TEN
"Well, that should do it," said Phoebe, holding up the spell she had written. "This should bring Gregnor here."
"What's to keep him from shimmering away once we get him here?" Paige asked.
"He'll be curious about why you've summoned him," said Cole. "He'll figure he can shimmer away if he's in danger so he'll want to know why you've brought him here. He'll stick around long enough to find that out."
"Well, let's get this over with," said Piper.
Together the three sisters incanted the spell Phoebe had written. The magic of the spell swirled in the center of the room for several moments. As the girls, Leo, and Cole watched Gregnor simply faded into view inside the attic.
"Who are you?" the demon demanded. "Why have you brought me here?"
"We want to have a little chat with you," said Piper. "You've been harassing a friend of ours and we want you to stop."
"Why should I be concerned with the friend of witches?" Gregnor snarled.
"I'd listen to them if I were you," said Cole, stepping up to Gregnor. "These are no ordinary witches. It would be a mistake to anger them."
"Belthazor," Gregnor smiled. "Then you must be the Charmed Ones. And their White Lighter no doubt. Well, I guess I should feel honored. Me being summoned by the Charmed Ones? To what do I owe this privilege?"
"We told you," said Phoebe. "You're harassing a friend of ours. And we want you to stop."
"And just which friend might that be?" Gregnor questioned.
"Geraldine Coster," said Phoebe.
"Oh, yes," said Gregnor, smiling. "Quite a wealthy woman. And very soon I'll become the sole beneficiary of her entire estate. Making me one of the wealthiest demons on the mortal realm."
"That's not going to happen," said Cole. "You're going to leave her alone beginning now."
"And why should I do that?" Gregnor asked.
"Because if you don't," Cole said, stepping up to the smaller demon, "I've going to be very upset. Do you remember Dalvitch? He angered me once. I'm sure you remember the rumors about what happened to him."
"I remember the rumors," said Gregnor. "A particularly nasty bit of business if I remember correctly."
"Well, the rumors are true," said Cole. "Every one of them. And if you don't leave Geraldine alone I promise you that you'll find out firsthand exactly how true they are."
"Another honor," said Gregnor. "Being personally threatened by the mighty Belthazor? This is my lucky day, isn't it?"
"Uh, guys, shouldn't he be just a bit more frightened?" Paige asked. "He seems to think this is one big joke."
"Oh, I know it's no joke," said Gregnor. "I seriously doubt the Charmed Ones would have brought me here just to pull a joke on me. You don't have a reputation for joking with demons. And I know full well the Belthazor doesn't make idle threats. He's proven that on more than one occasion."
"Paige is right," said Piper. "You aren't acting like a demon that's just been threatened. What's going on?"
"I'll tell you what's going on," said Gregnor. "Beelzbor. That's what's going on. Or rather who's going on."
"Who?" Phoebe questioned.
"Beelzbor," said Leo. "He's a senior level demon. One of the top-level demons. Which means that Gregnor must be working for him."
"Exactly," said Gregnor. "I'm not harassing the human. Beelzbor is the one how's after her. I'm just the go-between. It doesn't matter what you do to me. He'll just send someone else. So as I see it, there's no percentage in your killing me."
"It does have the advantage of getting rid of a demon," said Piper. "That's always an upside."
"Except you aren't stupid," said Gregnor. "One demon more or less isn't going to make that much of a difference. And since it doesn't solve your problem I'm willing to bet you aren't going to kill me just out of spite."
"Then we'll just vanquish this Beelzbor," said Phoebe. "Once he's out of the way there won't be any reason to keep you around."
"Except that's easier said than done," said Cole. "Beelzbor rarely comes to the mortal plane. That's why he hired Gregnor. He prefers to work behind the scenes and let others do all the upfront work."
"Precisely," said Gregnor. "Besides, it would be a shame if the Source should discover that Belthazor is not only still alive, but living here at the Charmed Ones manor. I imagine he wouldn't rest until you've been dealt with." He looked over at Phoebe. "And it would be a real shame if someone else were to be injured by a demon trying to get to get to you."
"You'd better be careful," said Cole, his eyes narrowing. "I don't like someone threatening those I care about."
"Oh, I'm not threatening anyone," said Gregnor. "I'm simply pointing out that there is usually collateral damage in situations like this. Believe me, I'm not stupid enough to go up against either you or the Charmed Ones. But there are other demons that will try it. And if enough of them do then one of them is bound to eventually get through."
"Okay, what do we do now?" Paige asked.
"There's really nothing you can do," said Gregnor. "I can tell you that Beelzbor isn't about to give up the human. No matter what threats you make. And since the only demon higher up in the hierarchy than Beelzbor is the Source, any threats Belthazor might make against him really wouldn't be that affective."
"He's right about that," said Cole. "There are only a handful of demons as high up as Beelzbor. And they're all higher than I was. They are on the same level as the Triad was. He's not afraid of me."
"So it would seem we have a standoff," said Gregnor. "I can't back off or Beelzbor will most likely vanquish me. And if you vanquish me you really haven't solved anything. If I don't come back those I'm working with will come looking for me. Do you really want to risk them finding out that Belthazor is still alive and living here?"
"What's to keep you from running to the Source and letting him know Cole is here if we let you go?" Piper asked.
"I have no interest in Belthazor," said Gregnor. "I have my hands full with my current job. And once I'm finished with it I'll be richer than just about any other demon on the mortal realm. That's going to give me a great deal of political influence in the Underworld."
"You're telling us you aren't interested in the bounty the Source has on Cole?" Phoebe asked.
"Trust me," said Gregnor, "what Coster is worth makes that bounty seem like a pittance. All I have to do is sit back and wait. I'm not about to mess that up for what the Source is offering for Belthazor. Besides, I have nothing against him. There's no reason for me to turn him in."
"And we should just believe you why?" Piper asked.
"We really don't have a choice," said Cole. "He's right about one thing. If he disappears someone is likely to come looking for him. We'll just have to trust that he won't say anything."
"You want to trust a demon?" Leo asked.
"We don't have much of a choice right now," said Cole. "Besides, if we let him go it will give us a chance to try and work something out about Geraldine later."
"There's always a chance," said Gregnor. "Now, if that's all you wanted, I really should be going. I do have some serious matter to attend to."
"Let him go," said Cole.
Gregnor just smiled at them and then shimmered out of the attic.
"You think that was a good idea?" Phoebe asked. "He might run right to this Beelzbor and tell him about you."
"That's not likely," said Cole. "He probably has his hands full with Geraldine. He can't be distracted from that. Besides, if we can figure out something we'll need someone to deal with. Gregnor all ready knows about me so we don't have to worry about it spreading any further."
"Well," said Piper, "that didn't exactly go as planned. I guess we'll have to come up with another plan."
"We might as well let Geraldine and Grams know what happened," said Phoebe. "In case Gregnor has a change of heart about his agreement with her."
"Good idea," said Cole. "He might just choose to escalate his plans now that he knows we're on to him."
"Let's go," Piper said to Leo. "We should all be there in case Gregnor tries something."
Once again Leo orbed them all back to Geraldine's penthouse.