EIGHT

"How much longer must I wait?" demanded Belthazor. "I've waited long enough for my revenge on the accursed witches. How long am I to wait until I can avenge myself on them?"

"Patience, brother," said Teltrick. "We must not be too hasty. If we move too quickly your revenge may be short lived. We cannot afford to take any unnecessary risks."

"The witches have tarnished my honor," said Belthazor. "Especially the middle sister. She seduced Cole and turned him against the Brotherhood. She must be made to pay for her meddling."

"And she will, brother," said Baldasor. "But Teltrick is correct. We cannot afford to place Cole in the path of danger."

"He is human," said Belthazor. "He is of no consequence."

"More consequence than you know, brother," said Teltrick. "From your description of your fight with the witches, what happened to you was transferred to him. It stands to reason that the reverse must also be true. That whatever happens to him will affect you. Which means the witches may be able to vanquish you without getting near you."

"Not to mention that he is a part of you," said Baldasor. "It is because of him that we understand humans better than we did before. Like it or not, you need him. We need him. So we have to figure out how to take out the witches without endangering him."

"He is weak," said Belthazor. "If not for him we would not have betrayed the Source. He should die as much as his witch should die."

"In which case you would die as well," said Baldasor. "Don't worry, brother. This will soon be over and everything will be back to normal. Which means you will again have to deal with your human half."

"That is not palatable," said Belthazor. "But as you have pointed out, Cole Turner is half of what I am. Once the witches have been dealt with I will make sure that Turner is no longer the one in control. I will again be the demon I was before. And the entire Underworld will fear and respect the name Belthazor."

"I have no doubt of that," said Teltrick.

"The changeling has been removed by the Source," said Kempac, coming into the chamber. "He felt it may have been in the witches' manor too long and was risking exposure. He has sent in a chameleon demon in its stead."

"The changeling has been removed?" questioned Teltrick. "This changes everything. How are we to keep an eye on the Charmed Ones if we do not have the changeling reporting on their movements."

"We may not have to," said Kempac. "The changeling told me that before he left the manor he learned that the witches are working on a special potion. One that will affect the demonic half of Belthazor but won't affect Cole Turner."

"Then they've discovered that Belthazor has been separated from Cole," said Baldasor. "This may complicate matters."

"Perhaps not," said Belthazor. "I still possess Turner's memories. The sisters have a very set pattern when preparing for combat. The eldest will normally prepare any potions they need or may think they may need. In this case she will be researching a new potion. Which means she will be in the kitchen working on that potion."

"How does that help us?" Teltrick asked.

"One of the sisters will be checking their Book of Shadows for any information that may help the eldest sister with her potion," said Belthazor. "Since they are researching a potion that will protect Turner I would imagine it will be the middle sister checking the book. She will want to make sure that no avenue is overlooked to protect her lover. It is also possible that Turner will be with her."

"What of the younger sister?" questioned Teltrick. "What will she be doing?"

"That is difficult to say," said Belthazor. "She has not been with them long enough to determine what she will do. She is a bit impulsive and somewhat independent. I do not think she has yet learned that cooperation with her sisters is her best chance of survival. She still feels she can handle herself alone even against demons."

"The oldest sister is much too dangerous to confront," said Teltrick. "Her explosive ability is quite formidable. She would not be an easy target. And if Turner is with the middle sister it would risk his being injured or killed. So it would seem the youngest would be the most logical target."

"Not necessarily," said Belthazor. "She is half White Lighter. I don't know if she has a White Lighter's healing ability but it is possible. Which means any attacks against her could be ineffective. If she has inherited her father's natural healing I could injure her but not kill her."

"What would you suggest?" asked Baldasor.

"The middle sister has no active powers," said Belthazor. "Even if Turner is with her she will be the least dangerous to confront. Without any powers Turner will be less than an annoyance to me. Besides, she is the one who caused his dishonor. It is only fitting that she be the first to pay for that."

"Turner must not be injured," said Teltrick. "When we are finished you and he must be restored."

"I have no desire to harm Turner," said Belthazor. "He only did what was in his nature. But it was the witch who turned him against the Underworld and the Brotherhood. Once she is gone his love for her will be gone as well."

"From the way you described it," said Baldasor, "I would imagine we have a very small window of opportunity. It won't take the witch long to check the book and discover whatever it has to say that they can use. And I understand the eldest sister is quite adept at creating potions, even new ones. It is possible she may be able to create the potion they need and it may not take her long to do it."

"I would agree," said Belthazor. "If I am to strike at the witch it must be now. While they are distracted and separated. Once they are finished they will again join forces and we will have lost our chance."

"Go then," said Teltrick. "Destroy the witch and return Turner to us. With one of the witches dead they will no longer have the Power of Three. And Belthazor will have fulfilled his obligation to the Source. Once she is dead we can go after the other two and finish them forever."

"But remember, brother," said Baldasor, "Turner must not be injured. I wish my brother back whole, as he was before this all started."

"I will remember, brother," said Belthazor. "He may be human but he is still a brother. I will bring him home to us."

Belthazor shimmered and vanished from the chamber.

"It's a shame we can't leave him like that," said Teltrick. "Without his human half his allegiances are straight forward."

"But Cole is a brother," said Baldasor. "To leave Belthazor as he is would necessitate destroying Cole. And a brother does not raise a hand against a brother. It has been so for the entire history of our order."

"What about Raynor?" asked Teltrick. "Turner vanquished him."

"Do you blame Cole for that?" Baldasor asked. "In order to be true to the Brotherhood a brother must first be true to himself. At the moment being human is who my brother is. Raynor tried to force him to go against his nature. He was wrong to do that."

"Most of the Brotherhood agrees with you on that," said Teltrick. "Who we are may change from time to time. And you are correct. Brother does not raise a hand against brother. Let us hope that Belthazor is enough to deal with the witch."

"My brother may surprise you," said Baldasor. "He has overcome adversity that I would have thought no demon could overcome. I'm sure he will be more than a match for one witch, even a Charmed One."

Phoebe was in the attic looking through the Book of Shadows. She was slowly turning each page reading the beginning of the each entry before moving on to the next entry. Occasionally she would read an entire entry before moving on. She was alone in the attic. Suddenly Belthazor shimmered into the attic.

"Hello, Phoebe," snarled Belthazor. "You've been much more trouble than you're worth, you know. Because of you my name is dishonored. Because of you I betrayed my brothers."

"Belthazor," said Phoebe looking up from the book.

"I'm sure you were expecting me," said Belthazor. "Only you probably didn't expect me so soon. Not after the setback I suffered earlier. You were probably thinking I would bide my time. Prepare myself a little better.

"Well, obviously you were wrong. Some times it's best to go slowly and prepare for a confrontation. But there are other times when a more direct approach is best. An approach before your opponent is ready for you. In the end, all that matters are the results."

He formed an energy ball and raised his hand.