NINE

"You're cousin Pudge's son?" questioned Elbert in surprise. "Oh, I mean cousin Cole. He doesn't like it when I call him that. I really need to call him Cole. Well, he didn't used to like it. He's gone now, did you know that? I miss him. He was my very bestest friend in the entire Underworld. We even wrote some books together, did he ever tell you that? We were really good at it, too."

"Yes, so I understand," said Peter. "Actually, my father and I didn't get along that well. I learned about you from Phoebe, Piper, and Paige."

"The Charmed Ones?" gasped Elbert. "You know them too? Oh, they are wonderful people. Er, that is, were wonderful people. They're gone too, you know. I miss them. Especially Phoebe. She was really, really nice to me. Even Leo was okay. For a White Lighter."

"I know," said Peter. "They, uh, mentioned you to me a while back. I'd always planned to come visit but never seemed to get around to it."

"Hey, you should come over for dinner," said Elbert. "Mom would love to meet you. She never cared much for Cole but I'm sure she'd like you. Did I tell you that Cole was my bestest buddy in the entire Underworld?"

"Yes, you did. But there's something else we need to talk about right now. After the girls, uh, died, I went to the manor. The Book of Shadows is gone. Someone told me that you had claimed to have taken it."

"Oh yeah. It's really, really powerful. Lots of demons want to get their hands on it. I didn't think that was a good idea. Some of them aren't very nice people. Not like bureaucracy demons, anyway. I think they'd use the book to hurt people. I don't think that's a good idea. So I took the book out of the manor to protect. I know I wasn't supposed to but I just didn't know what else to do. It wasn't a good idea to leave it lying around unprotected like that."

"And you're right," said Peter. "It's not a good idea to leave it lying around. But I don't think it's a good idea to keep it down here, either. What if some demon decides to come get it? There are some pretty powerful demons in the Underworld."

"Oh, that's not going to happen," said Elbert, smiling from ear to ear. "I was really smart. I gave the book to a friend of mine. His name is Zeebok. I was going to put him in charge of organizing and cataloging the books in the bureaucratic library when I became the Source. He spends most of his free time there, anyway. He really likes to read. Right now he's in the Other World Moving and Storage. He doesn't really like it much. He spends all of his time storing stuff and reorganizing it. It's really kind of boring."

"Okay, Elbert, now you need to focus. Do you know what he did with the book?"

"Of course I do. He did exactly what I told him to do with it. He may not like what he's doing but he's very efficient at it. He's a bureaucracy demon, after all. We're all very efficient even if we don't like what we're doing."

"And what exactly did you tell him to do with the book?" Peter asked, trying to keep his patience with Elbert. He was likeable enough but the little bureaucracy demon seemed to give way too much information to the simplest questions.

"I had him put it in storage. It's what he does, after all. I told him about Phoebe and the others and that the book belongs to Piper's son, Wyatt. Only Wyatt is like really, really young. He's like two or something like that. He's not even old enough to read, let alone use the power in the book. Besides, I understand he's really powerful in his own right."

"Good. That's very good. It sounds like it's very well protected."

"Oh, you have no idea. Zeebok really hid it good. No one but he knows exactly where it is. It's hidden in a crate in one of the warehouses. And only he knows which crate and which warehouse. Any demon looking for it could look for years and never find it. He's really good at his job, did I mention that?"

"Yes, you did. Look, Elbert. Since the book really belongs to Wyatt, he should have the book. His father can hold the book for him until he's old enough to use it. And you're right. Wyatt is very powerful. The book will be much more secure with him than it will be down here."

"Well," said Elbert thoughtfully, "it does belong to him. But what if a demon tries to steal it from him?"

"I'll be there to help protect it. Phoebe was a good friend of mine, too. I wouldn't want to see anything happen to Wyatt or the book. But since it really belongs to Wyatt, it's not right to keep it down here. Look, I know you only took the book to protect it. But it can protect itself from evil. No demon will be able to take it. And as Wyatt grows up he'll need the book to learn about the evil he'll have to fight."

"Well, that makes sense. And I guess you're right. It does belong to Wyatt. I guess he should really have the book."

"Great. All we have to do is contact this Zeebok and have him get the book for us."

"Yeah, well, that might be easier said than done. You see the Moving and Storage warehouse where Zeebok works is one of the most secure warehouses in the Underworld. That's because the rules that govern it are set by the Other World Judicial Review Board. Which means that the rules about the warehouse are actually laws that all demons are required to follow."

"I don't understand,' said Peter. "What does that have to do with getting the book back from Zeebok?"

"Well," said Elbert nervously, "the rules that govern the warehouse say that any instructions given by the demons who put things into it have to be followed to the letter. That means if you put something in the warehouse and give them specific instructions about the disposition of that stuff, the warehouse has to follow those instructions to the letter. They sort of become Underworld law specific to those items."

"Okay, that sort of makes sense. If it's one of the most secure warehouses in the Underworld it would make sense that the instructions given to it would have the heaviest legal weight possible."

"You sound like a lawyer. Cole used to talk like that sometimes."

"Actually I am a lawyer. I used to represent demons in the mortal courts but I don't do that any more."

"Oh, I see. Well, like I said, the warehouse has to follow the instructions given to it to the letter of the instructions."

"Okay, I understand that. Why is that a problem?"

"Well, er, that is," stammered Elbert. "It's like this. I didn't want anyone getting the book who it didn't belong to. I didn't even want someone trying to use me to get the book for them. So, er, I mean, um, that is. . . ."

"Just spit it out, Elbert. I'm sure it's not as bad as all that."

"Well," said Elbert nervously, "when I gave the book to Zeebok, I gave him written instructions about what to do with the book. It can only be given to Wyatt Matthew Halliwell on his 18th birthday. And like I said, the instructions given to the warehouse are just about like Underworld law. So that means that no one can get the book for about sixteen years."

Peter just stared at Elbert.