A/N: Hey guys! I have a wickedly evil chapter for you!
RandyOrtonxWifexx: Cole is always arrogant. Hmmm, maybe!
CharmedOpal: Thanks! I pride myself on making the characters as believable as possible, so I appreciate that!
Semper Fi Witchlighter: Oohhh, shiny award! – Grabs and hugs. – Lol. I love being snaky :) It's fun!
lizardmomma: Nope, not good at all!
Missycole23: I think Prue would be in protective mode, wanting to get down there and fight, and Piper, too, would be chomping at the bit to go blow up some demons! Phoebe would probably be sitting there, cheering her daughter and nieces on. And I think Paige would be offering witty commentary, while still wincing in worry for Rebecca. Just my theory :)
I think I have a good one here for you guys! So please read, enjoy, and review!
...
Rebecca slumped to the ground, trembling. She closed her eyes, placing her shaking hands over them. A small sob slipped from her as shock settled over her like an unwelcome blanket.
Had that really just happened? Had she really just attacked her cousins?
"Yes."
Rebecca jumped, glancing up at Carsaeus. He stared solemnly down at her. It was as if he had read her mind.
He grabbed her roughly around the arm and yanked her up. She yelped and stumbled, trying to regain her footing. She fell into him and when she tried to pull away, he yanked her closer.
"You did well," he whispered into her ear, tucking a stray piece of brown/black hair behind her ear. "If you hadn't done as you did, I would have killed them."
Rebecca's lip trembled. She felt hot tears slip down her face. She tried again to pull away, but Carsaeus had such an iron grip around her arm, all it did was make her feel as though her arm was being yanked out of its socket.
"Not only did you attack your cousins," Carsaeus said, speaking again after a moment of silence, " But you also used your demonic powers against them." He paused, grinning. "This is working out better than I could have imagined."
Rebecca went limp in his grasp, hoping to catch him off guard and pull free. But he only held tighter, yanking her roughly off her feet. He pulled her across the room, gripping tighter the more she fought him. She whimpered, trying desperately to regain her footing. She slipped on something hard and slick, and felt her ankle snap sideways. She howled in pain, but Carsaeus kept pulling her.
The gorgeous room with the giant bed and full bathroom had been an illusion, meant to trick her into feeling safe and at home. Now that she refused to cooperate, she was forced into a dungeon, with gritty sand, hard floors, and prison-like benches to sleep on.
Carsaeus waved one hand at one of the stone walls while keeping Rebecca gripped tightly in the other hand. A doorway into a tiny, cramped room opened, and he threw her in. She grunted, hitting something warm and solid.
"Phase two of my plan has been set into motion," Carsaeus informed her coldly. "You'll need to stay here, so you don't get in the way. I trust you're in good company," he said with a smirk, before waving his palm and replacing the doorway, sealing Rebecca in complete darkness.
When thick, half-burned candles flickered, giving her some light, Rebecca realized the warm, solid thing she had run into was a person.
"Rebecca?" a voice questioned. And though weak, it also held shock.
Rebecca frowned, taking a few steps back before looking up into the face of the person she was trapped with.
Her eyes went wide, and she gasped.
...
"I refuse to believe it," Melinda snapped, crossing her arms defiantly. "I just don't buy that she's turned on us. Turned evil. It had to be a trick or a fake-out. Maybe she wanted Carsaeus to think she was evil, make him think he'd won her over?"
Corrine and Katelyn exchanged uncertain frowns.
"Mel," Katelyn said softly, "I know you want to believe that. I want to believe it, too. But we have to be prepared for the possibility that we've... lost her."
Melinda glared daggers at Katelyn. "No. It can't be true. It isn't true!"
"Melinda," Corrine tried, before Melinda silenced her with a glare.
"No," Melinda said firmly, looking from one cousin to the other. "I don't understand how you two can so easily give up on her."
"Hey," Katelyn said firmly, eyes narrowed angrily. "I'm not giving up on her. But I know better than either of you how alluring a demonic nature can be. I'm just being realistic."
This statement rattled not only Melinda, but also Corrine. It had never really occurred to them that Katelyn battled her demonic nature.
Katelyn stared at them, silent for a long time, before she shook her head. "Put yourself in her shoes. She never knew her dad; she's just lost her mom. And now all of a sudden, her dad is back in her life and she finds out he's evil. She wants to love him, wants him to be there for her, but she knows he can't be and won't be. But that doesn't mean she's going to give up hope. She belongs here with us, but she's torn between the family she only just discovered, and the father she's never known."
"Kat..." Corrine said softly, moving forward to comfort her cousin; clearly, that statement was mostly about Rebecca, but also a little about Katelyn herself.
Katelyn shook her head, stepping back. "I'm going to go check the Book, okay?" She turned around and bolted from the room, eager to be alone to gather her thoughts.
In the attic, she moved cautiously toward the Book. Her hands trembled as she came to a stop, nearly three feet away. She couldn't seem to convince herself to move any closer.
"Katy Bear."
Katelyn whirled around, assuming a defensive stance. She narrowed her eyes, straightening. "What do you want?"
Cole shrugged, placing his hands in his pockets. "Just checking on you."
"Yeah, right," she sneered. "You're hiding something, I know you are. You were acting way too weird in the Underworld."
Something flashed in Cole's eyes, but it was gone before Katelyn could read it.
"I don't know what you're talking about," he replied, lying easily.
Katelyn shook her head, laughing bitterly. "Right. Convenient."
Cole smiled, but it held sadness, not anger or sarcasm, or any of the other things Katelyn would have expected to see.
"I don't know what I have to do," Cole said softly, "to prove myself to you."
Katelyn shrugged, brushing some blonde locks from her face. She crossed her arms. "I don't know, Cole. I really don't."
Cole flinched. So, she was back to calling him by his name, rather than calling him dad.
"I don't know if the trust will ever be there," she admitted. "Not after everything you did. To mom, and to me." She bit her lip-glossed lips. "I just... I want to trust you," she finally admitted. It killed her to admit this, but it was true and she finally felt as though she couldn't hold the truth back any longer.
"So why won't you?" Cole questioned, keeping a poker face and refusing to let Katelyn catch even a glimpse of any emotions.
"Because." Katelyn finally said, after a long pause. "Because.. I'm scared."
Cole opened his mouth to argue, when several demons shimmered in, blocking him from Katelyn. Two of the demons sent fireballs at him, forcing him to duck and shimmer out to avoid being hit. Another demon flicked his hand, sending Katelyn flying backward into the podium holding the Book of Shadows. She yelped, tumbling to the ground. The Book hit the attic floor beside her, then magically projected itself a good few feet away from her. She gasped in shock, trying desperately to untangle herself from the metal podium.
"Katelyn!" Cole roared, fighting off the two demons that had first attacked him, tag-teaming him to keep him down.
Finally, Katelyn stumbled to her feet. Her ankle burned and she had to shift her weight off it. "CORRINE! MELINDA!" she yelled, hobbling forward to try and help Cole.
Something hit her from the side, so hard and so fast, she felt blindsided. She hit the ground again, hitting her head on the side of the podium that held the Book of Shadows. She grunted in pain, placing a hand to her temple. When she pulled it away, she saw blood and felt instantly woozy.
One of the demons held a fireball aloft, aiming it at Cole.
"Hey!" the demon pinning Katelyn snapped. "We're here for the witch, not Balthazar. Enough!"
The demon before Cole growled, baring his teeth, before stepping backwards. In unison, the three demons – as well as a dazed Katelyn – vanished.
Corrine and Melinda came stumbling into the attic, eyes wide. They took in the scene: The Book of Shadows, open and on the ground, roughly two feet away from the toppled podium; Cole, looking disheveled, struggling up from the ground. He had the start of a black eye, and a slash across his right arm.
"Where's Katelyn?" Corrine demanded. When he didn't answer, Corrine snapped, "Cole!"
Cole turned slowly to look at her, a wild look in his eyes. "They took her. Katelyn's gone."