Chapter Twelve
Malachi forced Chris's unwilling body to orb into the Underworld. As the bright blue orbs gave way to his body shape once more, the spirit relished the feeling of the magical mode of transportation. No more would he have to drive or walk to get to places, when he could just simply orb there. It was even better than shimmering or blinking. Although those were also good methods of transportation, orbing truly offered access to every place; not only the Underworld and Earth, but the Higher Realms. While the celestial areas were usually barred to most people, those with the ability to orb had instant access. The Elders had made a mistake when allowing that rule to take form, as they hadn't counted on the many attempts on Whitelighters' lives just to gain the ability to appear up where anyone who wasn't angelic in soul and mind wasn't allowed.
Still, even with the ability to orb, Malachi had no intention of going to the Higher Realms at the moment. That place was reserved for later on, after he'd taken possession of the Charmed Manor, once the Twice-Blessed and other powerful witches were in his power. To achieve that, though, he first had to assemble a demon army. That particular task provided a difficulty that many forces of evil had previously faced. Demons were notoriously proud and solitary creatures, most of which preferred to work alone or exclusively only with their own kind. They wouldn't readily accept someone ordering them around and telling them what to do, especially someone sheathed in the body of the younger Charmed son: a boy who'd managed to defeat the previous Source of All Evil. To convince those demons to follow his lead, Malachi would have to take special measures, most of which involved violence.
As he burst into yet another empty cave, he exhaled in frustration. The Charmed Ones had done their duty well, a little too well. They'd managed to diminish the demon population significantly, and although it made the lives of the women a lot easier, it made potential army leaders such as Malachi work that much harder to recruit their soldiers. Luckily, the Charmed Ones had mostly managed to destroy the inferior brand of demons, those who were stupid enough to face the witches without a solid plan and knowledge of their strengths and weaknesses. The brilliant strategists and more powerful demons had escaped the wrath of the good force, and were probably quietly biding their time, planning their rise. Unfortunately, they'd managed to hide themselves from any potential attacker, which was why Malachi wouldn't be able to find them, unless he modified his plans a bit.
Calling on the orbing power once more, Malachi took care to appear in the middle of one of the stone hallways, startling a lower-level demon that had been scurrying along on some important business or another. The red demon frowned for a moment, shocked at the sudden appearance, before raising a hand and calling on his acid-launching powers. Malachi forced Chris's face into a smile, before using his 'borrowed' telekinetic abilities to launch the spray right back in the demon's face. The creature shrieked, curling up on itself as it felt his own attack thrown back. The spirit grinned, thrusting out a hand and slowly pressing his thumb and index together in a pinching motion. The demon stopped and scrabbled at his throat instead as his airway was slowly cut off.
"Now tell me," Malachi spoke in a deep voice, much deeper than the young man's body was accustomed to making, "where can I find some upper-level demons?" He was enjoying the look of pure terror and hate on the meaningless creature's face. Malachi enjoyed causing those feelings, and whether it was in faces of good or evil, he didn't care. He was just cruel, and he'd discovered that evil was readily accepting of this kind of display of power. That made his life much easier as he worked to gain more power than he had.
The demon choked, making a rasping noise. He was probably trying to answer, but Malachi didn't ease up until the being's eyes were nearly bursting out of their sockets for lack of air; and then he only allowed a thin wisp of oxygen to enter the tortured lungs. "They're in the deeper chambers," the bedraggled demon whispered, not strong enough to make a louder noise. "Near to where the last Source was." His dark eyes glinted slightly as the pressure began to increase. "I can lead you to them," he pleaded.
Malachi made a disgusted face before closing his fist entirely and turning it to face the ceiling in a single violent motion. The demon screamed as his inner organs were crushed and turned inside out. Malachi had learned Chris's talent well, and was now using it as much as possible. The creature finally exploded into a small ball of fire, leaving only ashes behind. Malachi wiped his hands off on his clothes, grimacing. Now that he had his information, he'd had no further use of the demon. Demons didn't usually beg, as that one had begun to do. When he'd seen that, Malachi had realized that it was a worthless and powerless creature, not even suitable for licking his shoes clean. So, he'd simply disposed of it. Now, he was off to look for some better, more powerful, servants. He'd call them allies to their faces, but, in Chris's mind, he was free to think whatever he wished, with only a suppressed soul there to hear about it.
A grin on his face, the young man orbed out, deeper into the Underworld. He'd soon find what he'd come for.
-)-(-
A swirl of orbs suddenly appeared, interrupting the meeting that a powerful clan of demons was having around a stone table. They recovered from their surprise soon enough and launched their individual attacks towards the mass of orbs. The attacks were effectively blocked, some of them launched back towards their senders. A couple of the demons shrieked as they disintegrated. The others ran for cover, using their powers to keep the intruder from harming them.
Finally, the orbs finished taking form and the shape of a young man was seen. One of the demons hissed as it recognized the younger Charmed son, standing there in all his glory. It threw an energy ball at the witch, hoping to get rid of him. The brown-haired man's strangely colored eyes merely glinted and the ball was thrown back. The demon ducked just in time, about to take another measure to rid itself of the witch. All of the demons in the room, however, were surprised as the young man raised his hands and cleared his throat. "I'm not here to fight," he said to them, his deep voice uncharacteristic of him. "I'm here to recruit you in killing the Charmed Ones."
There was a moment when silence reigned, before a couple of muffled snorts of laughter sounded. "Why should we believe you?" one of the braver demons demanded. "You're the Charmed boy, you killed the Source!" The other demons nodded in agreement, waiting to hear the explanation yet prepared to vanquish the force of good.
The boy glared, his usually green eyes glistened silver. "I am not the Charmed boy," he growled out. He grabbed a nearby demon by the throat. "Tell me, what color are my eyes?" Malachi used Chris's telekinetic strength to empower his grip on the creature, making his hold even tighter.
The demon gasped slightly. He'd never admit to it, but the look in the boy's eyes intimidated him quite a bit. "Silver," he hissed out. "Your eyes are silver." As his throat was released, he collapsed to the ground and coughed, trying to regain his breath.
"Silver," the boy repeated. "I am not the Charmed boy, I am Malachi, the spirit." The demons which had ducked for cover began to emerge from their hiding places. They looked at the young man curiously, wondering if he was telling the truth.
"I thought Malachi had died," one of them spat out. Its face was set into a leer that promptly froze as the eerie silver eyes stared back at him.
"I did not die. I have been possessing witches for years now." Malachi turned to the rest of the group. "I have my eye set on a prize, and, with your help, I will be able to get it."
"Why would we be interested in helping you?" A shape, hooded and cloaked, stepped out from behind the mass of demons. The others seemed to defer to it, as it carried an air of authority around its person.
An evil grin appeared on Chris's face. "Simple," he said in that strange voice, "Because I'm going to possess the Twice-Blessed. With his powers, I can take control of the Underworld. When I am the Source, I will reward you."
Some of the demons looked dubious, but the cloaked being reached out a thin grey hand to shake the witch's. "Deal."
(A/N) Can I just say I had the best time ever writing this chapter? Malachi is a lot of fun to write, especially when he's in Chris. Maybe I'm just weird like that. I like writing Malachi, I like writing the Seer... am I the only one seeing a pattern here? Either way, this was a pretty fun chapter, especially because you've already seen what Piper, Wyatt, and Jennifer are planning (sort of), and now you see what Malachi/Chris is planning. It should be fun when they come together, shouldn't it?
Anyway, as usual, thanks to everyone who added this to their Faves, Alerts, and special awesome thanks to my two lovely reviewers: darcie-magicae-anima, and Fanycharmed! You guys are super awesome! It has not escaped my attention that reviews for this story have dropped, therefore, I have no choice but to resort to bribery. If you review, there is a possibility that a chocolate cake will appear in your lap. I won't say how it gets there, or when it does. Just know that, for some strange unknown and odd reason, when you post a review in the small little box under this story, the possibility of a chocolate cake appearing in your lap increases. Don't you want that cake? I know I do! Unfortunately, I cannot review my own story...
See you next week with the next chapter! Don't forget to review! Bye!