So, here's the next chapter. I hope there are some people out there who like this story. Please let me know if you do! Thanks for reading!
Chapter 3: Prue
„What the hell...!" exclaimed Prue when she landed on something hard with a thud.
She opened her eyes – that she didn't even realized closing – and saw a strange environment around herself. She was in a room packed full with odd and obviously old objects: statues, medals, jewelley and other things that she couldn't identify. It looked like some kind of storeroom. This was comfirmed by the huge unpacked cases with the sign 'fragile' on them in one of the corners.
In the middle behind a desk sat an elderly man with white heard and a neatly trimmed beard. He studied some old paper through a loupe. Prue went closer.
„Excuse me..." the man didn't react so she went even closer and waved her hand in front of him. No reaction. „Great... Where the hell am I and how could this happened?" she wondered.
The door opened suddenly and a younger man walked in carrying an other case. This one had dark hair and she knew him: it was Phoebe's demon-ex-boyfriend. He looked a few years younger though and it meant that they were somewhere in the past, old-fashioned clothes the two men were wearing told the same.
„This is the last one, Professor!" Cole said.
Proessor? Since when lived porfessors in the Underworld? Prue was wondering.
„Thank you" said the older man absent-mindedly, he didn't glance up at all. „Come here, please!"
Cole stepped behind him after he had put down the box and looked at the paper over the professor's shoulder.
„Look at this! Look the small signs between the written lines!"
Cole took the paper and the loupe and studied it for a few moments.
„Well, what do you think?"
„These are celtic runes."
„Exactly, exactly!" the grey-haired man said satisfied. „But how do you think come celtic runes on an Egyptian parchment?"
„I have no idea, sir."
„Neither have I. It's a real mistery again, so our new priority is to translate this text! I'd like you to make a few copies of it and keep one for yourself. Work on it! You've helped a lot the last time, as well."
„I'm glad if I can help, Professor!"
„Before you start with the copies..." he couldn't finish as the door opened again and an other man in his sixties came in. „Ah, Professor Nivens!" he greeted the newcomer.
„Professor Clarke!"
They shook hands and then the first professor turned back to Cole.
„Please, Cole, go to the other room and start to unpack the remaining findings. I'll go after we'd finished the buisness talk, here!"
Prue didn't know what to think about this whole situation but the older man didn't look like a demon. He looked like a lightheaded human professor and Prue found him quite funny and nice. Prue still didn't know how she landed here and why would she go to Belthazor's past? This was a real mistery!
Meanwhile Cole left and the professors continued their conversation.
„Your assistant seems to be useful!" Nivens was saying.
„Yes, he's a real treasure. Considering that he has no degree at all, he's very outstanding especially in old languages. He never tells though how and where he learned so much!"
„Yes. This is a little bit suspisious, don't you think so? I took the liberty to make a little investigation. This man has no papers, Peter! Due to my sources he hasn't crossed our borders at all! Didn't you say that he came from the United States?"
„So he told me. Whatever, dear Niven: if he had had cruel intentions he would surely have done something by now! He's been working here for six months!"
„Yes, I know, but still..."
„No more of this, my friend! He's an outstandig assistant and I trust him."
„All right then" sighed Nivens. „But I hope he doesn't stays here anymore! If the governours find out that we let an employee stay here... They are already nervous about you studying occultism here..."
„No, no! My wife found a room for him at one of her friend's house. You know, Charlene really got to like this boy. She told me it's bracing to meet a man who doesn't speak all the time!"
„You see, there's a lot of truth in that one!" laughed Nivens.
Just then a muffled cry could be heard from the room next door, then some clashing and a thud. The two older men jumped up and rushed to the neighboring room.
The sight that greeted them made them stop: Cole was kneeling on the floor, pieces of a broken ancient object in front of him and blood floating freely form his left hand. But this wasn't the most stunning thing: he had a painful and frightened expression on his face and Prue looked for demons immediately. But there was nobody else in the room. Professor Clarke rushed to his subordinate's side an kneeled down.
„Don't you feel well, my son?" he asked worriedly. „Tell me something! What heppened?"
„I..." Cole's voice was hoarse and quiet. Then he shook his head as if waking up from a dream and the frightened expression vanished, at least partly. He slowly staggered to the feet. „I'm sorry, Professor. I have to go now!"
„What do you mean? You can't go! What happened? And your hand is bleeding strongly, you need to see a doctor..."
Cole pulled his arm from the professor's grip and started to the door.
„I can't stay... I have to go" he repeated determined.
„But..." started the professor again.
„I'm sorry."
With that he left the room and shimmered instantly when he was out of the humans' eyesight.
Prue could only imagine how they reacted when they found the other room empty as she was pulled with Cole and the next moment she found herself in a cave, definitely in the Underworld.
A half dozen demons stood around the place and a seventh figure who was lying on the floor. Prue couldn't make out much in the dim light but the figure was clearly a woman. Her clothes were ragged and bloody though and she didn't move at all.
„I knew that you only needed some motivation to come back to us!" the demon who stood in the middle said. He had a hood over his head so Prue couldn't see his face.
Cole just stood, facing all of them, unmoving. But Prue could feel tension radiate from every muscle in his body. The demons – except one, who stayed back to guard the woman – stepped closer in a menacing manner.
„If he tries something, kill her!" the hooded demon, obviously the leader, said.
Cole clenched his fists but didn't make another move. He didn't move either when two demons stepped to him and forced him to kneel down, wrenching back both his arms.
„Bow to our Liege!" growled one of them, but Cole continued to look in the hooded demon's face until his capturer pushed his head down and held it there with a tight hand.
„Do you want to tell something in your defense, Belthazor?" asked the leader coldly.
Cole didn't speak so the demon behind him kicked him hard.
„Answer, half-breed!"
„You can do to me what you want but please let her go!" he said.
Hearing this the demon started to laugh.
„You think it will be so simple? You betrayed me! Me, the Source of All Evil, the Ruler of the Underworld! Your Liege!" he stepped closer and raised his prisoner's head, while he pushed back the hood from his face.
Prue gasped seeing the scarred pale face of the demon that radiated power and cruelty.
„I won't kill you, Belthazor. It would be too good for you! I want you to suffer for what you did. I want you to give up your human side and serve me with all of your loyalty!"
He glanced back at the woman on the ground.
„I could use your sister easily but I don't want to! I don't want to use your weakness, I want to break your strength. I want to break you!"
He waved and from the shadows stepped out another demon. This one had pale face, his skin stretched on his skull and black robe covered his skinny body. He looked like the Death. Not the Angel of Death who Prue had met but the Death as most human imagined it.
„Meet Harak! You will spened a lot of time with him: he will keep you here until you give up your human side and let your demonic powers rule you! Still nothing to say?" he asked then. „Maybe some explanation for your deed?
„Would it count? I don't think you would understand it anyway..." Cole said quietly. Hearing the disrespect in his voice the two minions wrenched his arms back even harder.
„Well, then. Degan!"
The demon that guarded the woman answered immediately.
„Yes, My Liege?"
„I know you've always liked this female half-breed: she's yours. Do to her whatever you want but don't kill her!"
„No!"
Cole tore himself from the demon's clench and launched at the Source.
The demon shot a blue energy bolt from his hand that hit Cole straight in the chest so hard that he flew against the opposite wall and then fell to the ground breathing heavily. The Source stepped to him, grabbed into his hair and jerked up his head.
„And just that you know it: your job was done by someone else. The girl you wanted to save is dead and I assure you she had the slowest death possible."
Prue didn't know what girl they were talking about but she saw the anger in Cole's eyes and it told her enough. The Source waved again and strong chains appeared around the half-demon's wrists.
Meanwhile the demon named Degan pulled up the young woman from the floor. She was barely consious, her face was bruised and bloody and her eyes looked blindly at the world.
„I'll kill you for this, Degan!" Cole spoke the words quietly but there was a promise in his voice and danger.
So much danger that Prue shivered because she realized one thing: these words were told by the human and not by the demon, she was sure about it. Degan only smiled though and shimmered out, together with his praise.
The two demons that were holding him pulled up Cole from the ground and the Source bent very close to his face:
„Enjoy your stay here!" and he shimmered out as well.
Now Harak took over the lead.
„Bring him after me!" he ordered.
The demons dragged their prisoner along a corridor roughly using every opportunity to kick or hit him. So by the time they arrived at their destination Cole looked almost as ragged as his sister had. Harak opened a door and behind it was a small and very dark cell. It was only about two times two meters but Prue could hardly see the opposite wall even so that the door was open. Cole was pushed inside unceremonously and the door was closed with a bang.
In that moment the door seemed to be fading and Prue felt herself fall again.
xxxxxxxxxxxx
8