Many thanks for your reviews. Here is the next chapter.
Chapter 5
Celina was the last to arrive to another emergency meeting of the Lugel's Council. Her beautiful face expressed extreme annoyance. And her mood did not improve when she heard Dorian's remark.
"You are late."
Her frustration spilled out, "Oh, excuse me," she exclaimed, "I was in the middle of the performance of a dying woman, trying to complete a crucial step on fulfilling the Prophecy. And if my memory is correct we spent our last emergency meeting talking about how important it was."
She sounded very annoyed and Dorian preferred not to start an argument with her. Instead he asked in the most polite tone, "So how did it go?"
"It went well," the French Lugel explained curtly. "They totally bought the whole thing. And the presence of the doctor who confirmed Elisa's death prevented them from saying too much."
"Doctor?" Radgiv raised his eyebrows.
"Yes," Celina smiled triumphantly. "It was Cole's idea. He was worried that something might go wrong so he decided to come as well and play the part of the doctor, obviously in a different form."
"So what will happen next?" Angela asked.
Celina shrugged, "I think there shouldn't be too many problems. Elizabeth will meet with the warlocks and offer them the union. In my opinion they will pick Nicole even without any intervention from our side. If by some mysterious reason they would have any doubts we can always use a bit of telepathic persuasion to push them to this decision. And when that's settled we'll be half way through our prophecy."
Thoughtful silences followed her words and then Carlos expressed his concerns. "This is just way too easy. I just can't see it going smoothly."
Celina heaved an impatient sigh, "Of course, you don't," she said sarcastically, "but let me tell you, when you plan well, things do go smoothly. And if something goes wrong, we'll deal with it. But I don't see the point of sitting here and worrying now about something that has not happened yet, especially when we don't even know if it ever will."
Carlos was about to retort, when Vladimir interrupted him, "What worries me," he said thoughtful, "is why Elizabeth even came up with this idea?"
"What do you mean, why?" Sylvester asked surprised, "She needs a union with the warlocks to get the throne. And the marriage is the obvious way to get it."
"Yes, the marriage to a real warlock," Vladimir objected, "but why did not she suggest just that? Why does she want Nicole to marry Cole? It does not make any sense."
"May be she wants him to be happy?" O-Li asked.
But Vladimir just shook his head and Carlos snorted, "Of course, she does!" the latter exclaimed, "She is a full blooded demon, she does not know what happiness is."
Celina gave Carlos a contemptuous look and Vladimir said, "No, it's not that. I spent a lot of time studying Elizabeth's past when we first thought about her becoming the new Source. She never even acknowledged any of Belthazor's girlfriends. And he came close to marriage several times in his career. One of the candidates was Raynor's daughter. But she always destroyed any chances for such marriage. And now she's actively pushing for it. And it makes me think that she might know something."
The Lugel's Council buzzed with the shocked voices. "It cannot be true," Dorian summarized the common idea. "She cannot know about the Prophecy. It is absolutely impossible. Only Lugels are able to read it."
"I am not saying she knows everything," Vladimir stated calmly, "but she might know bits of it. She's related to the demons from Signa plain. And they are famous for their prophets. There is a chance they were able to see something about Belthazor's future and that's why Elizabeth is pushing Cole and Nicole together."
Celina shook her head, "You might be right, but we can't do anything about it."
"We can scan her mind," Radgiv suggested. "Then we'll know for sure."
"And risk turning her against us?" Celina objected. "Only the Chosen Two can read the mind of such a powerful demon without any risk of being spotted. Plus it only helps us that Elizabeth wants Cole and Nicole to marry. Without her, God knows, how long it would have taken them."
"So you suggest we just go along?" Dorian asked.
Celina shot a look at Vladimir and the latter replied, "I think for now it's the best thing to do. We'll keep an eye on her. But I am convinced that Elizabeth will not do anything to harm her son."
Carlos shook his head, "May be, that's true, but I fully believe her capable to harm Nicole."
"Oh, no, not any more," Celina smiled, "she knows by now that harming Nicole will mean harming Cole and losing him forever. And she'll never do that. She is the mother."
Carlos gave her a sceptical look but did not say anything.
"Well, that's settled, then," Dorian summarized. "We should all proceed with out tasks and hope for the best."
Elizabeth was sitting around the negotiating table. On her left sat high priest Corado, on her right Henry Karenian and opposite was Phillip Des Noures. The negotiations were already going on for an hour and had not really moved anywhere. The first half hour was devoted to discussing the situation in the Underworld, which was actually very constructive. Both parties agreed that the evil needed a new leader and the sooner this leader was crowned the better. But the next thirty minutes were spent on throwing ambiguous hints and the parties did not move any closer to the main point of the discussion. It was frustrating but the demoness knew that this part was the necessary "evil". It made both parties aware that the meeting was important and that the other party knew what they were talking about. But now it was time to cut to the chase. Elizabeth took a deep breath and fixed both warlocks with a calm stare,
"Since we all agree here that the Underworld needs a new leader the question is who this leader will be. And before we start naming candidates I want to highlight that the new Source has to be able to unite all fractions, to stop in-fighting and help the Underworld regenerate its former strength."
Both warlocks nodded eyeing the demoness wearily. They knew Belthora as a powerful, sneaky and very smart demon and this knowledge made them respect her and distrust her at the same time.
Elizabeth acknowledged their agreement and continued, "Therefore we need a candidate who will be respected and accepted by all fractions. And it would help a lot if the demonic fraction and warlock covens could support one candidate."
The warlock's eyes narrowed, but Elizabeth pretended that she did not notice. It was time to put her offer on the table. "You know that in the history of the Underworld there was never a warlock Source."
"As there was no female Source," Karenian piped in.
"True," Elizabeth smiled coolly, "but it's also true that demons are much more likely to accept a female Source than a warlock Source."
The French warlock smiled evilly, "But the demons are no longer the strongest fraction," he remarked.
"I am afraid I have to disagree with you on that one," priest Corado objected. "They might not be the largest fraction but I think it is safe to say that they are the most powerful."
Des Noures just shrugged indicating that he had his own opinion on the matter.
The demoness shifted her gaze from one warlock to another, "We can argue about who is the strongest for a long time. But I think it is safe to say that if there was ever a power struggle between demons and warlocks it would be a very long and bloody battle. And neither fraction would benefit from it especially considering that there are other fractions, which now are too weak to contend against demons and warlocks. The battle would weaken the main fractions and give the smaller ones the chance they've been looking for so long to rise in rank. And I think I am safe to say that neither of us cherishes such an opportunity."
"So what do you suggest?" des Noures asked slightly ironically, expecting Elizabeth to suggest that she or her son Belthazor should become the next Source.
"I suggest we strike a deal," the demoness replied calmly but her eyes dared the warlocks to laugh at her.
"And which deal will that be?" Karenian asked insinuatingly. "That we will support a demonic candidate?"
"Yes," Elizabeth answered looking at him sternly. The warlock was about to make a sarcastic retort but the demoness bit him to it. "I suggest that you support me and in return for your support you will have a guarantee that the next Source would be half warlock."
Her words had an effect of the explosion. Des Noures paled and asked in a slightly hoarse voice, "What do you mean by that?"
"I mean that if you support me as the new Source than my son Belthazor would marry a warlock from one of your covens and their son would be an heir to the throne."
No self restrain could prevent the exchange of shocked glances between the two warlocks. Karenian was the first to regain some control over his tongue. "And Belthazor is fine with this?" he asked trying to win some time while he could organise his thoughts. "I thought he was married to a witch?"
"This is long over," Elizabeth replied coldly her black eyes daring the warlocks to doubt her word. "Belthazor is working hard on restoring the order in the Underworld and he agrees that this marriage if done on proper conditions could unite the Underworld."
"Why does not Belthazor become the Source himself," des Noures asked warily. "At the end of the day, he already was one and he would be an obvious candidate."
The priest Corado spoke up in his usual soft voice, "We believe that the older and wiser candidate would be more suitable at the moment. The demons represent a united front here and Belthazor supports our decision."
"But if you are going to become the Source now, than Belthazor would inherit the throne from you and only after that it would be the time of his half warlock son - it is almost the same as never. Why would we want to wait so long?" Karenian asked.
"Belthazor would not be the Source," Corado answered, "He would abdicate in favour of his son."
Two warlocks exchanged meaningful looks. "We need time to think about it," des Noures finally said. "You are asking a lot of us. Why should we wait for something for so long when we can get it now?"
"I completely understand that you need time to think," Elizabeth answered, "And I am sure that you won't take too long. With regard to your last comment, I doubt that it would be easy for you to get the throne now, considering you don't even have the Grimour."
"Neither do you," Karenian shot up.
The demoness did not say anything but just smiled. And her smile was worth a thousand words.
When the warlocks disappeared from the meeting room, high priest Corado turned to Elizabeth, "Do you think they would go for it?" he asked.
"We have to wait and see," the demoness replied smiling mysteriously, "but I think there is a very good chance, they will."
Corado gave her a penetrating glance but she did not add anything. "Well, then you better make sure you have the Grimour," he muttered and with a light bow he disappeared.
Elizabeth made sure that she was alone and then turned around, "Belthazor," she called quietly.
Two figures dressed in black hooded robes separated from the walls. Cole pushed his hood away from his face but his companion kept hers on.
"So what do you think?" Elizabeth asked.
The half demon shrugged, "I think they will accept your offer." His companion lifted her hand and mother and son fell quiet. The three of them exchanged glances and shimmered out. When they rematerialized in the Elizabeth' apartment, Nicole pushed the hood away from her face.
"I think it's safer to talk here," she explained her earlier warning. "I could not sense anything, but better be safe than sorry. I don't want "uncle" Henry and my "Dad" to suspect that we are manipulating them."
Elizabeth nodded, "How does it go with them?" she asked.
Nicole shrugged her shoulders, "Tiring," she said finally. "They constantly ask me questions about Elisa. No, they totally believe that I am their niece and daughter respectively," she foresaw Elizabeth's question. "But both of them still love Elisa so much that they want to know her every day for the past two years. You should have seen both of them when she died. I never thought warlocks were capable of crying like that. They kept asking me to stay with them. I had to fight really hard against it. Told them that I don't want to fight with my cousins and half brothers."
"Do you think that they will still pick you to marry Belthazor," Elizabeth asked.
Nicole shot Cole a questioning look. "I think so," he answered, "I was keeping an eye on their thoughts and both of them immediately thought about the "prophecy" that Elisa told them. And none of them would go against her will."
"You think so?" Elizabeth asked doubtfully.
Cole smiled sarcastically, "Come on, mother, they are both so sentimental about her, that I can't believe that these are two powerful warlocks and not two housewives. And if you had heard what "Elisa" told them, I bet you would not break her last will either. Even I believed her and I knew perfectly well that it was just a performance." He noticed a smirk on Nicole's face and smiled himself, "Fine," Cole sighed, "a very talented performance."
"Okay," Elizabeth nodded indicating that she was satisfied with their answers. "I trust you would keep an eye on the situation and if necessary take steps to correct it?"
"Absolutely," Nicole confirmed, "I also think we should be going. Never know when my new found relatives would want to discuss the situation with me."
"Before you go," Elizabeth stopped the young Lugels from leaving. "We need the Grimour. Are you getting anywhere with it?"
Cole sighed, "Not as far as I would have liked to. But we'll get on the case, promise."
With these words they shimmered away. They reappeared in the Penthouse and looked at each other. Both were tired. Since the eventful night of Elisa's death they did not have much free time. Juggling work, new found relatives, Lugels, keeping an eye on the developments in the Underworld and the Elders realm meant that they worked sometimes for eighteen hours a day. And during these eighteen hours they could not relax for a single second. Nicole suffered most because during her meeting with her new warlock relatives she had to constantly be alert in order not to blow her cover. The presence of Cole helped her immensely. From the first moment he insisted on being close to her during these meetings and she was very grateful to him. Though she could not see him and he could not substitute her, she could always feel his presence and it gave her strength.
Cole pulled Nicole into a hug. She snuggled to him feeling the strength of his body and just forgetting the whole world around her. "Do we have to go anywhere else today?" she asked quietly.
He hesitated for a moment, part of him really wanting to spend the rest of the evening just with the two of them and not deal with the whole magic crap. Nicole lifted her head and stared into his eyes, an understanding but slightly disappointed smile touching her lips. "I guess the answer is yes," she muttered and pulled away. "So what is it?"
"I think we should go and speak to Leo. Find out where he hid the Grimour," he answered apologetically. "I have a feeling that we will need it soon and I would like to have some time to retrieve it."
Nicole grimaced as if she'd just eaten a raw lemon, "Fine," she said, "We'll go and see our whitelighter friend." Her mouth twisted into the wry smile, "Make his day! Do you think he is going to open a bottle of champagne to welcome us?"
"More likely he'll try to punch me again," Cole remarked sarcastically.
They blurred away and reappeared in front of the Halliwell's manor. All the windows were dark and they quickly found out that nobody was home.
"Where now?" Nicole asked.
"Probably P3," he answered, "If he is not there, we can try the Elders realm."
"Oh, no", Nicole protested, "We'll try P3, but I am not going to the Elders realm, not now. If Leo is not in P3, we'll go home and try to find him tomorrow."
Cole grinned at her, "That's the words of the wise Lugel."
"Shut it, Turner," Nicole glared at him. "Or I'll start calling you Mr. Boring." She did not wait for him to answer and shimmered away.
She reappeared in front of P3. Cole reappeared straight after her but even before he finished blurring his quiet hissing voice reached her ears, "You'll pay for that later." Nicole just looked at him innocently, but the half demon just strode into the club. It was packed as usual but Cole immediately noticed three sisters and their whitelighter sitting around the bar.
"Just like three musketeers and their faithful servant," he thought to himself.
Leo was enjoying the calm evening, well, as much as he managed to enjoy anything lately. He constantly felt on edge expecting any moment for the Elders to clip his wings or to blow him into million of pieces. Being a double agent was not much fun but he had no choice. Often his thoughts drifted to Nicole and especially Cole. These two ruined his life but had they also saved it?
His thoughts were interrupted by a tall couple approaching the bar. They ordered their drinks and stood just a few feet from him. They looked completely ordinary and nobody except Leo paid any attention to them. He turned away when a familiar female voice sounded in his head. "Hi Leo, we need to talk." The whitelighter jerked his head and stared at the couple incredulously. His eyes met with the black eyes of the man. The latter smiled wryly and for a split second his eyes changed into very familiar piercing blue. The next moment they returned to their previous colour. The couple picked up their drinks and headed to the back door.
It took Leo a minute to compose himself. He touched Piper's elbow. "I've got to go, honey," he said. "I won't be long." Piper just nodded being busy with the customer and Leo made his way through the crowd towards the exit. The warm wind touched his face.
"Hi Leo," he heard behind him. The whitelighter turned his head and saw Cole and Nicole standing in the shadow of the tree.
"Hi," the whitelighter's face was far from expressing delight on seeing them. "What brings you here?"
Anger flared in Cole. Leo's stubborn arrogance made him want to shake the noble whitelighter just to get some sense into his head. The half demon pushed these thoughts away. Anger was not going to help him with his task.
"We need you to tell us where did you hide the Grimour?" Nicole replied calmly. Leo's face paled and she sighed frustrated by his negative reaction, "We need to know which volcano you chucked it into?"
"How do you know about this?" Leo glared at them.
"The same way we knew about where your charge lives," Nicole said wincing inside from the fury written on Leo's face.
"And why exactly do you want to know where the Grimour is hidden?" Leo asked bitterly.
"Why do you think?" Cole replied curtly.
"You want to crown the new Source?" Leo exclaimed in outrage.
"Bingo," the half demon gave Leo a wry smile.
"Well, I am not helping you in that," the whitelighter raved. "I did not sign up to that."
The frustration that Cole felt finally spilled out. "Then you better sign up to it now," he roared. "Because if you don't, there is no point for you to do anything else." Leo's face expressed complete shock and Cole heaved an impatient sigh. "For God's sake man, use your brain. You did not expect that we could negotiate a peace between the good and evil without having a new Source. Who do you think would keep the Underworld under control, your Elders?"
Leo did not answer. Once again his thoughts were in complete disarray. Spying on the Elders was one thing but actively helping the reincarnation of the new Source of All Evil was a completely different matter.
"Leo," Nicole's voice sounded calm and sympathetic. "Without the new Source the balance would not be restored. We told you once that it won't harm the Elders or your family. And we are not coming back on that. But you have to trust us and help us. Otherwise there is no point to continue."
"How do you expect me to trust you?" Leo cried out. "After everything he's done to me and my family. He tried to kill us more than once and you want me to trust him?"
Nicole's face turned pale with anger, "And you think you're better! You abandoned him when he was an innocent man. In your conceited self righteousness you don't even see that you committed a plain murder. I am surprised that he is even willing to talk to you after what you did destroying his chance to safe his marriage and his son. Now you are granted such a chance and you don't even see how lucky you are. All you do is moan and wallow in your self pity."
The whitelighter was taken aback by her outburst. He looked at the half demon and saw the pain shooting through his eyes before his face turned blank.
Nicole continued, "From now on Leo, you are either support us a hundred percent or we part the ways here. It's not working. It's going to get much tougher soon and if every time we have to have a two hours debate to convince you to help us, we just won't get anywhere."
A small part of Leo was tempted to just tell this man and this woman that this was the end of their cooperation but he knew that he could not. He had to save Piper and his son whatever the cost. There was also a tiny voice deep down in his heart, which told him that if Nicole Berg was telling the truth him and the Charmed Ones had a lot to answer for and a lot to redeem.
"I'll show you where the volcano is," he said quietly. "But I doubt that there is anything left from the Grimour. I chucked it straight into the crater. It was immediately consumed by the lava."
Cole shook his head, "Magic so powerful as the Grimour does not burn, Leo. It was created in the pit of hell. And no volcano will destroy it. You just have to be powerful enough to retrieve it. And you know yourself that such powerful book can be very dangerous in the wrong hands. So the sooner it is returned to the Underworld, the safer it would be for all of us."
Chapter 5
Celina was the last to arrive to another emergency meeting of the Lugel's Council. Her beautiful face expressed extreme annoyance. And her mood did not improve when she heard Dorian's remark.
"You are late."
Her frustration spilled out, "Oh, excuse me," she exclaimed, "I was in the middle of the performance of a dying woman, trying to complete a crucial step on fulfilling the Prophecy. And if my memory is correct we spent our last emergency meeting talking about how important it was."
She sounded very annoyed and Dorian preferred not to start an argument with her. Instead he asked in the most polite tone, "So how did it go?"
"It went well," the French Lugel explained curtly. "They totally bought the whole thing. And the presence of the doctor who confirmed Elisa's death prevented them from saying too much."
"Doctor?" Radgiv raised his eyebrows.
"Yes," Celina smiled triumphantly. "It was Cole's idea. He was worried that something might go wrong so he decided to come as well and play the part of the doctor, obviously in a different form."
"So what will happen next?" Angela asked.
Celina shrugged, "I think there shouldn't be too many problems. Elizabeth will meet with the warlocks and offer them the union. In my opinion they will pick Nicole even without any intervention from our side. If by some mysterious reason they would have any doubts we can always use a bit of telepathic persuasion to push them to this decision. And when that's settled we'll be half way through our prophecy."
Thoughtful silences followed her words and then Carlos expressed his concerns. "This is just way too easy. I just can't see it going smoothly."
Celina heaved an impatient sigh, "Of course, you don't," she said sarcastically, "but let me tell you, when you plan well, things do go smoothly. And if something goes wrong, we'll deal with it. But I don't see the point of sitting here and worrying now about something that has not happened yet, especially when we don't even know if it ever will."
Carlos was about to retort, when Vladimir interrupted him, "What worries me," he said thoughtful, "is why Elizabeth even came up with this idea?"
"What do you mean, why?" Sylvester asked surprised, "She needs a union with the warlocks to get the throne. And the marriage is the obvious way to get it."
"Yes, the marriage to a real warlock," Vladimir objected, "but why did not she suggest just that? Why does she want Nicole to marry Cole? It does not make any sense."
"May be she wants him to be happy?" O-Li asked.
But Vladimir just shook his head and Carlos snorted, "Of course, she does!" the latter exclaimed, "She is a full blooded demon, she does not know what happiness is."
Celina gave Carlos a contemptuous look and Vladimir said, "No, it's not that. I spent a lot of time studying Elizabeth's past when we first thought about her becoming the new Source. She never even acknowledged any of Belthazor's girlfriends. And he came close to marriage several times in his career. One of the candidates was Raynor's daughter. But she always destroyed any chances for such marriage. And now she's actively pushing for it. And it makes me think that she might know something."
The Lugel's Council buzzed with the shocked voices. "It cannot be true," Dorian summarized the common idea. "She cannot know about the Prophecy. It is absolutely impossible. Only Lugels are able to read it."
"I am not saying she knows everything," Vladimir stated calmly, "but she might know bits of it. She's related to the demons from Signa plain. And they are famous for their prophets. There is a chance they were able to see something about Belthazor's future and that's why Elizabeth is pushing Cole and Nicole together."
Celina shook her head, "You might be right, but we can't do anything about it."
"We can scan her mind," Radgiv suggested. "Then we'll know for sure."
"And risk turning her against us?" Celina objected. "Only the Chosen Two can read the mind of such a powerful demon without any risk of being spotted. Plus it only helps us that Elizabeth wants Cole and Nicole to marry. Without her, God knows, how long it would have taken them."
"So you suggest we just go along?" Dorian asked.
Celina shot a look at Vladimir and the latter replied, "I think for now it's the best thing to do. We'll keep an eye on her. But I am convinced that Elizabeth will not do anything to harm her son."
Carlos shook his head, "May be, that's true, but I fully believe her capable to harm Nicole."
"Oh, no, not any more," Celina smiled, "she knows by now that harming Nicole will mean harming Cole and losing him forever. And she'll never do that. She is the mother."
Carlos gave her a sceptical look but did not say anything.
"Well, that's settled, then," Dorian summarized. "We should all proceed with out tasks and hope for the best."
Elizabeth was sitting around the negotiating table. On her left sat high priest Corado, on her right Henry Karenian and opposite was Phillip Des Noures. The negotiations were already going on for an hour and had not really moved anywhere. The first half hour was devoted to discussing the situation in the Underworld, which was actually very constructive. Both parties agreed that the evil needed a new leader and the sooner this leader was crowned the better. But the next thirty minutes were spent on throwing ambiguous hints and the parties did not move any closer to the main point of the discussion. It was frustrating but the demoness knew that this part was the necessary "evil". It made both parties aware that the meeting was important and that the other party knew what they were talking about. But now it was time to cut to the chase. Elizabeth took a deep breath and fixed both warlocks with a calm stare,
"Since we all agree here that the Underworld needs a new leader the question is who this leader will be. And before we start naming candidates I want to highlight that the new Source has to be able to unite all fractions, to stop in-fighting and help the Underworld regenerate its former strength."
Both warlocks nodded eyeing the demoness wearily. They knew Belthora as a powerful, sneaky and very smart demon and this knowledge made them respect her and distrust her at the same time.
Elizabeth acknowledged their agreement and continued, "Therefore we need a candidate who will be respected and accepted by all fractions. And it would help a lot if the demonic fraction and warlock covens could support one candidate."
The warlock's eyes narrowed, but Elizabeth pretended that she did not notice. It was time to put her offer on the table. "You know that in the history of the Underworld there was never a warlock Source."
"As there was no female Source," Karenian piped in.
"True," Elizabeth smiled coolly, "but it's also true that demons are much more likely to accept a female Source than a warlock Source."
The French warlock smiled evilly, "But the demons are no longer the strongest fraction," he remarked.
"I am afraid I have to disagree with you on that one," priest Corado objected. "They might not be the largest fraction but I think it is safe to say that they are the most powerful."
Des Noures just shrugged indicating that he had his own opinion on the matter.
The demoness shifted her gaze from one warlock to another, "We can argue about who is the strongest for a long time. But I think it is safe to say that if there was ever a power struggle between demons and warlocks it would be a very long and bloody battle. And neither fraction would benefit from it especially considering that there are other fractions, which now are too weak to contend against demons and warlocks. The battle would weaken the main fractions and give the smaller ones the chance they've been looking for so long to rise in rank. And I think I am safe to say that neither of us cherishes such an opportunity."
"So what do you suggest?" des Noures asked slightly ironically, expecting Elizabeth to suggest that she or her son Belthazor should become the next Source.
"I suggest we strike a deal," the demoness replied calmly but her eyes dared the warlocks to laugh at her.
"And which deal will that be?" Karenian asked insinuatingly. "That we will support a demonic candidate?"
"Yes," Elizabeth answered looking at him sternly. The warlock was about to make a sarcastic retort but the demoness bit him to it. "I suggest that you support me and in return for your support you will have a guarantee that the next Source would be half warlock."
Her words had an effect of the explosion. Des Noures paled and asked in a slightly hoarse voice, "What do you mean by that?"
"I mean that if you support me as the new Source than my son Belthazor would marry a warlock from one of your covens and their son would be an heir to the throne."
No self restrain could prevent the exchange of shocked glances between the two warlocks. Karenian was the first to regain some control over his tongue. "And Belthazor is fine with this?" he asked trying to win some time while he could organise his thoughts. "I thought he was married to a witch?"
"This is long over," Elizabeth replied coldly her black eyes daring the warlocks to doubt her word. "Belthazor is working hard on restoring the order in the Underworld and he agrees that this marriage if done on proper conditions could unite the Underworld."
"Why does not Belthazor become the Source himself," des Noures asked warily. "At the end of the day, he already was one and he would be an obvious candidate."
The priest Corado spoke up in his usual soft voice, "We believe that the older and wiser candidate would be more suitable at the moment. The demons represent a united front here and Belthazor supports our decision."
"But if you are going to become the Source now, than Belthazor would inherit the throne from you and only after that it would be the time of his half warlock son - it is almost the same as never. Why would we want to wait so long?" Karenian asked.
"Belthazor would not be the Source," Corado answered, "He would abdicate in favour of his son."
Two warlocks exchanged meaningful looks. "We need time to think about it," des Noures finally said. "You are asking a lot of us. Why should we wait for something for so long when we can get it now?"
"I completely understand that you need time to think," Elizabeth answered, "And I am sure that you won't take too long. With regard to your last comment, I doubt that it would be easy for you to get the throne now, considering you don't even have the Grimour."
"Neither do you," Karenian shot up.
The demoness did not say anything but just smiled. And her smile was worth a thousand words.
When the warlocks disappeared from the meeting room, high priest Corado turned to Elizabeth, "Do you think they would go for it?" he asked.
"We have to wait and see," the demoness replied smiling mysteriously, "but I think there is a very good chance, they will."
Corado gave her a penetrating glance but she did not add anything. "Well, then you better make sure you have the Grimour," he muttered and with a light bow he disappeared.
Elizabeth made sure that she was alone and then turned around, "Belthazor," she called quietly.
Two figures dressed in black hooded robes separated from the walls. Cole pushed his hood away from his face but his companion kept hers on.
"So what do you think?" Elizabeth asked.
The half demon shrugged, "I think they will accept your offer." His companion lifted her hand and mother and son fell quiet. The three of them exchanged glances and shimmered out. When they rematerialized in the Elizabeth' apartment, Nicole pushed the hood away from her face.
"I think it's safer to talk here," she explained her earlier warning. "I could not sense anything, but better be safe than sorry. I don't want "uncle" Henry and my "Dad" to suspect that we are manipulating them."
Elizabeth nodded, "How does it go with them?" she asked.
Nicole shrugged her shoulders, "Tiring," she said finally. "They constantly ask me questions about Elisa. No, they totally believe that I am their niece and daughter respectively," she foresaw Elizabeth's question. "But both of them still love Elisa so much that they want to know her every day for the past two years. You should have seen both of them when she died. I never thought warlocks were capable of crying like that. They kept asking me to stay with them. I had to fight really hard against it. Told them that I don't want to fight with my cousins and half brothers."
"Do you think that they will still pick you to marry Belthazor," Elizabeth asked.
Nicole shot Cole a questioning look. "I think so," he answered, "I was keeping an eye on their thoughts and both of them immediately thought about the "prophecy" that Elisa told them. And none of them would go against her will."
"You think so?" Elizabeth asked doubtfully.
Cole smiled sarcastically, "Come on, mother, they are both so sentimental about her, that I can't believe that these are two powerful warlocks and not two housewives. And if you had heard what "Elisa" told them, I bet you would not break her last will either. Even I believed her and I knew perfectly well that it was just a performance." He noticed a smirk on Nicole's face and smiled himself, "Fine," Cole sighed, "a very talented performance."
"Okay," Elizabeth nodded indicating that she was satisfied with their answers. "I trust you would keep an eye on the situation and if necessary take steps to correct it?"
"Absolutely," Nicole confirmed, "I also think we should be going. Never know when my new found relatives would want to discuss the situation with me."
"Before you go," Elizabeth stopped the young Lugels from leaving. "We need the Grimour. Are you getting anywhere with it?"
Cole sighed, "Not as far as I would have liked to. But we'll get on the case, promise."
With these words they shimmered away. They reappeared in the Penthouse and looked at each other. Both were tired. Since the eventful night of Elisa's death they did not have much free time. Juggling work, new found relatives, Lugels, keeping an eye on the developments in the Underworld and the Elders realm meant that they worked sometimes for eighteen hours a day. And during these eighteen hours they could not relax for a single second. Nicole suffered most because during her meeting with her new warlock relatives she had to constantly be alert in order not to blow her cover. The presence of Cole helped her immensely. From the first moment he insisted on being close to her during these meetings and she was very grateful to him. Though she could not see him and he could not substitute her, she could always feel his presence and it gave her strength.
Cole pulled Nicole into a hug. She snuggled to him feeling the strength of his body and just forgetting the whole world around her. "Do we have to go anywhere else today?" she asked quietly.
He hesitated for a moment, part of him really wanting to spend the rest of the evening just with the two of them and not deal with the whole magic crap. Nicole lifted her head and stared into his eyes, an understanding but slightly disappointed smile touching her lips. "I guess the answer is yes," she muttered and pulled away. "So what is it?"
"I think we should go and speak to Leo. Find out where he hid the Grimour," he answered apologetically. "I have a feeling that we will need it soon and I would like to have some time to retrieve it."
Nicole grimaced as if she'd just eaten a raw lemon, "Fine," she said, "We'll go and see our whitelighter friend." Her mouth twisted into the wry smile, "Make his day! Do you think he is going to open a bottle of champagne to welcome us?"
"More likely he'll try to punch me again," Cole remarked sarcastically.
They blurred away and reappeared in front of the Halliwell's manor. All the windows were dark and they quickly found out that nobody was home.
"Where now?" Nicole asked.
"Probably P3," he answered, "If he is not there, we can try the Elders realm."
"Oh, no", Nicole protested, "We'll try P3, but I am not going to the Elders realm, not now. If Leo is not in P3, we'll go home and try to find him tomorrow."
Cole grinned at her, "That's the words of the wise Lugel."
"Shut it, Turner," Nicole glared at him. "Or I'll start calling you Mr. Boring." She did not wait for him to answer and shimmered away.
She reappeared in front of P3. Cole reappeared straight after her but even before he finished blurring his quiet hissing voice reached her ears, "You'll pay for that later." Nicole just looked at him innocently, but the half demon just strode into the club. It was packed as usual but Cole immediately noticed three sisters and their whitelighter sitting around the bar.
"Just like three musketeers and their faithful servant," he thought to himself.
Leo was enjoying the calm evening, well, as much as he managed to enjoy anything lately. He constantly felt on edge expecting any moment for the Elders to clip his wings or to blow him into million of pieces. Being a double agent was not much fun but he had no choice. Often his thoughts drifted to Nicole and especially Cole. These two ruined his life but had they also saved it?
His thoughts were interrupted by a tall couple approaching the bar. They ordered their drinks and stood just a few feet from him. They looked completely ordinary and nobody except Leo paid any attention to them. He turned away when a familiar female voice sounded in his head. "Hi Leo, we need to talk." The whitelighter jerked his head and stared at the couple incredulously. His eyes met with the black eyes of the man. The latter smiled wryly and for a split second his eyes changed into very familiar piercing blue. The next moment they returned to their previous colour. The couple picked up their drinks and headed to the back door.
It took Leo a minute to compose himself. He touched Piper's elbow. "I've got to go, honey," he said. "I won't be long." Piper just nodded being busy with the customer and Leo made his way through the crowd towards the exit. The warm wind touched his face.
"Hi Leo," he heard behind him. The whitelighter turned his head and saw Cole and Nicole standing in the shadow of the tree.
"Hi," the whitelighter's face was far from expressing delight on seeing them. "What brings you here?"
Anger flared in Cole. Leo's stubborn arrogance made him want to shake the noble whitelighter just to get some sense into his head. The half demon pushed these thoughts away. Anger was not going to help him with his task.
"We need you to tell us where did you hide the Grimour?" Nicole replied calmly. Leo's face paled and she sighed frustrated by his negative reaction, "We need to know which volcano you chucked it into?"
"How do you know about this?" Leo glared at them.
"The same way we knew about where your charge lives," Nicole said wincing inside from the fury written on Leo's face.
"And why exactly do you want to know where the Grimour is hidden?" Leo asked bitterly.
"Why do you think?" Cole replied curtly.
"You want to crown the new Source?" Leo exclaimed in outrage.
"Bingo," the half demon gave Leo a wry smile.
"Well, I am not helping you in that," the whitelighter raved. "I did not sign up to that."
The frustration that Cole felt finally spilled out. "Then you better sign up to it now," he roared. "Because if you don't, there is no point for you to do anything else." Leo's face expressed complete shock and Cole heaved an impatient sigh. "For God's sake man, use your brain. You did not expect that we could negotiate a peace between the good and evil without having a new Source. Who do you think would keep the Underworld under control, your Elders?"
Leo did not answer. Once again his thoughts were in complete disarray. Spying on the Elders was one thing but actively helping the reincarnation of the new Source of All Evil was a completely different matter.
"Leo," Nicole's voice sounded calm and sympathetic. "Without the new Source the balance would not be restored. We told you once that it won't harm the Elders or your family. And we are not coming back on that. But you have to trust us and help us. Otherwise there is no point to continue."
"How do you expect me to trust you?" Leo cried out. "After everything he's done to me and my family. He tried to kill us more than once and you want me to trust him?"
Nicole's face turned pale with anger, "And you think you're better! You abandoned him when he was an innocent man. In your conceited self righteousness you don't even see that you committed a plain murder. I am surprised that he is even willing to talk to you after what you did destroying his chance to safe his marriage and his son. Now you are granted such a chance and you don't even see how lucky you are. All you do is moan and wallow in your self pity."
The whitelighter was taken aback by her outburst. He looked at the half demon and saw the pain shooting through his eyes before his face turned blank.
Nicole continued, "From now on Leo, you are either support us a hundred percent or we part the ways here. It's not working. It's going to get much tougher soon and if every time we have to have a two hours debate to convince you to help us, we just won't get anywhere."
A small part of Leo was tempted to just tell this man and this woman that this was the end of their cooperation but he knew that he could not. He had to save Piper and his son whatever the cost. There was also a tiny voice deep down in his heart, which told him that if Nicole Berg was telling the truth him and the Charmed Ones had a lot to answer for and a lot to redeem.
"I'll show you where the volcano is," he said quietly. "But I doubt that there is anything left from the Grimour. I chucked it straight into the crater. It was immediately consumed by the lava."
Cole shook his head, "Magic so powerful as the Grimour does not burn, Leo. It was created in the pit of hell. And no volcano will destroy it. You just have to be powerful enough to retrieve it. And you know yourself that such powerful book can be very dangerous in the wrong hands. So the sooner it is returned to the Underworld, the safer it would be for all of us."