Thanks for your reviews!
Who-will-change-the-world: Well I already liked the episode, when Cole and Prue were together in the Wild West. And when Phoebe turned into an idiot, I thought I could come back to this special pairing. I'm glad that you like it, too.
29. Chapter
Prue slept badly this night, she tossed and turned and she had the funny feeling that she had missed something important. She fell asleep and woke up again soon after. She tried to convince herself, that everything was alright, but she couldn't believe it. She couldn't get rid of her subliminal fear.
When she heard the first birds chirping in the early morning, she got up and left her room. She opened the door to Danny's bedroom and entered it carefully. The little boy was sleeping peacefully in his bed and the magic band laid on the table beside him. The evening before they nearly had had a fight about it, because Danny didn't want to let anyone else have his wand. Prue couldn't take it from him by talking, so she finally took it away and Danny had started to cry angrily. But Prue didn't give in, she had put the wand onto the table and had tried to calm Danny down until he finally realized, that crying wouldn't help him along.
Prue shook her head and smiled. She could imagine very well, which fights she would have to stand in future, when he was older. She stroke his hair tenderly and kissed his forehead. "But I can't expect anything else with that parents." She told him in a silent voice and took the magic wand. "You'll get it back, I promise. But first we'll have to find your father." She told the sleeping boy and left his room again.
Carefully she tiptoed downstairs and went to the maps, still lying on the ground. Prue noticed in surprise, that the whirlwind was gone, she checked the maps, but she couldn't find a sign, that it had landed somewhere on the maps. She looked around thoughtfully, the whirlwind had stopped to search for Cole, after it couldn't find him, she supposed and hoped that it wasn't a sign, that it wasn't possible to find Cole anywhere. She shook her head and took the book of the magic shop resolutely. Then she went to the door and opened it.
She felt the cold morning air on her skin, but she walked into the garden. She looked at the sky, where the sun just arose and didn't shine into the garden, yet. The grass was still wet of dew and Prue shivered, when she walked barefooted to the old chestnut tree. She ignored the wet ground and her wet feet and sat down on one of its roots. Without thinking twice she opened the book and demanded resolutely. "Reveal your secrets to me, come on." She ran the wand over the white page, but nothing happened. Angrily she leaned back at the trunk of the chestnut tree. She felt the hard bark in her back through her thin nightdress. Prue looked up to the leafs of the tree and felt immediately the calming effect of the tree.
Perhaps she had to change her request a little bit, she thought and looked at the book again. "I'm an attentive reader and it's the right time to reveal your secrets to me. So please, help me." She begged the book this time and suddenly she saw some little sparkling stars on the end of the wand, forming letters on the page. Prue ran the wand over the page slowly line after line until nothing was coming out of the wand anymore.
Then she looked at the page and the first word she could see was. "Thunder stones." she read loudly. "Black magicians use them first and foremost to capture demons." Prue looked up and frowned, that didn't help her along, finally Cole wasn't a demon anymore. Nevertheless she went on reading. "In the moment when a person who is able to dematerialize, does it, the black magician can lock him up with a spell. The person will be caught inside of the thunder stone." Prue looked up horrified, that was possible, oh no, that was more than likely. If Cole was in danger, he would try to shimmer away, Prue was convinced about it. And in this moment, David Morgan or his mother would have the chance to capture him.
She took a deep breath and went on reading. "The black magician can set his prisoner free again, but the magician will place an obligation on him. The victim will have to do the black magician a favour, no matter what it is. The spell is so powerful, that nobody is able to resist." Prue closed her eyes, no that couldn't be true! She had to find Cole as soon as possible, because the mere thought what David Morgan could order Cole to do, was horrible. It would be the sheer hell for him, and she wouldn't allow it. No, she would find a way to get Cole out of the thunder stone, without any doubt, she would succeed.
Prue jumped up energetically and rushed back into the house. When she passed the maps, she stopped and took them from the ground. She folded them up thoughtfully, and wondered, where she could start. She put the maps onto the table, when her eyes fell onto the broken thunder stone. It was shining brightly, she noticed and took it to take a close look of it. Because of the light intensity, she could see the whirlwind, it had landed inside the stone.
There was no doubt anymore, Cole was captured in a thunder stone! The good thing about it was that he was still alive, but Prue didn't know how long. She went hot and cold with fear, but she compelled herself to calm down. She put the stone back onto the table, something had got to de done to rescue Cole.
She went upstairs slowly and entered Amy's bedroom. "Amy, are you still sleeping?" she asked in a silent voice.
"No, I couldn't sleep all night." Amy whispered.
Prue walked to Amy and sat down on the bed. "I think they've captured Cole in a thunder stone." Prue explained calmly. "Therefore I have to release him."
Amy sat up and looked horrified. "And what do you want to do?"
"First we have to find him." Prue said thoughtfully. "And then, well I'll think of something."
"And where will you search for him? He wanted to go to work." Amy reminded her in discourage.
"He wanted to meet Edward Wingrove and I suppose David Morgan was waiting for him there, too. Zadie told me yesterday, that Morgan wants to take revenge." Prue explained.
"Because of me." Amy let out. "Then I'm responsible."
"No, Amy, what are you thinking of?" Prue asked. "It isn't your fault, Morgan is a megalomaniac and we have to stop him." She looked at Amy and gave her an encouraging smile. "I just want to ask you, if you could call the Wingroves. I tried to get Edward Wingrove on the phone yesterday, but I didn't succeed and I really have to talk to him."
Amy nodded. "Okay, no problem."
While Amy tried to reach Edward Wingrove, Prue got dressed. When she went downstairs again, Amy gave her an dishearten look. "The Wingroves aren't in town, the whole family is away for a few days." She told Prue.
"Of course." Prue said angrily. "This coward and his family preferred to leave the town." Thoughtfully she looked out of the window. Then she'd have to reach Zadie again. Prue hoped that it wasn't too late and Zadie had already left the town early this morning. But if she was lucky, Zadie would be still at home. She looked at Amy. "Amy can you take care of Danny, please. Don't allow anyone to get near to him." She urged her resolutely. "I'll do the rest somehow, well actually that's nothing new to me." She tried to convince herself and jumped up to go into the kitchen.
Amy followed her slowly and watched Prue taking some little bottles of the potion.
"There you are." Prue said and gave Amy some of the bottles with the explosive mixture. "If someone dares to get closer to you or Danny, then you'll have to throw it at him. Okay? Will you manage it?"
Amy nodded and gave Prue an insecure look, but then she explained in a strong voice. "Yes, don't worry, nobody will be able to hurt Danny."
Prue smiled. "Okay, and take the phone with you. If something happens, I'll call you. And if you are faced with a problem, you'll call me and I'll be back at once." Prue didn't know, if her astrally projection was a dangerous kind of movement at the moment. Maybe Morgan had the chance to lock her up in a thunder stone, too. But if Danny was in danger, she wouldn't hesitate one minute. "Is everything clear?"
"Absolutely!" Amy assured her.
"Great." Prue said goodbye to Danny and promised him, that everything would be alright soon. "I'll take him home, I promise you." She whispered and kissed her nephew. Then she gave Amy a last encouraging look and left the house.
Although it was early in the morning, there was already a lot of weekday traffic in town. But when Prue reached Zadie's quarter it was still calm on the streets. It seemed as if all inhabitants were still sleeping in their beds. Thoughtfully Prue decided to take the car to get to Zadie's house this time. She found the right way without any problems and stopped in front of the house soon later. She looked out of the window and parked the car in the shadow of a linden tree.
She got off the car and walked to the house. When she entered the veranda, the steps were creaking loudly in the morning silence. Prue looked around, but she couldn't see anyone. She knocked at the door forcefully and listened intently. There wasn't a sound to be heard and Prue searched for a door bell, but she couldn't find one. She knocked at the door again, but when she didn't get an answer, she left the veranda and walked around the house to the garden.
But when she arrived on the lawn in front of the garden door, she stopped horrified. The door of Zadie's study was broken and splinter of glass were lying everywhere. Carefully Prue went closer to the house, she climbed over the broken door and entered the study. It was absolutely chaotic in the room. All of Zadie's belongings were lying scattered on the ground. The table was tipped over and the chairs were lying with broken legs on the ground. All things standing on the shelfs before, had been thrown onto the ground, too. Amulets, stones, figures, broken bottles, smashed pots and open boxes were lying on the carpet and powders and potions were spilled onto it. The altar was also fallen onto the ground and had buried the pictures and figures of saints.
Prue shook her head shocked and walked along the corridor. She listened carefully, but the people, who had devastated the room, had obviously left the house again. Prue couldn't hear any noise and checked the other rooms carefully. When she entered Madame Zadie's bare bedroom, the pillows and the blanket were cut open and the downy feathers covered the whole ground. The doors of the wardrobe were open and the drawers were lying on the ground with clothes and hangers. Prue looked around and shook her head, then she left the room again and checked the bathroom, the kitchen and a small living-room. All rooms were desolated, but Prue couldn't find Zadie anywhere.
Obviously she had already left the house, before the burglars were here. Well at least Prue hoped so, she went back into the study sighing. She wondered, if the offenders were looking for something, but she had no choice to come to a conclusion, the destruction of the house was too extreme. She looked around for the last time in frustration and finally she left the house again. On her way to her car she took her phone to call Amy.
After Amy had confirmed her that everything was calm at home, Prue took her bag. Judy had given her a piece of paper with Belva's address a few days ago. And although Zadie had told her, that the villa was guarded against unauthorized entry, Prue knew, that she had to try it. She had no choice, she searched in her bag for Judy's note and finally she found a piece of paper with Judy's handwriting on it. She cast a quick look at the paper and read the street to set off.
Prue battled her way through the traffic jam and reached the street in the late morning. When she looked around, she was rather surprised. It was a calm district with luxurious condos. It was obvious, that the condos here were very much in demand, it was near the center but quiet. But nevertheless Prue couldn't imagine that Belva could have a luxurious guarded villa in this street. Perhaps she had more than one house, Prue thought and looked at the piece of paper again. But when she read the name in the first line, she gave an angry sigh. She didn't drive to Belva's address, but to Isabell Swallow's. She remembered, that it had been the woman calling David Morgan in his office.
Prue parked the car at the next parking space and thought about what she could do next. Perhaps it was a good idea to look around here. The woman must have a close relation to David and his mother and the flats wouldn't be as safe guarded as Belva's villa. She looked at the piece of paper again, Isabell Swallow, that didn't mean a thing to her. Nevertheless Prue got off the car and walked along the street. When she reached the right house, she stopped on the other side of the street. She hid behind some parking cars and watched over the street. Isabell Swallow lived in a modern block of apartments. The house had just four floors and Prue supposed, that a caretaker welcomed every guest in the entrance.
Undecided she looked at the house, when suddenly an off-road vehicle rushed into the street and stopped in front of the entrance. The door was opened and David Morgan got off the car. Prue hid behind the car and watched him disappearing. She couldn't see if he entered the house, because his vehicle was in her way. She stood up again and ran over the street to Morgan's car. She saw that the loading space was covered by an awning, which was fixed with ropes. So she couldn't see, what was under the awning.
Prue looked around carefully, she could see the entrance very well from her place but she could see nobody. So she raised her head resolutely and unfixed the knots. She lifted the awning a little bit and tried to look under it. Prue could see a statue made of wood on the loading space, but she couldn't make out, what it was supposed to be. Thoughtfully she looked on the loading space again, the statue was fixed with ropes on the left side so that it couldn't move. But there were just a few blankets and bucketson the right side.
Without thinking twice Prue unfixed another rope and climbed onto the loading space. She crawled to the right side and pushed a few buckets aside to hide herself behind the blankets. When she had finally found the position, where nobody would be able to see her from the backside of the vehicle, she leaned back exhausted. The blankets in front of her were smelling awfully of paint and it was incredible hot under the tarpaulin. She had really let herself in for something there, she thought angrily, but it was her only chance to get to Belva's property. And she had to get there to search for the thunder stone and Cole.
It seemed to Prue as if she had to wait for hours, until she finally heard some noise beside the vehicle. Meanwhile she had already thought, she would faint because of the heat and the smell. But she knew, why she was doing this, she had to get Cole free, she couldn't allow Belva or David Morgan to use Cole for their aims.
"I'll take it to mom, quickly." David Morgan explained. "In the evening I'll be back again."
Prue heard a smacking kiss, then David Morgan opened the door and finally got in. He started the car loudly and got off.
Prue was shocked, hopefully that didn't mean that he'd go to another place than Belva's villa. Prue pushed the buckets aside and took a close look at the statue for the first time. If she had had some more space, she would have shrunk back. Because opposite to her was lying the upper part of a python looking just like the snake in her dream. The statue which was made of wood, was painted in many colours and starred at her awe-inspiring. Prue took a deep breath and regretted it immediately, when the penetrating smell of paint got up into her nose. Where did David Morgan want to go with this stature, Prue wondered, she really couldn't imagine, that Belva wanted to place it in her noble garden. But well, what did she know about Belva and her crazy son.
Time passed by and the vehicle still bumped around the place. Prue could say goodbye to her plan to reach Belva's villa. Because even if she took into consideration, that every minute on the loading space seemed to her like eternity, they must have already reached the villa long ago.
She listened intently and noticed that the car was suddenly driving faster. She supposed that they had arrived at the highway. They went on until Morgan stopped the vehicle. Prue could hear different sounds, car doors were opened and people talked together.
"You were really lucky, that the tarpaulin didn't fly away." Prue heard a man saying from behind the car. "You have to fasten the ropes more tightly."
"They were fastened very tightly." David Morgan explained angrily.
"Okay, it's okay, I just wanted to help you." The man disappeared and Prue heard that Morgan tied up the ropes again. Now she was really locked up on the loading space and that wasn't a nice picture.
After an eternity, the vehicle left the highway and Prue supposed that they drove through some little towns, because the car stopped on and drove off again more than once. Finally they drove along a bumpy street until the car stopped. David Morgan got off and opened a gate. Then he got in again and drove onto the property. Prue listened attentively, but she could just hear the wind and birds twittering silently.
David Morgan got off the car again and Prue heard another person.
"There you are finally, why did it take so long?" a woman's voice asked.
"I visited Isabell before, finally there was no hurry." David Morgan snapped at the woman.
"No, of course not, my dear." the woman appeased him. It was obvious, that it was his mother. "But you know, that I'll have to be back in town this evening."
"That's no problem, but now you can help me." David Morgan and the woman started to untie the dews and although Prue already thought she had to suffocate, she pulled the blanket over her head. She heard, that Morgan and his mother pulled the tarpaulin aside and the statue was hefted from the loading platform with loud rumble.
The woman groaned. "That's a great one!" she explained solemnly. "Let's take it to the storeroom."
They disappeared and Prue threw the blanket away in relief, she wouldn't have to stand it any longer under them. Carefully she sat up and crawled from behind the buckets. She looked over the outer wall of the loading platform and could see David Morgan and a woman carrying the statue into a house. Prue only saw the back of them and jumped from the loading platform quickly. She ran to a few bushes and trees at the edge of the property and hid behind them. Then she looked at the house, it was a slightly dilapidated house made of wood, that already had seen better days. The light wall colour was flaked off here and there and the veranda in front of the house sagged. The trees and the bushes in the garden, already reached the building and its windows, nobody had pruned them for years.
Prue sneaked along the fence to the house. She hid in the shadow of the trees and bushes, standing so closely, that the branches scratched her arms and legs. After some steps, she couldn't see David Morgan and the woman anymore. She walked to the right side of the building and after a while she found a window, which wasn't closed.
She opened it carefully and climbed into the house. Immediately Prue was standing in a dim dusty corridor. She wondered, what she was searching for, when she suddenly heard that somebody opened the entrance door not far away.
Horrified Prue opened the next best door and disappeared in a dark room. It was dimly lit, because the curtains were closed and Prue could only make out a few pieces of furniture covered with white blankets. Obviously nobody used this room, Prue thought in relief. She listened at the door and heard groans of a woman lugging the heavy statue together with David Morgan.
"The best thing would be to stow it away in the cellar, among your other treasures." David Morgan said breathlessly and opened a squealing door. Further rumbling seemed to indicate, that both carried the statue into the cellar. Soon later they trampled upstairs again.
"I've prepared lunch for you." the woman said.
David Morgan murmured something, but then his voice disappeared. Prue opened the door carefully and looked along the corridor. Both were gone. She left the room and walked to the cellar door. After David Morgan had mentioned, that the treasures were lying in the cellar, Prue decided to check it. She was convinced that if she could find something here, it would be in the cellar. She opened the door forcefully and slipped through it. Then she closed the door again quickly, because nobody should hear the squeal of the door. She stopped on the cellar stairs made of stone and listened intently. But when she couldn't hear anything, she looked into the dark cellar, before she walked downstairs carefully.
The light falling poorly through a dull window, because only the upper half of it was lying over the ground. So Prue couldn't make out a lot. The three parts of the statue were lying in front of the window on the ground. On the other side of the window was a table and some cupboards on the wall. Prue walked to the table and recognized some small figures on it, but she couldn't see, what was lying on the cupboards, it was too dark. She took one of the objects in her hand and found out, that it was a bottle. She ran her hand over the objects on the cupboard and felt one bottle after another. Then she turned to the next cupboard, she took the next object and went to the window to take a closer look at it. She held it against the light and could hardly believe how lucky she was, it was a thunder stone.
"What did I tell you."she whispered to herself rather satisfied and went back to the cupboard, when she suddenly heard some noise from the door. Immediately she kneeled down and tried to hide in the edge of the room. The door was opened a little bit, but then it was closed again. Prue heard that someone used a key to lock it up. She was locked up again, but this time in a cellar. She looked at the cupboard and the thunder stones: in fact together with a quite large number of demons!