TEN

"You guys should have told me what was going on," said Chris. "I could have been some help here."

"More mumbo jumbo, Chris?" Piper asked.

"Piper, please," said Leo. "He's right. We should have told him."

"So, what do you have to tell us?" asked Piper.

"Has Tru told you about her special ability yet?" Chris asked.

"Yes," said Tru. "I told them as much as I understand anyway."

"Good," said Chris. "That's going to make things a little easier. Well, she has the ability to relive days. People who die that weren't suppose to die can ask her for help. And she gets the opportunity to save them from dying."

"I only recently learned that my mother had the same ability," said Tru. "Before she was murdered."

"What does this have to do with Leo?" asked Phoebe. "And a Dark Lighter that can kill Whitelighters without his crossbow?"

"Everything," said Chris. "The man in black is actually a Dark Lighter. And he's not just any Dark Lighter, either. He calls himself Talent. He's one of the senior Dark Lighters. What you might call an Elder for Dark Lighters."

"Dark Lighters have Elders?" Paige asked.

"Of course," said Leo. "Well, not exactly an Elder but something similar."

"As it turns out," said Chris, "this Talent has discovered a way to kill Whitelighters without having to resort to his crossbow. First he uses his crossbow to produce about a dozen bolts. Then he gives the bolts to an alchemist. I know that chemistry replaced alchemy hundreds of years ago but there are still some practicing alchemists around. Most of them practice a magical form of alchemy.

"The alchemist then uses an ancient process that drains the poison out of the bolts. Talent has taken this poison and mixed it with lead to produce a bullet that can kill a Whitelighter because of the poison in it. In fact, the poison in the bullets is more concentrated than in a single bolt. Three or four of these bullets would cause the poison to react much quicker, killing a Whitelighter within seconds."

"Oh, lovely," said Paige. "Now Whitelighters not only have to worry about Dark Lighters with crossbows but Dark Lighters with these cop killer bullets as well."

"Not really," said Chris. "Talent never shared the secret of their creation with anyone, least of all another Dark Lighter. And from all indications the procedure is not only expensive but extremely elaborate."

"Okay," said Piper, "so you knew all this all ready and you didn't say anything about it because... ?"

"I was going to," said Chris. "Only I didn't know he attacked this soon. Remember, this all happened before I was even born. I thought we still had a few months before Talent made an appearance. With all the demon attacks and everything else, I just never realized he would be here this soon."

"Wait a minute," said Tru, "demons? Are you saying there are demons out there?"

"More than you know," said Piper. "Don't worry. They rarely go after mortals. They're usually too busy trying to get to us."

"She's right," said Chris. "Tru, you have nothing to worry about from demons. To be honest, they really don't even know about you. When the days are reset for you they forget everything that happened which means anything they learn about you is forgotten as well. You never had any trouble with demons originally."

"But you said you never expected to meet me," said Tru. "If you're from the future does that mean I'm dead?"

"I honestly don't know," said Chris. "You live in New York and I've spent nearly my entire life in San Francisco. Besides, we fight demons. You don't. There really wasn't any reason for us to meet."

"Okay," said Piper. "So what can you tell us about this Talent? Other than he's figured out a way to kill an unkillable being?"

"Originally," said Chris, "he used the bullets against Leo. There was a fight and he was apparently beaten but not vanquished. I guess he'd had enough because he never went after Leo again."

"Apparently?" questioned Paige. "You don't know for sure?"

"Hey, just because I'm from the future doesn't mean I have all the answers," said Chris. "Do you remember the specifics about all of your vanquishings?"

"Well, not everything," said Paige. "But I'm pretty sure I'd remember a Dark Lighter who was able to kill Whitelighters without using a crossbow. That's not what you call an ordinary occurrence."

"You probably would," said Chris. "But then again, it's your vanquishing. And as I said, it happened before I was even born. All I can tell you is that he attacked at the manor and you guys stopped him. If I had known it was time for him to attack I would have warned you. But there were certain events that had transpired originally that haven't transpired this time. That's why I didn't know he had attacked all ready."

"What events?" Paige asked.

"That's not important," said Chris. "What is important is that he seems to be following the same pattern. Which means not everything has changed. If I remember correctly, he'll attempt to kill Leo tomorrow. Apparently he's been watching the manor waiting for Leo to leave so he could attack. After that I'm not sure exactly what happens."

"We have to be prepared for Talent," said Leo. "If he comes to the manor, we'll need to vanquish him before he gets the chance to use that pistol of his. Chris, Paige, and I are all in danger. If those bullets are as powerful as Chris says they are, any or all of us could be dead before we could do anything to stop it."

"Why would Paige be in danger?" asked Tru. "She's not one of these Whitelighters. She's a witch. You said the poison was only affective against Whitelighters."

"I'm half Whitelighter," said Paige. "Another long story. But Leo is right. Those bullets could kill any of us. We need to take Talent out the second he appears."

"I'll go check with the Elders," said Leo. "They might know something about this Talent we can use."

"I'll check the Book of Shadows," said Phoebe. "If he's as high up as Chris says there might be something in there about him."

"Book of Shadows?" questioned Tru.

"I'll explain everything in the kitchen," said Piper. "Come on. If you want you can help me with a vanquishing potion."

"Okay," said Tru. "And all I thought I had to do when I got up this morning was make sure that Leo didn't get killed. Now I'm preparing to fight Dark Lighters. Somehow New York doesn't seem quite so wild any more."

"Oh, there are demons in New York, too," said Phoebe. "Just be thankful you don't have to contend with them."

"I just hope it stays that way," said Tru as she followed Piper into the kitchen.

"Does it?" Paige asked Chris as everyone went to prepare for Talent.

"As far as I know it does," said Chris. "I don't remember any history records saying that she had to contend with a demon. Remember, they have no idea what she can do. There's no reason for them to go after her."

"Good," said Paige. "Well, Phoebe is busy with the Book of Shadows and Piper is busy making a potion. Why don't you tell me everything you know about this Talent? There might be something else we can use against him."

'I've told you just about everything I know," said Chris.

"Humor me for a change," said Paige. "Let's just go over it again to make sure you haven't left anything out. Besides, it beats just sitting around here waiting for him to attack."

Chris just sighed. Paige was right about that. Just sitting around waiting for a demon attack could get on your nerves. He and Paige went into the living room to go over what they knew about Talent and what possible defenses they could use against him.