THREE
It took only a few moments for the Seer to draw out the power from Cole.
When the power was completely out of him, he collapsed on the floor of the
cavern. He felt drained. And the uneasiness he had been experiencing since the
Source had been vanquished was now gone.
The magic of the Source hovered several feet from Cole. It resembled a
ball of lightning that flashed different colors. It sat suspended in the air as
Cole looked up at it. The Changling demon looked at the Seer.
"Changling," said the Seer to the demon. "Assume the form."
Cole watched as the Changling began to shudder. Its form began to change.
It would only take a few seconds and whatever form the Changling had chosen
would be completely undistinguishable from the original creature. When the
Changling finally completed its transformation, Cole looked up at him in stunned
disbelief. He was staring up at himself.
"Now," said the Seer. "You will take the magic into you. The Source will
find a new home. One more suited for him. Then we can begin to return him to
his rightful place as ruler of the underworld."
The magic ball hovered for several seconds and then began to move. It
entered the Changling. For several seconds the Changling stood with its eyes
closed as it adjusted to the immense power it had just absorbed. Then it opened
its eyes and looked around.
"What's going on?" asked the Changling.
"That is the power of the Source," said the Seer. "It has supplemented
your own personality with that of the last person who was its host. The
personality of Cole Turner. But that is a temporary situation I assure you.
Very soon the personality of the Source will sublimate the original
personality."
Cole couldn't believe what he was hearing. This demon was now a complete
duplicate of him. And he knew enough about the power of the Source that he knew
the personality transfer would also include virtually all of his memories. For
all intense and purposes, the Changling was Cole Turner.
"This will last only a short time," said the Seer. "Within weeks the
personality of your former host will be eradicated completely. At that time,
the Source will take full control of your body. He will be restored to his full
glory."
"This will never work," said Cole. "He may have my memories but he won't
be able to imitate me. There are things I understand that no demon could
understand."
"Because you have a soul," said the Seer. "How little you know me,
Belthazor. Did you think I would overlook that small detail? This is no
ordinary Changling. Its mother mated with a mortal. The Changling is half
human, just as you are. Only its human father was no ordinary human, either.
It took a great deal of looking to find just the right human. A human possessed
by a Sycophant."
A Sycophant demon. Cole knew about them but had never actually
encountered one. Sycophants usually possessed the bodies of unborn humans. It
forced the human soul out and took over the body, effectively destroying the
human. Sycophants were the main cause for humans that exhibited psychopathic
behavior.
"Once I located the human I needed," the Seer continued, "it was a simple
matter to convince him to mate with a Changling. For the past several years
I've been grooming the offspring for just this situation. It will replace you
and no one will be the wiser. And the Source will be reborn to continue leading
the underworld."
"This won't work," said Cole, looking for someway to escape. "The
underworld will never accept some unknown demon as their leader. There are too
many leaders of the underworld looking to be the next Source."
"He will be no unknown demon," said the Seer smiling. "He is Cole Turner.
Former demon and destroyer of the Source of all Evil. And now the recipient of
the total power of the underworld. With my backing the leadership will accept
him as the new Source. No one can stand in my way. Least of all a former demon
with no powers."
It took only a few moments for the Seer to draw out the power from Cole.
When the power was completely out of him, he collapsed on the floor of the
cavern. He felt drained. And the uneasiness he had been experiencing since the
Source had been vanquished was now gone.
The magic of the Source hovered several feet from Cole. It resembled a
ball of lightning that flashed different colors. It sat suspended in the air as
Cole looked up at it. The Changling demon looked at the Seer.
"Changling," said the Seer to the demon. "Assume the form."
Cole watched as the Changling began to shudder. Its form began to change.
It would only take a few seconds and whatever form the Changling had chosen
would be completely undistinguishable from the original creature. When the
Changling finally completed its transformation, Cole looked up at him in stunned
disbelief. He was staring up at himself.
"Now," said the Seer. "You will take the magic into you. The Source will
find a new home. One more suited for him. Then we can begin to return him to
his rightful place as ruler of the underworld."
The magic ball hovered for several seconds and then began to move. It
entered the Changling. For several seconds the Changling stood with its eyes
closed as it adjusted to the immense power it had just absorbed. Then it opened
its eyes and looked around.
"What's going on?" asked the Changling.
"That is the power of the Source," said the Seer. "It has supplemented
your own personality with that of the last person who was its host. The
personality of Cole Turner. But that is a temporary situation I assure you.
Very soon the personality of the Source will sublimate the original
personality."
Cole couldn't believe what he was hearing. This demon was now a complete
duplicate of him. And he knew enough about the power of the Source that he knew
the personality transfer would also include virtually all of his memories. For
all intense and purposes, the Changling was Cole Turner.
"This will last only a short time," said the Seer. "Within weeks the
personality of your former host will be eradicated completely. At that time,
the Source will take full control of your body. He will be restored to his full
glory."
"This will never work," said Cole. "He may have my memories but he won't
be able to imitate me. There are things I understand that no demon could
understand."
"Because you have a soul," said the Seer. "How little you know me,
Belthazor. Did you think I would overlook that small detail? This is no
ordinary Changling. Its mother mated with a mortal. The Changling is half
human, just as you are. Only its human father was no ordinary human, either.
It took a great deal of looking to find just the right human. A human possessed
by a Sycophant."
A Sycophant demon. Cole knew about them but had never actually
encountered one. Sycophants usually possessed the bodies of unborn humans. It
forced the human soul out and took over the body, effectively destroying the
human. Sycophants were the main cause for humans that exhibited psychopathic
behavior.
"Once I located the human I needed," the Seer continued, "it was a simple
matter to convince him to mate with a Changling. For the past several years
I've been grooming the offspring for just this situation. It will replace you
and no one will be the wiser. And the Source will be reborn to continue leading
the underworld."
"This won't work," said Cole, looking for someway to escape. "The
underworld will never accept some unknown demon as their leader. There are too
many leaders of the underworld looking to be the next Source."
"He will be no unknown demon," said the Seer smiling. "He is Cole Turner.
Former demon and destroyer of the Source of all Evil. And now the recipient of
the total power of the underworld. With my backing the leadership will accept
him as the new Source. No one can stand in my way. Least of all a former demon
with no powers."