Post by mostaff on Apr 15, 2008 8:37:43 GMT -5
If you have not read The True Face of Destiny-Chapter 1, please do so before reading this.
CHAPTER TWO
Snow covered everything for miles. Fresh snow that covered all the tracks throughout the forest. The mountain pines looked just beyond beautiful to her, covered in snow and reflecting what little light there was. The sky was dark and heavy, dropping more snow gently.
She glided through the falling snow, taking in every vista, even tough it was all just energy patterns. She had learned long ago how to interpret energy patterns and convert it to a mental picture of the mortal world. The joy that the scenery brought her was tinged with sadness. She missed being part of the mortal world. She missed her sisters, Piper and Phoebe. She regretted not being able to meet her half sister Paige, though she had a better understanding of her than Piper and Phoebe seemed to. Prue had been able to slip through time and watch her develop and mature.
Out of all of her incarnations, her latest was the only one she wanted to go back to. It was not that she had just left it. She knew that fact all too well. She had never felt a longing to return to a life like this. She had viewed her other incarnations as what they were. Lessons to be learned and experience to be gained.
But as Prudence Halliwell, she had found more than knowledge and experience. She had found a soul filling sisterhood. A sisterhood that she had watched over and had guided, even though she was not supposed to. All three sisters had their own guiding force that she had assisted. After being the big sister for all those beloved years, Prue could not leave it up to some one else.
Just as she was ready to shift herself to the manor to check on the Charmed Ones, a force of intense energy grabbed onto her, pulling her through the mountain landscape toward a small cabin. She knew what this was. Some one was calling her, demanding her to present herself. She also knew who it was that was calling.
Patty Halliwell, as she had most recently known her, though she had known this soul in many ways and in many incarnations. Sometimes as a close friend, a sister, a daughter, a mother, and even a strict teacher, but always in a positive manner. Always in a way that was protective.
Prue rushed across the distance to Patty, not having had any contact with her for far too long. Patty had a way of helping her deal with the loss that did not seem to fade after her latest incarnation. A few words of comfort were needed before heading to the manor to check on her sisters.
She flew over the distance to the small cabin in less than a second, wanting to get to Patty almost as badly as she wanted to see her sisters. The distance seemed small, though if she had been human, she would have walked for several hundred miles to get to her destination. The cabin loomed in front of her in an instant, the windows on the lower level glowing with what seemed a warm, welcoming feeling, almost like the manor when she had came home late from work all those years ago. A warmth grew in her and she stopped for a moment to savor it. The welcome mat was out for her and the feeling felt just as good as it had when she was alive. Expect now she was not taking it for granted the way she had back then. The knowledge that some one special was waiting for her inside made her feel alive again. Waiting for her. Even though she was a spirit, they were waiting and wanting to see and speak with her. That had not happened in too long.
Then the feeling of a human presence intruded on her. There was a person in there that she had not expected. A human and two spirits.
Death was in there too.
Not the Angel of Death. She had met him on two separate occasion and knew what he felt like. What she felt was more of an absence of life in four bodies on the second floor of the cabin. Bodies of not quite human origin. They had not been mortal creatures, but they had not been of the spirit world either. They had been between somehow.
In that instant she knew who the human was that was in the cabin with Patty. But she knew that human to be dead. She had been standing behind Piper, Phoebe, and Paige when they had vanquished him for the last time. She had been there trying to help Paige get through to her two thick headed sisters about the truth of the alternate reality they had been put in by Cole Turner in his twisted idea of love. How could Cole be back when he had been vanquished in a reality where he was no longer invincible? The way did exist, but it would take just the right people to do it with the exact ritual. That ritual could only come from the spirit world.
Prue did not know what to think about this. It just did not set well at all with her. She had never trusted Cole and she had been proved right time and time again. Ultimately, he was just a too susceptible to self indulgence to be trusted.
Without even checking to see what she could feel form Cole, she flashed into the cabin and pinned Cole to the wall above the fire place. He hit the rustic stone above the mantel with dull thud and the cracking of bone. He struggled against her magical hold, but was totally powerless against her. As hard as he tried, he could not even move a finger.
She felt him build up energy inside of him and instantly pulled it away from him, using it make herself seen by all in the room. She was standing in front of the door that opened into the small living room of the cabin without so much as a finger pointing at Cole.
Patty was looking at Cole like she could not believe what was happening when Prue showed herself. Patty turned to Prue with her mouth hanging open. She could not believe she had not felt Prue enter the cabin. She had always known when Prue was coming, but this time she was unable to feel her spirit when she approached. Penny was standing beside Patty and was looking at Cole hanging from the wall like it actually amused her. She had not been able to feel Prue’s approach either but had felt her as soon as she had made herself seen.
“Dear,” Penny said without turning to look. “That’s not very polite.”
“It’s not necessary either.” Patty told her sharply. “You put him down. He’s on our side this time.”
“I doubt that.” Prue told her. “He’s on his side. It never changes with him. And now that he’s back, Phoebe is at risk. Why was he brought back? And who done it?”
“We did dear.” Penny told her, stepping in front of her. “He’s here to help you and your sisters. Just connect with the collective and you’ll understand.”
“The collective can be blocked.” Prue told her. “He’s always had his own agenda. I will never trust him.”
“I am here, ya know.” Cole told them. “I could use a hand in getting down. I can’t seem to counter her.”
“Put him down, dear.” Penny told her, patting her shoulder lightly. “Then we’ll talk this all out and you’ll see he can be trusted this time.”
Prue looked deep into Cole’s eyes from across the room and reached out to feel what he was feeling. She had learned a lot sense she had died and reading peoples feelings and intensions was just one new trick out of many. What she felt was a balance of power and knowledge. An understanding of the true nature of the great scheme. Cole was no longer a combination of demon and human. She had to wonder briefly if he understood just what his parents had blessed him with when they conceived him. If he knew just what it meant now that he had both the human power extremes of good and evil in him all those years and what that could do for him now. She knew he would be more susceptible to the balance than she herself was. With what he had carried inside of him all those years, he would find it much easier to control the balance of the collective that he now carried within him. How that was possible for a human, Prue knew only too well. Patty and Penny had been behind bringing him back from oblivion. And she knew damn good and well they knew what they were doing and what it all meant for Cole.
She also felt a love deep inside of him that was the purest form of it she had ever felt in a human. It was not an obsession with something he could not have, but a longing for the best to come her way. He was not here to claim Phoebe as a trophy, but to ensure that she have only what was best for her. There was a strong desire to protect Phoebe from any sort of harm from any source. It seemed more like the desire of a father to protect his daughter than that of a man to protect the woman he loves.
It was all balance. The concepts of Good and Evil no longer existed in him. He had learned that those concepts were only for the mortal realm. The concepts that humans had dreamed up to explain their fortunes, good or ill. The Devine duality, light and dark, good and evil. With so many humans believing in them over the centuries, they actually became real powers that shaped the lives of humans on a daily basis.
With no more than a glance at the sofa behind Patty and Penny, Cole flew off of the wall and landed on the soft cushions. Prue looked at the other two women and smiled like she had done something good.
“He’s down.” She told them and sat down in a soft chair by the fire place, the smile still on her face. “I guess I understand what this is all about.” She finally said. “Those dead people upstairs, their the Guardians. How were they killed?”
“You’re a quick study these days.” Cole told her.
“She always was.” Penny told him, pride glowing on her face.
She had been the one that had raised her, after all. “She pegged you right off, didn’t she?”
“Well, not right off.” Cole told her.
“Yes.” Patty told her. “They were the Guardians. As for how they died, they were murdered. Knife wounds. Must have been a cursed Athame. It had to be done by people that knew what they were doing. The Guardians were immortal beings that could not be killed by human means. The weapon had to be cursed in a certain way, the wounds inflicted in a certain manner and, then their had to be an incantation said at the moment the blade entered the body.”
“So who all knew how to kill them?” Prue asked. “It has to be a short list. I mean, very few people knew they even existed. Who knew how to kill them and who had access to them. Both factors are obscure enough to eliminate almost everybody.”
“She’s got a good set of points there.” Cole told them. “That would be the angle to start with.”
“Oh, quit sucking up.” Penny told him.
“I would also like to talk to the Angel of Death.” Prue told them.
“He may have seen who was around when he came for the Guardians.”
“That would be a good first step.” Cole told her, “Except for one small fact. They were already dead. Death would not come for them.“
“What are you talking about?” Prue asked him.
“The Guardians were not living mortals.” Cole told her. “They were assigned their duties. Well, they volunteered for this. Volunteered by mass opinion. They took the form of their last incarnation and just went on with their duties. They were not actually alive in the mortal sense of the word. That’s why it takes a special set of circumstances to kill them.”
“So if they were dead,” Prue asked, “What are they now? And where are their souls?”
“That’s exactly the point, dear.” Penny told her. “Nobody thought this could ever happen. It has never happened before. We don’t know where their souls went. They are not in the collective.”
“Their not in oblivion, either.” Cole told them. “I just came from there. There was some talk about big changes in the works, though.”
“This?” Patty asked.
“I would guess so.” Cole replied. “Most of those souls in oblivion exist merely because of humans. If the mortals had not believed in them, they would not be here and they would not have had the deck stacked against them from the start. Anything that effects the mortals, effects them in turn.”
“So how could they do anything to the Guardians?” Prue asked. “Could they possibly have contact with humans?”
“With out question.” Cole told her. “Any human could have one of those demons as a familiar if they had access to the right resource material.”
“Okay, that’s just nuts.” Prue said, looking strait at Cole. “Was you someone’s familiar?”
“No.” Cole told her. “I didn’t want anything to do with the human world. I just wanted to be forgotten.”
“Penance is for mortals.” Prue told him.
“Not Penance.” Cole told her. “Just making sure I don’t screw everything up for some one, if you get me.”
“I get you.” Prue told him. “I got your number a long time ago. If you don’t get what you want, then you run away from it. You don’t face anything. You need to work on that, if you want to fully take advantage of your heritage.”
Cole cocked his head to one side slightly, like he was thinking about what she had said, then asked her, “What do you mean by that?”
“So who had access to the Guardians?” Penny asked suddenly. “That alone narrows down the field. The only ones who had access to the Guardians were the Keepers.”
“The who?” Prue asked. “I’ve never heard of them before.”
“The Keepers.” Patty told her. “Centuries ago, the collective decided that it would be in the Guardians best interests to have a group of people watch over them. Hide them, basically. This group was called the Keepers. It was just a few knights to begin with, but the brotherhood grew over the centuries. Unfortunately, since their specialty was to hide not only the Guardians, but themselves, no one could find the Keepers either. The collective lost track of them around the end of the of the first millennium. We don’t know how to get in touch with them or how many of them there is. I am assuming that is why this Sandman fellow involved your old police friend. He has to know a thing or two about what’s going on.”
“Oh he does.” Cole told them. “He’s been around for almost twelve centuries. I got that much from him before he bailed on Morris earlier. I’m guessing that he’s a Keeper himself. His name is Julius Sanderson. Weather that’s his real name or just something he’s been using for a while, I don’t know. I can have Morris run the name, though I doubt that anything turns up.”
“If I know Darryl, he’s already on that.” Prue told him. “Next question. Where did their souls go? Cole already said that we can rule out oblivion. The collective is out too. So where are their souls? In the Athame?”
“That would make sense.” Cole told them. “It had to be a cursed Athame, so it would stand to reason that sense they were already dead, their souls would have to be captured. If that is the case, then why would anyone want to capture the Guardians? The only answer would be to replace them.”
“That would mean that one or more of the Keepers wanted to take over.” Patty told them. “Why would they want that?”
“The age old answer.” Cole told her. “Power. Humans struggle for that very thing every day. They seem to have an uncontrollable urge to have power and influence over other humans. They bypass the basic laws of free will and want to enslave each other.”
“But to what end?” Prue asked, almost sounding like she was talking to herself. “What could they have planned?”
“That is for another discussion.” Cole told her. “What we have to do now is to figure out where to find them. And we also need to get Prue out of the collective. If we don’t, then they will know our every move.”
“Agreed.” Penny told them. “Honey, you have to-”
“I know, I know.” Prue said, a smile on her face as she got out of her chair. She was trying hard to hide her excitement over returning to the living. The thought of getting back with her sisters was almost intoxicating. She had waited for more years than she had wanted to when Penny had hit her with this bomb shell right after she had died. “I will only do this as Prue. I think that would be more help than anything else.”
“But, dear, your sisters will know you whoever you go back as.” Penny told her. “Your souls have met more in more than one incarnation and not by accident.”
“I know that.” Prue told her. “I have reasons for wanting to go back this way.”
“Home sick?” Cole asked her.
Prue looked Cole strait in the eyes again and thought she saw a flicker of understanding there. This was no time for the cat to be let out of the bag. This was something that had to be kept under wraps for the moment. “Not really.” She told him. “Like you said, that is for another discussion.”
“I thought you would.” Patty said, smiling like she knew something that none of the others knew. “I was actually hoping you would want to.”
“What’s the big deal about going back as Prue?” Cole asked.
“All in good time.” Prue told him, wanting nothing more than for him to shut up and get on with this. The sooner she was back among the living, the sooner it would be too late to do anything about this and the sooner she could see her sisters. “Right now we have work to do.”
Prue took a hold of Patty’s and Penny’s hands, forming a small circle.
“Hey, what about me?” Cole asked. “Don’t you need my help?”
Penny opened one eye and told him, “No, uh, I think we can manage.”
“But it took thirteen people to bring me back.” Cole said, sounding left out, then dropped into the chair that Prue had been setting in.
“We aren’t exactly people, Cole.” Prue told him. “It will only take the three of us.”
“Don’t pout, dear.” Penny told him. “It‘s a Warren witch thing.”
Penny, Patty and, Prue joined hands and closed their eyes, arranging energy into a human body for Prue. Surrounded in the red and white energy, Prue felt her projected form change and become solid, living tissue. In the instant that her soul entered the body, Prue felt something slip through the collective, like a feather touching the hairs on her arms. Her eyes flew open and she asked, “Did anyone else feel that?”
“Feel what?” Cole asked, coming up out of the chair.
Prue felt his essence fly out in all directions like a physical shock wave. The amount of power Cole possessed amazed her. She could feel it pulse over her in waves as he felt the entire mountain side for any sign of trouble. She shivered from the waves of power pulsing over her and told them, “In the collective. A warning was sounded just as I entered my body.”
“Who sent it and where did it go?” Cole asked, reigning in his essence.
“I couldn’t tell.” Prue told him, feeling a little off balance after Cole pulled his essence back into him. “Mom, Grams, could you try to find out?”
“We’ll try, dear.” Penny said and they left in a trail of white lights.
“As for you.” Prue said, turning back to Cole. “You need to tone that power down some. I felt every wave you sent out.”
“You did?” Cole asked, a puzzled look on his face.
“You go talk to Darryl.” Prue told him. “I have a stop to make first.”
Before Cole could ask where she was going, Prues’ head lulled to her chest and her body collapsed onto the floor. In less than an instant, she was standing under the chandelier in the manor. The first thing that hit her was the smell of food. Piper had been cooking. That smell spread through her and she welcomed it like waster to a parched throat. She had forgotten just how good the smell of Piper’s cooking was.
Several feet in front of her, something hit the floor with a splattering crash. Prue opened her eyes and found Piper staring at her opened mouthed. The longing to hug her and talk with her overwhelmed her. After all those years of not having any mortal contact with Piper, Prue froze. She could not even say her name, a childish fear of everything changing back to the way it had been enveloped her. If she could just get past that, then everything would be okay and life could go back to the way it was.
“Prue?” Piper asked.
The sound of that voice to human ears was sweeter than music. The emptiness in her heart was crushed with just that one spoken word. All those years of being away suddenly vanished. Prue felt like she had just returned from a photo shoot at the end of a long day and it was time for family. Prue took a couple of steps forward, the childish fear gone.
“Leo!” Piper called raising her hands. “Le-o!”
Prue froze, feeling the power building up in Piper and she knew, even through the confusion, what was about to happen. As Leo raced in from the kitchen, Prue felt the energy release, a huge amount that seemed to come at her in slow motion. Prue could actually see the energy distortion pulse toward her. Without thinking, Prue pulled the energy into herself, the explosive blast Piper had thrown at her seemed small in comparison to what she had become accustomed to.
“Prue?” Leo asked, hurrying up to Pipers side. Before Prue could say anything to them, she was pulled back to the mountain cabin, confusion coursing through her.
“Where did you go?” Cole asked, dragging Prue to her feet by an arm. “Where did you go?” This time the demand sounded almost panicked.
“She tried to blow me up.” Prue said, disbelief sounding clearly in her voice.
“Who did?” Cole almost screamed, worry and panic trying to take hold. The only reason he had been given this chance was to protect the Charmed Ones. If he failed at that already, oblivion would be heaven compared to where he would put himself.
“Why?” Prue asked, feeling tears of betrayal well up in her eyes. “Why would she want to kill me?” The question was aimed directly at Cole.
“Blow you up?” Cole asked and then understood. Piper had been quick on the draw with her powers when he had last seen her. Apparently she had not changed. “You went to the manor.” He said flatly, calming down slightly.
“Piper tried to kill me!” Prue shouted.
“Good and Evil. Remember?” Cole said. “She went on the assumption that you were a demon impersonating you. Don’t you remember how it was?”
“I had forgotten.” Prue told him. “I assumed she would know me.”
“Good and Evil exist here because everybody believes it does.” Cole told her. “It actually makes them weak.”
“That’s for sure.” Prue said. “I remembered Piper being powerful, but when I drew the energy she released, it was almost nothing.”
“Compared to what you’re use to.” Cole told her. “Make no mistake about it. Piper is a very powerful witch. All three of them are. You know what they can do. What you have to remember is that you know how to truly use energy. You are a thousand times more powerful then they are. They can feel your power, just like you felt mine.”
“But she attacked me, damnit!” Prue yelled. “I can’t believe she did that.”
“We just can’t pop in on them like that.” Cole told her. “They will assume that it’s a demonic attack. The best way in is, of course, Phoebe. But first, before we even think about that we need to talk to Morris.”
Cole knew all too well how using Phoebe could turn against him. It had to be done just right or they would never be trusted. How many times had he tried to use Phoebe to get to the sisters? Every time he had failed. He had to remain in control of himself this time. If he did not, then,…he did not want to think of that. Too long had he suffered for that.
“Morris, then Phoebe.” Prue said. “Oooeee, is Piper ever going to feel bad about this.”
“And you won’t let her forget it, either.” Cole said. “Being the good big sister you are.”
“Not on your life.” She said. “But her cookin’ smells better than ever.”
CHAPTER TWO
Snow covered everything for miles. Fresh snow that covered all the tracks throughout the forest. The mountain pines looked just beyond beautiful to her, covered in snow and reflecting what little light there was. The sky was dark and heavy, dropping more snow gently.
She glided through the falling snow, taking in every vista, even tough it was all just energy patterns. She had learned long ago how to interpret energy patterns and convert it to a mental picture of the mortal world. The joy that the scenery brought her was tinged with sadness. She missed being part of the mortal world. She missed her sisters, Piper and Phoebe. She regretted not being able to meet her half sister Paige, though she had a better understanding of her than Piper and Phoebe seemed to. Prue had been able to slip through time and watch her develop and mature.
Out of all of her incarnations, her latest was the only one she wanted to go back to. It was not that she had just left it. She knew that fact all too well. She had never felt a longing to return to a life like this. She had viewed her other incarnations as what they were. Lessons to be learned and experience to be gained.
But as Prudence Halliwell, she had found more than knowledge and experience. She had found a soul filling sisterhood. A sisterhood that she had watched over and had guided, even though she was not supposed to. All three sisters had their own guiding force that she had assisted. After being the big sister for all those beloved years, Prue could not leave it up to some one else.
Just as she was ready to shift herself to the manor to check on the Charmed Ones, a force of intense energy grabbed onto her, pulling her through the mountain landscape toward a small cabin. She knew what this was. Some one was calling her, demanding her to present herself. She also knew who it was that was calling.
Patty Halliwell, as she had most recently known her, though she had known this soul in many ways and in many incarnations. Sometimes as a close friend, a sister, a daughter, a mother, and even a strict teacher, but always in a positive manner. Always in a way that was protective.
Prue rushed across the distance to Patty, not having had any contact with her for far too long. Patty had a way of helping her deal with the loss that did not seem to fade after her latest incarnation. A few words of comfort were needed before heading to the manor to check on her sisters.
She flew over the distance to the small cabin in less than a second, wanting to get to Patty almost as badly as she wanted to see her sisters. The distance seemed small, though if she had been human, she would have walked for several hundred miles to get to her destination. The cabin loomed in front of her in an instant, the windows on the lower level glowing with what seemed a warm, welcoming feeling, almost like the manor when she had came home late from work all those years ago. A warmth grew in her and she stopped for a moment to savor it. The welcome mat was out for her and the feeling felt just as good as it had when she was alive. Expect now she was not taking it for granted the way she had back then. The knowledge that some one special was waiting for her inside made her feel alive again. Waiting for her. Even though she was a spirit, they were waiting and wanting to see and speak with her. That had not happened in too long.
Then the feeling of a human presence intruded on her. There was a person in there that she had not expected. A human and two spirits.
Death was in there too.
Not the Angel of Death. She had met him on two separate occasion and knew what he felt like. What she felt was more of an absence of life in four bodies on the second floor of the cabin. Bodies of not quite human origin. They had not been mortal creatures, but they had not been of the spirit world either. They had been between somehow.
In that instant she knew who the human was that was in the cabin with Patty. But she knew that human to be dead. She had been standing behind Piper, Phoebe, and Paige when they had vanquished him for the last time. She had been there trying to help Paige get through to her two thick headed sisters about the truth of the alternate reality they had been put in by Cole Turner in his twisted idea of love. How could Cole be back when he had been vanquished in a reality where he was no longer invincible? The way did exist, but it would take just the right people to do it with the exact ritual. That ritual could only come from the spirit world.
Prue did not know what to think about this. It just did not set well at all with her. She had never trusted Cole and she had been proved right time and time again. Ultimately, he was just a too susceptible to self indulgence to be trusted.
Without even checking to see what she could feel form Cole, she flashed into the cabin and pinned Cole to the wall above the fire place. He hit the rustic stone above the mantel with dull thud and the cracking of bone. He struggled against her magical hold, but was totally powerless against her. As hard as he tried, he could not even move a finger.
She felt him build up energy inside of him and instantly pulled it away from him, using it make herself seen by all in the room. She was standing in front of the door that opened into the small living room of the cabin without so much as a finger pointing at Cole.
Patty was looking at Cole like she could not believe what was happening when Prue showed herself. Patty turned to Prue with her mouth hanging open. She could not believe she had not felt Prue enter the cabin. She had always known when Prue was coming, but this time she was unable to feel her spirit when she approached. Penny was standing beside Patty and was looking at Cole hanging from the wall like it actually amused her. She had not been able to feel Prue’s approach either but had felt her as soon as she had made herself seen.
“Dear,” Penny said without turning to look. “That’s not very polite.”
“It’s not necessary either.” Patty told her sharply. “You put him down. He’s on our side this time.”
“I doubt that.” Prue told her. “He’s on his side. It never changes with him. And now that he’s back, Phoebe is at risk. Why was he brought back? And who done it?”
“We did dear.” Penny told her, stepping in front of her. “He’s here to help you and your sisters. Just connect with the collective and you’ll understand.”
“The collective can be blocked.” Prue told her. “He’s always had his own agenda. I will never trust him.”
“I am here, ya know.” Cole told them. “I could use a hand in getting down. I can’t seem to counter her.”
“Put him down, dear.” Penny told her, patting her shoulder lightly. “Then we’ll talk this all out and you’ll see he can be trusted this time.”
Prue looked deep into Cole’s eyes from across the room and reached out to feel what he was feeling. She had learned a lot sense she had died and reading peoples feelings and intensions was just one new trick out of many. What she felt was a balance of power and knowledge. An understanding of the true nature of the great scheme. Cole was no longer a combination of demon and human. She had to wonder briefly if he understood just what his parents had blessed him with when they conceived him. If he knew just what it meant now that he had both the human power extremes of good and evil in him all those years and what that could do for him now. She knew he would be more susceptible to the balance than she herself was. With what he had carried inside of him all those years, he would find it much easier to control the balance of the collective that he now carried within him. How that was possible for a human, Prue knew only too well. Patty and Penny had been behind bringing him back from oblivion. And she knew damn good and well they knew what they were doing and what it all meant for Cole.
She also felt a love deep inside of him that was the purest form of it she had ever felt in a human. It was not an obsession with something he could not have, but a longing for the best to come her way. He was not here to claim Phoebe as a trophy, but to ensure that she have only what was best for her. There was a strong desire to protect Phoebe from any sort of harm from any source. It seemed more like the desire of a father to protect his daughter than that of a man to protect the woman he loves.
It was all balance. The concepts of Good and Evil no longer existed in him. He had learned that those concepts were only for the mortal realm. The concepts that humans had dreamed up to explain their fortunes, good or ill. The Devine duality, light and dark, good and evil. With so many humans believing in them over the centuries, they actually became real powers that shaped the lives of humans on a daily basis.
With no more than a glance at the sofa behind Patty and Penny, Cole flew off of the wall and landed on the soft cushions. Prue looked at the other two women and smiled like she had done something good.
“He’s down.” She told them and sat down in a soft chair by the fire place, the smile still on her face. “I guess I understand what this is all about.” She finally said. “Those dead people upstairs, their the Guardians. How were they killed?”
“You’re a quick study these days.” Cole told her.
“She always was.” Penny told him, pride glowing on her face.
She had been the one that had raised her, after all. “She pegged you right off, didn’t she?”
“Well, not right off.” Cole told her.
“Yes.” Patty told her. “They were the Guardians. As for how they died, they were murdered. Knife wounds. Must have been a cursed Athame. It had to be done by people that knew what they were doing. The Guardians were immortal beings that could not be killed by human means. The weapon had to be cursed in a certain way, the wounds inflicted in a certain manner and, then their had to be an incantation said at the moment the blade entered the body.”
“So who all knew how to kill them?” Prue asked. “It has to be a short list. I mean, very few people knew they even existed. Who knew how to kill them and who had access to them. Both factors are obscure enough to eliminate almost everybody.”
“She’s got a good set of points there.” Cole told them. “That would be the angle to start with.”
“Oh, quit sucking up.” Penny told him.
“I would also like to talk to the Angel of Death.” Prue told them.
“He may have seen who was around when he came for the Guardians.”
“That would be a good first step.” Cole told her, “Except for one small fact. They were already dead. Death would not come for them.“
“What are you talking about?” Prue asked him.
“The Guardians were not living mortals.” Cole told her. “They were assigned their duties. Well, they volunteered for this. Volunteered by mass opinion. They took the form of their last incarnation and just went on with their duties. They were not actually alive in the mortal sense of the word. That’s why it takes a special set of circumstances to kill them.”
“So if they were dead,” Prue asked, “What are they now? And where are their souls?”
“That’s exactly the point, dear.” Penny told her. “Nobody thought this could ever happen. It has never happened before. We don’t know where their souls went. They are not in the collective.”
“Their not in oblivion, either.” Cole told them. “I just came from there. There was some talk about big changes in the works, though.”
“This?” Patty asked.
“I would guess so.” Cole replied. “Most of those souls in oblivion exist merely because of humans. If the mortals had not believed in them, they would not be here and they would not have had the deck stacked against them from the start. Anything that effects the mortals, effects them in turn.”
“So how could they do anything to the Guardians?” Prue asked. “Could they possibly have contact with humans?”
“With out question.” Cole told her. “Any human could have one of those demons as a familiar if they had access to the right resource material.”
“Okay, that’s just nuts.” Prue said, looking strait at Cole. “Was you someone’s familiar?”
“No.” Cole told her. “I didn’t want anything to do with the human world. I just wanted to be forgotten.”
“Penance is for mortals.” Prue told him.
“Not Penance.” Cole told her. “Just making sure I don’t screw everything up for some one, if you get me.”
“I get you.” Prue told him. “I got your number a long time ago. If you don’t get what you want, then you run away from it. You don’t face anything. You need to work on that, if you want to fully take advantage of your heritage.”
Cole cocked his head to one side slightly, like he was thinking about what she had said, then asked her, “What do you mean by that?”
“So who had access to the Guardians?” Penny asked suddenly. “That alone narrows down the field. The only ones who had access to the Guardians were the Keepers.”
“The who?” Prue asked. “I’ve never heard of them before.”
“The Keepers.” Patty told her. “Centuries ago, the collective decided that it would be in the Guardians best interests to have a group of people watch over them. Hide them, basically. This group was called the Keepers. It was just a few knights to begin with, but the brotherhood grew over the centuries. Unfortunately, since their specialty was to hide not only the Guardians, but themselves, no one could find the Keepers either. The collective lost track of them around the end of the of the first millennium. We don’t know how to get in touch with them or how many of them there is. I am assuming that is why this Sandman fellow involved your old police friend. He has to know a thing or two about what’s going on.”
“Oh he does.” Cole told them. “He’s been around for almost twelve centuries. I got that much from him before he bailed on Morris earlier. I’m guessing that he’s a Keeper himself. His name is Julius Sanderson. Weather that’s his real name or just something he’s been using for a while, I don’t know. I can have Morris run the name, though I doubt that anything turns up.”
“If I know Darryl, he’s already on that.” Prue told him. “Next question. Where did their souls go? Cole already said that we can rule out oblivion. The collective is out too. So where are their souls? In the Athame?”
“That would make sense.” Cole told them. “It had to be a cursed Athame, so it would stand to reason that sense they were already dead, their souls would have to be captured. If that is the case, then why would anyone want to capture the Guardians? The only answer would be to replace them.”
“That would mean that one or more of the Keepers wanted to take over.” Patty told them. “Why would they want that?”
“The age old answer.” Cole told her. “Power. Humans struggle for that very thing every day. They seem to have an uncontrollable urge to have power and influence over other humans. They bypass the basic laws of free will and want to enslave each other.”
“But to what end?” Prue asked, almost sounding like she was talking to herself. “What could they have planned?”
“That is for another discussion.” Cole told her. “What we have to do now is to figure out where to find them. And we also need to get Prue out of the collective. If we don’t, then they will know our every move.”
“Agreed.” Penny told them. “Honey, you have to-”
“I know, I know.” Prue said, a smile on her face as she got out of her chair. She was trying hard to hide her excitement over returning to the living. The thought of getting back with her sisters was almost intoxicating. She had waited for more years than she had wanted to when Penny had hit her with this bomb shell right after she had died. “I will only do this as Prue. I think that would be more help than anything else.”
“But, dear, your sisters will know you whoever you go back as.” Penny told her. “Your souls have met more in more than one incarnation and not by accident.”
“I know that.” Prue told her. “I have reasons for wanting to go back this way.”
“Home sick?” Cole asked her.
Prue looked Cole strait in the eyes again and thought she saw a flicker of understanding there. This was no time for the cat to be let out of the bag. This was something that had to be kept under wraps for the moment. “Not really.” She told him. “Like you said, that is for another discussion.”
“I thought you would.” Patty said, smiling like she knew something that none of the others knew. “I was actually hoping you would want to.”
“What’s the big deal about going back as Prue?” Cole asked.
“All in good time.” Prue told him, wanting nothing more than for him to shut up and get on with this. The sooner she was back among the living, the sooner it would be too late to do anything about this and the sooner she could see her sisters. “Right now we have work to do.”
Prue took a hold of Patty’s and Penny’s hands, forming a small circle.
“Hey, what about me?” Cole asked. “Don’t you need my help?”
Penny opened one eye and told him, “No, uh, I think we can manage.”
“But it took thirteen people to bring me back.” Cole said, sounding left out, then dropped into the chair that Prue had been setting in.
“We aren’t exactly people, Cole.” Prue told him. “It will only take the three of us.”
“Don’t pout, dear.” Penny told him. “It‘s a Warren witch thing.”
Penny, Patty and, Prue joined hands and closed their eyes, arranging energy into a human body for Prue. Surrounded in the red and white energy, Prue felt her projected form change and become solid, living tissue. In the instant that her soul entered the body, Prue felt something slip through the collective, like a feather touching the hairs on her arms. Her eyes flew open and she asked, “Did anyone else feel that?”
“Feel what?” Cole asked, coming up out of the chair.
Prue felt his essence fly out in all directions like a physical shock wave. The amount of power Cole possessed amazed her. She could feel it pulse over her in waves as he felt the entire mountain side for any sign of trouble. She shivered from the waves of power pulsing over her and told them, “In the collective. A warning was sounded just as I entered my body.”
“Who sent it and where did it go?” Cole asked, reigning in his essence.
“I couldn’t tell.” Prue told him, feeling a little off balance after Cole pulled his essence back into him. “Mom, Grams, could you try to find out?”
“We’ll try, dear.” Penny said and they left in a trail of white lights.
“As for you.” Prue said, turning back to Cole. “You need to tone that power down some. I felt every wave you sent out.”
“You did?” Cole asked, a puzzled look on his face.
“You go talk to Darryl.” Prue told him. “I have a stop to make first.”
Before Cole could ask where she was going, Prues’ head lulled to her chest and her body collapsed onto the floor. In less than an instant, she was standing under the chandelier in the manor. The first thing that hit her was the smell of food. Piper had been cooking. That smell spread through her and she welcomed it like waster to a parched throat. She had forgotten just how good the smell of Piper’s cooking was.
Several feet in front of her, something hit the floor with a splattering crash. Prue opened her eyes and found Piper staring at her opened mouthed. The longing to hug her and talk with her overwhelmed her. After all those years of not having any mortal contact with Piper, Prue froze. She could not even say her name, a childish fear of everything changing back to the way it had been enveloped her. If she could just get past that, then everything would be okay and life could go back to the way it was.
“Prue?” Piper asked.
The sound of that voice to human ears was sweeter than music. The emptiness in her heart was crushed with just that one spoken word. All those years of being away suddenly vanished. Prue felt like she had just returned from a photo shoot at the end of a long day and it was time for family. Prue took a couple of steps forward, the childish fear gone.
“Leo!” Piper called raising her hands. “Le-o!”
Prue froze, feeling the power building up in Piper and she knew, even through the confusion, what was about to happen. As Leo raced in from the kitchen, Prue felt the energy release, a huge amount that seemed to come at her in slow motion. Prue could actually see the energy distortion pulse toward her. Without thinking, Prue pulled the energy into herself, the explosive blast Piper had thrown at her seemed small in comparison to what she had become accustomed to.
“Prue?” Leo asked, hurrying up to Pipers side. Before Prue could say anything to them, she was pulled back to the mountain cabin, confusion coursing through her.
“Where did you go?” Cole asked, dragging Prue to her feet by an arm. “Where did you go?” This time the demand sounded almost panicked.
“She tried to blow me up.” Prue said, disbelief sounding clearly in her voice.
“Who did?” Cole almost screamed, worry and panic trying to take hold. The only reason he had been given this chance was to protect the Charmed Ones. If he failed at that already, oblivion would be heaven compared to where he would put himself.
“Why?” Prue asked, feeling tears of betrayal well up in her eyes. “Why would she want to kill me?” The question was aimed directly at Cole.
“Blow you up?” Cole asked and then understood. Piper had been quick on the draw with her powers when he had last seen her. Apparently she had not changed. “You went to the manor.” He said flatly, calming down slightly.
“Piper tried to kill me!” Prue shouted.
“Good and Evil. Remember?” Cole said. “She went on the assumption that you were a demon impersonating you. Don’t you remember how it was?”
“I had forgotten.” Prue told him. “I assumed she would know me.”
“Good and Evil exist here because everybody believes it does.” Cole told her. “It actually makes them weak.”
“That’s for sure.” Prue said. “I remembered Piper being powerful, but when I drew the energy she released, it was almost nothing.”
“Compared to what you’re use to.” Cole told her. “Make no mistake about it. Piper is a very powerful witch. All three of them are. You know what they can do. What you have to remember is that you know how to truly use energy. You are a thousand times more powerful then they are. They can feel your power, just like you felt mine.”
“But she attacked me, damnit!” Prue yelled. “I can’t believe she did that.”
“We just can’t pop in on them like that.” Cole told her. “They will assume that it’s a demonic attack. The best way in is, of course, Phoebe. But first, before we even think about that we need to talk to Morris.”
Cole knew all too well how using Phoebe could turn against him. It had to be done just right or they would never be trusted. How many times had he tried to use Phoebe to get to the sisters? Every time he had failed. He had to remain in control of himself this time. If he did not, then,…he did not want to think of that. Too long had he suffered for that.
“Morris, then Phoebe.” Prue said. “Oooeee, is Piper ever going to feel bad about this.”
“And you won’t let her forget it, either.” Cole said. “Being the good big sister you are.”
“Not on your life.” She said. “But her cookin’ smells better than ever.”