Dark Hounds
-Morning. –Billie said coming into the manor's kitchen. –Piper and Leo were there, having breakfast.
-Good morning. –Piper said. –How are you feeling today?
-I'm better. –She said, remembering the previous day. She and Camille were at the cave, when a strange dark hound appeared and attacked them. They were lucky Max, the merman who was helping her, came and saved them; he got bit in the arm, and they left to get help. They went to the manor, but it was late and everyone was too tired to do anything, so they decided to wait until the morning.
-I'm glad you decided to stay here. –Leo said.
-Well, it's only temporary. Whatever attacked us, escaped and we need to find it. –Billie said. –You know I can't stay, because soon I'll be a mermaid, and the attraction of the sea will be too big to handle.
-We can look for a way… -Piper suggested, but she knew Billie didn't want it.
-There is my home now. Come on, we need to focus. Where's Prue?
-At work. I had someone watch the restaurant for me today.
-That's good, I mean, thank you. –Billie said and the couple giggled.
-What are you becoming exactly? –Leo asked, curious.
-A mermaid. Well, at least partially. I won't get all their abilities, but they're not sure what will happen to my witch side. Here in North America there's never been a case of a witch that needed to be transformed.
-Aren't you scared? –Piper asked, sympathetic.
-A lot. But Camille and Max have been great to me; they have a whole community down there.
Piper gave a sad smile.
-You'll be in good hands. –She said. –Let's take a look at the book of shadows.
The two women went upstairs and opened the book.
-I can't find it. –Piper said after they flipped through the pages. Tell me again what it was.
-A big, dark hound. It seemed to be made of smoke and it walked normally under the water. My powers didn't work on it, but Max hit it with a trident.
-What was it made of?
-Silver, I guess, otherwise it would get rusty.
-So maybe their weakness is silver, even though it didn't kill it…
-Max missed the shot, I distracted him, and then the hound bit him.
-Did the wound have anything strange?
-You sound like Leo. –Billie said smiling. –They do say couples tend to become more like each other as the years go on. –Piper smiled at the comment. –Anyway, I didn't get the chance to look at the wound, he sent us here right after.
-I'll ask Leo to look for something in Magic School, maybe a book. –Piper said. –Meanwhile, we need to get a silver weapon to use.
-I'll work on a tracking spell, then. –Billie said.
…
Meanwhile, Phoebe was about to leave her apartment when Coop called.
-Where are you going? –He asked.
-To the manor. I'm going back to the future. –She said, seriously.
-You can't. –He said. –Billie needs your help. Here and now.
-What about Paith? She's our daughter!
-I don't know what in hell happened in that crazy future that made us let our daughter become something like that, but now that we know, we can stop it. We've got years to figure out what to do, and we might not even need weeks.
-That's why we've gotta start now.
-Listen, I know you wanna save Paith, I know Nicole will try to stop us, and I know we'll find a way. But that can wait, ok? Right now, you have friends and family who need you; you have two beautiful daughters and a job you love more than anything, you can't risk losing that by becoming obsessed with this.
-I'm not obsessed. –She said, but her tone wasn't sure.
-I get that you're mad. You're mad because Cole and Jake are gone, because nothing is ever normal to us and because you feel you've failed, but you have to be strong. And I'm here to be strong with you. –He looked at her in the eyes and she fell on him.
She hugged him as tight as she could, holding on to the parts of her life she love the most.
-Ok. I'm gonna help Billie, and then we can look for help. –Her husband smiled at her words.
She left in a hurry, banging the door.
…
In the underworld, the woman in the red dress stood in her throne; she had a diamond in her hand, the diamond filled with Paige's darkness.
-You've done me a great favor. You shall be rewarded when I rise. –She said to a man in the shadows. He came out, revealing himself as the hoodoo priest.
-It's an honor, your majesty. –He said, bowing. –I have another thing for you, and I expect it to bring me a favorable position in the future. –He added grabbing a wooden box from his pocked. He opened it, revealing the ring.
-Where did you find this? –She asked, surprised, angry and excited at the same time. Strands of her hair fell on the floor, turning into snakes and creeping away.
-I got a Halliwell to pick it up. Of course I had to hide her from your sight for a while or it would ruin the surprise.
-I could just kill you and get the ring. –She said, coldly.
-Yes, but you won't. You want a loyal right arm, a strategist, a warrior. And I can be that; I brought this ring as a proof. –He handed her the ring. She put it in her index finger, the blue gem contrasting with her dark brown skin.
-Very good. –She said. –You can command my army when the time comes. –She said. –But at the first sign of betrayal, you'll burn, and I'll step over your ashes. –She added and he left. –Back to where I was… -She said to no one. She looked at the diamond in her hand and crushed it, releasing the purple smoke. It spiraled and turned into dark wolf-like creatures. –Go, my hell hounds. –She said and they started to run.
…
Paige and Phoebe were at the beach, Billie asked them to come with her; she was gonna ask Max for his trident, she knew it could hurt the hound.
-How are you gonna get there? –Paige asked.
-I have this. –Billie answered, pointing at a bracelet in her wrist. –It'll call them. And then they can take me.
-Will you be able to do this after you become… you know… a mermaid? –Phoebe asked.
-Probably, but I don't know. I feel like a prototype. –Billie said, laughing.
-You're dealing with it pretty good. –Paige commented.
-Not all the time.
Their talk was finished when Camille appeared.
-Billie! Finally. –She exclaimed. -What took you so long?
-I'm sorry. –She answered. –We're still looking for the creature that attacked us, but I need Max's trident.
-Billie, we need a cure, forget about the monster. –She cried.
-Cure? For what?
-Don't you know? Max's wound won't heal, he's getting worse by the hour. –She said. –He said he'd told you.
-Well, he didn't. –Billie said. –Take me to him! –She urged and Camille did so. She covered Billie with the blue bubble and they jumped into the sea.
-Shouldn't we do something? –Phoebe asked. –Camille was really upset.
-Leo's already looking for information. The best we can do is help Billie… -Paige was interrupted when something hit her. It was a dark, smoky hound.
-Paige! –Phoebe yelled. She raised her hands and red sparks flew to the monster, unfortunately, with no effect.
She, then, levitated and kicked it, setting Paige free.
-Oh, my… -She said getting up. The hound was already up to. She waved her hand and tried to orb the dog into the rocks, but the orbing was interrupted and it fell on the floor.
-Our powers don't work. –Phoebe said.
-Maybe not our witch powers. –Paige said and then she shot a light beam from her hand. It hit the monster, making it fall and roll over the sand. The hound made a loud sound, like metal being scratched by another.
-It worked. –Phoebe said. –But how?
-It's from my whitelighter side. –Paige said. –But how can we hold the hound before it escapes? –On cue, the hound got up, partially healed and ran away. –No! –She shouted and threw another beam, but missed.
-Leave it, Paige! –Phoebe said. –Later we'll track it.
…
Billie swam with Camille until they reached the ruins of a sunken town, where most mermaids lived. They went to their healing center, where Max was staying. Billie rushed through the entrance, finding the man lying down. His tanned chest was exposed, with symbols drawn all over it.
-How's he doing? –She asked, worried.
-No very good. –A man said, coming from behind.
-I'm ok. –Max said, trying to sit down. –They insist on keeping me here, but my wound is already healing! –He exclaimed. He took the bandages off his arm and showed the wound, partially healed.
-God, this looks awful. –Camille said.
-She's right. –Billie agreed.
-His wound is healing, but there's some kind of poison inside him. –The man said. –I can feel it.
-I'm fine. –Max insisted.
-No, you're not. I'll find the creature, maybe we can make a serum, or something. –Billie said. –I need your trident, Max; it's made of silver, right?
-Yeah. –He answered. –It's in the cave, where we fought the hound. –Billie nodded and headed to the door.
-Wait. –The elderly man said, his pale skin glowing in the water. –You need to hurry.
-I'm trying. –The girl answered and left.
After some minutes, she came out of the sea, carrying the trident. It was already getting dark.
-Finally! –Phoebe exclaimed. –How's your friend?
-Not good. He's poisoned. We need to do this now.
-The hound came after us while you were gone. –Paige said. –I can wound it, maybe this will give you time to attack with the trident.
-Great. –Billie said. –We need to go to the manor to do the spell. –She said.
…
Later, Piper and Prue were at Piper's restaurant. Prue was talking while Piper grabbed some stuff.
-I love when we close earlier. –Piper said, laughing.
-Must be a tiring job. –Prue commented.
-You can bet on that. –Piper replied. –But what about your job? I saw you went to work today.
-I tried to, but… My daughter needs me. The magazine gave me another month off, but then I'll need to go back.
-Hopefully, by then everything will be fixed.
-My fingers are crossed. –Prue said, smiling.
All of the sudden, a noise startled the two girls.
-I thought we were the only ones here. –Prue said.
-We are.
A shadow passed through the wall, gaining the form of two hounds.
-Oh no. –Prue said. She waved her hand, but nothing happened. –My powers don't work on it.
-Try this! –Piper said. She waved her hands and the air exploded right in front the creatures. They weren't affected, but it gave time for them to run.
They went to the kitchen, and Piper locked the door.
-Grab the silverware! –Piper shouted. –In the cupboard in the corner. –Prue followed what her sister said and grabbed two silver knives.
Right after, one of the hounds broke through the wall.
-Don't you dare! –Piper said, waving her hands. The wall reconstructed around the hound, but it just phased through it.
-Piper! –Prue shouted and threw her a knife, giving the sister a chance to wound the monster.
-Run! –She said and they hid in another room. They looked at each other, not knowing what to do.
…
Billie, Paige and Phoebe arrived at the attic, where the spell was.
-Where's everyone? –Paige asked.
-Leo's at Magic School with the kids; he said he'd call if he found anything. –Billie answered. –Piper and Prue, I don't know…
-Well, let's do the spell, they can catch us later. –Phoebe said. –What do you need?
-Max's blood, it will lead us to the hound. –She showed her stained shirt. Then, she grabbed the crystal used for scrying and dropped some of the blood over it. –It's not what I had in mind, but it'll work.
"Creatures that hide in the shadow may never be free
Reveal your location, appear to me"
The crystal jumped over the map and showed Piper's restaurant.
-This can't be good. –Paige said. –Come on! –She orbed them away.
They arrived at the restaurant and found it wrecked by the hounds. One of them was walking around the kitchen's door, but not doing anything else.
-There! –Paige said and shot a light beam. It hit the hound and it fell on the floor, giving Billie the chance to stab it with the trident. The creature shrieked and disappeared in smoke.
-We have to find them! –Phoebe said going into the kitchen, she found the other wounded hound, as it was getting up. –No! –She levitated to kick it, but it turned around and scratched her. –Ouch!
-Careful! –Paige shouted and tried to hit the monster, but it evaded and headed to another door. Prue and Piper came out of it, as if on cue, and dodged the creature.
-I got this! –Piper said and threw the knife, hitting the dog and making it vanish in smoke.
-We did it. –Prue sighed.
-Not so fast. –A feminine voice echoed in the room, it hurt their ears, making the girls cover them with their hands. In the spot where the hound was vanquished, another four appeared, but they took the form of werewolves.
-Who are you? –Billie shouted to the air, but the voice didn't answer. She whirled the trident in her hand and got ready to attack the monsters.
Paige went to help, and so did Prue. They fought bravely, weapons and magic against claws and teeth. Billie spun and stabbed one of the werewolves, and this time, a scorch mark was left on the floor after it vanished. Prue fought the other, but she was knocked on the floor and dropped her knife. The creature stopped above her and was ready to attack, but then it was stabbed in the back, vanishing; in the spot, there was an astral projection holding the knife. It disappeared in a red flash as Prue got up.
-Phoebe, are you ok? –Piper rushed to her sister. –Did it hurt you?
-No, I was just scratched. –She said. –But the cut wasn't deep.
-What's going on? –She asked, looking at the fight.
-I have no clue, but… -She was interrupted by Leo calling.
-Piper! Girls! –He shouted.
Piper got up and went to the front door.
-What's going on? –She asked.
-Don't kill the hound. –He said. –It will only make it stronger. –He said, breathless. –The silver sets them free.
-Holy cra… -She started to say and rushed back to the kitchen. As she got in, she saw Billie slaying the last one. –NO! –She shouted, but it was too late.
-What? –Billie asked.
-We shouldn't have killed it. –She said.
-Why not? –Paige inquired.
-Because it's a way to bring them to our world. They're hell hounds. I found a book in Magic School about them; they served the first demons, as loyal warriors, until a knight killed them. Lilith, one of the demons brought their spirits back, in the form of dark hounds, to haunt our world.
-Ok, but why killing them was bad? –Billie asked.
-When those spirits are killed, they get more involved with the darkness of the underworld, to the point they get a corporeal form. The thing is that it's very hard for a man to die and become a dark spirit, let alone be turned into a hound.
-The spirits, they came from me. –Paige said. –The hoodoo priest must have done this. He's stronger than I thought…
-What about the demon, Lilith? –Piper asked.
-Oh no, that's pretty much impossible. –Leo reassured. –Even with our luck. It can't be her.
-So I just screwed everything up. –Billie said.
-Oh no! It was not your fault. –Phoebe comforted her. –We all thought we were just facing a normal enemy.
-But I… -She tried to argue, but stopped. –Shouldn't they be coming back? –She looked at the marks on the floor.
-They would be already here. –Leo said. –For some reason, they fled.
-This is not good. –Paige said.
-Neither is this mess. –Piper said, trying to cheer everyone up. –Look at my restaurant! –They had a small laugh, despite the tense atmosphere