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enjoy this chapter. Any ideas are very welcome.
Chapter 16
Piper Halliwell woke up from an uneasy sleep to find that her husband was not back yet. After their disastrous visit to the Schwarzlight Mansion the whitelighter orbed to the Elders to try to find out anything he could about the powers of Nicole Berg. The other inhabitants of the manor went to their respective rooms. They did not want to discuss the situation. The shock of the revelations was still too strong. And neither of them wanted to face each other after their most hidden desires and fears were so brutally unveiled.
The oldest Charmed One was happy that neither Paige nor Phoebe wanted to talk. She could not bear to be reasonable and responsible, not today. She needed time to rebuild the walls of her privacy. Now in the middle of the night Piper knew she could not sleep, she slowly got up and went to the kitchen trying not to wake her sisters up, if they were indeed asleep. This was what she hated. That she could not just go downstairs, switch on the lights all over the house without having to answer the questions about what's wrong with her, could they help, did she need anything. Piper told herself she was being ungrateful; there were so many lonely people in the world ready to give up everything for somebody to ask these questions. She loved her sisters dearly but she also deserved some privacy. She sighed and put a kettle on. Her thoughts turned to the events of this night. Nicole Berg made Piper scared, scared like she had never been in her life. It terrified her that somebody could so easily read her most inner thoughts, even those, which she did not admit to herself.
A sound of the front door closing snapped Piper from her thoughts. She slowly walked towards the hallway ready to freeze everything and everybody. In the shadows of the night she could see a tall figure in the hallway. She raised her hands to freeze whoever it was when familiar voice stopped her.
"Don't, Piper, it's just me, Leo."
"Leo?" the Charmed One exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"
"I went for a walk," her husband came closer and she could see his tired face.
"I thought you were with the Elders," she said giving him a hug.
"I was," he answered. "They were completely taken by surprise. Nicole Berg was not on their radar at all. So I waited while they were checking it out. But they still could not tell me anything. They simply can't sense her magic. The Elders are at a complete loss. They sent me back saying that for now we should leave Cole and Nicole alone. Especially since Darryl is convinced that Cole had nothing to do with the death of William Schwarzlight. And with this fire, Cole actually helped to end it."
"Darryl!" Piper exclaimed, interrupting her husband. "We just left him there. What happened to him?"
"He is fine," Leo assured her. "Apparently, when Cole realized that we were talking to Nicole he sent Darryl home, magically. Darryl got a bit of a scare but ended up safely at his house."
"Good," his wife sighed with relief. Then she shook her head. "Leo, how did we get into all this? I feel that we are like blind puppies in the dark room and everything is spinning out of control. And now even the Elders don't know what to do."
The whitelighter pulled her close into his embrace. "I know how you feel, honey. But don't worry too much. Things will become clearer. And then we will sort it out."
"Are you sure?" she sobbed into his chest.
"I am sure," Leo hugged her tighter and rested his chin on top of her head. His eyes were focused on something far away. He knew that something very big was coming. This evening when Nicole Berg first looked at him, he saw a glimpse of sympathy in her eyes. And her parting words still rang in his mind. He did not tell anybody about it. The voice in the back of his head told him that it would be a mistake. He also knew that Nicole told him the truth, they would meet again very soon. And then his life would change.
Nicole was standing in front of the mirror in the Penthouse guest bedroom. It was getting close to nine o'clock in the evening and they were due to go to the Underworld in a few minutes. She could feel the anxiety growing inside her. It was her first real appearance in the Underworld and she was scared to mess it up. She knew that Cole would be there to support her, but still, she did not want to embarrass herself and him for that matter. She looked at herself in the mirror. The dress Elizabeth picked for her was gorgeous and just the right size. The young woman took a deep breath and headed into the living room. There she saw Cole looking out of the window. He turned around and his eyes widened in surprise. Instinctively his hand flew behind his back ready to release the fire ball.
She in front of him cried out, "Cole, don't. It's me Nicole." She immediately shape shifted back into her real form.
He relaxed his hand. "Sorry," he muttered, "I did not expect you would come out in a new shape."
Nicole breathed out with relief. "Don't scare me like this. I thought you were going to incinerate me on the spot," she said. She shape shifted again. "So what do you think?" she asked.
The half demon eyed the woman who stood in front of him. She was tall with boyishly narrow hips and subtle cleavage. Her black hair reached her shoulder blades and slanting brown eyes gave away her Asian ancestry. "You look great," he said sincerely.
"Thank you," she smiled triumphantly, and whirled around looking at herself in the big mirror hanging on the wall.
"You are welcome," he said. He was not lying. This lady looked great but he would much more prefer Nicole's real look. Cole closed his eyes and found that his wish was granted. With his eyes closed he could see the real Nicole standing in front of the mirror. He smiled to himself. Being one of the Chosen Two was indeed a lot of fun. "Have you already picked a name for yourself?" he asked.
She nodded, "Yes, I have, what do you think about Kara?"
He contemplated it for a few moments, "I think it sounds good," he said, his eyes still closed. His mother had a great test, he thought. The short strapless dress accentuated the beauty of Nicole's body, showing every curve. And the chiffon mantelet made the dress less revealing and more mysterious.
"Why do you have your eyes closed?" he heard Nicole asking. "You don't like my looks so much?"
The half demon got caught of guard, "No," he shot up. "You look lovely, it's just..." he paused.
"What?" Nicole asked impatiently.
"With my eyes closed I can see the real you," Cole finally said, "And I prefer this sight." The half demon carefully opened his eyes and was rewarded by Nicole shifting back into her natural shape and blushing. She gave him a shy smile and then shifted back into her new form.
"We should go," she said.
"Yeah," Cole nodded and they shimmered out. They arrived into the big cavern, which was lit up with torches and had a large table in the middle. Elizabeth was already there dressed in a beautiful gown.
"Belthazor," she greeted them.
"Mother," Cole answered in a cool voice. He nodded to Nicole, "This is Kara."
"Nice to meet you," Elizabeth answered in a pleasant voice. "Please get yourself some drinks."
They went towards one of the high tables filled with champagne glasses. When they turned around they saw that several more guests arrived. The first of them was a demon in his sixtieth. He shimmered in and smiled at Elizabeth.
"Belthora! I am so glad to see you. I could not believe my eyes when I got your note. Thought it was a joke."
"Krainer," Elizabeth smiled. "I am glad to see you too. Please come in." The demon walked in and Elizabeth was already greeting new guests.
Krainer's eyes stopped on Cole and Nicole. His face expressed surprise. "Belthazor," he exclaimed. "I thought you were dead."
The half demon smiled wryly, "The rumours about my death were greatly exaggerated," he replied.
"But the Charmed Ones vanquished you shortly after your coronation!" a new quest, which was dressed in a long robe joined the conversation.
"High priest Corado," Cole slightly bowed his head. "They did, but I survived thanks to my human half and ended up in the Wasteland. Now I am back with new powers." Cole answered respectfully but with great dignity.
"So you've been to the Wasteland!" a younger looking guy has joined them, "did you bring you companion from there?" he pointed at Nicole.
"No," the young woman gave him a cold stare. "I met Belthazor in London."
"And you are?" Krainer asked his eyes boring into Nicole.
"I am Kara," she said. "I am part demon/part darklighter. I have recently moved here. And Belthazor helped me to master my demonic powers, which manifested not long ago."
The younger demon gave Cole an ironic smile, "Did not know you wanted to become a mentor, Belthazor? I thought you preferred to kill demons not to teach them!"
Icy blue eyes stared at him, "Well sometimes killing is the only way out. Can't teach everybody, some people just lack the capacity to learn. You, Larent, should know."
The voice behind them interrupted the conversation. "I am glad that everything is back to how it was." Elizabeth stated calmly. "But for now I suggest we enjoy the dinner, which has been just served and leave the questions for later."
The guests followed her to the round table, which had twelve chairs around it. Nicole was seated between Larent and another demon, called Kalius. Cole sat on the other side of the table between high priest Corado and the keeper of the underworld library. Nicole felt very tense. Following Elizabeth's lead the conversation was kept general. The demoness told a brief story of her 30 year long disappearance, in a slightly altered form, which changed the power stripping spell that Raynor performed on her into power binding spell. Then the guests started talking about the chaos in the Underworld. Nicole preferred to keep her mouth shut but Larent definitely had different plans. He started a conversation with her, which was a mixture of flirting and interrogation and the young Lugel was very happy that she and Cole put so much time into Kara's cover up story. From his seat Cole kept an eye on Nicole and saw the other demon's attempts to interrogate her. He also noticed his attempts to flirt with young woman and though Nicole was in a different shape it still pissed him off. When the dinner was finished Elizabeth waved her hand and the table was clean again. Everybody looked at her expectantly and the demoness smiled slightly.
"And now my guests, I would like to talk to you about something which has been on my mind since I got back. I found that the Underworld is in a grieve state. During the past year we lost a lot of very powerful demons. Since the Source was vanquished there was a lot of in fighting between different groups and I firmly believe that it lasted long enough. If the demonic world is to survive it needs a new leader, who will put the end to the in fighting and concentrate his efforts on bringing the Underworld to its former strength and in time to the new glory." The demons around the table nodded in agreement and the demoness continued. "I see that you all agree with me. So the question now is who will be the perfect candidate to become the new Source."
There were a few quick glances around the table and Krainer spoke up the thought, which was obviously on everybody's minds. "Well, Belthazor here was already the Source before he was vanquished by the Charmed Ones. So there will be a lot of sense for him to become the next Source."
Everybody's eyes were fixed on Cole. He leaned back in his chair and said seriously. "Thank you for the honour, Krainer, but I think that I am not the right demon for the job." He looked around the guests and continued. "I feel that the situation is calling for somebody with more experience and wisdom than me. Somebody who would be able to unite the Underworld, somebody who is older and therefore more respected."
"It did not stop you 6 months ago." Larent remarked caustically.
"Six months ago was a different story." Cole said sternly. "The Source's council was alive, so was the Seer. Now the Underworld is in complete chaos. The new Source would have to build the coalition of forces."
"And whose fault is that?" Kalius asked. "You destroyed the Triad and as far as I remember it was your witch wife and her sisters, who killed the Source and destroyed the Council. The witches, which you, Belthazor failed to kill."
Cole's face hardened and he replied in a calm but authoritive voice. "If you have a problem with me Kalius, I suggest that you take it up with me alone. Trust me, I'll be more than happy to oblige. For the rest of you I can tell one thing. I am not married to the witch any more and I will not be explaining myself on that matter again. But I understand that a lot of demons would have the same reservations. That's why I suggest that the best candidate to the throne is not me. You all know that there is only one demon in this room and in the whole Underworld who is worthy of the Source's throne. And I suggest that we all declare our loyalties to her." With this words Cole got up and kneeled in front of his mother who also stood up from her chair.
"I swear my loyalty and my life to you, my Liege."
Nicole already knew what would follow. While Cole was talking she quickly scanned the room. The demons there were loyal to Elizabeth Turner. In a next minute all guests were kneeling in front of the demoness who had a regal smile on her face.
"I thank you for your loyalty, it will not be forgotten. I am also very proud that I have such a great Council. Now," she continued in a more business like tone, "we need to make a plan on how we are going to take the throne."
For about an hour everybody was discussing, which steps had to be taken. Then the high priest Corado spoke up.
"All this is nice and well. But there are two things, which are important. First we need to find the Grimoure. I know that some whitelighter has hidden it. But in order for the Source's powers to be properly activated we need to get the Grimoure back."
Nicole shot Cole a look. He sighed and said. "I will try to find it. Leave it with me."
Corado gave him a penetrating look and nodded. "Fine. This leaves us with one issue. I listened to you attentively Elizabeth. And I can see that your ambitions are high and they are so right for the Underworld. Since the death of the old Source and his Council we suffered major losses. The Powers to Be are taking an upper hand. And in order to at least return to our previous positions we need the Underworld to be united. And it means no fighting between different fractions and groups." He looked around the table. "Demonic part of the Underworld took the biggest blow and that allowed the warlock covens to become more and more powerful. From all the recent attempts to take over the throne most were by warlock's covens."
"What are you getting at, Corado?" Elizabeth asked.
"I am saying that if you want to take over the throne and don't go through too much fighting you need to get the warlocks on your side, at least temporarily."
"But how?" Krainer asked.
"By forming a blood bond with them," Corado answered calmly.
"What?" several voices exclaimed. "What do you mean by blood bond?" Kalius asked.
"He means marriage," Elizabeth replied.
"You suggest Belthora marries a warlock?" Larent cried out.
"No," Corado answered, "that would give warlocks too much power. You all know that warlocks are completely obsessed with the succession and family ties. So if the Source's heir would be half warlock, that could make them satisfied."
Everybody looked at him confused, "You don't want me to marry a warlock but you want me to have a child from one?" Elizabeth asked slowly.
The priest shook his head. "No, not you. The illegitimate child will not satisfy the warlocks." His eye shifted to Cole. "But your son, Belthazor, if he marries a warlock and they have a child then this child can be announced as the heir to the throne. That would be perfect."
"What?" this time it was Cole. He stood up from his seat. "You want me to marry a warlock?"
"That would make sense," Corado looked at the half demon. "You have to admit Belthazor that you would be considered as an obvious heir to the throne. But if you abdicate in favour of your half warlock son, then it would satisfy the warlocks and demons."
"I am not marrying a warlock," the half demon's voice announced sternly.
"Why not?" Krainer was surprised. "Come on, Belthazor, it's a normal thing. All demons marry at some point for convenience and procreation. You have a chance to secure the Underworld's future and rise in rank even further."
Nicole heard their voices as if they were coming through the thick layer of wool. Her brain was in a complete stupor and only one thought was pulsating in her conscience. She would not be able to stand by and watch Cole get married. It would drive her absolutely insane. Nicole Berg had one quality, which she was very proud of, she never lied to herself. And now sitting around the table with all this demons she had to admit that she could not bare a thought of another woman next to Cole. Nicole was snapped out of reality by the sudden feel of danger. She scanned the room and did not see anybody. She made another attempt this time trying to concentrate harder and finally located a young man standing in the corner of the room holding an amulet in front of him, which she figured out was supposed to make him invisible. She concentrated her telepathic powers on him, she could see the guy flinching and a minute latter he cried out and dropped the amulet.
The demonic gathering immediately became alert and turned their heads towards their unexpected visitor who was now perfectly visible. The young man panicked tried to blink away but Nicole was prepared and with a wave of her hand created a barrier against him. Unable to flee the guy panicked. "Let me out," he cried out.
"Who are you?" Elizabeth asked.
"I am not telling you," he snapped.
Krainer picked up the amulet. "This is a very powerful amulet," he said. "The last time I saw this one it belonged to the Karenian coven of warlocks."
"Well, how did he get his hands on it?" Kalius asked.
"We'll find out," Cole said calmly. He came closer to the man and said, "Who are you?" He repeated Elizabeth's question.
The young man had no lack of bravery, "I am not going to tell you."
Cole gave him a chilling smile. "You might be brave but you are not very bright," he conjured an electricity ball, which hovered above his hand. "If you were bright you would tell us who you are yourself."
"I am not scared of you, Belthazor," the young man cried out.
"Well, that's just confirmed my opinion of you." Cole stopped smiling and his face hardened. "I don't have all day," he said. "So either you tell me who you are, who send you here and why or I will find out myself. And I will not even need to torture you. You see my friend here," the half demon turned to Nicole, "is a telepath. You already had a chance to see how powerful she is when you dropped this amulet. So I suggest you start talking or she'll make you and I can ask her not to be too careful."
The young man seemed to be hesitating. Nicole got up and came closer to him. For a second she stared at his eyes. That was enough.
"Okay," he cried. "I am Luke Karenian. I was sent here by my coven to check the rumours that you and Belthora were back and were gathering your supporters."
"And why Henry Karenian did not come to visit me himself?" Elizabeth asked.
The young man paused and Cole sighed. "Luke, I am not going to explain the situation to you again." He turned to Nicole, "Kara."
"No," the young warlock cried out. "He suspected that Belthazor would try to claim the throne and Henry wants to become the Source himself."
The demons exchanged glances and the priest turned to Cole, "This just proves my point."
Cole gave him an annoyed look. But before he could say anything Elizabeth lifted her hand asking for attention. "Enough for now," she said firmly, "You both made your points of view very clear already. Now we need to take care about the situation at hand. We have already discussed everything that needs to be done, so I suggest all of you will proceed with your tasks."
The demons nodded and Krainer asked, "What do you want to do with him?" he pointed at the warlock.
The demoness smiled, "I am going to keep him alive." She looked at Nicole. "You'll need to scan his mind and remove everything he learnt during this meeting. Can you do it?"
Nicole nodded and ignoring Luke's panicked expression concentrated on his mind. The young warlock was an easy target and it took the Lugel a couple of minutes to completely destroy all the memories of the young warlock's spy mission. She finished by putting him to sleep.
"It's done," she turned to Elizabeth. "He will tell Karenian that you had a dinner with a librarian who was telling you about the chaos in the Underworld and nothing else."
The demoness nodded approvingly. "Let's leave him here," she said and shimmered out followed by the rest of the group.
Chapter 16
Piper Halliwell woke up from an uneasy sleep to find that her husband was not back yet. After their disastrous visit to the Schwarzlight Mansion the whitelighter orbed to the Elders to try to find out anything he could about the powers of Nicole Berg. The other inhabitants of the manor went to their respective rooms. They did not want to discuss the situation. The shock of the revelations was still too strong. And neither of them wanted to face each other after their most hidden desires and fears were so brutally unveiled.
The oldest Charmed One was happy that neither Paige nor Phoebe wanted to talk. She could not bear to be reasonable and responsible, not today. She needed time to rebuild the walls of her privacy. Now in the middle of the night Piper knew she could not sleep, she slowly got up and went to the kitchen trying not to wake her sisters up, if they were indeed asleep. This was what she hated. That she could not just go downstairs, switch on the lights all over the house without having to answer the questions about what's wrong with her, could they help, did she need anything. Piper told herself she was being ungrateful; there were so many lonely people in the world ready to give up everything for somebody to ask these questions. She loved her sisters dearly but she also deserved some privacy. She sighed and put a kettle on. Her thoughts turned to the events of this night. Nicole Berg made Piper scared, scared like she had never been in her life. It terrified her that somebody could so easily read her most inner thoughts, even those, which she did not admit to herself.
A sound of the front door closing snapped Piper from her thoughts. She slowly walked towards the hallway ready to freeze everything and everybody. In the shadows of the night she could see a tall figure in the hallway. She raised her hands to freeze whoever it was when familiar voice stopped her.
"Don't, Piper, it's just me, Leo."
"Leo?" the Charmed One exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"
"I went for a walk," her husband came closer and she could see his tired face.
"I thought you were with the Elders," she said giving him a hug.
"I was," he answered. "They were completely taken by surprise. Nicole Berg was not on their radar at all. So I waited while they were checking it out. But they still could not tell me anything. They simply can't sense her magic. The Elders are at a complete loss. They sent me back saying that for now we should leave Cole and Nicole alone. Especially since Darryl is convinced that Cole had nothing to do with the death of William Schwarzlight. And with this fire, Cole actually helped to end it."
"Darryl!" Piper exclaimed, interrupting her husband. "We just left him there. What happened to him?"
"He is fine," Leo assured her. "Apparently, when Cole realized that we were talking to Nicole he sent Darryl home, magically. Darryl got a bit of a scare but ended up safely at his house."
"Good," his wife sighed with relief. Then she shook her head. "Leo, how did we get into all this? I feel that we are like blind puppies in the dark room and everything is spinning out of control. And now even the Elders don't know what to do."
The whitelighter pulled her close into his embrace. "I know how you feel, honey. But don't worry too much. Things will become clearer. And then we will sort it out."
"Are you sure?" she sobbed into his chest.
"I am sure," Leo hugged her tighter and rested his chin on top of her head. His eyes were focused on something far away. He knew that something very big was coming. This evening when Nicole Berg first looked at him, he saw a glimpse of sympathy in her eyes. And her parting words still rang in his mind. He did not tell anybody about it. The voice in the back of his head told him that it would be a mistake. He also knew that Nicole told him the truth, they would meet again very soon. And then his life would change.
Nicole was standing in front of the mirror in the Penthouse guest bedroom. It was getting close to nine o'clock in the evening and they were due to go to the Underworld in a few minutes. She could feel the anxiety growing inside her. It was her first real appearance in the Underworld and she was scared to mess it up. She knew that Cole would be there to support her, but still, she did not want to embarrass herself and him for that matter. She looked at herself in the mirror. The dress Elizabeth picked for her was gorgeous and just the right size. The young woman took a deep breath and headed into the living room. There she saw Cole looking out of the window. He turned around and his eyes widened in surprise. Instinctively his hand flew behind his back ready to release the fire ball.
She in front of him cried out, "Cole, don't. It's me Nicole." She immediately shape shifted back into her real form.
He relaxed his hand. "Sorry," he muttered, "I did not expect you would come out in a new shape."
Nicole breathed out with relief. "Don't scare me like this. I thought you were going to incinerate me on the spot," she said. She shape shifted again. "So what do you think?" she asked.
The half demon eyed the woman who stood in front of him. She was tall with boyishly narrow hips and subtle cleavage. Her black hair reached her shoulder blades and slanting brown eyes gave away her Asian ancestry. "You look great," he said sincerely.
"Thank you," she smiled triumphantly, and whirled around looking at herself in the big mirror hanging on the wall.
"You are welcome," he said. He was not lying. This lady looked great but he would much more prefer Nicole's real look. Cole closed his eyes and found that his wish was granted. With his eyes closed he could see the real Nicole standing in front of the mirror. He smiled to himself. Being one of the Chosen Two was indeed a lot of fun. "Have you already picked a name for yourself?" he asked.
She nodded, "Yes, I have, what do you think about Kara?"
He contemplated it for a few moments, "I think it sounds good," he said, his eyes still closed. His mother had a great test, he thought. The short strapless dress accentuated the beauty of Nicole's body, showing every curve. And the chiffon mantelet made the dress less revealing and more mysterious.
"Why do you have your eyes closed?" he heard Nicole asking. "You don't like my looks so much?"
The half demon got caught of guard, "No," he shot up. "You look lovely, it's just..." he paused.
"What?" Nicole asked impatiently.
"With my eyes closed I can see the real you," Cole finally said, "And I prefer this sight." The half demon carefully opened his eyes and was rewarded by Nicole shifting back into her natural shape and blushing. She gave him a shy smile and then shifted back into her new form.
"We should go," she said.
"Yeah," Cole nodded and they shimmered out. They arrived into the big cavern, which was lit up with torches and had a large table in the middle. Elizabeth was already there dressed in a beautiful gown.
"Belthazor," she greeted them.
"Mother," Cole answered in a cool voice. He nodded to Nicole, "This is Kara."
"Nice to meet you," Elizabeth answered in a pleasant voice. "Please get yourself some drinks."
They went towards one of the high tables filled with champagne glasses. When they turned around they saw that several more guests arrived. The first of them was a demon in his sixtieth. He shimmered in and smiled at Elizabeth.
"Belthora! I am so glad to see you. I could not believe my eyes when I got your note. Thought it was a joke."
"Krainer," Elizabeth smiled. "I am glad to see you too. Please come in." The demon walked in and Elizabeth was already greeting new guests.
Krainer's eyes stopped on Cole and Nicole. His face expressed surprise. "Belthazor," he exclaimed. "I thought you were dead."
The half demon smiled wryly, "The rumours about my death were greatly exaggerated," he replied.
"But the Charmed Ones vanquished you shortly after your coronation!" a new quest, which was dressed in a long robe joined the conversation.
"High priest Corado," Cole slightly bowed his head. "They did, but I survived thanks to my human half and ended up in the Wasteland. Now I am back with new powers." Cole answered respectfully but with great dignity.
"So you've been to the Wasteland!" a younger looking guy has joined them, "did you bring you companion from there?" he pointed at Nicole.
"No," the young woman gave him a cold stare. "I met Belthazor in London."
"And you are?" Krainer asked his eyes boring into Nicole.
"I am Kara," she said. "I am part demon/part darklighter. I have recently moved here. And Belthazor helped me to master my demonic powers, which manifested not long ago."
The younger demon gave Cole an ironic smile, "Did not know you wanted to become a mentor, Belthazor? I thought you preferred to kill demons not to teach them!"
Icy blue eyes stared at him, "Well sometimes killing is the only way out. Can't teach everybody, some people just lack the capacity to learn. You, Larent, should know."
The voice behind them interrupted the conversation. "I am glad that everything is back to how it was." Elizabeth stated calmly. "But for now I suggest we enjoy the dinner, which has been just served and leave the questions for later."
The guests followed her to the round table, which had twelve chairs around it. Nicole was seated between Larent and another demon, called Kalius. Cole sat on the other side of the table between high priest Corado and the keeper of the underworld library. Nicole felt very tense. Following Elizabeth's lead the conversation was kept general. The demoness told a brief story of her 30 year long disappearance, in a slightly altered form, which changed the power stripping spell that Raynor performed on her into power binding spell. Then the guests started talking about the chaos in the Underworld. Nicole preferred to keep her mouth shut but Larent definitely had different plans. He started a conversation with her, which was a mixture of flirting and interrogation and the young Lugel was very happy that she and Cole put so much time into Kara's cover up story. From his seat Cole kept an eye on Nicole and saw the other demon's attempts to interrogate her. He also noticed his attempts to flirt with young woman and though Nicole was in a different shape it still pissed him off. When the dinner was finished Elizabeth waved her hand and the table was clean again. Everybody looked at her expectantly and the demoness smiled slightly.
"And now my guests, I would like to talk to you about something which has been on my mind since I got back. I found that the Underworld is in a grieve state. During the past year we lost a lot of very powerful demons. Since the Source was vanquished there was a lot of in fighting between different groups and I firmly believe that it lasted long enough. If the demonic world is to survive it needs a new leader, who will put the end to the in fighting and concentrate his efforts on bringing the Underworld to its former strength and in time to the new glory." The demons around the table nodded in agreement and the demoness continued. "I see that you all agree with me. So the question now is who will be the perfect candidate to become the new Source."
There were a few quick glances around the table and Krainer spoke up the thought, which was obviously on everybody's minds. "Well, Belthazor here was already the Source before he was vanquished by the Charmed Ones. So there will be a lot of sense for him to become the next Source."
Everybody's eyes were fixed on Cole. He leaned back in his chair and said seriously. "Thank you for the honour, Krainer, but I think that I am not the right demon for the job." He looked around the guests and continued. "I feel that the situation is calling for somebody with more experience and wisdom than me. Somebody who would be able to unite the Underworld, somebody who is older and therefore more respected."
"It did not stop you 6 months ago." Larent remarked caustically.
"Six months ago was a different story." Cole said sternly. "The Source's council was alive, so was the Seer. Now the Underworld is in complete chaos. The new Source would have to build the coalition of forces."
"And whose fault is that?" Kalius asked. "You destroyed the Triad and as far as I remember it was your witch wife and her sisters, who killed the Source and destroyed the Council. The witches, which you, Belthazor failed to kill."
Cole's face hardened and he replied in a calm but authoritive voice. "If you have a problem with me Kalius, I suggest that you take it up with me alone. Trust me, I'll be more than happy to oblige. For the rest of you I can tell one thing. I am not married to the witch any more and I will not be explaining myself on that matter again. But I understand that a lot of demons would have the same reservations. That's why I suggest that the best candidate to the throne is not me. You all know that there is only one demon in this room and in the whole Underworld who is worthy of the Source's throne. And I suggest that we all declare our loyalties to her." With this words Cole got up and kneeled in front of his mother who also stood up from her chair.
"I swear my loyalty and my life to you, my Liege."
Nicole already knew what would follow. While Cole was talking she quickly scanned the room. The demons there were loyal to Elizabeth Turner. In a next minute all guests were kneeling in front of the demoness who had a regal smile on her face.
"I thank you for your loyalty, it will not be forgotten. I am also very proud that I have such a great Council. Now," she continued in a more business like tone, "we need to make a plan on how we are going to take the throne."
For about an hour everybody was discussing, which steps had to be taken. Then the high priest Corado spoke up.
"All this is nice and well. But there are two things, which are important. First we need to find the Grimoure. I know that some whitelighter has hidden it. But in order for the Source's powers to be properly activated we need to get the Grimoure back."
Nicole shot Cole a look. He sighed and said. "I will try to find it. Leave it with me."
Corado gave him a penetrating look and nodded. "Fine. This leaves us with one issue. I listened to you attentively Elizabeth. And I can see that your ambitions are high and they are so right for the Underworld. Since the death of the old Source and his Council we suffered major losses. The Powers to Be are taking an upper hand. And in order to at least return to our previous positions we need the Underworld to be united. And it means no fighting between different fractions and groups." He looked around the table. "Demonic part of the Underworld took the biggest blow and that allowed the warlock covens to become more and more powerful. From all the recent attempts to take over the throne most were by warlock's covens."
"What are you getting at, Corado?" Elizabeth asked.
"I am saying that if you want to take over the throne and don't go through too much fighting you need to get the warlocks on your side, at least temporarily."
"But how?" Krainer asked.
"By forming a blood bond with them," Corado answered calmly.
"What?" several voices exclaimed. "What do you mean by blood bond?" Kalius asked.
"He means marriage," Elizabeth replied.
"You suggest Belthora marries a warlock?" Larent cried out.
"No," Corado answered, "that would give warlocks too much power. You all know that warlocks are completely obsessed with the succession and family ties. So if the Source's heir would be half warlock, that could make them satisfied."
Everybody looked at him confused, "You don't want me to marry a warlock but you want me to have a child from one?" Elizabeth asked slowly.
The priest shook his head. "No, not you. The illegitimate child will not satisfy the warlocks." His eye shifted to Cole. "But your son, Belthazor, if he marries a warlock and they have a child then this child can be announced as the heir to the throne. That would be perfect."
"What?" this time it was Cole. He stood up from his seat. "You want me to marry a warlock?"
"That would make sense," Corado looked at the half demon. "You have to admit Belthazor that you would be considered as an obvious heir to the throne. But if you abdicate in favour of your half warlock son, then it would satisfy the warlocks and demons."
"I am not marrying a warlock," the half demon's voice announced sternly.
"Why not?" Krainer was surprised. "Come on, Belthazor, it's a normal thing. All demons marry at some point for convenience and procreation. You have a chance to secure the Underworld's future and rise in rank even further."
Nicole heard their voices as if they were coming through the thick layer of wool. Her brain was in a complete stupor and only one thought was pulsating in her conscience. She would not be able to stand by and watch Cole get married. It would drive her absolutely insane. Nicole Berg had one quality, which she was very proud of, she never lied to herself. And now sitting around the table with all this demons she had to admit that she could not bare a thought of another woman next to Cole. Nicole was snapped out of reality by the sudden feel of danger. She scanned the room and did not see anybody. She made another attempt this time trying to concentrate harder and finally located a young man standing in the corner of the room holding an amulet in front of him, which she figured out was supposed to make him invisible. She concentrated her telepathic powers on him, she could see the guy flinching and a minute latter he cried out and dropped the amulet.
The demonic gathering immediately became alert and turned their heads towards their unexpected visitor who was now perfectly visible. The young man panicked tried to blink away but Nicole was prepared and with a wave of her hand created a barrier against him. Unable to flee the guy panicked. "Let me out," he cried out.
"Who are you?" Elizabeth asked.
"I am not telling you," he snapped.
Krainer picked up the amulet. "This is a very powerful amulet," he said. "The last time I saw this one it belonged to the Karenian coven of warlocks."
"Well, how did he get his hands on it?" Kalius asked.
"We'll find out," Cole said calmly. He came closer to the man and said, "Who are you?" He repeated Elizabeth's question.
The young man had no lack of bravery, "I am not going to tell you."
Cole gave him a chilling smile. "You might be brave but you are not very bright," he conjured an electricity ball, which hovered above his hand. "If you were bright you would tell us who you are yourself."
"I am not scared of you, Belthazor," the young man cried out.
"Well, that's just confirmed my opinion of you." Cole stopped smiling and his face hardened. "I don't have all day," he said. "So either you tell me who you are, who send you here and why or I will find out myself. And I will not even need to torture you. You see my friend here," the half demon turned to Nicole, "is a telepath. You already had a chance to see how powerful she is when you dropped this amulet. So I suggest you start talking or she'll make you and I can ask her not to be too careful."
The young man seemed to be hesitating. Nicole got up and came closer to him. For a second she stared at his eyes. That was enough.
"Okay," he cried. "I am Luke Karenian. I was sent here by my coven to check the rumours that you and Belthora were back and were gathering your supporters."
"And why Henry Karenian did not come to visit me himself?" Elizabeth asked.
The young man paused and Cole sighed. "Luke, I am not going to explain the situation to you again." He turned to Nicole, "Kara."
"No," the young warlock cried out. "He suspected that Belthazor would try to claim the throne and Henry wants to become the Source himself."
The demons exchanged glances and the priest turned to Cole, "This just proves my point."
Cole gave him an annoyed look. But before he could say anything Elizabeth lifted her hand asking for attention. "Enough for now," she said firmly, "You both made your points of view very clear already. Now we need to take care about the situation at hand. We have already discussed everything that needs to be done, so I suggest all of you will proceed with your tasks."
The demons nodded and Krainer asked, "What do you want to do with him?" he pointed at the warlock.
The demoness smiled, "I am going to keep him alive." She looked at Nicole. "You'll need to scan his mind and remove everything he learnt during this meeting. Can you do it?"
Nicole nodded and ignoring Luke's panicked expression concentrated on his mind. The young warlock was an easy target and it took the Lugel a couple of minutes to completely destroy all the memories of the young warlock's spy mission. She finished by putting him to sleep.
"It's done," she turned to Elizabeth. "He will tell Karenian that you had a dinner with a librarian who was telling you about the chaos in the Underworld and nothing else."
The demoness nodded approvingly. "Let's leave him here," she said and shimmered out followed by the rest of the group.