Here goes another chapter. Please review. Thank you.
Chapter 12
Nicole parked the Porsche in front of her uncle's house, her house now, she reminded herself. Her and Cole agreed that it would be better if he talked to his mother on his own and Nicole decided to use this time for shopping and collecting some stuff from her uncle's house. The shops in San Francisco were great, much better than in the UK and now the back seat of the Porsche was full with plastic bags. Nicole poured herself a glass of water and stretched her legs. Her thoughts trailed of to Cole. How was his conversation with Elizabeth going? The sound of the door bell snapped her up from her thoughts. She opened the door and froze at the sight of her visitors.
Phoebe stared at the tall blond woman standing in the doorway. It could not be happening. Next to her Paige uttered in disbelief, "You..."
Nicole was the first to regain her composure, "I believe you are Halliwell sisters," she said coolly, "What brings you to my doorsteps?"
Piper who at first did not understand the silent scene before her, exclaimed, "You've met."
"You can hardly call it a meeting," Paige muttered.
"You're Piper, right?" Nicole asked the older Charmed One. "Me and your sisters came across each other some time ago in Cole Turner's apartment."
Realization hit Piper. She shot a look at Phoebe who still seemed to be in shock. "Look, ladies," Nicole continued. "I don't know about you but I have things to do so can you please tell me what exactly has brought you here?"
"We came to talk about your uncle," Paige blurted out.
"You knew my uncle?" Nicole's eyes grew wide in surprise.
"We did not exactly knew him," Piper corrected her sister, "but we would like to talk to you about the circumstances surrounding your uncle's death."
Nicole's alarm bells went off. What could the Charmed Ones know about her uncle? She shifted her gaze from one sister to another, "Well, in that case you better come in," she offered evenly and led the Charmed sisters into the living room.
Phoebe was trying to regain her composure. She could not believe that Nicole Berg, the woman whom they came to warn was the same woman whom Cole started dating a week after their divorce.
"So," Nicole sat in the chair and looked at the sisters. Paige looked nervous, Piper apprehensive and Phoebe plainly dumbstruck. "What do you want to talk to me about?"
Piper was about to speak up but Phoebe bit her to it. "We came to talk to you about your uncle's death and his will, which left a very significant inheritance to Cole Turner." The middle Charmed One attentively observed any changes in Nicole's face, but the latter's expression remained unreadable.
"I don't see how it concerns you," Nicole remarked calmly.
"Miss Berg," the older Charmed One tried to sound friendly. "We are here as your friends and we don't mean to interfere in your personal affairs. It's just we had a lot of dealings with Cole Turner and let's just say that the experiences were not very nice. So we only wanted to offer our help."
"I appreciate your efforts," Nicole replied, "but I don't understand why would I need your help?"
"Because Cole Turner is dangerous, very dangerous," Paige blurted out. "Haven't you wondered why your uncle left millions of dollars not to you, but to a man, who was neither a relative nor a close friend?"
Nicole's face became very distant and she said in a cold voice, "And how exactly do you know all these details?"
Paige faltered and Piper tried to heal the damage the blunt tongue of her youngest sister had caused. "We found out by accident. We were keeping an eye on Cole and came across your uncle's name. We know that you're new in town and it is a tough period in your life and we just wanted to warn you against potential danger."
Nicole inwardly relaxed a little. It was obvious that the Charmed Ones did not know anything about Lugels and were only concerned that Cole received an inheritance from her uncle. "Well, it's very nice of you," she said slowly. "But I don't think that Cole will be a danger to me."
Phoebe who was so far quiet decided that it was time to be more direct. "Look," she said leaning forward and fixing Nicole with a hard stare, "We came here trying to save you from making the biggest mistake of your life. And yes, I am talking from my own experience. I brought Cole into my family 3 years ago and if I had been granted one wish, it would be to never have met him. I know that right now he seems to you as the best man that ever lived but try to look pass his good looks and smart wit. He's dangerous. He already manipulated your uncle into leaving him a fortune. And I will not be surprised if Cole is responsible for your uncle's death. It's only a matter of time before he'd do the same to you."
Nicole had enough of this. She could not belief what she was hearing. The woman who claimed she wanted her ex-husband to move on with his life was trying to destroy his chances of ever achieving that. Nicole perfectly realized that if she had not by accident read Cole's memories the other day she would now be very concerned about Halliwell's revelations. They accused him of the gravest crimes without even bothering to get any proof. Nicole glared at Phoebe and said trying to keep her voice calm. "Do you have any proof that Cole has committed murder and fraud or is it just an outburst of a bitter ex wife?"
Phoebe's face went red and Paige exclaimed in outrage. "Don't you dare insult my sister like that! She's merely trying to protect your ass."
"By doing what? Accusing a friend of my late uncle of murdering him and stealing his fortune?" Nicole cried out.
"But what if it's true?" Piper exclaimed trying to steer conversation away from the personal insults. "I think that circumstances are suspicious enough. You can at least check why your uncle left his fortune to a man wholly unrelated to your family."
Nicole looked at Piper with a hint of respect. Between her sisters the eldest Halliwell at least had a working brain. Young Lugel got up from her chair and said coldly, "Trust me, Cole Turner has all the rights to inherit my uncle's fortune."
"How do you know?" Paige cried out.
"I know," Nicole stated firmly, trying really hard to stay polite. "I thank you for your warning," she continued with a hint of sarcasm, "and now if you don't mind I have few things to do."
This was the last drop for Phoebe. This strong headed bitch behaved like she was the Queen of England. "Fine," she snapped. "We'll go. I hope that when he turns your life into a living hell, you still will be able to ask us for help. At least Cole truly loved me. And I am sorry to tell you this, but his feelings for you are very far from that."
Nicole's face turned pale and the first time in her life she wanted to use one of her most lethal powers on this woman. "Get out of my house," she said, her eyes blazing green fire. The Charmed Ones hurried to the door and just as they reached it they heard steely voice behind them. "Though you don't deserve it I will give you a word of warning. If I ever hear that you are trying to insinuate that my uncle was murdered or his will was falsified I will personally take you to court for slander and emotional harassment."
******
After two hours of soaking in the bath, giving herself a pedicure and than meticulously drying her hair Elizabeth managed to digest all the information she received earlier and organise her own thoughts enough to face her son and his new partner. She found Cole alone in the kitchen cooking dinner.
"All mighty Belthazor in an apron?" she asked cocking her eyebrow. "Oh, sorry," she corrected herself, "all mighty Cole Turner in an apron."
"Well, you'll be surprised how many times all mighty Belthazor depended on this skill of Cole Turner," the half demon retorted good naturally. "During the Upperworld missions, you either have to eat in restaurants all the time, which can really ruin your health or have to cook yourself."
"Or you could get a wife for yourself," Elizabeth remarked sitting down in one of the high chairs.
Cole perked up knowing his mother's fondness of ambiguous questions. So he decided to stick to the light tone. "This is too much work, I prefer cooking."
Elizabeth' lips smiled but her eyes were examining her son's face with a piercing attention. But Cole was her equal in this game of words and self control. His face was completely unreadable. The demoness understood that she was not going to make Cole lose his cool and felt very proud of her son. So she decided to play openly.
"I've been thinking about what you told me this morning. And I have to admit I felt quite surprised that you did not manage to destroy the Charmed Ones. I always thought that three witches even that powerful would not stop you."
Half demon seriously contemplated the dilemma he faced. On one hand he could keep concealing the truth knowing full well that she would find it out sooner or later. Or he could tell her the whole story now and face the fireworks. No matter how much Cole wanted to bail out he decided that the second option was the one to go with. He cleared his throat, "Well, as a matter of fact, they are the most powerful witches ever existed. But you're right, I did not just fail," he paused and then decided to jump into the deep end. "I fell in love with one of the Charmed Ones, Phoebe. So I could not kill them and ended up betraying the Source and working with the Charmed Ones for nearly 2 years. Later on I accepted the Hollow to save them and then the Source's spirit took possession of me. While being the Source I even married Phoebe but it did not end well. She chose her sisters over me and vanquished the Source and myself alongside him. That's how I ended up in the Wasteland. I know very little of what happened next. Phoebe was not exactly forthcoming after I got back. She told me that she lost our baby, though apparently it was really the Source's child, at first the Seer used the spell to transfer the baby into her own body in order to become the new Source. But she could not cope with so much power and self destructed during the coronation ceremony together with the baby and the Source's council. When I got back from the Wasteland I tried to make a new start with Phoebe but she did not want to take me back and we got divorced about a month ago." During his speech Cole kept avoiding looking at Elizabeth. When he finally faced her, half demon was surprised to see her dark eyes sparkling in a way that looked a lot like unshed tears. Her lips were trembling as she tried to regain her composure.
"Mother," half demon made a few steps towards her, "are you okay?"
Elizabeth nodded her head, not trusting her voice. After a few minutes during which Cole observed his mother with concern, she managed to gain enough control of her voice, "I always hoped that you would not have to experience mortal love. But I guess taking my own history into account there was little chance of that. Especially since you always had your mortal half to fight. It was just a matter of time."
Cole was surprised by her reaction. He expected Elizabeth to go ballistic, accusing him of being weak. In stead she almost sounded guilty. "You are not mad at me?" he asked carefully.
"What right do I have to be mad at you?" she said with a hint of self bitterness in her tone, "You were creation of my own mistake. And you repeated my own life."
"You followed the Source's orders," Cole said quietly. "I, on the other hand, betrayed him. Plus you never were in love with a witch."
Elizabeth gave him a bitter-sweet smile, her eyes full of such motherly love, he has not seen since she first brought him to the underworld. "I did betray the Source, he just never found out." Elizabeth saw a confused expression on her son's face and continued. "What started as an assignment turned into something much more serious. I fell in love with your father. I did not want to return to the Underworld. So I planned to strip my and your powers. Then we would be out of the Source's radar and he would lose interest in us. But the night I was planning to perform the ritual things went wrong. You know that we are related to demons living in the Signa plain? They do not follow the orders of the Source. I paid their high priest to perform the ritual. So I just shimmered back into the house and found myself standing face to face with your father. He looked at me horrified. I had no choice but to tell him the truth. From the moment I mentioned that I was a demon, he looked at me terrified. I told him that it did not change how I felt about him and that I was going to strip my powers so we could have a normal family. But he did not want to listen. He told me to get out of his house and never come back. Then he stormed out. I did not know what to do. I decided that I could not strip my powers as yet. So I packed some of my clothes and some of yours but I did not want to leave. Benjamin never stayed angry for long. So I took you for a walk. When I got back your father was home. He sent you upstairs with the nanny and started screaming at me. He told me that I had to get out immediately and that I could not even dare to come close to you and he'd do anything possible for you to grow up normal and that he would tell you that I died. Then he left. He spoke with such contempt. I could not believe that this was the man for whom I was ready to betray the Source, to give up my powers and to change my life forever. I went after him but he already left with you. This made me realize that we did not have a future together. He would never be able to accept me and you for what we were. I traced you two down. It was not a problem since you were always on my radar. And you know the rest. I took you to the Underworld. I vowed never to look back and never try to be someone else except what I was, a demon." Elizabeth forced a smile and looked up at her son.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Cole asked trying to take in this incredible story.
"Well, when you were young I was scared that the Source could find out. They used to do all this telepathy tests on young demons. And you weren't any good in mind blocks. I wanted to tell you later when you became a member of the Brotherhood and started to go on your Upperworld missions. I wanted to warn you about the dangers of mortal love but I could not bring myself to do it. Your humanity was buried deep enough and I did not want anything to disturb it. When you were little you used to have nightmares and were always calling for your father. I did not want to remind you about him."
Cole nodded. He felt strange. He always thought that his mother killed his father following the orders of the Source. He sometimes thought that she was forced to do it and sometimes he thought she did it from her own inner evil. Even when he was little he never asked his mother about why she killed his father. He just knew that it was best not to mention it, ever. But he did miss his father and especially the life they had as a family. With time these memories became bleak but they never went away completely.
"I am sorry, Belthazor," his mother said. "I probably should have told you. May be it would have helped you to avoid your mistake."
Cole sighed. "I don't consider falling in love with Phoebe a mistake, mother. It showed me how life could be. I would not have missed it for the world."
Elizabeth sighed, "Do you still love her?" she asked quietly.
"How I feel does not matter," Cole shrugged his shoulder. "We do not have a future together. I suppose for me it would be better to always be in love with Phoebe. I learnt to live without her and I don't want to fall in love ever again. So the love for Phoebe is my safeguard for now."
Elizabeth looked at him in surprise. "I thought you would not miss this feeling for the world?"
Half demon gave his mother a wicked smile, "I would not, but once was enough. I am not a masochist."
Elizabeth understood his sign that he wanted to change the subject. His humour did not fool her. She knew that Cole did not want to discuss his feeling further with her at the moment and part of her was relieved whereas another part was longing to hold him in her arms, take away his pain and worries. But she decided it was best to comply with his wishes. She still had another question to ask him. The answer to which would affect their immediate future. So she gave him a smile indicating that the topic was closed and said her voice all business.
"By the way, I wanted to ask you. Do you know what Lugels are planning for me?"
Half demon gave his mother a penetrating look. "Why do you think they are planning something for you?"
"Come on, Belthazor," Elizabeth smiled coolly. "Why else would they tell you about me? They are not exactly a Charity "Family Reunited". It means that they needed me for something. And I would like to know straight away what is it? And what is your interest in the whole thing?"
Cole could not suppress a chuckle. That was his mother, smart as a devil.
"What's so funny?" she asked.
"Nothing," he answered quickly. "It's just that I finally am convinced that our efforts this morning have paid off. You are really back to normal."
Elizabeth gave him a wry smile, "Don't change the subject, Belthazor."
"I was not trying to change the subject," he retorted good naturally. She gave him a sceptical look and Cole lifted his arms in defeat. "Fine, I give up," he said sobering. "I was approached by Lugels to help them with the very interesting and important task, to negotiate a peace deal between the good and the evil, which in reality is between Underworld and the Powers to Be. The reason is that both worlds have been so effective in killing each other, that magic itself faces extinction and the massive misbalance of powers. Lugels want to negotiate a peace treaty by channelling activities of the Underworld into business and of the witches into the charities etc. And in order to do that they need to find a new Source who would be able to rule the Underworld with the iron hand and channel its activities into business and mortals, which are not exactly innocents."
"And they want you to become the new Source and me to help you?" Elizabeth finished for him.
"No," Cole answered carefully eyeing his mother. "They want you to become the new Source and I will help you."
"What?" Elizabeth stared at him in amazement. "They want me to become the new Source?! Why?"
"Because you have what it takes. Come on, Mother, Raynor wanted to get rid of you because he was scared that you'd take over the Brotherhood and in time become a new Source and he wanted the throne for himself."
"Belthazor, it was 30 years ago. You were the Source 6 months ago; it would be much easier for you. For God's sake, I am a woman. There was never a female Source."
"Well, maybe it's time for one. The Seer almost became the new Source. And nobody was bothered that she was a woman."
"Yes, but she had the Source's baby-boy inside her." Elizabeth cried out.
"And you think that she was going to keep him alive after the coronation?" Cole asked his brows lifting suggestively.
Elizabeth could not disagree with him. "But it still makes more sense for you to become the next Source."
"Mother, I can't."
"Why not?"
"Because I have too many powers now and if I become the Source, it would create a massive imbalance of powers."
Elizabeth ran out of arguments and had finally seriously contemplated Lugel's offer to become the new Source. It was overwhelming. In the past she sometimes thought about it. Especially after her and Belthazor worked together, when she saved him from the joint threat of witches and vampires covens. But after 30 years away from the Underworld it was a big decision to make. "I don't know," she finally said. "I have to think about it. I have not been in the Underworld for so long. And this is one of those choices, on which you can't go back."
Cole nodded, "Of course," he said, "I understand that you need time to think. I just want you to know that Lugels will provide you with any support necessary. Myself and Nicole can help you with pretty much anything."
Elizabeth smiled, "Oh, I am sure of that." She got up from her chair. "I am going to check my quarters in the Underworld."
Half demon nodded, "Be careful, Underworld is at the moment in chaos."
Elizabeth gave him a wry smile, "Don't forget with whom you're talking, Belthazor."
"I would not dream of it," Cole returned her smile.
"Good, I would not want to have to remind you about it," with these words she shimmered out. She reappeared in the underworld but only for a second. When she was sure that nobody was following her she shimmered again and reappeared in front of a small wooden hut. She knocked and waited. After a few moments the door opened and a pair of penetrating eyes stared at Elizabeth.
"We need to talk," the demoness said firmly.
"Yes, we do," said a deep voice. "Please come in."
*******
After his mother left Cole stayed in the kitchen staring at the window. This conversation went better than he thought. And he had a gut feeling that his mother was going to accept Lugel's offer. He looked at his watch. It was very late, Nicole was already supposed to be home. Suddenly a wave of emotions hit Cole, it was a mixture of anger and pain. At first he could not understand where it came from until he received a vision of Nicole standing in the hallway of her uncle's house with three Charmed One's in front of her. Half demon wasted no time. He disappeared from the Penthouse and immediately reappeared in a quiet lane in front of the Schwarzlight mansion. He arrived just in time to see the Halliwell's car leaving. Cole ran up to the porch and knocked on the door. There was no answer. He knocked again and when no one replied, Cole started to get worried.
"Nicole," he shouted, "it's me, Cole, open up." Few minutes have passed, during which Cole seriously contemplated kicking out the door. Then he heard the footsteps, the door flew open and half demon was face to face with Nicole.
"Cole," she said coldly, "what are you doing here? I thought you were talking to your mother".
"I was," the half demon replied. "But I got a vision of you talking to the Halliwells. I was worried."
Nicole smiled wryly, "You should not have. I was not going to use my powers on your precious Charmed Ones no matter how much I was tempted."
Cole's eyes flared with anger. "I was not worried about them," he snapped. "I was worried about you. In my vision you looked upset."
"Oh," Nicole did not know what to say. She stepped aside allowing Cole to enter the mansion. "Well, I was. The Charmed Ones told me that you have manipulated my uncle into leaving his fortune to you and that you also probably killed him. They also suggested that I would end up the same way if I kept my relationship with you. And when I was not responsive to their warning the conversation moved to personalities and I ended up threatening to sue them for emotional harassment if they continued spreading any rumours."
Half demon could feel resentment and anger arousing in him. The Halliwells accused him of murder and fraud without a single shred of evidence. And, God knows, if Nicole had not learn all his inner thoughts a few days ago she would have probably believe them.
As if she read his thought Nicole continued, "They started very friendly and convincing. If I did not know otherwise I would be very concerned. This made me worried. If they go round telling lies to people it could harm your reputation and DLM Investments."
Cole cursed. For the numerous time during the last month he wished that the Charmed Ones would just leave him alone. But there was little chance of that happening. "We need to come up with a cover story in which they'll believe," he said.
"That's a good idea," Nicole nodded. But she did not like the thought that came into her mind. It was indeed the easiest "explanation". Young woman took a deep breath, "I think I just thought about the perfect cover up story," she said trying to sound excited. "We can conjure the evidence that you're uncle Will's illegitimate son."
"What?" Cole looked at her incredulously.
"Well, then everybody will completely understand that he left everything to you and not to me."
"No way," the words flew out of Cole's mouth with a speed of a bullet.
"Why not?" Nicole asked, her insides trembling with relief.
Cole knew that under no circumstance he would agree to pose as Nicole's close blood relative. But he could not tell her the real reason so he feverishly thought about excuse and was relieved when he realized that her suggestion would not work. "Because the Charmed Ones know that I was born more than a hundred years ago and since William Schwarzlight died only a month ago he would have to be a demon himself, which makes you demonic as well. We don't want to go down that road."
Nicole nodded in agreement relieved that her idea could not work and slightly disappointed that there was such a logical reason for Cole to reject it. "In that case, I think we have two options," she said, "We either have to tell them the truth or threaten them enough to prevent them from spreading any rumours."
"The first route is not possible. We can't expose the Lugels that much. And since you already started on the second route, we'll just stick to it. We should ask the Lugel Council for the permission to approach the Elders."
"Agreed," Nicole smiled.
Chapter 12
Nicole parked the Porsche in front of her uncle's house, her house now, she reminded herself. Her and Cole agreed that it would be better if he talked to his mother on his own and Nicole decided to use this time for shopping and collecting some stuff from her uncle's house. The shops in San Francisco were great, much better than in the UK and now the back seat of the Porsche was full with plastic bags. Nicole poured herself a glass of water and stretched her legs. Her thoughts trailed of to Cole. How was his conversation with Elizabeth going? The sound of the door bell snapped her up from her thoughts. She opened the door and froze at the sight of her visitors.
Phoebe stared at the tall blond woman standing in the doorway. It could not be happening. Next to her Paige uttered in disbelief, "You..."
Nicole was the first to regain her composure, "I believe you are Halliwell sisters," she said coolly, "What brings you to my doorsteps?"
Piper who at first did not understand the silent scene before her, exclaimed, "You've met."
"You can hardly call it a meeting," Paige muttered.
"You're Piper, right?" Nicole asked the older Charmed One. "Me and your sisters came across each other some time ago in Cole Turner's apartment."
Realization hit Piper. She shot a look at Phoebe who still seemed to be in shock. "Look, ladies," Nicole continued. "I don't know about you but I have things to do so can you please tell me what exactly has brought you here?"
"We came to talk about your uncle," Paige blurted out.
"You knew my uncle?" Nicole's eyes grew wide in surprise.
"We did not exactly knew him," Piper corrected her sister, "but we would like to talk to you about the circumstances surrounding your uncle's death."
Nicole's alarm bells went off. What could the Charmed Ones know about her uncle? She shifted her gaze from one sister to another, "Well, in that case you better come in," she offered evenly and led the Charmed sisters into the living room.
Phoebe was trying to regain her composure. She could not believe that Nicole Berg, the woman whom they came to warn was the same woman whom Cole started dating a week after their divorce.
"So," Nicole sat in the chair and looked at the sisters. Paige looked nervous, Piper apprehensive and Phoebe plainly dumbstruck. "What do you want to talk to me about?"
Piper was about to speak up but Phoebe bit her to it. "We came to talk to you about your uncle's death and his will, which left a very significant inheritance to Cole Turner." The middle Charmed One attentively observed any changes in Nicole's face, but the latter's expression remained unreadable.
"I don't see how it concerns you," Nicole remarked calmly.
"Miss Berg," the older Charmed One tried to sound friendly. "We are here as your friends and we don't mean to interfere in your personal affairs. It's just we had a lot of dealings with Cole Turner and let's just say that the experiences were not very nice. So we only wanted to offer our help."
"I appreciate your efforts," Nicole replied, "but I don't understand why would I need your help?"
"Because Cole Turner is dangerous, very dangerous," Paige blurted out. "Haven't you wondered why your uncle left millions of dollars not to you, but to a man, who was neither a relative nor a close friend?"
Nicole's face became very distant and she said in a cold voice, "And how exactly do you know all these details?"
Paige faltered and Piper tried to heal the damage the blunt tongue of her youngest sister had caused. "We found out by accident. We were keeping an eye on Cole and came across your uncle's name. We know that you're new in town and it is a tough period in your life and we just wanted to warn you against potential danger."
Nicole inwardly relaxed a little. It was obvious that the Charmed Ones did not know anything about Lugels and were only concerned that Cole received an inheritance from her uncle. "Well, it's very nice of you," she said slowly. "But I don't think that Cole will be a danger to me."
Phoebe who was so far quiet decided that it was time to be more direct. "Look," she said leaning forward and fixing Nicole with a hard stare, "We came here trying to save you from making the biggest mistake of your life. And yes, I am talking from my own experience. I brought Cole into my family 3 years ago and if I had been granted one wish, it would be to never have met him. I know that right now he seems to you as the best man that ever lived but try to look pass his good looks and smart wit. He's dangerous. He already manipulated your uncle into leaving him a fortune. And I will not be surprised if Cole is responsible for your uncle's death. It's only a matter of time before he'd do the same to you."
Nicole had enough of this. She could not belief what she was hearing. The woman who claimed she wanted her ex-husband to move on with his life was trying to destroy his chances of ever achieving that. Nicole perfectly realized that if she had not by accident read Cole's memories the other day she would now be very concerned about Halliwell's revelations. They accused him of the gravest crimes without even bothering to get any proof. Nicole glared at Phoebe and said trying to keep her voice calm. "Do you have any proof that Cole has committed murder and fraud or is it just an outburst of a bitter ex wife?"
Phoebe's face went red and Paige exclaimed in outrage. "Don't you dare insult my sister like that! She's merely trying to protect your ass."
"By doing what? Accusing a friend of my late uncle of murdering him and stealing his fortune?" Nicole cried out.
"But what if it's true?" Piper exclaimed trying to steer conversation away from the personal insults. "I think that circumstances are suspicious enough. You can at least check why your uncle left his fortune to a man wholly unrelated to your family."
Nicole looked at Piper with a hint of respect. Between her sisters the eldest Halliwell at least had a working brain. Young Lugel got up from her chair and said coldly, "Trust me, Cole Turner has all the rights to inherit my uncle's fortune."
"How do you know?" Paige cried out.
"I know," Nicole stated firmly, trying really hard to stay polite. "I thank you for your warning," she continued with a hint of sarcasm, "and now if you don't mind I have few things to do."
This was the last drop for Phoebe. This strong headed bitch behaved like she was the Queen of England. "Fine," she snapped. "We'll go. I hope that when he turns your life into a living hell, you still will be able to ask us for help. At least Cole truly loved me. And I am sorry to tell you this, but his feelings for you are very far from that."
Nicole's face turned pale and the first time in her life she wanted to use one of her most lethal powers on this woman. "Get out of my house," she said, her eyes blazing green fire. The Charmed Ones hurried to the door and just as they reached it they heard steely voice behind them. "Though you don't deserve it I will give you a word of warning. If I ever hear that you are trying to insinuate that my uncle was murdered or his will was falsified I will personally take you to court for slander and emotional harassment."
******
After two hours of soaking in the bath, giving herself a pedicure and than meticulously drying her hair Elizabeth managed to digest all the information she received earlier and organise her own thoughts enough to face her son and his new partner. She found Cole alone in the kitchen cooking dinner.
"All mighty Belthazor in an apron?" she asked cocking her eyebrow. "Oh, sorry," she corrected herself, "all mighty Cole Turner in an apron."
"Well, you'll be surprised how many times all mighty Belthazor depended on this skill of Cole Turner," the half demon retorted good naturally. "During the Upperworld missions, you either have to eat in restaurants all the time, which can really ruin your health or have to cook yourself."
"Or you could get a wife for yourself," Elizabeth remarked sitting down in one of the high chairs.
Cole perked up knowing his mother's fondness of ambiguous questions. So he decided to stick to the light tone. "This is too much work, I prefer cooking."
Elizabeth' lips smiled but her eyes were examining her son's face with a piercing attention. But Cole was her equal in this game of words and self control. His face was completely unreadable. The demoness understood that she was not going to make Cole lose his cool and felt very proud of her son. So she decided to play openly.
"I've been thinking about what you told me this morning. And I have to admit I felt quite surprised that you did not manage to destroy the Charmed Ones. I always thought that three witches even that powerful would not stop you."
Half demon seriously contemplated the dilemma he faced. On one hand he could keep concealing the truth knowing full well that she would find it out sooner or later. Or he could tell her the whole story now and face the fireworks. No matter how much Cole wanted to bail out he decided that the second option was the one to go with. He cleared his throat, "Well, as a matter of fact, they are the most powerful witches ever existed. But you're right, I did not just fail," he paused and then decided to jump into the deep end. "I fell in love with one of the Charmed Ones, Phoebe. So I could not kill them and ended up betraying the Source and working with the Charmed Ones for nearly 2 years. Later on I accepted the Hollow to save them and then the Source's spirit took possession of me. While being the Source I even married Phoebe but it did not end well. She chose her sisters over me and vanquished the Source and myself alongside him. That's how I ended up in the Wasteland. I know very little of what happened next. Phoebe was not exactly forthcoming after I got back. She told me that she lost our baby, though apparently it was really the Source's child, at first the Seer used the spell to transfer the baby into her own body in order to become the new Source. But she could not cope with so much power and self destructed during the coronation ceremony together with the baby and the Source's council. When I got back from the Wasteland I tried to make a new start with Phoebe but she did not want to take me back and we got divorced about a month ago." During his speech Cole kept avoiding looking at Elizabeth. When he finally faced her, half demon was surprised to see her dark eyes sparkling in a way that looked a lot like unshed tears. Her lips were trembling as she tried to regain her composure.
"Mother," half demon made a few steps towards her, "are you okay?"
Elizabeth nodded her head, not trusting her voice. After a few minutes during which Cole observed his mother with concern, she managed to gain enough control of her voice, "I always hoped that you would not have to experience mortal love. But I guess taking my own history into account there was little chance of that. Especially since you always had your mortal half to fight. It was just a matter of time."
Cole was surprised by her reaction. He expected Elizabeth to go ballistic, accusing him of being weak. In stead she almost sounded guilty. "You are not mad at me?" he asked carefully.
"What right do I have to be mad at you?" she said with a hint of self bitterness in her tone, "You were creation of my own mistake. And you repeated my own life."
"You followed the Source's orders," Cole said quietly. "I, on the other hand, betrayed him. Plus you never were in love with a witch."
Elizabeth gave him a bitter-sweet smile, her eyes full of such motherly love, he has not seen since she first brought him to the underworld. "I did betray the Source, he just never found out." Elizabeth saw a confused expression on her son's face and continued. "What started as an assignment turned into something much more serious. I fell in love with your father. I did not want to return to the Underworld. So I planned to strip my and your powers. Then we would be out of the Source's radar and he would lose interest in us. But the night I was planning to perform the ritual things went wrong. You know that we are related to demons living in the Signa plain? They do not follow the orders of the Source. I paid their high priest to perform the ritual. So I just shimmered back into the house and found myself standing face to face with your father. He looked at me horrified. I had no choice but to tell him the truth. From the moment I mentioned that I was a demon, he looked at me terrified. I told him that it did not change how I felt about him and that I was going to strip my powers so we could have a normal family. But he did not want to listen. He told me to get out of his house and never come back. Then he stormed out. I did not know what to do. I decided that I could not strip my powers as yet. So I packed some of my clothes and some of yours but I did not want to leave. Benjamin never stayed angry for long. So I took you for a walk. When I got back your father was home. He sent you upstairs with the nanny and started screaming at me. He told me that I had to get out immediately and that I could not even dare to come close to you and he'd do anything possible for you to grow up normal and that he would tell you that I died. Then he left. He spoke with such contempt. I could not believe that this was the man for whom I was ready to betray the Source, to give up my powers and to change my life forever. I went after him but he already left with you. This made me realize that we did not have a future together. He would never be able to accept me and you for what we were. I traced you two down. It was not a problem since you were always on my radar. And you know the rest. I took you to the Underworld. I vowed never to look back and never try to be someone else except what I was, a demon." Elizabeth forced a smile and looked up at her son.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Cole asked trying to take in this incredible story.
"Well, when you were young I was scared that the Source could find out. They used to do all this telepathy tests on young demons. And you weren't any good in mind blocks. I wanted to tell you later when you became a member of the Brotherhood and started to go on your Upperworld missions. I wanted to warn you about the dangers of mortal love but I could not bring myself to do it. Your humanity was buried deep enough and I did not want anything to disturb it. When you were little you used to have nightmares and were always calling for your father. I did not want to remind you about him."
Cole nodded. He felt strange. He always thought that his mother killed his father following the orders of the Source. He sometimes thought that she was forced to do it and sometimes he thought she did it from her own inner evil. Even when he was little he never asked his mother about why she killed his father. He just knew that it was best not to mention it, ever. But he did miss his father and especially the life they had as a family. With time these memories became bleak but they never went away completely.
"I am sorry, Belthazor," his mother said. "I probably should have told you. May be it would have helped you to avoid your mistake."
Cole sighed. "I don't consider falling in love with Phoebe a mistake, mother. It showed me how life could be. I would not have missed it for the world."
Elizabeth sighed, "Do you still love her?" she asked quietly.
"How I feel does not matter," Cole shrugged his shoulder. "We do not have a future together. I suppose for me it would be better to always be in love with Phoebe. I learnt to live without her and I don't want to fall in love ever again. So the love for Phoebe is my safeguard for now."
Elizabeth looked at him in surprise. "I thought you would not miss this feeling for the world?"
Half demon gave his mother a wicked smile, "I would not, but once was enough. I am not a masochist."
Elizabeth understood his sign that he wanted to change the subject. His humour did not fool her. She knew that Cole did not want to discuss his feeling further with her at the moment and part of her was relieved whereas another part was longing to hold him in her arms, take away his pain and worries. But she decided it was best to comply with his wishes. She still had another question to ask him. The answer to which would affect their immediate future. So she gave him a smile indicating that the topic was closed and said her voice all business.
"By the way, I wanted to ask you. Do you know what Lugels are planning for me?"
Half demon gave his mother a penetrating look. "Why do you think they are planning something for you?"
"Come on, Belthazor," Elizabeth smiled coolly. "Why else would they tell you about me? They are not exactly a Charity "Family Reunited". It means that they needed me for something. And I would like to know straight away what is it? And what is your interest in the whole thing?"
Cole could not suppress a chuckle. That was his mother, smart as a devil.
"What's so funny?" she asked.
"Nothing," he answered quickly. "It's just that I finally am convinced that our efforts this morning have paid off. You are really back to normal."
Elizabeth gave him a wry smile, "Don't change the subject, Belthazor."
"I was not trying to change the subject," he retorted good naturally. She gave him a sceptical look and Cole lifted his arms in defeat. "Fine, I give up," he said sobering. "I was approached by Lugels to help them with the very interesting and important task, to negotiate a peace deal between the good and the evil, which in reality is between Underworld and the Powers to Be. The reason is that both worlds have been so effective in killing each other, that magic itself faces extinction and the massive misbalance of powers. Lugels want to negotiate a peace treaty by channelling activities of the Underworld into business and of the witches into the charities etc. And in order to do that they need to find a new Source who would be able to rule the Underworld with the iron hand and channel its activities into business and mortals, which are not exactly innocents."
"And they want you to become the new Source and me to help you?" Elizabeth finished for him.
"No," Cole answered carefully eyeing his mother. "They want you to become the new Source and I will help you."
"What?" Elizabeth stared at him in amazement. "They want me to become the new Source?! Why?"
"Because you have what it takes. Come on, Mother, Raynor wanted to get rid of you because he was scared that you'd take over the Brotherhood and in time become a new Source and he wanted the throne for himself."
"Belthazor, it was 30 years ago. You were the Source 6 months ago; it would be much easier for you. For God's sake, I am a woman. There was never a female Source."
"Well, maybe it's time for one. The Seer almost became the new Source. And nobody was bothered that she was a woman."
"Yes, but she had the Source's baby-boy inside her." Elizabeth cried out.
"And you think that she was going to keep him alive after the coronation?" Cole asked his brows lifting suggestively.
Elizabeth could not disagree with him. "But it still makes more sense for you to become the next Source."
"Mother, I can't."
"Why not?"
"Because I have too many powers now and if I become the Source, it would create a massive imbalance of powers."
Elizabeth ran out of arguments and had finally seriously contemplated Lugel's offer to become the new Source. It was overwhelming. In the past she sometimes thought about it. Especially after her and Belthazor worked together, when she saved him from the joint threat of witches and vampires covens. But after 30 years away from the Underworld it was a big decision to make. "I don't know," she finally said. "I have to think about it. I have not been in the Underworld for so long. And this is one of those choices, on which you can't go back."
Cole nodded, "Of course," he said, "I understand that you need time to think. I just want you to know that Lugels will provide you with any support necessary. Myself and Nicole can help you with pretty much anything."
Elizabeth smiled, "Oh, I am sure of that." She got up from her chair. "I am going to check my quarters in the Underworld."
Half demon nodded, "Be careful, Underworld is at the moment in chaos."
Elizabeth gave him a wry smile, "Don't forget with whom you're talking, Belthazor."
"I would not dream of it," Cole returned her smile.
"Good, I would not want to have to remind you about it," with these words she shimmered out. She reappeared in the underworld but only for a second. When she was sure that nobody was following her she shimmered again and reappeared in front of a small wooden hut. She knocked and waited. After a few moments the door opened and a pair of penetrating eyes stared at Elizabeth.
"We need to talk," the demoness said firmly.
"Yes, we do," said a deep voice. "Please come in."
*******
After his mother left Cole stayed in the kitchen staring at the window. This conversation went better than he thought. And he had a gut feeling that his mother was going to accept Lugel's offer. He looked at his watch. It was very late, Nicole was already supposed to be home. Suddenly a wave of emotions hit Cole, it was a mixture of anger and pain. At first he could not understand where it came from until he received a vision of Nicole standing in the hallway of her uncle's house with three Charmed One's in front of her. Half demon wasted no time. He disappeared from the Penthouse and immediately reappeared in a quiet lane in front of the Schwarzlight mansion. He arrived just in time to see the Halliwell's car leaving. Cole ran up to the porch and knocked on the door. There was no answer. He knocked again and when no one replied, Cole started to get worried.
"Nicole," he shouted, "it's me, Cole, open up." Few minutes have passed, during which Cole seriously contemplated kicking out the door. Then he heard the footsteps, the door flew open and half demon was face to face with Nicole.
"Cole," she said coldly, "what are you doing here? I thought you were talking to your mother".
"I was," the half demon replied. "But I got a vision of you talking to the Halliwells. I was worried."
Nicole smiled wryly, "You should not have. I was not going to use my powers on your precious Charmed Ones no matter how much I was tempted."
Cole's eyes flared with anger. "I was not worried about them," he snapped. "I was worried about you. In my vision you looked upset."
"Oh," Nicole did not know what to say. She stepped aside allowing Cole to enter the mansion. "Well, I was. The Charmed Ones told me that you have manipulated my uncle into leaving his fortune to you and that you also probably killed him. They also suggested that I would end up the same way if I kept my relationship with you. And when I was not responsive to their warning the conversation moved to personalities and I ended up threatening to sue them for emotional harassment if they continued spreading any rumours."
Half demon could feel resentment and anger arousing in him. The Halliwells accused him of murder and fraud without a single shred of evidence. And, God knows, if Nicole had not learn all his inner thoughts a few days ago she would have probably believe them.
As if she read his thought Nicole continued, "They started very friendly and convincing. If I did not know otherwise I would be very concerned. This made me worried. If they go round telling lies to people it could harm your reputation and DLM Investments."
Cole cursed. For the numerous time during the last month he wished that the Charmed Ones would just leave him alone. But there was little chance of that happening. "We need to come up with a cover story in which they'll believe," he said.
"That's a good idea," Nicole nodded. But she did not like the thought that came into her mind. It was indeed the easiest "explanation". Young woman took a deep breath, "I think I just thought about the perfect cover up story," she said trying to sound excited. "We can conjure the evidence that you're uncle Will's illegitimate son."
"What?" Cole looked at her incredulously.
"Well, then everybody will completely understand that he left everything to you and not to me."
"No way," the words flew out of Cole's mouth with a speed of a bullet.
"Why not?" Nicole asked, her insides trembling with relief.
Cole knew that under no circumstance he would agree to pose as Nicole's close blood relative. But he could not tell her the real reason so he feverishly thought about excuse and was relieved when he realized that her suggestion would not work. "Because the Charmed Ones know that I was born more than a hundred years ago and since William Schwarzlight died only a month ago he would have to be a demon himself, which makes you demonic as well. We don't want to go down that road."
Nicole nodded in agreement relieved that her idea could not work and slightly disappointed that there was such a logical reason for Cole to reject it. "In that case, I think we have two options," she said, "We either have to tell them the truth or threaten them enough to prevent them from spreading any rumours."
"The first route is not possible. We can't expose the Lugels that much. And since you already started on the second route, we'll just stick to it. We should ask the Lugel Council for the permission to approach the Elders."
"Agreed," Nicole smiled.