Ch. 10: Part II
New Powers, New Responsibilities
Kendall put her hands on her hips. "Okay, what else do you need?"
Angel could probably list off a couple dozen things off the top of her head. Bubble gum, mint, a boom box, a hair dryer, TV, the world wide web. . . so many things she had gotten used to and even taken for granted, and now she would have to live for weeks, maybe even longer, without them. "I am so gonna be a fish out of water in Middle-Earth."
"Cheer up," said Kendall. "At least that cute elf guy is in Middle-Earth." As soon as she said this, she fell silent. The atmosphere suddenly turned grave. Angel sensed that something was wrong after a few tense moments and said, very gently. "Are you sure that we can't do anything about Boromir?"
The only sign of how much mental pain Kendall was in was the additional glassy shininess to her eyes indicating that she was on the verge of tears. She nodded wordlessly. "I even talked to Aunt Piper and Paige about it. As much as they want to save him, they agreed that it's for the best to let it all play out."
Angel lowered her head, lost in her thoughts. What if Kendall was wrong? What if Boromir could be saved – and maybe even converted back to his good side? Then she pushed the thoughts aside. What if's were useless – futile daydreaming that things would work out perfectly. She knew well enough by now that more often than not, such things did not happen, at least in the real world. She pulled herself out of her musing, when the older Halliwell smiled softly and got up. "Thanks. Angel, don't let your feelings get in the way of this. Even if he does die, his soul will be move on. You have to let that happen."
Angel nodded dumbly as Kendall retreated from the room, and opened the door. Comet loitered into the room in a lethargic gait. Kendall left and closed the door. Comet gave Angel no sign of notice, walked to the foot of the bed and leapt up. The beautiful golden retriever lay motionless on the neatly made covers, head resting on her paws and tail flicking lazily. She watched Angel through half-open brown eyes. Angel walked over and laid her hand on the dog to pet her. To her surprise, Comet raised her head instantly. A deep rumbling sound issued from her throat as her fur bristled. She was growling. Angel raised an eyebrow and tried to soothe her by wrapping her arms around her. "Hey girl. What's wrong?"
She was completely startled by what happened next. Comet leapt up and bared her teeth at her, growling louder than before. Angel stood back a few steps and said in the calming voice she reserved for pacifying animals, both her own and the ones at the Humane Center she worked part time. "Comet, girl, come to Angel. Come here puppy."
It didn't work. Comet was tensing; every muscle in her body was recoiling. Angel backed away nervously. She knew that when animals did that, they were preparing to attack. "What's wrong with you Comet? Why are you angry?" Why was her dog acting so strangely? Comet was the only animal who ever showed any affection for Angel. The ones at the Humane Center seemed to hold something against her for no reason whatsoever. But this was Comet. . . this was her Comet. . . the dog she had raised from puppyhood. . . who she had practically spoiled and pampered in every way possible. . . "Kendall! Adrian! Wyatt!" she called when she saw that Comet was seconds away from pouncing.
Almost instantaneously, a swirl of blue and white light appeared next to her, and Adrian emerged when they faded, closely followed by Wyatt.
Adrian saw Angel's nervous expression and asked, "Hey, what's up?"
Wordlessly, she pointed past him at the Golden Retriever, now baying ferociously on the bed.
Adrian and Wyatt turned. "Hey, what's up with Comet?"
With a vicious snarl, the dog sprang at them, claws outspread.
Adrian grabbed Angel's wrist in one hand and Wyatt's in his other. Their visions were obscured by balls of blue and white light, and they reappeared at the bottom of the stairs. Kendall was at the top, heading toward Angel's room, where Comet was could still be heard barking aggressively.
Angel called Kendall before she opened the door and let out the furious dog. Kendall turned around and came down the stairs again. "Hey, can you shut your dog up, Angel?" she asked when she reached bottom.
Angel told her about Comet's strange behavior.
Kendall shrugged. "Sounds like she's having canine mood swings."
Though shaken, Angel put the incident in the back of her mind. She was sure that mood swings weren't reserved just to people. The animals at the Humane Center were like that sometimes. Wyatt orbed back upstairs and orbed the dog into a locked pen near the parlor for the night. Angel smiled nervously at her pet who was watching her every move with narrowed eyes. She shuddered. This was not normal dog behavior.
"Eller naa n'uma tehta tel'arwen," [There is no sign of the lady.] reported a March Warden, one of the search crew sent out to find Angel. He was an elf around three thousand years old, with a narrow face and marked distinctly by his Elven features, including the high cheekbones and pointed ears. "Lye nae mae' imya taure, ar' eller naa n'uma tehta en' manke re nae wanwa." [We have scouted the entire forest, and there is nothing that could indicate where she could have gone.]
Aragorn and Legolas exchanged worried glances.
"There are no trails, tracks. . . nothing?" asked Aragorn incredulously. "She can't have just disappeared."
"Well. . ." started the March Warden hesitantly. "There was a trail, quite evident and clear, but. . ."
"But what?" demanded Legolas sharply.
The March Warden led them into the forest. "It would be easier to show you."
Aragorn and Legolas followed him into the vegetation. After a few moments of traveling in tense silence, the March Warden stopped and pointed to the ground. The blades of grass were slightly trampled, a clear sign that someone had passed the area. Nearby, delicate fern fronds were bruised or broken, another hint. Aragorn and Legolas pieced together the scene with the skill of experienced trackers.
"It seems that she was not alone," said Aragorn as he knelt down to inspect a broken twig and part of a footprint not far away.
"That would be the other maiden who claimed to be her sister," said Legolas.
"Yes," agreed the March Warden. "We have identified two sets of tracks, both going in the same direction, and it seems that they were in no hurry."
Legolas observed the distance between apparent steps, and judging that they weren't not too far apart, he knew that the March Warden was right. Angel and Kendall were probably walking. That probably meant that whatever Kendall wanted to talk to Angel about wasn't too urgent.
They continued following the trail until they reached the glade where Kendall had met Boromir and saw the premonition. Another set of footprints, heavier and slightly bigger was evident around one of the stone benches.
Aragorn pointed to them. "Boromir told me he was here, and that he met the lady Angel's sister before she left in haste."
"Left in haste?" asked Legolas questioningly. As they traced the trail further, past the glade, they could see that they were indeed traveling at a speedier pace. The prints were further apart, and of lighter impression in the grass and dirt, indicating that the stride was longer, and therefore likely faster too.
Then the tracks came to a sudden stop.
Legolas looked around for more clues, but the trail led nowhere. He backed up a few steps to make sure he hadn't missed a turn or anything, but that was it – there was nothing else. Legolas straightened up and surveyed the area. His sharp elven eyes detected nothing that implied where the two women could have gone next.
(A/N: If anyone is confused as to why the tracks come to a stop, just remember that Kendall and Angel went through the time portal at this point. I realize that that was quite a few chapters ago, and not everyone might have remembered.)
Aragorn was equally puzzled. "What a riddle the lady and her sister have left us."
"A riddle that has left us scratching our heads like befuddled toads," replied the March Warden grimly. "We have scoured every inch of the Golden Woods, with nothing to lead us on from here." His eyes grew dark with graveness. "The lady Angel is missing."
Aragorn and Legolas did not answer for a moment. Surely there must be something to explain this. Aragorn looked back down at the tracks as if they would suddenly reveal to him an answer. They brought to light no plausible solution. Finally, he sighed and said to the March Warden, "Auta esta. Ta naa telwa." [Go get some rest. It is late.]
The March Warden, who had been trying to disguise his tired yawns, complied gratefully. Aragorn reasoned that there was nothing more he could do for the moment and followed him back the way they came.
Legolas stayed behind for a few moments to examine the tracks one last time. There was something about Angel from the moment he met her, some part of him knew she was strange in a way. Even from the very start of the mission, she had been full of secrets, and he sometimes felt the curiosity gnawing at him like a thorn in his side. Why did Gandalf want her to be part of this Fellowship? Why did she seem so devastated at his fall?
As he thought of her, a cool wintry breeze embraced him. Perhaps it was only his imagination, but he felt a warm tingling throughout his body. And somehow, he could feel Angel's presence. He felt certain that she was somewhere close by, maybe even right beside him. Legolas closed his eyes and raised his hands slowly to his left, where he could have sworn he felt her body heat coming from. He half-believed that she really was there, and that he could reach out and hold her.
Angel stopped dead in her tracks. Her heart started beating frantically. She whipped around, only to see that no one was in the living room. Kendall, Adrian, Wyatt, and her aunts were all upstairs, probably asleep. But she wasn't alone in the room. She couldn't see anyone else, but she was absolutely sure that she was in someone else's presence. As she tried to calm her racing pulse, Angel concentrated. It felt like someone familiar, someone who had held her close once, consoled her. . .
"Legolas?" she asked out quietly before she knew what she was doing. She waited as if expecting a reply, but the only sound was her heart pounding in her ears. After a few seconds, she sighed and started up the stairs, wondering if her sanity was starting to snap.
As she left the room, she thought she heard a soft whisper, barely audible, more like a shudder of the wind.
"Angel, where are you?"
The young witch turned for a second. Comet started baying suddenly, and her low baritone shook Angel back to reality. She bolted up the stairs and vaulted onto her bed, where she dove under the covers to seek comfort. 'I am really starting to lose it.'
The clock tolled twelve, and other than its deep resounding voice, the Halliwell manor lay tranquilly quiet, wrapped in the tight embrace of slumber. A pale moon shone dimly through an inky night sky, foreboding and ominous, overshadowed by wisps of cloud.
Comet paced up and down her pen restlessly, the only source of motion in the entire manor. She stopped every now and again to raise her head to the heavens, as if waiting.
Then her waiting came to an end as a cloaked figure materialized before her. He was robed in black, so dark a black that if he stood still, he would have melted into the shadows. Slowly, he drew back the hood and revealed himself.
A base level demon, Hyron dedicated himself to learning the arts of deception, of stealth, illusions of the mind, and cloaking himself under the protection of guises. But of late, he was becoming dissatisfied with his abilities. Hyron had always dreamed of becoming a high ranking demon in the Underworld, perhaps even the Source, but it was only that – a dream. But he had always kept an ear out for information that could boost him up to the demonic elite.
And only a few weeks earlier, the Underworld grapevine carried to him the news that the Power of Three of the famed Charmed Ones was finally broken, that they were now vulnerable to every evil in the world, that demons and warlocks from around the globe were taking advantage of the situation to attempt to vanquish and gain their powers. Hyron was one of them, seeking to establish a reputation for himself by obtaining powers that would make him unstoppable and killing off the most powerful witches of all time single-handedly.
Well, maybe not single-handedly. He looked down at the golden dog at his heels, looking up at him expectantly. That was where Comet came in. She too, had become discontent with her place in the world, hungering for a more potent role. When he had first come to her, she was reluctant to aid him. She had all her life served as the Charmed Ones' familiar – an enchanted animal companion that guides and protects young witches as they learn their craft.
But he knew how to persuade her. Greed for power was a complex emotion. He was experienced enough to recognize and to use it. It was part of everyone, and the familiar was no exception. She had spent her entire life as a dog, a mutt expected to obey her human masters without protest. Comet had been inching toward the dark side for years now, the only leash tying her back was her obligation as the familiar of the Charmed Ones. So it was not too difficult to persuade her. An offer to share his power with her, to make her renowned, feared, and respected by good and evil alike – it was too much to resist. As the lifelong pet of the Charmed Ones, she knew more about them than almost anyone else, all of their strengths, weaknesses, dreams, and desires. She knew the morals and principles they lived by, and most important of all, where they were most vulnerable.
Comet scuffed at the floor impatiently. Hyron allowed himself a crooked smile and bent down to touch her back. He shimmered out of the Halliwell manor. In a flash, they were gone, leaving the old Victorian house in peace once more.
In her sleep, Angelyn Halliwell turned over fitfully. Strange shapes and voices began to fill her head, swirling around in her hazy mind before slowly taking shape. She was in a large cave, furnished with a crude table supporting dozens of bottles of strange substances. To her left was a pile of firewood and before her a pile of animal furs. Though she did not see it, Angel perceived a small fire flickering behind her, bathing the lair in soft light and warmth. A tall figure robed in black appeared suddenly beside the fur pile. He shuffled away, and she saw a large golden furred dog behind him, ears flat against its head in an unmistakably gesture of warning. Angel could not help but wonder where she had seen that dog before.
The cloaked man was at the table, carefully inspecting the wide array of potions. He laughed at the dog's display of temper. "Patience, my friend. You would not want me to choose the wrong potion." Finally he selected a small vial of transparent crystal containing a vivid green liquid.
The young witch watched on as he knelt down beside the dog and tipped the bottle's contents gently down its throat. When the glass was empty, he stood up with his back to Angel, blocking her view. But she knew that something was happening that she could not see. She stepped to her right a few steps in an attempt to get a better view, and she cut back a gasp at what she saw.
The dog was gone, and in its place a young woman no older than 25 with unmistakable resemblances to the canine. Her hair was golden yellow, the same shade and texture as the dog's and she had big innocent brown eyes that belied the evil lurking beneath her false beauty. She gave a twisted smile and turned her hands over this way and that, examining them as though she couldn't really believe that they were really there.
The cloaked man removed his hood and stepped to the side a few paces. Angel could see now that he wasn't human. His eyes were burning a feverish yellow, and long canine teeth protruded downward from the sides of his mouth. He spoke in a thin reedy voice that sent shivers down her spine.
"Now that you've had a taste of the extent of my abilities, perhaps you will aid me in my quest?"
The woman finally tore her eyes away from her hands and fixed her gaze on him. "I would like nothing better, Hyron." She spoke slowly and stumbled over the words a bit, as though they were unfamiliar.
Hyron drew closer to her and whispered in her ear, "The potion does not last forever, you know that. By this time tomorrow night you will be animal once more."
She laid her hands on his shoulders. "I have betrayed my charges," she said with a sly grin. "There is no turning back now. And once I shed all my animal lives before the next full moon, human will be my permanent form. I will become unvanquishable."
"Nothing shall stand in our way. We can become King and Queen of the Underworld, side by side."
Her eyes glimmered with a hungry look, that Hyron recognized as greed. "And all will bow to our will," she whispered with pleasure.
"It can all be ours, if we succeed, Comet," encouraged Hyron.
But instantly, her eyes turned stone cold, and all traces of a smile vanished. Her face contorted with rage as she drew away from him quickly. "Do not call me that name!" she hissed venomously. "No longer am I a mere pet! For more than 20 years I have played the mutt, suffered the indignity of being kept as a family animal, scolded by those who lay claim to me! I am no animal anymore!"
Hyron sought to soothe her rising ire. "Then you should have a new name, one that reflects the glory you will have. It should be one that your enemies whisper in fear, and that commands the same respect as your presence."
The demon's sleek words caused her anger to subside. "Yes. . ." she mused, almost to herself. "But what name would suit me?"
"Hecate," he answered. "She was once Queen of the Underworld, a powerful force of evil. It would go well with you, seeing that Queen of the Underworld is what you will soon be."
"Hecate. . ."she tried the name out, then nodded her head in acceptation. "It is to my liking."
Angel's sight grew blurred. The cave and everything in it went out of focus, and she had the strange feeling that she was being swept away. The vision ended, and she was once again sleeping soundly. The events that took place eluded her mind's eye, and disappeared into the shadows of dreams.
When morning came, Angel had no remembrance of the dream. She woke up to the sound of something calling her name. As soon as she was awake enough for her brain to register what she was hearing, she recognized the voice as Kendall's and promptly pulled the covers over her head. She felt someone jump onto the bed.
"Oh come on, Angelyn," said Kendall.
Angel's voice was muffled from beneath the covers. "I'm not awake. Go 'way." Then the covers were yanked out of her grasp, and she found herself staring up at Kendall's grinning face. Angel moaned and buried her face into her pillow, trying to hide from the uncomfortable brightness of the sunlight filtering through the window. There was always sun in California, even in winter. "Go bother someone else. Wake up Aunt Paige or Aunt Piper or someone. . . just leave me alone!"
"Aunt Piper needs her sleep, and Aunt Paige went home last night." Kendall sat, helpless for a while, then came up with an idea. She raised Angel telekinetically off the bed. Angel yawned and sat up, hovering two feet above her bed. "Okay, okay, I'm up. You can put me down now," she said grumpily. Kendall was about to lower her, but then thought better of it and allowed her to fall the two feet. Angel climbed off her bed, now thoroughly awake. She brushed her hair out of her eyes and sat silent for a few moments. She felt different. . . almost empty. Like something was missing. 'Weird,' she thought hazily and turned her attention away from it absently.
"So how'd you sleep?" asked Kendall.
Angel started making her bed. "Good. I think I had a dream, not sure though. You?"
"Same," answered the older Halliwell. "I think I had a dream too, but I don't remember what it was about."
Angel opened her mouth to relate her dream, then suddenly realized that she had nothing to say. She had forgotten it too. So she kept her silence and finished tucking in the covers.
They went out the bedroom door, and met Wyatt and Adrian on the stairs.
"Hey guys," said Kendall.
The two only nodded sleepily in response. Angel suspected that they, too, had been woken up by Kendall. Wyatt was practically leaning on the railing for support. Adrian wasn't much better, but he at least said, "I had a weird dream."
"What about?"
Adrian ran a hand through his dark hair and shrugged. "I don't remember."
"Same here," said Wyatt, suppressing a yawn.
They reached the kitchen, and Kendall, seeing that the others were probably so dozy that they'd set the kitchen on fire, set about to make breakfast. Adrian and Wyatt slumped into chairs at the dining table. Angel watched Kendall prepare the food for a few moments, then decided to check on Comet.
A minute or two later, her panicked cry reached them.
"She's not here!"