as the newest Source. The High Priest held the ancient tome up to the would-be leader and the Jenkins witch placed a hand on the dark black pages, ready to say the words that had been in mind for so long. "These words call upon, the tremendous powers of the Source. Within this hour, evil descends. And when she crowns herself she will be their master." The demons stood silent as the Jenkins witch began to speak the vows that would make her the Ultimate evil of the Underworld and then she remembered she had to say her vows in Latin, her understanding of the dead language was good but the not the best. She had picked up the dead language quick enough for her to understand what she had to say in her ceremony. The blonde-head slowly began to recite the unholy verse in Latin to seal her vows.

"His verbis incovamus potentias tremendas fontis ipsius In hac hora descendat malum Et coronam imponat super virum efectum. "

The leaders of the Underworld stood in silence expectantly waiting for the moment the power of the Source would be bestowed upon the witch, Christy would be the first witch in history to assume the position of the Source, although the previous Source's had there liaisons with witches none had formerly became the Source of the Underworld.

Then suddenly a dark aura spread from the ancient tome to the would-be leader, the shadows in the cavern began to flow in Christy's direction and all demons present watched in awe as the process began. Silence, an eerie calm fell across the cavern as the shadows began to cloak Christy in darkness, giving the Jenkins witch a dark aura. No demon dared to speak but stood in awe as the ritual continued, with a new Source by their side the Underworld was bound to return to its old ways. The cavern grew darker as the unholy ritual proceeded, nothing would stop the coronation, and from the ashes of death, the Source would rise again. Slowly, the demonic audience watched on as the Christy began to levitate with a dark glow growing darker and darker.

She would soon rise as the Supreme ruler of the Underworld once the process was complete she would be the Source or rather the Sourceress and wield all the power of the Underworld at her disposal to wage war on the Charmed Ones in a whole new way. The new darkness, which possessed her body, was welcome; it was the power of the Source. The audience of Upper level demons, darklighters, and other hellspawn watched as the dark aura began to fade, almost signifying the ritual was over,

The Jenkins witch slowly levitated back to the cavern floor she was complete or so she thought, behind her the ancient High Priest began to close the ritual with an ancient blessing, the words were unheard by many of the audience but Christy was more concerned with her newfound power. She turned on her heel to greet her new servants; every demon here would be at her will and command from now on. Her former masters the Triad had taught her well, they would pleased, their pupil was now the master. She had succeeded were they had failed, the Triad had been well established within the evil hierarchy and without a Source they had been the next in the line of power. The student had now become the master. Her once hazel eyes glazed over with flames and then turned obsidian black, the familiar sign of the Source.

The audience gazed upon their newest queen and then bowed to their new leader, she had fended off all competition and through her association with the Triad as her master, Christy had succeeded in becoming the newest Source of all evil. She had succeeded were many a demon had failed.

With a sudden flash of red energy, the High Priest went up in flames and combusted in front of the crowd of demons. A murmur of voices could be heard as demon upon demon turned looking for the source of the blast, some began to talk while others looked around the cavern suspiciously. However, Christy Jenkins herself simply turned on her heel back to the alter, she saw nothing but her senses were telling her otherwise, her telepathy was picking up on the voices. Her voice rose and boomed across the cavern.

"Show yourself or answer to the power of the Source." Her eyes flamed over giving the same pitch black eyes that lacked irises.

As if on queue, two figures appeared as the magically cloaked duo revealed themselves. The two wore dark purple robes with hoods that concealed their faces, the demons present within the Underworld watched silently as the outsiders made themselves known, it was unheard of for a Source's coronation to be interrupted. Christy's dark gaze fell upon the her unexpected guests, she would surely teach them a lesson they would never forget. She raised her hand ominously waiting for her power to take effect and rid her of their presence; she would make an example of these so-called demons and weed out those that were against her rule. A stream of fire erupted from her palm ready to incinerate the two outsiders while Christy smiled cruelly waiting for their impending death.

The second robed figure quickly held up a hand and a red energy emanated from his hand, cloaking the two in a gentle hue, this energy grew and moulded into a dome, which protected the two. Some demons in the front row of the aisle gasped, as they witnessed this development, no demon had opposed the Source in eons, Zankou, Hecatė and The Tall Man they all had been imprisoned by the Source for their power, it seemed this pair was here to contend for the throne.

"Ohh hail to the all powerful Source. "

The sarcasm was apparent in the figure's voice. It was clear to Christy and her guests that the duo was possibly male demons to cowardice to show their true selves. The second robed figure stood forward within the forcefield and spoke his piece, ignoring the latter's comment. "Let's get what we came for shall we." The second figure nodded behind the barrier. A vivid flash of crimson covered the ancient Grimoire on its podium and the book disappeared in a red hue, behind the barrier the tome appeared in the robed figure's hand. At that moment, the forcefield faded and the two blinked out.

Christy witnessed all that took place, the warlocks had been too quick for her and they had left with her Grimoire. How could this have happened? That wasn't her main concern right now, she turned on her heel to face her demonic servants. Her eyes glazed over with flames once more, as she looked over at her audience. The rage was obvious on her face. Suddenly, one or two demons in the front row went up spontaneously in flames, all other demons turned to look at their Queen.

"Follow them and retrieve the book, I want them dead." No demon dared speak or whisper, hell hath no fury more than a woman and it was particularly true in Christy's case.

"What are you waiting for?" she screeched with another demon going up in flames.

Most demons saw their fellow comrade go up in flames and dared not to disobey their Queen's orders for they new the consequences were not pleasant. Most demons began to disappear in their respective ways, some shimmered away, while other flamed out, then the darklighters orbed out carried away in a swirl of orbs.

One person remained, the Queen herself. Christy Jenkins, the newest Queen of the Underworld. As furious as she was, she had to admire the fact that she was now the absolute leader of the Underworld, she took a moment to gaze over at the cavern before flaming out for places unknown.

...

Two days ago – The past

An ancient chamber lay bare and empty it seemed as if it had not been used in eons and nothing stirred. The darkness itself began to take on a personality of its own, with the shadows growing and merging into a black mass of mist. A black mist rose from out of the shadows as an eerie wind began to blow in the empty chamber. The black cloud rose and grew in size taking on a life of its own as the very fabric of reality became distorted in the chamber.

A faint whisper could be heard as the cloud grew in size; the whisper grew to a murmur almost taking on a life of its own. The strange voice grew into a chorus of many and the smoke followed, rising in the chamber until the chamber was covered in dark mist. Slowly, the mist began to settle and dissipate leaving behind something unexpected. As the last wisp of mist faded from sight, two bodies could be seen on the chamber floor, both were bare naked with not an inch of clothing to cover their vulnerable flesh. As if on queue the body on the left stirred, revealing a groggy masculine figure.

"We made it through the barrier." The words were simple but were a welcome change to the silence of the chamber as a husky masculine voice boomed across the chamber walls. The words seemed to have some effect as the second body stirred revealing a second male. "We must find our brother." The two men rose from the chamber floor and became suddenly aware of their state, it had been so long since they had been in the physical realm they had almost forgot the need for clothing and attire of some sort. In any case, clothing was the last thing on their mind, the two had big plans, which they intended to come to fruition and for that they needed the other, their brother.

"Patience, Paul. We will find him and what was prophesized will be come to pass. First we have other matters at hand."

The man looked down at his bare self and turned to his brother Paul. Following his brother's trail of thought, Paul waved his hand over himself and his brother, with a crimson light the two men became dressed in casual jeans accompanied by a t-shirt and a jacket. With a grin, Paul smiled to his brother evilly as he knew what was next on the agenda.

"Let's have a family reunion." Paul moved closer to his brother and put a single arm on the latter before the two men disappeared blinking out of sight.

...

It was late afternoon and the sun shone down on the San Francisco landscape, downtown the light penetrated the walls of St. Michael's and passed through classic stained glass windows, casting a gentle hue on a priest inside. The young priest, Brendan, knelt in front of a pew and was finishing off the last of his prayers. His eyes glanced at the familiar structure; he had worked in this same church for years in fact he had been a priest for seven years. The church had saved him in many ways, what few people knew was he had been born a warlock an evil creature that killed upon instinct to sate their need for power. His father had been the one and passed the trait on him thankfully, fate had other plans; Brendan had found a way to stop himself from becoming what he feared the most.

The Church, he still remembered those years ago when he had given his life to the church a higher calling on earth. The young priest stood up from the pew as he finished the last of his prayers, he wore a full collar black shirt accompanied by a cassock. He had grown accustomed to wearing the common form of clerical clothing, his life as a priest had given him a new destiny and path in life, and he intended to fulfil it as much as possible.

It was then the quiet atmosphere was disrupted as he the sound of footsteps coming down the aisle against the marble floor. His first instinct was to turn around and greet the newcomer, as a priest he was accustomed to speaking to members of the congregation and praying for others. The lifestyle of a priest suited him well; he could make the world a better place by helping the troubled and lost. The footsteps drew closer and he turned to greet the churchgoer as he looked at his charge. His eyes fell upon a man that looked his age but looked obviously troubled. Brendan's inner priest was troubled by the man but he perked up to ask the man. "How can I help you?"

The dark-haired man's eyes drifted from the priest to the floor guiltily as he considered his words carefully.

"I have a confession to make."

As a priest it was both his role and ambition to help the troubled souls find the enlightenment that faith provided to all so he knew it was his duty to help the troubled souls of San Francisco, after all he believed confession was good for the soul. He slowly guided the man over to the confessional he had heard many confessions over his years as a priest, in fact he had been a priest for seven years. He watched the man step into the confessional compartment and followed suit by doing the same on the opposite side. A dark grille designed with a crucifix motif was the only material that divided the compartments and Brendan took his place on a stool as he readied himself for the confession to come.

"Bless me Father for I have sinned. It has been several years since my last confession."

Brendan listened on through the grille intent on absolving this churchgoer of their mortal's sins and easing his troubled soul. "Go on..." He whispered, ready to lend an ear to this troubled soul. "I'm guilty; I was responsible for my brother's untimely death. It has haunted me ever since." Brendan's face widened in astonishment but he knew his charge could not see this and he regained his composure quickly.

"Any other sins mortal or venial?"

Suddenly, a silence fell in the confessional and before he knew it a hand burst through the grille and grabbed at his throat. The priest was caught off guard. He struggled against the man's tight grip; on the other side of the confessional, a quiet laughter could be heard it was as if the man was enjoying this. Brendan wrestled free of the man's grip and dashed out of the confessional. He was ready to run from the maniac who had almost strangled him to death.

The priest ran from his confessional compartment, determined to leave the strange man behind. He didn't care where he was going or where he was running, he just wanted to put some distant between him and the strange man. He ran down the aisle, hoping that he would reach the church doors but his attention was on the confessional. He had not seen the man leave his compartment. Suddenly, the young priest felt himself hit something solid and the impact knocked him back. He looked up and saw he had bumped into another man.

"Thank the heavens, there's a maniac around here we need to leave." He looked at the newcomer who had entered through the church doors.

"Well isn't that just like Brendan."

The man had a grin on his face and then he heard it, the same quiet laughter he had heard while he had been attacked his eyes drifted from the newcomer to behind him, their stood the same maniac he had met in confession.

...

Minutes had passed and the young priest Brendan rose from the marble floor, obviously shaken by what he had experienced. Who were these people? What did they want? How did he know his name? Those were all questions that went through his mind but he needed to be strong and have faith. It was then the maniac from before took a step forward followed by the newcomer.

"Always, running away trying to escape the darkness which is apart of you." The newcomer finished his comment. The pair began to walk forward up the centre aisle, almost teasing him with their words.

"Just like it is apart of us, you can't escape something which is in your blood." The pair took each step in their stride and with each resounding step, the young priest backed away like some frightened prey. "Who are you?" From a quivering voice, he managed to get the words out.

The two men came closer and finally reached the priest, he was too concerned with what they knew of him than his own safety. "Why, now that you have asked. Don't you see the family resemblance, little brother?" Brendan's face fell in shock, he had seen his true brothers vanquished seven years ago by their own doing. They had planned for him to join them and complete their triangle to form the most powerful force of evil the world has ever known. It was only thanks to the efforts of the Halliwells did he not succumb to his warlock nature.

"You're lying. They are dead." His back met with a pillar in the church and he knew he was surrounded.

"Don't you recognise us little brother. I guess not with these new bodies."

The priest looked at the two men again, they appeared to be different from before but there was something familiar about them, it was as if he could recognise the two as his deceased brothers. It was true they had new appearances but he had not changed and he guessed they were after the same thing as before, the evil Power of Three. Inside he could feel their power reaching out to him, their power desperately trying to become whole. It meant one thing what they said was true.

"I'm a priest now; I'm safe from becoming one of you." He retorted full of disgust for his brothers. He had never thought they would find a way to come back it was almost unthinkable.

"Not quite, brother. There's a lot you need to learn about magick, it works in mysterious ways."

The pair joined Brendan by the pillar and grabbed him by his arms forming a circle. Underneath his breath, Paul began to murmur the beginnings of a spell and was joined by Greg in his chant. Brendan resisted and tried to break the circle, he did not know what they wanted but he did not want to be apart of it. The brothers finished their chant and the very ground they stood upon began to shake violently. The stain glass windows in the church shook and broke, from the outside the alarms of cars and vehicles rung out.

The church shook violently and a beam of crimson light burst from the trio and bathed them in dark crackling energy, Greg and Paul watched this bemused by the light while Brendan watched on fearfully. The candles on the altar and the ones that lined the aisle flared to life, with flames and more of the stained glass widows began to shower from the ceiling. Brendan wrestled free of his brother's grip and the light and flames died down as he broke his connection to his brothers. Outside the sound of car alarms was heard but Brendan's attention was on his brothers.

"Welcome to The Power of Three, brother." Greg said, somewhat amused by Brendan's fear.

The two elder brothers' patted Brendan on the shoulder almost in an affectionate manner.

With that, Brendan watched as his brothers blinked away. He wondered what they had done and what this meant for him now. The destruction around him did not bode well, it was just another sign of the amount of power the Rowe's possessed, and he did not want any of it.

End of Chapter

Author's Note: Welcome to the Power of Three, I hoped you liked it. Well I did promised this chapter would be a longer than Chapter Six and now the Rowes are back but will Brendan join his brothers?. Well those brothers are back, does this spell doom for the Charmed Ones we all know and love? Well they be able to match or even defeat their counterparts? What did Paul and Greg do to Brendan? Where's the Grimoire? How did they come back? Why do they want the Grimoire? Will Brendan join his brothers? Will the Rowe prophecy be furfilled? Will Christy get the Grimoire back? What will the newest Source do about the Warlocks? Keep reading and review.

WelshCanuck: Glad to know you following the story. More will be revealed about Christy plans and the mysterious resurrections of the Rowe brothers in future chapters. The next few chapters will try to focus back on the Charmed Ones. It wouldn't be a Charmed story without them so the next couple of chapters will focus less on establishing the villains and more on the Charmed Ones and the future which the Elders foresaw and by all means please keep reading and reviewing. :D

Side Note: Well guys I hope your enjoying the story. Due to my lifestyle and other commitments the updates to this story maybe a little slow from this point onwards. So try and be patient and review the chapters that have been posted already - Hybrid Fusion.