TWELVE

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Leo asked as Prue scried for the demon. "How do you know you can even trust this demon?"

"We can't," said Prue. "But it's our only shot at finding Gray. We'll just have to hope that his fear of us is greater than his desire for whatever he wants from Gray."

"I can help there," said Cole. "Belthazor's reputation is known to most demons, even the ones I've never met. If he's not afraid of you I'm sure I can persuade him to help you."

"We need his help, not him dead," Piper said dryly.

"I know," said Cole. "I probably won't have to hurt him. Just a few well placed threats should do the trick."

"What about your exile from the underworld?" Phoebe asked.

"That doesn't affect my reputation about how I often dealt with subordinates," said Cole smiling coyly. "Don't worry. He'll help us whether he wants to or not."

"I just wish we knew what kind of demon it was," said Piper. "I don't like going after it blind like this."

"I wish I could help," said Cole. "But there weren't any markings on the athame Prue had. In fact, it doesn't look like any type of athame I ever encountered in the underworld."

"Got him," said Prue as the crystal she was scrying with suddenly dropped to the map. "It's a building on Scott Street."

"I know that neighborhood," said Cole "It's mostly residential. We'll need to be careful. There could be innocents around."

"We'll be careful," said Prue. "Leo, you need to orb us there. We need to take the demon by surprise before he can shimmer out."

"Speaking of which," said Piper, "why didn't he shimmer out of Gray's hotel room? He ran out the door and down the stairs."

"Really?" said Cole. "Was anyone else around at the time?"

"No, just us," said Phoebe.

"That's odd," said Cole. "There wasn't any reason he shouldn't have shimmered out. Strange behavior for a demon."

"Whatever," said Prue. "I really don't care why he did it. I just want to find him so we can find Gray and stop him."

"And what are you going to do with him once you find him?" Leo asked. "You can't kill him. He's human, no matter how evil he may be."

"One problem at a time," said Prue. "First we have to find him. And to do that we have to get this demon. Let's get going."

Leo orbed Prue and Piper out of the manor while Cole shimmered Phoebe and himself out.

"You sure it's here?" Phoebe whispered to Prue. "This house looks like it hasn't been occupied for years."

"It's where the crystal showed," Prue whispered back. "It has to be here somewhere."

"Maybe it's upstairs," suggested Piper. "It would be less likely to be discovered on the second floor."

"Or in the basement," said Cole, pulling a door open slightly. "If I were a demon hiding out in a house that's where I would be. But then that begs the question. Why would a demon be hiding out in a house? There are any number of places a demon could be without hiding out in an old deserted house."

"Who knows," said Prue. "Nothing about this situation seems right. Let's just find this demon so we can find Gray."

Cautiously they crept down the stairs leading to the basement. Cole led the way, saying that if the demon attacked he was the one most likely to survive it and be able to avoid it. He glanced around furtively waiting for an attack at any moment.

"It's too quiet," Piper whispered. "It's almost like it knew we were coming."

"I don't know how it could have known," whispered Prue.

"Keep quiet," whispered Cole. "We don't want to warn it that we're coming."

"I'm afraid it's too late for that," said a voice in the darkness.

Suddenly a light came on in the basement. Standing beneath the light was the demon the girls had fought in Gray's suite. He stood facing the five holding a short double-edged sword. There was no fear in his eyes as he stared at them.

"We've come here to make a deal with you," said Prue. "We're not after you. We're after Van White. Or Gray. Or whatever his name really is."

"A deal?" questioned the man. "Why should I make a deal with you? I found Gray before. I'll find him again. I have no need to make a deal with anyone."

"You do with us," said Prue. "If you don't, we'll just vanquish you. Help us find him and we'll let you go."

The demon laughed.

"Vanquish me?" he questioned. "Go ahead. I wish you could. You'd save me the trouble of having to find Gray."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Phoebe asked. "Do you even know who we are? We're the Charmed Ones. And you're not the first demon we've come up against."

"The what?" questioned the demon. "Is that name supposed to mean something to me?"

"How could he not know about us?" Piper questioned. "I thought the entire underworld knew about us."

"There may be a few that haven't heard about you," said Cole. He turned to the demon. "Maybe you don't know them but I'm sure you've heard of me. My name is Belthazor. And I would suggest you help them unless you want me to get involved in this."

"I once knew a Belthazor," said the demon. "It was a very long time ago. He was a gifted warrior. But you're much too young to be associated with him."

"Are you crazy?" Prue asked. "You don't know who we are. You apparently don't know who Cole is. What kind of demon are you anyway?"

"Demon?" questioned the man. "Is that what you think I am?" He just laughed. "Oh, that is quite funny. I haven't had a laugh like that in decades. I'm no demon, witch. Far from it. There was a time - long ago – when I would kill demons. But I quickly tired of it."

"Okay, now it's my turn to be confused," said Phoebe. "If you're not a demon then just who are you and why are you after Gray?"

"Well, of late," said the man, "I've been going by the name Art McDonald. It's difficult coming up with new names sometimes. After a while they all begin to blur together."

"Enough of this," said Prue, her temper growing short. "You'd better start coming up with some answers real quick before I lose my temper. Now, I want to know who you really are and why you're after Gray."

"I'm after Gray so he can tell me the secret to his immortality," said McDonald. "I know he was human once. And he was dying. Then suddenly he's immortal. Unable to die even from what would normally be considered mortal wounds. I want to learn the secret of how a human suddenly becomes immortal."

"Why?" Leo asked. "Why is it so important for you to learn this?"

"So I can see if there's a way to undo it," said McDonald. "If a mortal can be made immortal then there should be a way to reverse it. To make an immortal mortal."

"And just why would you want to know that?" Prue asked.

"It's something I need to know," said McDonald. "Something you probably wouldn't understand."

"Look we aren't going anywhere until we get some answers," said Piper. "You want Gray and so do we. It stands to reason we should work together. You suggested you've been chasing him a long time. And he said you've been after him for a couple of years. You haven't had much luck catching him. Maybe with our help we can get him."

"And then what?" McDonald asked. "You kill him? Before I have a chance to find out what I need to know?"

"Why is it so important that you learn how to make an immortal a mortal?" Leo asked. "Are you going to use it to fight demons?"

"No," said McDonald. "I need it for myself. To end this miserable existence of mine."

"That's crazy," said Phoebe. "If you have a death wish there are easier ways to commit suicide."

"Oh, if it were only that simple," said McDonald, smiling. "I've told you I go by the name McDonald. But that isn't my given name, as they say. The name with which I was born. A name that should have been lost in obscurity centuries ago."

"You're claiming to be immortal?" Leo asked. "That's not possible. Humans aren't immortal."

"For the most part, you are correct," said McDonald. "I am one of the exceptions. Although I suppose you could say that technically I'm not human. I stopped being human when my mother gave me the 'gift' which has since become my curse."

"What gift?" Cole asked.

"The gift of immortality," said McDonald. "A gift which makes me incapable of dying. I was born almost three thousand five hundred years ago. My mother named me Achilles."