THIRTEEN
"Are you saying," Cole asked, "that you're the Achilles from Greek mythology? The great warrior and hero of the battle of Troy?"
"Hardly a hero," said the man. "A butcher. An arrogant fool who was so self-absorbed with himself that he cared for no one and nothing except his own pleasures. A man who could not die so he gave no thought to the lives of others."
"That's not possible," said Prue. "Achilles, Troy, all of that is only legend."
"Now, perhaps," said McDonald, "but it was quite real once upon a time."
"Well, according to those legends," said Cole, "Achilles died at the battle of Troy."
"Yes," said McDonald. "Pierced through the heel by an arrow. The only place he could be injured since his mother held him by the heel to dip him in the River Styx which gave him his immortality. And forgot to dip his heel once she had dipped the rest of him."
"That's how the legend goes," said Leo. "But it's only legend. Like Prue said, none of it's true."
"Believe what you wish," said McDonald. He put down the sword he was holding. "I don't care what you believe. I obviously did not die at the battle of Troy. And for the last three millennia I have searched for a way to undo what my mother did to me. A way to end the hell which is my life."
"Okay, assuming we buy what you say," said Prue, "why would you want to undo it? Most people would give anything to be immortal."
"That's because they don't know what they have," said McDonald. "Immortality consists mostly of boredom. It is death that defines us. Defines who we are. Without death our accomplishments mean nothing. They have no meaning."
"That's kind of a narrow point of view," said Phoebe.
"Really?" asked McDonald. "I'm immortal. I cannot die. Nothing can even pierce my skin. Because of that there is no urgency to my life. There's nothing I can't put off until tomorrow. Or next week. Or next year. Why shouldn't I? I know I'm going to be around. I have plenty of time. All the time in the world."
"There so much you could do with your immortality," said Piper.
"Like what?" McDonald asked. "Go to school? I have twenty-seven Ph.D.'s. I've held literally thousands of jobs. I've been married so many times I've lost count. I've outlived everyone I ever cared about. Even my grandchildren's grandchildren's grandchildren are nothing more than dust.
"Do you know how many identities I've had? I can't even remember most of them. Some have become famous while others have faded into obscurity. And each time I have to move on before the nature of my existence is discovered. At one time I had to move on so that I wouldn't be accused of practicing the dark arts. More recently it has been to avoid becoming the object of some undesirable medical and scientific experiments.
"On paper immortality seems like a great gift. But in practice it is something far less. A burden one carries like a yoke that cannot be removed. After a while one begins to yearn for the release of death. Always knowing that such release is always out of your grasp."
"I guess I never thought of it that way," said Phoebe. "We spend our entire lives trying to become the best at something. At least one of the best. And when we accomplish that what do we do then? Move onto something else, I suppose. Find something else to become the best at."
"And all the time knowing that eventually you'll succeed," said McDonald. "That no matter how long it takes you'll eventually attain your goal. Do you ever gamble?"
"Not much," said Prue. "We're usually too busy fighting demons to worry about things like that."
"Do you ever play the lottery?" asked McDonald. "Something like that?"
"Sure, sometimes," said Piper. "I never expect to win anything but it can be fun to try."
"Now imagine that every time you gambled, you won," said McDonald. "That no matter what you did or how lousy you played, you couldn't possibly lose. Would it still be as much fun?"
"I guess not," said Piper. "Part of the thrill of it is knowing you beat the odds no matter how little you win."
"Carry it one step further," said McDonald. "Imagine going through this for decades, even centuries. And knowing that no matter what happens it's never going to change."
"I guess under those circumstances gambling wouldn't be a whole lot of fun," said Piper.
"Neither would immortality," said Cole. "I'm immortal, too, but it's possible for me to be killed. Even Leo can be killed by a Dark Lighters' bolt. While we may live much longer than any human we both know there may come a time when we will die. So there is some urgency to what we do even if it's not as urgent as it is for humans. I can only imagine what's it's like for someone who can't die no matter what."
"That's why I need to find Gray," said McDonald. "He was once human. Somehow he discovered the secret to immortality. Which means there has to be a way to undo it. If I can learn how he gained his immortality I might be able to undo the immortality I have. Then I can finally look forward to dying one day. To becoming a normal human being again."
"Surely thee are other ways to accomplish your goal," said Prue.
"I've been searching my entire life," said McDonald. "Everything I've ever tried has failed miserably. Gray is the only person I've ever encountered who has even a remote type of the immortality that I have. Being unaffected by the passage of time and suffering no permanent damage from any injury. He's my best chance of undoing this living hell I'm forced to live in year in and year out."
"And he won't help you," said Cole.
"No, he won't," said McDonald. "When I first approached him he became very agitated. Then he became violent. He said he would never divulge the secret of his immortality to me."
"Probably because he doesn't trust you," said Cole. "My mother would some times speak of him to me. She said he was paranoid and very distrustful of anyone. He probably thinks if you learn his secret you'll try to use it to undo his immortality."
"That makes sense," said Leo. "He was willing to risk a demonic experiment to gain his immortality. He's probably deathly afraid someone might come along to undo it some day."
"Well, at least we can offer you a better place to rest up than an abandoned house," said Prue. "Let's get back to the manor. We still have to find Gray and we're going to need your help to do that. You could probably use a good home cooked meal. And we can make preparations for taking care of Gray."
"Not before I learn his secret," said McDonald.
"One step at a time," said Prue.
"How do we get there?" McDonald asked. "Your manor is on the other side of town."
"Oh, that part is easy," said Piper. "Leo can orb us there?"
"Orb?" questioned McDonald.
"Yeah, it's lots of fun," said Piper. "Come on, we'll show you."