TWELVE

"My guess is their bedrooms are on the second floor," said Sperrle as they stood across the street from the manor. "All of the lights are off so my guess is they've been in bed for a while."

"It is two o'clock in the morning," said Adler. "How can you know what room to go to?"

"I've been in the house before, remember? It shouldn't be a problem to figure out the layout of the upstairs from what I know about the first floor."

"How are we going to get in there? If we break in someone is sure to hear us."

"You forget, I can flame in and out wherever I want. I know I haven't used it for a while. Too much risk someone might notice it. But in the home of the Charmed Ones it just might go undetected. I understand the house sits over the Nexus. A very powerful magic. That should camouflage my flame, so to speak."

"The Nexus? You never mentioned that before."

"There was no need to," said Sperrle. "But once I take out the Charmed Ones I can harness the power of the Nexus. With that power I can vanquish the Source and return to the underworld as the new Source. I have to admit, Brandon, your fear of the Charmed Ones has worked out nicely. When we're finished here I won't have to worry about the underworld ever again."

"Let's get this over with," said Adler, pulling the pistol out of his belt. "I'm not sure I have the stomach for this kind of work."

"You get used to it," said Sperrle. "Even the most squeamish human can be an effective killing machine given the right circumstances. Self-preservation is one of the more common circumstances."

Sperrle put his hand on Adler's shoulder and the two flamed out of the yard and into the manor.

"It's dark in here," whispered Adler. "Why did you choose the kitchen?"

"It's the least likely place anyone would suspect," Sperrle whispered back. "Now be quiet. It is possible that someone is up reading or something."

Cautiously Sperrle pushed the door to the entryway open. The rooms beyond were completely dark. Apparently everyone was in bed upstairs. He smiled to himself. This was going to be easier than he originally thought. With them asleep they'd be dead before they ever knew what happened.

Sperrle moved into the entryway and glanced into the living room. It was empty and dark. He looked up the stairs to the second floor. He turned to Adler and motioned for him to follow him up the stairs. Then Sperrle moved to the stairs and started up them. Suddenly the light in the entryway came on. He turned to see Adler with his hand still on the light switch.

"Are you a fool?" Sperrle chided. "You want to give us away?"

"That ship has all ready sailed," said Cole in the living room. He stood smiling at Sperrle.

"Belthazor," said Sperrle. "So, it seems I've been betrayed," He glanced at Adler. "It seems our relationship has come to an end. I'll deal with you shortly."

"I don't think so," said Adler. Suddenly he glamoured and turned into Leo. "For someone so smart it sure was easy to get you here. I would have thought it would have been harder."

"What? What's going on here?"

"I think it's called 'setting you up'," said Piper from the top of the stairs. Prue and Phoebe stood next to here. "And you fell right into our trap."

"You'll regret it witch," said Sperrle. "I'm not ordinary demon. Belthazor should have warned you about me. You're powers are no match for mine."

"We'll just see about that," said Prue.

She tapped into her telekinetic power and used it against Sperrle. Sperrle just raised his hand and the power passed harmlessly around him.

"Fool," he said, smiling. "Did you really think I wouldn't be ready for you? You're so predictable."

"So are you," said Cole.

He pulled a vial potion out of his pocket and threw it at the floor near Sperrle's feet. The magic from the vial encompassed Sperrle and then evaporated.

"What do you think that will accomplish?" Sperrle asked. "You must be aware that none of your potions can affect me for long."

"No, but that power binding potion should work long enough for us to do this," said Prue.

"Evil spirit now dwelling herein, leave this man you now claim," the sisters intoned together.

Everyone watched as a spirit-like being began to rise above Sperrle. It hovered for several seconds and then Sperrle collapsed on the unconscious. The spirit being suddenly solidified and the demon Kernian stood next to the unconscious Sperrle.

"This isn't possible," said Kernian. "No one has the power to force me out of a human body."

"We're the Charmed Ones, glad to meet you," said Phoebe. "And apparently no one doesn't apply to us. And we have another surprise for you."

"You'll never get the chance to use your spell again, witch," said Kernian forming a fireball. "I may not be in possession of a human body any longer but I'm still one of the most powerful demons in the underworld."

Before he could cast the fireball he was struck from behind by an energy ball. It did little to hurt him but it broke his concentration enough to extinguish the fireball. He spun to face Cole.

"You would side against one of your own kind?" Kernian snarled.

"I'm half human, remember?" said Cole, holding another energy ball. "So I guess you could say that no matter who I side with I'm siding against my own kind. But at least I have the choice to make."

"Spirit that does not belong hear our words and now be gone," the sister began to intone.

"No!" screamed as the magic of the Power of Three spell began to envelope him. He struggled valiantly against the magic but in the end it proved too much for even him. Suddenly he exploded into flames and was vanquished in an instant. As the flame died out, Adler stepped out of the hallway upstairs.

"Is it over?" he questioned. "Is he really gone?"

"Gone for good," said Phoebe as they all walked down to the entryway. "We told you, nothing can stand against the Power of Three. Not even Kernian. You're free of him forever."

"I'm surprised you were able to fool him into thinking you were me," Adler said to Cole. "He is – was – very suspicious of everyone."

"Well, what you told me helped a lot," said Leo. "Plus I was counting on the fact that the two of you had been together for so long. After sixty years he would have become comfortable with you. As long as he didn't have any reason to suspect otherwise he'd just assume you were you."

"I'm just glad we were able to keep him off balance long enough to use the spells," said Prue. "From what Cole told us if he had been able to use those fireballs it might have been a different story."

"He always was much to arrogant," said Cole. "Overconfidence was one of his failings. It's what got him in trouble in the first place. I just wonder how he was able to escape being vanquished by the Source in 1945."

"He said something about a changeling demon," said Adler. "He convinced the changeling to impersonate him. When the demons came for them they vanquished the changeling before it could tell them it was really Kernian. After that it was a simple matter to go into hiding so that the mercenaries wouldn't know he was still alive. That's why he kept me around. So that he would appear to be just another human."

Suddenly Sperrle opened his eyes and looked around. He stood up with a confused look on his face.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"Kernian is gone forever," said Cole. "You won't be able to rely on his power any more. You're all alone."

"What have you done?" Sperrle cried out in anger. "You've ruined everything."

"That was kind of the idea," said Prue. "Just be glad you're human or we'd have vanquished you, too. Too bad we can't do anything about you. The atrocities you committed should be paid for. But unfortunately we aren't allowed to do anything about that."

"You think this is over?" Sperrle said, a smirk on his face. "This is only a setback. And a minor one at that. How hard do you think it will be for me to find another demon and make a deal with him? All you've done is postponed the inevitable. I'll find another demon soon. And when I do I can finish what I started here."

"Not if you're not around you can't," said Cole, forming an energy ball. "They may not be able to do anything about you but I'm not under that restriction. I'm half demon, remember?"

"No, Cole, you can't," said Phoebe, putting her hand on his wrist. "You're good now. You can't just take the law into your own hands. He's an innocent. No matter how much you may dislike it you have to follow the same rules we do."

Cole extinguished the energy ball.

"You're right," said Cole. "But he's still a war criminal. There are people who can deal with him for that."

"And who's going to believe you?" Sperrle asked. "I'm Richard Simms, city councilman for San Francisco. You think anyone is going to believe I was alive during the Third Reich sixty years ago? It's absolutely absurd. Face it. There's nothing any of you can do about it. Like she said, I'm an innocent. And your hands are tied."

"You are anything but innocent," said a voice from the front door. "And while their hands are tied, ours are not."

Everyone turned to see Garrow standing just inside the front door. Beside him stood another man and a young woman. All three were somewhat transparent and glowed just slightly, showing that they were all spirits.

"Gut morgen, SS-Sturmbannführer Sperrle," said Garrow. "We've waited a long time for this day. The day you will pay for your crimes."