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Chapter 19

Inspector Morris stopped his car in front of the Halliwell Manor and switched of the engine. He rubbed his face and tried to calm down enough so that at least his hands stopped shaking. What he saw today shocked him to his very core. After working with the Halliwell sisters for five long years he was used to freaky stuff happening all over the place. But the way Nicole Berg vanquished pretend FBI agents and then killed her own mother had simply scared the living hell out of him. Darryl had met Nicole only once when he came to confront Cole about the fire in the Towers. She seemed to him like a very nice and somewhat naïve young woman. He thought that she was no match for Cole in a sense that the strong personality of the half demon would completely suppress her. But what he saw today completely changed his mind. And once again proved to him that a hurt woman was much more dangerous than any man could possible imagine. Though thinking about it he would not fancy seeing how Cole would avenge the death of his wife. But it was not meant to be. Darryl could not believe that the invincible Cole Turner who died so many times was finally gone and though the only thought of Nicole Turner brought out his deepest fears he could not help feeling sorry for her. There was no doubt that she really loved Cole and the way her own mother killed him in front of her eyes must have been awful. Darryl did not know how people lived after something like that. And it's not like she had a loving family to support her. These people surrounding her, if you could call them that, were not the nicest bunch.

Darryl remembered how a tall man with rich brown skin materialized next to him and took Nicole out of his hand. He exchanged long glances with the French woman and the latter turned to Darryl and ordered him to leave. When he tried to object pointing out that they would need his help covering the whole thing especially since half the Mansion was lying in ruins she just smiled, waived her hand and the next moment the building looked as if nothing had ever happened. Then the woman told him that he should not meddle with things he did not understand and that they would take care of everything. And before Darryl knew she clicked her fingers and he found himself back in his car. Almost automatically he drove to the Halliwell Manor trying to gather his courage to tell the sisters and especially Phoebe about what happened. Darryl got out of his car and knocked. A few long moments passed before the door swung open and Darryl was greeted by the one person he truly dreaded seeing.

"Hi Darryl," Phoebe smiled at him, "How are you?"

The police inspector stared at her trying to find the words how to tell this woman that her ex husband, the one she still loved so much, was dead.

XXXXXXX

After getting rid of the police inspector Celina turned to Sylvester, "We should go," she said quietly.

He nodded and was about to blur away when a cold voice interrupted him, "And where exactly are you planning to take my daughter-in-law?"

Two Lugels stopped and turned to face the Source of All Evil. Elizabeth was deadly pale but her eyes shined with sheer determination.

"We are taking her where she belongs." Celina replied gently.

The demoness arched her eyebrow. "You mean to the Underworld?"

"No," Sylvester shook his head, "The underworld is not her home. We are taking her to the place where she'll be safe. She needs rest and care after such trauma."

Elizabeth gave him a contemptuous look, "She will need rest and care," she agreed coolly, "but not from you. You have already proven that all you are capable of is using your precious Chosen Two for your high goal and you don't give a damn about what happens to them."

The Lugel's dark eyes sparkled dangerously but he concealed his anger behind a light smile, "I think this is a bit much coming from the Source of All Evil."

"I am a mother," Elizabeth replied with great dignity, "A mother who has just seen her only child die while you stood here and did nothing to save him more concerned with your prophecy than with the lives of two of your members." She noticed how Celina paled and a bitter smile touched her lips, "I see the truth hurts, doesn't' it?" Elizabeth pointed at Nicole, "This girl is everything I have left, she and her children are the only family I've got and I swear to you that I will not let you use them again." Her eyes sparkled brightly from the unshed tears and she continued quieter, "I made a promise to..." she could not force herself to say his name, "...to my son that I would help and protect his wife and children and nobody, even Lugels, can force me to break this promise."

"I don't think you have much of a choice," Celina remarked quietly, "As you rightly guessed we are Lugels and therefore are much more powerful than you can even imagine."

Elizabeth's lips twisted into a sarcastic smile, "Oh, I don't doubt that. But you forget one thing. As a demon I am used to fighting more powerful opponents. I know that everybody has a weakness and the allmighty Lugels as well. Your weakness is your goal. I know how hard you've been working on this peace deal and you are well aware that I am the key for it to happen. You can of course kill me but you know that it would just cause the Underworld falling into even worse chaos than before. And without Belthazor it is very unlikely you would find somebody else to do the job."

The two Lugels exchanged long looks and Celina spoke up in a much calmer voice, "I understand your feelings, believe me, but you must realize that what happened here is beyond Underworld or even this whole realm. For the first time ever the Lugels powers were transferred to the unborn children. It means that Nicole's and Cole's children would be the first Lugels to be born. They have been prophesized from the creation of magic and their destiny is to secure the prosperity of the magic world. I know that we had to pay an awful price for this but since there is nothing we can do to change this we must make sure that this sacrifice was not for nothing. All we want to do is to help Nicole through this time and make sure that she and the babies are safe."

Elizabeth looked at the Lugel disgustedly, "Listen to yourself," she spat, "you have completely lost touch with reality and even your words are as fake as your feelings. If you want to help Nicole you are not going to take her into some God forsaken reality you people call the Lugels realm where all she'll be left with is thinking about Cole and having to face the fact that her happiness and the life of her husband were sacrificed to the BIG GOAL. Nicole needs to go somewhere where she would be surrounded by people, who truly love her, who would grieve with her and who would give up their lives for her and the babies."

Sylvester's lips twisted into a caustic smile, "Excuse me, I've lost you, are you talking about the Underworld."

Elizabeth pale face became slightly flashed, but she did not let her anger to spill, "Whether you want it or not, Nicole is the Princess of the Underworld, and she has family there. Not just myself but there are two warlock covens who would die to save her and I doubt that any of you lot would do the same."

Sylvester was about to retort but Celina stopped him, "She is right," the French woman said sadly. He shot her a puzzled look, "I mean," she continued, "that we are acting heartless and not thinking about Nicole. She would not want to go to the Lugel's realm. Everything there would just remind her of Cole and I am sorry to say that," she turned to Elizabeth, "but the same goes for the Underworld." She thought for moment. "I think William left Cole a villa in Carmel which belonged to his father? From what I know Cole and Nicole have not been there yet. We should take Nicole there. I know from William that Cole loved that place and it would help Nicole: to be it the house where he grew up but at the same time she would not be surrounded by things that belonged to him."

XXXXXX

Nicole was lying on her back staring into the blue sky. Life was over, Cole was gone. She could feel the emptiness in her heart, the void in the place where he used to be. What was she going to do without him? Carry on with her life in the aim of the Goal and for the sake of their children? Being a Lugel she could easily be looking at eternity alone. Just the thought of it made her sick. Her children would long be grown ups. The Goal, whatever it was, would long be replaced by another one. And she would still be stuck in the world of the living. If only her and Cole were demons or humans or anybody else for that matter she would be looking to join him soon enough even without contemplating a suicide and in he meantime she could summon his ghost. But Lugels were not given such privileges. Now invincible and immortal, she was facing centuries of loneliness knowing that only when she'd fulfill a mysterious purpose she would be allowed to join her husband in some weird realm from which there was no way back. And just to think that it was her mother who killed him, her own mother! The one that was made invincible and completely psychotic by her own dearest father. What a joke!!!

"I am very sorry about it," said the voice behind her.

She turned around and saw a man in his mid thirties. The bright sun which sat behind him made it difficult for her to make out his face. "Who are you?" Nicole asked this question more because she knew he expected it than from her own curiosity.

He smiled, "You don't recognize me?" He took a step closer and Nicole noticed that he had familiar green eyes and dirty blond hair. "Well, I am not surprised," he continued, "You were very little when you saw me last time... I am your father, Robert Schwarzlight."

The young woman shook her head, "I am not in the mood for jokes," she said plainly, "especially such bad ones."

The man sobered, "I am not joking."

"But..." she started, "But you are dead and since you were a Lugel you can't come back even as a ghost."

He smiled understandingly, "Well, officially that's true. But you'll be surprised what 25 years of boredom and some extensive rule breaking can help you achieve." His smile disappeared and he looked at her seriously. "I don't have much time. I am not supposed to be here. And if I am discovered..." he paused, "well I don't really know what's going to happen and I don't fancy finding out. Anyway it's not important." He came closer and took her hands in his. "I need to tell you something. And though your uncle thinks I am mad and maybe he has a point, I've decided that you deserve to know..." His eyes glimmered with worry and anxiety. "I feel responsible for creating a monster, which Katherine became. I passed her my invincibility and left you vulnerable and I was the one who told her about Lugels and made her dangerous. And now you are paying for my mistakes." He brushed his hair with one hand. "I can't... I just can't see you so unhappy and do nothing. I am your father, I am supposed to protect you, to make you happy and so far all I've done is bring misery into your life."

Nicole took his hand in hers, "It's not your fault."

"Oh, yes it is. I should have been a better Lugel, should have thought more about the dangers of telling Katherine the truth. But I was just madly in love and did not want to listen to warnings." His eyes stared into the distance, "And now I am doing exactly the same..." He shook his head and looked straight at Nicole. "There is a way to try to bring Cole back," he blurted out and seeing her paled face added hurriedly, "It won't be easy and it is very risky for both you and the babies."

Nicole did not let him finish, "How?" her exclamation was full of anxiety.

Robert smiled at his daughter: her reaction reminded him of how he was himself. "By following his spirit into the Upper dimension," he explained, "when a Lugel finishes his life on Earth, his spirit starts a serious of transformations and by the end of it reaches the Upper dimension. But the process is not instantaneous. So if you manage to catch up with Cole's spirit before it finishes the transformations and convince him to come back, then you will be able to resurrect him."

Nicole smiled, "Well, that's does not sound too difficult," she said, "We already have experience in resurrecting the dead."

Her father shook his head, "Don't underestimate the task and the risks involved," his voice became very somber, "It's not as easy as it sounds. First, Cole's spirit already started the transformation and the first thing that happened was that his memory got erased. I know from experience, you forget everything and your mind is filled with only one desire – to reach the Upper Dimension. When you get there, the memory will return but not before, otherwise do you think Lugels would not prefer to stick around as ghosts or something. I know I would have. But by the time my memory returns it's too late. Plus even if you convince it to come back you would need a Lugel to capture his spirit and then for somebody to change the time to the exact moment when Cole died and manage to reunite his spirit with his body and prevent him from dying again. And third, he will return only as a human. Since his powers went into your unborn babies, he wouldn't be a Lugel anymore."

She shook her head, "It does not matter," her voice was full of determination. "We can sort it out later."

She tried to get up but he caught her hand, "It's never been tried, Nicole. And I can't promise you that it will work...I..."

She pressed her hand to his mouth stopping him, her eyes sparkling emotionally, "Don't say it," she whispered, "I know there are no guarantees. But there is hope, now... You gave it to me and I will be eternally grateful for that."

He smiled sadly, "Don't thank me as yet,"he said. "There are many more risks involved than I've told you so far." He paused and continued in a serious stern voice, "In order to follow Cole, you would need to become a spirit yourself. I have a potion to separate your spirit from your body. It should allow you to keep your memory but if it does not then you will end up going after Cole into the Upper Dimension and your body would be left behind as if you were in a coma." He saw her stiffened but forced himself to continue, "Basically you will risk never seeing your children again and them never knowing both their father and mother."

Nicole paled and stared at him. Her pained look made him feel horrible, powerless, guilty and scared. "I am so sorry," he whispered, "Probably William was right I should not have told you... You should not be made to choose..."

She shook her head, "No," she said trying to calm down, "I am glad that you've told me. At least this way I have a choice."

He nodded, "You will need to get at least one of the Lugels to help you to capture the spirits."

Nicole smiled wanly, "Well, I don't think this will be a problem. They are so concerned about their Chosen Two and would give anything to get them back." She noticed a strange look in his eyes and her smiled disappeared, "Or is that not true any more?" He did not reply and Nicole's face turned into frown. "Tell me the truth, father!" she demanded angrily.

It was the first time she called him a father and Robert could not help but almost melt at her words but her searching eyes made him return to the reality, "You forget one thing Nicole," he said gently, "Cole is not one of the Chosen Two any more, neither is he a Lugel. Even if he returns to the mortal realm it would be as a mere human. The destiny of the Chosen Two has been fulfilled." He continued hastily seeing how her eyes sparkled furiously, "You have got the Source in place and the Elder's Council is going to be replaced so the peace deal is almost done. And since you are pregnant and Cole's powers went into your babies, it means that the Heirs of Magic are coming into the world and whether Cole lives or dies does not really matter. What matters is that you and the babies are safe and that's why the Lugels would not want you to risk your life. "

"The Heirs of Magic?" Nicole repeated, "What do you mean?"

He shifted his weight from one leg to another, "It's an ancient prophecy, even more ancient than the Chosen Two. It says about two Lugels coming together in marriage and producing the Heirs of Magic, twin brother and sister, who would be the first ever Lugels to be born with Lugels powers. The two prophecies existed separately and as you know yourself we never expected the Chosen Two to be Lugels. But when you two came along all our plans went down the tubes. You were the Chosen Two and you were Lugels. That's why the Council was in such a rush. The prophecy about the Chosen Two said that they would stay together only for a very short time and one of them would die protecting the other one. But at the same time the second prophecy talked about marriage and conceiving the children."

"So that's why they were pushing us together," Nicole interrupted him her face becoming slightly red with anger. "Just so they could fulfill their damn prophecies. How could they not tell us? They knowingly led us into the trap from which there was no way out. They knew one of us would die and did not do anything, did not even warn us."

Robert lifted his hand, "Don't blame them, Nicole." She seared him with a glare daring him to continue but he was adamant, "Look, I was the youngest Lugel ever and I was still the youngest when I died at the age of 420 after spending 350 years on the Council. I was thought about as a rebellious one and I was. I disagreed and disobeyed the Council many times. But even I've learnt that as a Lugel you ought to think differently and with time you'll understand it as well, believe me. They could not just ignore the prophecies. The existence of the magic itself depended on them. And the fact that they did not tell you - I think it's for the best. Do you think you and Cole would have gotten together if you knew that one of you would die as a result of it? And even if you decided to fulfill your destiny anyway what kind of the relationship would it be? I very much doubt that you would be so much in love and so happy. Think of the pressure such knowledge would have put on you two?"

"But if we were not together Cole would have been still alive?" Nicole's voice rang with unshed tears.

"But what kind of life would he have?" her father looked at her sadly. "You and Cole were meant for each other. You were destined to be together and without one another your lives would be doomed. The Lugels knew that and not only them. Why do you think Cole's mother pushed you together?"

Nicole frowned remembering how Elizabeth basically forced the marriage upon them, "Did she know about the prophecies as well?" she demanded an answer from her father.

Robert smiled, "When Belthazor was born she took him to a prophet. Of course he did not know about the Lugel's prophecies but he told her the destiny of her son. That he would achieve greatness and rise above good and evil. But his human half would always be his weakness and would probably end his life when he would protect his wife and their child. But the prophet also said that without this woman his life would be doomed completely. So that's why Elizabeth pushed you into marriage but gave you a potion so you could not get pregnant. Well, at least she thought she gave it to you but Lugels substituted it for the fertility/passion potion. You know the rest."

Nicole sat down on the grass, "I can't believe all this," she said tiredly, "And I don't have time to think about it. I need to save Cole."

He stared at her, "You decided to risk?" he asked.

She looked straight into his eyes, "Of course," she answered adamantly, "How could you even doubt?!"

"But Nicole," he whispered quietly, "What about the risks?"

She shook her head, "I know about the risks," she shot, "but I also know that if I don't try I would not be able to look at myself in the mirror again. He is my husband, he is the father of my children... I don't... I won't give up on him."

Robert smiled sadly, "I knew you would make such a choice." He handed her a vial, "This is your potion." He said calmer, "I am sorry I can't help you more."

She smiled back at him and gave him a hug, "You did more than I could ever thank you for," she whispered. She pulled away and her eyes sparkled, "Dad, did you hear me, when I was calling for you and uncle Will from the Mausoleum all these months ago?"

"Of course," he arched his eyebrows, "Who do you think inspired you to go and see this husband of yours (who by the way behaved like a complete asshole at the time) in his dreams." He smiled proudly, "My invention." He took a step away from her and looked at his daughter with longing eyes, "Good luck, Nicole." With these words he disappeared but his voice rang in her head, "Your best bet is Celina. Remind her of the Promise."