"What do you mean it took her?" demanded Piper in anger. "You just let that demon take her?"
"I didn't let it," said Leo. "This thing is stronger than anything I've ever seen before. And it's nothing like any demon I've ever seen."
"You said it jumped?" questioned Cole.
"Yes," said Leo. "I couldn't believe how far it could jump. It must have landed almost a quarter of a mile away and immediately jumped again. After that I lost sight of it."
"We have to go get her," said Paige. "There's no telling what that demon will do to her."
"She's safe for the moment," said Leo. "I can still sense her. The demon is still moving. It's probably looking for a secluded spot. Once it stops I'll orb you there immediately. It was strange. It's not like it was trying to hurt her. In fact it seemed to be protecting her."
"That's strange behavior for a demon," said Cole. "And I don't know of any demon that can jump the way you've described. Most shimmer or flame or something similar. I still can't think of a demon it might be. Nothing that resembles a demon like this."
"You think this is a new kind of demon?" Paige asked.
"That's possible," said Leo. "It might be something new the Source has come up with to fight you. Heaven knows he hasn't had much luck in the past."
"Maybe," said Cole. "But right now we have to save Phoebe. Once that thing stops she won't live long. If it is some new secret weapon of the Source he'll want to get rid of her as soon as possible."
"So why not just kill her at that house?" Piper asked. "Why take her somewhere else if all he's going to do is kill her?"
"Maybe he has something else in mind," said Cole. "Maybe he wants to strip her powers first. Any warlock would give their eyeteeth to get your powers. Maybe that's where the demon is heading. Some warlock who will steal her powers when she dies."
"Well, wherever it is," said Leo, "I think they've arrived. They've stopped moving. We'd better get there as quickly as we can. Whatever this demon has in mind I don't think it will wait very long."
"I'm going with you," said Cole.
"You can't," said Piper. "You have no powers and the Source wants you dead. We can't be worried about protecting you and trying to save Phoebe."
"I'm going," Cole said more forcefully. "Don't worry about me. I can help distract the demon if nothing else. But you can't leave me here while you go off to rescue her."
"Okay," said Piper. "But stay out of the way. We're probably going to be in for a fight as it is and I don't want to be distracted by your doing something stupid."
"Like I said," said Cole, "don't worry about me. Just save Phoebe."
"Come on, Leo," said Piper. "Let's go save my sister and vanquish this demon, whatever it is."
Almost immediately Leo orbed them all to where he had sensed Phoebe and the demon.
The four found themselves in a building that was literally falling apart. It was impossible to tell what it had once been although it was obviously some type of public building. It was located on the outskirts of San Francisco just barely inside the city limit.
"This is where the demon brought Phoebe?" Paige questioned. "Why bring her here?"
"It's deserted and secluded," said Cole. "Whatever this demon has in mind it won't want any witnesses around. Maybe that's why it didn't kill Phoebe at that house. Leo said there were people watching from across the street."
"She's here somewhere," said Leo. "I can still sense her. That's odd. She doesn't seem concerned or worried."
"What about the demon?" Piper asked. "Is it still with her?"
"Yes," said Leo. "I can still sense the being that took her. It's different somehow. I can't explain it. It's the same but then again not the same. I've never sensed anything like this before."
"Maybe the demon has changed form," suggested Cole. "That might account for the change."
"Maybe," said Leo thoughtfully.
"Let's find it," said Piper, beginning to move through the building. "The longer we wait the more likely it is that this thing will do whatever it brought her here for."
Cautiously the four moved through the building. Even in the daylight that filtered through the broken windows and occasional missing boards there were plenty of shadows the demon could be hiding in.
Suddenly they came to a large room. They could see Phoebe sitting across the room on the floor. She appeared to be unhurt. Several feet from her sat a human wearing nothing but a pair of ripped and torn slacks. The man was rubbing his stomach.
"No demon takes my sister and gets away with it," said Piper walking into the room and bringing her hands up.
"No," cried Phoebe rushing over to stand between Piper and the man. "Piper, don't. It's not what you think. He hasn't hurt me. I'm not sure what's going on here but I don't think it's what we thought."
Piper looked at Phoebe then at the man sitting on the floor. He was looking up at them with a look of fear in on his face. Paige, Leo, and Cole moved into the room and stood next to Piper. They all looked at Phoebe and the man wondering what was going on.
"Listen," said Phoebe, "he hasn't hurt me. He brought me here and then suddenly changed. He doesn't seem to know what's going on. I was explaining what happened to him when you came in but I don't think he's a danger to us."
"Phoebe, for crying out loud," said Leo, "he nearly killed those four men. He kidnapped you and tried to kill me. How can you say he's not a danger?"
"I just don't think he is," said Phoebe. "Think about it, Leo. He only hurt those guys who were trying to hurt me. And when you tried to orb me out he might have thought you were trying to hurt me. So he protected me from you, too. Then he brought me here where no one could hurt me again."
"Phoebe, are you okay?" asked Paige. "He's a demon."
"I don't think so," said Cole. "He's not like any demon I've ever dealt with or even heard of. I think we'd better get back to the manor and sort this thing out."
"Good idea," said Piper. "But regardless of what he may or may not have done, if he tries anything I'm going to blow him back to hell where he belongs."
Not sure exactly what was going on, Leo and Paige orbed them all back to the manor.