AN: This is the last chapter of this story. I hope you like it! Please tell me what you think - I'm a little down nowadays, so some reviews would be really nice! Thank you for reading!

Chapter 5.

The bar looked almost like a normal one up on the surface. Cole had the opportunity to visit some human bars and he could tell that there was not much difference. Except the customers, of course.

He was sitting at a back table from where he could observe the whole room. He stayed unseen though: he was wearing a black cloak and the hood of it covered a good part of his face. He didn't want to be recognized until the last possible moment. This was Zankou's territory and Cole was sure that he already managed to get a place on the demon's black-list.

After failing in surprise he decided to meet the enemy straight. It was probably a suicide mission but his choices were limited: be here and try what he can and probably suffer a painful death in the end… or go back to the Source with bare hands and suffer a painful death there! Really nice prospects…

And Rose was always wondering how he became sarcastic!

As soon as Rose came to his mind he regretted it. Now, he had something else to worry about. What the hell will she do with that sheriff? He knew of course that his sister could take care of herself, after all she lived in the Underworld for almost twenty years. But still… Rose was blind and had no active powers. Yes, her telepathic abilities could be quite useful but she couldn't maintain her hold longer than a few minutes, and it was practically useless against upper-level demons.

He shook his head to make these irrelevant thoughts disappear. He had to concentrate on the job at hand if he wanted a chance at surviving.

He didn't have to wait long until Zankou and his branch appeared. Every demon in the bar welcomed him with respect but he soon vanished behind a door and life went back to normal. Cole stood up and walked over to that door. A bodyguard stood there and stopped him immediately. Cole could identify him as a Brute Demon.

"What do you want?" the bodyguard asked roughly.

"I have to talk to Zankou."

"He doesn't accept visitors" the demon declared.

"This is important" Cole insisted. "I have news about his enemies."

"He knows everything that is worth to know."

"Good, but his life is in danger. They found a way to get to him."

With that he turned to go away but the guard called out:

"Stop!"

He turned back again and looked at the demon expectantly.

"Wait here!" And he went inside the private room. Cole waited there a few minutes until he came back.

"Zankou will see you now. But before that…" he waved for him stand still and Cole knew what he wanted. He stood patiently until the bodyguard searched him with professional movements. Both of his athames were taken away but the guard fortunately didn't find the small syringe that Cole kept in a hidden pocket.

"And now drink this!" he gave over a small vial.

"What is this?" Cole asked suspiciously.

"A power-blocking potion. You can't go in with your powers active."

Cole took the vial hesitantly and then drank its content with two huge gulps.

"Now, come with me!"

They went by two other bodyguards and stepped into a cosy room. There was a table in the middle set with elegant dishes. Zankou was sitting there with to women by his side. Three other demons were also present in the room. Zankou looked up when they stepped in.

"Show me your face!" he ordered and Cole pushed back his hood. Zankou smiled.

"It's you? Kill him, he's an assassin!" he ordered.

Cole had an advantage though at the moment: the bodyguards thought that he lost his powers temporarily but this wasn't true. Every assassin with a little common sense would count on something like a power-blocking potion and he took the antidote just in time to prevent every effect.

He simply shot out one energy ball with both hands and killed the two bodyguards who stood in the two opposite corners. His best weapons were speed and surprise at this point. Everything happened in about five seconds: the two demons burst into flames and Cole jumped over the dining table tackling Zankou to the ground and at the same time taking out the syringe. He pushed its content in the neck of the demon. It took effect almost immediately but Zankou still had the time to use his power and sent Cole flying into the opposite wall.

He landed exactly next to the door. Fortunately so, because he heard running footsteps. With a quick movement he closed the special lock on the door. In a bar like this there were always safety catches on doors, if the room was for private use. There was no way those outside could open it up. Maybe they could blow it, if they were strong enough, but the bodyguards were all Brute demons and they preferred physical power.

Cole stood up, choosing to ignore his protesting body and quickly finished up a third male demon. There were three more to go: the two women who he now recognized as phoenixes – which was not very good, and the fourth bodyguard who escorted him in. At least Zankou was out. He collapsed to the floor totally limp and didn't move anymore. The next task was to get to the body and shimmer out with it. Fortunately not one of the bodyguards thought about to take their boss away. They concentrated on the assassin.

From the corner of his eyes he saw a flying object and without thinking about what it could be, he dodged it.

But couldn't dodge the second one. The athame plunged deep into his left side, just under the ribs. He was trained though to stay focused in every situation. He pulled out the knife with a harsh movement splashing blood everywhere and threw it into the female assassin who stood over Zankou's body. It hit her neck and she was dead or at least deadly injured with that.

The other woman screamed out and as she already lost her weapon she simply jumped at Cole. He fell to the floor and the phoenix started to punch at him, concentrating on his profusely bleeding wound.

It didn't help either that this whole ordeal made many of his older wounds open again. As a half-demon he healed quickly, but only three days went by since his last encounter with Zankou and it was of course not enough.

He growled loudly and changed into hid demon form. This didn't scare away the phoenix but the kick in her stomach helped a great deal. She fell backwards and Belthazor – though a little bit shakily – stood up. He grabbed the woman's longish hair and pulled her up, then pushed her against the wall. Her head hit the wall quite hard but she still looked at the demon defiantly and clearly didn't want to give up the fight. She didn't have much chance though. The demon simply grabbed her throat and broke the neck with a single motion, then pushed the lifeless body to the floor.

The remaining guard attacked from behind and only his sharp instincts saved Belthazor's life. He moved in the last moment and so the knife only cut into his right upper-arm. He turned quickly and grabbed the demon's arm just in the moment as he wanted to strike again. The bone in the attacker's arm cracked loudly as he wrenched it firmly. The energy-ball he shot out literally went through the demon's mid-section and Belthazor growled triumphantly as his opponent went up in flames.

Then he changed back into human form and stumbled. He had to lean against the wall and took a few deep breathes. The door of the room was shaking madly under the magical attack from outside. Cole steadied himself and hurried to Zankou's body, took hold of it and disappeared.

He shimmered to the Source's quarter. By that time everything seemed to be in a fog for him, but he still recognized Declan easily. The leading guard gaped at him and at his prisoner. Cole let go of Zankou's limp body and it fell to the floor with a thud.

"Tell our Liege that I completed my mission" he said hoarsely and then everything went black as he collapsed next to Zankou.

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When he woke up he was still in a lot of pain but could open his eyes and look around. He was in a chamber of some kind and was lying in a bed. He saw three women buzzing around his bed, preparing bandages and healing potions.

"Oh, you're up!" one of them said.

"Where am I?" he asked confused.

"In one of the Source's private chambers. Our Majesty ordered us to take care of you. He awaits you if you feel up to it."

He slowly sat up but had to close his eyes when the searing pain attacked all his senses.

Two women were at his side immediately. They must be healers, he thought.

"You've been injured badly, sir. You should let us help you!"

"No."

He waved them away and staggered to the feet. In that moment he realized that he didn't have much clothing on.

"Where are my clothes?" he asked the woman who seemed to be senior here.

"They were bloody all over, sir…"

"Right. In this case, do you have something for me to wear?" he asked dryly.

"Of course, sir."

The woman waved at one of the younger ones who quickly conjured up a pair of black trousers and a black shirt from somewhere. They were made of the finest material that was used in the Underworld.

Cole has never been treated with much respect, not even by the lower servants of the Source, but these women were obviously ordered to treat him like a nobility. Maybe he would get something else than punishment for a change.

He dressed – more slowly than he wanted but he was still weak, he had to admit – and turned back to the healer.

"Lead me to our Lord then!"

The woman bowed her head and led him out of the chamber and through some dimly lit tunnels until they arrived at the place where he had shimmered to before.

Declan was still there and Cole recognized some surprising respect in his eyes as well. He knew it wouldn't last long but it was still satisfying.

"The Source awaits you!" Declan said and ordered the other guards to open the door for him.

Cole stepped inside and found the Source there, sitting in his usual chair.

"Belthazor! Come near, my friend!"

Cole stepped closer and bowed his head. The Source seemed to be in a very good mood. He didn't have his usual hood on and there was something on his face that looked almost like a smile.

"I'm very satisfied with you, Belthazor! And I decided that you deserve a reward. You can ask for anything you want!"

'Anything he wants' was of course an exaggeration and Cole didn't dare to test his luck. He didn't know what the Source would have done if he asked – for example – for his father's soul. So he decided to stay on the safer side.

"Thank you my Lord, but my reward is to serve you well."

The Source nodded showing that he appreciated the answer.

"However," Cole continued carefully "I think I could serve you better if I had a little time to rest. I would spend a few days with my sister if you don't mind…"

A shadow swept over the Ruler's face but it vanished quickly.

"I see, you still have your weak points, half-breed."

Cole tensed inwardly but didn't let his emotions show on his face.

"But on the other hand" the Source continued "you proved to be very useful today… so be it! I know you won't betray me again…"

"Never, my Liege!" Cole bowed his head in a submissive manner and he meant what he said. He really didn't need another lecture about that, thank you very much!

"Go then! I'll tell Raynor where you are and you report to him in ten days time!"

With that he was dismissed and without further ado Cole shimmered out of the Underworld.

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