Sins Of The Past

[noazmale]

CHARMED
“Sins Of The Past”
By J. B. Tilton (a.k.a. NoAzMale) and Teri Thibeault (a.k.a. Tessalynne)
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Rating: K+

Disclaimer: “Charmed” and all related characters and events are the property of the WB television network, except for those characters specifically created for this story. This is a work of fan fiction and no infringement of copyright is intended.

* * *

(Authors note: This story takes place between season 4 episodes “Hell Hath No Fury” and “Enter The Demon”.)

* * *

When another witch is arrested for murder after vanquishing a demon, the sisters decide they have to help her. While they investigate, Cole discovers he has a very special connection to the witch.

* * *

ONE

“You should take it easy, that’s all I’m saying,” said Phoebe as she and Piper came down the stairs. “You nearly became a Fury and killed us all.”

“And it’s over now and I’m fine,” said Piper. “There’s no chance of me becoming a Fury anymore. So just let it drop.”

“Phoebe still bugging you about almost becoming a Fury?” Leo asked as the two sisters walked into the living room. Cole was standing by the fireplace and Paige sat on the sofa reading the newspaper.

“Yes,” said Piper, annoyance in her voice. “And like I told her, I’m fine now. The Furies are gone and I’m myself again.”

“But you should still rest,” said Phoebe. “Something like that can take a lot out of you.”

“I’m fine,” Piper insisted. “Cole, you do something. She’s your girlfriend.”

“Oh, I’ve learned by now not to get in the middle of you two,” said Cole, smiling at Piper.

“Hey, look at this,” said Paige, holding up the newspaper. “Buchanan’s is having a BOGO free sale. I could really use a new pair of shoes.”

“BOGO?” questioned Piper. “What kind of shoe is that?”

“It’s not a shoe,” said Paige. “BOGO. Buy One Get One. In this case, you buy a pair of shoes, and you get another pair of equal or lesser value free.”

“Ooo, that’s my kind of sale,” said Phoebe. “You can never have too many shoes.”

“Now that’s something else we would disagree on,” said Piper. “Phoebe, you all ready have enough pairs of shoes to last you an entire year. What do you need another pair for?”

“Can I see that?” Cole asked, reaching for the paper.

“Sure,” said Paige, handing it to him. “You see something interesting?”

“This article,” said Cole. “It says that this woman has been arrested for murder. Let me see.” He skimmed the article. “Just as I thought. See these two pictures?” He indicated a picture of a man and a woman side by side next to the article. “This woman is accused of murdering the man.”

“Yeah, I heard about that on the news this afternoon,” said Phoebe. “It seems she supposedly lured him into an abandoned building and then set fire to the place. The police still can’t get into the building until the fire marshal decides it’s safe to enter. Why? What’s so important about this article?”

“Maybe nothing,” said Cole. “But the picture of the man is. I recognize him. We worked together a few years ago. Well, more than a few years, actually. Let me think. It was about 1987, I think.”

“You worked with him?” questioned Leo. “But that was when you were still a demonic mercenary. You were still working for the Source back then.”

“That’s right,” said Cole. “So was he. His name is – or was – Kortack. He’s another demonic mercenary. And he was very good. Nearly as good as I was. There’s no way a mortal woman could have taken him out. He was too good.”

“But if she wasn’t mortal,” said Paige, “that must mean she’s a witch.”

“And it wasn’t murder,” said Cole. “My guess is she vanquished him but someone must have seen what was going on. Some innocent who didn’t know she’s a witch and he’s a demon.”

“Which means she can’t tell them what happened,” interjected Piper. “In the first place, I doubt anyone would believe her. In the second place, she can’t risk exposing magic to the mortal world.”

“Assuming she is a witch and it was a vanquishing,” said Leo. “It’s possible she just got lucky. I know it sounds farfetched but it is possible.”

“And there’s one way to find out,” said Piper. “Leo, you need to go ‘up there’ and check with the Elders. See if she is a witch. If she is then she didn’t murder anyone. She vanquished a demon.”

“This shouldn’t take long,” said Leo. “I’ll be back shortly.” He immediately orbed out of the living room.

“So if she’s a witch, why didn’t her White Lighter just orb her out of the building after she vanquished the demon?” Paige asked.

“Not all witches have their own personal White Lighter,” said Cole.

“Well, if she is a witch, what are we going to do?” Phoebe asked. “We can’t let her go on trial. She didn’t do anything wrong. Besides, if there’s a public trial, magic might get exposed to the mortal world. We need to help her.”

“I agree with you,” said Piper. “But I’m not sure what we can do.”

“Leo could orb her out of the jail,” suggested Paige. “Or Cole could shimmer her out.”

“Which is not an option,” said Cole. “That would make her a fugitive. She’d be looking over her shoulder not only for demon attacks but for every cop she came into contact with for the rest of her life. There’s no statute of limitations on murder. She’d have to go into hiding and could never come out. It wouldn’t make her very useful for fighting evil and protecting the innocent.”

“I guess you’re right,” said Paige. “So what are we going to do about it?”

“Let’s wait and see what Leo finds out,” said Piper. “We need to make sure she’s actually a witch and the guy she’s accused of killing was really a demon. Maybe it was just someone who looked like him. Cole, are you sure that picture is of this Kortack?”

“Well,” said Cole, looking at the picture again, “it looks like him. I haven’t really seen him since we worked together and we only worked together for a couple of days. We weren’t exactly close or anything but I needed someone to create a distraction and it was right up his alley. I’m pretty sure it’s him.”

Just then Leo orbed back into the manor.

“You were right,” he said. “She’s a witch. Her name is Kate Palmer.”

“Palmer?” Cole asked inquisitively.

“Yeah,” replied Leo. “And it was Kortack that she vanquished. They’re discussing what to do about it right now. They agree with you. Something has to be done to get her out of this mess. So that magic won’t be exposed to the world.”

“And so she doesn’t go to prison for a crime she didn’t commit,” said Piper, a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

“Well, that, too,” said Leo. “They aren’t sure what to do. They did say that as a last resort I was to orb her out of the jail so there won’t be a trial. But they’d rather I didn’t have to do that.”

“We were just discussing that,” said Phoebe. “I think we should go talk to her. Find out what happened. Then we can decide what to do about it.”

“Which might be more difficult than you think,” said Leo. “If she’s being held on a charge of murder they aren’t likely to let her have any visitors.”

“They’ll have to let her attorney see her,” said Cole.

“Her attorney?” questioned Leo.

“Sure. I may be an ADA here in San Francisco but in Bakersfield, where’s she being held, I’d be just another attorney. If I say I’m representing her they have to let me see her. And they have to leave us alone so we could talk privately. Attorney-client privilege.”

“You can do that?” questioned Paige. “Just walk in and claim to be her attorney and they’ll let you see her?”

“Of course,” said Cole. “They won’t have any choice. One of the Miranda rights you see on all those police shows on television. ‘You have the right to an attorney and have the attorney present during questioning.’ It’s what we in the profession call ‘black letter law’. And like I said, they have to give us some privacy so I can consult with her.”

“Except she’s not likely to say anything to you, either,” said Piper. “As far as she knows you’re just another mortal attorney and despite attorney-client privilege, she can’t very well tell you the truth.”

“Unless he has a paralegal with him,” said Phoebe. “I can go with Cole and pretend to be his paralegal. I can let her know I’m a witch and that Cole can help. Without letting her know he’s half demon, of course.”

“That’s assuming she doesn’t all ready have an attorney,” said Paige. “According to the paper this all happened last night. She might have her own attorney and if not she might have had one appointed for her.”

“I don’t think so,” said Cole. “The public defenders’ office is terribly overworked. It will take some time for an attorney to be appointed for her and for him to get with her. Besides, the paper says she’s going to be arraigned in the next couple of days. If she all ready had an attorney she would have all ready been arraigned or at least she would be arraigned very soon. I’m guessing they’re waiting for an attorney to show up so that they can arraign her.”

“Well, we need to get there,” said Piper. “I think our best bet is for Leo to orb us there. We can’t waste any time driving there.”

“Hang on a second,” said Cole. “I’ll be right back.”

He shimmered out of the living room and a moment later he shimmered back in. When he finished shimmering everyone saw him holding a briefcase.

“I’ll need this if I’m pretending to visit my client for the first time,” said Cole. “Now, the sooner we get there the sooner we can get this over with. Our first stop should be the District Clerk’s office.”

“What for?” Piper asked.

“To see if there’s an attorney of record for her,” replied Cole. “If she’s been appointed one, or even has her own, it will be on record with the District Clerk.”

“Assuming they’ll tell you who he or she is,” said Paige.

“They will,” said Cole. “An attorney of record is public information. Anyone can walk in and get the information. Come on. I’ll take Phoebe with me. Leo, you can take Piper and Paige. We’ll meet you at the police station.”

The small group linked arms and disappeared from the living room

[noazmale]

TWO

“I’m here to see Katherine Palmer,” said Cole, standing in front of the desk sergeant at the police station, Phoebe standing next to him.

“Sorry, Ms. Palmer isn’t allowed any visitors,” replied the sergeant. “She’s going to be arraigned on a charge of second degree murder and the captain said no visitors.”

“You’ll make an exception for me,” said Cole. “My name is Cole Turner. I’m her attorney.”

“Attorney? Legal aid said they wouldn’t be able to send anyone over until the morning. Who’s this?” looking at Phoebe.

“She’s my paralegal,” replied Cole, “and I’m not from legal aid. Now, if you’ll just show me to my client.”

“Well, I guess so,” replied the sergeant. “I’ll have her brought up to one of the interrogation rooms. You can wait for her in there.”

“And I’ll be expecting some privacy while I confer with my client,” said Cole.

“I’ve been through this a few times before, Mr. Turner. You’ll get your privacy.”

He called to an officer who escorted them to one of the interrogation rooms. After a few minutes they brought in Palmer who was handcuffed. She appeared to be in her 40s and was dressed in a pantsuit. Her brown hair hung to her shoulders and it looked as if she hadn’t slept in a couple of days. As she sat down at the table she looked Cole and Phoebe over. The police officer removed the handcuffs and then left the room.

“That’s an expensive suit for a legal aid attorney,” said Palmer.

“I’m not from legal aid,” said Cole. “This is Phoebe Halliwell. My name is Cole Turner.”

“I’ll tell you the same thing I told the police. I didn’t murder anyone. I know how the evidence looks. But I didn’t murder anyone.”

“They have a video tape of you fighting with the man,” said Cole. “An unidentified white male that the police say you lured to that building and killed. No apparent motive.”

“Well, like I said, the police are wrong. I didn’t lure anyone to that building and I certainly didn’t kill anyone. And since they don’t have a body I don’t see how they can charge me with murder.”

“It’s possible,” said Cole. “The video tape shows the two of you going into the building but you’re the only one it shows coming out. Then the building burned. Anyone in the building would have died. Once the body is recovered they expect to find that you knocked him unconscious or something and left him there to die.”

“I’ve told you everything I can, Mr. Turner,” said Palmer. “I went into the building and he apparently followed me in. Maybe he left by a different door, I don’t know. But I can tell you I didn’t kill him. And I doubt they’ll find any body. So without a body I don’t see how they can prove murder.”

“That’s not exactly true, is it?” Phoebe asked. “That you didn’t kill anyone. And they won’t find a body because there isn’t any body to find.”

“I . . . I don’t know what you mean,” said Palmer a look of concern crossing her face. “I would never harm another human being.”

“But our unidentified friend wasn’t exactly human, was he?” Cole asked.

“I’m not sure I follow,” said Palmer suspiciously.

“What he means,” said Phoebe, glancing at Cole, “is that the man you ‘killed’ wasn’t human. He was a demon. And they won’t find a body because demon bodies disintegrate when they’re vanquished.”

“Who are you?” demanded Palmer defensively. “How could you know so much?”

“Like Cole said, my name is Phoebe Halliwell. My sisters and I live in San Francisco. We’re the Charmed Ones. When we saw the report of your arrest – and realized that your ‘victim’ was a demon – we decided to come and see if we could help. You didn’t kill a man you vanquished a demon. You just had the bad luck of having it caught on tape. We know what that’s like.”

“Thank the Goddess,” said Palmer, relaxing noticeably. “I haven’t been able to say anything to anyone. I could only maintain my assertion that I hadn’t killed a human. I couldn’t very well tell them the truth. They’d never believe me.”

“We know,” said Cole. “That’s why we’re here. We’re going to do whatever we can to help.”

“Just who are you?” Palmer asked. “The Charmed Ones are all sisters. Are you another witch?”

“Uh, no,” said Phoebe. “He’s my boyfriend. And he knows all about us. He’s also a pretty good lawyer. If there’s any way to get you out of this we’ll find it. If nothing else we’ll get our White Lighter to orb you out of here so you won’t have to stand trial.”

“White Lighter?” questioned Palmer. “I’ve never met one of them. My mother told me of them. She said that some witches had White Lighters. But apparently we don’t have one.”

“Not all witches have one,” said Phoebe. “But Leo – he’s our White Lighter – he said he’s ready to pull you out of here if it comes to that.”

“It would be best if we can get the charges against you dropped,” interjected Cole. “A jail break would make you a fugitive. It’s best all around if we can get you out of this legally. We just have to figure out the best way to do that. Your name is Katherine Palmer?”

“Yes, but I go by Kate.”

“I used to know a Katie Palmer,” said Cole. “A long time ago.”

“I doubt it’s the same person. Palmer is a fairly common name. And I was named after my great grandmother. She died fighting a demon. She was living in San Francisco just after the turn of the 20th century but you’re obviously not old enough to have known her. She died in 1910.”

“Of course,” said Cole nervously. Phoebe noticed Cole’s nervousness. “Probably just someone with the same name. Now, you’ll have to stay in jail until you’re arraigned. At the arraignment I’ll try to get you a reasonable bail but I have to tell you that’s not very likely. Judges are notorious for setting very high bail on a second degree murder charge.”

“I need to get out of here,” said Palmer. “I have a friend who’s looking after my kids but I really need to be there for them.”

“Well, I’m sure your friend will take care of your children until we can get you out,” said Phoebe.

“No, you don’t understand. They aren’t my children. I just look after them. I run a foster home for orphan children. Right now I have 7 and a couple of them have very special needs. My friend isn’t really equipped to handle them on a long term basis. I really need to be there for them.”

“You run a foster home? Isn’t that dangerous being a witch and all?”

“Maybe some,” said Palmer. “But I’m kind of following in my great grandmother’s footsteps, so to speak. She ran an orphanage in San Francisco. After she was killed by a demon the kids were split up. She had a son who went to live with some relatives but the rest of them didn’t have anyone. Some of them just got lost and no one knows what happened to them. I don’t want that to happen to my kids.”

“Her son?” questioned Cole. “What relatives did he go to live with?”

“His mother’s sister and her husband. They lived in San Francisco, too. My grandmother moved here to Bakersfield after she got married. Why, is it important?”

“Oh, uh, probably not,” said Cole. “I just like to have as complete a background on my clients as possible. You never know what might come in handy. Now, you’ll have to stay here until we get you arraigned. Once at the arraignment like I said, I’ll try to get you out on bail. Running a foster home will go a long ways to getting bail. You have ties to the community and the judge is likely to take that into consideration.”

“I really don’t have a lot of money for bail. Most of what I do have goes to taking care of my kids.”

“We’ll worry about that when the time comes,” said Cole. “What happened in that building?”

“Well, I’d been tracking this demon for a while,” said Katie. “I had gotten some information that he was staying in that abandoned building. So I went there figuring I could put an end to him. I had a vanquishing potion all ready so I waited until it got dark and went after him.

“Only he must have seen me coming. He attacked before I even knew he was there. His first fireball barely missed me. Luckily I was able to use the vanquishing potion on him and he was gone in a matter of moments. Unfortunately his fireball had started a fire and within a few minutes the entire building was a raging inferno.

“I didn’t have much choice. The only way for me to get out of the building was the same way I had gotten in. But there’s an ATM across the street from the building. Its’ camera caught us both going into the building but only me coming out. It didn’t take long for the entire building to be engulfed in flames. Since there’s no evidence that the demon ever came out of the building the police say I must have knocked him unconscious and set fire to it to kill him.”

“And of course you have no way to prove otherwise,” said Cole. “Okay, for now just don’t say anything to anyone. Don’t even protest your innocence. If anyone wants to deal with this matter they can deal with me. We’ll have you out of here as soon as possible.”

“Well, I do feel a little better knowing the Charmed Ones are involved,” said Palmer. “At least I don’t have to go through this alone. Not even my kids or my friend know I’m a witch. This is going to be very hard to explain to them.”

“Don’t worry,” said Phoebe. “My sisters and I will help you all we can. Now, just do as Cole says. Sit tight and keep your mouth shut. We’re going to get you out of this.”

“Thanks,” said Palmer. “I appreciate everything you’re doing.”

“We have to stick together,” said Phoebe, squeezing her hand.

* * *

Cole and Phoebe returned to the hotel room that Piper had rented for them. They filled in the others on what they had learned.

“So she was vanquishing a demon,” said Piper. “Well, we certainly can’t let her rot in jail for that. We have to do something. We have to get her out of there.”

“I’m working on that,” said Cole. “Our first priority is to get her out of jail. That’s not going to be easy. Like I told her, judges usually set a very high bail for murder cases. And that’s assuming she doesn’t get a judge who denies bail because it’s a murder charge. There are a fair number of judges who don’t believe in bail for a charge of murder.”

“Cole,” said Phoebe hesitantly, “you seemed nervous when Katie was telling you about her great grandmother.”

“Yes,” said Cole reluctantly. “Remember I told you that I once knew someone by the name of Kate Palmer? Well, I’m pretty sure that Kate Palmer was her great grandmother.”

“But didn’t you say she died in 1910?” questioned Paige. “Kate said she was killed by a demon.”

“That’s right,” said Cole. “And I’m pretty sure I was the demon that killed her.”

“You killed her great grandmother?” Phoebe asked.

“It was a long time ago,” said Cole. “I was only 24 and had just finished my training as a mercenary. Only there wasn’t much chance of me being hired as a mercenary because I didn’t have a reputation. Most mercenaries are hired based on their reputation. Plus, I was half human. To many mainstream demons, I was less than a consideration.

“I decided my best bet was to find a witch who was a problem for a high level demon and take her out. Once I did that, word would spread of what I had done. I knew it would take a while before some of the higher level demons would be interested in me but I had to start somewhere. So I went looking for a witch who could help me establish the reputation I needed. I found Kate Palmer.”

[noazmale]

THREE

Cole shimmered into the Underworld and looked around. It hadn’t changed ostensibly in the time he had been gone. But then, it hadn’t changed in hundreds of years. There was no reason to think it would change in the meager 4 years he had spent on the mortal plane.

After “graduating” from his training with Isladec he had considered his options. He was trained to be a mercenary. Which meant he wouldn’t serve any particular master for any substantial length of time. He’d serve whichever master paid his fee for whatever job he was hired for and then move on to the next job. Therein lay the crux of his dilemma.

As an “unknown” mercenary, most of the higher level demons would be extremely leery about hiring him. Hiring mercenaries was largely by word of mouth. Their past accomplishments often dictated which master would be interested in hiring them. The problem was, Cole had no past accomplishments. It was a redundant cycle. He couldn’t get hired because he had not proven himself but he couldn’t prove himself because no one would hire him.

And his human half would definitely be a determent. Humans were the enemy. As a demon who was half human, most of the hierarchy would look upon him as inferior at best. At worst, he would be viewed as either a traitor or a spy. Neither of which would help him gain the notoriety he would need to establish a name for himself.

Added to this that he had suddenly made a realization. Despite being half human, he had virtually been raised in the Underworld. He had only spent a few meager years on the mortal plane just after he was born. And he remembered very little from his time there. Then his mother had brought him to the Underworld to raise him as a demon.

It had often been said that he would understand humans better than most demons because he was, himself, part human. And while that might be true, he knew virtually nothing of human societies. He knew little of human customs and traditions other than what his mother or some other demons had related to him. And he realized that their accounts would be tainted by their demonic view of things.

So he had decided to learn firsthand about human society. For the past 4 years he had lived among humans as one of them. Foregoing his demonic heritage, he had traveled learning everything he could about them. It had not been easy. The natural arrogance and superiority demanded of demons was not necessarily prevalent in human society. In many instances he had to bite his tongue, as it were, and acquiesce to humans who were quite obviously his inferiors. But it was necessary to blend in with humans and learn what he could about them.

Now he was back in the underworld. He had learned what he needed to know about humans. He had blended in very effectively while on the mortal plane. No one had ever suspected he was more than what he had appeared. Now it was time to put his plan into action.

Isladec had suggested he specialize in witches. They were a constant bane to a demon’s existence. They helped and protected the inferior humans who did not have the knowledge – or power – to protect themselves against the powers of a demon. They were an ever-present obstacle to the plans of the hierarchy of the Underworld. So, removing any witches was always a benefit to higher level demons.

Cole’s main problem was finding a witch that was just such an obstacle so that he could remove her and curry favor with whichever demon they stood in the way of. On the one hand, this was quite easy. Most witches stood in the way of some demon of the hierarchy. It was just the nature of the “relationship” between demons and witches. The problem was that finding one who was visible enough that he would get noticed. The hierarchy wasn’t very forgiving when it came to demons that failed an assignment. So it was obvious that any demon sent to take care of a witch – and failed – was more than a little reluctant to talk about such failure.

Cole stepped into a large chamber and looked around. These were some of the lowest chambers in the Underworld. It was here that the lowest level demons resided, waiting to get a summons from someone higher up the food chain. Most would be a summons for some menial task that higher level demons considered to be below their status. Tasks that would rarely, if ever, bring them to the attention of a powerful demon.

Cole was glad he had been spared living here. It was cramped with dozens of demons lounging around waiting for the call. There was little for them to do. And no upper level demon would ever set foot in the place. They would, in all likelihood, send one of their subordinates to summon a demon for a particular task.

But it was a good place to start. He had learned on the mortal plane that rumors abounded in places like this. Snippets of conversation overheard by these menials just might provide some useful information that would lead Cole to his goal. He moved through the throng listening intently as demons talked among themselves.

All manner of lower level demons could be found here. Most were in their demonic form. Then again, most demons this low in level had no human form. But there were a few who had human forms and Cole could see them scattered throughout the crowd.

He passed virtually unnoticed. He knew that no one in this place were “friends”. Few demons had what could be considered “friends”. That was a human concept. To a demon, anyone they were associated with was merely a means to an end. That end being to rise as high within the hierarchy as possible. Which, for most of these wretches, meant being selected as an underling for a higher level demon.

Cole paused for a moment. He had overheard someone mention the name Tobash. He knew of Tobash, although he had never had the pleasure of meeting him in person. Tobash was a moderate level demon that usually operated behind the scenes in political areas on the mortal plane. He would covertly try to sabotage any plans that humans had that might be counterproductive to demonic interests. Cole looked around and found the 2 demons who were discussing Tobash. He found a seat near them and sat listening as they talked.

“I hear Tobash is fit to be tied,” said the first demon. “He sent one of his underlings, Karan, to take care of the human but she’s still alive. And I saw Karan in the outer chambers earlier. He’s hiding out until he can get another shot at the human. If he can take her out Tobash will be appeased and he won’t vanquish Karan for his failure.”

“You mean he didn’t finish the job?” questioned the second demon. “That’s pathetic. He can’t even take care of a single human female? I thought even Karan was more efficient than that.”

“Apparently she was no ordinary human. She’s a witch. And Karan said she had some kind of special sight or something. She took one look at him and knew exactly what he was. He didn’t even have a chance to defend himself. He told me if he hadn’t gotten out of there when he did she would have vanquished him on the spot.”

“A witch? Tobash sent Karan after a witch? Is Tobash crazy? Karan is no match for a witch. He’s a subterfuge demon, like us. He could never stand up to a witch.”

“My information is that Tobash didn’t know she was a witch,” said the first demon, lowering his voice some. “That’s one of the reasons he’s so ticked off. She owns some property that LaTarrin needs for one of his plans. Only she won’t sell it. So LaTarrin told Tobash to get rid of her. That will make it easier to get control of the property. Now, since the female is a witch, it’s going to cost Tobash a whole lot more than he was paying Karan to get rid of her. He’s going to have to hire a mercenary to take out the witch and he’s not happy about that.”

“I don’t blame him. Mercenaries can be expensive. Still, he doesn’t have much of a choice. Tobash isn’t stupid enough to cross LaTarrin. Hey, maybe Tobash will hire you and me to take out the witch. Between the two of us maybe we can get the jump on her. One of us distracts her while the other one finishes her. Even if he doesn’t pay full price for it because we’re just subterfuge demons it has to be a lot more than we normally get.”

“Which won’t do us any good if we’re dead. I’m not going up against no witch. Let the mercenaries do that. That’s what they get paid for.”

Cole turned and left the chamber, smiling to himself. LaTarrin was one of the highest level demons in the Underworld. Second only to the Triad and the Source himself. If he had told Tobash to take out the witch, it meant that whatever he had in mind for that property was important. And he would be very appreciative of the demon that removed her allowing him to gain control of that property.

As he moved through the passageways of the Underworld, Cole decided this would be the perfect mission to begin establishing his reputation in the Underworld. His first order of business was to find Karan find out what he knew about the witch. Then he could begin formulating a plan to kill the witch and claim the bounty for himself.

[noazmale]

FOUR

Cole had little trouble locating Karan. If he was hiding out from LaTarrin, he’d be hiding in some place the senior demon wouldn’t think to look for him. There were a thousand places a demon could hide if he needed to. He couldn’t stay there long, but he’d be safe at least for a time.

In addition, the subterfuge demons had intimated that Karan was injured. He couldn’t go to any of the “normal” places for any kind of treatment. LaTarrin would soon learn where he was and come looking for him. But there were naturally occurring places in the Underworld that an injured demon could go to get at least some treatment for his injuries. Cole had only look in those places until he found Karan.

He finally located the demon in one of the outer fringe chambers. There was a pool of water in this chamber that was slightly charged by some form of magic. The mud from this pool was a natural healing ointment, although only marginally so. Still, it was better than no treatment at all.

Cole found Karan sitting at the side of the pool smearing some of the mud on a rather nasty gash along one arm. Even with a demonic constitution, it would require at least several days before the wound was healed enough for Karan to make another attempt on the witch. Not that it would make a difference. Subterfuge demons, as the two he had overheard saying, were little match for a witch.

“Here,” said Cole, pulling a small vial out of his robes and handing it to Karan, “try this. It will work a lot better than that mud you’re using?”

“Who are you?” demanded Karan, backing away defensively. “Did Tobash send you to vanquish me? Are you here to kill me?”

“Relax,” said Cole, sitting on the edge of the pool. “My name is Belthazor. Tobash didn’t send me. I doubt he even knows I exist. But with your help, I’m planning to change that.”

“What is this?” asked the demon, looking at the vial Cole had handed him.

“It’s an ointment of sorts. It should help with that cut. Humans use it.”

“Humans? You got this from humans?”

“That’s right,” said Cole, smiling. “It will work fine. But first, clean off that mud. Like I said, it will work better than the mud. Trust me.”

“What do you want?” asked Karan as he started cleaning his wound. “If LaTarrin didn’t send you, what are you doing here?”

“I hear you had a run in with a witch. I would guess that’s where you got that cut.”

“Who told you that?”

“It doesn’t matter. I know. And you didn’t kill her. So Tobash is probably looking to vanquish you for your failure. That explains why you’re hiding down here. Hoping to get another chance at the witch and redeem yourself.”

“What’s that to you?”

“At the moment, everything. Let’s face. You’re a subterfuge demon. You work behind the scenes spreading rumors and innuendo. Against an ordinary human you probably wouldn’t have any trouble. But against a witch, you’re practically defenseless. I, on the other hand, am much better equipped to deal with a witch. Not to mention she now knows what you look like. You show your face again and you probably won’t be as lucky as you were this time.”

“I’ll just have to wait until her guard is down. Hit her from behind. If she doesn’t see me coming she can’t defend herself.”

“You tried to kill her and failed. What makes you think she’s going to drop her guard? She knows someone is after her. And she knows who that is. Plus, I understand she has some kind of special sight. Something that let her know you were a demon.”

“Yeah, that’s true. She can read auras. I didn’t know that. I didn’t even know she was a witch. Tobash just said to kill her. By the time I found out she was a witch, it was too late. And you’re right about one thing. I was lucky to get away from her. I’ll be more careful next time.”

“Which won’t do you any good if she can read your aura and identify you as a demon. No disguise you come up with will hide your aura. And the next time she’ll probably vanquish you.”

“Well, maybe,” said Karan hesitantly. “I still don’t see what this has to do with you.”

“Just this. You sit down here, hiding out from Tobash, and letting your wounds heal. I’ll take care of the witch. As long as she’s alive Tobash is going to be out for blood. Especially now that it’s going to cost him more than he originally anticipated. Once the witch is dead, he’ll probably forget about the whole thing. You can go back to the Underworld without fear of being vanquished for your failure. Tobash will turn his attention to other matters.”

“And why should I let you get the bounty for this?”

“First,” said Cole, “you’re probably going to end up dead if you try. No matter how big the bounty is, it won’t do you any good if you’re vanquished. Second, you’ll have to rest up for a few days until that wound heals. I don’t have to wait. I can go after her now. Third, as I said, you probably won’t get the chance to try again. She’ll recognize you the instant you shimmer in and you probably won’t have a chance to strike. I’m going after her whether you agree or not. I just don’t want you showing up in a few days and spoiling any plans I might have. Let’s face it. This is the best course of action for both of us.”

“What makes you think you can do any better than I did?”

“Let’s just say I have a feeling. Here’s the deal. You just sit down here and let me take care of the witch. You don’t have to take any risk and you get the assignment completed. We can say you hired me to take care of it for you. It’s not unusual. It happens all the time. Once the witch is dead, Tobash will be appeased, LaTarrin will be happy, you don’t have to worry about being vanquished, and I’ll even give you have of whatever I get. Half a mercenaries fee has to be more than all of what Tobash is paying you.”

“Why would you pay me half your fee?” Karan asked suspiciously. Most demons were not so generous.

“I want it known that I’m the one who actually took out the witch. I’m a mercenary but I don’t have a reputation. I need to prove I can deliver if the hierarchy is going to take me seriously. This little job is the perfect choice for that.”

“And how do I know you can deliver? How do I know the witch won’t vanquish you, as well?”

“What do you have to lose? If I can’t deliver, the witch will vanquish me and you’ll be no worse off than you are right now. Plus, you can always take another shot at her. But if I can deliver, your assignment gets completed, I get the credit for the actual kill, you get in good with Tobash for doing what he wanted you to do, and you get half my bounty for the job. The way I see it, you can only profit by this arrangement. If it doesn’t work out, well, as I said, you’re no worse off than you are right now.”

Karan thought about the offer for a moment. This upstart was right. If he could kill the witch, Tobash wouldn’t ask too many questions. Demons weren’t usually concerned with the “how” of what they wanted done. They just were concerned with the end results. If this Belthazor could kill the witch, all Tobash would be concerned with was that he had completed his assignment.

“Okay, you got a deal,” said Karan finally. “You take out the witch and I get half the bounty.”

“And I get full credit for the kill,” added Cole.

“Okay, sure, why not? But you only have until my arm is healed enough for me to go after her again myself. Once it’s healed, the deal is off.”

“Fair enough. A wound like that will probably take about 5 days to heal up. If I can’t get her by then I probably can’t get her at all. But you let me know when, and if, you’re ready to try again yourself. If you just shimmer in without any warning you could upset any plans I have in the works. That can be lethal for both of us.”

“Fine. The witch wears a charm bracelet that protects her against evil. She never takes it off. To prove you’ve killed her, you’ll need to bring me that bracelet.”

“Agreed,” said Cole. “Now, if I’m going to have any chance of success at this, you need to tell me everything you know about her. No matter how trivial it might seem. You never know what might be useful against a target.”

“Well, for one thing, she’s a widow,” began Karan. “She’s got a son about 12. He shouldn’t be a problem. He doesn’t seem to be a witch. I guess it skipped him. She lives in a place called San Francisco.”

[noazmale]

FIVE

Cole shimmered into a large building and looked around. No one was around so he wouldn’t have been seen shimmering in. He had appeared in the warehouse district to minimize being seen by any mortals. Inside a warehouse at night was the best option for that.

The building looked to be in very poor shape. Parts of it were burned. It had only been 4 years since a massive earthquake had rocked San Francisco. Many buildings had been destroyed in the quake. Even more had been destroyed in the fires that had broken out subsequent to the quake. San Francisco would eventually recover, of course. But it would take a long time.

Karan had told him that the witch live near the warehouse district. From here it should be just a short walk. He had 4 days to find the witch and take care of her before Karan came looking for her himself. Not that he would have any better luck than he had the first time. Still, Cole was determined to get the witch before Karan had the chance.

He hadn’t taken more than a couple of steps when he suddenly stopped and looked around. He hadn’t heard a sound but he knew he wasn’t alone. He could feel someone in the darkness of the warehouse watching him. He couldn’t see them but he knew they were there.

“Who’s there?” he demanded, ready to defend himself.

“That should be my question,” came a voice out of the darkness. “You shimmer in unannounced. You’re either a fool or very brave. Of course there are those who would say there is little difference between the two.”

“Well, to be honest, I thought this place was deserted. I just thought it would be a good place to shimmer into so no mortals would see me. I had no idea anyone else was here.”

Suddenly a man stepped out of the darkness directly ahead of Cole. Cole knew instantly that he was actually a demon. But he was one of the largest demons Cole had ever seen. Even in his human form he was nearly seven feet tall. Cole had no doubt he was probably as strong as he appeared.

“What are you called?” inquired the demon.

“I’m Belthazor. And you would be . . . .?”

“I am called Lornock.”

“Lornock?” Cole questioned. “My former master told me about a demon named Lornock. He was an enforcer demon who was condemned to death several decades ago.”

“That would be me. My master was Beelzbor and he was displeased with a mission I failed. So he ordered me vanquished. But I was not about to go quietly. So I came here.”

“And just where is here exactly?”

“In due course,” replied Lornock. As he was speaking Cole saw 4 other demons step out of the darkness surrounding him. “You mentioned your former master.”

“Isladec. I was trained by Isladec. That’s why I’m here. I’m on an assignment, so to speak.”

“Isladec? That would make you a mercenary.”

“That’s right.”

“What is this mission you mentioned? Have you been hired by the hierarchy to seek us out? Perhaps you’re after a specific demon.”

“Actually, my target is a witch. And I haven’t been hired by anyone in the hierarchy. I doubt anyone in the hierarchy even knows I exist. But I’m going to change that. I just need to get on with my assignment.”

“An unknown mercenary? I would assume this would be your first assignment. I seriously doubt that anyone in the hierarchy would hire a neophyte to come after one of our residents. They have to know that would let us know they’re on to us and that we’d immediately move to a different location.”

The voice came out of the darkness. Cole watched as another demon walked out of the darkness. This one was different from the others. He was about sixty with graying hair. He was as tall as Cole but less bulky. He was also dressed in a typical business suit of the day.

“As I said, I wasn’t hired by the hierarchy. In fact, I wasn’t actually hired by anyone. And you’d be right. This could be called my first assignment. You might say I’m using it as a sort of letter of introduction to demons who might need my services.”

“So the hierarchy doesn’t know about us?” asked the new demon.

“That depends,” replied Cole. “Just who are you? And what is this place?”

The new demon looked at Lornock and nodded once. All of the demons except the new one faded back into the darkness and vanished from sight.

“My name is Caprick,” said the new demon. “You might call me head of security for this place. It’s called the Overworld. You might say we cater to disenfranchised demons from the Underworld.”

“You mean demons who have been sentenced to death but were able to escape from the Underworld before the sentence could be carried out. I’ve heard rumors of this place. There are any number of high level demons who would pay a hefty fee to learn the location of this place.”

“Well, that is another way to describe this place. And you’re right. Most high level demons would pay quite handsomely to know its location. But as I said earlier, we’d just have to relocate to another location. Which would be much easier than you might think. So, Belthazor the mercenary. Do I have to be worried that you’ll tell the hierarchy about us?”

“I don’t suppose so. As I said, I’m a mercenary. Or I’m going to be. Whatever demon might pay me to know where this place is located I can’t see how that’s going to further my goals. Besides, you never know when an outcast demon might come in handy.”

“The word of a demon? Not exactly the most tangible of collateral.”

“Well, to be honest, I’m only half demon. My father was human.”

“The word of a human to a demon. Usually even less reliable than the word of a demon.”

“My word is all I have,” said Cole.

“The word of one of Isladec’s pupils has always been good enough for me.”

“You know Isladec?”

“Once upon a time. It has been a very long time since we’ve spoken. But I do know that Isladec instills an unusual sense of honor in his pupils. And you would never have graduated from his training if you hadn’t learned that. I could be wrong, of course. Demons can be so unreliable. But I’m usually a pretty good judge of demons. I will say that not all of my associates are disenfranchised demons. I have a few who are still in good standing with the hierarchy. Should you betray my trust I can assure you that you would find the consequences most unpleasant.”

“You don’t have to worry about that. Like I said, I didn’t even know you were here. I’m after a witch. At the moment I couldn’t care less about some ‘disenfranchised demons’ or this Overworld you seem to have created here.”

“To be honest, I didn’t create it. The ruler of the Overworld is a demon called Gangus. He established this place when the Source became displeased with him and ordered him vanquished. Luckily he proved more powerful than the demons sent to vanquish him. He escaped to the mortal plane and has been here ever since. I joined him a few years later and it’s worked out pretty well all things concerned.”

“Well, like I said, I’m not interested in you or your place. As you deduced, this is my first ‘assignment’. I’m hoping to establish my reputation by completing this assignment.”

“Fine. I guess I should let you be getting to it. There are a number of witches in San Francisco. Which one is your target?”

“Her name is Kate Palmer. Apparently she owns some property that LaTarrin is interested in and she won’t sell it. One demon has all ready tried to get to her and failed. I figure if I can take her out LaTarrin would be appreciative.”

“Very industrious. But going after a witch on your first mission. Most demons would work their way up to that. I happen to know of her. She has a sort of charm bracelet. It allows her to see the aura around a creature. That’s probably why the other demon failed. She was able to read his aura and see that he was a demon. Even being half human won’t protect you from that.”

“That much I know,” said Cole, pulling a vial out of his pocket. “That’s why I have this. It’s a special potion that will mask my demonic half. Once she’s convinced I’m fully human I can get close enough to her to figure out some way to kill her. And I’m under kind of a time constraint.”

“Children,” replied Caprick.

“I’m sorry?”

“She has a young son. She also runs an orphanage. That’s come in quite handy the past couple of years. After that big earthquake a few years back there are more orphans than usual. She seems to have a special weakness for children.”

“Thanks, I appreciate the information. You seem to be pretty informed about San Francisco.”

“I’ve been here a long time. And you pick up a few things along the way. Many of our residents are permanent residents so they do some work around town to help support the Overworld. We can’t exactly get what we need from the Underworld. So we have to fend for ourselves. And naturally they learn things that they often pass onto me.”

“Well, it seems you’ve just given me another reason to keep your little secret. I’m specializing in killing witches. With connections like yours you can probably help me from time to time. I have a feeling I may be spending a fair amount of time here.”

“One rule. No violence is allowed in the Overworld. It’s a place where demons can come and feel safe from the bounty hunters looking for them. And if you ever betray our secret you won’t be allowed to return. Ever.”

“Understood. Well, I’ve enjoyed the chat. But as I said, I’m kind of under a time constraint. I really should be getting on with my assignment.”

“It was a pleasure to meet you, Belthazor the mercenary.”

“Cole. Cole Turner. That’s my human name. Guess I should get used to using it if I’m going to be spending time among humans.”

“That would be advisable,” said Caprick, smiling at him.

Cole turned and headed out of the warehouse. His first mission was beginning quite well. All ready he had made a contact on the mortal plane that could prove quite beneficial in the future. And one he wouldn’t have to hide who and what he was from.

[noazmale]

SIX

Cole looked around the streets of San Francisco. Everywhere he could see damaged and destroyed buildings from the recent earthquake. He could also see buildings that were obviously new. No doubt buildings that had been rebuilt to replace those destroyed in the earthquake.

His first objective was to find Palmer. That should be easy. Tobash had given him a great deal of information about her. And Caprick had provided him with even more. He should be able to locate her relatively quickly.

Cole pulled the vial with the potion in it and drained the vial. The alchemist who had concocted the potion had charged quite a bit for it. But it would be worth it. Once he drank it, the potion would mask his aura totally covering his demonic heritage. As a witch she would most likely read the aura of anyone new who entered her life. To make sure they weren’t a threat to her or his son.

But once she was convinced he was human, she wouldn’t have a cause to read his aura again. The potion would mask his aura for 24 hours before it wore off. But that should be plenty of time.

He wondered around the streets of San Francisco for several hours. He knew Palmer would be in the business district. He had learned by asking some well-placed questions that she ran an orphanage of about 12 children. Before the great quake she had only had 4 children. After the quake, she had taken in the rest. Children whose parents had been killed but had no relatives who could take them.

He had also learned she was just barely making it. Her husband had been killed a couple of years before the quake in an accident involving the new horseless carriage. What little money she had came mostly from caring philanthropists who helped support her and the children. That and some money given to her by her sister and brother-in-law who also live in San Francisco. She was able to provide a stable home for the children and even was able to help educate the children who would probably have otherwise gone without an education.

It was just past noon when he spied a woman who fit the description Tobash had given him. A typical human woman of about 30 years, with long red braided hair that hung down her back to her waist. She was looking over some bolts of cloth at a local store and there were 2 children with her: a boy and a girl.

He also noticed her wearing a bracelet on her right wrist. The bracelet had several small sea shells hanging from it and even though she was across the street from him he could still sense magic coming from the bracelet. That was obviously the bracelet Caprick had told him about.

Cole stepped back into an alley so she wouldn’t see him. His main problem was how to approach her. He couldn’t just walk up and introduce himself. That would be much too suspicious. It had to appear to be more of an accidental meeting. Something that wouldn’t cause her to be alarmed. As he stood there considering his option, he suddenly felt an object shoved into the small of his back. From the feel of it, it appeared to be a knife.

“Just keep quiet,” said a man’s voice behind him. “Hand over your wallet and all your jewelry and you won’t get hurt. And don’t try to be a hero.”

Cole just smiled to himself. Casually he reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet, handing it over his shoulder to the man behind him. Then he removed the two rings and the pocket watch that had belonged to his father. The man took the items, shoving them into his pocket.

“Don’t turn around,” said the man. “You see me and it ain’t going to be good for you.”

He heard the man begin to run down the alley away from him. Cole turned and saw the man as he hurried up the alley. He was about Cole’s height and build but was wearing the typical street clothes common in San Francisco. He was also wearing a hat that implied he might work at some menial job. Assuming he worked at all. More than likely he was nothing more than a common street thug that supported himself by stealing what he could from unsuspecting strangers.

Normally Cole would never have surrendered his valuable. He would simply have killed the insolent worm who had dared to rob him. But as the man had demanded his wallet and jewelry, a plan began to form in Cole’s mind. A plan that would get him close to Palmer and quite possibly even have her see him as some benevolent stranger.

Cole looked around and then shimmered out of the alley where he was standing. An instant later he shimmered in next to the man who had just robbed him. The man was busily going through Cole’s wallet, pulling out the bills of money inside. As Cole shimmered in beside him, the man looked up completely surprised.

“What the. . . .?” began the man as he looked at Cole.

Suddenly he pulled out the knife he had shoved in Cole’s back just moments earlier. But Cole was faster. And much stronger than this pathetic human. He grabbed the man’s wrist and squeezed it. His demonic half gave him a physical strength several times that of a normal human. Crying out in pain, the man suddenly dropped the knife. Cole reached up with his other hand and grabbed the man by the throat, forcing him against the side of the building they were at.

“Ordinarily,” said Cole, “I’d just kill you for trying to rob me. You really have no idea what you’re dealing with.”

“What are you?” cried out the man, fear evident in his voice and eyes.

“You probably wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” said Cole. “Let’s just say I’m the man who can snap your neck like it was a dried twig.”

“Please, don’t hurt me,” pleaded the man. “You can have all your stuff back. Here, take it.” He pulled the jewelry out of his pocket and shove it against Cole’s chest. “The money’s all there. Every dollar. Just don’t kill me. I won’t bother you ever again. I promise. You’ll never see me again.”

Cole let go of the man’s wrist and took the items, shoving them into his pocket.

“On the contrary,” he said looking at the man. “I am going to see you again. You have two choices. You can do what I say in which case you’ll be free to move on and try robbing someone else. Or you can refuse. But I’m sure you wouldn’t like the consequences of refusing.”

“Anything,” said the man immediately. “I’ll do anything. Please, just don’t kill me.”

Cole reached down and picked up his wallet, the money, and the man’s knife. He put the wallet back in his pocket and hand the knife back to the man. He also handed the man several of the bills from his wallet.

“You can keep this for your trouble,” said Cole, looking back toward the street where Palmer was. He couldn’t see the street from their position but he knew Palmer would still be there. “Now. Here’s what we’re going to do.”

* * *

It was late afternoon before Palmer and the two children started to head home. Both children were carrying bags and she was carrying a back and two bolts of cloth. They left the business district and began to head into a residential area. Just at the edge of the business district the man that had tried to rob Cole suddenly grabbed Palmer’s arm and dragged her into an alley. He shoved her against one of the buildings and she lost her balance and fell to the ground. The man pulled out a knife and brandished it threateningly.

“Just relax lady and you won’t get hurt. Just give me your money and jewelry. Otherwise these kids might meet with a bad accident.”

“I don’t have any money. I spent if all on things for the children. And I also don’t have any jewelry. I’m not rich and can’t afford any jewelry. Everything I have goes to supporting my children.”

The two children stood watching the exchange afraid to move. Suddenly Cole appeared behind the man, striking the wrist that was holding the knife. The knife fell to the ground as Cole grabbed the man by the collar of his jacket and shoved him against the building. The robber fell to the ground and looked up at Cole with fear in his eyes.

“You’re pretty tough with some kids and a woman,” said Cole, glaring down at the man. “Let’s see how you do in a fair fight against a man.”

The man backed away from Cole and finally gained his feet. He turned and ran away from Cole as fast as he could run. Cole bent down and picked up the knife, smiling slightly at the robber. He had played his part perfectly. Cole dropped the smile and turned to help Palmer up with her bags.

“I was walking along the street and saw him accost you,” said Cole. “This isn’t a good neighborhood for a woman and her children to be walking in alone.”

“Thank you,” said Palmer. “I appreciate the assistance. But I have a trick or two up my sleeve. He wouldn’t have found me to be quite the easy target he imagined.”

“You still shouldn’t be walking alone. One of the children could have gotten hurt. I’m Cole Turner.”

“Katie Palmer. You might be right about that. I guess I should be more careful.”

“Why don’t I walk you home?” questioned Cole. “Your friend might decide to come back. And we wouldn’t want anything to happen to the children.”

“Well,” said Palmer, staring intently at Cole for a moment, “I suppose that would be okay. There are a lot of undesirables in this city. Sometimes I think about moving to a smaller city. It might be safer there.”

“Why don’t you? Unless your husband doesn’t want to move.”

“I’m a widow. And only Kyle is my biological son. Jackie is one of my orphans. I run an orphanage for about 12 children. Kids that don’t have any place else to go. I couldn’t abandon them. They don’t have any place to go.”

“I see. I guess there are just some responsibilities you can’t walk away from.”

“Well, it is rewarding. Speaking of rewards, I feel like I should reward you for coming to our rescue. I’m not rich but maybe you’d like to come by for supper tonight. It won’t be fancy but I’ve been told I’m a very good cook.”

“She really is,” said Jackie. “She’s even better than my mom was.”

“Well, how can I resist an invitation like that. I’d be delighted to. I do have some business to take care of this afternoon but I’d be glad to come by for dinner.”

“Great,” said Palmer. “Say about 8:00 o’clock. I hope you don’t mind eating with the children. It’s quite a feat having to prepare meals for a dozen children.”

“I can imagine,” replied Cole.

He smiled to himself as he continued to walk them home. She had obviously read his aura and just as obviously the potion he had bought from the alchemist had worked beautifully. No witch would knowingly invite a demon into her home. Which meant she had read him as fully human. The potion would ware off soon but it had all ready accomplished its purpose. She would be off her guard and when he decided to make his move the attack would come as a complete surprise to her.

[noazmale]

SEVEN

“Let me just see if I have this right. You want to hire one or our residents to go after a witch. Is that about the size of it?”

Gangus was head of the Overworld and Caprick had told Cole he’d need to speak to Gangus if he wanted to hire one of the residents of the Overworld. Gangus looked almost human. Except for the glowing red eyes, pale blue skin, and forked tongue, he might even have passed for human.

“That’s right,” said Cole. “Caprick told me your ‘guests’ had to help support the Overworld since you can’t get what you need from the Underworld. I could use a little help getting to the witch and I figure I’d help you out in the process.”

“Well now, that does present a bit of a dilemma. For obvious reasons most of our residents want to keep a low profile. Killing a witch isn’t exactly low profile. Not to mention that a great many of them wouldn’t stand a chance against a witch. Especially one like Katie Palmer. She’s been a thorn in our side for quite a while now. She vanquishes demons wherever she finds them regardless of whether they are a threat to her or not. Going up against her is virtual suicide.”

“I don’t expect them to win. They just need to distract her long enough for me to kill her. They don’t have to actually fight her. Just keep her occupied long enough for me to get into position.”

“You said you met her on the street. Why didn’t you just kill her then? Surely you weren’t concerned with having to kill the two children as well.”

“And risk someone having seen us together? That was too great a risk. Once I kill her I’ll need to be above suspicion. Being suspected of murder is a complication I don’t need.”

“So,” said Gangus, “you just need someone to distract her? You don’t expect them to actually attack her?”

“They’ll need to attack her. Or at least make her think they are. That way she’ll be focused on them and won’t notice me. Once they’ve distracted her they can shimmer away and come back here if they want.”

“That could be dangerous. She could vanquish them before you can get into position. I don’t know many demons willing to take that risk. Especially with someone who hasn’t yet proven themselves.”

“Well now, that’s what this mission is designed to do. Establish me in the Underworld. And what I have in mind should expose the demon to the minimum possible risk. Plus I’m willing to pay a premium price for their help. Payment I’m sure you can use.”

“That’s certainly true. So tell me. How exactly do you plan to get close enough to kill the witch once she’s been distracted?”

“She’s invited me to dinner at her home in a couple of hours.”

“And you plan to kill her then away from the prying eyes of any outsiders, is that it?”

“No,” said Cole. “I need to get inside her home to learn the layout of it. To decide the best way to handle the situation. It will also reinforce the impression that I’m not a threat to her. Then, later on tonight, I’ll shimmer in and take care of her. That’s where the demon I hire will come in.”

“It seems a quite efficient plan. And it could just possibly work. Did you have any particular demon in mind?”

“Someone of low enough level that they won’t be tempted to try and take the witch themselves. Their role in this is simply to distract the witch. I don’t want them getting any delusions of grandeur and messing up any plans I might have.”

“I think we just might be able to help you, Belthazor. Now, let’s talk proper compensation. No matter how minor a role the demon plays there’s still a chance of something going wrong. Compensation should reflect not only the actual role but the possible risks involved with that role.”

“I couldn’t agree with you more,” said Cole, smiling at Gangus.

* * *

Cole stood outside the orphanage where Palmer and her children lived. It was nearly midnight. The demon Gangus had selected to assist Cole should be there at any minute. Cole had all ready paid Gangus so he had no worries the senior demon would abide by their agreement. He was a potential source of future income for the Overworld so he would want to keep his word.

Suddenly a demon shimmered in next to Cole. It was just over 5 feet tall and was a uniform dark green all over. Its eyes were a dull yellow that glowed slightly in the darkness. It had high pointed ears that were capable of picking up sounds even great distances away. Even considering its fearsome appearance it was low level, not even having a human form. It was usually used as messengers and “errand boys” by higher level demons.

“Gangus told you what I want?” Cole questioned without looking at the demon.

“Yes,” replied the demon with a hissing sound to its voice. “You want me to attack the witch. Then I’m to shimmer away and leave her to you.”

“Yes. But you aren’t to harm her. Once you shimmer she’ll probably attack immediately. You may not even have to attack at all. Just get her concentrating on you. That will give me the opportunity to strike the witch down.”

“What powers does the witch have? If I am to avoid being vanquished it is necessary that I know what powers to protect against.”

“She has telekinesis,” replied Cole. “The light in her room has been out for almost an hour. She’s either asleep or practically asleep by now. Once she notices you there she’ll probably react instinctively. Use her power to throw you back so you can’t get to her. It will take a moment or two for her to get her senses back to her. You just shimmer away once she’s attacked. She’ll be looking for you and won’t be expecting me.”

“And what if she’s not as confused as you think?”

“There is an element of risk. There always is when you go up against a witch. But you’re being paid well for your services. More than enough to compensate you for the risk.”

“Gangus is getting paid,” insisted the demon. “I’m taking all the risk.”

“Not all of it. You’re just distracting her. You don’t even need to get close to her.” He pulled one of his athames out of belt. “I have to get close enough to use this. It seems to me I’m taking the biggest risk. Of course, you’re welcome to go back to Gangus and tell him you’re backing out on our deal.”

“No. I’ll do the job. But why use an athame? Why not just use a fireball or energy ball to destroy her? You wouldn’t need to get close to her for that. For that matter, why not just shimmer in and attack her before she has a chance to wake up? A sleeping witch is just as easy a target as any other human.”

“My reasonings are my own,” said Cole. “Just do your part of the job. I’m going to shimmer into her room and get into position. Wait a moment after I shimmer and then follow.”

“As you wish.”

Cole just smiled and then shimmered out. Nearly instantly he shimmered into Parker’s bedroom, standing in a far corner from the bed. The demon had asked some legitimate questions. And his answers were simple. The woman was a witch. Her magic would protect her even while she slept.

And as his former mentor, Isladec, had once pointed out, a witch would be expecting a magical attack. She would mostly likely sense his attack. And he would only get once chance at this. He had to take advantage of every opportunity he had. And right now his athame was his best chance of getting the witch.

After a moment the demon shimmered into the room in a corner near the window. It glanced over at Cole and then looked at the woman sleeping in the bed. Cole just smiled at the demon and then reached over picked up a pitcher sitting in a small bowl on the table next to him. He held the pitcher out and let it fall to the floor.

The pitcher hit the floor and shattered with a resounding crash. Palmer came awake and sat up in the bed. The demon was partially illuminated from the full moon streaming in the window. Palmer looked over and simply a figure standing in the corner.

“Who’s there?” she demanded straining to see the figure more clearly.

The demon moved toward the bed, one of its clawed hands raised, ready to strike. Palmer didn’t hesitate. She reached out with one of her hands and tapped into her telekinetic power. Suddenly the demon was thrown backward, crashing through the window and falling to the ground below.

She jumped from the bed and ran to the window. She looked out on the ground outside the window but the demon was nowhere to be seen. She glanced around the yard thinking to catch a glimpse of the demon as it fled for its life. The demon was nowhere in sight.

Suddenly she sensed rather than heard another presence in the room. She spun, ready to face whatever intruder was still there. But Cole was fast. As she came about facing into the room, Cole was only mere inches from her. She stiffened slightly and a look of confusion crossed her face. Then she looked down and saw the athame, Cole’s hand still on the hilt, protruding from her chest. For a moment she wasn’t sure what had happened. She tried to speak but only a gurgling sound came out and then she collapsed, her life’s blood pouring from the wound. Cole caught her as she fell to the floor.

“Nothing personal,” he whispered to her. “but you’ve been too much trouble for certain individuals. Don’t worry about your kids. I have no orders to harm them. They’ll be perfectly safe.”

As Palmer died, Cole gently laid her on the floor. Then he reached down and removed the sea shell bracelet from her wrist. He looked at it in the moonlight and smiled to himself. He checked her body to make sure she was dead. There was no pulse. He pulled the athame from her body, wiped it on her nightclothes, and shoved it back into his belt. Suddenly the door to her room opened and a young girl of perhaps 6 or 7 stood in the doorway.

“Katie, I can’t sleep,” said the young girl. “Can I sleep in here with you?”

The girl’s eyes widened as she saw Cole bent over Palmer’s lifeless body. Instantly Cole shimmered out of the room and an instant later appeared on the other side of San Francisco. He glanced around and found a policeman walking along the deserted street. Cole reached into his pocket and pulled out his pocket watch.

“Excuse me,” he said, walking up to the policeman. “Would you happen to know what time it is? I have this dreadful habit of forgetting to wind my watch.”

“Certainly,” said the policeman, pulling out a watch of his own. “It’s 12:17. My wife winds my every morning for me. Perhaps you should ask our wife to do the same. It would solve your problem.”

“Cole Turner,” said Cole, extending his hand. “I’m afraid I’m not married so that won’t do me much good. I guess I’ll have to come up with some other way to remind me to wind it.”

“I guess so,” replied the policeman. “I’m Officer Newsome. Well, Mr. Turner, you have a good evening. It’s rather late and some of the less desirable elements of the city are about this time of night. You should be heading home.”

“I was just on my where, Officer Newsome. It was a pleasure to meet you. Perhaps I’ll see you around again.”

“You can find me in this part of town most nights. You have a good evening, Mr. Turner.”

Cole turned and headed back toward the orphanage. He decided to walk the entire way. And his alibi was set. Even assuming the little girl had seen and recognized him, he had the best alibi he could have. One of San Francisco’s very own public servants. Any identification the girl made of him would simply be chalked up to the dark night and her overactive imagination.

[noazmale]

EIGHT

Cole shimmered into the Underworld in the same chamber where he had met Tobash. He was still had the same suit on that he had been wearing when he had killed Palmer. There was blood on the front of it but he wasn’t concerned with that. He had the bracelet in his pocket. Proof that he had killed the witch. Now it was time to let the Underworld know there was a new mercenary to be dealt with.

Tobash was not in the chamber. Cole found that odd. It had only been 3 days since he had spoken to the senior demon. Tobash’s arm shouldn’t have been healed completely yet. And leaving this chamber meant that LaTarrin might find him. After Tobash’s failure to kill the witch LaTarrin was not likely to be very happy. In the chamber instead was a low level demon that Cole had never seen before.

“Where’s Tobash?” he asked the demon.

“Demons come for Tobash,” replied the little demon in a halting tone. “LaTarrin angry. Demand to know why witch not dead. Demons take Tobash.”

Cole turned to leave the chamber. Apparently LaTarrin had tired of waiting to hear about the witch’s death. He had sent some of his underlings to get Tobash to account for the mission. Cole knew where LaTarrin’s domain was. Most demons did. He was one of the most senior demons in the Underworld, second only to the Triad. He headed directly for that domain.

When Cole reached LaTarrin’s domain he found Tobash standing to one side of a large chamber. He was facing a larger demons who was obviously not happy. The larger demon was nearly 7 feet tall and was purple with bright yellow markings. It was dressed in the familiar gray robes that most demons wore in the Underworld. This purple demon, Cole knew, would be LaTarrin.

“Answer me,” LaTarrin demanded of Tobash. “I send you on a simple assignment. Take out one lone witch. It should have been easy even for you. But my reports are that the witch still lives. And you give me some lame excuse that she was more powerful than you expected. So answer me, Tobash. Why shouldn’t I just vanquish you where you stand?”

“LaTarrin,” began Tobash. Cole could tell he was searching for some response. Something that would satisfy LaTarrin. Something that wouldn’t make LaTarrin even angrier and risk his being vanquished.

Suddenly another figure entered the chamber. It appeared to be a human male, in his late teens or maybe early twenties. His blonde hair was in need of cutting and he didn’t have even the hint of stubble on his face. He glanced at Cole as he entered the chamber.

LaTarrin turned and looked at the newcomer. Tobash momentarily forgotten he paused as the new man whispered in LaTarrin’s ear. LaTarrin smiled and then turned back to Tobash.

“Well, Tobash,” said the senior demon, “it appears I may have underestimated you. Shellack tells me the witch was killed last night. Even now my operatives are arranging with her son to purchase the property I wanted. Why didn’t you tell me you had accomplished your assignment? You could have saved yourself a great deal of aggravation.”

“I was trying to figure out the best way to do that,” said Tobash, a look of confusion on his face. “I told you I’d kill the witch. It just took longer than I anticipated. As I said, she was much more powerful than I originally anticipated.”

“It could also be because I wasn’t able to tell him yet,” said Cole, walking into the room.

“Who are you?” demanded LaTarrin. “Why do you enter my domain unbidden? You’re not one of my underlings.”

“The name’s Belthazor. I’m the one who took out the witch. I was just on my way to tell Tobash.”

“You killed the witch?” LaTarrin asked as Shellack looked on without saying a word. “Belthazor. I’ve not heard of you before. Who do you serve?”

“I serve the Source,” replied Cole. “I’m a mercenary. You might say I’m kind of new to the job. I figured taking out the witch for you might get me noticed.”

“Well, you were certainly right about that,” said LaTarrin. “She’s been quite an inconvenience. She owned some property I needed to further my plans. But she refused to sell it. She claimed it was the only place for ‘her kids’ to live. You’ve done me a great service by ridding me of her.”

“As I recall,” said Tobash, glancing at Cole, “you tasked me with killing the witch. You said you didn’t care how I did it as long as I got rid of her. I suppose technically Belthazor was working for me. So the credit goes to me. As does the bounty.”

“Hang on a second,” said Cole. “We had an arrangement.”

“I don’t recall any arrangement,” said Tobash, smiling at Cole. “You asked about the witch and I hired you to take care of her. But LaTarrin did give me the assignment. So I get the credit since she was killed.”

“He’s correct,” said LaTarrin. “When I tell the Source of the death of the witch I will get the credit for killing her. The Source doesn’t care who does the actual killing as long as the witch has been removed.”

“I see,” said Cole. “So what we talked about in the lower chamber? You have no intention of honoring our agreement.”

“I told you,” said Tobash, “you were working for me. The important thing is the witch is dead. Don’t worry Belthazor. You’ll get adequate payment for your services. Once LaTarrin pays me.” He smiled at Cole. A smile that indicated he had won the argument.

“Well, there is just one other thing,” said Cole.

“And what is that?” asked Tobash. “You shouldn’t be here. Underlings should wait in the outer chambers until they’re summoned.”

Without hesitation Cole pulled out one of his athames and shoved it in Tobash’s chest. As he pulled the athame free Tobash howled in pain and erupted in flames. In moments he was vanquished.

“What is the meaning of this?” LaTarrin demanded, his temper flaring. “He was one of my underlings. I will not tolerate such insolence especially in my presence. I should vanquish you where you stand, you impudent worm.”

“He and I had an agreement,” said Cole. “I was to get full credit for killing the witch. And I was going to split my fee with him. He just said he wasn’t going to honor our agreement. I may be a nobody in the Underworld but that doesn’t mean he can just ignore agreements he made. I plan to make a name for myself in the Underworld but I won’t be played the fool by anyone.”

“That does not give you the right to vanquish my underlings,” snapped LaTarrin. “You have a great deal to learn if you’re going to rise in the hierarchy.”

“No, LaTarrin, our young friend here is right,” interjected Shellack. “If Tobash reneged on their deal he deserved to be vanquished. I’d have done exactly the same thing. Although I wouldn’t have done it in your presence. But he was well within his rights to vanquish Tobash.”

“Assuming he can prove what he claims,” said LaTarrin. “That he had a deal with Tobash and that Tobash went back on that deal.”

“I have this,” said Cole, pulling Palmer’s bracelet out of his pocket. “This belonged to the witch. It allowed her to read a person’s aura and tell if they were demon or not. My agreement with Tobash was that I was to bring it to him proving I had killed her.”

“Which only proves that you killed the witch,” said LaTarrin. “Something not even Tobash refuted. It doesn’t prove you had an agreement with him.”

“All I have is my word,” said Cole. “And I can assure you my word is good. A mercenary is worthless if he doesn’t keep his word.”

“The word of a nobody,” said LaTarrin. “And no way to corroborate that word.”

“Well, you could check with Baldasor,” said Cole. “He may not give me a glowing report but he will tell you I’m no liar.”

“Baldasor?” questioned Shellack. “He belongs to the Brotherhood of the Thorn. How is it you know Baldasor?”

“He’s my brother,” said Cole. “His mother and my mother are the same. He probably knows me better than anyone. He’ll tell you my word is good.”

“You’re Baldasor’s brother?” questioned LaTarrin. “I was under the impression that Baldasor’s brother was half human.”

“I am,” said Cole. “But that’s the only thing about me that’s human. I can assure you I’m every bit a demon as either of you. Baldasor wouldn’t agree with that but he will tell you I’m a demon of my word.”

“Assuming Baldasor corroborates what you say,” said LaTarrin, “I will overlook this incident. But only this once. As I said, you have much to learn if you wish to rise within the hierarchy.”

“I’ll check with Baldasor and let you know,” Shellack said to LaTarrin. “I doubt our young friend here would be so foolish as to lie about a member of the Brotherhood.”

“I’ll learn,” said Cole. “Now, as to my payment.”

“What payment?” LaTarrin inquired.

“For killing the witch,” replied Cole. “You hired Tobash to kill her. I did the job. So it seems to me I should get paid for my services. And full credit for the kill.”

“Well, you apparently did kill the witch,” said LaTarrin. “I suppose the payment I was going to give Tobash is just compensation for your services.”

“I was thinking something a little better than that,” said Cole. “I’m a mercenary, not one of your underlings. It’s common practice that mercenaries get paid more than underlings. I don’t think I should be penalized simply because I haven’t made a name for myself. Besides, as you said, I did you a service. I would think you’d like to show your appreciation for that service.”

“He has a point, LaTarrin,” said Shellack. “Mercenaries do make more than underlings. But the price a mercenary commands is directly related to their reputation. And you, as you have all ready said, don’t have a reputation.”

“Something I hope to change very soon,” said Cole. “Which is why I get full credit for the kill.”

“I have no problem giving you full credit,” said LaTarrin. “But Shellack is correct. Payment is directly related to a mercenaries reputation. I’m not sure what adequate payment for a mercenary with no reputation would be.”

“Pay him half my fee,” suggested Shellack. “It’s more than you would have paid Tobash but less than you would have had to pay a seasoned mercenary. It should satisfy everyone.”

“As long as I get the credit,” insisted Cole.

“I’ll make sure you get the credit,” said LaTarrin. “And I also agree on the payment. Assuming our young upstart is willing to agree.”

“It sounds fair,” said Cole.

“Very well,” said LaTarrin. “I will send one of my underlings with the payment once Shellack has verified your story. And I can assure you, Belthazor, I am a demon of my word.”

“That’s good enough for me,” said Cole. “And if you like my work, tell your friends about me.”

“I beg your pardon?” questioned LaTarrin.

“A human joke,” said Shellack. “I’m sure he meant no disrespect, LaTarrin. Come on, Belthazor. Let me see if I can teach you a few of the finer points of being a mercenary. So that you don’t inadvertently anger any of the hierarchy.”

“That would be wise,” said LaTarrin.

“So, you’re a mercenary, too?” questioned Cole.

“That’s right. And a damned good one, too. You’re lucky I was there. LaTarrin can have quite a temper on him.”

“Who of the upper echelon doesn’t?” joked Cole.

“Point taken,” said Shellack, smiling at Cole.

“You’ve referred to me as ‘young friend’ twice. You seem to be younger than I am.”

“I’m a full demon. I’m over 200 years old. And as I said, I’m one of the best mercenaries around. You could learn a lot from me.”

“More than from Isladec?” questioned Cole.

“You were trained by Isladec? Well, that certain explains a lot. In answer to your question, Isladec is one of the best trainers of mercenaries there is. But he has little tolerance for many of the nuances of the Underworld. Probably because he doesn’t have worry about them. He’s not exactly politically motivated.

“But the Underworld is largely a matter of politics. Making sure you get on the right side of the right people. Even more so than on the mortal place. At least on the mortal plane they don’t vanquish you when they’re displeased with your work.”

“That’s certainly true.”

“Well, my young friend, I can help teach you about the politics and nuances of dealing with the hierarchy. Come on. We can talk over lunch. I know this great Chinese restaurant in New York City. I just love Chinese food.”

Cole instantly liked Shellack. As the two shimmered out of the Underworld he decided the senior mercenary could be quite a benefit to him. He placed the bracelet he had taken from Parker in his pocket. It would make a nice memento from the first mission of what he knew was going to be a very lucrative career.

[noazmale]

NINE

“So you killed her and established your reputation as a mercenary,” said Piper.

“Well, it was the start,” said Cole. “It takes more than one to establish a reputation. But I had gained the attention of one of the highest level demons in the Underworld. He even hired me for several other jobs over the years. And of course word of what I had done circulated through the Underworld. Pretty soon demons were contacting me to help them with witches they were having problems with.”

“We do know that you specialized in killing witches,” said Leo. “I just never knew you were the one that had killed Kate Palmer. And Katie was right. After her great grandmother was killed the children in her orphanage were split up. Her son went to live with his mother’s sister. The rest were farmed out to other families that agreed to take them in. Only not all of those families were the best environment for young children.”

“You know about Katie’s great grandmother?” Phoebe asked.

“Yes,” said Leo. “You might say it was background information for you guys.”

“Us?” questioned Piper. “How could it be background information on us?”

“Kate changed her last name to Palmer when she married her husband,” said Leo. “It was and still is a very common practice.”

“Except for Grams who insisted that the Halliwell women don’t change their names,” said Phoebe. “Which is something I’ve never understood since she changed her name from Johnson when she married Grandpa Halliwell.”

“Yes, well, her son’s name was Kyle,” continued Leo. “He had an aunt on his mother’s side named Phillipa Warren. Phillipa Warren changed her name to that of her husband’s. His name was Redmond Baxtor. So she became Phillipa Baxtor.”

“Wait a minute,” said Paige. “I’ve read those names before. The family history in the Book of Shadows. Our grandmother’s grandmother was named Phillipa Baxtor. And her husband’s name was Redmond.”

“Leo,” said Piper, “are you saying that Kate’s son Kyle was related to grams?”

“Yes,” said Leo. “He was Penny’s uncle. Kate Palmer’s mother was Brianna Warren. Her sister was Phillipa Warren.”

“Brianna?” questioned Phoebe. “The same Brianna that disgraced that Lord of War, Gabriel, who tried to kill Prue?”

“One and the same,” said Leo. “She was also the younger sister of Agnes Warren Bowen, who was the mother of Pearl Russell.”

“So that would make Katie something like our 3rd cousin,” said Piper. “She’s related to us.”

“Actually, she’s much more than that,” said Leo.

“How do you mean?” Cole asked.

“Agnes was the oldest,” said Leo. “Like I said, there was also Brianna, the second oldest, and Phillipa, the youngest daughter. There was also a son, Gregory Bowen. He wasn’t a witch but his daughter, Phoebe Bowen, was.”

“That’s who I was named after,” said Phoebe. “Phoebe Bowen. Gram’s aunt.”

“That’s right,” said Leo. “They were all the children of Jeffrey Bowen and Polianna Warren. That’s part of the reason you can trace your lineage directly back to Melinda Warren. “It’s also how you got the Book of Shadows.”

“But we got the Book of Shadows from Grams,” said Piper. “Who got it from her mother, Patricia Baxtor. Didn’t she get it from Phillipa Baxtor?”

“Well, yes,” said Leo. “Except initially Phillipa didn’t have it. Like I said, Agnes Warren Bowen was the oldest. When she was old enough, Polianna passed the book on to her. But Agnes didn’t have any children until relatively late in life. Kate Palmer was born long before Pearl Russell was born. When Agnes died giving birth to Pearl, it was decided that the book should go to Kate since she was old enough to understand it and use it. And there was no guarantee that Pearl would be a witch. You do know that it skips a generation sometimes.”

“Yeah, we do,” said Piper. “So instead of the book going to Pearl, it went to Kate.”

“That’s right,” said Leo. “When she was killed her son Kyle went to live with his aunt, Phillipa. Kyle wasn’t a witch. Phillipa was. If Agnes hadn’t died in childbirth, she would have passed it on to her daughter, Pearl.”

“And Kate would never have been able to pass it on to Kyle who in turn passed it on to Phillipa,” said Piper. “Which means it would have been in a whole different branch of the family tree. We wouldn’t even have it if Kate hadn’t died when she did. We wouldn’t have the Book of Shadows to help us fight demons.”

“More than that,” said Phoebe. “We only got our powers back because I read the incantation in the front of the Book of Shadows. If Kyle hadn’t given the book to Phillipa, grams couldn’t have put that incantation in there. Which means I couldn’t have read it and our powers would probably still be bound. We would never have become witches or the Charmed Ones.”

“Are you saying that we’re the Charmed Ones because of a witch Cole killed a hundred years ago?” Paige asked.

“That’s exactly what I’m saying,” said Leo. “In fact, if not for that, you might not even been here. The Book of Shadows has helped generations of Warren witches vanquish some very powerful demons. It actually enhances the powers you all ready possess.

“Without the book, Penny may never have become a High Priestess and Patty might never have become as strong as she was. Which means neither of them would have been powerful enough to warrant their own personal White Lighter.”

“Which means mom would never have met my father, her White Lighter,” said Paige. “And if they never met, I would never have been born.”

“That’s right,” said Leo.

“All this because one lowly little half human half demon child wanted to prove himself,” said Piper, looking at Cole.

“Hey, I had no way of knowing all this would happen,” protested Cole. “Like anyone else, I was just trying to prove myself. How was I supposed to foresee that all of this would take place simply because I killed one witch?”

“They’re not blaming you,” said Leo, glancing at the girl’s. “But it does show the repercussions our actions can have. Repercussions that have even more far reaching effects than we might imagine.”

“Which makes it even more imperative that we find some way to help Katie,” said Phoebe. “She’s not only a sister witch, she’s family. We have to find some way to help her.”

“Which right now is problematic,” said Cole. “They have some pretty damning evidence. And once they find that the fireball started the fire the evidence will be interpreted as arson.”

“Yeah, but the demon was vanquished,” said Paige. “How can they charge her with murder if they don’t have a body? It’s all circumstantial evidence.”

“Most people are convicted on circumstantial evidence,” said Cole. “And they don’t necessarily need a body to prosecute for murder. If they can reasonably establish that a murder has taken place, they could get a conviction even without a body. They have evidence of him going into the building but not coming out. That’s pretty damning evidence.”

“Unless he went out another way,” offered Phoebe.

“Which we also can’t prove,” said Cole. “The prosecution can prove he went into the building. The video tape proves that. We can’t prove he came out another way. A jury is very likely to assume he never did, meaning he died in that fire. And if the fire is listed as arson, the only other one inside the building was Katie. I’m surprised they’re only going for second degree murder. The death of a person in the commission of a felony is normally charged as felony murder.”

“Well we have to do something,” said Phoebe. “Katie isn’t guilty of arson or murder.”

“And right now I’m at a loss to prove otherwise,” said Cole. “We need to think of something and we need to think of it fast. Otherwise Leo may have to orb Katie out of jail and she’ll be on the run for the rest of her life.”

[noazmale]

TEN

It was starting to get late and they still hadn’t come up with a way to get the charges against Kate dropped. Cole did some checking and found that the tape was about the only evidence the DA’s office had. Still, it was enough to show that Kate and the demon had been fighting and that he had apparently died in the fire. Cole was wracking his brain trying to think of some way to explain the tape differently. So far he hadn’t been able to come up with anything that he thought would hold up in court.

“I still think that Leo or Cole should get into the police property room and just take the tape,” said Phoebe. “Without the tape they don’t have a case.”

“Except that there’s always someone in the property room,” said Cole. “Evidence comes in at all hours of the day and night and it has to be logged in. I certainly can’t do it. If the property officer sees me I wouldn’t be able to represent Kate anymore. They’d arrest me the minute I set foot in the police station or courthouse.”

“What about Leo?” Piper asked. “I could go with him. He could orb us in and I could freeze everything and then we could get the tape. Then we could orb out. No one would ever know I was there.”

“And launch probably one of the biggest investigations in Bakersfield history,” replied Cole. “You steal something from the police property office and they’re going to want to know what happened. They’d go over the place with a fine tooth comb. All it would take would be a single fingerprint or a stray hair or something. It could lead straight back to you and then you’d be in jail alongside Kate.”

“How are they going to know it was me?” asked Piper. “I’ve never been in trouble with the law. They wouldn’t be able to trace it back to me.”

“Do you remember when you went back to the 1970s?” Cole asked. “When you met yourselves as children?”

“Sure,” said Piper. “Phoebe finally got to meet mom because of that.”

“And you were arrested for kidnapping yourselves,” said Cole. “You were booked and fingerprinted.”

“Yeah, but Andy gave us all that information before he died,” said Phoebe. “They shouldn’t still have that. Besides, that was in San Francisco, not Bakersfield.”

“Except when they ran your prints to see if they were on file, they would have been automatically added to the database,” replied Cole. “Andy may have given you everything the SFPD had on you but he couldn’t have prevented them from being logged into the national database. Your prints will still be on file with them. And if they find Leo’s prints, well, let’s just say finding the fingerprint of a man who supposedly died in the 1940s is going to be impossible to explain away.”

“I guess I see what you mean,” said Phoebe. “What if they wore gloves?”

“Someone once said that when you commit a crime, you make about 50 mistakes,” said Cole. “If you’re very smart, you might think of 25 of them. No, orbing in and stealing the tape is just too risky. We have to somehow discredit the tape so it can’t be used as evidence. If we can do that, the DA’s case will fall apart.”

“You said it’s a video tape, right?” Paige asked.

“Yes,” said Cole. “It’s from an ATM machine across the street. They usually use video tapes because they can use them over and over again. It’s more cost effective than most other kinds of recordings.”

“Cole, what would they do in, say, a case of vandalism?” Paige asked. “Say, someone threw a rock or something through a store’s front window?”

“Well, the rock would probably go into the property office until they could identify the perpetrator and then they’d use it as evidence against them,” said Cole. “Evidence in unsolved crimes is usually held onto for quite a long time, at least until the statute of limitations runs out on the crime. But I don’t see how throwing a rock through a store window is going to help us.”

“Not a rock,” said Paige. “Something else. Something a little more useful in this case. Leo, I need you to find something for me. If I’m right, we might just be able to make the DA’s case vanish into thin air.”

* * *

Cole walked into the property office of the police station and looked around. Several police officers were there and there was a corporal sitting behind a wire mesh window. A man wearing a suit was standing next to the window talking to the corporal.

Cole smiled and walked up to the window. He had deliberately waited outside until he had seen the ADA enter. If Paige’s plan had worked, this whole mess would be over very shortly. He walked up to the window and stood waiting for the corporal to notice him.

“Can I help you?” the corporal finally said.

“I think so,” said Cole. “My name is Cole Turner and I’m a lawyer. I’d like to know what you have on file for a Katherine Palmer. She’s my client and I need to know what evidence was collected in the case.”

“Mr. Turner?” questioned the man in the suit. “My name is Al Hitchcock. I’m the ADA that’s going to be handling the prosecution of Ms. Palmer.”

“Well, this is fortuitous,” said Cole. “It saves me a trip. Al Hitchcock?”

“I know,” said Hitchcock, a look of annoyance on his face. “My mother just couldn’t resist. Anyway, isn’t it a little unusual to come down to the property office? You could just have come to my office and gotten what you needed.”

“Oh, just a formality,” said Cole. “I’m hoping to get my client arraigned today or tomorrow and I wanted to have the paperwork for the discovery ready when I do. I just needed to know what evidence was involved for when I draft my motion. That way we can get the ball rolling that much quicker.”

“Well, that would save some time,” said Hitchcock. “About all the police have is a video tape. Pretty damning, too. Would you be interested in a deal?”

“Well, not before I’ve had a chance to review the evidence,” said Cole. “I’d be doing my client a disservice if I started talking deal before I knew what you had.”

“That’s certainly true.” Hitchcock turned to the corporal. “Mike, can you make a copy of that tape? No reason why we should stand on formality. By law you’re entitled to it anyway. If Mike can make a copy of it you can have it right now and maybe we can put this thing to bed sooner.”

“I’d appreciate that,” said Cole.

“I’ll be back in a minute,” said the corporal. “We have a dubbing machine in the back. It only takes about 5 minutes to make a copy.”

“Great,” said Cole.

Cole and Hitchcock talked while the corporal made the copy. The ADA kept steering the conversation around to the deal he had offered. Which told Cole that he wasn’t as sure of his case as he was letting on. In a few minutes, he would be even less sure. Finally the corporal came back and handed a tape to Cole.

“You’ll need to sign for that,” said the corporal.

“Not a problem.” Cole noticed a video player hooked up to a television inside the cage. “I have an idea. Why don’t we have a look at the tape right now? Once I’ve seen what’s on it I might be more inclined to talk about a deal.”

“Okay,” said Hitchcock. “Mike, can you play the tape for us, please?”

The corporal turned on the television and put the tape in. All that showed on the television was a field of “snow”. They all waited for the tape to begin. Only it never did. After several minutes he pulled the tape out and looked at it.

“I don’t understand,” said the corporal. “I’ve used that equipment a hundred times. It should have copied perfectly.”

“Put in the original,” said Cole. “Let’s see what it shows.”

The corporal put the original tape in and pressed play. As before, all that the television showed was “snow”. After a few minutes Cole turned to Hitchcock.

“Well, it would appear you don’t have any evidence. The tape seems to be blank.”

“Mike, did you accidentally erase the tape?” Hitchcock asked, trying to keep his temper in check.

“No way,” replied the corporal. “I’ll admit that maybe I didn’t copy it correctly. But the dubbing machine only records on one side. The original should still be intact. There’s no way to erase it or record over it.”

“Then what the hell happened?” demanded Hitchcock.

“What’s that?” Cole asked, pointing to a large metal item sitting on the property shelf. It was sitting very close to the place where the tape had lain.

“Oh, that was involved in some vandalism last night,” said the corporal. “Someone threw it through the front window of a jewelry store. He was seen but it was dark and the witnesses couldn’t give a clear description of him. As soon as he had broken the window he noticed the witnesses and took off. It was tagged and put in here until they could locate a suspect. To be honest, I’m not even sure what it is.”

“It looks homemade,” said Hitchcock.

“It is,” said Cole. “I’ve seen them before. It’s called a degausser.”

“A what?” questioned the corporal.

“A degausser. It’s used to do mass erasing of things like computer disks. You just pass the degausser over the disk and all of the information is instantly wiped off the disk. Of course, it can be used for other purposes.”

“Like erasing video tapes,” said Hitchcock, a note of resignation in his voice. “I’ve read about them. They produce a very powerful electric magnetic field.”

“That’s right,” said Cole. “And as close as it was sitting to the video tape, I’ll wager that it completely erased the tape. Which means your evidence against my client just went up in smoke. You can’t prove she was even at that building, let alone that she lured someone there and murdered them.”

“Several people have all ready seen the tape,” countered Hitchcock. “I’ll get them to testify what they saw.”

“Which would be considered hearsay and not admissible in court,” replied Cole. “Not to mention there’s no way to verify whether they’re telling the truth or even if they’ve just made a mistake. You know as well as I do that no judge is going to let that kind of testimony in at a trial. You said the video tape was just about all the evidence you had?”

“Yes, I did,” replied Hitchcock. “And I know where you’re going with this. Since our only piece of evidence is now apparently gone, there’s no way to sustain the charge of murder against your client. But before I drop the case completely I want our computer expert to take a look at the tape. To make sure it’s no longer useable.”

“I’m staying at the Rhiordan Hotel,” said Cole. “I think you’re going to find there’s nothing to salvage from that tape. Once you do I’ll expect all charges against my client to be dropped and for her to be release immediately.”

“Assuming that’s what my expert tells me,” replied Hitchcock.

“I’ll wait for your call,” said Cole, smiling at the ADA. He picked up his briefcase and left the property office.

[Jad]

Cute, but now they have to look at Cole for conspiracy. It's a stretch, but Cole knew just a little too much and showed up a just the right time. It's all a little too suspect.

But, I'm really enjoying this, thanks for sharing...

[noazmale]

ELEVEN

“So you’re saying that I’m actually related to the Charmed Ones?” questioned Kate that afternoon in the hotel room Piper had rented.

“Your great great grandmother and our great great grandmother were sisters,” said Phoebe. “You’re something like a 3rd cousin. Katie Palmer’s mother was Brianna Warren and our great great grandmother was Phillipa Warren. They were both daughters of Polianna Warren who was a direct descendent of Melinda Warren.”

“I never knew all this,” said Kate. “There aren’t very many records from that time. I knew my great great grandmother was a witch, just like my great grandmother was. But I never imagined she was descended from Melinda Warren. I’d like to look at the Book of Shadows. I’ve heard a lot about it. And if what you say is true, it will give me a complete lineage of my family tree.”

“You’re welcome to come look at it any time,” said Piper. “You know where we live so you should be able to come visit.”

“I still don’t understand how you were able to get the charges against me dropped,” said Kate. “I was told that video tape was pretty incriminating.”

“I’m sure it was,” said Cole. “But actually, we have Paige to thank for it.”

“I’m surprised I didn’t think of it sooner,” said Paige. “We had a similar problem at work once. One of the typist got a new computer but every time he spent the day putting in the information into it, he’d come in the next morning and all the information would be gone. We were beginning to think he had gotten a bad computer. Then our tech guy figured out that the typist’s desk was sitting in the middle of a magnetic field. It was erasing the disks as fast as he could save the information. Once we moved his desk he didn’t have any more trouble with it.”

“So you got this degauss thing and used it to erase the video tape?” Kate asked.

“Well, sort of,” said Piper. “Leo was able to find one from one of his other charges. He agreed to let us have it when he explained what we needed it for.”

“I still feel bad about throwing it threw that jewelry store window,” said Leo. “All that damage. It’s going to be expensive to repair.”

“Which his insurance will take care of,” interjected Cole. “There really wasn’t any other way. It had to be put into the property room and the only way to do that was if it was evidence in a crime. All Leo had to do was orb in once they had put it there and make sure it was close enough to the video tape to ensure that the tape was erased from the magnetic field produced by the degausser.”

“This is all Greek to me,” said Kate. “One of my kids knows all about computers and such. I have to confess they confuse me. He’s tried to teach me about them but they’re just so alien to me. When I was a little girl, the only computers we had any knowledge of were on television and in the movies. Now they seem to be everywhere.”

“Well, once the DA realized that his only piece of evidence was gone, he didn’t have any choice but to drop the charges,” said Cole.

“What about the fire?” Paige asked. “You said they’d interpret it as arson. Couldn’t she still be charged with that? Even if they have no evidence a murder was committed?”

“Not unless they can prove she was there,” said Cole. “There were no eye witnesses. Their only evidence she was even there was that tape. And without it they can’t prove she was even in the vicinity, let alone in the building. More than likely it will end up being an unsolved arson case.

“But you need to lay low for a while. They may not have any proof but they’ll keep investigating. Not to mention that if you’re involved in anything suspicious in the future they’ll be taking a closer look at you than they would normally. You might want to forego any demon hunting until things die down a bit.”

“You don’t have to tell me twice,” said Kate. “After what I just went through I’m going to be more careful in the future. The next time you might not be around to help me out.” She looked at Leo. “So, you’re a White Lighter.”

“That’s right,” replied Leo, smiling. “I have been for about 60 years or so.”

“My mother used to tell me about White Lighters,” said Kate. “I often wondered what it would be like to have one.”

“Well, I’ve talked to the Elders,” said Cole. “They’re going to appoint one for you, at least temporarily. They say while you’re not really powerful enough to warrant one your work with the foster home deserves some special attention. I’m sure one will be sent to you within the next couple of days.”

“I don’t know how to thank you all for what you’ve done,” said Kate. “I thought for sure I’d spend the rest of my life in prison. And there’s no one else to look after my kids. You have no idea how much I appreciate what you did for all of us.”

“Well, we couldn’t very well just sit back and do nothing,” said Piper. “You’re a witch. And you’re family. The best way to thank us is to go home to your kids and take care of them. It sounds like they need you a great deal.”

“I’ll orb her there,” said Leo. “She should be getting home as soon as possible.”

“Okay,” said Piper. “We’ll, uh, meet you at the manor.” She glanced hesitantly at Cole.

Leo took Kate’s arm and orbed them out of the hotel room.

“I think it was best we didn’t say anything about Cole,” said Phoebe. “She doesn’t need to know that he was the one that killed her great grandmother.”

“At least I can feel less guilty about it,” said Cole. “In some ways it seems like I’ve been able to make up for what I did back then. If even in some small way. There’s’ so much that I’d change if I could.”

“We all have regrets,” said Piper. “For now, you can shimmer us back to the manor. The room service here is atrocious.”

“One of the pitfalls of being a professional chef, sweetie,” said Phoebe, hugging her sister. “Nothing is ever going to measure up to one of your meals.”

“Oh, I know that,” said Piper. “But I swear they must use some kind of processed cheese substance or something. That was definitely not real cheese we had with our dinner last night. I thought I was going to hurl.”

“Funny, I didn’t find it so bad,” said Cole smiling as he shimmered them all back to San Francisco.

The End

If you’ve enjoyed this story, you can find more “Charmed” stories at my website, Creative Passions, listed in my bio. You can also post your own “Charmed” stories or other stories if you like to write fan fiction.