It's been absolutely ages, hasn't it? And for that I must apologize, but I
have to remind you that this is through no fault of my own. I'm still
waiting for my laptop to be fixed, but until then I'll just have to make do
with whatever computer time I can beg, borrow or steal between work and
studies.
To all of you that have reviewed, you all know who you are, all I can say is I'm sorry I kept you waiting for so long, but I hope that it was all worth it. Please continue reviewing. There are days when your reviews are all that keeps me working on this story.
Chapter 24: The road to hell is paved with good intentions
"Talia, hurry! Have you got the spell?"
"Right here aunt Piper!"
Talia ran up to her aunt with a tattered piece of paper covered in her own distinct scrawl.
"I summon the power through the ages
As I read the words from these pages Let the power of the witches rise Bring about this demon's demise"
Talia and Piper shielded their eyes as the demon that had been threatening them only moments ago, disappeared in a blinding flash of light and a lot of screaming.
"What the hell was that thing?" asked Piper when she felt it was safe to open her eyes again.
"His name's Electro. He is, or used to be, an electricity demon," answered Talia.
"Oh, that would explain why all the kitchen appliances were trying to kill us."
Talia took a look around her. The living room looked as if it had been hit by a storm. In a way of course it had. An electrical storm. She wordlessly picked up a couple of cushions that had flown clear off the couch and put them back in their place. On her way there she picked up a potted plant that had toppled over. She sighed. There were times that she really missed having servants at her beck and call.
"Good spell," commented Piper as she reread the spell they had just successfully used. "Did you write it?"
"Yeah, it's a general demon spell I wrote a couple of days ago. It won't work on any really powerful ones, but I thought it might come in handy."
The two of them worked quietly side-by-side straightening up the living room.
"Aunt Piper?"
"Hmm?"
Piper noisily pulled an armchair back to its proper place.
"Do you ever regret taking me in?" asked Talia, a fearful look in her eyes
Talia's question made Piper look up. She looked carefully at her niece. Talia looked like a frightened deer caught in the car headlights, ready to flee at the slightest visible threat.
"Forget I asked," the girl said dragging the coffee table in front of the couch.
"Of course I don't regret taking you in Talia! You're family! Why would you even ask that?"
Talia stopped what she was doing and instead stood uncomfortable in front of her aunt looking steadily at the floor.
"Because of all the demon attacks. It's gotten worse over the last few weeks and can't deny that a lot of those demons were after me. And lets not forget the bounty hunters. Haven't you regretted having me around even a little bit?"
Piper crossed the distance between them and placed her fingers under Talia's chin gently raising her face forcing Talia to look at her.
"Phoebe, Paige and I are the Charmed Ones. And because of that, we've always had demons come after us. I admit that some of the times I wish that things were different, but being the Charmed Ones is part of who we are. You wouldn't expect me to regret having my sisters around simply because the united Power of Three draws more demons, now would you? Magic has taken a lot away from us, but it has also brought us all together, and I wouldn't change that for all the demon-free lifetimes in the world. The same goes for you Talia. You are a Haliwell. One of us. My niece. If having you here means more demon attacks, then bring them on! Of course I don't regret having you around, sweetie. You belong here."
Something caught at Talia's throat as she sank gratefully in her aunt's open arms.
"I still can't believe that Cole put a bounty out on you!" said Piper angrily. "We've had our differences, but I thought he really cared about you. I even felt sorry for him when he came to get you to come back after you left the Underworld!"
"He loves me aunt Piper. I'm sure of that. But he is the Source. He had no choice."
Piper remained silent. Cole's behaviour made no sense to her. Phoebe hadn't told Talia about Cole's visit to the Haliwell's garden. But she had confided in Piper. The man obviously loved his daughter very much, but he did nothing to protect her from all these attacks. True, he had warned Phoebe about them, but he hid behind those stupid rules Piper had been sick of hearing about her entire Charmed life. There was always another choice she mused.
When Talia finally pulled back from her aunt's embrace she seemed embarrassed at the display of emotion. She also seemed calmer. More assured. Aunt and niece smiled at each other. Talia quietly moved back to tidying up the still-messy room. Piper moved to help her.
They both looked up when the front door opened to reveal a surprised Paige.
"What the hell happened here?"
"Demon attack" answered Talia shrugging her shoulders.
"You should see the kitchen," replied Piper gloomily.
**********
"The only way we can get to Belthazor is through his brat, Talia," said Perdicus to the demons seated around the conference table that looked strangely out of place in the stone room.
"She is his greatest weakness now, just as she was his greatest strength before she turned on him. Yet the foolish half-demon still cares for his bastard daughter. As my son, Valdis, will tell you, Belthazor has him secretly watching his little phoenix. The Source," he said mockingly, "has no intention to see his daughter brought back and punished, I assure you. The bounty he has placed on her head is simply to have us believe that he does."
"Talia lives with the Charmed Ones now. How can we possibly get to her?" said a demon whose name was Cremon. He too, was an upper level demon and a Council member.
"I'll let Valdis explain that himself," said Perdicus, moving generously aside and gesturing at his son to take the floor at his place.
Valdis stood up and cleared his throat nervously.
He had been nearly driven insane with jealousy after watching Talia with Josh the night of the prom. That's when he had made his evil plan. He had then made the mistake of telling it to his father. Perdicus had beamed at him with pleasure, and something that Valdis had rarely seen in his father's hard features. Perdicus had looked at Valdis with fatherly pride.
Yet now, faced with some of the most powerful demons of the Underworld, himself about to commit an open, unforgivable act of treason against the Source, he hesitated. He wasn't afraid for himself. He knew that his life was worth nothing. From the moment he was brought into this world, his father had made that clear to him. It was the girl he was about to throw into a maelstrom of pain and suffering, that held his thoughts. A pair of beautiful brown eyes and a dazzling smile came to his mind. He took a moment to convince himself that it was the only way they could ever be together. That's what he was doing it for, anyway. That's for whom he was doing it for. When he finally opened his mouth to speak, no one was any wiser as to the internal battle that had just taken place in his heart. His blank face and cold eyes had betrayed nothing. His father smiled at him again.
"All of us here want Belthazor out of the way. But why do the dirty work ourselves? The Source is practically invisible anyway. The only ones that can get to him are the Charmed Ones.
"Yet as much as the Charmed Ones hate him, they will not move against him because he is Talia's father, and they have accepted Talia as one of their own. But, what if Talia herself, hated Belthazor so much that she sought to destroy him on her own. She is after all, half-Charmed and half-demon. She is powerful, and she could succeed. Whatsmore, the Charmed Ones would be more than happy to help."
"Preposterous! Talia may have left the Underworld, but she has always been close to her father. She would never hate him enough to turn against him, and even if she did, which I doubt, she would never initiate the attack." The man who spoke, was a demon called Dacremond, and he did so under the scowling eyes of Perdicus, yet his gaze remained challenging and unwavering.
"Ah, but above all," continued Valdis bitterly, "Talia is a woman. And it appears that she has foolishly let herself . . . fall in love. . . with a mortal boy called Josh. If anything unpleasant were to happen to him, and if Talia were to believe that the Source was behind it. . . I know Talia, remember, I have been watching her constantly under her father's orders ever since she left the Underworld. She has a temper that when risen, could destroy nations. Something like this would finally make her turn against her own father. Whether or not the Charmed Ones were actually involved, Talia would seek her father and confront him. Knowing Talia, she would let her temper take over. She would hold nothing back. I doubt Belthazor would fight his own daughter, and if he did, how could he possibly live with the guilt? Either Talia destroys Belthazor, doing our work for us, or Belthazor destroys Talia, becomes a wreck because of it, and therefore easy pickings. Either way we win. We cannot possibly lose."
The chamber seemed to explode with excited conversation. Perdicus gave Valdis another proud smile.
"If any of you have any questions, please feel free to ask them. Valdis will do his best to answer them," he said.
"Are you sure of the Princess' attachment to this mortal?"
Valdis looked at the floor between his feet. His expression was unreadable.
"Positive," he answered without looking up.
"How can you be sure of Talia's reaction?"
"It's like I said before, Talia is in love with this boy. The Charmed women are known for the great lengths they go to keep their men. She will turn on her father if she believes that he had anything to do with the mortal's death."
Valdis' expression was stony. His gray eyes swept the room.
"And how do you propose we do that? Convince Talia that her father is involved? Surely she will refuse to believe it!"
" Oh, she will believe it when she sees it with her own eyes. Do you forget Remos that my power is the power of illusion?" asked Valdis smiling at the short balding man that had asked the question.
With a wave of his hand Valdis seemed to disappear. In his place stood Cole. "Cole" opened his mouth, but the voice that came out was Valdis'.
"What do you think?" he asked. "If Talia saw her father with her own eyes and heard with her own ears," he continued, but this time in a faultless imitation of Cole's voice, "ordering her little boyfriend's death, would she have even the slightest doubt in her mind? Could anything Belthazor say or do later convince her to the contrary?"
Valdis' transformation was followed by complete silence. For the first time that night, the demons present allowed themselves to entertain the idea of success.
"Perdicus," said Cremon, "if you pull this off, I will support your claim to the throne."
His words seemed to thunder and echo in the silence. His opinion weighed heavily with these demons.
"So will I," agreed Dacremond.
"Me too," continued Remos not to be left behind.
The rest of the group quickly added their support to the demon they now saw as a very possible replacement of the current Source they all had their own reasons to despise.
When Perdicus had shown out the last of his supporters, he finally turned to Valdis.
"You have done well my son. When I am Source, you can have whatever you want in return for your help."
"I already have something in mind father."
Perdicus raised a dark eyebrow at his son.
"Princess Talia." "The half-witch?"
"She is half-Charmed and half Princess of all evil. I think that the fact she is not a pureblood can be overlooked in this case."
"I've seen her a few times, you know. An exceptionally beautiful girl. But you are right. She is powerful. And there are the stories one hears about her, every so often. Stories you can't ignore. If you want the little phoenix, you can have her, but first, she must come back to evil, of her own free will."
Talia loved her father. His betrayal would turn her to evil like nothing else could. Valdis would see to that. He turned to face away from the only other figure in the room. He stared intently at one of the candles that had been place in the middle of the table.
"Thank you father," he said quietly. It was what he had been hoping for when he had suggested this mad plan. So why wasn't he happy?
Perdicus shimmered out without another word, but Valdis continued to stare at the candle. In the flames he saw the sparkling eyes and the quick smile of the witch who had charmed him.
"You may think you're in love with this boy now Talia, but he does not deserve you. You do not belong in his world and you do not belong with the witches. I saw the darkness in your eyes from the moment we first met. You've belonged to me and I've belonged to you since that very moment. What I do, I do for us to be together. You will return to the darkness, and my father will not prevent us from being together. And you will take your rightful place once again Princess of the Underworld."
To all of you that have reviewed, you all know who you are, all I can say is I'm sorry I kept you waiting for so long, but I hope that it was all worth it. Please continue reviewing. There are days when your reviews are all that keeps me working on this story.
Chapter 24: The road to hell is paved with good intentions
"Talia, hurry! Have you got the spell?"
"Right here aunt Piper!"
Talia ran up to her aunt with a tattered piece of paper covered in her own distinct scrawl.
"I summon the power through the ages
As I read the words from these pages Let the power of the witches rise Bring about this demon's demise"
Talia and Piper shielded their eyes as the demon that had been threatening them only moments ago, disappeared in a blinding flash of light and a lot of screaming.
"What the hell was that thing?" asked Piper when she felt it was safe to open her eyes again.
"His name's Electro. He is, or used to be, an electricity demon," answered Talia.
"Oh, that would explain why all the kitchen appliances were trying to kill us."
Talia took a look around her. The living room looked as if it had been hit by a storm. In a way of course it had. An electrical storm. She wordlessly picked up a couple of cushions that had flown clear off the couch and put them back in their place. On her way there she picked up a potted plant that had toppled over. She sighed. There were times that she really missed having servants at her beck and call.
"Good spell," commented Piper as she reread the spell they had just successfully used. "Did you write it?"
"Yeah, it's a general demon spell I wrote a couple of days ago. It won't work on any really powerful ones, but I thought it might come in handy."
The two of them worked quietly side-by-side straightening up the living room.
"Aunt Piper?"
"Hmm?"
Piper noisily pulled an armchair back to its proper place.
"Do you ever regret taking me in?" asked Talia, a fearful look in her eyes
Talia's question made Piper look up. She looked carefully at her niece. Talia looked like a frightened deer caught in the car headlights, ready to flee at the slightest visible threat.
"Forget I asked," the girl said dragging the coffee table in front of the couch.
"Of course I don't regret taking you in Talia! You're family! Why would you even ask that?"
Talia stopped what she was doing and instead stood uncomfortable in front of her aunt looking steadily at the floor.
"Because of all the demon attacks. It's gotten worse over the last few weeks and can't deny that a lot of those demons were after me. And lets not forget the bounty hunters. Haven't you regretted having me around even a little bit?"
Piper crossed the distance between them and placed her fingers under Talia's chin gently raising her face forcing Talia to look at her.
"Phoebe, Paige and I are the Charmed Ones. And because of that, we've always had demons come after us. I admit that some of the times I wish that things were different, but being the Charmed Ones is part of who we are. You wouldn't expect me to regret having my sisters around simply because the united Power of Three draws more demons, now would you? Magic has taken a lot away from us, but it has also brought us all together, and I wouldn't change that for all the demon-free lifetimes in the world. The same goes for you Talia. You are a Haliwell. One of us. My niece. If having you here means more demon attacks, then bring them on! Of course I don't regret having you around, sweetie. You belong here."
Something caught at Talia's throat as she sank gratefully in her aunt's open arms.
"I still can't believe that Cole put a bounty out on you!" said Piper angrily. "We've had our differences, but I thought he really cared about you. I even felt sorry for him when he came to get you to come back after you left the Underworld!"
"He loves me aunt Piper. I'm sure of that. But he is the Source. He had no choice."
Piper remained silent. Cole's behaviour made no sense to her. Phoebe hadn't told Talia about Cole's visit to the Haliwell's garden. But she had confided in Piper. The man obviously loved his daughter very much, but he did nothing to protect her from all these attacks. True, he had warned Phoebe about them, but he hid behind those stupid rules Piper had been sick of hearing about her entire Charmed life. There was always another choice she mused.
When Talia finally pulled back from her aunt's embrace she seemed embarrassed at the display of emotion. She also seemed calmer. More assured. Aunt and niece smiled at each other. Talia quietly moved back to tidying up the still-messy room. Piper moved to help her.
They both looked up when the front door opened to reveal a surprised Paige.
"What the hell happened here?"
"Demon attack" answered Talia shrugging her shoulders.
"You should see the kitchen," replied Piper gloomily.
**********
"The only way we can get to Belthazor is through his brat, Talia," said Perdicus to the demons seated around the conference table that looked strangely out of place in the stone room.
"She is his greatest weakness now, just as she was his greatest strength before she turned on him. Yet the foolish half-demon still cares for his bastard daughter. As my son, Valdis, will tell you, Belthazor has him secretly watching his little phoenix. The Source," he said mockingly, "has no intention to see his daughter brought back and punished, I assure you. The bounty he has placed on her head is simply to have us believe that he does."
"Talia lives with the Charmed Ones now. How can we possibly get to her?" said a demon whose name was Cremon. He too, was an upper level demon and a Council member.
"I'll let Valdis explain that himself," said Perdicus, moving generously aside and gesturing at his son to take the floor at his place.
Valdis stood up and cleared his throat nervously.
He had been nearly driven insane with jealousy after watching Talia with Josh the night of the prom. That's when he had made his evil plan. He had then made the mistake of telling it to his father. Perdicus had beamed at him with pleasure, and something that Valdis had rarely seen in his father's hard features. Perdicus had looked at Valdis with fatherly pride.
Yet now, faced with some of the most powerful demons of the Underworld, himself about to commit an open, unforgivable act of treason against the Source, he hesitated. He wasn't afraid for himself. He knew that his life was worth nothing. From the moment he was brought into this world, his father had made that clear to him. It was the girl he was about to throw into a maelstrom of pain and suffering, that held his thoughts. A pair of beautiful brown eyes and a dazzling smile came to his mind. He took a moment to convince himself that it was the only way they could ever be together. That's what he was doing it for, anyway. That's for whom he was doing it for. When he finally opened his mouth to speak, no one was any wiser as to the internal battle that had just taken place in his heart. His blank face and cold eyes had betrayed nothing. His father smiled at him again.
"All of us here want Belthazor out of the way. But why do the dirty work ourselves? The Source is practically invisible anyway. The only ones that can get to him are the Charmed Ones.
"Yet as much as the Charmed Ones hate him, they will not move against him because he is Talia's father, and they have accepted Talia as one of their own. But, what if Talia herself, hated Belthazor so much that she sought to destroy him on her own. She is after all, half-Charmed and half-demon. She is powerful, and she could succeed. Whatsmore, the Charmed Ones would be more than happy to help."
"Preposterous! Talia may have left the Underworld, but she has always been close to her father. She would never hate him enough to turn against him, and even if she did, which I doubt, she would never initiate the attack." The man who spoke, was a demon called Dacremond, and he did so under the scowling eyes of Perdicus, yet his gaze remained challenging and unwavering.
"Ah, but above all," continued Valdis bitterly, "Talia is a woman. And it appears that she has foolishly let herself . . . fall in love. . . with a mortal boy called Josh. If anything unpleasant were to happen to him, and if Talia were to believe that the Source was behind it. . . I know Talia, remember, I have been watching her constantly under her father's orders ever since she left the Underworld. She has a temper that when risen, could destroy nations. Something like this would finally make her turn against her own father. Whether or not the Charmed Ones were actually involved, Talia would seek her father and confront him. Knowing Talia, she would let her temper take over. She would hold nothing back. I doubt Belthazor would fight his own daughter, and if he did, how could he possibly live with the guilt? Either Talia destroys Belthazor, doing our work for us, or Belthazor destroys Talia, becomes a wreck because of it, and therefore easy pickings. Either way we win. We cannot possibly lose."
The chamber seemed to explode with excited conversation. Perdicus gave Valdis another proud smile.
"If any of you have any questions, please feel free to ask them. Valdis will do his best to answer them," he said.
"Are you sure of the Princess' attachment to this mortal?"
Valdis looked at the floor between his feet. His expression was unreadable.
"Positive," he answered without looking up.
"How can you be sure of Talia's reaction?"
"It's like I said before, Talia is in love with this boy. The Charmed women are known for the great lengths they go to keep their men. She will turn on her father if she believes that he had anything to do with the mortal's death."
Valdis' expression was stony. His gray eyes swept the room.
"And how do you propose we do that? Convince Talia that her father is involved? Surely she will refuse to believe it!"
" Oh, she will believe it when she sees it with her own eyes. Do you forget Remos that my power is the power of illusion?" asked Valdis smiling at the short balding man that had asked the question.
With a wave of his hand Valdis seemed to disappear. In his place stood Cole. "Cole" opened his mouth, but the voice that came out was Valdis'.
"What do you think?" he asked. "If Talia saw her father with her own eyes and heard with her own ears," he continued, but this time in a faultless imitation of Cole's voice, "ordering her little boyfriend's death, would she have even the slightest doubt in her mind? Could anything Belthazor say or do later convince her to the contrary?"
Valdis' transformation was followed by complete silence. For the first time that night, the demons present allowed themselves to entertain the idea of success.
"Perdicus," said Cremon, "if you pull this off, I will support your claim to the throne."
His words seemed to thunder and echo in the silence. His opinion weighed heavily with these demons.
"So will I," agreed Dacremond.
"Me too," continued Remos not to be left behind.
The rest of the group quickly added their support to the demon they now saw as a very possible replacement of the current Source they all had their own reasons to despise.
When Perdicus had shown out the last of his supporters, he finally turned to Valdis.
"You have done well my son. When I am Source, you can have whatever you want in return for your help."
"I already have something in mind father."
Perdicus raised a dark eyebrow at his son.
"Princess Talia." "The half-witch?"
"She is half-Charmed and half Princess of all evil. I think that the fact she is not a pureblood can be overlooked in this case."
"I've seen her a few times, you know. An exceptionally beautiful girl. But you are right. She is powerful. And there are the stories one hears about her, every so often. Stories you can't ignore. If you want the little phoenix, you can have her, but first, she must come back to evil, of her own free will."
Talia loved her father. His betrayal would turn her to evil like nothing else could. Valdis would see to that. He turned to face away from the only other figure in the room. He stared intently at one of the candles that had been place in the middle of the table.
"Thank you father," he said quietly. It was what he had been hoping for when he had suggested this mad plan. So why wasn't he happy?
Perdicus shimmered out without another word, but Valdis continued to stare at the candle. In the flames he saw the sparkling eyes and the quick smile of the witch who had charmed him.
"You may think you're in love with this boy now Talia, but he does not deserve you. You do not belong in his world and you do not belong with the witches. I saw the darkness in your eyes from the moment we first met. You've belonged to me and I've belonged to you since that very moment. What I do, I do for us to be together. You will return to the darkness, and my father will not prevent us from being together. And you will take your rightful place once again Princess of the Underworld."