"Looking for a good time?"
Belthazor sighed. What he was looking for was to be left alone. He me the eyes of the question's asker, a woman who looked young enough to still get carded. She was pale, nearly translucent with blue veins visible on her arms, and the dark makeup she wore didn't help make her look any more lifelike. But even if her skin had been golden bronze, the hunger in her eyes gave her away.
"Not with a vampire," he said, sipping his drink. He checked his watch and grimaced; of course it was after two. Belthazor glanced around the small establishment, and now could see that something had been amiss since he'd walked in. Usually vampire bars had no wait staff, but this place was more respectable than that. Even so, most of the crowd was on the pasty, lean and hungry side; the few humans that accompanied them were either quiet and terrified, or zoned out with dilated pupils– from what, Belthazor couldn't say.
The woman eyed him funny. "Who the hell are you?"
Belthazor said nothing, but flashed his all-black eyes at her. She backed away. A smart vampire, thought Belthazor, amused since he so rarely met those. It made San Francisco's descent into a vampiric hotspot all the more infuriating for him. He'd been born in a different San Francisco, literally: the earthquake and fire of 1906 had wiped out most of the city of his childhood.
No, San Francisco now was… darker. Not literally: the sun still rose and set at its usual time; but there was an undercurrent of evil, unrest, decay on the streets that Belthazor didn't remember a few years prior. The vampire population had increased, solidifying the Queen's power even while she was imprisoned underground.
As a result, the Source's position in the underworld had been weakened. Factions had risen up to jockey for the throne more times in the past four years or so than Belthazor could remember in the previous hundred. The Source had put down most of these puny rebellions, but the constant unrest was… taxing, to say the least. Taxing enough that Belthazor wouldn't leave the vampire bar without finishing his drink, even if the clientele made his skin crawl.
Belthazor moved to pick up his glass, but it slipped through his fingers. It took him a moment to realize he was being summoned.
He reappeared in the Underworld in the Source's chambers, in the center of their circle, on one knee. The Source stood before him, silent and foreboding beneath his black hood. Behind him hovered the Seer in her crimson dress and intricate crown of braids.
"My lord," Belthazor greeted him.
"Rise, Belthazor," said the Source. "I am in need of your services."
Belthazor held his tongue. It was strange for the Source of All Evil to admit to any sort of weakness. That albeit minor acknowledgment shook the liquor off of Belthazor's brain and forced him to focus. "How can I serve you?"
"Our sources tell us that the Vampire Queen is planning to escape again," said the Source. "Now you know as well I do that her past attempts have been unsuccessful, but the Seer said there is an artifact that contains a spell known to break any and all enchantments."
"Do you really think she's a threat?"
"Alone, no," said the Source. "I know you are no fan of the Queen, Belthazor. But her thrall over her children is not something that I possess. If she were free to roam and encourage the vampires to multiply, her base of power would be… difficult to break."
Belthazor wasn't excited about that possibility. "What do you have in mind?"
"Find the artifact before she does, and destroy it," said the Source. "She'll have one of her favorites assigned to track it down: what are their names?"
"Rowan and Leo, my lord," said the Seer, her eyes fixed on Belthazor. There was a hint of a smile on her lips.
Belthazor's nostrils flared; he pursed his lips. He bowed deeply. "Consider it done, my liege."
"The spell to break the enchantment must take place on All Hallows," said the Source. "You have two days."
The Queen smiled as Piper and Leo entered her throne room. "I hope I wasn't interrupting anything."
"No," said Piper, a hint of a sigh in her voice. "Not yet, at least."
The Queen was not amused. "You may return to your time together shortly," she said. "As soon as I share news from the surface I'm sure you'll be interested in."
"We've been to the surface, my Queen," said Leo. "What's to know? Greedy politicians, smug rich people– they all bleed the same flavor."
"A lesson you know well," she agreed. "But your brother brought me a gift."
From out of the shadows stepped Rowan, dragging a gagged girl across the floor. Barely a teenager, she fought weakly against his grasp.
Leo rolled his eyes. "Way to make an entrance, Rowan. Weren't you just at the bar?"
"Way to give a damn about your Queen, Leopold." Rowan smirked at Leo's instant annoyance over using his full name. "When's the last time you brought back something useful towards the cause? When's the last time you spent your evenings doing something other than drinking and gallivanting?"
Leo snorted. "What's the point of living forever if you can't drink and gallivant?"
"The cause?" repeated Piper. "What are you talking about? You sound like you're about to break into song."
"The cause of freeing our Queen and restoring her to the surface world, where she belongs," said Rowan. "And one of my children told me this little witch knows something that might be useful."
He dropped the girl, letting her fall to the floor, and removed her gag. "Now tell us about your premonition," said Rowan.
With a quavering voice and big, watery eyes, the girl began to speak. "I– I saw a big piece of stone with writing on it, with a big crack on the side," she said. "It had writing, but I don't know what kind. I don't know how, but I could just feel that it was magical."
There was a brief silence. Leo shook his head. "That's the news, Rowan? 'Magic Rock Needs Gluing, More at Eleven'?"
"It's not just a rock, Leo," the Queen snapped. Her three children went still and docile, dropping their gazes to their shoes. "This is the Armai'ach… my last, best chance of escaping this prison. It contains a spell that, if performed on All Hallows Eve, could break through the Source's enchantment. That's only two nights from now."
The Queen's face softened into something innocent, almost child-like. She beckoned Leo closer and curled a finger under his chin. Piper made the softest of noises. "Fetch it for me, my sweetlings."
"Of course, my Queen," said Leo.
"I should help them, my Queen," said Rowan. "Together, we could–"
"My darling Rowan," said the Queen, turning towards him with the same loving gaze. But irritation grew into the lines above her brow. "You have given me such a gift. The first key to my release. But as you said, allow your brother and sister the opportunity to serve me as you have."
"Yes, my Queen," said Rowan, pouting slightly. She caught his expression and similarly took his face in her hands like a child.
"Now, now, my dears," said the Queen. "There's no need for jealousy." She looked towards Leo and Piper. "When I rule the surface world, there will be a piece of my kingdom for each of you."
Very quiet tonight, Prue noticed as she walked through Golden Gate Park. Too quiet. She checked her watch; it was almost three in the morning. Maybe most of the vamps have gone home?
Prue was wrong. Emerging from the thick woods came a trio, circling her like vultures. Prue held her cross out in front of her. With a whimper, one of the vamps kicked it out of her hand and lunged at her. Prue took note of their faces; she'd never seen them before. Hopefully that meant they were young, weak bloodsuckers.
She gave the vampire a swift punch to the jaw, knocking him backwards into a tree as Prue pulled out her stake. Another tried to attack from behind, but Prue heard him coming; she turned around and staked him in the heart. He burst into flames and collapsed into a pile of dust.
The other vampire rebounded and came back at her, growling. Prue waved her hand. A bare tree branch snapped off an old oak and rammed through the vampire's chest, setting him on fire instantly.
Prue didn't even get a chance to take care of the last vampire. He took an energy ball to the chest and burst into flames. The air next to her shimmered; a man stood there. "Hello–"
Prue waved her hand, sending the man flying. Before he could crash into a tree he shimmered again, this time reappearing about ten feet from Prue. He held his hands up in surrender. "I come in peace," he said. "Come on, I killed that vampire for you!"
"Who are you?" she said, trying to keep the fear out of her voice. Even if Prue didn't know who he was, she certainly knew what he was by his method of teleportation: a demon. She hadn't dealt with them much in her time as a witch, but she knew they were very powerful. As deadly as vampires were, at least they couldn't throw fire or electricity.
"If you look me up in the Book of Shadows–" His eyes flashed all-black for a moment, before dissipating. "–they call me Belthazor."
Prue remained calm. If this demon was powerful enough to be in the Book, then he was powerful enough to kill her, or at least attempt it… but he had chosen not to. "How can I help you, Belthazor?"
"The Vampire Queen is attempting to walk the earth again."
"Sure, just like she does every eighteen months. I'm sure we'll all be hearing about 'unexplained fireworks' at the Battery Bluffs in a few days."
Belthazor gave her a grim smile. "Normally I'd agree, but apparently the threat is great enough that I've been asked by my, uh, superiors to make sure her attempt fails."
"Uh huh," said Prue, crossing her arms. "And you sought me out to share this information, because…"
"You're Prue Halliwell, scourge of San Francisco nightlife. Everyone knows that the thought of you makes vampires roll around in their coffins all day." Belthazor smiled in an attempt to charm her; it didn't work. "Tough crowd. Okay, fine. To make a long story short, the Queen needs a stone tablet to cast a spell that could free her. We both know she'll send her favorite child and his mate to get what she needs. I thought you could help me beat them to the catch."
"Do you mean Leo and Piper?" said Prue. Belthazor nodded, and she whistled. "Wow. You must be desperate to consider working with a witch."
"I am, and don't worry, you will be too." He held his gaze on Prue for a moment. "You think San Francisco is fun now with all the vamps running around? This is kindergarten recess compared to what it will be like if the Queen walks the earth. I'm an upper level demon. I have powers you can't even dream of, witch. But what demons have in strength, vampires have in numbers– and when they're under the Queen's thrall, they're basically zombies with purpose. So keep making jokes; it's going to be hard to keep a sense of humor in this hellhole."
Prue wanted to respond, but her mouth was suddenly dry. Her cell phone rang. "What is it?" she answered, as only one person ever called her.
"Had a premonition," said Gary. "You should come home."
"Is this a 'Regular Joe dies' kind of premonition, or 'the apocalypse is nigh' kind of vision?"
"Did you kill something? You're awfully chipper."
"Two vamps just now," Prue said, her eyes never leaving Belthazor.
"Well, what I saw was very high on 'the apocalypse is nigh' scale, involving the Queen," said Gary. "Hurry, we need to figure out what's going on."
Prue hung up and looked at Belthazor. "My friend had a premonition about the Queen," she said.
"Huh. Must be a coincidence."
Prue shook her head; what was she doing? She cursed under her breath. "Okay, Belthazor," she said. "I'll make you a deal. We work together to stop the Queen, but I have two rules. Number one, no killing innocents."
"What if they get in my way?" Belthazor rolled his eyes at her immediate, furious reaction. "I'm kidding."
"Number two, you can take care of the Queen, but I get to kill Leo."
"What about Piper? Hoping your sister will take herself out? Yes," he said as Prue's eyes widened, "I know she's your sister." He tapped his temple. "I'm an attorney, I'm pretty bright."
"We'll worry about Piper when we have to," said Prue. "But Leo's the one who destroyed my entire family. He's the vamp I want to see as a pile of ash."
Cole sighed, throwing up his hands. "Fine, fine," he said quickly, and extended his hand. "Then you've got a deal."
"So there's an earthquake in your vision? And San Francisco is covered in vampires?" Paige said. Gary nodded as he poured two cups of chamomile tea. "Wow. Okay. Sounds bad. But… your visions don't always come true, do they?"
He hesitated, grimacing into his mug. "It depends. That's why I get them. So we can take action in some way– although in other cases…" Gary sighed as he trailed off.
"Uh, hi? Gary?" Paige said, waving to bring him back. "I'm very interested in hearing how that sentence ends."
"Sometimes it's just a warning," said Gary. "Sometimes nothing can be done, and it's the Elders' way of telling us to be prepared."
Paige grimaced. "I don't know if that's helpful or passive-aggressive," she said, eliciting another chuckle from Gary. "Hey, just telling it like I see it."
"No, it's… refreshing," he said. "Forgive me, Prue and I have our own twisted senses of humor, to be sure, but after you've seen what we've seen… well. Let's just say it can be difficult sometimes to find things to laugh about."
"That's almost hard to believe," Paige said dryly. "Prue seems like she's always looking on the bright side."
Gary's mouth became a flat line; he shook his head. "I know she doesn't have a warm bedside manner. But you have to understand. Prue's sister was changed into a vampire and killed their other sister. The vampire sister, she, uh, is the lover of the vampire who attacked you. He killed their grandmother that same night."
Paige looked into her cup. "Oh," she said, "that's… beyond awful. Now I feel like a jerk."
"You didn't know," said Gary. "Don't feel bad."
Paige was silent for a moment. "So, how did you get into the vampire… business?"
"Oh, I was born into it. My family's hunted vampires for hundreds of years. But… a few years ago, my parents were killed on a hunt, and my sister was turned. My sister killed my fiancée, and I had to put a stake in both of their hearts." Gary cleared his throat, suddenly very focused on the coffee cup in his hands. "Not long after that, I saw Prue in a vision– where all of the terrible things happened to her family– and bought a one-way ticket to the States. We began working together. The rest is history." Gary glanced up and smiled timidly at Paige. "Not very exciting."
"I'm… so sorry–" said Paige, the words stumbling out of her mouth like she pushed them down a flight of stairs. Great, she thought, way to keep the convo light and frothy.
Prue entered the kitchen through the back door, but not alone. She was accompanied by a tall, dark-haired man in a suit too fancy for San Francisco. "What did you see?" she asked Gary.
"Um, aren't you going to introduce us to your new friend?" said Paige.
Gary stood up, looking at Prue and Belthazor warily. "Prue, what's going on?"
"This is Belthazor," said Prue. "We met in the park. He's here to help us with your vision."
Gary, suddenly pale, gripped the edges of the kitchen table. "Good Lord," he said. "Prue, have you read the Book lately? Because there's a whole page devoted to this demon."
"Demon?" said Paige, eyes widening.
Belthazor smirked. "A whole page in the Book of Shadows? I'm flattered."
"He's a demon who needs our help defeating a couple of vampires, Gary. How powerful can he be?" asked Prue.
Belthazor looked offended, but that response calmed Gary down considerably. "Good point," he murmured. He settled back down at the table, sharing a concerned look with Paige.
"Look, the Underworld doesn't want the Queen free anymore than you do. That's what your vision was about, right?" said Belthazor. Gary nodded slowly. "We've got a mutual goal here; I'm not looking to kill innocents for kicks. I'm more respectable than a damn vampire," said Belthazor, punching his disdain into the word. "So let's work together quickly, and we can all get on with our everyday lives."
"The sooner, the better," Paige muttered.
Gary nodded. Prue and Belthazor sat down at the table. "Can you tell us about your vision?" said Prue.
"Yes," said Gary. "I saw an earthquake, ripping the city to shreds, and the Vampire Queen rising to the surface: being evil, killing people. Her general M.O."
Prue's eyes widened. "So whatever the Queen's after to escape from Čachtice definitely has the potential to work," she said. Her blue eyes were hazy as the gears in her head turned into overdrive. "What else did you see?"
Gary pressed his lips into a firm line. "Well, Leo and Piper were there… as were Paige and I. We were vampires."
"What! Why didn't you tell me that before?" said Paige.
"What's she still doing here?" asked Prue. "I thought you were going to drive her home."
Paige sent her back a glare. "Hey, I was in his vision. Obviously I'm somewhat important."
"Was that it?" Belthazor asked Gary. "Anything else that might be help us figure out how the Queen gets freed?"
"No, that's– wait," said Gary. "There was one more thing. The Queen was carrying a stone tablet. It had writing on it, reminiscent of Arabic."
Paige furrowed her brow. "Is it possible," she said, "that the tablet is from somewhere in the Middle East?"
"Ah, well, with writing like that, I would imagine so," said Gary. "Why?"
"I read something in The Bay Mirror this morning…" Paige grabbed the newspaper that sat on the kitchen island and pulled out the Arts section. "Here," she said, pointing to a photo of a broken tablet that sat among other Middle Eastern objects. "This tablet from Lebanon is in the new exhibit at the Museum of Ancient Global Art."
Gary pulled his glasses from his shirt pocket and studied the photo. "That's definitely what I saw," Gary said.
A trip to the attic and seven minutes of flipping through The Book of Shadows later, Prue found an entry for the tablet. "The Armai'ach," Prue read aloud. "An ancient tablet predating the rise of the Egyptians. The large stone has several spells written upon it, including a Releasing Ritual that can break through any previously cast spells or enchantments."
"Okay," said Paige. "So what does the Vampire Queen want with it?"
"Just over a century ago, the Vampire Queen of San Francisco was bound to Čachtice by the Source of All Evil," said Belthazor. "If she were to get her hand on the Armai'ach, and the necessary components for the ritual, she would be free to walk the earth again… which would be very, very unpleasant for all of us who don't drink blood."
Paige's eyes widened. "The Source of what?"
"Never mind," said Prue, waving her hand impatiently. "All that matters is that we get our hands on the stone before Piper and Leo do. Tomorrow night, we break into the museum and steal the Armai'ach."
"Then we figure out a way to destroy it before Piper and Leo come after us," said Belthazor.
Gary escorted Paige out to his car. Paige walked down the steps and turned around to face the manor. Her face went pale. "Oh my God," she said quietly.
"Everything okay?" said Gary.
"Just fine," Paige said quickly, hopping into the passenger side seat.
About a year ago, Paige had done some digging into her birth family. She'd been left at a Catholic Church with nothing more than a request to match her with a good family, and for her first name to start with the letter P. The resources that came with her social services job helped Paige learn more about families in the neighborhood she could potentially be related to. Apparently Patty Halliwell had sent her daughters to Sunday School at the same church.
There was a moment when Paige had wondered if she was related to the Halliwells, and had even driven by the manor to take a peek… then she found Penny and Phoebe Halliwell's obituaries. Once Paige heard about the way Prue's family had been murdered, with one sister still "missing", she decided there was no need to potentially bring any more pain to this woman's life.
Best laid plans… thought Paige with a roll of her eyes. Would it be worth it to tell Prue her theory? Probably not; Prue didn't seem like she was interested in finding any long-lost relatives. Maybe if they were able to get their hands on the Armai'ach before Leo and Piper, Paige would say something.
Until then, they were little more strangers.
