Chapter 11: Assassination

The Swarm demons surrounded, taking aim with their fireballs. The party took defensive stances (save Natalia who remained utterly calm). After a few moments of tense silence, every demon through a fireball at the party with no specific target. The group quickly dived out of the way.

Paige was the first to jump back to her feet, holding out her hand in front of her. "Fireballs!" Three of the dangerous projectiles reversed course, and hit their owners, killing them with their own weapons. Piper rose next, and froze the second wave of fireballs, and proceeded to combust the ranks of demons. Max drew her athame and began dancing in and out of their ranks, vanquishing them as she went.

With their fireballs frozen, the demons found themselves easily thrown by Cody's telekinesis. With a wave of his hand they went flying backwards, giving Zack the opening he needed to strike them with flames of his own.

Phoebe was using an awesome blend of her levitation power and her martial arts while Natalia performed a similar feat, combining her hand-to-hand prowess with her lightning. Both women were taking on three demons at once. Both were deadly and brutal as well as beautiful in their movements.

"Go for the center of their rib-cage!" Natalia called. "That way they can't multiply!"

More swarm demons began to shimmer in, but found that they were no match for the cadre of witches, the sorceress and the feisty whitelighter. Eventually their ranks diminished until there was no more. Once the room was devoid of demons--excluding Nat—Paige began inspecting the battleground.

"A few couches turned over, a scorch-mark here & there, but we didn't break a single window. I'd say that's a record."

"Oh no, the clock!" Piper moaned, bending over the shattered remains of the grandfather clock that had stood in the living room, only to be destroyed for the infinitieth time.

"Never mind." Paige muttered.

"Well that was random." Max grimaced, sheathing her weapon in the leather holster she kept concealed under her jean coat.

Phoebe pondered her words for a moment. "Hmm, I don't buy it. If he wanted us dead he would've sent the king, but they stopped multiplying after awhile. What if The Heir wasn't trying to eliminate us."

"He was trying to distract us." Paige finished. "But that means something's going down t the Tipton!" Paige dug into her pocket for her cell phone, and the card Moseby had given her during her stay. With exceptional skill of the thumb she dialed his number and waited anxiously for him to answer.

"Tipton Hotel," came the manager's congenial voice, "Marion Moseby speaking. How may I help you?"

"Moseby!" Paige yelped. She calmed herself, trying not to sound too intense—not an easy feat when everyone else in the room was crowding around to get a listen. "It's Paige. Is… is there anything going on over there—I mean down there… in the lobby?" She corrected, realizing that the manager was not aware of their impromptu departure. "Anything to do with Carlisle?"

"No, I don't think so." He replied. "In fact, Mr. Carlisle is with London and Madeline right now. Their presentation is ready, and he seemed anxious to se it."

London! Paige though as it became clear what was about to happen. "Moseby, you need to get London out of there. Actually it might be best if you evacuate the entire hotel. Hurry."

Moseby was flabbergasted. "B-b-but the meeting is about to start at any moment! What's going on? I thought—"

"Never mind!" Paige ground her teeth. "It's important! Something very bad is about to happen, and everyone in the hotel is in potential danger… make that immediate danger! Just do it!"

"B-but—"

"Thanks, I knew I could count on you." Paige cut him off, clicking the phone shut.

"What's wrong with London?!" Zack asked, his words reflecting everyone else's worry.

"She's about to meet with Carlisle."

"He must've decided its time to get her out of the way for the buy-out." Piper added grimly.

"If he kills her, nothing is going to stop him from taking the Tipton!" Phoebe pointed out.

"We have to stop him!" Cody cried, fury and panic rising in him with genuine concern for his friend.

"Come on!" Max grabbed Zack & Cody by the wrists before orbing the three of them back to Boston.

"Wait for us!" Piper scolded after the trail of orbs. "Paige, hop-to missy." Paige did as her sister directed, orbing after the adolescents.

"I'll meet you there." Natalia called after them. She glanced briefly at the Book of Shadows, wondering how it had managed to open itself to that particular page after she had enchanted it to keep that entry hidden. She just shrugged, supposing that there was no delaying the inevitable. "The stage is set." She muttered before shadowing away.

"Right this way please." London directed Carlisle into her suite at the topmost floor. It was a luxurious room with a glass double-door on the back wall that led to a beautiful stone balcony, adorned with seemingly ancient gargoyles.

Carlisle brushed her aside and allowed himself in. London felt rather confused at his apparent lack of manners. Her father never would have acted that way. Business men were all about appearing respectable. She just shrugged it off and motioned for Maddie to follow him before entering the suite herself. Maddie just nodded glumly and followed suit. She hadn't quite been herself lately, and it was starting to bother London. She decided to just focus on her presentation for now, and worry about her friend later.

London looked up to face her corporate opponent when she noticed something wrong. "Maddie, where's the projector?"

There was a click, and London whirled around to see a man with close-cropped brown hair and goatee dressed in a black suit, sealing the deadbolt on her door. Rupert Stryker.

"You have a lovely suite Miss Tipton." Carlisle sneered. "You should be honored that I'm going to make it mine." London looked back to see the slick-haired CEO smiling at her like a jackal to prey.

"What's going on?" she stammered.

Maddie laughed shrilly and suddenly it wasn't Maddie standing there anymore, but Helen Stryker. Carlisle stepped menacingly toward London who found that her feet were rooted to the floor. She tried to scream, but found it caught in her throat as Carlisle's beady black eyes flashed a piercing grey.

Carlisle's advance was stopped short as an alarm sounded—a shrill beeping that sounded like it was coming from every room in the hotel. He rolled his eyes and dropped to the floor as The Heir stepped out of him.

"The Charmed Ones." He growled.

Outside London's suite two sets of orbs appeared, followed closely by a shadow.

"You're sure this is it?" Phoebe asked.

"Yeah." Zack answered. "This is London's suite. They've got to be in there."

"Well why couldn't we just orb in?" Piper asked Paige.

"I tried. It must be blocked."

"Alright then, boys stand back. Nat, as long as you're here make yourself useful. I need you to combine your lightning with my exploding power."

"Good idea." The sorceress replied as her hands began to charge visibly. The others stood back as the two women unleashed their firepower on London's doorway. It took a few times before the door shattered under the strain.

Rupert and Helen looked up, startled as the cadre of witches made their way in. The party was met with a horrendous sight. They had caught The Heir in the midst of strangling London. On impulse Piper hit him with the most powerful blast she had. The Heir exploded into a million black pieces that swirled around the room in a cyclone, buzzing like a warm of hornets. With their master stunned, Helen and Rupert were forced to orb to safety. At the same time, Paige orbed to where London had fallen unconscious, then back with the others.

In a cloud of black The Heir reformed and cracked his neck. "Cute trick witches. I see you brought the brats. Good, because I have something for them." He hissed, tossing something silvery to the floor. Their breath stilled when they saw what it was; an earring. More importantly, the earring their mother had planned to wear for her show.

Zack narrowed his eyes and was infuriated to feel the sting of tears at the back of them. He held up his hands, fire roaring to life in them. "What did you do to her?!"

"Nothing yet. My brute has her. She just sits in her cage pleading me not to hurt her boys." The Heir mocked.

In a rage Zack hurled both fireballs at him. The tattooed demon simply backhanded them without so much as a flinch. Cody threw up his hands, stopping the fireballs an inch from reaching his brother, and flung them into the wall.

"What do you want with them?" Piper demanded, taking a protective stand in front of the twins.

"Nothing. I don't want them, I don't want their mother. I just want her." He extended his long finger to point to where London was lying.

"You want her, come and get her." Phoebe taunted.

"You think me foolish enough to fight you all at once?" He kept talking to them, but his eyes were intent on Zack and Cody. "If the brats know what's good for them, they'll bring me Miss Tipton tonight, at the park, at eight pm, alone."

Max pushed her way to the front of the group, her athame at the ready. "You leave them out of this!"

"What are you going to do about it, whitelighter?" The Heir grinned with his angular teeth. "Orb me to death? Or maybe you'll impale me with your little toy."

Max screeched with rage and threw her athame with deadly aim for his neck. The Heir laughed insanely before vanishing in a wall of flames. The weapon whirled through the air and pegged itself in the opposite wall.

"We have to get her back!" Zack cried. "Piper we have to do something!"

Piper looked from Zack to Cody who was staring at the earring on the floor with wide eyes and unexpressed panic. His breathing was becoming rapid and irregular. She grabbed both boys by the shoulder.

"Listen to me. Listen to me!" She shook them and got down on her knees. She came up to their chests. "I promise we'll get her back. We will get her back, but right now we need to get London somewhere safe. Alright?"

They both hesitated but nodded as tears began stinging the backs of their eyes and trickling down their face. Piper pulled them to her and let them cry freely into her chest. She found that she too was beginning to cry. "Shhh, it'll be okay. We'll fix it. We will fix this."

Cody pulled tighter as Piper rubbed his back to calm him down. So much resentment he'd been carrying for his mother ever since he had discovered his powers. He hated himself for feeling that way. If something happened to her before he saw her again… Why? Why had this happened? It wasn't fair, it just wasn't fair.