SEVEN

"How did you get in here?" Prue demanded. "What are you doing here?"

"I just thought I'd see why a couple of witches were interested in me," said Sperrle. "I knew you weren't with the school paper. They interviewed me last week. I seriously doubt they'd send someone else to interview me so soon.

"Besides, as I said, I was curious why a couple of witches were interested in me. Witches aren't usually interested in political figures. Which means you must have something else in mind."

"Hello, SS-Sturmbannführer Sperrle," said Cole, walking into the entryway. "It's been a long time."

"Leutnant Grueber, wasn't it?" Sperrle questioned. "You worked for Generell Hiedler, if I'm not mistaken. I wondered what happened you to. You just suddenly disappeared one day."

"Berlin was about to be invaded," said Cole. "The OSS pulled out many of their operatives before it was."

"Of course, the OSS," said Sperrle. "That would explain how the Allies were able to know so much about what we were doing. You were very good, Leutnant Grueber. No one ever suspected you were a spy."

"That's the way it was supposed to be," said Cole. "And my real name is Cole Turner."

"Well, you obviously know who I am," said Sperrle. "Which, I suppose, explains your interest in me. So, what are you? Nazi hunters? Tracking down members of the Third Reich that escaped punishment."

"Oh, nothing like that," said Prue. "Most of you are probably dead by now anyway."

"Probably," said Sperrle. "Besides, it wouldn't do any good for you to turn me in anyway. I'm much too young to be SS-Sturmbannführer Johann Sperrle. He was thirty years old in 1945. That would make him eighty-five years old today. I'm obviously not eighty-five years old."

"You may not look it," said Piper. "But we all know that a demon can help with that."

"Oh, so that's what this is all about," said Sperrle. "I guess I should have guessed. Why else would the Charmed Ones be interested in a minor, local political figure?"

"So you know who we are, too," said Prue.

"It wasn't hard to figure out," said Sperrle. "When I recognized you and your sisters as witches, and she mentioned a third sister, I just put two and two together. The famed Charmed Ones. All interested in little ole' me."

"You took a big risk coming here," said Leo. "Most demons wouldn't think of entering the manor alone. The ones who do don't usually leave."

"You must be their White Lighter," said Sperrle. "And I wasn't too concerned with entering their home. First of all, you have no idea who I really am. Second, you would need a Power of Three spell to vanquish me. And not knowing who I am you can't possibly have one ready. Third, you can't vanquish me without killing the innocent who is my host. So as I figure it, I have a certain advantage over you."

"Sperrle would be anything but innocent," said Cole. "Otherwise you wouldn't have possessed him."

"Well, you're certainly right there, Belthazor," said Sperrle. "Oh, don't look so surprised that I know who you really are. It was well known that the Source had sent the Brotherhood of the Thorn to stop us. Besides, as Hiedler's assistant you were completely believable as a human. No demon could have been that convincing. It would require someone like you; someone who was half human."

"You seem to be able to figure quite a few things out," said Prue. "Have you figured out how you're going to get out of the manor alive?"

"As I said," said Sperrle, "you can't vanquish me without killing the innocent who is my host. Sperrle may have been a depraved human with no conscience, but he was still a human. Someone, I believe, you're sworn to protect. Besides, there's that small matter of needing a Power of Three spell. Or a piece of my flesh for a potion."

"So what do you want?" Prue asked.

"Just to warn you," said Sperrle. "Forget about me. I'm no threat to you. And since you have no way of defeating me all that can be accomplished if you continue to harass me is you'll end up getting yourselves killed. So if you know what's good for you you'll walk away from me and forget I even exist."

Before any of the others could respond Sperrle flamed out of the manor.

"Well, that was clear enough," said Piper.

"Yeah, but we certainly aren't going to forget about him," said Prue. "He's a demon and that means he's up to something. We just have to stop him before he can accomplish whatever his plans are. Only we don't know which demon we're dealing with and that's going to make it difficult to vanquish him."

"It's Kernian," said Cole. "That's the demon that's possessed Sperrle."

"How do you know that?" Leo asked.

"He flamed out," said Cole. "It has to be him. He's the only demon of the original ones during the Third Reich that could flame. The rest were lower level and shimmered. Plus I doubt any other demons would have risked incurring the Source's wrath after he vanquished the ones who betrayed him."

"Didn't you say that Kernian possessed Hitler?" Piper asked.

"My guess is he dispossessed Hitler when he realized Hitler was about to be captured," said Cole. "Then he possessed Sperrle to make his escape."

"But I thought you said the Source vanquished all the ones who betrayed him," said Prue. "How do you explain that this Kernian escaped being vanquished?"

"I can't," said Cole. "Apparently Kernian figured a way to fool the Source into thinking he had been vanquished. And he's been hiding in Sperrle ever since. It's probably one of the reasons he hasn't surfaced before now. He's been biding his time until it's been so long that no one will suspect him."

"Plus, like he said," said Phoebe, "he's way too old to be Sperrle. Even if someone did accuse him of being a Nazi war criminal, no one would take them seriously."

"Okay, so now we know who we're dealing with," said Piper. "How do we vanquish him?"

"That's going to be a bit of a problem," said Cole. "He can't be vanquished as long as he's possessing Sperrle. The first thing we need to do is force Kernian out of Sperrle. And that's not likely to be very easy. Now that he knows about you he'll probably take precautions to prevent it."

"What kinds of precautions?" Leo asked.

"I'm not really sure," said Cole. "Possession is not one of my powers. And I never had occasion to employ any demon who does have that power. I know a little about possession but not as much as I should. I do know that there are supposed to be some methods a possession demon can use to protect against being exorcised."

"Maybe there's something in the Book of Shadows about exorcism," said Prue. "We need to check the book and see what it has to say. Plus we need to check on Kernian and see if he's in there. Assuming we can get Kernian out of Sperrle, do you know how to vanquish him, Cole?"

"As I recall," said Cole, "it requires a Power of Three spell. A potion won't do it. Kernian is a first level demon. That means it takes the most powerful magic to vanquish him. Anything short of a Power of Three spell won't do any good."

"Phoebe, get started on the spell," said Prue. "I'll check the Book of Shadows. Piper, see what potions you can come up with. They may not be able to vanquish him but they may be able to hurt him or slow him down."

Prue turned to head for the stairs and stopped suddenly. Everyone else turned and were startled by the same sight Prue saw. Standing in the entryway at the foot of the stairs was the same spirit Phoebe and Piper had seen. It stood in the entryway watching them.