Leo orbed into the manor just as Piper and the sisters finished preparing dinner.
"Perfect timing," said Piper, kissing her husband. "You always seem to know just when the food is ready."
"Perfectly coincidental," said Leo, smiling.
"So, how are things up there?" Paige asked.
"Still celebrating," said Leo. "With the Source gone demon activity has dropped off drastically. Some of the White Lighters are finding themselves with a lot of extra time on their hands. Their charges don't seem to be needing them as much."
"Well that's good news, anyway," said Phoebe. "I'm sure that's going to change soon enough, though. Eventually the shock of loosing the Source is going to wear off and the demons are going to back up to their old tricks."
"Not for a while," said Leo. "They'll want to choose a new leader first. That's going to take time. And traditionally it involves a sort of civil war in the underworld while the leading contenders try to prove they're the most powerful. That will take out a fair number of demons."
"Well that's good news, too," said Piper. "That will mean fewer demons coming after us."
"In the mean time," said Phoebe, "I say we enjoy the respite. I, for one, will enjoy no demon attacks for a while."
"Hear, hear," said Paige.
"I saw Michael at the meeting," Leo said. "He asked if it was okay if he came by for dinner some time. I said I'd have to check with you but I didn't see any reason he couldn't."
"Sure, any time," said Piper. "Only let me know ahead of time. I'll be sure to fix something special for him."
"I'll do that," Leo said. "He did say something about tomorrow, if that's not a problem."
"No problem at all," said Piper. "I'll stop by the market and pick some ingredients up for the dinner. Tell him it should be ready about seven."
"I'll do that," said Leo. "He seemed kind of insistent. I really don't know why. When I asked him about it he would only say it was because you're such a good cook and he rarely gets a home cooked meal. But I got the distinct impression he had something specific on his mind."
"Maybe he's like the other White Lighters," Paige suggested. "Maybe he just has some extra time on his hands and doesn't know what to do with it."
"Doubtful," Leo said. "He once told me there's always something that demands his attention in the underworld. His dual identities as Michael and Malevant keep him pretty busy most of the time."
"What about the power struggle?" Phoebe asked. "You said there would be a civil war in the underworld to choose a new Source. How will that affect Michael?"
"We don't know," said Leo. "All demons know that Malevant isn't interested in ascending to the throne of the Source. So he won't be directly involved in any fighting that ensues. But a lot of demons will be looking for him to back them. As the personal advisor to the former Source, Malevant's endorsement would carry a lot of weight."
"Won't one of the demons try to take him out if he doesn't side with them?" Piper asked.
"He doesn't think so," said Leo. "He told me he's not going to endorse any particular demon. That will protect him from any retaliation from most of the demons. Whomever does become the next Source will want Malevants' support after they take their position."
"Well if he does want something special," said Phoebe, "I'm sure he'll tell us when he gets here. Otherwise, I say we just enjoy his company and try to make his stay as pleasant as possible."
"So," said Piper, "any idea what his favorite meal might be?"
"As a matter of fact," Leo said, "he once mentioned he was particularly fond of your vegetarian lasagna."
"Vegetarian lasagna it is," Piper said.
Michael orbed into a modest house on the outskirts of San Francisco. It was obviously the home to a bachelor. There were none of the feminine touches that a woman would have added. Sitting at a desk apparently grading papers was a man in his late fifties. He just looked up as Michael orbed in.
"Well, Michael," said the man, "to what do I owe this pleasure?"
"Hello, Jarrod," said Michael, "I need you to do something for me. I need you to go to a lawyer and see about having a will made out."
"A will?" questioned Jarrod. "Michael, I already have a will. And I have a regular attorney who handles all of my legal matters. Not that a sixth grade teacher has all that many legal matters. Why do I think this isn't about a will at all?"
"You always did catch on quickly," said Michael. "Actually, it's not about a will at all. But I need you to get into see a certain attorney. It could be a matter of life and death. Mine."
"I see," said Jarrod. "I guess that means there's something you'd like this particular attorney to forget."
"Precisely," said Michael. "First, I need to tell you that you aren't the only one who knows my secret. A short time back the Charmed Ones discovered my dual identities. As did their White Lighter."
"Well, I suppose your secret is safe enough with them," said Jarrod. "I hardly think the Charmed Ones would divulge your other personae as Malevant."
"Precisely," said Michael. "Unfortunately, one of them is engaged to this attorney I mentioned. And he also learned my secret. It hasn't been a problem up until now. But things have changed. Very soon this attorney may be in a position to expose me."
"Why would he do that?" Jarrod asked.
"I can't answer that," said Michael. "Believe me, it's best if you don't know. Let's just say that if he doesn't forget that little tidbit of information my life will become very uncomfortable very soon."
"Well," said Jarrod, "that should be easy enough. It's actually a very small amount of information to remove from someone's memory. I shouldn't think it would be too difficult."
"Just be careful," said Michael. "He can be very dangerous. Especially if he learns you're a witch. He won't hesitate to kill you. And trust me. He's more than capable of doing exactly that."
"Not to worry," said Jarrod. "It won't be the first time I've used my ability to remove memories from someone. And as small as this information is it won't take more than a second or two for me to remove it. I can do it while he's writing down the information for my new will. Do you want me to retain the memory for reimplantation later?"
"No," said Michael. "I don't foresee any change in the situation in the future. I think it's best if this information is lost forever."
"Okay," said Jarrod. "I'll call him in the morning and set up an appointment."
Michael handed Jarrod a piece of paper.
"I took the liberty of setting one up for you all ready," said Michael. "Here's his name and the address to his office. You have an appointment tomorrow at three."
"Pretty confident I'd say yes," said Jarrod smiling at Michael.
"Guilty," said Michael. "Thanks, Jarrod. I appreciate it."
"No problem," said Jarrod. "You've helped me out on any number of occasions. It's the least I can do."
"Thanks again," said Michael.
Michael orbed out of the house as Jarrod looked over the paper Michael had given him.