A/N: Look! A regular update! Yay! Hehe, I think I've got it all worked out now. Hehe, I realise the lady in the first scene of this chapter hasn't been portrayed very well, has she? If she had then, well, it'd spoil it. You don't know her, or do you? Hmm. I would like thank A. Windsor for pointing out to me that my story is angsty. I guess it is, a little, but I hadn't really looked at it that way. The way I see it - there are a lot of issues that need to be dealt with, however the demonic issue - Ben - seems to be top on the list. I'm updating today cos I can't update again until next Friday otherwise. I'm going to Brisbane in the morning, and then when I get back Monday my cousin is coming to stay, so I doubt I'm going to be at home much, let alone able to write. Anyway, on with the story! Please review!

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The chamber was cold.

The woman smiled as she dropped the last few herbs into the already smoking pewter cauldron. It wasn't a happy smile, no, this smile took on more of a manic appearance, creeping up her face and making the woman look haunted, almost empty.

She began to pace the room impatiently, dust rising from the floor in her wake. The candles flickered, shadows dancing almost mockingly across the walls. Mockingly. They were mocking her. The woman stopped to watch the shadows. Then, without warning, she spun around, waving her hands out in front of her as she did. Instantly the room was plunged into darkness, the smell of smoke the only sign of the candles that had been burning seconds earlier. The smile grew – no longer could the shadows mock her.

Bubbling from the cauldron brought the woman back down to reality. Stepping through the darkness, she reached the cauldron, relighting a sole candle with another wave of a hand as she went. The faint light allowed her to fully concentrate on the task at hand. Removing a silver ladle from the cauldron and setting it off to the side, the woman picked up another tool and brought it up to her other hand. Coloured jewels reflected the light from the solitary candle, and as she brought the object down across her hand there was a flash of silver.

The athame sliced cleanly cross her hand, leaving thick crimson blood to spill forth over the skin. Subsequently, two more incisions were made to the dark skin, both parallel to the first cut. Satisfied, the woman set down the knife, before closing her injured hand into a fist, holding it over the cauldron and allowing the blood to trickle forth into the deadly mixture.

'Blood to blood I summon thee, blood to blood – this is your destiny.'

The words came across as a deadly sinister whisper, and with them dark magic spilled forth - ready to begin weaving a deadly game.

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'I won't go! No! Don't make me! Aaaahhhh! Stop! Please! Stop! No! Nooo!'

'What the hell is going on?!' asked Piper. She stood in the doorway to the TV room, Phoebe, Cole and Paige beside her, all four of them staring in on the scene before them in shock. From within the room, Melinda and Bekky were seated on the couch, both looking just as shocked as the adults. Kaitlyn sat on the floor, gazing on, a look of extreme concentration plastered across her face.

Across the other side of the room, in the doorway that led through to the sunroom, was Ben. He had sunk to his knees, his hands drawn up to his temples. His head bobbed backwards and forwards as spasms wracked his body. His face was contorted in a mask of pain, his eyes holding an almost feral look to them, and his mouth open as he screamed and cried protests that made no sense to the onlookers.

'No! Kaitlyn! I'm sorry! I can't stop her! Aaaahhhh! No! Please stop! I won't! I WON'T!'

'Piper is right,' said Phoebe, whirling around to face her husband. 'He's you.'

Cole blinked.

'What? Phoebe, I've never seen the boy before…'

'Don't give me that crap, Cole! How many times are you going to do this?!'

'What?!' Cole looked bewildered.

'You've lied to us, again, Cole! You've lied to me! Again! You've gone behind my back! Again! Honestly, Cole, you're a good for nothing piece of filth! How dare you go knock up another woman, especially after you agreed to this!' Phoebe hissed, holding up her wedding ring for Cole to see.

Cole pushed her hand down, his eyes darting back and forth between his wife and the boy writhing in pain on the ground.

'He's not mine!' Cole protested, his mind becoming a tangle of confusion. What made her think that the kid was his? Did he really look like that? And furthermore, he already had a kid, didn't he? Why the need for another? 'He's not mine,' Cole repeated firmly.

'Sure, Cole, sure,' said Phoebe, her eyes gazing up into his, searching for something more to the empty orbs. There was a pregnant pause, before Phoebe added in a defeated sort of way, 'Go tell it to someone who cares.'

Phoebe turned back to look at Ben, whom was still evidently in pain. Nobody was quite sure what to do about him, afraid of hurting him more if they got too close. Hell, nobody had the slightest clue about what was happening!

'Phoebe…' Cole stopped, suddenly realizing that the conversation was closed from discussion. He looked at his wife and let out an audible sigh, before he shimmered out of the manor, no longer caring.

And from the couch, Bekky watched on at her parents' argument, the world around her crashing down.

'Ben, it'll be okay, don't give in,' said Kaitlyn suddenly, half crawling across the floor towards him. His gaze shifted to her for a split second, his eyes wild with fear and inner turmoil. His cries stopped momentarily, as he drew in a sharp breath, his ribcage shuddering from the pressure.

'What do we do?!' asked Piper, her hands thrown out in front of her, flicking her hands in Ben's direction. 'He won't freeze!'

'Wait for it to pass?' questioned Phoebe.

'It's been going on for a good five minutes now,' said Melinda. 'If it doesn't stop soon…'

'Come on Ben, fight it,' coaxed Kaitlyn. 'I know you can fight it, Ben, don't let her win.'

Piper blinked.

'What is she talking about?' said Piper.

'No idea…' answered Phoebe.

Things seemed to speed up all of a sudden, and Piper could have kicked herself for not seeing it coming. Kaitlyn reached out to Ben, resting one hand each of his shoulders. She was in front of him now, kneeling, at eye level. Her warm eyes gazed knowingly into Ben's, as she tried to hold up a telepathic link. Not one had seen it coming.

He seemed to calm down, for a split second he stopped screaming. And then he turned.

The wild eyes clouded over, until nothing was left but glassy black eyes gazing out of hollow sockets. He reached out with both hands to grip Kaitlyn's shoulders, and Piper realized all to late what was about to happen.

Flames erupted around both kids, working quickly from the ground up, until both Kaitlyn and Ben had vanished from view. Then, just as quick as they had come, the flames vanished, leaving a cloud of black smoke lingering in mid-air.

'No!' yelled Piper, her eyes wide with astonishment. 'Tell me that didn't happen!' she added, her voice sounding strangled.

'I'd like to tell you it didn't, but sweetie –'

Piper cut Phoebe off.

'He flamed out. He's the flipping Source! Oh Merlin how did I not see that one coming!'

There was a pregnant pause, stretching out over several minutes, each occupant of the room lost in their own thoughts, their own memories, and their own minds. Finally, it was Paige who broke the silence, her statement simple, but behind it an unspoken hell was unleashed.

'Well, looks like Charmed are back in business.'

TBC