THIRTEEN
"Spirit demon?" questioned Leo. "That's impossible. They're extinct."
"Not all of them," said Cole. "There are still one or two around. But they're normally kept on the lowest levels of the Underworld."
"What's a Spirit demon?" questioned Paige.
"That is," said Cole. "It's a demon that has no physical form of its own. It only has one ability: to possess the physical form of another creature. And it can possess any creature."
"Well, we'll just put an end to it right now," said Piper. She brought up her hands and exploded the demon. Except the demon didn't explode. Its chest exploded but it resembled a disturbance in a cloud rather than an explosion. "Oh, oh. This isn't good."
"Don't worry," said McDonald, holding up the athame menacingly. "I'll make quick work of this beast."
"No," said Cole, pulling McDonald back. "Don't you understand. It doesn't have a physical form. Which means that there's no way to physically harm it. Like I said, it can possess any creature. And not even your immortality will protect you from that possession."
"Precisely," said Van White, taking a sip from his wine and then putting the glass on the desk. "It was quite expensive to get the use of the Spirit demon. But the cost is going to be worth it. I'll finally be rid of all of you forever."
"What are you talking about?" asked Piper.
"Well," said Van White, "it finally occurred to me. I've been running from you for the longest time. And now I have the Charmed Ones and Belthazor to contend with. And no matter what I do you end up coming after me again. So I finally decided if I can't beat you then I'll have you join me, so to speak."
"What does that mean?" Paige asked.
"Your demon friend is quite correct," said Stark. "The Spirit demon can possess any creature. Including the immortal. Once it possesses him it will take full control of his body. Then it will kill the rest of you and we won't have to worry about you ever again. And not even the famed Charmed Ones can survive against the Immortal."
"You can't kill all of us," said Kreegan. "I, for example, am as immortal as Mr. McDonald and Van White. And Leo is a White Lighter. If I understand correctly not even a demon can permanently harm him."
"Well, that's certainly true," said Stark. Suddenly a crossbow appeared in his hand and he pointed it directly at Leo. "But I can take care of the White Lighter. As for you, we have a special treat in store for you. There's a particularly desolate area of the Underworld where you will fit nicely. Trapped in the Underworld forever Steffan will not have to worry about you ever again."
"Spirit demon," said McDonald. "Dispose of them for me. Then take the alchemist as I have instructed you."
They all watched as the demon began to move toward McDonald. Stark and Van White picked up their glasses and clinked them together in congratulations, then took a deep drink from them. As Van White poured them another glass the demon drew closer to McDonald.
Suddenly Kreegan reached into his robes and pulled out a vial. The vial was filled with a clear, colorless liquid. He removed the stopper from the vial and threw the liquid on the Spirit demon. Nothing happened for a moment. Then, suddenly, the demon began to dissipate. Within moments the demon was completely dispersed and evaporated away. Van White and Stark just stared on in shocked disbelief.
"A dispersion elixir," explained Kreegon. "It will temporarily disperse the magical energy of any creature. And since this Spirit demon seems to be comprised of nothing but magical energy I guess that's why it was dispersed as it was. But I suggest we move quickly. The dispersion elixir is only temporary and the demon will reform in a short while."
"Well now," said McDonald, turning back to Van White and Stark, "it would seem that the shoe is on the other foot, so to speak. And as you well know, there's nothing either of you can do to stop me."
He took a step toward the desk.
"I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you," said Van White. "But you know the old saying. He who runs away and all that."
He stood looking at the group for a moment a smile on his face. Suddenly the smile faded and a look of confusion.
"Looking for these," Cole asked, holding up the rings Kenny had given him. "We took the liberty of switching them with the same fakes you used on us during your last visit. The ones you're wearing are about as useful as your Spirit demon."
"Stark, do something," said Van White.
"Oh, I plan to," said Stark, causing his crossbow to vanish. "I'm afraid I'll have to give my notice, Mr. Van White. As I said earlier, I'm not crazy enough to go up against the Charmed Ones. Not to mention Belthazor and the Immortal. I'm afraid you're on your own this time."
"Oh no you don't," said Piper bringing her hands up. The Dark Lighter suddenly froze in place. "Damn. I was trying to blow him up."
"Just as well you didn't," said Kreegan. "We'll need him to spread the word that Van White has taken the contracts off of us. Otherwise the demons will continue to plague us."
"And why should I do that," said Van White, taking another drink of his wine. "You can't hurt me. You saw to that. And I don't think the Charmed Ones are going to allow the Immortal to torture me as he threatened. Their job is to protect the innocent. And if I'm not mistaken, simply being immortal does not negate my status as an innocent. So there really isn't that much you can do to me or anything you can threaten me with."
"Look, Van White," said Piper, "we aren't interested in you. You can keep your immortality as far as we're concerned. Besides, Kreegan tells us that there's no way to undo it. You don't have to worry about us trying. So why don't you just call off the contracts and save yourself a great deal of money and us a whole lot of headaches."
"I'm afraid I can't take that chance," said Van White. "There's always the possibility you may change your mind. Or Kreegan may decide he wants to be the only one who is immortal. Our friend here excepted, of course. In which case I'm sure he'll work until he finds a way to undo the immortality. It's just too great a risk. A risk, I'm afraid, I can't take."
"But the immortality cannot be undone," said Kreegan. "I thought I explained that to you in great detail? I was able to use potions and elixirs to extend my life well beyond the normal means. But even those had limited use. It was necessary to create a permanent way to extend my life indefinitely. That's what I used you for. To create that permanent extension. I was very thorough. I left nothing to chance. There simply isn't any way to undo the magic."
"I don't believe you," said Van White. "I can't afford to. If you can create it, you can uncreate it. I can't take that chance. Now, I may not be able to kill you, but I can make sure you're some place where you can't work on the problem. As for the others, they know my secret. I can't afford that, either. In my entire life no one has ever learned my secret. I'd just as soon keep it that way."
"There's nothing you can do about me," said McDonald. "And if you don't agree to remove the contracts now I'll hunt you for the rest of eternity. You can't kill me and you can't stop me. You thought I was an annoyance before? Believe me, I can be much worse."
"That's true," sighed Van White. "There's not much I can do about you personally. But once the Spirit demon reforms it will possess you. Then it will kill the others and transport Kreegan to his new home. Once he does that I'll just have him dispossess you and leave you there as well. I may not be able to kill you but I can make sure you aren't a bother in the future."
Van White took another drink of his wine and leaned back in his chair, smiling at the group.
"Would you all like to see what it is that you've been harassing me over?" Van White asked. "The painting you've all been so fervently trying to figure out how to destroy?"
He raised a small remote control and pressed it. Suddenly a light came on over a picture on the far wall. The light illuminated a portrait hanging on that wall. Everyone stared at the painting in disgust. Like an accident on the highway that was hideous but that you just couldn't take your eyes off of.
The portrait was of what appeared to be a man. But the man was ancient. Lines crisscrossed his face like a map. There were also hideous growths covering his face. Growths that suggested a malignancy of some sort. Hideous wart-like growths that dotted the face like some form of grotesque disease.
The man was dressed in an expensive suit common in the late 18th century. The hands of the figure were covered in the same lines and grotesque malignant-looking growths as the portraits face. There were also patches of areas that resembled burn marks on all the exposed skin. The figure looked like some hideously deformed creature from a science fiction movie.
"Oh, that's just gross," said Paige.
"Well, I must admit I don't look my best in that portrait," said Van White. "At least, not now. I'm sure that Kreegan explained to you that any damage I sustain is transferred to the painting. So if it weren't for that painting that's how I'd really look. Thankfully that's not the case. With the painting I will remain as handsome and young looking as I am today. And there's nothing any of you can do about it."
"Yeah, well let's see how good you look once I do this," said Piper.
She brought her hands up and unleashed her explosive power on the painting. Her power exploded on the painting but when it had dissipated away, the painting was unchanged. Her power had not even damaged it.
"You just don't seem to understand," said Van White. "There is nothing you can do to harm me. Nothing can harm the painting or me."
"Yeah, well, I'm betting that's about to change," said Paige. "I'll admit I'm kind of new to all this so I can't be sure how long some things take. But I'm willing to bet that it won't take very long. It's just a matter of time."
"What are you blabbering about?" Van White asked. "There's no way for you to harm me, didn't Kreegan tell you that? At the most all you can do is . . . ."
His voice trailed off as he noticed a large sore begin to form on his right hand. He winced in pain as the sore began to slowly grow over his entire hand.
"Fool," said Van White. "This is nothing. Within moments it will be transferred to the painting and I will suffer no ill affects from it."
"Yeah, that's what I'm counting on," said Paige.
Van White, and everyone else, just stared at Paige wondering if the young woman had suddenly lost her mind.