TWELVE
"Are you a witch?" Cole asked Margaret.
"What?" Margaret questioned. "No, of course not. Witches don't exist.
They ....they aren't real."
"Listen," said Piper, "if you are a witch you can tell us. Believe me we
understand."
"Witches are put to death here," Margaret whispered. "There hasn't been a
witch here in over a century. I'm just another gadling like the rest."
Piper looked at Paige and then at Cole. Obviously ten years of slavery
had frightened this woman nearly out of her mind. Even today there were some
places where witches were despised and persecuted on the mortal plane. They
could only imagine what it must have been like ten years ago. And that would be
all the memory Margaret would have of San Francisco. Finally, Piper looked at
Margaret.
"Blessed be," said Piper very deliberately.
Margaret looked at her in near shock.
"You?" she questioned. "You're a," her voice dropped to a whisper,
"witch?"
"Yes," said Piper. "My name is Piper Halliwell. This is my sister Paige
Matthews. That's Cole Turner. He's sort of a friend of the family."
"Halliwell?" questioned Margaret. "I used to know a Patty Halliwell years
ago. We worked at a restaurant together."
"That was probably our mother," said Piper. "She worked at a restaurant
until about 1975 or so when Phoebe, our other sister, was born."
"Yes," said Margaret. "The Patty Halliwell I knew quit to have a baby.
And she had two daughters. Uh, Piper and Prue I think they were."
"Prue was our older sister," said Paige. "She died about four years ago."
"So, you are a witch?" questioned Cole.
"Yes," said Margaret. "I was casting a spell when something went wrong.
It opened a portal of some kind and thrust me here. None of my powers work and
my spells don't function. My only hope was to find the place where I entered
here and see if I could open a way back. But like I said, I was captured before
I could do that."
"Well, that answers one question," said Piper. "About whether we have any
powers or not. It looks like you're the only one with powers, Cole."
"But only demons have powers here," said Margaret. "And then only the
most powerful ones."
"Yes, well, I'm half demon," said Cole.
"Half demon?" questioned Margaret, fear showing in her eyes.
"Relax," said Cole smiling. "I'm a good demon. I'm also half human."
"There are no such things as good demons," protested Margaret.
"Well, he's the closest thing we have," said Paige. "But you don't have
to worry about him. He's on our side."
"Listen," said Piper, "a demon named Gastion kidnapped Phoebe, our other
sister. We're pretty sure he brought her here. We've come to get her back.
But no one here seems to know anything about him. You've been here a long time.
Is there anything you can tell us that might help?"
"The name isn't familiar," said Margaret, glancing uneasily at Cole.
"I've never heard of a Gastion here or on the mortal plane. But there are a
large number of high-level demons around. It's possible he's using another
name."
"He would have come here about thirty years ago," said Cole. "More
recently, he would have brought Phoebe here with him. Are there any rumors of a
demon bringing a human woman here?"
"None that I've heard," said Margaret. "Communication between villages is
sporadic at best. Most tend to keep to themselves. Most demons control a
specific area and they rarely interact with each other. If this Gastion is
here, he probably controls an area somewhere else. The demons don't like to
spend much time together. They're afraid one of them might try to take over."
"Sounds like the underworld to me," said Cole. "Is there any way we can
find out? Maybe someone who might know what happens in other villages?"
"There's a rumor," said Margaret. "More of a folktale, really. To the
north of here is a small mountain. The tale is that a powerful being lives on
that mountain. This being is called the Oracle. It's supposed to know
everything that goes on around here."
"How far is this mountain from here?" asked Piper.
"I don't know for sure," said Margaret. "Four or five days I think. But
you won't make it. It's protected by terrible guards. No one ever sees the
Oracle. It's supposed to be very secretive?"
"It?" questioned Paige. "Why do you keep calling this Oracle it?"
"No one knows for sure if it's male or female," said Margaret. "It's been
decades since it was seen or heard from. Some say it no longer exists but the
legends are that it's immortal."
"Well, at least we have some place to start," said Cole. "We can go see
this Oracle and find out what it knows. You can come with us."
"I can't," said Margaret bowing her head. "I belong to Amador. Not even
a demon has the authority to take a gadling without payment."
"And we have no money," said Paige. "What do we do?"
"Maybe he'll make Margaret a gift to us," said Cole smiling coyly. "I'm
sure a few veiled threats should induce him enough to make the donation."
"It won't work," said Margaret. "They have laws here about the sale of
gadlings. Not even a demon can take a gadling without payment."
"How come you aren't fattened up like the others?" asked Piper, noticing
how thin Margaret was. "After being here for so long I would think you'd have
put on enough weight to make you acceptable to these monthly feasts we've heard
about."
"I purge," said Margaret. "I make myself throw up after I eat. They
think I have some form of illness that keeps me from gaining weight. But I
serve Amador well enough in other areas so he keeps me around. I'm the oldest
of his holdings."
"Well, don't worry, Margaret," said Piper. "We're going to find some way
to take you with us. And when we go back to San Francisco, you're coming with
us."
"What's that?" gasped Margaret looking at the window.
The sun had set earlier and it was dark outside. A light mist floated
through the air causing strange shadows and shapes in the failing light. When
they all looked toward the window they saw the same thing. It appeared to be
the face of a man looking in. It remained for only a moment but then vanished.
And there was no doubt in any of their minds whose face they had seen in the
window. It was Leo.
"Are you a witch?" Cole asked Margaret.
"What?" Margaret questioned. "No, of course not. Witches don't exist.
They ....they aren't real."
"Listen," said Piper, "if you are a witch you can tell us. Believe me we
understand."
"Witches are put to death here," Margaret whispered. "There hasn't been a
witch here in over a century. I'm just another gadling like the rest."
Piper looked at Paige and then at Cole. Obviously ten years of slavery
had frightened this woman nearly out of her mind. Even today there were some
places where witches were despised and persecuted on the mortal plane. They
could only imagine what it must have been like ten years ago. And that would be
all the memory Margaret would have of San Francisco. Finally, Piper looked at
Margaret.
"Blessed be," said Piper very deliberately.
Margaret looked at her in near shock.
"You?" she questioned. "You're a," her voice dropped to a whisper,
"witch?"
"Yes," said Piper. "My name is Piper Halliwell. This is my sister Paige
Matthews. That's Cole Turner. He's sort of a friend of the family."
"Halliwell?" questioned Margaret. "I used to know a Patty Halliwell years
ago. We worked at a restaurant together."
"That was probably our mother," said Piper. "She worked at a restaurant
until about 1975 or so when Phoebe, our other sister, was born."
"Yes," said Margaret. "The Patty Halliwell I knew quit to have a baby.
And she had two daughters. Uh, Piper and Prue I think they were."
"Prue was our older sister," said Paige. "She died about four years ago."
"So, you are a witch?" questioned Cole.
"Yes," said Margaret. "I was casting a spell when something went wrong.
It opened a portal of some kind and thrust me here. None of my powers work and
my spells don't function. My only hope was to find the place where I entered
here and see if I could open a way back. But like I said, I was captured before
I could do that."
"Well, that answers one question," said Piper. "About whether we have any
powers or not. It looks like you're the only one with powers, Cole."
"But only demons have powers here," said Margaret. "And then only the
most powerful ones."
"Yes, well, I'm half demon," said Cole.
"Half demon?" questioned Margaret, fear showing in her eyes.
"Relax," said Cole smiling. "I'm a good demon. I'm also half human."
"There are no such things as good demons," protested Margaret.
"Well, he's the closest thing we have," said Paige. "But you don't have
to worry about him. He's on our side."
"Listen," said Piper, "a demon named Gastion kidnapped Phoebe, our other
sister. We're pretty sure he brought her here. We've come to get her back.
But no one here seems to know anything about him. You've been here a long time.
Is there anything you can tell us that might help?"
"The name isn't familiar," said Margaret, glancing uneasily at Cole.
"I've never heard of a Gastion here or on the mortal plane. But there are a
large number of high-level demons around. It's possible he's using another
name."
"He would have come here about thirty years ago," said Cole. "More
recently, he would have brought Phoebe here with him. Are there any rumors of a
demon bringing a human woman here?"
"None that I've heard," said Margaret. "Communication between villages is
sporadic at best. Most tend to keep to themselves. Most demons control a
specific area and they rarely interact with each other. If this Gastion is
here, he probably controls an area somewhere else. The demons don't like to
spend much time together. They're afraid one of them might try to take over."
"Sounds like the underworld to me," said Cole. "Is there any way we can
find out? Maybe someone who might know what happens in other villages?"
"There's a rumor," said Margaret. "More of a folktale, really. To the
north of here is a small mountain. The tale is that a powerful being lives on
that mountain. This being is called the Oracle. It's supposed to know
everything that goes on around here."
"How far is this mountain from here?" asked Piper.
"I don't know for sure," said Margaret. "Four or five days I think. But
you won't make it. It's protected by terrible guards. No one ever sees the
Oracle. It's supposed to be very secretive?"
"It?" questioned Paige. "Why do you keep calling this Oracle it?"
"No one knows for sure if it's male or female," said Margaret. "It's been
decades since it was seen or heard from. Some say it no longer exists but the
legends are that it's immortal."
"Well, at least we have some place to start," said Cole. "We can go see
this Oracle and find out what it knows. You can come with us."
"I can't," said Margaret bowing her head. "I belong to Amador. Not even
a demon has the authority to take a gadling without payment."
"And we have no money," said Paige. "What do we do?"
"Maybe he'll make Margaret a gift to us," said Cole smiling coyly. "I'm
sure a few veiled threats should induce him enough to make the donation."
"It won't work," said Margaret. "They have laws here about the sale of
gadlings. Not even a demon can take a gadling without payment."
"How come you aren't fattened up like the others?" asked Piper, noticing
how thin Margaret was. "After being here for so long I would think you'd have
put on enough weight to make you acceptable to these monthly feasts we've heard
about."
"I purge," said Margaret. "I make myself throw up after I eat. They
think I have some form of illness that keeps me from gaining weight. But I
serve Amador well enough in other areas so he keeps me around. I'm the oldest
of his holdings."
"Well, don't worry, Margaret," said Piper. "We're going to find some way
to take you with us. And when we go back to San Francisco, you're coming with
us."
"What's that?" gasped Margaret looking at the window.
The sun had set earlier and it was dark outside. A light mist floated
through the air causing strange shadows and shapes in the failing light. When
they all looked toward the window they saw the same thing. It appeared to be
the face of a man looking in. It remained for only a moment but then vanished.
And there was no doubt in any of their minds whose face they had seen in the
window. It was Leo.