FIVE

"Are you really sure you can trust this Peter Coleson?" Victor asked as they waited for Peter to return. "I mean he is part demon. Doesn't that make him one of the bad guys?"

"Peter's not like that, dad," said Piper. "He doesn't like demons or the Underworld any more than we do. If we can trust anyone we can trust him."

"She's right, dad," said Phoebe. "What's the big deal? You weren't like this when you found out Cole was half demon. Peter's only one-quarter demon."

"Just because I didn't say anything doesn't mean I didn't like it," said Victor. "But I had just learned that my future son-in-law was a White Lighter. And I wasn't real enthused about that. No offense, Leo. Since I've gotten to know you better I can see that not all White Lighters are the same."

"None taken, Victor," said Leo. "I did understand how you felt."

"Besides," said Victor, "the three of you are very much like your mother and grandmother. You have a stubborn streak a mile wide. I knew that no matter what I said you wouldn't listen to me. And to be honest, I really didn't have any right to say anything. I wasn't there when you were growing up like I should have been. And we were still getting to know each other."

"Dad, we're always interested in what you have to say," said Phoebe, hugging him. "Maybe you weren't here when we were growing up but you're here now. And your opinion is very important to us."

"Don't worry, Victor," said Paige, "we can trust Peter. We've been through a lot with him. He's one of the few people we can say is a real friend."

"Well, I'll take your word on that," said Victor. "You do know more about him than I do. But I just want to say for the record that I don't completely trust him. I think you're taking an awful risk revealing yourself to him like this."

"It will be fine, Victor," said Leo. "You learned to trust me. I know you'll learn to trust Peter as well."

"I never said I trusted you," said Victor, smiling slightly. "Only that I had learned that not all White Lighters were the same."

"Very funny, dad," said Piper. "But like we told you, Peter is one of the good guys. If anyone will keep our secret he will. And I think Leo is right. He's the only one who might be able to find out who took the Book of Shadows. At the very least he can find out if it was a demon. None of us can even go down there."

"What are you going to do then?" Victor asked. "When you do find out who took it?"

"That will depend on who took it," said Leo. "And the reason they took it."

"I think we know why they took it," said Piper. "They want its power."

"Not necessarily," said Leo. "There are a lot of creatures who can't use its power. But one of them may have taken it so they can sell it to someone who can. If that's true it might be possible to buy it back from them."

"Buy our own property?" questioned Paige. "That's not right."

"I said that was one possibility," said Leo. "We just won't know for sure until and if we find out who took it."

Just then Peter shimmered into the entryway. He walked into the living room where the others were and sat down on one of the chairs.

"Well, did you find out who took the Book of Shadows?" Piper asked.

"Not exactly," said Peter. "I did find that it's in the Underworld although how it got there is a bit confusing. And from what little I could find out is more than a bit confusing."

"Confusing?" questioned Phoebe. "Confusing how?"

"Apparently," said Peter, "some demon claims to have taken it right out of the manor. But I'm at a loss to explain how a demon could even touch it. I thought you told me the Book of Shadows protected itself from evil?"

"It does," said Leo. "But it wouldn't be the first time a demon has found a way around that. It's happened before."

"Well," continued Peter, "this demon apparently bragged to his consort that he took it. She told her master about it and he apparently mentioned it to some of his associates. Those rumors are floating all over the Underworld."

"So the demons do have the book," said Piper. "Which means we have some serious problems."

"Maybe not," said Peter. "It doesn't appear that any demon is attempting to get the book. In fact, all demons are all but ignoring it."

"That doesn't make any sense," said Paige. "That book would be enough to make any demon the new Source assuming they can learn to use its power. I imagine there are more than a few high level demons just itching to get their hands on it."

"I said no one was attempting to get the book," said Peter, "I didn't say no one wanted to get it."

"Okay, now I'm confused," said Phoebe. "If they want it and it's in the Underworld, why wouldn't a demon just take it? You implied that the demon who took it wasn't very high level."

"Yeah, well, that's the part that doesn't make a whole lot of sense," said Peter. "You see, the demon that took the book is no ordinary demon. It's called a bureaucracy demon."

At the mention of the words bureaucracy demon, Piper let out a low moan.