SEVEN
"An absorption crystal?" questioned Piper. "What's that?"
"It's a very rare and valuable stone," said Leo. "It has the power to capture and control magical beings. While a magical being is trapped inside of an absorption crystal their powers are suspended."
"It might explain how they were able to separate Belthazor from me," said Cole. "Belthazor is the magical half of me. When it was used against me it would have trapped only the magical portion of me. An absorption crystal only has power over magical beings. Against mortals with no powers it's nothing more than a simple stone."
"So you're saying that whoever did this has effectively separated Belthazor from you," said Leo.
"That appears to be the most logical conclusion," said Cole. "As far as I know one of these crystals has never been used against a mortal because they have no power against them. But since it only works against magical beings it stands to reason that it wouldn't affect the human part of a magical-human hybrid. Like me."
"What I don't understand," said Leo, "is how they were able to remove Belthazor from the crystal without restoring him to Cole. Shouldn't you and he have merged back once he was released?"
"Not necessarily," said Cole. "It was always thought that the only way to release a being trapped in an absorption crystal was to destroy the crystal. But several decades ago I heard that a particularly powerful alchemist had learned how to remove a being trapped in a crystal without destroying it. If Belthazor was removed from the crystal without destroying it, it could mean that the magic that separated us is still intact. As long as it is it would effectively cause Belthazor and me to be two distinct beings."
"Then we have to find that crystal and destroy it," said Phoebe. "That should put Cole and Belthazor back together again."
"That could be easier said than done," said Cole. "As Leo and I told you, they are extremely rare. As far as I know only an alchemist knows how to use them properly. And they have been extremely reluctant to share that information with anyone except their apprentices. I'm not even sure which alchemist might have had one to use against me."
"So an alchemist has done this?" Piper asked. "I thought alchemists weren't exactly on good terms with demons."
"Most aren't," said Cole. "They're looked upon by the hierarchy as something like warlocks; a necessary evil. But I doubt it was an alchemist that did this. More than likely some demon hired an alchemist to do this for them."
"Okay," said Paige, "so the questions are which demon and why?"
"Why is obvious," said Cole. "He said he was here to complete the assignment I was sent to do."
"Kill us," said Piper.
"Right," said Cole. "Which means it was either the Source or the Brotherhood of the Thorn. They're the only ones who would care if I completed my assignment. And considering the Source wants me dead it's unlikely that he would give me a chance to redeem myself. He's not known for his forgiving nature. So my guess is that it's the Brotherhood that's done this."
"But why?" questioned Phoebe.
"To redeem myself," said Cole. "If I complete the mission I was sent for the Source will have no choice but to rescind his order of death. And the black mark on my name will be removed from the Brotherhood."
"But it's Belthazor doing this, not Cole Turner," protested Piper.
"To the Brotherhood we're one and the same," said Cole. "Two sides of the same coin, so to speak. So if Belthazor is successful in completing the mission then I'll be exonerated, too."
"I'd still like to know how they were able to separate Belthazor from you in the first place," said Phoebe.
"The mall," said Cole. "When I found that little girl I got dizzy for a second. I never gave it much thought at the time. It was only a moment and it passed almost instantly."
"What makes you think that's when it happened?" Paige asked.
"It's the only time I was separated from Phoebe since I got back to the manor," said Cole. "And now that I think about it, the dizziness could be the affects of a cerebral demon controlling my mind. So that I didn't notice what was going on. All they had to do was distract me, say, with a lost little girl. While I was concentrating on her they could have used a cerebral demon to cloud my mind and keep me in a trance long enough to use the crystal on me. Once that happened all they had to do was have the cerebral demon release me and I wouldn't have been the wiser. I wouldn't have noticed any lapse in time."
"It would also explain why they didn't just kill you while you were in the trance," said Leo. "Any other demon would have just followed the Source's orders and vanquished you. Only the Brotherhood would disobey the Source and risk his anger."
"Exactly," said Cole. "And if they're successful his anger will be tempered by death of the Charmed Ones. More than likely he'll reward me – and them – for that.""
"Even after you vanquished the Triad?" questioned Paige.
"The Source looses underlings all the time," said Cole. "He'll just look at is as the cost of getting the three of you."
"So what do we do now?" Phoebe asked. "Belthazor is back to kill us and we can't even defend ourselves. If we do we could end up killing you. Anything that happens to him happens to you."
"And vice versa," said Cole. "If attacking Belthazor hurt me then it stands to reason that whatever happens to me will affect him. We might be able to use that to our advantage."
"How?" Piper asked.
"I'm not sure yet," said Cole. "But it's likely that it's a side affect they didn't count on. Like I said, I've never heard of it being used on a half human before so they wouldn't have any basis for knowing how it would affect me."
"They seemed to know enough to know that it would separate the two of you," said Paige.
"Yes, but Cole might be right," said Leo. "You all know that magic can act in unpredictable ways. It's very possible that separating the two will have side affects that no one can predict. There may even be side affects we haven't discovered yet."
"Well, we'd better be getting prepared," said Piper. "They sent Belthazor after us once. I'm willing to bet their little setback won't stop them for long. They'll probably be sending someone after us again and they may not wait long to do it."
"They'll send Belthazor after us again," said Cole. "It's the only way for him to redeem himself in the eyes of the Source. He has to complete the mission he was sent to do. The mission I was sent to do. Which means he has to kill you himself. It would be a matter of honor for the Brotherhood."
"Well, at least we know who we'll be facing," said Paige. "The only question now is how best to use that information to our advantage."
"We'd better come up with something fast," said Cole. "I was famed in the Underworld for my plans. Belthazor will have all of my memories. Which means he'll also know about you."
"Okay," said Piper, "so the question is, if you were still after us, what would your next move be?"
Cole began to think. If Belthazor still thought as he did, then it should be a simple matter to decide what he would do next.
