"What do you mean, you lost them!" the Source roared, "How did you lose them!?"
"Master, they were warned by the Whitelighters Elders. They disappeared and are being cloaked by them." Tresni whined, prostrating himself before the Source.
"I am going to give you until tomorrow to find them! If you don't, then I will vanquish you myself! Now go! Find them, and find the Charmed One's, before they are rescued! Fail, and you die!"
Fleeing from the room as fast as he dared, Tresni tried to think of where they could have gone. Neither the Whitelighter, nor the traitor had shown up back at the Manor yet, and with the cloak cast over them, he knew he would not be able to find them alone.
A sudden idea caused him to stop in his tracks, spinning around, he headed for a little used room tucked away in a far corner of the catacombs. Inside was a small demon, whose only use to any of them was his speed. The little demon, Mun, was only called to use when the Source needed a message delivered, and right now, he was just sitting in his chamber, doing nothing.
"Mun, your services are needed." Tresni said, as he spotted him.
"What now!" the little demon said, looking at him with disdain.
"You are to go and search out two beings, both are high on the Source's list of most wanted, and they have vanished from sight."
"And what do I get out of this?"
"You get to live!" Tresni roared, angered at the way Mun was acting.
"You don't scare me, you can't do anything to me. Only the Master can order me about." Mun just sat there, filing his nails into needle sharp points.
"What do you want?"
"Oh? Ready to deal?" Mun asked looking up at him with a Cheshire grin
Several hours later, Tresni stood outside a small building, he could feel the presence of the traitor inside, now he just had to wait for the Whitelighter to appear, and he would be back in the Sources favour again.
Inside, Cole paced, Leo was supposed to have met him here over an hour ago, the Manor had been to heavily watched and the only other place they could find, had been the deserted cabins on Lake Skylark. No one had been there since the camp had been closed, and Sam's old cabin had seemed like the perfect place to hide out.
He had had two near misses with lesser demons already, and he even had a few lumps to prove it. The bruises he had received were nothing compared to the ache in his heart. He knew Phoebe was out there, he could almost hear her whispering his name. At night, he awoke with the faintest feeling of her beside him, the constant reminder that she was not there. He didn't know how much longer he could take it, the mere fact that she was missing was making his anger rise, threatening to unleash his other half.
"Cole." a voice said from behind him, startling him. He turned, ready to defend himself, only to find Leo standing there, his shirt ripped in several places, and a large bruise closing his left eye. Clutched tightly under his arm, was the BOS.
"What happened to you?" Cole asked, surprised at the Whitelighters appearance.
"The Book of Shadows was threatened, I had to go to the Manor."
"You went alone? Are you crazy? What were you thinking?" Cole practically shouted.
"That Phoebe would kill me if anything happened to you." Leo told him, the answer so soft, Cole almost didn't hear it.
"And what do you think Piper would do to me? So, now that you have the book, what are we going to do with it?"
"I don't know, I had a hard enough time just getting it, I didn't have time to plan that far ahead." Leo told him, the events of the past hour starting to catch up with him. Sinking down into a chair, he held the precious book close, the one true connection he still felt with his missing wife and her sisters.
Outside the cabin, Tresni had heard it all, the fabled Book of Shadows was right here, not more then ten feet away. He knew what his job was, but the temptation was too much. Concentrating, he shimmered in behind the Whitelighter, grabbing for the book with one hand, and throwing an energy ball with the other.
"What have you found about the missing Charmed One's?" a warlock asked one of his coven.
"No one has seen them master. They vanished about four weeks ago and even their 'guide' can't find them.
"The Whitelighter? He is useless anyway. Now, with them gone, its time to spread our power, there are witches and innocents for the taking, and we would be foolish to squander this time. Go find your targets, and bring them here."
Deep in the underground tunnels, they waited; the mists swirled around them, as the Leader gave his orders. The dark cloaks and deep hoods hid the faces of the Warlocks coven, even from each other, but the menace seemed to radiate off of them, as they started to move. The city awaited them, and death walked the night.
"Leo!" Cole shouted as he lunged out of the way of the crackling sphere, he could almost feel the electricity, it passed so close.
Leo tipped his chair sideways, as he tried to get away from whatever was behind him. Jumping to his feet, he found himself face to face with a man, a man with glowing red eyes and energy sparking off his fingers. Taking a step back, he looked around the room, hoping to spot Cole.
"Not this time Tresni!" Cole yelled, tackling him to the ground, all the pent up anger and fear for the sisters now had a release, a release who know knew he was in deep trouble, no matter what he did. Struggling, the two demons thrashed around on the floor, until Tresni finally had enough, and fled.
Helping Cole to his feet, Leo looked around the small cabin, knowing that they had just lost another safe place, they needed somewhere that was so far off the beaten path that they could hide the book, with out fear.
"Cole do you know of a safe place? Because we can'y stay here any longer."
"There is one," he replied hesitantly, "but I'm not too sure of the reception I will get. But its the safest place I can think of right now."
"Where is it?" Leo asked, once again caught off guard by the reformed demon.
"It's in Bermuda." Cole answered as she shiimmered out
"Why didn't we just go there to begin with?!" Leo said, as he followed after the reformed demon, leaving the small cabin in their own unique style.
"YOU!!" A woman's voice cried, as they reappeared in a small, well maintained home, the elderly woman in front of them lunging at Cole. "I will finally get you for what you did to my family!!"