"I don't understand," said Loric, the Elder who had orbed into the manor. Percy had quickly explained to him about Damonculous and the situation that had ensued since his arrival. "Damonculous was a member of the Gray Council. And one of the most powerful ones. It took a dozen Gray Council members to defeat him the first time. I fail to see how one Darklighter could accomplish such a feat. In the grand scheme, Darklighters are one of the least powerful beings."
"That's true," said Angelique, "I don't have that many powers. Except against a Whitelighter. You have no protection against the poison of my bolts."
"But Damonculous was not a Whitelighter," said Percy. "He was not even an Elder."
"It was something you said when you first told us about Damonculous," said Cole. "You compared Damonculous to the first Whitelighters. You said he was not a Whitelighter but a magical being with tremendous power."
"That's true," said Percy. "As you saw, he was quite powerful."
"Well," said Cole, "it stands to reason that if they were granting their followers powers they'd give them powers similar to their own. Sort of make them in their image, so to speak."
"That make sense," said Piper. "But what does that have to do with the Darklighter here?"
"Well, I didn't give it much thought at the moment," said Cole. "Damonculous just seemed so powerful that no matter what we threw at him it didn't seem to do any good. We kept thinking that we needed more and more power to fight him.
"Then Leo asked about being in danger from demon attacks because they didn't have access to their powers. As Percy explained it, that wasn't a problem. You were still immortal even if you couldn't use your powers. And you described the ascending echelons of the Whitelighters, up to and including the Founders."
"I still do not understand," said Loric.
"Percy said the Founders were Whitelighters," said Cole. "Just a higher form of Whitelighter. And if the Founders were members of this Gray Council, just as Damonculous was, that would make him this higher echelon of Whitelighter."
"That's certainly true," said Percy. "Infinitely more powerful, of course, but essentially accurate."
"Why didn't we think of that?" Leo asked. "It all makes perfect sense now. No matter how much power Damonculous had - no matter how high in the echelon - he was still just basically a Whitelighter. Just like the sisters may be the most powerful force for good in history they're still basically just witches."
"True," said Cole smiling. "And the only thing a Whitelighter is vulnerable to is the poison from a Darklighters' bolt. I was pretty sure it would affect him. I just wasn't sure how much was needed. I know Leo's been shot a couple of times and it always seemed to take a while."
"The poison is not immediately fatal," said Angelique. "Like most poisons it must spread through the victims' system. But barring the healing of a Whitelighter, it can't be stopped."
"Strange that this did not occur to me," said Percy. "I've been an Elder for more than three hundred years. And yet it never occurred to me that Damonculous was simply a higher form of Whitelighter."
"Forest and trees," said Cole.
"I beg your pardon?" questioned Loric.
"An old human expression," said Cole. "You couldn't see the forest for the trees. It means you were looking so closely at the problem that you didn't see the simplest solution of all. I did that same thing at first. We're all so used to needing a more powerful magic to overcome whatever magic we're fighting that we forgot it's not always about power. Some times it's just about basic biology."
"It appears that we are in your debt once again," Loric said to the sisters. "When our magic suddenly ceased to function we were unable to discern it's cause. And as Paracellious explained to you, it was believed the Gray Council was defeated or sealed in their non-magical realm."
"As much as I hate to admit it," said Prue, "you have Cole to thank for that, not us. He's the one who figured out Damonculous' weakness."
"You think there might be others out there like Damonculous?" Leo asked. "Gray Council members waiting to strike at the Elders?"
"Extremely unlikely," said Loric. "Damonculous was the only Gray Council member who was unaccounted for, as it were. The rest were either buried after they died or were banished to the other realm. His was the only body not located. The Founders simply believed he had been vanquished since he had never made a reappearance."
"I wonder why he waited so long before popping up again," said Prue thoughtfully. "The way Percy explained it it's been fifteen or twenty thousand years since he was defeated. That seems an awfully long time to plot your revenge even for someone like him."
"That is a mystery," said Loric. "I can assure you that the Elders will investigate the matter thoroughly."
"You think he might return in the future?" Phoebe asked. "His body vanished again this time."
"I doubt it," said Percy. "As Cole explained, Damonculous was a Whitelighter. And as our Darklighter has explained, only the healing from a Whitelighter can counteract the poison of their crossbow. Even if he managed to escape alive he won't live for long. Whitelighters cannot heal themselves."
"Oh, we know that one all too well," said Piper.
"We should be going," Loric said to Percy. "This is going to be most difficult to explain to the rest of the Council. We were saved by a demon and a Darklighter. I know there are some who will simply not believe it. This is going to take quite a number of explanations I believe."
"I shall join you shortly," said Percy. "I wish to say goodbye before I leave."
"I shall await your arrival," said Loric who then simply orbed out of the manor.
"That's a fine how-do-you-do," said Piper. "Not so much as a goodbye."
"Forgive him," said Percy. "Most Elders are unused to dealing in such amenities. And he does have quite a lot on his mind at the moment."
"So," said Phoebe, putting her arm around Cole and looking at Angelique, "what do we do about her?"
Angelique just smiled at them. The crossbow she had used against Damonculous had simply vanished when he was vanquished. Everyone stood around looking at Angelique wondering what the Darklighter would do next.