Chris and Wyatt stared at each other in shock.
: Did you know? : Chris asked his brother.
: No, I had no idea, I… : Wyatt began before something interrupted him.
: It's rude to whisper, you know. : The demon's cool, mild voice slid into both their minds. It felt as if a bucket of icy water had been dumped on both their heads, and they pulled out of the link. Wyatt glared at the demon angrily.
"It's rude to eavesdrop, too," he told him sharply. "And to break into someone's house, uninvited, unannounced, with a horde of demons in tow."
"Really?" the demon asked, sounding amused. Wyatt nodded.
"Especially if we don't know your name," he added The demon chuckled, then glanced at Eryn.
"What, you're not gonna introduce me?" he asked. Eryn didn't answer. He sighed. "Well, I'll just have to do it myself." He took a step forward and gave a mock bow.
"My name is Ardariaen. Although you probably already knew that. I'm Eryn's father." He grinned. "I'm assuming you didn't know that." He looked at Eryn. "She doesn't like people to know she's the daughter of Ultimate Evil. Thinks it's something to be ashamed of."
Chris glanced at the demons surrounding them nervously. The man in the doorway caught the look.
"Oh, don't worry. We're not here for you. At least, not yet."
"Now, why am I not reassured by that statement?" Chris asked sarcastically. The other arched an eyebrow.
"I see Eryn has had an influence on you…either that, or you're just naturally a cocky little shit."
Chris smirked. "Naturally."
The demon narrowed his eyes slightly at Chris, then shrugged and looked at Eryn. He cocked his head slightly, and a mildly hurt expression appeared on his face.
"What, you're not pleased to see me?" he asked her, his voice mock-disappointed. She swallowed.
"How did you find me?" she asked, and Chris glanced at her amazed. Her normally confident voice was gone. Instead, she sounded…nervous.
Ardariaen laughed, and the hairs on the back of Wyatt's neck stood on end.
"Well, I could lie," he began, tapping his lower lip, "And say I used a spell to find you, but that wouldn't be fair on the one who actually did find you." Throwing back his head, he made a peculiar noise in the back of his throat that was a cross between clicking and a humming. Chris and Wyatt glanced at Eryn. She was frowning, then a look of comprehension passed over her face, followed by a look of incredible sadness.
A moment later, a tiny black shimmer appeared at Ardariaen's shoulder. He held up a hand, and it fluttered its black wings until it was over his palm, before gently alighting.
"The real honor for finding you goes to my friend Nightshade here," he said, nodding his head at the evilly smirking fairy. "She found you easily enough when you left this house and went to the bridge. When you and that pesky Whitelighter of yours finished talking, she followed you back from there to here, then came and told me where you were." He smiled at the tiny being. "She's been a big help." The fairy gave a shrill, evil-sounding giggle.
"You sick bastard…" Eryn murmured, looking upset. "What the hell did you do to her?" Ardariaen smirked.
"Now, now…" he said, flicking his hand casually at her, "…watch your language, Eryn. You really shouldn't speak to your father that way..."
"Screw you, Ardariaen," she snapped suddenly, angrily. "I didn't ask for a lecture, I asked you what the hell you did to Nightshade. She's a fairy queen, for chrissakes, you can't just…"
"…Turn one evil?" Ardariaen finished for her. She glared at him, and he smirked. "Oh, but I can, Eryn. I've already done it, obviously." He shrugged. "It was actually incredibly simple…once I realized that only high-level fairies could survive the process. I went through quite a few fairies before I realized. They all went poof before I could turn them completely evil. Then I thought, maybe these fairies I've been using…maybe they're just too weak to be turned. So I went to Faery and caught Nightshade here…" His voice trailed off as he smirked at her. "And the rest is history."
"Like I said, you're a sick bastard," she snarled at him. He glared at her then, his dark eyes shooting daggers at her.
"And like I said, watch your language," he snarled in return, powering up a fire-ball in his right hand and aiming it at Wyatt, "Or one of your little friends might just have to die. To teach you a lesson."
Eryn held out her left hand and conjured an energy ball. She aimed at Ardariaen.
"And you'll end up with half a face," she said coolly. Chris saw a shocked look passed over Ardariaen's face, but a second later it disappeared, and he wondered if it had even been there.
"I didn't know you had energy balls, Eryn," the demon said with a faint smile, powering down his fireball. "New power?" She nodded.
"I've been getting a few of them lately," she told him. He arched an eyebrow.
"Really?" he asked.
"Mm-hmm…"
He smirked slightly, a thoughtful expression crossing his handsome features. "Interesting. Very…very interesting."
Eryn pulled back her arm a tiny fraction, fully intending to hurl the energy ball, if only to see the self-satisfied, smug, annoying look disappear from his face, but she thought better of it. The action would only serve to enrage him, and she did not want that to happen. Besides, if the energy ball hurt him - and she had no doubt that it would - it would show him exactly how strong she had become. She didn't want him to know the limits of her strength. She'd already shown him a little by conjuring the energy ball - You don't have time for heroics! You're only priority right now is to stay alive, not protect two who can look after themselves! a part of her screamed - but what was done was done.
With an inward scream of annoyance at her father, at Fate, at her whole gods-damned freaking hell-hole of a life, the girl powered down her energy ball and went into negotiator mode.
"Dad. Dearest father of mine. We shouldn't fight. I mean, we're family." The man - demon...ah, hell, maniac - in question arched an eyebrow. She went on. "Why don't we settle this differently…a bargain, perhaps?"
"What exactly did you have in mind?" he asked, his curiosity piqued. She took a deep breath.
"If you promise to leave Chris and Wyatt alone…to not harm them in any way…you or your minions…I'll go with you. Quietly."
"What?" Chris hissed, staring at her. Ardariaen laughed.
"And what puts you in a position to bargain, darling daughter of mine?" His cheerful voice turned to ice. "My minions and I outnumber you and your playmates six to one. I could take you at any time."
Eryn sighed, and when she spoke again, her voice had retained its old sarcastic edge.
"Oh, come on. Chris and Wyatt are two of the progeny of the Charmed Ones. They pack enough power between them to blow San Francisco off its foundations in the Earth itself. Do try and keep up, Daddy."
One of the demons to their left gave a low, gravelly hiss and glared at Eryn, its fuchsia eyes smoldering.
"Oh, shut up, Acrathen, " Eryn snapped, turning her grey eyes its way. The demon continued to hiss. Eryn turned away, then turned back, her body blurring as she moved. A fire ball was conjured in her hand and on its way towards the minion before it had a chance to blink.
The fireball hit the demon with such force that it stumbled back two paces before it even realised it was doomed. Acrathen let out one desperate scream, then exploded into wisps of smoke.
For a moment all was silent, then Ardariaen quietly remarked, "You just vanquished one of my lieutenants."
"It was nothing personal. He just annoyed me," Eryn said with a smirk. The other demons moved restlessly around them, and she glanced at them one by one. "Talkarn, Ramget, Karthy, Domso…I know your names, and I'm pretty sure…" she squinted at one of the demons to her right, then grinned. "Oh, Ladsfi, sorry, didn't recognize you under all that scar tissue."
The demon arched an eyebrow. "You don't?" he asked, mock-puzzled. "But you're the one who gave me these scars."
Eryn cocked her head. "As I said before, 'Nothing personal'." She frowned slightly. "Now, where was I? Oh yeah.
"I know all your names, and I know all your vanquishing spells. They're tried and true against others of your…various kinds. You just saw me vanquish the most powerful of you minions with a mere fireball. Wanna bet I can make you go poof with a spell?"
All the demons immediately quietened down. Eryn stared at Ardariaen.
"That goes for you, too, Dad," she told him. The demon cocked his head.
"What? You think you have a vanquishing spell for me hidden in your young mind?" he asked with a snort. Eryn shook her head slowly.
"No. I don't think that at all. But I do think you should recognize a good offer when you see it. I can keep vanquishing your moronic minions until you realize that the deal I just offered you is the best one you're gonna get all day."
Ardariaen frowned slightly. It was true, he realised. His daughter was as powerful as he'd hoped - and feared - she would be. When he could strip her of her powers and take them for himself, he would truly be the most powerful being in this world, but whilst she retained them, even considering how immature her powers were, she was a serious threat to him.
He nodded slowly. "All right," he said calmly. "I accept your offer."
She narrowed her eyes slightly. "And my terms?" she asked cautiously. Ardariaen growled.
"And your terms," he rumbled.
"Done," she said with a grim nod. "Let's do this."
She conjured an athame into her right hand, and before Chris or Wyatt could blink, she sliced open her left palm. Blood dripped slowly onto the floor as she walked towards Ardariaen. Chris took a step after her, but something held him back, like a kind of invisible force-field. Beside him, he felt Wyatt try and go forward, but he too was thwarted.
Meanwhile, Ardariaen had also conjured an athame and was doing the same thing. When they were a foot away from each other, they stopped. Holding their left hands up in front of them, they placed pressed their hands together, palm to palm, then slid them around until they were grasping hands, fingers entwined, their thumbs crossed on top.
After a moment, a weird, dark blue light issued from the bottoms of their palms and from between their clasped fingers. Ardariaen's face contorted in pain, and Eryn gasped. A flash of light raced from Eryn's shoulder, down her arm and into her father's hand. Chris saw a similar bolt of light issue from Ardariaen's chest and travel quickly down his arm and into Eryn's hand.
Slowly, the blue light enveloping their hands began to dissipate. Ardariaen looked at Chris and Wyatt over the top of Eryn's head.
"I would've let you die," he remarked idly. "And to be perfectly honest, I thought she would've done the same. But she's more like her mother than I gave her credit for. Natalia didn't have her temper though." He sighed and looked down at his daughter. "Bit of a disappointment really," he murmured, before glancing up at Chris and Wyatt once again.
"I'll be back for you two," he said before he shimmered out. His demons lingered for a second longer, then shimmered out themselves.