Chapter 18
Wrenching the attic door wide ajar, Chris barged through only to skid to a stop as he witnessed his wife with an athame to her throat.
"Well, seems as though I am graced by the presence of the almighty Christopher Halliwell," the demon replied cockily as he watched Piper and Wyatt fall to a sudden halt behind Chris whose eyes couldn't seem to leave Bianca's.
"Alright buddy, I don't know who you think you are but I'll give you ten seconds to drop that knife and step away from the future daughter in law," Piper warned as she raised her arms for emphasis, prepared to use her powers if necessary.
The demon gave a snort as he disregarded the empty threat, "If you haven't noticed, I'm in a position where I can kill her faster than you can even twitch those pretty little fingers."
"Bastard, just-let-me-go!" Bianca snarled as she struggled against the demon's hold while attempting to back away from the blade that was uncomfortably close to breaking through her skin.
Ignoring her futile attempts, the demon just turned towards Chris who now seemed to snap out of his temporary shock and was studying the demon with a stony face, "Who are you?"
Smirking, the demon replied, "Again, I don't really think you're in a position to ask me of anything."
Giving a low snarl of frustration, Wyatt took a menacing step forward, "Quit the games and answer the fucking question."
Letting out a mocking sigh, he answered with a grin, "You can call me Callie."
"Callie?" Bianca questioned with a hint of disbelief and a snort.
"What do you want?" Chris asked as he continued to look him dead in the eye with an emotionless facade.
"Just to meet the 'Almighty Chris Halliwell', the savior as I hear it. Thought maybe we could talk for a bit, get to know each other. Though I have to say, I am surprised. You're not what I expected. From all that buzz about the one savior, just thought maybe you'd be older, bigger. But you've got that whole intimidating thing going on with your eyes," Callie gave a short bark of laughter, "For a while, I was sure they had the wrong Halliwell. After all, you would think this was a job for the 'Mighty Twice Blessed Child', wouldn't you?"
Absorbing the little information the demon was handing out, Chris tried to find a way to bargain with the demon, "If you let her go I'll tell you what you want to know."
"See, I think I'd feel more comfortable in a more private area, away from prying ears if you know what I mean," he teased as Callie watched for a reaction.
"Fine."
Turning towards Chris, spontaneously both Piper and Wyatt gave him a glare accompanied with a firm, "No!"
"It's not your choice so bud out," Chris replied as he stepped towards Callie who watched with an amused grin.
"Chris, I swear if you go anywhere with that demon I will make sure you never see daylight again," Piper exclaimed as she fixed him with a stern glare.
Ignoring his mom's protest, Chris just simply replied with a, "Where?"
Extending his free hand, the demon said, "Just hold on."
Wyatt began panicking, "You touch him, Chris, then I will kick your sorry ass-"
"Let her go first," Chris interrupted as he nodded towards Bianca who was now just watching the exchange with an anxious look.
"Actually, I thought maybe you'd be more willing to answer my questions if we had her by our side, so I say she comes with us."
"I'll only answer if you drop the athame."
"You follow me then I will."
Pondering his choices for a brief second, Chris took one look at Bianca's eyes and without another thought grabbed the hand.
Shimmering into a dimly lit room aligned with cavernous walls, the three occupants were barely outlined through the flickering candle lights.
"Alright, let her go," Chris watched as the demon still held the athame to his fiancé's bare throat.
Slowly mocking Chris, Callie made out as though pondering his choices, "Yeah, about that whole 'letting her go when we get here thing', don't really think that's gonna happen."
"You son-of-a-bitch" Bianca began to snarl furious as she continued to struggle against the hold.
Beginning to panic as he watched the blade bite deeper and deeper into Bianca's throat, Chris began brain storming all his possible choices to get around the situation.
"You probably won't think of just leaving your wife here but just in case the thought wondered across your head this place is an 'anti-orbing' zone so you can just forget about that. See, when I was choosing places to meet, I wanted to make sure I wasn't rudely interrupted by a sudden departure."
Looking around his surroundings once more, Chris swallowed a nervous gulp as he realized there was no easy way out of this one.
"You just let him go! After decades of dealing with demons, it never crossed your mind that it could be, I dunno…. Maybe a TRAP!" Paige exclaimed as she and the rest of the family paced the attic.
"Do you really think I would just let Chris and his pregnant wife go with a demon, Paige?" Piper replied exasperated as she waited anxiously for Wyatt to come up with a spell or for Phoebe to of located them with the scrying crystal.
"Shouldn't dad of come back by now?" Ryan questioned as he nervously wrung his hands out watching his family bicker.
"You know how your dad likes to take his PRECIOUS TIME IN TIMES OF CRISISES!" Piper yelled the last part as she gave one of many nasty looks 'up-there'.
"I think I got something here," Wyatt exclaimed from the corner of the room he had isolated himself to while scribbling madly onto a notepad.
Everyone gathered around Wyatt as he began to explain, "Obviously there's some kinda cloaking around where the demon took them since aunt Phoebe's scrying isn't any use at all so that crosses out orbing. But if we modify this spell to find a lost love and use it to find Chris instead then the spell will just automatically take us to where Chris is."
"First of all, we don't even know how to vanquish this demon. Second of all, that spell just lets you astral project over so even if we do get there we're still defenseless, cause the whole 'can't use powers while you're in your astral form' thing," Phoebe pointed out.
"It's worth a shot. I don't want to risk wasting any more time, let's just hurry and adjust the spell first," Piper ordered as she apprehensively stared at the clock.
"You know who I am, don't you Christopher? I assume you heard the prophecy and well….. you are a smart boy. You probably put the pieces together."
"Just leave Bianca out of it, she's not who you want."
"Chris, what aren't you telling me?" Bianca questioned as she took in the quick exchange.
"So you haven't told her? I'm assuming you haven't told the rest of your family either? Trying to carry the world's burdens all on your shoulder. That's one of your weak points, you know? Always playing the martyr. Among other weaknesses…" He trailed off as he stared down at a struggling Bianca. "Number one rule on being a hero, never let your opponent know your weaknesses. Cause when they find those weak points, they just hit each and every one till you crumble.
"It amazes me how they choose a kid as their last savior. Either appearances are very deceiving and you do pack quite a punch behind that scrawny body or someone's a pure idiot."
"If you're here just to make small talk and taunt me, I can tell you now I'm not interested. Let's just settle this right now," Chris suggested.
"Now Christopher, why so rushed? When I told you I just wanted to talk, I wasn't lying. No need to resort to force, now. There'll be plenty time for bloodshed later on," Callie taunted with a hint of venom behind his words.
With a stony face, Chris stared into his counterpart's eyes and scoffed, "So you're telling me that after all this you're just going to leave?"
Nodding his head as though agreeing with Chris, Callie gave a smirk as he replied, "I see your point. It's not like me to go through all this and just leave without some bloodshed….." With a sudden snap of the wrist, he removed the athame away from Bianca's throat and straight through her upper chest. A sickening thud rang throughout the room as the heavy body dropped to floor along with the clatter of the fallen athame.
As a frantic Chris ran across the room, Callie just nodded satisfied, "Now that's more like me." And with a shimmer he was gone.
Falling to his knees, Chris gently lifted Bianca's head upon his lap as he hysterically checked for a pulse, "Bianca? Come on, please…. Bianca…"
"Hey…" a hoarse voice responded as she managed a grin while looking into glassy emerald eyes.
"Don't talk, okay? Just hang on, hang on for me. I'm gonna get you out of here. You and the baby are gonna be fine, you have to be fine…. Everythings gonna work, just try to relax," Chris desperately covered the large gaping wound with his quivering hands to try and slow down the blood flow, although the red substance slowly escaped between his finger tips, "Don't leave me."
"Ready?" Wyatt questioned as the rest of his family stood in the middle of the attic.
He then began to chant:
Take
our spirits
Wherever he be
Through time and space
Take our
hearts near to thee
Suddenly, Wyatt's body collapsed to the floor with a loud thud.
"Dammit, the spell only took, Wyatt," Phoebe muttered as she rubbed her forehead with annoyance, "What do we do now?"
Piper's gaze remained on Wyatt as her answer made her inside churn, "We just hope Wyatt's enough to bring them back."
"I love you," she whispered as a lonely tear made its way down her face.
Trying to increase the pressure on the wound, Chris 's shoulder began to shake with subdued sobs, "No, you can't do this to me! You're not going to leave me! I-I can't get through this without you. Bianca…. Promise me you're going to stay with me. Tell me your not gonna leave me."
Her blue lips lifted into a shaky grin as she caressed the side of his face wet with tears as her own made its course down the side of her face.
Shaking his head slowly, he barely choked out his words, "Say it…. Please….. just tell me once…. Tell me you're not gonna leave me….. Dammit, promise me!"
"You know," she struggled for words, "you know everything happens for a reason."
His face contorted in pain as he tried to hold back the sob while shaking his head, "We were meant to be together….. You know that! Why are you lying to me?" Chris's voice shook as he looked down at his wife with puffy blood shot eyes, "Why are you leaving me?"
Gathering her last breath, Bianca smiled as she just held onto one of his hands and gave it a reassuring squeeze.
His whole body shaking with suppressed sobs, Chris rested his forehead on hers, as he held onto her hand tighter.
"Chris?" Wyatt's quiet voice made Chris's head rise as he took in sight of his brother standing across the room trying to take in the scene that lay before him.
"Wyatt, thank god! You've gotta get over here quick, she's running out of time. Just heal her, please!" Chris pleaded desperately as he kept a strong grip on one of her hands.
Seeing his little brother's tear soaked face, eye's completely blood shot and body quivering with hysteria, Wyatt didn't have the heart to tell him that he was merely an astral projection and that he couldn't heal. His own eyes burning with un-shed tears Wyatt made his way over to the two and placed a shaking hand over his sister-in-law's wound. He wasn't surprised when the familiar warm glow didn't appear.
"Why isn't it working? Wyatt, maybe you're not trying hard enough? Try it again!" Chris demanded as he urged his brother to try one more time.
Pulling his hand away, Wyatt shook his head regretfully, "Chris, I'm sor-"
Giving his brother a hard shove, Chris's expression turned to one of frustration and anger, "No! NO! she's not gonna die! She's not supposed to go before me! It's supposed to me... She's gonna be okay…… SHE HAS TO BE OKAY!"
Raising his own hand over the large gaping wound, Chris began to shake with frustration, "Heal dammit! WHY THE FUCK CAN'T I HEAL!"
Bianca's gentle hand took in Chris's as she got him to lower his hand, "Chris, promise me one thing okay?"
"You're gonna be-"
Shaking her head, Bianca shushed Chris, "Just listen. No matter what, promise me you're not giving up. You have to keep going. You're never gonna be alone, Chris. I promise you that. We're gonna be together again someday. I promise you with all my heart," her voice began to quiver as she tried to be strong watching Chris's face fall with every word, "Take care of our baby, keep strong for our baby. You're gonna make a great daddy. Just promise me you'll tell our baby about me…. Okay? And…." She placed her ring in the middle of his palm and closed his hand over it while giving it a gentle squeeze, "Make sure you give the baby this for me. I'll be watching over you both, I promise."
She gave Chris's hand one more squeeze and with her other hand, Bianca plunged the athame into her heart and her body burst into ashes. As the blackened snowflakes gracefully floated down to the floor, the air cleared leaving behind the wrinkled form of a newborn baby girl whose fresh cries rang throughout slicing through the dead silence.
TBC...