Beba, Barb6, thanks for your input. Those pesky empathic powers keep
leading Phoebe in directions she does not think she wants to go. But soon
she will have to make a fateful decision.
*********************** "That Old Feeling"
Phoebe sat in her office bent over her computer screen trying her best to concentrate on her column, but she was having a very hard time. It'd been only three days since she'd decided to work with Cole and already she was regretting it. She hated lying to her sisters about having to work late and she'd just gotten off the phone to Jason turning down his dinner date tonight because of a so-called "migraine."
And what she hated even worse was the lies she was telling herself but wasn't quite buying about seeing Cole again. Nothing had changed between them except for Phoebe's growing realization that she'd felt alive again, really alive for the first time in ages. She'd drive to Cole's office after work each night and they spent a great deal of their time arguing about what course of action to take to battle Mark's demon, and took pot shots at one another every opening they got. And yet, there was something electric about it. Something that left Phoebe wanting more. Was this some sort of sick dependency that Jason had hinted about? Maybe somewhere hidden in the recesses of her psyche, she was a masochist and thrived on the abuse Cole was doling out.
Well, if that was the case, Phoebe would not allow herself to give in to it. It was now Tuesday evening and the demon would be attacking tonight on the new moon, they would destroy it with the potion they'd found together in an old book Phoebe spotted on Cole's shelf, a book that used to belong to Cole's mother. And then as promised, they'd go their separate ways and Phoebe could finally close the last chapter on their relationship.
Somehow, Phoebe, had mechanically managed to answer the final letter for her column, slid it under Elyse's door and looked at her watch. It was five after nine and past time that she was on her way to Mark's house.
Cole shimmered in, arms crossed, with a casual and distant expression she'd come to expect and asked Phoebe if she was ready to go?
"You're late," she snapped. Phoebe couldn't help it. Just seeing his indifference was enough to set her off.
"Spoken like a true nagging-ex-wife."
"Sorry," she replied forcing an apology she didn't feel. "I'm a little on edge and worried about pulling this off."
"Don't be. The potion's a powerful one and should work."
"How do you know?"
"It came from my mother's book and nobody could kill as thoroughly as she could. Just ask my father."
Phoebe remembered Cole's pain at losing his father when he was just a toddler and for a moment her heart softened and there was an awkward moment of silence between them. She felt his guard go down slightly too and wondered what Cole's life would have been like if his father were still alive. Would he have been more human, would they have still met and if so, would she and Cole still be together? Don't go there, Pheebs, she admonished, and don't lose your focus.
"We'd better get going. I expect the demon should arrive sometime before midnight," Cole said interrupting the chaos that was playing havoc with Phoebe's thoughts.
Phoebe cleared her mind and warily moved closer, knowing she'd have to take Cole's hand to shimmer with him. She waited for him to extend it and when he didn't, Phoebe reached down and grabbed for it.
Her hand looked so small and frail inside his and for a moment before they shimmered, Phoebe felt completely protected, the way she always had in his presence. Was he projecting this feeling inside of her or was she just picking up the residue of the old energy that used to play between them? Before Phoebe could stop and analyze what he may have been feeling, Cole had transported them into Mark's living-room and Cole had quickly released her hand and severed whatever energy she felt.
Mark heard something in his living-room and came bounding down the stairs holding a Star Trek phaser he'd bought at the last convention.
"Oh, it's you two. Sorry," he said and lowered the toy.
"What were you gonna do with the toy ray gun, Mark?" Cole asked, amused.
"I just grabbed the first thing. I know, you both think I'm a big joke," Mark blushed.
"Nah, we don't. But, ya know for future reference, a baseball bat might have been a tad more effective," Phoebe joked and grabbed Mark's hand leading him to the sofa.
"Why don't you just get comfortable, Mark, watch some TV and relax?" Phoebe suggested.
"How am I supposed to relax when a Poltergeist is coming to visit?"
"He won't be staying long Mark," Cole answered. "And he won't be making any more house calls. Cole removed the potion from his jacket pocket and showed it to Mark.
"What's that, holy water?" Mark asked.
"Something like that," Phoebe answered.
"Boy I was sure lucky to find an exorcist right in the neighborhood, though I'm still not sure how I did find you."
"All that matters is that you did find us and after tonight, all your problems will be gone...well maybe not all of them...but this one anyway," Cole added.
Phoebe elbowed Cole in the ribs.
"Mark, we'll be in your kitchen if ya need us."
"Can't you at least stay here with me, Phoebe?" Mark begged.
"I'd like to, but I can't, Mark. If the dem...I mean poltergeist senses our presence in the room with you, he probably won't come."
"Oh, I didn't know that. I don't remember that part in the Spielberg movie. But they did get rid of the poltergeist. That part I do remember."
"Life isn't a movie, Mark," Cole said..."And happily ever after, is really just a cliche."
Phoebe got his intended message, agreed with it, and walked into the kitchen, with Cole following.
Phoebe sat at the kitchen table looking at the pretty swirl of colors contained in the vile she was now holding while Cole paced impatiently.
"Cole, the kitchen clock says twelve. Where's the demon?"
"Give him a few more minutes. That might be fast."
"What for, he obviously isn't showing. Must not have gotten the invitation." Phoebe rose and walked to the door. Frankly she couldn't have sat another minute in that kitchen alone with Cole. The tenseness of the situation had involuntarily set her libido on fire and all she could think about for the past hour was how strong and powerful Cole looked pacing around the room, like a caged panther. She'd forgotten the sheer force of his presence, his tall frame, those intense blue eyes and his dark, swarthy complexion that made him look so heroic. But you forget, Phoebe, she said to herself, Cole's no hero. The man's a traitor to you and your sisters and was the Source of all evil. Remembering this, Phoebe ran out of the kitchen ignoring Cole's orders to stay put.
"Sorry Mark, we've miscalculated, somehow. The poltergeist isn't coming tonight. You might as well go on up to bed."
"Okay, if you'll tuck me in," Mark suggested and smiled.
"You're a big boy, Mark. I think you can..."
Before Phoebe could finish her thought, the demon finished it for her and attacked, knocking Mark to the floor but not killing him. Mark did not seem to be his target any longer, it was Phoebe he was going after.
The demon looked like a man, tall and dark, except for his forehead that opened up to reveal a large gaping hole in the center which he used to suck in auras, much like a vacuum cleaner. Phoebe quickly threw the potion at him, hitting him square in the chest with it, but it had no effect.
Cole ran in when he heard the commotion, but by the time he'd gotten into the room, the demon had vanished as the grandfather clock had started striking twelve.
Phoebe was levitated in the air, poised to kick, when the demon made his sudden and swift exit.
"Where'd he go?" Phoebe asked, clearly surprised.
"The better question is why didn't he kill Mark when he had the chance?"
"I don't know, Cole. It doesn't make sense."
"Maybe it does. Maybe he let Mark go because he saw a better target, you."
"Why would he want me? I'm not exactly a virgin..."
"I don't care, Phoebe," Mark replied, getting up.
"Shut up, Mark," Cole yelled. Phoebe was in danger, and though he no longer owed her anything, his natural instinct to protect was still in his programming. "We need to figure this out before he strikes again."
"But isn't it too late to destroy him Cole? It's the new moon and now he's had a chance to regenerate."
"No he hasn't, Phoebe. He didn't get what he came for and now he'll have to wait for the next new moon to strike again. So, we'll have until that long to come up with a potion that will work and to figure out exactly what it is in you that he's after.
"Oh no, Cole. If you think I'm gonna continue working with you for another month, you've got another thing coming, buddy. "
"Phoebe, not only is your life at risk here, but all of the innocents whose lives he will destroy after you. I don't like this any better than you do but what other choice have we got?"
"I can tell my sisters and with the power of three..."
"No, remember our agreement," Cole uttered through clenched teeth.
"Well, things have changed Cole."
"From where I stand, nothing's changed at all Phoebe. You still don't trust me and though the knowledge of that no longer has the power to hurt me, I still can't have you going to your sisters. As I explained to you, I've found my calling and I'm not about to take another trip to the Wasteland courtesy of your sisters without having fulfilled my promise to do good."
"Who says my sisters will vanquish you?"
"Are you saying they won't?"
"Who says I won't?"
"You won't as long as you let the Empath in you guide you. Your sisters don't have your ability to feel the truth and I'm through trusting them. So, you either work with me as promised or you can just forget about killing this demon because I won't work with them."
"Maybe we won't need your help."
"Phoebe, you've already consulted the book of shadows and found nothing on this demon and I'm convinced the answer lies in my mother's book. So, it's either honor your contract with me or no access to the book."
"And you'd really let me die, Cole?"
"I'd only be returning the favor."
"God! You're so infuriating. Fine, you win. But so help me Cole, if you step out of line even once, our contract is null and void and I'm calling in not only my sisters but Leo too."
"Remember, you also promised to trust me, Phoebe."
"I remember, but don't push it!"
Unfortunately, Cole did just that when Phoebe arrived in Cole's office building the next day unexpectedly and saw Cole talking to the very demon they were after. Phoebe slipped out without being seen and later at work when she went to his office and asked him point blank about his day, Cole never mentioned his meeting with the demon at all. What was he up to? She could feel his deception with her empathic power, but what did he have to gain by it? Perhaps he'd just gone full demon again and Phoebe didn't even know why she was hesitating in calling her sisters, but something in her made her hold off for just a little while until she could learn more.
At home in his new penthouse, Cole wondered how long he could keep up the charade without Phoebe getting wise to him. Her new powers were formidable and he knew it wasn't possible for him to mask the truth he was concealing.
*********************** "That Old Feeling"
Phoebe sat in her office bent over her computer screen trying her best to concentrate on her column, but she was having a very hard time. It'd been only three days since she'd decided to work with Cole and already she was regretting it. She hated lying to her sisters about having to work late and she'd just gotten off the phone to Jason turning down his dinner date tonight because of a so-called "migraine."
And what she hated even worse was the lies she was telling herself but wasn't quite buying about seeing Cole again. Nothing had changed between them except for Phoebe's growing realization that she'd felt alive again, really alive for the first time in ages. She'd drive to Cole's office after work each night and they spent a great deal of their time arguing about what course of action to take to battle Mark's demon, and took pot shots at one another every opening they got. And yet, there was something electric about it. Something that left Phoebe wanting more. Was this some sort of sick dependency that Jason had hinted about? Maybe somewhere hidden in the recesses of her psyche, she was a masochist and thrived on the abuse Cole was doling out.
Well, if that was the case, Phoebe would not allow herself to give in to it. It was now Tuesday evening and the demon would be attacking tonight on the new moon, they would destroy it with the potion they'd found together in an old book Phoebe spotted on Cole's shelf, a book that used to belong to Cole's mother. And then as promised, they'd go their separate ways and Phoebe could finally close the last chapter on their relationship.
Somehow, Phoebe, had mechanically managed to answer the final letter for her column, slid it under Elyse's door and looked at her watch. It was five after nine and past time that she was on her way to Mark's house.
Cole shimmered in, arms crossed, with a casual and distant expression she'd come to expect and asked Phoebe if she was ready to go?
"You're late," she snapped. Phoebe couldn't help it. Just seeing his indifference was enough to set her off.
"Spoken like a true nagging-ex-wife."
"Sorry," she replied forcing an apology she didn't feel. "I'm a little on edge and worried about pulling this off."
"Don't be. The potion's a powerful one and should work."
"How do you know?"
"It came from my mother's book and nobody could kill as thoroughly as she could. Just ask my father."
Phoebe remembered Cole's pain at losing his father when he was just a toddler and for a moment her heart softened and there was an awkward moment of silence between them. She felt his guard go down slightly too and wondered what Cole's life would have been like if his father were still alive. Would he have been more human, would they have still met and if so, would she and Cole still be together? Don't go there, Pheebs, she admonished, and don't lose your focus.
"We'd better get going. I expect the demon should arrive sometime before midnight," Cole said interrupting the chaos that was playing havoc with Phoebe's thoughts.
Phoebe cleared her mind and warily moved closer, knowing she'd have to take Cole's hand to shimmer with him. She waited for him to extend it and when he didn't, Phoebe reached down and grabbed for it.
Her hand looked so small and frail inside his and for a moment before they shimmered, Phoebe felt completely protected, the way she always had in his presence. Was he projecting this feeling inside of her or was she just picking up the residue of the old energy that used to play between them? Before Phoebe could stop and analyze what he may have been feeling, Cole had transported them into Mark's living-room and Cole had quickly released her hand and severed whatever energy she felt.
Mark heard something in his living-room and came bounding down the stairs holding a Star Trek phaser he'd bought at the last convention.
"Oh, it's you two. Sorry," he said and lowered the toy.
"What were you gonna do with the toy ray gun, Mark?" Cole asked, amused.
"I just grabbed the first thing. I know, you both think I'm a big joke," Mark blushed.
"Nah, we don't. But, ya know for future reference, a baseball bat might have been a tad more effective," Phoebe joked and grabbed Mark's hand leading him to the sofa.
"Why don't you just get comfortable, Mark, watch some TV and relax?" Phoebe suggested.
"How am I supposed to relax when a Poltergeist is coming to visit?"
"He won't be staying long Mark," Cole answered. "And he won't be making any more house calls. Cole removed the potion from his jacket pocket and showed it to Mark.
"What's that, holy water?" Mark asked.
"Something like that," Phoebe answered.
"Boy I was sure lucky to find an exorcist right in the neighborhood, though I'm still not sure how I did find you."
"All that matters is that you did find us and after tonight, all your problems will be gone...well maybe not all of them...but this one anyway," Cole added.
Phoebe elbowed Cole in the ribs.
"Mark, we'll be in your kitchen if ya need us."
"Can't you at least stay here with me, Phoebe?" Mark begged.
"I'd like to, but I can't, Mark. If the dem...I mean poltergeist senses our presence in the room with you, he probably won't come."
"Oh, I didn't know that. I don't remember that part in the Spielberg movie. But they did get rid of the poltergeist. That part I do remember."
"Life isn't a movie, Mark," Cole said..."And happily ever after, is really just a cliche."
Phoebe got his intended message, agreed with it, and walked into the kitchen, with Cole following.
Phoebe sat at the kitchen table looking at the pretty swirl of colors contained in the vile she was now holding while Cole paced impatiently.
"Cole, the kitchen clock says twelve. Where's the demon?"
"Give him a few more minutes. That might be fast."
"What for, he obviously isn't showing. Must not have gotten the invitation." Phoebe rose and walked to the door. Frankly she couldn't have sat another minute in that kitchen alone with Cole. The tenseness of the situation had involuntarily set her libido on fire and all she could think about for the past hour was how strong and powerful Cole looked pacing around the room, like a caged panther. She'd forgotten the sheer force of his presence, his tall frame, those intense blue eyes and his dark, swarthy complexion that made him look so heroic. But you forget, Phoebe, she said to herself, Cole's no hero. The man's a traitor to you and your sisters and was the Source of all evil. Remembering this, Phoebe ran out of the kitchen ignoring Cole's orders to stay put.
"Sorry Mark, we've miscalculated, somehow. The poltergeist isn't coming tonight. You might as well go on up to bed."
"Okay, if you'll tuck me in," Mark suggested and smiled.
"You're a big boy, Mark. I think you can..."
Before Phoebe could finish her thought, the demon finished it for her and attacked, knocking Mark to the floor but not killing him. Mark did not seem to be his target any longer, it was Phoebe he was going after.
The demon looked like a man, tall and dark, except for his forehead that opened up to reveal a large gaping hole in the center which he used to suck in auras, much like a vacuum cleaner. Phoebe quickly threw the potion at him, hitting him square in the chest with it, but it had no effect.
Cole ran in when he heard the commotion, but by the time he'd gotten into the room, the demon had vanished as the grandfather clock had started striking twelve.
Phoebe was levitated in the air, poised to kick, when the demon made his sudden and swift exit.
"Where'd he go?" Phoebe asked, clearly surprised.
"The better question is why didn't he kill Mark when he had the chance?"
"I don't know, Cole. It doesn't make sense."
"Maybe it does. Maybe he let Mark go because he saw a better target, you."
"Why would he want me? I'm not exactly a virgin..."
"I don't care, Phoebe," Mark replied, getting up.
"Shut up, Mark," Cole yelled. Phoebe was in danger, and though he no longer owed her anything, his natural instinct to protect was still in his programming. "We need to figure this out before he strikes again."
"But isn't it too late to destroy him Cole? It's the new moon and now he's had a chance to regenerate."
"No he hasn't, Phoebe. He didn't get what he came for and now he'll have to wait for the next new moon to strike again. So, we'll have until that long to come up with a potion that will work and to figure out exactly what it is in you that he's after.
"Oh no, Cole. If you think I'm gonna continue working with you for another month, you've got another thing coming, buddy. "
"Phoebe, not only is your life at risk here, but all of the innocents whose lives he will destroy after you. I don't like this any better than you do but what other choice have we got?"
"I can tell my sisters and with the power of three..."
"No, remember our agreement," Cole uttered through clenched teeth.
"Well, things have changed Cole."
"From where I stand, nothing's changed at all Phoebe. You still don't trust me and though the knowledge of that no longer has the power to hurt me, I still can't have you going to your sisters. As I explained to you, I've found my calling and I'm not about to take another trip to the Wasteland courtesy of your sisters without having fulfilled my promise to do good."
"Who says my sisters will vanquish you?"
"Are you saying they won't?"
"Who says I won't?"
"You won't as long as you let the Empath in you guide you. Your sisters don't have your ability to feel the truth and I'm through trusting them. So, you either work with me as promised or you can just forget about killing this demon because I won't work with them."
"Maybe we won't need your help."
"Phoebe, you've already consulted the book of shadows and found nothing on this demon and I'm convinced the answer lies in my mother's book. So, it's either honor your contract with me or no access to the book."
"And you'd really let me die, Cole?"
"I'd only be returning the favor."
"God! You're so infuriating. Fine, you win. But so help me Cole, if you step out of line even once, our contract is null and void and I'm calling in not only my sisters but Leo too."
"Remember, you also promised to trust me, Phoebe."
"I remember, but don't push it!"
Unfortunately, Cole did just that when Phoebe arrived in Cole's office building the next day unexpectedly and saw Cole talking to the very demon they were after. Phoebe slipped out without being seen and later at work when she went to his office and asked him point blank about his day, Cole never mentioned his meeting with the demon at all. What was he up to? She could feel his deception with her empathic power, but what did he have to gain by it? Perhaps he'd just gone full demon again and Phoebe didn't even know why she was hesitating in calling her sisters, but something in her made her hold off for just a little while until she could learn more.
At home in his new penthouse, Cole wondered how long he could keep up the charade without Phoebe getting wise to him. Her new powers were formidable and he knew it wasn't possible for him to mask the truth he was concealing.