Disclaimer: Charmed is owned by Constance M. Burge and WB.

Balloons, Cakes and Demons

Teaser

The birthday party which took them weeks to plan and execute to such perfection was ruined. The crimson and gold banner that was hanging on the wall was now hanging limply in half, the other half melted away by the acid. The table that was holding the food and drinks had been turned upside down during the surprise attack, spilling everything on the floor. Party streamers lay strewn on the floor in bits and pieces, torn by the demon's claws. The party hadn't even started yet, and already it was in shambles, no thanks to the demon.

"I swear," Paige Matthews said from her hiding place behind the couch. "The demons are just deliberately trying to annoy us by popping up whenever we celebrate something."

"They must have a radar or something," her sister, Phoebe Halliwell, called back from the other side of the room, behind the grandfather clock. She yelped as a gob of sizzling black goo landed centimeters from her hand. It ate through the floorboards.

A loud explosion told them their eldest sister was mad as a raging bull and had just blown something up. Paige hoped it was the demon when she peeked out from behind her spot.

The demon jumped right in front of Paige with a loud thud, its clawed feet splintering the floorboards as it craned its head towards her and its yellow reptilian eyes staring at her unblinkingly. Its breath was enough to make her choke. Its saliva dripped from its jaws to the floor, burning away the wood. Her body seemed to be paralyzed by her sudden shock at it being so close to her.
Paige simply blinked at it, her mind frozen as well.

"Paige!" Phoebe shouted, darting out from behind the clock, running towards her sister. She used the couch as a springboard to jump into the air and roundhouse kick the demon on its head, snapping its head back. Without missing a beat, she grabbed her sister's arm, yanked her from the floor, and propelled the two of them into the next room.

"Thanks," Paige said breathlessly.

They heard a loud blood-curdling howl from the parlor and sounds of loud thumps as the demon followed them. A scream followed the howl. This one was more familiar.

"Piper," they both said at the same time that they heard another explosion.

"Leo!" They heard their sister yelled for her husband.

Paige grabbed her hand and they orbed into the sunroom, plastering themselves behind the wall, keeping well away from view. The demon was persistent and incredibly mad. It somehow knew just how to track them down, no matter where they went.

"You'd think it was a bloodhound," Paige whispered to Phoebe who shushed her.

There was silence for several heartbeats. Warily, Phoebe poked her head around the wall, seeing nothing before her. Still holding Paige's hand partly to soothe her jumpy nerves and to orb out quickly, she made her way around the wall, eyes darting left and right for the demon. She wished they knew what it was, whether it needed a Power of Three spell or a potion.

It had suddenly flashed into the manor as they were finishing up with the decorations and spat acid at them. Piper had yelled for Leo to take the boys away. They hadn't counted on the second one to flashed in after the first demon and track the Elder.

So far, Piper couldn't seem to blow it up or hurt it badly. They were halfway into the dining room when they heard a loud crash and a cry of pain. Not needing to look, they sprinted into the living room to see a dazed Piper on the floor and the demon before her.

It was now frothing at the mouth, looking very much like a hairless, wrinkled, rabid dog.

"Hey, you!" Phoebe shouted to distract it.

It turned its head towards her, eyes burning. It opened its mouth, spitting out a gob of acid towards her. Phoebe ducked down, watching as it splattered on the wall and went through. She laughed nervously, backing away. "Hehe, nice demon."

The melodic sounds of orbs drew everyone's attention to the foyer where two forms solidified into two small boys: Wyatt and Chris.

"Oh no," Paige exclaimed. "Where's Leo?"

The demon's attention was now on the boys. In a blink of an eye, it leapt over the furniture, its limbs propelling it forward on all fours too fast for the sisters to stop. Piper screamed in terror and rage, throwing out her hands in attempt to stop the demon but missing. The potted plant shattered instead.

Wyatt calmly looked up at the beast lunging towards him and orbed out of harm's way. Chris stood rooted to the spot, staring at it, as if mesmerized.

"Paige, do something!" Phoebe yelled.

"Chris!" Paige motioned, orbing her nephew over to her arms.

The demon, unable to stop, crashed into the stairs, breaking the banisters and the side table. It landed in a stunned heap on the floor.

Piper had run up to her sisters just as Wyatt orbed in. She scooped up her son in her arms. "Orb us to the attic now!" she demanded.

Paige obeyed without a word, placing a hand on Phoebe's shoulder and Phoebe taking her sister's arm, orbing them all up to the attic just as the demon stirred.

In the attic, they found the reason why Leo hadn't come. He lay unconscious on the floor, nearly buried under the pieces of broken table and the books. A pile of ash nearby indicated he had taken care of the second demon that had trailed him and the boys to the attic just now. The boys had probably seen their father go down and orbed downstairs to try and get help.

"I wish we had his firepower now," Paige said, placing Chris on the floor, hurrying to the stand. She began to flip the Book's pages frantically to find the demon.

Piper and Phoebe were checking on Leo. Piper patted his face to wake him. "Leo, Leo! Get up!" she commanded to no avail.

"He's knocked out cold," Phoebe commented.

"I know that." Piper got up. "And I got guests about to arrive for a birthday party and instead of a birthday party, they're going to find a rabid, drooling demon in the house!"

"That'll make a great party opener," Phoebe remarked.

"Yes, since it'll be spitting acid on everyone!" Piper snapped, in no mood to deal with her sister's dodgy sense of humor.

The demon suddenly flashed into the attic, taking the sisters by surprise, and was now growling and spitting at them. Paige orbed over to Leo, placed a hand to his chest, and orbed them behind the couch for safety. She wouldn't want her brother-in-law to be eaten by acid. From behind the couch, she called for the Book, not wanting it to melt away to noting.

Piper dove out of the way when the demon started its spitting. Phoebe toppled the round scrying table over, using its surface as a shield until she could think of a better hideout. In the confusion, the boys were left to their own defenses. Piper seemed to realized a split second too late when the demon rounded on them, saliva dripping from its massive maw.

"No!" Piper shouted, dashing to her boys. "Wyatt, danger!"

Wyatt's shield came up, but Chris was too far to be covered in the bubble. The younger boy cast a look at his brother, seeming to know what was going to happen.

"Chris, orb!" the older boy called.

Chris orbed but he was a second too late when the demon grabbed his lights and forced him back into solid form. The toddler turned to his brother for help but there was nothing Wyatt could do.

"Wyatt," Chris said before the demon flashed out from the attic.

"No! No!" Piper fell to the spot where her son had been seconds before, terror, rage and anguish on her face. "Chris!" she screamed, chest heaving, tears pricking at her eyelids before they dripped onto the carpet. She pounded at the floor. "Chris."

Paige and Phoebe stood rooted in their spots, helplessness on their faces. As one, they approached Piper to offer comfort but no words seemed to come out.

Wyatt watched the entire scene solemnly.

TBC...