Chapter 3
When he gained consciousness he sat up and looked around, then froze with a start. Sat up? With great trepidation he looked down in absolute horror at the human form his essence now consisted of. He flexed his fingers hesitantly. For the first time in his immortal existence he had form.
The screams that reverberated through his cage would have shaken the bravest of mortals. He raged at the injustice of what had been done to him and lashed out at the cage like the trapped animal he was. He looked at the bars of his cage in contempt. As if these simple walls of steel could hold him. How dare they. He reached for his internal source of power and gasped in shock. It was gone.
Once again his screams filled the cage. What had happened to him? The last thing he remembered was...
Then it hit him. When the realization of what had happened washed over him, he was able to form coherent thoughts. He stopped pacing and sat down awkwardly. He knew what had happened. He was not in mortal form. It was only a trick of will. The being that had overpowered him in his moment of weakness was using his will to hold him in this place. The cage was also not real. However the fact that he was trapped was all too real.
He concentrated and focused all his energies inward and examined the place where his power was housed. It was empty but he still had an awareness of time and its passings. It made sense seeing as how for centuries he has studied the mortal realm.
Along with this came the knowledge that he was held within the mortal realm and was being forced to live while imprisoned with the constraints of time. He was imprisoned at the very beginning of time and knew that if he wanted to stop what was coming he would have to live through the centuries until he could reach the one who could help him.
But to do that he needed to focus. He was incredibly weak from his imprisonment and he needed to be able to concentrate all his abilities on the task at hand. While touching the world would have been easy enough, this was something different, and he was not sure if he would be able to achieve his goal. He carefully considered all his chances of survival and came to a decision. He would live in his cage made by the being that held him and use time to his advantage and learn to project his thoughts and touch the world outside his cage.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Slowly things began to sort themselves out, demons still attacked but we defeated them and life moved on. I know it sounds like I'm just dismissing Dad's death but it is just not true. His death effected my on a deep personal level and I didn't think that I could share my feelings with anyone. I learned to deal with it in my own way and time.
Things at home began to change. Where as before, Wyatt and I were told to assume defensive positions during attacks, now Mom and Aunt Paige began training us to fight back. At the beginning this was great. I had the experience from my demon hunting and Wyatt was a raw beginner. I was finally better than him at something. It felt good. When Aunt Phoebe was around she taught us martial arts and how best to combine our powers with those skills. But our lessons were not only about attacking. We learned that it sometimes takes more than brute strength to defeat an enemy. It takes cunning and the ability to outsmart them. Many of the lessons were learned first hand, against a live demon. Aunt Phoebe would force a premonition about a demon that would further our training and we would hunt it.
Eventually Wyatt caught up with me in skill and soon surpassed me. This only served to increase my dislike for him into hatred. Once again he was the better son, and where did that leave me?
Our lessons in fighting and tactics were not the only thing that changed. My resentment for Leo grew each time I saw him. It was irrational, I know, but it was also unstoppable. He seemed so superior, a real know-it-all. He also started hanging around the house more. Nothing he did was ever good in my eyes and never would be. Later I realized that my Dad's death had probably made him see that not everyone was immortal like he was and that his son, Wyatt, could die any time. But that also pissed me off. They were spending more time together and Mom never seemed to object. Because of this a deep jealously sprung up in me. Wyatt had a father who loved him and mine was dead. At the time it didn't register that Leo actually tried to include me in almost everything they did in an attempt to not leave me out. I only saw this as him trying to replace Dad or get Mom back. I absolutely refused to let his actions win back my mother after he had deliberately left her. In my mind I rationalized my actions by telling myself that it was for Mom that I acted the way I did. Who was I kidding.
Training was by no means the only thing that we did, but it was what stood out the most during those years. And this in no way means that those years were bitter and grim for my family. It was only something that was added to our life.
When he gained consciousness he sat up and looked around, then froze with a start. Sat up? With great trepidation he looked down in absolute horror at the human form his essence now consisted of. He flexed his fingers hesitantly. For the first time in his immortal existence he had form.
The screams that reverberated through his cage would have shaken the bravest of mortals. He raged at the injustice of what had been done to him and lashed out at the cage like the trapped animal he was. He looked at the bars of his cage in contempt. As if these simple walls of steel could hold him. How dare they. He reached for his internal source of power and gasped in shock. It was gone.
Once again his screams filled the cage. What had happened to him? The last thing he remembered was...
Then it hit him. When the realization of what had happened washed over him, he was able to form coherent thoughts. He stopped pacing and sat down awkwardly. He knew what had happened. He was not in mortal form. It was only a trick of will. The being that had overpowered him in his moment of weakness was using his will to hold him in this place. The cage was also not real. However the fact that he was trapped was all too real.
He concentrated and focused all his energies inward and examined the place where his power was housed. It was empty but he still had an awareness of time and its passings. It made sense seeing as how for centuries he has studied the mortal realm.
Along with this came the knowledge that he was held within the mortal realm and was being forced to live while imprisoned with the constraints of time. He was imprisoned at the very beginning of time and knew that if he wanted to stop what was coming he would have to live through the centuries until he could reach the one who could help him.
But to do that he needed to focus. He was incredibly weak from his imprisonment and he needed to be able to concentrate all his abilities on the task at hand. While touching the world would have been easy enough, this was something different, and he was not sure if he would be able to achieve his goal. He carefully considered all his chances of survival and came to a decision. He would live in his cage made by the being that held him and use time to his advantage and learn to project his thoughts and touch the world outside his cage.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Slowly things began to sort themselves out, demons still attacked but we defeated them and life moved on. I know it sounds like I'm just dismissing Dad's death but it is just not true. His death effected my on a deep personal level and I didn't think that I could share my feelings with anyone. I learned to deal with it in my own way and time.
Things at home began to change. Where as before, Wyatt and I were told to assume defensive positions during attacks, now Mom and Aunt Paige began training us to fight back. At the beginning this was great. I had the experience from my demon hunting and Wyatt was a raw beginner. I was finally better than him at something. It felt good. When Aunt Phoebe was around she taught us martial arts and how best to combine our powers with those skills. But our lessons were not only about attacking. We learned that it sometimes takes more than brute strength to defeat an enemy. It takes cunning and the ability to outsmart them. Many of the lessons were learned first hand, against a live demon. Aunt Phoebe would force a premonition about a demon that would further our training and we would hunt it.
Eventually Wyatt caught up with me in skill and soon surpassed me. This only served to increase my dislike for him into hatred. Once again he was the better son, and where did that leave me?
Our lessons in fighting and tactics were not the only thing that changed. My resentment for Leo grew each time I saw him. It was irrational, I know, but it was also unstoppable. He seemed so superior, a real know-it-all. He also started hanging around the house more. Nothing he did was ever good in my eyes and never would be. Later I realized that my Dad's death had probably made him see that not everyone was immortal like he was and that his son, Wyatt, could die any time. But that also pissed me off. They were spending more time together and Mom never seemed to object. Because of this a deep jealously sprung up in me. Wyatt had a father who loved him and mine was dead. At the time it didn't register that Leo actually tried to include me in almost everything they did in an attempt to not leave me out. I only saw this as him trying to replace Dad or get Mom back. I absolutely refused to let his actions win back my mother after he had deliberately left her. In my mind I rationalized my actions by telling myself that it was for Mom that I acted the way I did. Who was I kidding.
Training was by no means the only thing that we did, but it was what stood out the most during those years. And this in no way means that those years were bitter and grim for my family. It was only something that was added to our life.