Both Paige and Phoebe stood in a shocked silence, it had been so long since they had had a demon in the house they felt both unprepared and frightened yet slightly exhilarated at the same time.
"I will dispose of you both then your sister; the most powerful one will be easier to slay without the power of three and then I will take her great offspring."
"Who uses language like that these days?"
Paige couldn't think of anything else to say.
The idea that even Piper couldn't defeat him without the power of three scared her shitless and she knew this was no ordinary demon.
He also had a symbol that looked like it had been branded to his forehead but they didn't know what it was. This demon was different, they had never come across anything like his kind in the book of shadows.
"What do we do?"
Phoebe hissed out of the side of her mouth.
Without Piper's strong offensive powers they were more defensive with powerful demons.
"I understand you are quivering in my presence but your deaths shall be slow and painful, so it is justified."
He laughed maniacally and his eyes flashed black then red again.
"Hey we've dealt with bigger morons then you buster so I wouldn't could your chickens just - whooa!"
A small fireball was shot at Phoebe's head as she ducked just in time and it smashed into one of the cabinets, turning it to ashes.
Phoebe's eyes widened as she saw the cabinet almost melt.
The demon smiled slyly as he knew why they were confused.
"Will that cease your tongue charmed one? Or would you like another?"
"Nope I'm good, I'm fine not melting thankyou but -"
She knew Phoebe was talking out of her ass in fear and so she decided to orb them out somewhere safer, they would use evasive tactics as they were the strongest ones they had at the moment.
The demon seemed to catch on to what she was signalling to Phoebe.
She quickly grabbed Phoebe's hand but before she could orb a larger fireball was already flying right at her.
"Tray!"She orbed the tray into her hand quick enough to use it as a shield but that too was being burnt away, it looked like it was being corroded somehow.
She didn't have time to contemplate it though and she was already orbing away.
She orbed them to the hill overlooking San Francisco - her favourite place. She couldn't think of anywhere else fast enough.
Phoebe observed her surroundings and looked at Paige confused.
Paige defended:
"What? It's away from public, reasonably out in the open and it means Paige and Wyatt are periodically out of harm's way, as he wont take her until last."
"Yes but I think this is the sort of fight where we need to hide behind things and let us just hope he doesn't start a forest fire."
There was a large forest behind them but it wasn't very close.
"Well what can we do?"They both looked at each other and called in unison.
"Chris!"
Chris orbed in quickly.
"What? Girl talk over?"
They both began to throw jumbled, half sentences at him in panic.
"Fire Demon. Attack. Symbol. Power of Three. Coming here. No time."
"Whoa! Whoa! I get the picture!"
He put up his hands as if to block the verbal assault.
Paige sounded puffed now.
"He's really powerful and I think we only got the appetizer!"
"He can shoot fire balls?
"Yes but we need Piper!"
Chris looked slightly hurt.
"What about me? I can shoot energy balls."
Paige wanted to say that his energy balls would probably be as painful to the demon as if they threw candy floss at him but she didn't want to sound completely faithless.
Phoebe didn't have a problem with it though.
"Your energy balls will be no use, if you've seen the height and size of him you'd agree - and his eyes were creepy!"
Chris frowned and the demon orbed in.
Paige knew Chris was scared but he tried not to show it for their sakes.
"So the fire circling your hands? Is that the best trick you got?"
Phoebe said it with conviction but she gulped once she had finished hoping the fire hands really were his best trick.
"You are foolhardy and weak as you run from my dominating power!"
He then made his hands into fists and suddenly his whole body was covered in an aura of flames although his black gown stayed intact.
They were so hot that Paige who was standing quite far away could feels the waves of heat.
"Any ideas Chris?"
Chris sent numerous energy balls of powerful strength at him and they repelled off him easily as the demon didn't even acknowledge the contact of them with him.
His hands then began to move above his head and he made a power ball that was the length of both his arms out stretched and looked like a mini sun.
"I think this is main course." Phoebe whimpered quietly.
Paige felt her head began to tingle in ultimate fear and she thought of what would happen if they died, would the world be destroyed as a consequence? What about Wyatt and Phoebe?
As she was thinking she felt a strange whoosh of relief over her even though the giant fireball was about to be hurled in their direction.
Is this what you felt when you knew you were going to die? Or is it what you felt when you know you was going to safe?
She was so confused as she had felt both so often it was hard to distinguish.
Chris and Phoebe stood frozen in terror, suddenly unable to move, not thinking it would make much difference if they did run anyway. The fireball would definitely make a crater metres around where they would be killed anyhow.
Then with a large groan the demon threw the fireball at them.
It came at tremendous speed but for Paige it seemed to becoming rather slowly.
She looked at Chris and Phoebe as if to say 'what's taking so long?' but they seemed like they were actually frozen.
It was only when she realised the demon's ultra slow laugh bellow out of his lips that she knew time really had slowed down.
She began to become irritated. So the powers that be wanted them to experience death as slow as possible did they?
The fireball was so close that her face suddenly became bathed in heat.
"No this is not going to happen!"
She put out her hand and suddenly a wide blue shield surrounded her, she stepped out in front of Chris and Paige preparing to counteract the fireball.
She had no idea what was going on or what she was doing but she knew the shield didn't just appear for the sake of it and it was this or stand and wait to die anyway.
When the fireball made contact it felt like Paige had been hit by a speeding truck. She pushed hard against it, but she was still gliding further and further backwards because of it's momentum.
Chris and Paige turned and suddenly everything had sped up again.
As the fireball began to slow it was easier to hold it.
"Chris hit him with all you've got while he is weakened!"
Chris looked completely dazed and bewildered but he obeyed determinedly as the demon put his hands on his knees, obviously drained of energy.
Chris hit him over and over but although he didn't fight back nor was he really affected.
Then Paige had an idea.
She stopped the fireball completely and began to run as fast as she could with it still on her shield that circulated her.
It was massive and very powerful but she knew the shield wouldn't hold forever as she could feel it draining her energy although she didn't know how it formed in the first place.
She used her remaining energy to run as fast as she could with the fireball back the way she came so she could get closer to the demon.
She didn't realise how far back she was but she had parted part of the forest with her back and she didn't even feel it.As she began to run the fireball gained momentum the opposite way it had came which made it easier to run with.
Chris and Phoebe realised what she was doing and the demon was shocked but not so quick off the ball to try and move. He was more concerned about her shield and why he hadn't been able to kill her.
Chris threw more energy balls and orbed around him in an attempt to distract him and Phoebe shouted as usual.
"C'mon is that all you got? What's for dessert huh?"
The demon grew angry and sparks began to sizzle on his palms, he was trying to relight his flames but he wasn't strong enough.
Just as the demon turned his head to belt Chris, Paige ran at him with the fireball and threw it back at him.
Phoebe had already ran behind a tree for safety but Paigr knew she was so close to him that even if it worked she would be incinerated too.
Somehow she wasn't scared because she would have saved the ones she loved, she would have orbed but she was too exhausted.
It had suddenly dawned on Chris what would happen to Paige and in a surge of panic he orbed next to her and orbed them away in the nick of time.The demon stumbled backwards with the impact and then slowly began to burn or was he melting? They couldn't be sure but it definitely wasn't natural. He screamed and howled in pain.
Finally he blew up and a sonic type wave rippled through the air and knocked over a few trees like they were matchsticks before completely disappearing.
Chris orbed them back next to Phoebe.
As soon as he let her go she hugged him again tightly.
"I thought we were dead, I was sure we were dead."
She shook in his hold as if the fear and danger they were in had only just hit her and her shield finally disappeared.
"Hey c'mon."
He stroked her hair and kissed her while looking deep into her eyes.
"Do you realise what you just did? Not only did you save our lives and kill a higher level demon on your own but you used powerful ancient magic! I don't know where it came from but that was amazing!"
"Me neither and it was kinda scary."
He kissed her forehead.
"I'm sorry but I have to go talk to the elders about this and let Leo know not to mention confirm some stuff with my sources."
"Okay."
Paige nodded over and over still in a daze and Chris looked pleadingly at Phoebe to look after her.
Phoebe smiled in response and with that he orbed out.
Phoebe looked at Paige with Concern and with awe.
She was also a bit jealous, after all she always felt she had the lamest powers and now Paige was super babe with a super human shield.
She knew it was petty but she felt completely helpless hiding behind a tree and not being able to save her own life. She was really grateful to be alive though and she couldn't help but embrace her sister.
Finally Paige calmed down after she realised that she had saved their lives and that she had been able to defend herself, she knew the power wasn't permanent and it took a lot of willpower to weild it but it was the most amazing feeling having it.
Almost like a drug, she wanted it again but of course she ignored it.
"Let's go home."
Phoebe nodded.
"I think I will need a stiff drink after that ordeal."
Paige looked at Phoebe as after last night and not knowing much about Phoebe lately she was worried she might be an alcoholic.
Phoebe saw Paige's questioning look.
"I was joking."
Paige trusted her and orbed them home.
No matter how long it had been she still couldn't bring herself to say Prue was dead.
She could say Prue had 'passed away' or been killed or even 'gone to a better place' which she knew was true but saying she was dead was just too painful.
She knew one day it would be fine to say it but even after two years she still didn't like to think of her as dead and buried because hearing herself say it sounded so tragic and bizarre that she quickly changed to saying she was gone.
In a world of magic that could alter time, reality and lives, saying someone was gone was never the final straw, there could always be a possibility of changing it, but if they were dead, it was somehow different. Human's death could not be reversed without consequences and it just wasn't the way the world of magic worked.
It was just the way life was, death happened for a reason and so they couldn't change it. To say she was dead meant to say she was finally out of their lives and no longer in their thoughts and even if that wasn't true it still meant she would never come back and closing that door wasn't an option right now. She knew Prue wasn't coming back but deep down she still couldn't accept it yet.
She didn't know how Phoebe felt about it. But especially after having vivid dreams about Prue, it didn't make it any easier to move on.
She wasn't good at moving on she knew this but she was determined to try because she knew it was the natural progression and had took in seriously what Paige had said. Her words made it seem possible when before it was just a faint hope.
She moved her leg muscles in an effort to start getting out of bed, she hated feeling out of the loop and especially away from her son.
She rolled over and arched her back up slowly until she was on her knees.
She sighed as her vision blurred white and then to full colour again. She touched her forehead that had beads of sweat on it and then made a beeline for Wyatt's room.
She had no concept of time or date and although she knew years hadn't passed, it definitely felt like it.
Wyatt was sleeping soundly and she rubbed his back, automatically feeling herself renewed slightly.
Yet she was scared she would never be able to distinguish an emotion other then pain. Yearning, heartache, emptiness, loneliness, anger and all the shades of grey that were contained in her darkness all seemed to just feel like pain.
Even happiness seemed to end up like pain, she was so numb to the variation in human emotion that she used to have that even the fear she was feeling now translated back into pain.
She knew it wouldn't be forever and she tried to put to the back of her mind as she did with all things she couldn't understand.
She went downstairs to find the rest of her family but the house was eerily empty. She called for several angry minutes before realising that no one was home.
Her face began to burn in fury, she was about to storm upstairs and call Phoebe at work when both of her sister's orbed in into Paige's bedroom.
Piper stood in her pyjamas with a look of her face that could have physically throttled both of them.
"Where the hell have you been? You left Wyatt alone? What if he had started crying or wanted something?
Then her eyes bulged slightly and her face flashed a red colour.
"What if a demon had attacked him?"
"A demon did attack, but it wasn't Wyatt it was us."
Piper stood silently waiting for an answer, it was obvious it was over and okay now but she still wanted the details.
Phoebe knew Piper wanted to know what had happened so collectively they described the entire ordeal with extra emphasis on Paige's amazing mystery power.
Piper looked stunned but at least with the danger and excitement of demon killing she could take her mind off her normal problems.
"Wow so we know nothing about the demon or your surprise ability?"
They shook their heads, amazed to see Piper up and hoping this would spur her into action.
"We have no idea why he attacked?"
They shook their heads again but Paige kind of knew why and she found it hard to lie.
"Well other then to kill us in the most painful way possible.. Oh and then you an Wyatt."
Piper couldn't help but crack a small smile, she had missed this, the talk and the strategy, lately without it she had kind of lost her way and her purpose. It had only outlined her breakdown more.
"Well check the book while I get changed and we'll see if we can come up with something."
Paige nodded.
She didn't know if she should say Leo because she was scared Piper would shatter from the inside out.
" - the elders and other sources to find out more as I doubt a demon like that one is in the book."
Piper nodded solemnly.
"-But we'll try and let you know."
"Good, I'll tidy myself up then."
She walked slowly to her bedroom and they both let out a sigh of relief as she left, although Paige who had witnessed her decline most lately thought she seemed a bit better.
After all she was shouting and almost smiling which meant things were on their way to getting back to normal. Although 'normal' was a word used rarely to describe their lives.
As Paige walked up the stairs towards the attic her legs began to wobble uncontrollably. She laughed at first until she couldn't even force them to ascend the steps. She had to hold on to the banister tightly so she didn't fall backwards.
Then her hands began to shake and she began to panic and before she could even try to sit down she blacked out.