"You wished to see me?" Daniel gulped down a wave of vomit and spit that seemed to crawl up his throat. "My Lord?"

The thing by which he referred to as Lord, he knew it was no God. That it did not dwell in the heavens. It wasn't good, and it wasn't nice – or pretty. But he worshiped it, because, in the end what he wished to gain from it outweighed all other things. It could give him power, and immortality. These were gifts too precious to go without, not now that he knew there was something he could do to change it.

Around four years ago, he had been a normal man – seeking nothing more out of life than his pay check, and maybe a family sometime down the line. But four years ago, everything had changed. He'd almost ended up as the victim of a demon, a banshee. Her curdling scream was almost ready to take his soul, when something had killed her. He didn't know what, and he didn't know why – but he'd been saved. That night changed his life. He saw in the shadows what other men did not. He saw the uses that demons could have to serve man. Demons had been blessed with powers beyond normal men's imaginations. They walked about this Earth without so much as a clue as to what really went on in the background. The seeds of evil that grew all around them, they had not a clue. Daniel knew if he could just reach out, and strike a compromise with a truly malevolent creature, with command that controlled all others, he himself could live forever, and be powerful like them as well.

At first he didn't know what to do, or where to look. Magic books he bought were useless, unless he wanted to gain a lover, or some such trash. What he desired was not going to be bought at any Barns and Nobles. What he needed was a book written by Magical creatures, for their own uses. A Grimore, is what they called it – A book of rituals and spells at the nastiest level. So, he set out to find himself a demon, any demon that could give him a pathway to knowledge. But how was a man supposed to get attention from demons who normally only look to humans as meals, targets, and play things? That's when he got his idea.

"How many new followers have you collected thus far?" It gurgled.

Daniel was sure he didn't want to know what that sound really was. "My Lord, you will be very pleased. We added almost ten more worshipers today alone!" He bragged.

"Good." The gurgling sound emanated from its bowels and moved upward toward its Adam's apple.

The human turned slightly pale, and tasted more vomit in his mouth – which he quickly swallowed. "The day of their baptisms is nearing, and then you will have all the... donations you require." He smiled.

"Indeed." It said with a quirky tone. "Now leave – I have too much to do to be bothered by the likes of you."

Daniel bowed his head and backed away. "As you wish."

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It had been two days, and no demons had attacked. Normally this would have made Paige feel happy – but this was not the feeling she felt. It was more like she was trapped in the eye of a storm, and the calm had hit, but she knew it was about to get ugly. She knew it. Down to her bones she felt it – and it sent a chill down her spine.

Here she was a witch – a powerful witch, a charmed one, one of three charmed sisters. Only, the balance they had enjoyed for the last few years was slipping. It was giving way to something bigger than her, bigger than her shared destiny with her sisters. It was scary. To think that piper might actually begin to embody magic and wisdom, as they knew it, was kind of – well, it frightened her. No one was supposed to embody that much, the soul can't handle it. What if Piper turned evil, what if that was what turned Wyatt in the future? What if that's what killed Piper in the future that Chris had come back to change? Her questions were endless, and her answers were slim. It was true, Piper had always seemed stronger then herself and Phoebe. Neither of them had ever said anything. None of them really wanted to talk about it. All that time, and they never even guessed that maybe, just maybe, Piper's end destiny wasn't going to be shared with theirs. That's something that scared her even more. Everything they had as witches, as sisters they shared. This was something that had been predestined – but only for Piper. Why her? Why not Phoebe, why not herself?

It wasn't that she was jealous of Piper; God knows the woman had more on her plate then Paige ever wanted to have. She has two magical – very magical – sons, a husband who was an Elder, and now this. Powers so out of control they actually made her vault into fits of rage. Nope, Paige didn't want any of that, and she wished that Piper, who just wanted a normal life, didn't have to carry it around either. Piper was her idol, the person by which she compared herself to. Piper was also her mentor; she had taught her everything she knew about her powers.

Even with all her crap, Piper was still trying her best to be there always for her boys, and for Leo. All while helping to track down this new demon of the week – or rather – human. Which, led her to this thought.

"What if I could track this Daniel Barker guy down with a few of my old social services buddies?" Paige asked Phoebe and Piper, as they discussed what to do with their latest threat.

Cole, who had shimmered in right this moment, answered. "That's a good idea. I think the less magic you use around this guy, the better."

Phoebe, crossed her arms and sighed, saying. "Why is that?"

"Well, because I think whatever his end-game goal is, he's using demons to his advantage – you wouldn't want him to realize he could use witches too, would you?" He answered.

Piper was just all-around annoyed by Cole even being in her presence, and she made it clear. "Look, I think that until we know more about this guy, we shouldn't make a move on him at all."

Cole was a little disturbed by Piper's solution. "But that won't eliminate the threat..." he began.

"That's just it. Nothing can eliminate the threat – not really. So why bother trying? Lets just get as much info as we can on this guy, and then kill him – or whatever it is we're supposed to do to a renegade idiot who thinks he can use demons to fulfill his every perverted dream." With that Piper stood up, picked up her cup of coffee, and headed into the living room.

"Well." Cole breathed, a little stunned. "That's not the sister-in-law I know and love."

Paige shook her head. "Nope..."

"Yea, I know..." Phoebe muttered, still a little freaked out that somewhere out there, she was not only in love with Cole, but happily married. Then, looking to Cole. "Shouldn't you... Oh I don't know... be trying to get home, or something?"

Cole sighed, scratched his hand, and smiled, teasingly at her. "I thought I was home..." Then standing up straight, he became a little more serious. "Right now, I feel I could do more good here."