Shape of Things to come

Shape of Things to Come

Part 2:Times they are changing

Chapter 17

Let me speak, sir,
For heaven now bids me; and the words I utter
Let none think flattery, for they'll find 'em truth.
..........(Henry VII Scene 5 William Shakespeare )

Following Caleb’s concerning visit, Piper decided her most useful option was to support her family by learning all she could about changes in the underworld. Therefore in between supervising negotiations about parking at the P3 precinct, planning and making enough healthy meals to limit her worries about the amount of junk food the family ate, Piper explored the demon colours that showed in the magic crystals the witches used to scry and check the presence of evil.

After ten years of investigating crystals with her sisters, she already knew that the colours that showed when the witches scryed, identified demon sects and alliances. Piper also knew that these colours represented demon auras, that differences in colour between demon sects were quite subtle and that varying shades of the same colour meant demon sects that shared the same magic heritage. She also knew that the more powerful the demon the stronger the colour, and that when demons accumulated the powers of other evil creatures, the colours of those creatures flashed through their basic colour.

Piper spent a whole afternoon with a scry map and realised the magenta and gray and orange and brown colours of the demons at the HR battle, were also in several institutions around the country, mostly educational ones. However, when she repeated the exercise a few days later, the ugly gray and magenta ones were vastly reduced, or being overlaid by a dull watery crimson whilst the dark brown and orange ones appeared to be thriving.

Although the gray ones remained a mystery, over the years Piper realised that some demons located by the crystals and when scrying showed as dark brown and Piper began listing them. When the charmed witches first explored crystals more than ten years ago one of the first discoveries was the deep dark black brown of Chameleon Demons, what Piper knew to be a type of reptile demon with the power to change themselves into inanimate objects to blend into their environment. These demons had been discovered turning themselves into furniture to spy on the Charmed Ones until an all-purpose demon get-out spell had got rid of them.

Other demons that worked in mortal form infiltrating mortal institutions blew up as dark brown goo but more rust than orange. Piper remembered that years ago, some demons which were clearly not upper-level demons had infiltrated the newspaper where Phoebe worked. They could take mortal form but really did not have a strong human presence and disintegrated into dull red-dark brown goo. Then Piper remembered as the charmed witches tracked Tempus infiltrations into various business and institutions, many of these demon grunts had blown up into dark brown/shades of orange goo as well which suggested that the dark black brown and dark brown represented two different demon heritages, one reptile and the other mortal.

Enjoying some coffee and homemade tarts, and the peace of silence in the manor attic, Piper curled up on the now very old sofa, and created a list of demons who had blown up into dark brown goo and came to an impressive number during the last ten years. She summoned Mark and ordered him to discover what he could from the Elders and their minions. Very softly he said he would and then he orbed away with an ironic smile.

Clearly these demon intruders were not upper-level demons so there was no entry in the Halliwell Book of Shadows but then Piper realised the loathed and very sneaky rat demons that the Brotherhood often used blew up in dark brown goo. Phoebe and Charlie had described the mortal form of the brown intruders as weasily, it occurred to Piper that the mortal form of some of these intruder demons reflected creatures that were very good at sneaking their way into mortal places.

Mark finally returned and said the Elders had told him about a witch coven in Poznań in Poland which was devoted to recording connections between demon sects and apparently had some understanding of the complex hierarchies. He also told Piper that when he contacted the witches’ whitelighter to organise a meeting, that whitelighter had told him that her charges had noticed considerable demon activity at the city’s very famous university.

Therefore, in the early hours of the next morning, leaving Leo and Cole to organise kids for school, Mark orbed Piper and Paige orbed Phoebe to Poznań, a beautiful city with a lovely Renaissance old town and a famous university. The colourful city with its goat insignia all around the old town had a strong magical feel to it. Piper turned her nose up when Mark suggested that because the city had a thousand-year history at the centre of some of the most powerful events in Europe naturally it would have a powerful magic presence.

They meet the Polish witches at their residence above a shop that sold expensive woollen garments, located in a colourful three-storey house situated in a large square. The two Polish witches, Aleska and her niece Wiktoria, ran the shop and were senior members of a coven that had kept a secret record of demon sects since medieval times. Aleska was an older woman who spoke a little English, but Wiktoria was younger and spoke fluently which was just as well. Although long ago Cole had made it possible for all three charmed witches to understand languages other than English, the spell did not extend to speaking it.

At first the witches had some communication problems over the word ‘weasily’ but after a few false starts Aleska was able to recognise a type of demon she called ‘filtrado’ demons, almost literally meaning infiltrators. She confirmed what Piper had concluded. Many of the upper-level sects who considered infiltration beneath them, hired and sometimes owned sects of these lower middle-level filtrado’s and used them to penetrate their way into large institutions. Aleska named these workers ‘lokaj’ which the charmed witches finally understood meant lackey.

Aleska and Wikrotia spent some time searching in ancient books and documents, and cross referencing on computers.

The two Polish witches finally discovered the term ‘weasily’ was quite literal and they were a sub-sect of filtrado demons called ‘łasica’ and it meant weasel and the two Polish witches could even confirm that the ‘lasica’ did blow up into dark brown and orange goo. The Polish witches had a record of them using lethal stars and lightning weapons but as very minor middle-level demons they were quite vanquishable and often were.

Aleska and Wikrotia did not have any information on the gray colour with the magenta core specifically. However, they did confirm that the dark soulless gray was usually some sect of soul hunters or chasers which came in many varieties. They also told the charmed witches that certain shades of purples tended to reflect teachers but there were also many combinations of purplish colours and many levels of sects that could be described as teachers, so they could not specifically identify the ones Phoebe and Paige had fought.

After spending so much time searching for information, the two Polish witches insisted on some hospitality or as Wiktoria told the Charmed Ones “Guest in house, God in house!”

Over tea and some very special cakes, the witches spent the next couple of hours discussing magic. The Polish witches explained magic life under different governments and said some less than happy things about the Elders whose greatest interest through the bad times was to protect magic, not its adherents. Both aunt and niece acknowledged that this was good because the magic that her ancestors had collected was protected and still available for all sister witches, and bad because protecting it had cost the lives of many witches in their coven.

“Elders protecting magic and not witches seems to be a universal problem” Piper agreed.

“Different places, same Elders” Wiktoria told the Charmed Ones. “You say that you have a problem in universities. About how truth is told. You think the problem is caused by demonic influence.”

“Same here I think” continued Wiktoria “And the university is a place where many witches learn the truth they need to understand magic, so demon influence blocking truth being explored here is a direct attack on witches.”

“Truth seekers must not be silenced” Aleska told them. “History has taught us that is the way to evil.”

After profusely thanking Aleska and Wiktoria, the Charmed Ones left, carrying a huge tray of Polish cakes that their hosts insisted on sending with them for the family.

“A lot easier now than before to help sister witches” Aleska told them. “But it is our history, and we would always do it, no matter the cost.

“History” snorted Piper as they left. “Why is everything always about history?”

“You know” mused Phoebe “We knew that evil puts such a high premium on knowledge and keeping records. Glad to know that the side of Good does the same thing.”

Later that night Piper and Paige visited some other witches whose connection to magic was dealing with some of the worker-demon sects. Phoebe flatly refused to go, citing her discomfort with witches hero-worshipping her. Piper was not sympathetic. As the charmed witches now had specific information, they could ask sister-witches, whose magic dealt with lower middle-level demon sects to check their Books of Shadows. From these witches, Piper and Paige learned a little more about Lasica demons and realised that the sect was quite ancient, originating from medieval monks who had turned evil. They also made the interesting discovery that the Lasica were around when Cole was first visiting them, so many years ago now.

Piper called for Mark and sent him to check whatever records he could and the news he returned with did not make Piper happy.

“I wonder why its always the most obvious solution?” Piper asked turned her nose up angrily.

“Don’t blame me” Mark murmured softly putting his arms in front of him for protection “I’m only the messenger.”

Piper snorted very hard and very loud. Unable to contain herself she called to Leo that she was going out and not fifteen minute later charged into Cole’s office where DJ and Clarissa were working hard and Leslie was farewelling a client, a witch one. They both backed away from the door to the office as Piper barged in.

“Where is he?” she demanded of Leslie who swallowed a little shocked while the witch client who knew Piper positively shrivelled.

Clarissa tried to explain “He’s only just got back from court… working on contracts. Really need him to work on them,” she pleaded with Piper.

“Hmm” snorted Piper and then flung open the door to Cole’s office where he was sitting at his desk jacketless, doing real legal work.

Leslie followed Piper into Cole’s office, nearly hit by the door as Piper slammed it.

“I know many things” Cole sighed, thinking with the Halliwell family some things never changed. Someone would always be yelling at him for things he could not change.

“Piper its witch’s business” he tried to explain, making the mistake of reasoning with her. And then stopped because he had long ago learnt that was useless when she was determined to blame him for whatever magic problem she chose.

Cole put down his pen as deliberately as he could. “You know I can’t interfere in witch’s business” he answered, doing his best to not start yelling back “and it makes no difference what I know or not. I take it you found out what Lasicas are without me telling you.”

“You bastard. It took three days” Piper snorted and spun on her heel and crashed into Leslie who all but fell over.

“Feel better now?” Leslie asked Piper as she struggled to maintain her balance.

“Don’t you dare take his side. I’ve spent hours, days searching about those damned Lasica demons, and he knew” Piper told her, briskly.

“Well magic is like law” Leslie told her “Ninety percent grunt work and research. That’s how you catch the fine points. Researching.”

“God forbid” Leslie sniggered, and Piper finally smiled, before stalking out of the office leaving a concerned Clarissa and startled DJ staring after her.

Piper arrived home and called her sisters, insisting Phoebe could walk away from her writing frenzy and was still arguing the point when Paige orbed into the Manor attic where Piper and Phoebe were sitting opposite each other on the sofa and an old chair.

“I found the Lasica” Piper told her sisters, still very peeved. “Bloody Brotherhood grunts,” she explained and enjoyed the disgust on their faces. “Cole knew” she added angrily.

“Elisheeva?” Phoebe asked nervously as Piper shrugged. “Piper, you know Cole can’t get involved in witch’s business,” she defended.

“Don’t you dare justify him” Piper snapped, her pleasure in blaming Cole clear to both her sisters.

Phoebe opened her mouth to argue but Paige decided that even at this time in their lives, she did not need another Piper/Phoebe argument over Cole and magic. “How did you find out?” she asked hoping to distract Piper.

“Apparently Good keeps track of lost souls” Piper explained, sucking her lips together. “The Elders allowed one of their lackey archivists to check Lasica demons for Mark because it was a whitelighter seeking information. Witches only get the information the Elders chose to send to their Book of Shadows. Couldn’t find Lasicas at first but then got inspired to reverse check lost souls. Turns out the Brotherhood use many of their lost souls as Lasica. That is how they infiltrate organisations. Using reincarnated mortals to do all the grunt work.”

“The things the Elders won’t tell us unless a whitelighter asks.” Piper hissed, enjoying hanging onto her anger. “She smiled sardonically “Well they did not really know about Lasicas, just lucky Mark found a very clever archivist. Not sure how much pressure Mark had to put on them. A bit I think.”

“Imagine” Phoebe concluded after considering the information. “Selling your soul in a Faustian deal and ending up doing boring grunt work in universities and low paid women’s work at that, and then getting vanquished and eaten by beasts. Ironic huh.”

“Who would be evil?” Paige asked. “How do they get the demons working in the universities?”

“Well as Lasicas are weasel infiltrators.” Piper answered, “I guess the Brotherhood make deals with university types at all levels, work them as lost souls, until they get … dead then reincarnates them as weasily Lasica, with much the same mortal faces, just more… weasily.”

“Imagine being in a dead-end grunt university job, selling your soul to get out of it, then getting killed when you piss off your demon supervisor and finding she can resurrect you as a weasel demon in the same dead-end grunt job” Phoebe giggled. “Now I know what’s wrong with universities.”

Paige laughed “Who’d be evil? So, we know who the browns are, what about the grays?”

Piper indicated the scrying map. “Still the odd one about” she informed her sisters “Summon one” she suggested.

“They won’t come to the Charmed Ones” Phoebe pointed out. “Demon protection.”

Paige as a concerned mother figure and remembering her own awkward and frightening initiation into conflicts with upper-level demons, suggested that the Charmed Ones at least try to manage the summoning without relying on the Simpson girls. Nevertheless, when asked over dinner the girls all agreed without hesitation to be there if needed.

“You’re going down a dangerous path” Leo warned all of them. “The girl’s coven fights warlocks and lower-middle demons. You know what happened when you guys started taking on upper-level demons.”

“Eventually” Leo agreed, his expression serious and slightly petulant, just a little like the Leo of bygone days..

“Don’t you dare talk about Pru” snapped Piper, forgetting for a few moments how much she loved Leo.

“Oh shut up” ordered Piper enjoying her war with both males as the other witches headed upstairs.

Later that night all six witches, the Simpson sisters, and the Charmed Ones gathered in the Manor attic. Four were sitting around as Leslie and Paige were idly flicking through the Halliwell Book of Shadows, confirming that it had no information about the demons they were searching.

“So, what we have” Piper told them pulling out the notepad she had written everything on. “Two demon sects who hate each other’s guts worked together.”

“Upper-level demon” guessed Paige “So we know weasel browns are another grunt sect of the Brotherhood. Maybe lost souls. Used and then vanquished, sent to the wastelands or maybe the pits.”

“Makes sense around a university” Fern agreed “but guessing they are a new sect.”

“Or weren’t worrying witches over recent times” Paige argued. “So not in any current Books of Shadows, and not known by collectors of information because they are a very old sect.”

“Why would an upper-level demon use Brotherhood grunts?” asked Charlie, concerned but a little excited at her excursion into higher levels of magic. “Didn’t you guys think they are on the outer with Tempus. Seems a bit crazy.”

“Nope” declared Phoebe firmly. “They would not set up their own grunts in a public battle.”

“Common sense” Phoebe answered with a grin as Piper rolled her eyes. “Maybe this demon is desperate to get power wherever it can” she suggested “We know part of the thing about demon alliances is they are really takeovers, rather than equal alliances. If an on-the-way up demon wanted got hold of Brotherhood powers or the gray ones, it allies with them, then take their powers and … resources like grunts.”

“Does that mean the grays are on the outer as well as the Brotherhood or did the grays and the Brotherhood get into that big fight because one is on the outer and the other isn’t?” Fern asked.

“That is what we ask them” explained Piper firmly “What we need to do now is find a gray and purple demon and summon it.”

Piper produced a map, then scryed for the gray demons whilst the Simpson girls watched just a little awed, fascinated because although they had been connected to the Halliwell family for more than ten years, the Charmed witches had been very careful to protect them from their level of magic until now.

“Some still in the realm. Hiding in nooks and crannies. Better do it soon.” Piper ordered.

Piper did as she was asked, and the crystal lit up with ugly brown colour flashing orange through it.

“Well, we know who won the war.” Paige commented. “Better call Mark before we call them” she insisted.

“If Mark got information from the Elders, and something goes wrong when we use that information, it’s not fair to leave him to explain why to the Elders when he doesn’t know what we’re doing” Paige insisted. “I mean they could get mad enough to move him on. Charmed Ones out of control and dump Caleb back on us,” she added slyly.

Piper frowned. “Call Mark” she ordered watching Phoebe shuddering at the thought of Caleb as their whitelighter.

“Probably not” Phoebe acknowledged. “But Paige is right about not leaving Mark for the Elders to bitch at. You know” she shrugged “Be responsible for your own actions and stuff.”

“And know you get absolutely no credit for doing the right thing” Piper explained a little maliciously “So don’t ever expect thanks for it.