***I apologize for the looong break in between posts. I have had a lot
going on with school, finals, moving, packing, etc. I hope this chapter is
worth the wait! I feel like I'm getting pretty near the end... so the next
couple of chapters may be longer as well taking a little more time to
write. ENJOY! ~abs
Chloe jumped off the bottom step of stairs and walked happily into the parlor. She laid her cloak and bag over the back of the sofa as she turned to look in the wall mirror. She was holding her ponytail holder in her teeth as she pulled her hair back into a low ponytail then wrapped the holder around it with her free hand. As she was straightening her tank, she noticed Cole watching her from the conservatory with his mouth slightly ajar, "Hey dad, I'm ready," she bounced up to him, "Let's go."
"Patience young grasshopper," Cole winked, "What are you wearing?"
Chloe looked down at her outfit, "Black leather pants, black tank, is it too much?"
Cole laughed, "Too much? Quite the opposite, actually," he tossed her a button up collared shirt that was sitting next to him.
"This is Chris's," she looked at him skeptically, "it's short sleeved, and it's green. Dad, please," she tossed it back to him. "Mom wears stuff like this all the time. I don't see you tossing her other people's clothes."
"Your mother is," Cole paused to do the math before he mumbled, "Seven years older than you." Chloe crossed her arms. "Not the point," Cole pointed his finger at her as he walked past, "She's your mother, I'm your father, and you're our daughter... and... and... you're definitely not wearing too much," he sat on the arm of the sofa and tossed her the cloak. Chloe rolled her eyes as she swung the cloak around her shoulders. "Don't roll your eyes. I have a right to be protective. Why do you wear that cloak every time you go to the underworld?"
Chloe walked up to him, "Because it's yours," she smiled as she showed him the Avatar crest on the pin, and a "C" embroidered in gold stitching up close to the neckline.
"I had never noticed that C before," Cole played with the pin, "This is mine?"
"Someday," Chloe grinned, "The Avatars haven't even approached you since you got back, have they?"
Cole smoothly slid off the arm of the sofa and patted the cushion next to him for Chloe to sit, "Not officially I don't think."
"Not officially? But you've seen them? You never said anything," Chloe looked to him slightly hurt.
"There are enough other things going on in this crazy house, I didn't want to bring it up. They came to me in my dreams because they didn't want to disrupt our plans. They told me to tell you hello," Cole raised his eyebrows to his daughter with a smile.
Chloe laughed to herself, "Damien and Vestas?" she asked. Cole nodded. "They're cool. Vestas is who sent me back. If you believe there are 'good' and 'bad' Avatars, these two are 'good.' They're your allies. Mustavian and Claros are who approached you before... the first time. They're not so good. I think they have the Avatarian motto tattooed on them somewhere, 'Ultimate power surpasses all things'."
"That's the motto?" Cole turned to look at her.
"It may be a paraphrase. But my point is they take their job very seriously. Damien and Vestas do not, and neither do you," she punched his arm.
"That'll be a first," Cole said under his breath.
"There's a first time for everything—you have a family this go around, who happen to be good witches. If you were on the side of evil you might find yourself somehow vanquished... again," she snickered.
"So, if that's my cloak, how did you get it?"
Chloe became very solemn, "Mom still had it after you left. She gave me it to me on my thirteenth birthday. I'm going to go upstairs and get something to put that poison in. I'll be back," she moped off.
"Curious," Cole mumbled to himself.
"What's curious?" Phoebe emerged from the kitchen putting the back on her earring.
"Chloe's response to me. It's probably nothing," Cole looked Phoebe up and down.
Phoebe noticed, "Are you checking me out, Mr. Turner?"
"I am," Cole smiled shyly, "You look very nice."
"Thanks," Phoebe blushed, "We have a meeting with some big wigs about national syndication for the column today. I wanted to look as professional as possible."
"Achieved," Cole approved.
"Keep our daughter out of trouble today, please," she kissed him on the cheek, "I'll see you when I get home. Ciao."
Leo was reading a book to Wyatt on the bed when Piper came in from the hall, "Howdy," she announced watching two of her men read, "Whatcha doing?"
"Reading," Leo beamed, "Come sit," he patted the bed next to him.
Chris walked in the room, "I was just going to go for a little walk and ask if anyone was interested, but I see you're busy."
"Cis!" Wyatt applauded and crawled across the bed to him. He turned around backwards before climbing down the bed, running to his little brother, and taking his hand. He started pulling him out the door, "Out," he pulled.
"I think Wyatt will go for a walk with you," Piper leaned back into Leo's arms.
"Seriously? You don't mind me taking Wyatt with me?" Chris was happily surprised.
Leo looked at Piper and then back to Chris, "No, we trust you. We know you'll take care of him."
Chris nodded then leaned down and picked up Wyatt, "Ok, we're going for a walk then. See you after while," he turned to leave.
"Take your time," Leo whispered into Piper's ear as he snuggled with her neck.
"Leo, I'm nine months pregnant!" Piper playfully protested.
"So? I heard it helps with labor pains," Leo kidded as he kissed down her neck, "That didn't stop you last night."
"Hush," she pushed his head away with a coy laugh.
Leo pulled up Piper's shirt to admire he swollen belly. He laid his head on her stomach so that he could listen, "I hear his heartbeat," he smiled, "thump, thump, thump, beautiful," he kissed her belly. "Hey little man in there, I know I haven't been around much because your mom didn't tell me about you," Piper hit in softly in the back of the head—Leo laughed, "but I want to change that. I want us to be close," he leaned closer to Piper's belly so that his lips were almost touching it, "I want you to know how much I love you. I want you to believe how much I love you. Oh, what was that?" Leo sat up abruptly.
Piper giggled, "He just kicked at you."
"Figures," Leo sat back up and pulled Piper closer to him, "The bigger version probably would have done the same thing."
"Nah," Piper disagreed with a smile, "The bigger version is working on perfecting his new power. He probably would have attempted to blow you up."
Leo leaned back over her belly with a laugh and blew a strawberry above her belly button while Piper giggled uncontrollably. Then he sat back up and began to sing to her and their unborn son, "Don't you know I've always loved you? Even before there was time. Though you turn away, I tell you still. Don't you know I've always loved you... and I always will."
"Where did you hear that?" Piper looked up to him.
"Around," Leo cupped Piper's chin in his hand, "It seemed appropriate... for all parties involved," he leaned into her as they kissed.
Chris had been standing outside the door listening, holding Wyatt against his chest and rocking back and forth. He peeked around the corner to see his parents kissing before he orbed out.
Gideon was drawing a circle on a star chart with protractor forming an arch between two stars. He then proceeded to do the same with an additional two stars, connecting them with the first—a bright red star just beyond Signet. He waved his hand to create a blanket of orbs above his head—each orb represented a star that was on his chart. He rotated his hand progressing the stars to their placement twenty-four years into the future. A few of the stars disappeared, a few others changed colors, but the two he was watching drew closer together nearly converging. He waved his hand a third time as the sky of orbs was set into motion again. Slowly, the two stars he was watching—a red one and a blue one—came closer and closer unto one overtook the other with what would be a cataclysmic boom on a larger scale. Gideon sighed and lowered his head.
"What is it, sir?" Sigmund asked concerned.
"This star here," Gideon rewound the sky and pointed to the red star, "is Wyatt's star. It was the dominant one on the date of his birth and therefore dominates his horoscope and destiny. This star here," Gideon walked across the room to the blue star, "is Chris's star. It will be in Ursa Minor in four days... Chris's birthday... and will therefore be his star depending upon the time of his birth," he waved his hand, "this is twenty- four years into the future, the time that Chris came from. You can see here that the stars are nearing each other. The universe is constantly influx and nothing is stable, including their relationship. What it signifies is a rift, a potential conflict of power, and here," he snapped his fingers as the stars collided, "is the destruction—the final battle. What I cannot foresee, for some reason, is which star will survive and which will not."
"What does this tell us?" Sigmund stood to study the stars.
"I assume it implies their relationship... that Wyatt must be turned before Chris's birthday," he sat back down at his desk, "but there is a potential problem," he picked up the star chart off his desk and returned to Sigmund, "I was recalculating the dates and the position of the stars, and there are two stars that I had not noticed before that will also be in the sky on the night of Chris's birth. All three are vying for position as the dominant star," he waved his hand, "if this star here enters Ursa Minor and becomes the dominate star, the whole course is changed. The stars will not collide, but instead," he turned his hand, "they become twin stars. And I cannot determine whether that is on the side of good or evil."
"And the third star?" Sigmund posed again.
Gideon turned to the far corner of the room to where the stars had been originally and studied a small star whose significance would not usually puzzle anyone. "This star is the biggest puzzlement to me," he pointed at the star and walked towards the center of the room pulling the orb behind him, "if this star becomes the dominant star, then it joins with Wyatt's star, but also that small orange one behind your left shoulder... and the three of them join Ursa Major, indefinitely as far as I can tell. And fuse together, to give the appearance of one large star... over taking the North Star as the brightest star in the sky in twenty-five years," he held his hands palm up as the orbs were sucked back within him. He turned his chair so that he could sit in it before easing into it. Sigmund pushed his glasses up his nose and shuffled his feet. "What are you thinking, Sigmund?"
"Well," he continued shifting uneasily on his feet, "When is Chloe's birthday? Maybe the third, err fourth, star is hers. Maybe its moving into alignment with Chris and Wyatt means the reconstitution of the power of three... with even greater power than they have now."
"Then you understand our predicament of needing to insure that Wyatt is turned before Chris's birthday... and possibly even turning baby Chris at his birth since he will not be good nor evil... yet," Gideon twirled in his chair.
Chloe and Cole shimmered into the darklighter Ravi's lair. "He needs a decorator," Chloe kidded as she noticed all the black everywhere—black furniture, black curtains, black potions equipment, "How morbid." Cole just looked at her and started towards the back room. Chloe rolled her eyes and followed him.
Just outside the door Cole turned to Chloe, "You want to learn how to handle demons, watch the master at work. Just watch."
"Yes, master," Chloe put her hands together and bowed then followed Cole.
"Ravi, long time no see," Cole auspiciously walked towards the darklighter who was polishing his weapons. Ravi grabbed a hurling axe from the table and flung it towards Cole with lightning reflexes. Chloe shimmered out, but Cole casually held up his hand as the hurling axe became suspended in midair. "Now, that's no way to treat an old friend," Cole flicked two fingers as the axe flew and became lodged in the cave wall.
Chloe shimmered back in behind her father's shoulder, beaming with pride, laughing evilly to herself, *Excellent,* she thought.
"Balthazar, you're dead," Ravi began cowardly backing up into the shelves of weapons behind knocking a few onto the floor as Cole came closer to him.
"Three times, actually, but who's counting?" Cole held up three fingers, "I'm not here to hurt you so you can stop running away." Ravi stopped and raised a wary eyebrow to Cole. "I'm here for a favor," he picked up a crossbow from the weapons table.
"A favor?" Ravi inched closer to him.
"Yes," Cole hissed, "I need to kill an elder. My ex-brother-in-law, to be exact. He's become quite a pain in the ass. No, he's always been a pain in the ass." Chloe smiled, she knew Cole didn't like Leo. "But this time, his constant meddling is interfering with my plans. And since he and Piper are no longer together, I am not worried about the repercussions."
Ravi stood more erect and walked to Cole, taking the crossbow from his hands, "Who's the girl?" he tilted his head towards Chloe.
"Don't worry about her. She's my protégé, I'm teaching her a thing or two," Cole smiled wickedly at Chloe who winked back at him.
"Glad to see you're over that witch, Balthazar. That relationship was really hindering you getting the respect and support you deserved," Ravi placed the crossbow on the table and went to his potions cabinet.
Chloe raised her hand with a fireball alight, ready to throw, but Cole grabbed it and squelched it before Ravi could see. "Not yet," he whispered. Instead Chloe averted her eyes to the rows of weapons hanging on the wall, and with a simple squint sent them all falling to the floor with a crash.
"What was that?" Ravi whipped around.
"Evil spirit," Chloe maliciously sneered.
"Right, been meaning to have them exterminated," Ravi went back to his work, "Ordinary poison won't kill an elder. You need something strong," he mixed various potions and poisons until he had a thick red elixir in a vial, "This is what you'll need," he offered it to Cole, "It will kill any elder and any whitelighter that you need."
Cole waved his hand so that the elixir was suspended in the air—he didn't want to touch the vial, he didn't trust Ravi. He turned to Chloe and projected his thoughts to her, *Can you get a reading off something in here? Is he telling the truth?*
Chloe walked past Cole, and flirtingly placed her hand on Ravi's shoulder, "It will kill anyone or anything with whitelighter powers?" she asked, "Or anything?" she nodded back to her father. The potion was non- specific, it would kill anything.
"It will do what you are asking," Ravi smiled as the flirt and ran his finger lustfully down her cheek and beyond.
Chloe grabbed his arm and flipped him onto his back. She held out her free hand as the hurling axe emerged from the wall and into her hand. In an instant she had her foot on his chest and axe at his neck, "That was not an invitation," she snarled.
Cole moved the potion into Chloe's bag telekinetically, "I've taught her well," he smiled down at Ravi who was once again shaking under Cole's gaze, "and I'm glad she has you in this position... it's an easier kill. No one messes with my daughter and lives," Cole growled. Ravi's eyes widened with fear. "Go ahead sweetie, now you can kill him," Cole turned to leave as Chloe fired an energy ball at Ravi's chest. She smiled with satisfaction as she followed Cole back out of the lair, "Lesson complete," he put his arm around her shoulders as they shimmered out.
Cole and Chloe shimmered into the attic with Cole's arm still around her shoulders, "That was fun," Chloe wickedly grinned as she handed the bag over her shoulder to her mother.
"Cole, what have you been teaching my baby?" Phoebe accepted the bag.
"Our baby," Cole corrected, "How to coerce information out of uncooperative sources," she sat on the sofa.
"Not a baby," Chloe frowned, "I will leave you to whatever wonderful plan you have for protecting this house from that poison—which by the way could kill all of us, not just the whitelighter mixes. Good luck," she bowed heading downstairs.
Phoebe held the bag further from her body, "What does she mean?"
"Ravi, our dead-at-your-daughter's-hand-darklighter, informed us that you cannot use simple darklighter's poison on an elder. So he made an elixir that apparently not only kills whitelighters, but anything that ingests it. Be careful, I don't want anything to happen to you," he looked directly at Phoebe as he concluded.
"To Phoebe or to all of us?" Paige noticed.
"All of you," Cole blushed, "I'm going to go find Chloe. I think she enjoyed that vanquish a little too much. Excuse me," he shimmered.
"Yikes," Phoebe gently placed the bag on the potions table. Paige was helping Piper to sit on the floor behind the potions table and basin. "Do either of you have any ideas?"
"We need to get Gideon to drink it," Piper suggested, "or to otherwise ingest it."
"You don't think we could just coat an athame with the stuff and jab it into his deceitful, lying, and otherwise dislikeable gut?" Paige countered.
Phoebe and Piper laughed, "I don't think that would be the smartest way, no," Piper smiled.
"Then I suggest we let our fingers do the walking," Phoebe picked up a notepad, "I'll start a spell."
"We'll work on some sort of potion, if you don't mind adding the elixir when we're ready?" Paige asked, "I don't think that Piper or I should touch it."
"Deal," Phoebe nodded.
The charmed ones worked in perfect unison—none of them needing to say a word. Phoebe doodled out potential spells on her notepad, Paige and Piper added various herbs, flowers, spices, and whatnot to the potion basin as it bubbled and sparked over a burning red candle. No one spoke. When it was time to add the elixir to the basin, Paige and Piper simply nodded to Phoebe. Phoebe gently removed the bottle from Chloe's bag. Piper held up her hand to Phoebe as she set it on the table. Then Piper tapped into baby Chris's telekinesis and floated the bottle over the basin, slowly emptied it into the brew, and then motioned for the vial to shatter into the trash can. Phoebe handed each of her sisters a copy of the incantation, "This is for activating the potion only for Gideon," she held up the first piece of paper, "and this will be for the vanquish... if we need it. I think the potion should be strong enough."
"Right," Paige nodded reading over the spell, "Are we ready?"
The three sisters joined hands as they read, "Spirits of good throughout all time. Lend your wisdom to heed our rhyme. For the elder, whose goodness has failed, to the fires of hell his soul will be jailed. For Gideon only will this potion activate, for he is the one we wish to obliterate."
The potion sparked one last time as the candle beneath the basin fizzled and the steam rising from it ceased. "I think it's done," Phoebe leaned over the basin, "but to be on the safe side, I think someone who does not have whitelighter blood in their body needs to be the one to bottle it up." She went to the potions cabinet and pulled out seven vials, "One for each of us," she informed her sisters.
"Help me up," Paige requested of Paige, "I'm going to go find my sons and tell them what's going on... and that they need to stay away from that stuff. Especially the demon hunting vigilante one, he might try to handle all this on his own," Piper made her way towards the stairs.
"Do you think this will work?" Paige watched Phoebe carefully funnel the potion into the vials.
"It has to," Phoebe sighed.
"Cole," Piper toddled into the parlor, "have you seen my youngest son?"
Cole looked at Piper over the top of the John Grisham novel he was perusing, "Uh, no, but Chloe said something about going somewhere with him," he looked back down at the book.
"Well, that's extremely specific," Piper dryly remarked, "Can you sense her? Or him even?"
"I can try," Cole cocked an annoyed eyebrow at Piper. He closed his eyes and exhaled slowly, "I can sense her, since she's mine," he continued to concentrate, "Golden Gate Park, botanical gardens," he reopened his eyes and continued to read.
"They're safe?" Piper asked one more question.
"They're safe," Cole affirmed.
Chloe gently plucked the flowers off a hibiscus and orchid growing along the path, "You could get fined a large amount of money for those," Chris scolded.
"It's 10:00 pm, do you see anyone around here to catch us?" she snapped back, "I need them," she walked back over to him.
Chris looked down at the small collection of potion ingredients that were swirling in the pot. He then picked up a stick of lavender incense as Chloe waved her hand and it lit—Chris breathed in the aroma, "Nice," he set it back on the incense holder, "but you haven't told me what we're doing here." Chloe crushed the orchid and hibiscus with a pestle before adding some jasmine. She turned the powdered flowers upside down into a bubbly broth of potion, boiling over an aromatic white candle. "Are you making me help you with some perfume concoction again?" Chris scowled.
Chloe finished emptying the contents of the mortar, "No," she rolled her eyes, "Hand me one of the red roses behind you," she instructed.
Chris picked up the rose, pricking his finger in the process, "I hate it when that happens," he attempted to hand the flower to Chloe. She grabbed his hand and squeezed his finger extracting more blood to cover the thorn, "What are you doing, Chloe?" Chris quickly retracted his hand.
"Hold on," she found another thorn on the stem and pricked her own finger, allowing the blood to soak the thorn before dropping the rose into the cauldron. The rose spun in slow circle as a pink cloud enveloped them, "Nobody's going to catch us, now," she smiled turning to pick up some vials and other ingredients that were sitting behind them.
"Catch us doing what?" Chris demanded, "If you don't tell me now, I'm orbing out. And something tells me you need me for this."
"I do," she teased, "but you need it, too." Chloe pulled two golden rods from beneath her cloak and placed them gently into the cauldron. The potion sizzled as the rods sank to the bottom. She then added vanilla oils, powdered ginger root, and finally, "Pixie dust," she smiled as she dropped two dashes into the pot. "Let me have your ring," she held out her hand to Chris as she dug around for an athame.
"No," he crossed his arms, "You haven't told me what's going on."
"Give me your ring, or I will take it from you by force," Chloe replied sternly.
Chris squinted his eyes at her as he uncrossed his arms and handed her the ring. She took her own ring off her finger. Chloe then began to shave small amounts of the gold from the rings into the potion which began to glow a beautiful, brilliant yellow. She then handed Chris his ring back and slid hers back on her own hand. She held both hands out towards Chris, palm up, "Take my hands."
Chris reluctantly places his hands in Chloe's as she closed her fingers around them, "Clo, tell me now."
She looked him straight in the eye, "These rings protect us, link our powers, and enable us to communicate, right?" Chris nodded. "Well," she continued, "they're not permanent. Any enemy we face can figure that out and take them from us... and use them against us. So I was thinking we need something a little more permanent."
"Permanent how?" Chris asked.
"Tattoo," Chloe smiled weakly.
"What?" Chris dropped her hands, "I don't want a tattoo. Do you know how much trouble we could get in? Besides, I am not letting you brand me with anything without sufficient pain killers, alcohol, or both available to dull the pain."
"You big baby," Chloe pouted, "I don't think it will hurt. This is magic, not a needle and ink in some corner shop. I already have one, and it didn't hurt too badly."
"You have a tattoo?" Chris asked stunned.
"Yes," she pulled down the side of her pants revealing a Chinese symbol on her hip, "It means joy."
Chris leaned closer to inspect it, "Did Trevor make you do that?" he sat back.
"Trey," Chloe corrected annoyed as she pulled her pants back up, "And no. I did it myself. Chris, chill, all the sisters have multiple tattoos. It is no big deal. This one will be special."
"Suppose I let you do this," Chris sat back, "what are you going to draw?"
"What else would I draw?" Chloe asked rhetorically as the Triquetra on hers and Chris's rings glowed.
Chris looked down at his hand, "Where?"
"Over your heart," Chloe put her hand to her chest, "Where your family is. Where love is."
Chris sat back and thought for a moment, "Alright," he conceded picking up Chloe's hands, "Do it."
Chloe squeezed his hands, "Bless our powers, bless this gold. Grant us protection, do not with hold. Link our minds, link our hearts. So that our souls, shall never part." The red rose that had been floating in the potion slowly sank to the bottom as the golden glow faded. Chloe released Chris's hands and reached behind her for a pair of tongs. She dipped the tongs into the potion and pulled out one of the sticks of gold, "I'll go first, since you don't know what we're doing." Chris sighed heavily and unbuttoned the top few buttons of his shirt. Chloe scooted around so that she was sitting in front of him. Carefully she removed the golden rod from the tongs and held it in her hand like a pencil. She then began to draw a Triquetra on Chris's chest over his heart. His face wrinkled up with pain, "Sorry," she apologized as she continued to draw.
"Don't worry, I'll get you back," he squinted through the pain.
After she had finished drawing, she sat back and admired her artwork—glowing with a golden light from Chris's chest. She then picked up one of the two remaining red roses and again pricked her finger on a thorn. Chloe placed her pricked finger against Chris's skin over the Triquetra, "Blood to blood," she smiled as the light changed from gold to red and the image of the Triquetra faded into his skin.
Chris looked down at his chest where the symbol should have been, "What happened?"
"It worked," Chloe smiled, "It's marked you on the inside, on your heart, on your soul."
"My turn," Chris picked up the tongs and removed the last piece of gold from the potion, "I'm not a good artist," he apologized before even starting.
"It's ok," Chloe shook her head with a smile.
Chris cradled the golden rod in his hand like a pencil as he sketched the Triquetra on Chloe's chest, "Good thing you wore a tank top," he commented. Chloe grunted an "Uh-huh" through her pain. Chris was careful to make sure all the corners overlapped, the circle was complete. He then reached behind him and picked up the remaining red rose. He pricked his finger with it a last time as Chloe had before placing it against her skin, "Blood to blood," he whispered. The Triquetra on Chloe's chest also changed from a golden glow to a red one before fading from sight. "Too cool, Chloe," Chris observed.
Chloe sighed with relief, the pain of the burn was gone and now all she could sense was calm. "Shall we try it out?" she asked as the pink fog that had hidden them from sight began to fade.
"We shall," Chris remarked pulling his ring off his finger.
Chloe did the same with her own. *Can you hear me?* Chloe looked to Chris hopefully.
He smiled, *Clear as crystal,* he thought back.
They both quietly collected the cauldron, mortar and pestle, candle, and potion ingredients before orbing or shimmering back to the manor.
Chloe jumped off the bottom step of stairs and walked happily into the parlor. She laid her cloak and bag over the back of the sofa as she turned to look in the wall mirror. She was holding her ponytail holder in her teeth as she pulled her hair back into a low ponytail then wrapped the holder around it with her free hand. As she was straightening her tank, she noticed Cole watching her from the conservatory with his mouth slightly ajar, "Hey dad, I'm ready," she bounced up to him, "Let's go."
"Patience young grasshopper," Cole winked, "What are you wearing?"
Chloe looked down at her outfit, "Black leather pants, black tank, is it too much?"
Cole laughed, "Too much? Quite the opposite, actually," he tossed her a button up collared shirt that was sitting next to him.
"This is Chris's," she looked at him skeptically, "it's short sleeved, and it's green. Dad, please," she tossed it back to him. "Mom wears stuff like this all the time. I don't see you tossing her other people's clothes."
"Your mother is," Cole paused to do the math before he mumbled, "Seven years older than you." Chloe crossed her arms. "Not the point," Cole pointed his finger at her as he walked past, "She's your mother, I'm your father, and you're our daughter... and... and... you're definitely not wearing too much," he sat on the arm of the sofa and tossed her the cloak. Chloe rolled her eyes as she swung the cloak around her shoulders. "Don't roll your eyes. I have a right to be protective. Why do you wear that cloak every time you go to the underworld?"
Chloe walked up to him, "Because it's yours," she smiled as she showed him the Avatar crest on the pin, and a "C" embroidered in gold stitching up close to the neckline.
"I had never noticed that C before," Cole played with the pin, "This is mine?"
"Someday," Chloe grinned, "The Avatars haven't even approached you since you got back, have they?"
Cole smoothly slid off the arm of the sofa and patted the cushion next to him for Chloe to sit, "Not officially I don't think."
"Not officially? But you've seen them? You never said anything," Chloe looked to him slightly hurt.
"There are enough other things going on in this crazy house, I didn't want to bring it up. They came to me in my dreams because they didn't want to disrupt our plans. They told me to tell you hello," Cole raised his eyebrows to his daughter with a smile.
Chloe laughed to herself, "Damien and Vestas?" she asked. Cole nodded. "They're cool. Vestas is who sent me back. If you believe there are 'good' and 'bad' Avatars, these two are 'good.' They're your allies. Mustavian and Claros are who approached you before... the first time. They're not so good. I think they have the Avatarian motto tattooed on them somewhere, 'Ultimate power surpasses all things'."
"That's the motto?" Cole turned to look at her.
"It may be a paraphrase. But my point is they take their job very seriously. Damien and Vestas do not, and neither do you," she punched his arm.
"That'll be a first," Cole said under his breath.
"There's a first time for everything—you have a family this go around, who happen to be good witches. If you were on the side of evil you might find yourself somehow vanquished... again," she snickered.
"So, if that's my cloak, how did you get it?"
Chloe became very solemn, "Mom still had it after you left. She gave me it to me on my thirteenth birthday. I'm going to go upstairs and get something to put that poison in. I'll be back," she moped off.
"Curious," Cole mumbled to himself.
"What's curious?" Phoebe emerged from the kitchen putting the back on her earring.
"Chloe's response to me. It's probably nothing," Cole looked Phoebe up and down.
Phoebe noticed, "Are you checking me out, Mr. Turner?"
"I am," Cole smiled shyly, "You look very nice."
"Thanks," Phoebe blushed, "We have a meeting with some big wigs about national syndication for the column today. I wanted to look as professional as possible."
"Achieved," Cole approved.
"Keep our daughter out of trouble today, please," she kissed him on the cheek, "I'll see you when I get home. Ciao."
Leo was reading a book to Wyatt on the bed when Piper came in from the hall, "Howdy," she announced watching two of her men read, "Whatcha doing?"
"Reading," Leo beamed, "Come sit," he patted the bed next to him.
Chris walked in the room, "I was just going to go for a little walk and ask if anyone was interested, but I see you're busy."
"Cis!" Wyatt applauded and crawled across the bed to him. He turned around backwards before climbing down the bed, running to his little brother, and taking his hand. He started pulling him out the door, "Out," he pulled.
"I think Wyatt will go for a walk with you," Piper leaned back into Leo's arms.
"Seriously? You don't mind me taking Wyatt with me?" Chris was happily surprised.
Leo looked at Piper and then back to Chris, "No, we trust you. We know you'll take care of him."
Chris nodded then leaned down and picked up Wyatt, "Ok, we're going for a walk then. See you after while," he turned to leave.
"Take your time," Leo whispered into Piper's ear as he snuggled with her neck.
"Leo, I'm nine months pregnant!" Piper playfully protested.
"So? I heard it helps with labor pains," Leo kidded as he kissed down her neck, "That didn't stop you last night."
"Hush," she pushed his head away with a coy laugh.
Leo pulled up Piper's shirt to admire he swollen belly. He laid his head on her stomach so that he could listen, "I hear his heartbeat," he smiled, "thump, thump, thump, beautiful," he kissed her belly. "Hey little man in there, I know I haven't been around much because your mom didn't tell me about you," Piper hit in softly in the back of the head—Leo laughed, "but I want to change that. I want us to be close," he leaned closer to Piper's belly so that his lips were almost touching it, "I want you to know how much I love you. I want you to believe how much I love you. Oh, what was that?" Leo sat up abruptly.
Piper giggled, "He just kicked at you."
"Figures," Leo sat back up and pulled Piper closer to him, "The bigger version probably would have done the same thing."
"Nah," Piper disagreed with a smile, "The bigger version is working on perfecting his new power. He probably would have attempted to blow you up."
Leo leaned back over her belly with a laugh and blew a strawberry above her belly button while Piper giggled uncontrollably. Then he sat back up and began to sing to her and their unborn son, "Don't you know I've always loved you? Even before there was time. Though you turn away, I tell you still. Don't you know I've always loved you... and I always will."
"Where did you hear that?" Piper looked up to him.
"Around," Leo cupped Piper's chin in his hand, "It seemed appropriate... for all parties involved," he leaned into her as they kissed.
Chris had been standing outside the door listening, holding Wyatt against his chest and rocking back and forth. He peeked around the corner to see his parents kissing before he orbed out.
Gideon was drawing a circle on a star chart with protractor forming an arch between two stars. He then proceeded to do the same with an additional two stars, connecting them with the first—a bright red star just beyond Signet. He waved his hand to create a blanket of orbs above his head—each orb represented a star that was on his chart. He rotated his hand progressing the stars to their placement twenty-four years into the future. A few of the stars disappeared, a few others changed colors, but the two he was watching drew closer together nearly converging. He waved his hand a third time as the sky of orbs was set into motion again. Slowly, the two stars he was watching—a red one and a blue one—came closer and closer unto one overtook the other with what would be a cataclysmic boom on a larger scale. Gideon sighed and lowered his head.
"What is it, sir?" Sigmund asked concerned.
"This star here," Gideon rewound the sky and pointed to the red star, "is Wyatt's star. It was the dominant one on the date of his birth and therefore dominates his horoscope and destiny. This star here," Gideon walked across the room to the blue star, "is Chris's star. It will be in Ursa Minor in four days... Chris's birthday... and will therefore be his star depending upon the time of his birth," he waved his hand, "this is twenty- four years into the future, the time that Chris came from. You can see here that the stars are nearing each other. The universe is constantly influx and nothing is stable, including their relationship. What it signifies is a rift, a potential conflict of power, and here," he snapped his fingers as the stars collided, "is the destruction—the final battle. What I cannot foresee, for some reason, is which star will survive and which will not."
"What does this tell us?" Sigmund stood to study the stars.
"I assume it implies their relationship... that Wyatt must be turned before Chris's birthday," he sat back down at his desk, "but there is a potential problem," he picked up the star chart off his desk and returned to Sigmund, "I was recalculating the dates and the position of the stars, and there are two stars that I had not noticed before that will also be in the sky on the night of Chris's birth. All three are vying for position as the dominant star," he waved his hand, "if this star here enters Ursa Minor and becomes the dominate star, the whole course is changed. The stars will not collide, but instead," he turned his hand, "they become twin stars. And I cannot determine whether that is on the side of good or evil."
"And the third star?" Sigmund posed again.
Gideon turned to the far corner of the room to where the stars had been originally and studied a small star whose significance would not usually puzzle anyone. "This star is the biggest puzzlement to me," he pointed at the star and walked towards the center of the room pulling the orb behind him, "if this star becomes the dominant star, then it joins with Wyatt's star, but also that small orange one behind your left shoulder... and the three of them join Ursa Major, indefinitely as far as I can tell. And fuse together, to give the appearance of one large star... over taking the North Star as the brightest star in the sky in twenty-five years," he held his hands palm up as the orbs were sucked back within him. He turned his chair so that he could sit in it before easing into it. Sigmund pushed his glasses up his nose and shuffled his feet. "What are you thinking, Sigmund?"
"Well," he continued shifting uneasily on his feet, "When is Chloe's birthday? Maybe the third, err fourth, star is hers. Maybe its moving into alignment with Chris and Wyatt means the reconstitution of the power of three... with even greater power than they have now."
"Then you understand our predicament of needing to insure that Wyatt is turned before Chris's birthday... and possibly even turning baby Chris at his birth since he will not be good nor evil... yet," Gideon twirled in his chair.
Chloe and Cole shimmered into the darklighter Ravi's lair. "He needs a decorator," Chloe kidded as she noticed all the black everywhere—black furniture, black curtains, black potions equipment, "How morbid." Cole just looked at her and started towards the back room. Chloe rolled her eyes and followed him.
Just outside the door Cole turned to Chloe, "You want to learn how to handle demons, watch the master at work. Just watch."
"Yes, master," Chloe put her hands together and bowed then followed Cole.
"Ravi, long time no see," Cole auspiciously walked towards the darklighter who was polishing his weapons. Ravi grabbed a hurling axe from the table and flung it towards Cole with lightning reflexes. Chloe shimmered out, but Cole casually held up his hand as the hurling axe became suspended in midair. "Now, that's no way to treat an old friend," Cole flicked two fingers as the axe flew and became lodged in the cave wall.
Chloe shimmered back in behind her father's shoulder, beaming with pride, laughing evilly to herself, *Excellent,* she thought.
"Balthazar, you're dead," Ravi began cowardly backing up into the shelves of weapons behind knocking a few onto the floor as Cole came closer to him.
"Three times, actually, but who's counting?" Cole held up three fingers, "I'm not here to hurt you so you can stop running away." Ravi stopped and raised a wary eyebrow to Cole. "I'm here for a favor," he picked up a crossbow from the weapons table.
"A favor?" Ravi inched closer to him.
"Yes," Cole hissed, "I need to kill an elder. My ex-brother-in-law, to be exact. He's become quite a pain in the ass. No, he's always been a pain in the ass." Chloe smiled, she knew Cole didn't like Leo. "But this time, his constant meddling is interfering with my plans. And since he and Piper are no longer together, I am not worried about the repercussions."
Ravi stood more erect and walked to Cole, taking the crossbow from his hands, "Who's the girl?" he tilted his head towards Chloe.
"Don't worry about her. She's my protégé, I'm teaching her a thing or two," Cole smiled wickedly at Chloe who winked back at him.
"Glad to see you're over that witch, Balthazar. That relationship was really hindering you getting the respect and support you deserved," Ravi placed the crossbow on the table and went to his potions cabinet.
Chloe raised her hand with a fireball alight, ready to throw, but Cole grabbed it and squelched it before Ravi could see. "Not yet," he whispered. Instead Chloe averted her eyes to the rows of weapons hanging on the wall, and with a simple squint sent them all falling to the floor with a crash.
"What was that?" Ravi whipped around.
"Evil spirit," Chloe maliciously sneered.
"Right, been meaning to have them exterminated," Ravi went back to his work, "Ordinary poison won't kill an elder. You need something strong," he mixed various potions and poisons until he had a thick red elixir in a vial, "This is what you'll need," he offered it to Cole, "It will kill any elder and any whitelighter that you need."
Cole waved his hand so that the elixir was suspended in the air—he didn't want to touch the vial, he didn't trust Ravi. He turned to Chloe and projected his thoughts to her, *Can you get a reading off something in here? Is he telling the truth?*
Chloe walked past Cole, and flirtingly placed her hand on Ravi's shoulder, "It will kill anyone or anything with whitelighter powers?" she asked, "Or anything?" she nodded back to her father. The potion was non- specific, it would kill anything.
"It will do what you are asking," Ravi smiled as the flirt and ran his finger lustfully down her cheek and beyond.
Chloe grabbed his arm and flipped him onto his back. She held out her free hand as the hurling axe emerged from the wall and into her hand. In an instant she had her foot on his chest and axe at his neck, "That was not an invitation," she snarled.
Cole moved the potion into Chloe's bag telekinetically, "I've taught her well," he smiled down at Ravi who was once again shaking under Cole's gaze, "and I'm glad she has you in this position... it's an easier kill. No one messes with my daughter and lives," Cole growled. Ravi's eyes widened with fear. "Go ahead sweetie, now you can kill him," Cole turned to leave as Chloe fired an energy ball at Ravi's chest. She smiled with satisfaction as she followed Cole back out of the lair, "Lesson complete," he put his arm around her shoulders as they shimmered out.
Cole and Chloe shimmered into the attic with Cole's arm still around her shoulders, "That was fun," Chloe wickedly grinned as she handed the bag over her shoulder to her mother.
"Cole, what have you been teaching my baby?" Phoebe accepted the bag.
"Our baby," Cole corrected, "How to coerce information out of uncooperative sources," she sat on the sofa.
"Not a baby," Chloe frowned, "I will leave you to whatever wonderful plan you have for protecting this house from that poison—which by the way could kill all of us, not just the whitelighter mixes. Good luck," she bowed heading downstairs.
Phoebe held the bag further from her body, "What does she mean?"
"Ravi, our dead-at-your-daughter's-hand-darklighter, informed us that you cannot use simple darklighter's poison on an elder. So he made an elixir that apparently not only kills whitelighters, but anything that ingests it. Be careful, I don't want anything to happen to you," he looked directly at Phoebe as he concluded.
"To Phoebe or to all of us?" Paige noticed.
"All of you," Cole blushed, "I'm going to go find Chloe. I think she enjoyed that vanquish a little too much. Excuse me," he shimmered.
"Yikes," Phoebe gently placed the bag on the potions table. Paige was helping Piper to sit on the floor behind the potions table and basin. "Do either of you have any ideas?"
"We need to get Gideon to drink it," Piper suggested, "or to otherwise ingest it."
"You don't think we could just coat an athame with the stuff and jab it into his deceitful, lying, and otherwise dislikeable gut?" Paige countered.
Phoebe and Piper laughed, "I don't think that would be the smartest way, no," Piper smiled.
"Then I suggest we let our fingers do the walking," Phoebe picked up a notepad, "I'll start a spell."
"We'll work on some sort of potion, if you don't mind adding the elixir when we're ready?" Paige asked, "I don't think that Piper or I should touch it."
"Deal," Phoebe nodded.
The charmed ones worked in perfect unison—none of them needing to say a word. Phoebe doodled out potential spells on her notepad, Paige and Piper added various herbs, flowers, spices, and whatnot to the potion basin as it bubbled and sparked over a burning red candle. No one spoke. When it was time to add the elixir to the basin, Paige and Piper simply nodded to Phoebe. Phoebe gently removed the bottle from Chloe's bag. Piper held up her hand to Phoebe as she set it on the table. Then Piper tapped into baby Chris's telekinesis and floated the bottle over the basin, slowly emptied it into the brew, and then motioned for the vial to shatter into the trash can. Phoebe handed each of her sisters a copy of the incantation, "This is for activating the potion only for Gideon," she held up the first piece of paper, "and this will be for the vanquish... if we need it. I think the potion should be strong enough."
"Right," Paige nodded reading over the spell, "Are we ready?"
The three sisters joined hands as they read, "Spirits of good throughout all time. Lend your wisdom to heed our rhyme. For the elder, whose goodness has failed, to the fires of hell his soul will be jailed. For Gideon only will this potion activate, for he is the one we wish to obliterate."
The potion sparked one last time as the candle beneath the basin fizzled and the steam rising from it ceased. "I think it's done," Phoebe leaned over the basin, "but to be on the safe side, I think someone who does not have whitelighter blood in their body needs to be the one to bottle it up." She went to the potions cabinet and pulled out seven vials, "One for each of us," she informed her sisters.
"Help me up," Paige requested of Paige, "I'm going to go find my sons and tell them what's going on... and that they need to stay away from that stuff. Especially the demon hunting vigilante one, he might try to handle all this on his own," Piper made her way towards the stairs.
"Do you think this will work?" Paige watched Phoebe carefully funnel the potion into the vials.
"It has to," Phoebe sighed.
"Cole," Piper toddled into the parlor, "have you seen my youngest son?"
Cole looked at Piper over the top of the John Grisham novel he was perusing, "Uh, no, but Chloe said something about going somewhere with him," he looked back down at the book.
"Well, that's extremely specific," Piper dryly remarked, "Can you sense her? Or him even?"
"I can try," Cole cocked an annoyed eyebrow at Piper. He closed his eyes and exhaled slowly, "I can sense her, since she's mine," he continued to concentrate, "Golden Gate Park, botanical gardens," he reopened his eyes and continued to read.
"They're safe?" Piper asked one more question.
"They're safe," Cole affirmed.
Chloe gently plucked the flowers off a hibiscus and orchid growing along the path, "You could get fined a large amount of money for those," Chris scolded.
"It's 10:00 pm, do you see anyone around here to catch us?" she snapped back, "I need them," she walked back over to him.
Chris looked down at the small collection of potion ingredients that were swirling in the pot. He then picked up a stick of lavender incense as Chloe waved her hand and it lit—Chris breathed in the aroma, "Nice," he set it back on the incense holder, "but you haven't told me what we're doing here." Chloe crushed the orchid and hibiscus with a pestle before adding some jasmine. She turned the powdered flowers upside down into a bubbly broth of potion, boiling over an aromatic white candle. "Are you making me help you with some perfume concoction again?" Chris scowled.
Chloe finished emptying the contents of the mortar, "No," she rolled her eyes, "Hand me one of the red roses behind you," she instructed.
Chris picked up the rose, pricking his finger in the process, "I hate it when that happens," he attempted to hand the flower to Chloe. She grabbed his hand and squeezed his finger extracting more blood to cover the thorn, "What are you doing, Chloe?" Chris quickly retracted his hand.
"Hold on," she found another thorn on the stem and pricked her own finger, allowing the blood to soak the thorn before dropping the rose into the cauldron. The rose spun in slow circle as a pink cloud enveloped them, "Nobody's going to catch us, now," she smiled turning to pick up some vials and other ingredients that were sitting behind them.
"Catch us doing what?" Chris demanded, "If you don't tell me now, I'm orbing out. And something tells me you need me for this."
"I do," she teased, "but you need it, too." Chloe pulled two golden rods from beneath her cloak and placed them gently into the cauldron. The potion sizzled as the rods sank to the bottom. She then added vanilla oils, powdered ginger root, and finally, "Pixie dust," she smiled as she dropped two dashes into the pot. "Let me have your ring," she held out her hand to Chris as she dug around for an athame.
"No," he crossed his arms, "You haven't told me what's going on."
"Give me your ring, or I will take it from you by force," Chloe replied sternly.
Chris squinted his eyes at her as he uncrossed his arms and handed her the ring. She took her own ring off her finger. Chloe then began to shave small amounts of the gold from the rings into the potion which began to glow a beautiful, brilliant yellow. She then handed Chris his ring back and slid hers back on her own hand. She held both hands out towards Chris, palm up, "Take my hands."
Chris reluctantly places his hands in Chloe's as she closed her fingers around them, "Clo, tell me now."
She looked him straight in the eye, "These rings protect us, link our powers, and enable us to communicate, right?" Chris nodded. "Well," she continued, "they're not permanent. Any enemy we face can figure that out and take them from us... and use them against us. So I was thinking we need something a little more permanent."
"Permanent how?" Chris asked.
"Tattoo," Chloe smiled weakly.
"What?" Chris dropped her hands, "I don't want a tattoo. Do you know how much trouble we could get in? Besides, I am not letting you brand me with anything without sufficient pain killers, alcohol, or both available to dull the pain."
"You big baby," Chloe pouted, "I don't think it will hurt. This is magic, not a needle and ink in some corner shop. I already have one, and it didn't hurt too badly."
"You have a tattoo?" Chris asked stunned.
"Yes," she pulled down the side of her pants revealing a Chinese symbol on her hip, "It means joy."
Chris leaned closer to inspect it, "Did Trevor make you do that?" he sat back.
"Trey," Chloe corrected annoyed as she pulled her pants back up, "And no. I did it myself. Chris, chill, all the sisters have multiple tattoos. It is no big deal. This one will be special."
"Suppose I let you do this," Chris sat back, "what are you going to draw?"
"What else would I draw?" Chloe asked rhetorically as the Triquetra on hers and Chris's rings glowed.
Chris looked down at his hand, "Where?"
"Over your heart," Chloe put her hand to her chest, "Where your family is. Where love is."
Chris sat back and thought for a moment, "Alright," he conceded picking up Chloe's hands, "Do it."
Chloe squeezed his hands, "Bless our powers, bless this gold. Grant us protection, do not with hold. Link our minds, link our hearts. So that our souls, shall never part." The red rose that had been floating in the potion slowly sank to the bottom as the golden glow faded. Chloe released Chris's hands and reached behind her for a pair of tongs. She dipped the tongs into the potion and pulled out one of the sticks of gold, "I'll go first, since you don't know what we're doing." Chris sighed heavily and unbuttoned the top few buttons of his shirt. Chloe scooted around so that she was sitting in front of him. Carefully she removed the golden rod from the tongs and held it in her hand like a pencil. She then began to draw a Triquetra on Chris's chest over his heart. His face wrinkled up with pain, "Sorry," she apologized as she continued to draw.
"Don't worry, I'll get you back," he squinted through the pain.
After she had finished drawing, she sat back and admired her artwork—glowing with a golden light from Chris's chest. She then picked up one of the two remaining red roses and again pricked her finger on a thorn. Chloe placed her pricked finger against Chris's skin over the Triquetra, "Blood to blood," she smiled as the light changed from gold to red and the image of the Triquetra faded into his skin.
Chris looked down at his chest where the symbol should have been, "What happened?"
"It worked," Chloe smiled, "It's marked you on the inside, on your heart, on your soul."
"My turn," Chris picked up the tongs and removed the last piece of gold from the potion, "I'm not a good artist," he apologized before even starting.
"It's ok," Chloe shook her head with a smile.
Chris cradled the golden rod in his hand like a pencil as he sketched the Triquetra on Chloe's chest, "Good thing you wore a tank top," he commented. Chloe grunted an "Uh-huh" through her pain. Chris was careful to make sure all the corners overlapped, the circle was complete. He then reached behind him and picked up the remaining red rose. He pricked his finger with it a last time as Chloe had before placing it against her skin, "Blood to blood," he whispered. The Triquetra on Chloe's chest also changed from a golden glow to a red one before fading from sight. "Too cool, Chloe," Chris observed.
Chloe sighed with relief, the pain of the burn was gone and now all she could sense was calm. "Shall we try it out?" she asked as the pink fog that had hidden them from sight began to fade.
"We shall," Chris remarked pulling his ring off his finger.
Chloe did the same with her own. *Can you hear me?* Chloe looked to Chris hopefully.
He smiled, *Clear as crystal,* he thought back.
They both quietly collected the cauldron, mortar and pestle, candle, and potion ingredients before orbing or shimmering back to the manor.