FIFTEEN

"You said this Oracle was four or five days north of here," said Cole as

the party made camp that night.

"I think so," said Margaret. "To be honest, I don't even know if it

really exists. All I've ever heard are rumors."

"Well, we don't have any other leads," said Cole. "Besides, if this

Oracle does exist, it should be able to tell us where Phoebe is. And even a way

out of this place."

"I wish I could be more help," said Margaret. "I'm afraid there's not

many facts I can give you. Gadlings don't usually get told much except what to

do."

"Humans," corrected Piper. "You're not one of these gadlings. You don't

belong here. And don't worry about it. We'll do fine no matter how much help

you can give us. The important thing is now you're free."

"There is no such thing as a free gadling," said Margaret.

"Well, you belong to me," said Cole smiling. "And as far as anyone else

is concerned, so do Piper and Paige. If they believe that, it might help to

avert trouble."

"I don't belong to anyone," insisted Paige.

"Only on paper," said Cole, "and only as long as we're here. From the

looks of things that's probably the best face to put on anyone we run into.

Like I said, it might help to avert trouble."

"Well, if there is any trouble," said Piper, "all you have to do is change

into Belthazor. That should stop any problems before they develop."

"I'd rather not do that," said Cole. "I didn't say anything before but I

had trouble controlling Belthazor. It's like he was a different person inside

me. I only changed because I lost my temper. If I change again, I'm not real

sure if I'll be able to change back. And you don't want Belthazor loose without

me to control him."

"That might be why most of the higher level demons don't appear very

often," said Margaret. "Among the gadlings here it's well known that most

demons remain in their human form. Only on rare occasions do they ever show

their demonic form."

"So what's to stop someone from claiming to be a demon when they really

aren't one?" Paige asked.

"I don't know," said Margaret. "I only know that those who claim to be

demons actually are demons."

"Let's hope we don't have to find out," said Cole. "That little augury

ploy only worked because Amodor saw me change. He knew I was a demon. I didn't

have to prove it to him."

"Speaking of auguries," said Piper, looking around, "has anyone seen Leo?

I haven't seen him since he disappeared earlier this afternoon."

"I told you that manifesting himself was taxing," said Margaret. "He's

probably conserving his strength. It gets easier with practice, as I

understand. But the first few times can be very tiring."

"How do you know so much about all this?" Paige asked.

"I've been here ten years," said Margaret. "You learn a lot of things in

that amount of time. Just like you learned about being a witch after you

learned you were one."

"I've only been a witch a couple of years," said Paige. "Lucky for me I

have Piper and Phoebe to help."

"Well," said Cole, "I think we'd better take a cue from Leo and get some

rest. We have a long journey ahead of us and we need all our strength."

"Good idea," said Piper. "I'm worn out. Good night Leo, wherever you

are."

The small group got ready to for bed.

Piper opened her eyes and saw that the sun was up. The sky was as clear

and blue as it had been on the previous day. Only a few puffy clouds floated

lazily in the distance. She looked over and saw Paige, Cole, and Margaret still

just waking up. Even though they had to sleep on the ground she felt well

rested.

"Good morning, sleepy head," said a voice behind her. "The sun's been up

for an hour. I thought you were going to sleep the whole morning away."

Piper turned and saw Leo sitting on a log nearby.

"Leo," she squealed, rushing over to hug him.

But as before, she simply passed through him. He was still non-corporeal.

As she passed through his body she tripped on the log he was sitting on and fell

clamoring to the ground. She turned over and saw Paige, Cole, and Margaret all

laughing.

"It's not funny," said Piper, only slightly irritated.

"I'm sorry, honey, but it is," said Paige.

"I have to remember that Leo isn't real," said Piper brushing herself off.

"I'm as real as I ever was," said Leo. "I just don't have a physical

body."

"I see you finally got the hang of materializing," said Cole.

"Yeah," said Leo. "It's really very easy. I guess I was just trying too

hard before. It's kind of like orbing. Don't think about it too much. Just

decide what you want to do and sort of let it happen. Hello, Margaret."

"Hello, Leo," said Margaret. "I'm sorry if I seem a bit unfriendly. I'm

used to apparitions being considered evil omens. Old habits are hard to break."

"I know," said Leo. "Just remember I'm not an apparition. I'm a White

Lighter. Maybe that will help."

"I'm hungry," said Paige. "Is there anything to eat around here?"

"There are all kinds of fruit trees, not to mention roots and berries,"

said Margaret. "You just have to know where to look. Lucky for you three I

know exactly where to look."

"Let's get to it, then," said Paige. "I'm starved."

"Where have you been all this time?" Piper asked Leo as Margaret and Paige

went to look for some food.

"Right here," said Leo. "I could see and hear everything you were doing.

I just couldn't let you know I was here. It's not easy being a ghost."

"Well, Margaret says you should return to normal when we leave this

place," said Cole looking around. "Assuming we can find a way out."

"First things first," said Piper. "We came here to get Phoebe. Let's

find her and then we can look for a way out."

They all had a good breakfast of the fruits, berries, and roots that

Margaret had helped locate for them. It was surprisingly good. It was far from

their usual breakfast but they found they didn't miss the dishes Piper usually

fixed for them.

"Okay," said Cole when they had finished breakfast, "I think the first

thing we need to do is find this Oracle. It's our best chance of finding Phoebe

and getting out of here."

"What if this Oracle doesn't exist?" asked Leo. "Have any of you thought

of that?"

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it," said Cole.

"You seem to think you're in charge," said Piper.

"Sorry," said Cole. "Force of habit. "I'm not trying to order anyone

around. And if anyone has any better ideas I'm sure we'll all be glad to hear

them."

As it turned out, no one had any other ideas. Not even Margaret who knew

this land better than any of them. With no other options available at the

moment they all decided to seek out the Oracle. As they continued their trek

north a small figure followed from a distance watching for what they would do

next.