Part Two
Willow looked up at the soft tapping on the bedroom door. She wiped at
her eyes with the heel of her hand. "Come in." She wasn't surprised
when Angel stepped into the room. She hadn't been able to sleep the
night before and had been aware every time he had checked in on her.
"Hi."
"Hi." Angel closed the door. He stood uncertainly in front of it
watching Willow where she sat at the end of the bed. Her eyes were red
and her cheeks tearstained. "Are you hungry? Would you like some
breakfast?"
"I don't know." Willow shrugged. She felt nothing but loss. She
hadn't felt this way since she had fled Sunnydale when she was pregnant
with Ron. "How am I going to tell him, Angel? What am I going to tell
him? He loves Lindsey so much."
Angel sat down next to Willow. "Does Ron know about Lindsey's past
with Wolfram and Hart?"
"Yes, we've always explained things to Ron as he got old enough to
understand." Willow bent her head and pressed her hand to her
forehead. Lack of sleep and emotional turmoil was giving her a raging
headache. It felt nice when Angel put his arms around her. She let
her head rest on his chest, his sweater soft against her cheek. "I
don't know how he's going to understand this when I don't."
"Then you'll have to tell him that too. You can't explain Lindsey's
actions." Angel rubbed Willow's back in long, soothing strokes. She
seemed calmer this morning and he was less afraid that she was going to
fall apart.
"Mom." Ron walked into the bedroom without knocking. He stopped short
at the sight of his mother in another man's arms. "Where's Dad?"
"I'll go and let you two talk." Angel gave Willow a hug and stood up.
"Do you know where Connor is, Ron?"
"He's downstairs having breakfast. We're supposed to be meeting Dory
and her mom soon." Ron frowned. "Mom, where's Dad?"
"Come here, sweetie." Willow held out her arms. She gave Angel a weak
smile of thanks before he left them alone. "Something happened last
night...."
"I know," Ron interrupted, relieved that this was what had upset his
mother. "Connor overheard his dad on the phone with Buffy. Rack is
looking for us again. Is Dad trying to find him?"
"No. Your father doesn't know that Rack was in Sunnydale." Willow
hugged her son close. He was going to have to deal with so much, it
wasn't fair. "Ron, Lindsey has been unhappy lately. I don't know why.
Last night he decided to leave. He took a job with Wolfram and Hart
and he...he left."
"No, Mom." Ron shook his head and pulled away from Willow. "You're
wrong. Dad would never leave us."
"I'm sorry, Ron, but he made it very clear that he wasn't happy
anymore." Willow pulled her son back to her. "I think he's confused.
He thinks that his old job will make him happy. I don't think this has
anything to do with us. Lindsey still loves us. I know he does."
Ron let his mother hug him and continue to insist that his dad loved
them and that they had done nothing wrong - he had done nothing wrong.
It wasn't anyone's fault. But if it wasn't his fault, then why had his
dad left them? Why had he chosen an evil law firm over his family?
Did it mean that his dad was evil? His biological father was evil.
Ron hugged his mother back tight. He wasn't evil. He wasn't. He
repeated those words in his mind over and over, not completely sure if
he was referring to his dad or himself.
*****
"I see you've maintained your fabulous work ethic, Lindsey." Lilah
walked into his office without announcing herself. It was her way of
showing him she was the boss - more specifically his boss.
"You know what they say - the early evil lawyer gets the demon client
off on all charges." Lindsey didn't look up from the flat computer
screen inlaid on his desk. It was his way of showing her he didn't
care she was his boss.
"How's the apartment? Do you like how I had it decorated?" Lilah
smirked, crossing her arms over her chest.
Lindsey shrugged. "It's fine." He finally looked up at her. He
wasn't going to let her know that her little note bothered him. He was
free and clear. He couldn't think about Willow and Ron while he was
at the office. He wouldn't be able to deal with things if he did.
"I'll probably have it redone soon anyway. You always did things a bit
too cheaply for my tastes."
Lilah's eyes narrowed and her lips thinned. "Have you filed for
divorce yet, Lindsey, or are you going to let wifey take care of that?
She wasted no time moving in with Angel, maybe there was a little
something going on there you didn't know about. She might not be as
heartbroken as you had hoped."
"If you had bothered to pay attention in law school, Lilah, then you
would know that Willow Rosenberg and I are not legally married
therefore there is no need for a divorce. I'm still married to Aria.
No death certificate has been filed in her name." What he said was
true, his union with Willow was dissolved that easily. On paper. She
was his wife. Ron was his son. Paper didn't matter.
"You always did cover all your bases. I admire that about you." Lilah
fingered the lapel of her dark suit and smoothed down her hair. "But
that's enough pleasant office small talk for this morning, we have a
client that I would like you to handle personally." She gestured for
someone to join them in the office.
The man was large with heavy features and stringy black hair. Dark
magic swirled around him. A warlock. "How can I help you?" Lindsey
nodded at one of his office chairs, an invitation for the man to sit.
Lilah continued to hover near the doorway like a vulture, but Lindsey
wasn't sure exactly what roadkill she had caught scent of.
"First of all," the man's voice was deep and gravelly. Lindsey didn't
like looking into the blackness of his eyes, but forced himself to.
"I would like to thank you for taking care of my son all these years,
Mr. McDonald."
Rack. This man was Rack. The warlock he had hidden Willow and Ron
from for all these years was sitting in his office. "You're welcome,"
Lindsey managed to choke out.
Rack smiled. "I'm sure you'll be just as helpful with getting me
visitation rights with my son."
It was all very clear to Lindsey now. This was his test to see if he
was loyal to Wolfram and Hart or to his family. He was the roadkill
Lilah was waiting for.
*****
The mall was busy, but it was still early enough in the day that it
wasn't too crowded. Connor followed Cordelia as she distractedly
threaded her way through the other shoppers. Something was very wrong.
Breakfast had been silent and grim and although Connor and Ron had
both been aware that Angel had brought Willow back to the hotel the
night before, she hadn't come out of her room to join them. Then his
Dad had announced that Ron and his mother had things to talk about and
that they wouldn't be making the planned trip to the mall to meet Dory
and Mrs. Halliwell. Now, the most telling sign that things were bad,
his mother was not stopping to window shop or drag him into stores he
didn't want to go into. Connor wasn't even sure she realized that she
was in a mall.
"Piper." Cordelia waved gratefully upon spotting her Charmed friend
sitting with her daughter beside the large fountain that was the
centerpiece of the food court. She really needed to talk to another
woman and the fact that Piper was a witch was bonus. She would know
how to help Willow with her marital and warlock problems.
"Hi, Cordy." Piper smiled. Her gaze shifted around in confusion.
"Where's Willow and Ron?"
"Something came up." Cordelia shrugged vaguely, but glanced pointedly
at the children. She didn't want to bring anything up in front of
them just yet. It would be better if the adults had a better handle
on what was happening before they involved the kids. "Why don't we
fortify ourselves with coffee before we hit the sales?" Cordelia
nodded toward a coffee shop.
"Hi, Connor." Pandora greeted her friend with a smile as they fell in
step behind their mothers. She hadn't seen her two best friends all
summer and she really wanted to give Connor a hug. She didn't want to
embarrass him though by a public display of affection. He had gotten
taller.
"Hey, Dory. How was your whitelighter summer school with The Elders?"
Connor shoved his hands in his pockets and tried to ignore the voice
inside him that wanted to shout 'Gee, you're pretty.' She was very
pretty in jeans and a pink t-shirt with her long brown hair hanging in
waves down past her shoulders. He couldn't tell her that though
because it was lame and wrong. Pandora was his best friend, he wasn't
supposed to think she was pretty. Connor sat down on a high stool at
the counter with Dory while Piper and Cordelia settled themselves at a
table nearby. He was pretty sure his mother wanted a bit of privacy
to tell Mrs. Halliwell all about Ron's biological father showing up.
Pandora waited until they had their orders of iced coffee before she
answered Connor's question, "I learned a lot about my powers and how
to control them to find people who need help." This summer The Elders
had insisted that she visit them and learn more about her whitelighter
abilities and duties. At first, Pandora had been reluctant to leave
her family and friends, but she had enjoyed exploring her empathic,
passive powers and time had moved so quickly. What had been the summer
for her family and friends had only been a few days to her. Still,
she had missed her friends and with her heightened awareness, she could
sense that Ron was in trouble. "What's going on with Ron?"
Connor sighed. "His biological father, Rack, showed up in Sunnydale.
He's looking for Ron and Aunt Willow. Dad brought Aunt Willow back to
the hotel last night, she and Ron are going to stay with us for now,
but as far as I know, Ron's dad isn't. Aunt Willow is really upset and
Ron thinks that his dad has gone after Rack."
"Poor Ron." Pandora swept her hair back behind her ears and frowned in
thought. "If this Rack guy is so powerful then he should be in the
Book of Shadows. Ron would feel better and be more prepared to face
him if he knew more about him."
"Do you think Ron will have to actually face Rack?" The worry Connor
felt for his friend increased and was joined by fear.
"I don't think Rack will just go away, he's here for a reason."
Pandora reached over and squeezed Connor's hand reassuringly. "It'll
be okay, Ron won't be alone. He'll have us and his parents and your
parents and my parents and my aunts and uncles and your aunts and
uncles."
"Of course." Connor smiled and tightened his grip on Pandora's hand.
She was right. Rack couldn't hurt Ron, there were too many people
standing in his way.
*****
The Source's chamber in the Underworld was cold - a deep, bone chilling
cold - but feeling it was a weakness so Rack did not shiver. He also
did not bow his head in submission. He did not consider the Source as
his master, but rather a colleague and an ally. "You can't refuse my
offer, it is your opportunity to turn things back to your advantage."
Rack smirked. He eyed the hooded figure sitting on large stone throne
that was chiseled from the rock that surrounded them. Ancient runic
writing glowed in the ceiling above the Source of All Evil.
"You are overconfident, Rack." The voice that issued from within the
cavernous hood was strong, but distorted in a hollow, hissing manner.
It almost seemed to come from around the Source rather than from it.
"You need my assistance to gain control over the boy."
"I don't need a lawyer from your law firm to reclaim my son." Rack
brushed some dust from his suit. Why a demon with as much power as the
Source held would choose to bury himself down here was beyond him. Rack
wanted that power, but didn't covet the position. He wasn't a threat
to the Source's reign, he didn't want to rule the Underworld and look
after the myriads of demons and evil beings that claimed fidelity to
the Source. Rack just wanted the raw energy of evil that the Source
commanded. "He is my blood, evil will call to him. You need me and
my son to stop the Charmed Ones."
"The Charmed Ones are a mere nuisance," the Source snapped.
"They destroyed the last Source." Rack stepped forward.
"They got lucky. My predecessor acted out of fear after he heard the
prophecy of the Thrice Charmed Child."
"But you aren't going to make that mistake. You see the potential in
the Child and not the threat." Rack's dark eyes gleamed with unholy
anticipation. The Source would give him the power he craved. "I hear
that my son is quite close to the Charmed Child. I can bring her to
you as well." At the Source's nod, Rack smiled. He would have to
thank Willow for preventing him from killing their son at birth. He
was turning out to be much more valuable as a teenager.
*****
Ron sat on a bench in the Hyperion's courtyard and looked up at the
clear blue sky. It wasn't fair that fluffy white clouds drifted lazily
across a perfect sky when he felt so horrible. Thunder should be
crashing and lightening should be ripping apart the sky just like he
was ripped up inside. The dad he loved had left him and the father he
was afraid of had returned. Ron shivered despite the hot sun shining
down on him.
"Ron!" Pandora rushed up to her friend and embraced him. "How are
you?"
"Blissful now that you've finally realized your love for me, Dory."
Ron managed a grin as Pandora snorted and pushed away from him. He
glanced at Connor, who had approached more slowly. "Sorry for
abandoning you on the mall trip with the females."
"It wasn't too bad." Connor sat down on the bench beside Pandora. She
was twisted slightly to face Ron and her hair tickled Connor's face as
it danced in the breeze. "So, uh, what did your mom say? Do they know
any more about Rack?"
"No, but Mom says I have to be extra careful now. I tried to use it
to get out of starting school, but looks like we're taking the sewers
with your dad for a while." Ron sighed. Being with his friends had
calmed some of his inner confusion. They didn't seem afraid that he
would go all evil on them. Of course, they didn't know that was what
his dad had done.
"Connor and I thought that it might help if we looked Rack up in the
Book of Shadows." Pandora squeezed Ron's hand encouragingly. She
hated seeing her normally lighthearted and funny friend so quiet and
dejected. They needed to do something. "We might even find a....
protection or banishing spell that could help." Pandora bit her lip.
She had almost suggested a vanquishing spell. She wasn't sure how Ron
would feel about that. She knew that he had never met Rack and that
the warlock was evil and had wanted to kill Ron ever since he was born,
but there was still a connection between them. She didn't want Ron to
have to decide whether or not he should vanquish his father.
"You're not supposed to look through the Book of Shadows unsupervised."
Ron raised his eyebrows. Dory must really be worried if she was
proposing they break a major Halliwell rule. It was nice that she was
worried about Rack though and not him. She wouldn't let him near the
Book of Shadows if she thought he was evil.
"Well...Mom is here, my aunts are at work, and Dad is with the Elders."
Pandora took a deep breath. She really hated breaking the rules -
especially one as serious as using the Book of Shadows - but Ron was
her friend and he needed to be prepared. She trusted their parents and
family to do everything they could to protect him, but sometimes
everything wasn't enough. Sometimes you had to take care of yourself.
"If I orb us to the Book and we take a quick look and then orb back
here...what they don't know won't hurt them."
"Orb?" Ron edged away from Pandora a bit, but didn't break contact by
taking his hand away from hers. "You know I don't like that particular
mode of transportation. Let's take the bus instead. A good solid
bus."
Pandora rolled her eyes. "That will take too long." She smiled as she
felt Connor's hand slip into her free one. "Quit being silly, Ron,
I've been orbing since I was a baby." She tightened her grip on her
friends and thought about the attic of her house. As she directed her
mind to take her and her friends there, she felt the familiar tingling,
fuzzy sensation of dissolving into blue light. Orbing three people was
trickier than just orbing herself, she had to keep track of them as
well. Luckily, there wasn't time for her mind to wander, almost
instantly she felt the jolt of solidifying and landing on a wooden
floor. They were now in her attic. The Book of Shadows lay open on a
stand a few feet away. Pandora walked over to it before she could
change her mind. Now that they were here she was nervous.
Connor and Ron exchanged a glance as they looked around the room. Old
furniture and boxes cluttered the large room. A multi-paned window
behind Pandora let in the only light. "It's an attic." Connor was
disappointed. Ever since he had met Pandora when he had finally been
allowed to attend school, he had heard stories about demons trying to
steal the Book of Shadows, using the Book of Shadows to summon dead
relatives, and a lot of other cool, mystical events. It was
anticlimactic to find it was just an old book in an attic full of junk.
"What were you expecting?" Pandora raised an eyebrow at her friends.
"I don't know." Connor shrugged. "Something more...witchy."
"Sorry, but I wasn't expecting company. Next time you guys come over
to research demons I'll make sure I bring out the black candles and
etch a pentagram on the floor." Pandora smiled at them to take the
sting out of her words. She held her hand over the Book of Shadows.
"For now, this will have to do. Book of Shadows, hear this Halliwell
speak, within your pages it is the warlock Rack whom I seek." The
pages of the book flipped rapidly back and forth until they finally
settled midway through the Book.
"Well?" Ron prompted impatiently when Pandora didn't start reading
right away. He walked up to stand in front of her, the Book between
them. He could see the drawing of a man's face upside down. Ron
stepped back, he couldn't look at the cruel twist of the man's lips.
"Rack, an adept magician in the late eighteen hundreds. He gained
magical power and the status of a warlock in 1910 when he..." Pandora
gasped. Her eyes met Connor's and he knew that whatever it was, it was
bad. He stepped up beside Ron and nodded for her to continue. At
least Ron would be with his friends when he heard about his biological
father's nature. "He sacrificed his son, born from a witch. He feeds
on the magic of witches, using their power while giving them a feeling
of false euphoria and a taste for dark magic. His weakness is his
thirst for power. Novice witches who are not properly trained to
control their magic are most likely to fall prey to his influence."
"Who, uh, wrote that?" Ron forced himself to look at the face of the
warlock who would have murdered him. A part of him had always thought
that maybe his mother had overreacted and that Rack wouldn't have
actually sacrificed him, but he had done it before. His mother had
never told him that. Maybe she didn't know. There might be a lot of
things that she didn't know.
"I don't know who wrote it, but it would have been a Halliwell."
"We should probably be getting back." Connor glanced at his watch.
"We'll be missed soon."
"Yeah." Ron agreed distractedly, but he didn't move. He stared at the
Book of Shadows. There was something else that he needed to know. "I
need to know who my father is. Dory, can you look up Wolfram and Hart
for me, please?" Fear almost made Ron stop his friend as she held her
hand over the Book again and repeated the locating spell for Wolfram
and Hart. He had to know though. Now that he knew that evil had given
him life, he had to know if it had raised him as well. Who was he?
To be continued....
Willow looked up at the soft tapping on the bedroom door. She wiped at
her eyes with the heel of her hand. "Come in." She wasn't surprised
when Angel stepped into the room. She hadn't been able to sleep the
night before and had been aware every time he had checked in on her.
"Hi."
"Hi." Angel closed the door. He stood uncertainly in front of it
watching Willow where she sat at the end of the bed. Her eyes were red
and her cheeks tearstained. "Are you hungry? Would you like some
breakfast?"
"I don't know." Willow shrugged. She felt nothing but loss. She
hadn't felt this way since she had fled Sunnydale when she was pregnant
with Ron. "How am I going to tell him, Angel? What am I going to tell
him? He loves Lindsey so much."
Angel sat down next to Willow. "Does Ron know about Lindsey's past
with Wolfram and Hart?"
"Yes, we've always explained things to Ron as he got old enough to
understand." Willow bent her head and pressed her hand to her
forehead. Lack of sleep and emotional turmoil was giving her a raging
headache. It felt nice when Angel put his arms around her. She let
her head rest on his chest, his sweater soft against her cheek. "I
don't know how he's going to understand this when I don't."
"Then you'll have to tell him that too. You can't explain Lindsey's
actions." Angel rubbed Willow's back in long, soothing strokes. She
seemed calmer this morning and he was less afraid that she was going to
fall apart.
"Mom." Ron walked into the bedroom without knocking. He stopped short
at the sight of his mother in another man's arms. "Where's Dad?"
"I'll go and let you two talk." Angel gave Willow a hug and stood up.
"Do you know where Connor is, Ron?"
"He's downstairs having breakfast. We're supposed to be meeting Dory
and her mom soon." Ron frowned. "Mom, where's Dad?"
"Come here, sweetie." Willow held out her arms. She gave Angel a weak
smile of thanks before he left them alone. "Something happened last
night...."
"I know," Ron interrupted, relieved that this was what had upset his
mother. "Connor overheard his dad on the phone with Buffy. Rack is
looking for us again. Is Dad trying to find him?"
"No. Your father doesn't know that Rack was in Sunnydale." Willow
hugged her son close. He was going to have to deal with so much, it
wasn't fair. "Ron, Lindsey has been unhappy lately. I don't know why.
Last night he decided to leave. He took a job with Wolfram and Hart
and he...he left."
"No, Mom." Ron shook his head and pulled away from Willow. "You're
wrong. Dad would never leave us."
"I'm sorry, Ron, but he made it very clear that he wasn't happy
anymore." Willow pulled her son back to her. "I think he's confused.
He thinks that his old job will make him happy. I don't think this has
anything to do with us. Lindsey still loves us. I know he does."
Ron let his mother hug him and continue to insist that his dad loved
them and that they had done nothing wrong - he had done nothing wrong.
It wasn't anyone's fault. But if it wasn't his fault, then why had his
dad left them? Why had he chosen an evil law firm over his family?
Did it mean that his dad was evil? His biological father was evil.
Ron hugged his mother back tight. He wasn't evil. He wasn't. He
repeated those words in his mind over and over, not completely sure if
he was referring to his dad or himself.
*****
"I see you've maintained your fabulous work ethic, Lindsey." Lilah
walked into his office without announcing herself. It was her way of
showing him she was the boss - more specifically his boss.
"You know what they say - the early evil lawyer gets the demon client
off on all charges." Lindsey didn't look up from the flat computer
screen inlaid on his desk. It was his way of showing her he didn't
care she was his boss.
"How's the apartment? Do you like how I had it decorated?" Lilah
smirked, crossing her arms over her chest.
Lindsey shrugged. "It's fine." He finally looked up at her. He
wasn't going to let her know that her little note bothered him. He was
free and clear. He couldn't think about Willow and Ron while he was
at the office. He wouldn't be able to deal with things if he did.
"I'll probably have it redone soon anyway. You always did things a bit
too cheaply for my tastes."
Lilah's eyes narrowed and her lips thinned. "Have you filed for
divorce yet, Lindsey, or are you going to let wifey take care of that?
She wasted no time moving in with Angel, maybe there was a little
something going on there you didn't know about. She might not be as
heartbroken as you had hoped."
"If you had bothered to pay attention in law school, Lilah, then you
would know that Willow Rosenberg and I are not legally married
therefore there is no need for a divorce. I'm still married to Aria.
No death certificate has been filed in her name." What he said was
true, his union with Willow was dissolved that easily. On paper. She
was his wife. Ron was his son. Paper didn't matter.
"You always did cover all your bases. I admire that about you." Lilah
fingered the lapel of her dark suit and smoothed down her hair. "But
that's enough pleasant office small talk for this morning, we have a
client that I would like you to handle personally." She gestured for
someone to join them in the office.
The man was large with heavy features and stringy black hair. Dark
magic swirled around him. A warlock. "How can I help you?" Lindsey
nodded at one of his office chairs, an invitation for the man to sit.
Lilah continued to hover near the doorway like a vulture, but Lindsey
wasn't sure exactly what roadkill she had caught scent of.
"First of all," the man's voice was deep and gravelly. Lindsey didn't
like looking into the blackness of his eyes, but forced himself to.
"I would like to thank you for taking care of my son all these years,
Mr. McDonald."
Rack. This man was Rack. The warlock he had hidden Willow and Ron
from for all these years was sitting in his office. "You're welcome,"
Lindsey managed to choke out.
Rack smiled. "I'm sure you'll be just as helpful with getting me
visitation rights with my son."
It was all very clear to Lindsey now. This was his test to see if he
was loyal to Wolfram and Hart or to his family. He was the roadkill
Lilah was waiting for.
*****
The mall was busy, but it was still early enough in the day that it
wasn't too crowded. Connor followed Cordelia as she distractedly
threaded her way through the other shoppers. Something was very wrong.
Breakfast had been silent and grim and although Connor and Ron had
both been aware that Angel had brought Willow back to the hotel the
night before, she hadn't come out of her room to join them. Then his
Dad had announced that Ron and his mother had things to talk about and
that they wouldn't be making the planned trip to the mall to meet Dory
and Mrs. Halliwell. Now, the most telling sign that things were bad,
his mother was not stopping to window shop or drag him into stores he
didn't want to go into. Connor wasn't even sure she realized that she
was in a mall.
"Piper." Cordelia waved gratefully upon spotting her Charmed friend
sitting with her daughter beside the large fountain that was the
centerpiece of the food court. She really needed to talk to another
woman and the fact that Piper was a witch was bonus. She would know
how to help Willow with her marital and warlock problems.
"Hi, Cordy." Piper smiled. Her gaze shifted around in confusion.
"Where's Willow and Ron?"
"Something came up." Cordelia shrugged vaguely, but glanced pointedly
at the children. She didn't want to bring anything up in front of
them just yet. It would be better if the adults had a better handle
on what was happening before they involved the kids. "Why don't we
fortify ourselves with coffee before we hit the sales?" Cordelia
nodded toward a coffee shop.
"Hi, Connor." Pandora greeted her friend with a smile as they fell in
step behind their mothers. She hadn't seen her two best friends all
summer and she really wanted to give Connor a hug. She didn't want to
embarrass him though by a public display of affection. He had gotten
taller.
"Hey, Dory. How was your whitelighter summer school with The Elders?"
Connor shoved his hands in his pockets and tried to ignore the voice
inside him that wanted to shout 'Gee, you're pretty.' She was very
pretty in jeans and a pink t-shirt with her long brown hair hanging in
waves down past her shoulders. He couldn't tell her that though
because it was lame and wrong. Pandora was his best friend, he wasn't
supposed to think she was pretty. Connor sat down on a high stool at
the counter with Dory while Piper and Cordelia settled themselves at a
table nearby. He was pretty sure his mother wanted a bit of privacy
to tell Mrs. Halliwell all about Ron's biological father showing up.
Pandora waited until they had their orders of iced coffee before she
answered Connor's question, "I learned a lot about my powers and how
to control them to find people who need help." This summer The Elders
had insisted that she visit them and learn more about her whitelighter
abilities and duties. At first, Pandora had been reluctant to leave
her family and friends, but she had enjoyed exploring her empathic,
passive powers and time had moved so quickly. What had been the summer
for her family and friends had only been a few days to her. Still,
she had missed her friends and with her heightened awareness, she could
sense that Ron was in trouble. "What's going on with Ron?"
Connor sighed. "His biological father, Rack, showed up in Sunnydale.
He's looking for Ron and Aunt Willow. Dad brought Aunt Willow back to
the hotel last night, she and Ron are going to stay with us for now,
but as far as I know, Ron's dad isn't. Aunt Willow is really upset and
Ron thinks that his dad has gone after Rack."
"Poor Ron." Pandora swept her hair back behind her ears and frowned in
thought. "If this Rack guy is so powerful then he should be in the
Book of Shadows. Ron would feel better and be more prepared to face
him if he knew more about him."
"Do you think Ron will have to actually face Rack?" The worry Connor
felt for his friend increased and was joined by fear.
"I don't think Rack will just go away, he's here for a reason."
Pandora reached over and squeezed Connor's hand reassuringly. "It'll
be okay, Ron won't be alone. He'll have us and his parents and your
parents and my parents and my aunts and uncles and your aunts and
uncles."
"Of course." Connor smiled and tightened his grip on Pandora's hand.
She was right. Rack couldn't hurt Ron, there were too many people
standing in his way.
*****
The Source's chamber in the Underworld was cold - a deep, bone chilling
cold - but feeling it was a weakness so Rack did not shiver. He also
did not bow his head in submission. He did not consider the Source as
his master, but rather a colleague and an ally. "You can't refuse my
offer, it is your opportunity to turn things back to your advantage."
Rack smirked. He eyed the hooded figure sitting on large stone throne
that was chiseled from the rock that surrounded them. Ancient runic
writing glowed in the ceiling above the Source of All Evil.
"You are overconfident, Rack." The voice that issued from within the
cavernous hood was strong, but distorted in a hollow, hissing manner.
It almost seemed to come from around the Source rather than from it.
"You need my assistance to gain control over the boy."
"I don't need a lawyer from your law firm to reclaim my son." Rack
brushed some dust from his suit. Why a demon with as much power as the
Source held would choose to bury himself down here was beyond him. Rack
wanted that power, but didn't covet the position. He wasn't a threat
to the Source's reign, he didn't want to rule the Underworld and look
after the myriads of demons and evil beings that claimed fidelity to
the Source. Rack just wanted the raw energy of evil that the Source
commanded. "He is my blood, evil will call to him. You need me and
my son to stop the Charmed Ones."
"The Charmed Ones are a mere nuisance," the Source snapped.
"They destroyed the last Source." Rack stepped forward.
"They got lucky. My predecessor acted out of fear after he heard the
prophecy of the Thrice Charmed Child."
"But you aren't going to make that mistake. You see the potential in
the Child and not the threat." Rack's dark eyes gleamed with unholy
anticipation. The Source would give him the power he craved. "I hear
that my son is quite close to the Charmed Child. I can bring her to
you as well." At the Source's nod, Rack smiled. He would have to
thank Willow for preventing him from killing their son at birth. He
was turning out to be much more valuable as a teenager.
*****
Ron sat on a bench in the Hyperion's courtyard and looked up at the
clear blue sky. It wasn't fair that fluffy white clouds drifted lazily
across a perfect sky when he felt so horrible. Thunder should be
crashing and lightening should be ripping apart the sky just like he
was ripped up inside. The dad he loved had left him and the father he
was afraid of had returned. Ron shivered despite the hot sun shining
down on him.
"Ron!" Pandora rushed up to her friend and embraced him. "How are
you?"
"Blissful now that you've finally realized your love for me, Dory."
Ron managed a grin as Pandora snorted and pushed away from him. He
glanced at Connor, who had approached more slowly. "Sorry for
abandoning you on the mall trip with the females."
"It wasn't too bad." Connor sat down on the bench beside Pandora. She
was twisted slightly to face Ron and her hair tickled Connor's face as
it danced in the breeze. "So, uh, what did your mom say? Do they know
any more about Rack?"
"No, but Mom says I have to be extra careful now. I tried to use it
to get out of starting school, but looks like we're taking the sewers
with your dad for a while." Ron sighed. Being with his friends had
calmed some of his inner confusion. They didn't seem afraid that he
would go all evil on them. Of course, they didn't know that was what
his dad had done.
"Connor and I thought that it might help if we looked Rack up in the
Book of Shadows." Pandora squeezed Ron's hand encouragingly. She
hated seeing her normally lighthearted and funny friend so quiet and
dejected. They needed to do something. "We might even find a....
protection or banishing spell that could help." Pandora bit her lip.
She had almost suggested a vanquishing spell. She wasn't sure how Ron
would feel about that. She knew that he had never met Rack and that
the warlock was evil and had wanted to kill Ron ever since he was born,
but there was still a connection between them. She didn't want Ron to
have to decide whether or not he should vanquish his father.
"You're not supposed to look through the Book of Shadows unsupervised."
Ron raised his eyebrows. Dory must really be worried if she was
proposing they break a major Halliwell rule. It was nice that she was
worried about Rack though and not him. She wouldn't let him near the
Book of Shadows if she thought he was evil.
"Well...Mom is here, my aunts are at work, and Dad is with the Elders."
Pandora took a deep breath. She really hated breaking the rules -
especially one as serious as using the Book of Shadows - but Ron was
her friend and he needed to be prepared. She trusted their parents and
family to do everything they could to protect him, but sometimes
everything wasn't enough. Sometimes you had to take care of yourself.
"If I orb us to the Book and we take a quick look and then orb back
here...what they don't know won't hurt them."
"Orb?" Ron edged away from Pandora a bit, but didn't break contact by
taking his hand away from hers. "You know I don't like that particular
mode of transportation. Let's take the bus instead. A good solid
bus."
Pandora rolled her eyes. "That will take too long." She smiled as she
felt Connor's hand slip into her free one. "Quit being silly, Ron,
I've been orbing since I was a baby." She tightened her grip on her
friends and thought about the attic of her house. As she directed her
mind to take her and her friends there, she felt the familiar tingling,
fuzzy sensation of dissolving into blue light. Orbing three people was
trickier than just orbing herself, she had to keep track of them as
well. Luckily, there wasn't time for her mind to wander, almost
instantly she felt the jolt of solidifying and landing on a wooden
floor. They were now in her attic. The Book of Shadows lay open on a
stand a few feet away. Pandora walked over to it before she could
change her mind. Now that they were here she was nervous.
Connor and Ron exchanged a glance as they looked around the room. Old
furniture and boxes cluttered the large room. A multi-paned window
behind Pandora let in the only light. "It's an attic." Connor was
disappointed. Ever since he had met Pandora when he had finally been
allowed to attend school, he had heard stories about demons trying to
steal the Book of Shadows, using the Book of Shadows to summon dead
relatives, and a lot of other cool, mystical events. It was
anticlimactic to find it was just an old book in an attic full of junk.
"What were you expecting?" Pandora raised an eyebrow at her friends.
"I don't know." Connor shrugged. "Something more...witchy."
"Sorry, but I wasn't expecting company. Next time you guys come over
to research demons I'll make sure I bring out the black candles and
etch a pentagram on the floor." Pandora smiled at them to take the
sting out of her words. She held her hand over the Book of Shadows.
"For now, this will have to do. Book of Shadows, hear this Halliwell
speak, within your pages it is the warlock Rack whom I seek." The
pages of the book flipped rapidly back and forth until they finally
settled midway through the Book.
"Well?" Ron prompted impatiently when Pandora didn't start reading
right away. He walked up to stand in front of her, the Book between
them. He could see the drawing of a man's face upside down. Ron
stepped back, he couldn't look at the cruel twist of the man's lips.
"Rack, an adept magician in the late eighteen hundreds. He gained
magical power and the status of a warlock in 1910 when he..." Pandora
gasped. Her eyes met Connor's and he knew that whatever it was, it was
bad. He stepped up beside Ron and nodded for her to continue. At
least Ron would be with his friends when he heard about his biological
father's nature. "He sacrificed his son, born from a witch. He feeds
on the magic of witches, using their power while giving them a feeling
of false euphoria and a taste for dark magic. His weakness is his
thirst for power. Novice witches who are not properly trained to
control their magic are most likely to fall prey to his influence."
"Who, uh, wrote that?" Ron forced himself to look at the face of the
warlock who would have murdered him. A part of him had always thought
that maybe his mother had overreacted and that Rack wouldn't have
actually sacrificed him, but he had done it before. His mother had
never told him that. Maybe she didn't know. There might be a lot of
things that she didn't know.
"I don't know who wrote it, but it would have been a Halliwell."
"We should probably be getting back." Connor glanced at his watch.
"We'll be missed soon."
"Yeah." Ron agreed distractedly, but he didn't move. He stared at the
Book of Shadows. There was something else that he needed to know. "I
need to know who my father is. Dory, can you look up Wolfram and Hart
for me, please?" Fear almost made Ron stop his friend as she held her
hand over the Book again and repeated the locating spell for Wolfram
and Hart. He had to know though. Now that he knew that evil had given
him life, he had to know if it had raised him as well. Who was he?
To be continued....