Chapter 32
Survival of the Fittest
They landed in Brendan Rowe's now ransacked church and the forward momentum from his dive sent them sprawling down the center aisle. Not even pausing he shook off the rough landing and pulled out his sharpie before running to the holy water holders at the back of the church. He knew from his months of reading what needed to be done, though it would be better if the symbols were etched into the metal instead of drawn on. Unsheathing his sword he drew several Enochian symbols on the blade before he used it to rip his shirt. Then he dipped the rag into the water and coated the blade with it, careful not to smudge the only slightly dry ink. Finally, he muttered the incantation:
Benedic, hoc ferro
Ad pugnam tenebris
Chris looked over at his friends as the blade glowed faintly white and gestured them over, "They have my scent, we have to fight. Come on, we only have a few minutes before they get here. The holy ground will throw them off, but not for long as it is now."
"Are we seriously going to fight Hell Hounds?" Zack asked after several frantic minutes where he drew less than perfect symbols on his friend's swords before blessing them. It wouldn't be the strongest of holy magic's but a weak blessing was better than no blessings at all. Chris knew from the faces around him it was a question everyone wanted the answer to, but no one other than Zack was willing to ask.
"Well," Chris paused to say the incantation over the last sword before he moved to start blessing as many of their daggers as he could before time ran out. "Considering the world has literally gone to hell this is something we're going to have to get used to. I told you this wasn't going to be fun."
"He's got a point," Brandon muttered as he moved away from the group once he'd gotten his weapons back and toward the altar, a more defensible location with the sacristy at the back. "We get what demon fighting is like, you and Duncan are going to have to learn. It just sucks royally your first time's against Hounds."
"Lucky us," Duncan grabbed his own now faintly glowing weapons and moved to follow the other boy, Chris could hear the fear in his voice and see it in Zack's eyes, in all their eyes. He would fix this. He couldn't let his friends down on their first mission, "Anything special we should know?"
"Yea," Jon said, filling in for him as he worked. Beside him, Sean snapped his finger and his blade lit itself on fire, which then turned a blue-white as it interacted with the holy spells. The firestarter was surprised by that but Chris figured it made sense. His magic was 'neutral' after all, in theory, he should be able to make holy fire with it as easily as his darker counterparts, the old Source's guards made hellfire. That was a lucky break for them and Jon nodded as Sean smirked wickedly. "From what I remember, holy fire, which apparently Sean can make so bonus for us, and blessed weapons are the best method of killing them. Don't hesitate because they won't. Oh, and don't let them bite or scratch you, they have poison on their teeth and claws that slowly freezes the victim to death from the inside out."
"Wow, thanks encyclopedia demonica. Sounds like this is gonna be barrels of fucking fun," Zack chuckled but it was a nervous bordering on terrified sound. Chris patted his back and then pushed him toward the altar before moving there as well having just finished preparing.
He made it to the middle of the center aisle walking at the back of the group when the screeching started. The gargoyles on the outside of the church were warning of the approaching evil, and he spun in place to face the broken-in doors. A yell to Sean lit the sword in his right hand on fire and he slipped into a ready position as the Hound from the rooftop bounded into the room followed by three slightly smaller ones. He recognized them from the alley and he was grateful, if they could pull this insanity off then there'd be none left to track him, he hoped. They were in a church, holy ground for all that it mattered now, and that gave their weapons a good boost and weakened the beasts. They seemed to know that and Chris remembered that the monsters were intelligent, not very, but enough to be dangerous.
The Hound that'd followed him, who he assumed to be the Alpha, sat down in the doorway and growled at the other three. They stalked forward, one down his aisle and the other two down each of the side aisles. He focused completely on the one in front of him to the point where its aura made his teeth chatter, and he had to clench his jaw. It came about a quart of the way to him before it charged, becoming invisible as it did. If he'd been any less attune to it, it would have gotten him. Instead, he dodged to the left and jumped on a pew, slicing it as it sailed past him. The hit made it visible again and its momentum slid it forward past him where it was killed by Brandon who threw a dagger into its head. The anger from the other three as the body burned away in a white fire was instantaneous and palpable.
They charged at the group.
The leader came at him, reaching him in two rapid bounds that should have been physically impossible. It forced him to throw himself to the ground again as it tried to literally bite his head off. At the last moment, he twisted his fall and the tip of his sword caught the creature in its side as it flew by. Vindictive glee coursed through him, he'd wounded it, but when he pushed himself onto a knee he noticed that the beast's injury was already stitching back together. The Alpha now stood between him and his friends, and he could see them all working together. There were three John's, conjured illusions all, distracting one of the hounds as he set-up what looked like a surprise attack with Zack. The other three perched on various altars to stay out of biting range of the second one. Duncan and Brandon were doing a great job of confusing it while Sean focused on the blue fireball in his hand. He couldn't help the swell of pride as he watched them, his team was good, and they'd win this fight.
However, his pride was quickly forgotten as the Alpha snarled at him and attacked again. Still, on bended knee, he dodged the hit poorly and the monster's claw scraped against his kevlar vest, almost completely knocking the breath from him. He was eternally grateful he'd elected to put it on, his ears buzzing from the hit, as jagged ice crystals forming in the marks left behind. Yet even still he'd somehow managed to catch it with his sword and the force of it all spun him away. Instinctively he used the momentum to get to his feet, whipping out a dagger he threw as he spun, and then crouched to keep his center of gravity low so that he'd stay upright. The Hound yelped in pain at his slice but, unlike with Brandon, it swiped the dagger away, cutting its paw in the process. None of that seemed to phase it though, and he watched with wide eyes as it pushed itself to its feet. Even from this distance he could see the skin, again, knitting back together. The blessings on his weapons simply weren't strong enough to kill an Alpha.
"Chris!" Brandon yelled, causing him to glance back, and he noted that the other Hounds were dead while his friends were headed toward him. That was bad, they needed a plan other than just attacking, and he held up his hand to stop them.
It was a mistake, looking away, and if he hadn't heard the whistling of movement through the air he'd have been a dead man. Instead, he dodged again, but not fast enough, and the beast's claw sank into his right shoulder where the body armor didn't cover, cutting him with daggers that ripped with cold. The pain was excruciating and completely against his will his mind instinctively projected that to Wyatt, his lifelong protector, as he screamed in agony. The poison began its infection instantaneously as he panted heavily and gripped his wound; only realizing his mistake half a second too late as the ground shook with his brother's reaction to his pain and fear. He rolled out of the way and telekinetically threw the beast back to the doors of the church with a piece of a broken pew, as it tried to check itself and charged again without pausing. Chris snarled as he pushed himself to his knees, no time to stop, as the hound regrouped a fourth time and he felt the tell-tale surge of power that accompanies his brother's presence.
"Group up for a jump!" He snarled at his friends, who instantly grabbed one another, while he jumped toward them.
The Hound lunged at him a final time but Wyatt rippled into being in front of him, Excalibur in hand, and the beast's forward momentum sliced it into fiery halves against his brother's outward swing. At least that's what his friends told him they saw before they faded away because when he lunged he immediately turned into a projectile of orb lights as soon as his brother's image started to solidify. The long practiced move meant he was able to grab his friends and just before he faded completely he felt his brother grab for him but it was too late and he was home free. Leaving behind his brother who'd just killed the last Hound that knew his scent well enough to track him. A problem he planned to rectify as soon as possible.
They landed in a Staples, the place his scattered mind reminded him he needed to go anyway, and again his momentum caused them to scatter as they landed. Only this time it was worse because he was too hurt to control it and all six boys were sent flying in different directions. Some just slide a few feet while others actually hit displays. The once silent store was now full of cursing, groans, and Chris's heavy pained breathing. He gripped his shoulder, most of his upper right side numb and he knew his massive use of magic had sped up the poison.
"Aunt Prue," he croaked as he thought of the only person he knew would definitely come outside of his brother. "Aunt Prue I'm dying!"
WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU!The voice reverberated through and around him, and he cried out at the pressure in his skull. His brother and the poison all but destroying his mind for a split second. His brother had heard him call for their long-dead Aunt as if he was standing right next to him and he was panicked. Everything hurt and his friends were desperately trying to staunch the bleeding when a group of blue-white particles formed out of the corner of his eye. Then his aunt's concerned and upset face was above him. It took a moment but feeling started to filter back to him slowly as the pain ebbed. I'm sorry! I'm sorry Chris. I didn't mean to – please! Whatever you've done I still can't find you. I'm the only one left that can heal. The poison will kill you if I don't. I don't - I won't lose you.
He said nothing, mentally focusing on the color white to keep Wyatt from learning anything as Prue finished healing him. Then they helped him up as his friends pat him on the back and he stored away the information that Wyatt thought all the Whitelighters were indeed gone. Finally, when he had a good command of himself again he said one more thing before his mental barriers slammed back in full force. You already have, you did that, not me.
The ground rolled in reaction to his proclamation and they all jumped as a bright flash from outside lit the interior of the store. Chris groaned and gripped his temples as the banging started in his head, he needed to get into the hideout wards and come up with that permanent solution.
"The fuck?!"
Chris looked at Brandon and sigh, "Wyatt. He's worried and I just told him to fuck off."
"You good?" his friend came over and crouched down before him.
"Yea," Chris grumbled and winced, rubbing his forehead. "He's beating on the wall, it's giving me a hell of a headache, but for the moment I'm good."
"Good," Prue spoke up for the first time standing before them, her arms folded and a deadly look in her bright green eyes, "Explanation. Now"
"Brandon could you…" he muttered and then stumbled away to the store's crafts aisle. He could feel their eyes on him, but he didn't care. He quickly grabbed a can of spray paint and started drawing on the ground. He wasn't going to last until they got back and he needed supplies here. However, he encountered a problem when he moved to cut his hand for the blood, namely that his weapons were all gone, left at the church. Where his brother was sure to find them and wonder about them unless, by some miracle, he hadn't just vaporized them with his temper tantrum. "I need a dagger!"
Zack handed him one and he activated the magic, burning the paint dry, before collapsing inside the circle. The banging immediately stopped, though his head still throbbed on principle. The explosive reaction came again, only larger and the percussion blew in the front windows of the store. Instantly everyone yelled and hit the ground to avoid the flying glass.
"Fuckin' hell! Your brother's a drama queen!" Sean snapped climbing to his feet and carefully brushing debris off his shoulders. Everyone else made similar comments while Jon and Zack moved to the windows so they could see how close they were to the epicenter.
"Aunt Prue," he asked tiredly and she walked over to him, also dusting herself off. "I need a lot of supplies here for my spell work. Sharpies, paint, paper, pens, and pencils. That kind of stuff, enough to last me years. Several whiteboards would be great if they have the big ones too. Can you telekinetic orb?"
"Yes," she crouched down just outside the design, and if the look on her face was anything to go by he looked even worse than he felt, "I'll help you, but you and I are going to have a longtalk about what happened when we get back."
"Here," he looked up to see Duncan above him holding a sheathed short sword down to him. He noticed Prue eying the weapon with interest and knew that their talk was going to be severe. "I have two and you blessed this one."
He nodded at them both, replaced his now empty sheath for one with a sword, and then curled into a ball on the ground intent on taking a nap in his safe zone while his friends worked.
0ooo0ooo0ooo0
It was unusually warm for the second week of December and the population of San Francisco was out taking advantage of the brief respite from what winter chill the city had around this time. It was what Piper wanted to be doing, and she'd made that perfectly clear, while they'd driven to the lumber yard. This was the fifth vanquish she'd been dragged to this week, alone, and her patience with him, though not her sisters, was starting to grow thin. Now twenty minutes later he could tell that she was about to give up on this hunting expedition and he couldn't have that. He'd known the moment he'd been told they were moving out that this was going to start happening. That their Charmed duties would suffer because of their personal wants and distractions. Now they were waiting on Paige and he could hear the crowd of workers outside being held back by Darryl getting louder.
Piper stood near the center of a large opening in the stacks of lumber trying her best to keep her temper, while he on the other hand was pacing back and forth, "She's supposed to be here by now."
"So, she's a little late," Piper said with a shrug, though her shoulders were tight, as she turned away to hide a smirk. He could tell that no matter how annoyed she was, she still found his anger amusing.
"No, she's a lot late," he said as he stopped moving and folded his arms, "Paige used to be the first one to a vanquish. What's wrong with her?"
"She's in love," Piper sighed and the look on her face was slightly forlorn, "that's hardly wrong."
"It is when it interferes with her responsibilities as a Charmed One," he snapped, he had no patience for this anymore and then looked heavenward when all she did was roll her eyes at him.
"Why don't you just let me handle this one alone?" she asked reasonably and he curled and uncurled the fist she couldn't see at his side.
"Because you've handled the last four vanquishes alone," Chris countered his tone as level as he could make it and she nodded slightly conceding his point. "I swear, you should've never let them move out."
"Hey, you don't see me complaining, I'm happy for them, and you should be too." She again admonished gently with that every present sisterly indulgence that drove him crazy. Why couldn't she be more like Prue in that regard. His oldest aunt would have whipped the younger women into shape while his mother, the eternal middle sister, just wanted to be the peacemaker that kept everyone happy. Unless of course, it was him, him she didn't mind upsetting. Then she clapped her hands as she moved on from a subject they'd done nothing but fight about. "So where is this demon and what's its name?"
"No one knows its name," Chris sighed and rubbed his tired eyes. The glamour he'd taken to wearing around them may have hidden how gaunt he'd started to look, but that didn't mean he felt any better physically or that it wasn't another drain on his already thin resources. "and it's too strong for one witch to handle alone."
The crowd outside was starting to reach a crescendo and Darryl finally pulled open the door to glare at them. "How much longer is this gonna take?"
He'd asked the same thing almost ten minutes ago now but Piper hadn't wanted to bother her globetrotting sister at that point; willing to wait out Paige's tardiness some more. Now the inconvenience they were causing their longtime friend outweighed her consideration for her middle sister. "Go see what Phoebe's doing."
He nodded as he orbed himself across the world and was glad he'd thought to put on his magical energy shielding for this hunt. He didn't feel much like becoming a meal for The Nameless with only Piper there to possibly save him.
After a quick check of the room, he solidified behind Phoebe and smirked. She was at a table dressed in a Cheongsam and glaring at a half-folded piece of paper, completely oblivious to his presence. He almost felt bad when he cleared his throat and she jumped, "Chris! You scared me! What's going on?"
"What's going on is that Paige flaked, again, and Piper needs your help," he said as he held out his hand for her to take.
"Oh, ok," she said as she bounced up and then turned around to grab a paper animal off the table, "Gift for Piper, let's go!"
He orbed them back to the warehouse and Phoebe had barely solidified before she bounded over to her sister to hug her. Her sister's enthusiasm made Piper smile, "Hi! Wow!"
"Oh, how's Wyatt?" Phoebe asked as she squeezed her sister once more before pulling away, "I miss him so much."
"He misses you too," Piper said with a sad little smile and a shadow he recognized in her eye. She may lie about it to them, but he knew she was lonely. "Is this a bad time?"
"No, this is a great time. Jason's away at a conference, I was just practicing my origami," Phoebe said with a bright smile and then offered her sister the paper animal. "This is a tiger, you can have that. I'm sorry I didn't visit."
"No, no, don't be silly. You've obviously been really busy… folding," Piper said with a forced laugh and he looked away. That apology was empty and everyone knew it. If his aunt had wanted to visit she would have. She'd have called him or Paige and he gladly would have played cosmic taxi. Especially if it brought them back together, "I'm sorry I have to ask for your help, but..."
"No, it's okay," Phoebe said with a bright smile and a dismissive wave of her hand, "I mean, if you don't enter the tiger's cave, you may never get the cub, right?"
Piper's head tilted to the side, "Come again?
"Ancient Chinese proverb," she said with a laugh, "Means nothing ventured, nothing gained, you know?"
He almost hated to interrupt the family reunion but the yelling he could hear outside was getting so loud that he was able to make out what the workers were actually saying. "Can we get the show on the road here?"
"Sure," Phoebe said when he gestured to the doors and she too noticed the yelling before turning back to her sister. "Keep that. Okay, what do you want me to do?"
"You're the bait," Chris moved away and grabbed Piper's arm to move her away as well. The Nameless was fast and he didn't want her getting caught when it attacked. "All you've gotta do is levitate into the air and when this demon senses your magic, it's gonna come fast and hard."
"Okay," she said as she swung her arms and prepared herself. Thankfully neither thought to ask why the demon hadn't sensed his magic, but on the other hand, it was such an obvious oversight on their part that it made his teeth grit a little. The mantra he'd come to say at times like this ran through his mind again; this was why a demon had been able to get close enough to turn his brother, "Be careful of my origami, that tiger took two frickin' hours."
Chris nodded his head and took the tiger from Piper for safekeeping, "Okay, let's do it."
Phoebe took a deep breath and then raised her hands as she flew almost ten feet straight into the air. For a moment nothing happened then he sensed a power coiling under his feet just before the ground started shaking. The ground cracked as the creature charged and Phoebe's eyes widened just before a jet of green slime shot out of the ground at her. The speed with which it attacked surprised Piper and she screamed as she reflexively threw out her hands and unleashed her explosive power. Almost without thinking, Chris orbed himself away as the green goo flew at him and he avoided being covered in it, though his aunt and mother weren't so lucky.
He bit his lip to hold in his laughter as both women cried out in disgust and tried to shake off some of the slime. Piper, cringing, turned and headed for the door as he walked over to Phoebe, a sheepish smile on his face. Almost as a peace offering, he held the clean paper animal up, "You're tiger's safe."
Phoebe looked at him aghast that she was covered and he didn't have a drop on him, then she snorted, "Did you just make a joke?"
He shrugged as Piper walked back to them, "Alright let's get out of here. I need a shower. A long shower."
Phoebe concurred and all three of them headed for Piper's jeep as the confused workmen looked on. The drive home was quick and he handed the younger sister back her artwork once they parked in the driveway. Then, with a quick word of excuse, he orbed himself to the top of the Golden Gate and carefully reapplied the blocks on his wards so that he didn't appear to be a void if someone tried to sense him magically. He took a moment to lean heavily against the side tower and closed his eyes. Only to snap them back open as flashes of dead faces appeared across the back of his eyelids, just as they had every time he tried to sleep. Now tired and frustrated he orbed back to the house and headed for the kitchen where he could sense all three of the sisters only to stop outside. They were talking about him again. Chris scowled and changed direction to head upstairs to talk to Leo about the situation.
"Chris," Leo said acknowledging his entrance as he rocked slowly in the rocking chair trying to put Wyatt to sleep by reading him a book. "Just let me finish this."
Chris rolled his eyes but didn't comment as he perched himself on the armrest of the lounger Piper had bought for the nights Wyatt had trouble sleeping alone. As he sat, staring out the window across the room from him, he could feel eyes on him and he glanced around to find the little blonde watching him. After his reaction to the teddy bear, Wyatt had stopped trying to actively reach out to him and even started activating his shielding around him again. Even at this age, his brother could be vindictive, he knew his family didn't trust people he put his shield up around completely. Chris was ignoring him so he was making life difficult for Chris. It was such a Wyatt thing to do that it caused a painful tug on his heart.
He was distracted from their staring match by the sound of his aunt's voices coming down the hall. He smirked as Paige opened the door and her face fell when she saw what had become of her room. Phoebe however quickly overcame her shock and squealed with delight as she scurried across the room to cuddle his brother. "Oh! Hi, baby!"
"This one too?" Paige groused as she plopped down properly onto the lounge he was perched on.
"Yeah," Phoebe said with a smile and a laugh as she played with the baby. "You move, you lose it in this family."
He tilted his head and glared at her, "You could lose a lot more than a bedroom when this is over."
"Hi, Chris," Phoebe said with a bite in her tone and a sarcastic smile. The look in her eyes told him that their last argument hadn't been forgotten, even with her friendly greeting earlier. "I'm fine thank you, and you?"
"It's his job to offer his opinion," Leo said with a conciliatory smile as he surprisingly rose to Chris' defense.
Chris nodded his head in thanks and then decided to breach the topic he'd come up to talking about in the first place. All the better that the girls were here, "You know the only reason why she's even here is Paige missed a vanquish."
Leo was taken aback and he looked over at the youngest sister, disappointment in his eyes, "Another one?"
"Yeah," Chris' voice dripped with accusation as he turned to her. "That makes, what? Five in a row now?"
Paige looked back and forth between them as she pouted childishly, "you guys are such nags."
Phoebe was also surprised by the suddenly united front they presented, "when did you two become so chummy?"
"We're not chummy," Leo said with a little laugh but he nodded at him, "it's just he's gone through a lot protecting Wyatt and I figured instead of doubting him I should help him a little."
He smiled slightly and nodded, gratefully, just as Piper walked through the door smiling too, "So what do you guys think? Do you like Wyatt's new room?"
"I like it," Paige hedged and then pouted childishly, "I just like my room too."
"And I like it," Phoebe said the same way, "I just like my room too."
"Well," Piper drawled out the word, "you guys were the ones that moved out, not me."
His eyes narrowed at the tension and annoyance he could hear in those words, though her sisters didn't seem to. So, he was right, his mother wasn't as supportive of them as she pretended to be, she was just being the peacemaker. However, before he could seize on that Phoebe stood up. "So where are my clothes?"
The three of them traipsed away towards the attic and Leo picked up his book but paused as Chris stood up to follow them. "I wouldn't."
He paused and turned back around, "What? Why?"
"Because they know they screwed up," Leo said insightfully as he readjusted his grip on the baby, "If you push the issue now it'll only make them defensive. They'll refuse to correct the problem out of spite and pride."
"Right," he snarked and folded his arms, "Because just letting it go has changed so much in the past. Leo, they do these things, they mess up, and they never seem to learn from the screw-up. In fact, they almost seem to regress sometimes!"
"Changing habits takes time," Leo offered after a few moments of thought and Chris shook his head, floored again at the undisciplined lifestyle of his family in this era. "Are you ok? You seem even more short-tempered than usual."
"Yea, I'm…" he paused and rubbed his face, "I'm just a little tired. My trip to the future brought up memories I'd rather have kept buried and I'm having trouble sleeping. But I'm fine."
Leo was about to say something else when calls of their names came echoing down the stairs and he immediately turned and headed for the attic. His father a few seconds behind him because he had to put Wyatt down. In the attic, he found two confused and worried sisters who quickly explained the situation to him. Chris raised an eyebrow, their story not making much sense, "What do you mean you lost Paige?"
"Well, it was really weird," Phoebe said as she walked over to the last place she'd seen the other woman. "I mean, one second she was here and the next second...poof."
Piper hesitated, thoughtful, "It kind of happened after she put on a pair of Grams' boots."
"Grams used to cast a spell on her clothes when she was younger," Leo said simply and then looked sheepish as everyone, Chris included, looked at him curiously.
"Wait," Phoebe said with a laugh, "you knew Grams when she was young?"
"Yeah," Leo said nervously, face pained, "we crossed paths once or twice when I was a young Whitelighter."
The statement disturbed everyone present and he winced at the mere concept of his great-grandmother and father ever having a thing together. The sisters had similar reactions and he smirked as his father tried to defend himself.
"Well, if the boots did belong to your grandmother, then we better summon her from the dead," Chris said cutting into the back and forth banter between the other three that didn't show signs of stopping any other way. "Maybe she can tell us what happened to Paige."
"Okay," Phoebe said as she gave him a grateful look for the change of topic, "let's get the candles."
Phoebe pulled her still perturbed sister away and they started to put together the summoning ritual. His aunt made quick work of setting up and lighting the candles while his mother stood forlornly by the book. "You know, if I hadn't taken over Paige's room, this never would've happened. This is all my fault."
"What's done is done," he and Leo said at the same time, the same way, and with the same shrug. The moment stunned everyone present and they both pulled away from each other, eyes wide. It was a phrase he'd been using for years and until this moment he hadn't realized it was something he'd gotten from his father. He didn't like that realization in the least.
"Okay," Phoebe said with a surprised laugh, "you two really need to get a room."
He knew the look on his face was inordinately disgusted by the innuendo as he took a step away from the older man but he didn't care. Whether they knew it or not Leo was his father and comments like that were disturbing on a basic level.
Piper seemed to find enjoyment at the moment though, "Yeah."
He looked away from them as Phoebe started to say the spell and while his great grandmother's spirit started to form he felt something pulling at his laces. He swore under his breath as he looked down to find a growing green slime covering his shoe and moving swiftly up his leg. He knew it was useless as he tried to shake the sludge off his foot and then gave up as it sealed his legs together. His mind whirled as he tried to figure out a way out of his situation as he felt the goo start to draw on his magical reserves. He'd lowered his defenses and it knew he had magic, exceptionally powerful magic, he couldn't just hide again.
"Ah," Piper said after they greeted the spirit, "we got a problem."
Grams looked over at him as his struggles caught her attention, "well, you're not the only one."
"Orb out," Leo ordered with a surprising level of worry in his voice as the goo grew rapidly up his chest, sealing his arms to his side.
"No, magic makes it grow," he said through grit teeth, his mind still swirling. "Summoning her spirit already gave it power."
"Oh, you must be Chris, the new Whitelighter," Gram said with a polite but distant smile and he raised an incredulous eyebrow at her before turning back to his pressing problem. Grams caught the look and turned to Leo, "You know, he doesn't look very qualified for the job."
"Chris," Piper sighed, "just let me blast it."
"She's right, orb," Phoebe agreed and Chris ground his teeth as he shook his head. They'd tried that power before and all that had done was break the demon into easily transportable pieces.
"Oh, for heaven sakes, listen to them," Grams said with a dramatic wave of her hand. "We'll find a way to vanquish the foul thing later."
He swore under his breath at them and tried to orb away, only to be trapped inside of a slimy green prison. Now that his physical form was energy he could feel it absorbing away what he had of magical power with more intensity. He solidified again when the feeling was gone and bent over double, breathed heavily, as he looked down at the floor around him. Then Phoebe exclaimed, and he glared at them, while the pieces Piper had made slipped down into the floorboards. They may have saved him, but they'd also given The Nameless a serious power boost. Even given how tired he'd been, he'd still had serious reserves, and he'd felt a good portion of that siphoned off of him. Now he wasn't just tired mentally and physically, but he was near useless magically as well. Today was going to be a bad day, he just knew it.
Benedic, hoc ferro , ad pugnam tenebris - Bless this steel, to battle the darkness
