NINE
"She's attracted to you," said Tiffany as they drove back to her house.
"Who?" Leo asked innocently.
"Don't give me that," said Tiffany, smiling. "Piper. I could tell the
minute she saw you. I didn't need telepathy to know that."
"Well, they are married," said Chris.
"According to you," said Leo.
"What did you find out?" asked Tiffany.
"The book isn't anywhere in the manor," said Leo. "The chest that Penny
kept it in is empty. There's no sign of it anywhere."
"That's impossible," said Chris. "There was a spell on the attic door.
It couldn't be opened until all three girls were in the house together. It was
only after Phoebe came home from New York that it opened and she found the book
that same night. That's the night they got their powers."
"Then someone must have moved it," said Tiffany. "But that doesn't make a
whole lot of sense."
"Why not?" Leo asked. "It makes perfect sense if some demon wanted to
keep them from becoming the Charmed Ones."
"Yes," said Tiffany, "but if a demon came back in time to prevent that,
why not just kill them outright? Why move the Book of Shadows and leave them
unharmed? It's possible they might find it in the future and everything would
start all over again."
"She has a point," said Chris. "Even though very few people knew who they
were before they got their powers it's common knowledge in my reality. It would
make more sense for a demon to kill them instead of taking the book."
"Or both," said Tiffany. "Didn't you tell us that the book was corrupted
to evil a couple of times?"
"Yes," said Chris. "They were always able to change it back, though."
"Well," said Tiffany, "if I were a demon, I'd come back, kill the three of
them to ever prevent the Power of Three from happening, and then take the book
and try to corrupt it. That would make a powerful force for evil."
"Did you two find out anything?" asked Leo.
"Some," said Tiffany. "Darryl Morris, Andy's old partner, was killed in
the line of duty about five years ago. The girls' father, Victor Bennett, died
of a heart attack about three years ago."
"Those are about the times when Prue and Andy died," said Chris.
"Balance, I told you," said Leo. "Any demonic indications?"
"None that I could tell," said Tiffany. "Except that I couldn't read
Cole's mind. That's only happened with demons. It's not definitive, but it's
always worked on humans before. There's something decidedly odd about him."
"Demonic influence," said Leo. "I sensed it the second I saw him. Of
course, if Chris hadn't said something, I wouldn't have sensed it. There would
have been no reason for me to. He doesn't appear to be anything but another
human."
"You see?" asked Chris. "Everything I told you is true. Only it's all
changed. Prue, Andy, and Cole are alive when they should be dead. And the
girls aren't the Charmed Ones. Someone must have come back and altered the
past."
"I'll admit that it does appear you were right," said Leo. "But it still
doesn't explain what Cole is doing with Phoebe. Belthazor specializes in
killing witches. Except that Phoebe has no powers and so is technically not a
witch. We need to find out what he's doing with her."
"That isn't going to be easy," said Tiffany. "We can't just go up and ask
him. So far, he has no idea we suspect him of anything. We're just some old
friends who stopped by for a visit."
"I'll check around and see what I can find out," said Leo. "There should
be some information about Belthazor circulating. A demon of his status doesn't
stay off the radar very long."
"Are you going to inform the Elders?" Chris asked.
"No," said Leo. "Not until we have more to go on. If someone has figured
a way to alter the past, they're going to want to know who it is and how it was
done. Right now, we don't have those answers. And I'm not sure they'd believe
me without some kind of proof, anyway. It sounds so incredulous."
"What about a time portal?" Chris asked. "Or a temporal vortex, anything
like that? Any reports of those?"
"None," said Leo. "If someone did come back in time, it's possible it may
not have registered with the Elders. Changing the past could have affected them
in ways we can't even begin to understand."
"Are we sure someone came back to alter the past?" asked Tiffany.
"What do you mean?" Leo asked.
"Well," said Tiffany, "maybe it was an accident. Maybe someone came back
from the future and did something that altered everything. We aren't sure
there's anything malevolent going on here, other than Belthazor being with
Phoebe. It seems to me that if someone were going through all this trouble they
would have done more than just keep the girls from becoming the Charmed Ones."
"That's a possibility, I suppose," said Leo. "Let's get some sleep. We
can try to figure this out in the morning."
Once home, they all began to get ready for bed. Tiffany had a spare room
in her house and Chris was going to be using until they could sort things out.
"Do you believe him?" Tiffany asked Leo. "About someone going back in
time and altering the past?"
"Ordinarily I'd say no," said Leo. "But he's been right about so many
things. And he is a White Lighter, you confirmed that. I'm just not sure what
to think. If someone did alter the past, I'd think there'd be more indications
that it had happened. Even a minor change, theoretically, could have numerous
consequences. This appears to be limited to just the girls."
"Well, I know he believes what he's saying," said Tiffany. "And he's
genuinely concerned about it. Not just for himself, but for the girls and
everyone else. And he's extremely confused."
"Aren't we all?" Leo asked. "Let's get some sleep and tackle this in the
morning."
As they got ready for bed, a figure hid in the shadows outside the house.
Cole Turner stared in the window at Leo and Tiffany.
"A White Lighter and a witch," he whispered to himself. "I thought as
much when they showed up at the manor. I'd better keep an eye on them. They
could ruin everything. And I've worked too hard to have anything go wrong now."
Quietly, Cole looked around to make sure no one was about, and then
shimmered out of the yard back to the manor.
"She's attracted to you," said Tiffany as they drove back to her house.
"Who?" Leo asked innocently.
"Don't give me that," said Tiffany, smiling. "Piper. I could tell the
minute she saw you. I didn't need telepathy to know that."
"Well, they are married," said Chris.
"According to you," said Leo.
"What did you find out?" asked Tiffany.
"The book isn't anywhere in the manor," said Leo. "The chest that Penny
kept it in is empty. There's no sign of it anywhere."
"That's impossible," said Chris. "There was a spell on the attic door.
It couldn't be opened until all three girls were in the house together. It was
only after Phoebe came home from New York that it opened and she found the book
that same night. That's the night they got their powers."
"Then someone must have moved it," said Tiffany. "But that doesn't make a
whole lot of sense."
"Why not?" Leo asked. "It makes perfect sense if some demon wanted to
keep them from becoming the Charmed Ones."
"Yes," said Tiffany, "but if a demon came back in time to prevent that,
why not just kill them outright? Why move the Book of Shadows and leave them
unharmed? It's possible they might find it in the future and everything would
start all over again."
"She has a point," said Chris. "Even though very few people knew who they
were before they got their powers it's common knowledge in my reality. It would
make more sense for a demon to kill them instead of taking the book."
"Or both," said Tiffany. "Didn't you tell us that the book was corrupted
to evil a couple of times?"
"Yes," said Chris. "They were always able to change it back, though."
"Well," said Tiffany, "if I were a demon, I'd come back, kill the three of
them to ever prevent the Power of Three from happening, and then take the book
and try to corrupt it. That would make a powerful force for evil."
"Did you two find out anything?" asked Leo.
"Some," said Tiffany. "Darryl Morris, Andy's old partner, was killed in
the line of duty about five years ago. The girls' father, Victor Bennett, died
of a heart attack about three years ago."
"Those are about the times when Prue and Andy died," said Chris.
"Balance, I told you," said Leo. "Any demonic indications?"
"None that I could tell," said Tiffany. "Except that I couldn't read
Cole's mind. That's only happened with demons. It's not definitive, but it's
always worked on humans before. There's something decidedly odd about him."
"Demonic influence," said Leo. "I sensed it the second I saw him. Of
course, if Chris hadn't said something, I wouldn't have sensed it. There would
have been no reason for me to. He doesn't appear to be anything but another
human."
"You see?" asked Chris. "Everything I told you is true. Only it's all
changed. Prue, Andy, and Cole are alive when they should be dead. And the
girls aren't the Charmed Ones. Someone must have come back and altered the
past."
"I'll admit that it does appear you were right," said Leo. "But it still
doesn't explain what Cole is doing with Phoebe. Belthazor specializes in
killing witches. Except that Phoebe has no powers and so is technically not a
witch. We need to find out what he's doing with her."
"That isn't going to be easy," said Tiffany. "We can't just go up and ask
him. So far, he has no idea we suspect him of anything. We're just some old
friends who stopped by for a visit."
"I'll check around and see what I can find out," said Leo. "There should
be some information about Belthazor circulating. A demon of his status doesn't
stay off the radar very long."
"Are you going to inform the Elders?" Chris asked.
"No," said Leo. "Not until we have more to go on. If someone has figured
a way to alter the past, they're going to want to know who it is and how it was
done. Right now, we don't have those answers. And I'm not sure they'd believe
me without some kind of proof, anyway. It sounds so incredulous."
"What about a time portal?" Chris asked. "Or a temporal vortex, anything
like that? Any reports of those?"
"None," said Leo. "If someone did come back in time, it's possible it may
not have registered with the Elders. Changing the past could have affected them
in ways we can't even begin to understand."
"Are we sure someone came back to alter the past?" asked Tiffany.
"What do you mean?" Leo asked.
"Well," said Tiffany, "maybe it was an accident. Maybe someone came back
from the future and did something that altered everything. We aren't sure
there's anything malevolent going on here, other than Belthazor being with
Phoebe. It seems to me that if someone were going through all this trouble they
would have done more than just keep the girls from becoming the Charmed Ones."
"That's a possibility, I suppose," said Leo. "Let's get some sleep. We
can try to figure this out in the morning."
Once home, they all began to get ready for bed. Tiffany had a spare room
in her house and Chris was going to be using until they could sort things out.
"Do you believe him?" Tiffany asked Leo. "About someone going back in
time and altering the past?"
"Ordinarily I'd say no," said Leo. "But he's been right about so many
things. And he is a White Lighter, you confirmed that. I'm just not sure what
to think. If someone did alter the past, I'd think there'd be more indications
that it had happened. Even a minor change, theoretically, could have numerous
consequences. This appears to be limited to just the girls."
"Well, I know he believes what he's saying," said Tiffany. "And he's
genuinely concerned about it. Not just for himself, but for the girls and
everyone else. And he's extremely confused."
"Aren't we all?" Leo asked. "Let's get some sleep and tackle this in the
morning."
As they got ready for bed, a figure hid in the shadows outside the house.
Cole Turner stared in the window at Leo and Tiffany.
"A White Lighter and a witch," he whispered to himself. "I thought as
much when they showed up at the manor. I'd better keep an eye on them. They
could ruin everything. And I've worked too hard to have anything go wrong now."
Quietly, Cole looked around to make sure no one was about, and then
shimmered out of the yard back to the manor.