Shape of Things to come

Shape of Things to Come

Part 3:Seeds of Time

Chapter 26

‘All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players.
They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts'
...William Shakespeare. As You Like It

All the members of the Halliwell family who were in the Manor met at supper time but the numbers were still reduced. The Simpson girls had apparently decided they were not ready to discuss recent events and all passed on messages they were working late. Cole sent messages that he was ‘busy’ which the family took to mean he was off on Guardian business.

It was not until the kids had finished homework, and were settling into their usual night time routines before bed that the Charmed Ones had a chance to gather in the kitchen, over dessert and talk about the university battle. Phoebe was adamant that the vindictiveness of the whitelighter losses had all the hallmarks of Elisheeva.

“That wasn’t Elisheeva jumping around at the end” Paige insisted. “Being the lord of its empire. It was a fat little shit. Elisheeva would never appear like that.”

“No” agreed Phoebe, then she laughed. “Unless the Source got even with Elisheeva and resurrected her like that.”

“Bet it was the bloody new demon, the one the grunt we summoned talked about” Piper suggested “Fat little turd.” She muttered.

The witches finally sent all children to bed and fell into exhausted and lonely sleep themselves.

Next morning Leo had not returned, and no word reached the family about Mark so both Piper and Paige were fighting their fears and concerns. Both realised despite all their general annoyance with the Elders, the lack of contact was unnerving, and isolating because they had little idea of what was really happening in the magic world. No whitelighter came near them so Phoebe and Piper tried some scrying for demons, and discovered that the city was awash with darklighters, trackers and as well as many sects of lower and middle level demons and various adjacents. Phoebe and Piper could only guess that the sudden influx of darklighters and other tracking creatures around the edges of the spirit winds indicated that orbing creatures were at risk and the blocks to ‘up there’ Paige experienced in the early hours of the morning were still in place.

Trying to calm her increasingly anxious sisters Phoebe, kind of pretended her premonition powers were operating and the lack of any bad news suggested Leo probably could not get out of ‘up there’. Her sisters chose to believe her. As for Mark, Phoebe insisted that it was unreasonable to expect another whitelighter to risk their life to advise them the family whitelighter was all right and Paige reluctantly conceded that Phoebe was right.

Paige without enthusiasm went to work, dropping the children to school on her way. At the Manor, Paige had the strangest feeling of being tracked as she climbed into her car. Melinda said she too was uneasy but the feeling was gone for both of them at the school. However, when Paige arrived at her work carpark, a dogface sniffer appeared, snarling and vicious, almost in front of her car, then with a snap of its jaws it disappeared.

For a few seconds, Paige was alone in the small office car park as she exited her car. Then she became aware that one of the new one centre workers was hidden near the stairs, watching her with red malevolent eyes. She pulled out the crystals that were now permanently in her pocket and they flashed dull orange, confirming he was a lost soul. The lost soul watched Paige with a sly and evil expression on his face as a darklighter appeared openly and without concern aiming its arrow at her. It was easy enough, however, for Paige to do as she had done many times in the past. She raised her hand and turn the arrow back on the darklighter and watched as it exploded under its own magic.

It was more by instinct than anything else that Paige orbed almost immediately her attacker exploded which saved her from the darklighter hidden behind her. She appeared on the other side of the car in time to see a darklighter arrow go straight past the spot she had been standing. She orbed into her car, as a third darklighter fired its arrow. She sped out her parking spot and screeched out the carpark while another darklighter was reaching for arrows, fighting the temptation to orb away, because she was very certain they would follow her in the spirit winds.

Leo finally arrived home nearly two days later, to Piper’s great relief. When he orbed into the kitchen, Phoebe was in the parlour supervising homework and Cole was off on Guardian business. Piper was preparing supper and Paige sat at the kitchen bench, drinking a coke, and finally admitting to Piper how worried she was about Mark.

Looking a little rough and unshaven, Leo appeared in a cloud of orbs. Piper ever the big sister let him talk to Paige first while she apprehensively staring at the orb cloud.

“Mark’s okay” Leo told them “But just got there in time. Had to take him way ‘up there’, to places I had never been before. Surprised I could get that far up. So lucky it was me trying, not you” he told Paige “You wouldn’t have made it. Lucky it was not much later too, because the Elders put blocks on all the ways I know to get ‘up there’.”

“I was in a different plain.” Leo continued “I had to go to … well whitelighters, whitelighters and then maybe even a few more levels up. They fixed Mark but they won’t let him go for a while. He nearly crossed the line.”

Paige let out a huge sigh of relief. Then burst into tears while Piper finally gave Leo a big hug.

“THEY let me stay a little while” Leo explained after Piper finally stepped away from him. “Saw some things” he stopped as Piper watched him expectantly.

“What did you learn?” Piper asked trying to pretend she had not been anxiously waiting for him to return.

“Don’t know. I need to think about it” Leo answered uncomfortably. “Really think about it. Even as high as I got, couldn’t fix Mark. “Darklighter injuries are poison” He smiled wanly “The upper level whitelighter I did see sort of half-fixed the injury but said it was the poison killing Mark and I got the feeling it was … backing away. Like I had to a few times when I could not interfere with helping mortals.”

Leo continued. “Then one of these whitelighter to whitelighter or higher types was called. I think, telepathically, it kind of connected with someone or something. It …disappeared and the healers around me indicated all that could be done for Mark was done. But the whitelighter’s whitelighter whatever came back and said they could move Mark into… I didn’t understand the name… somewhere else and I … it was unworldly.”

“Do you know what it reminded me of,” Leo told Paige and Piper. “Like when I was working as your whitelighter. All sorts of rules about who the whitelighter’s whitelighter whatever could help, and why they could help them.”

“Anyway” Leo continued “For some reason, they … it let me go with Mark to…. Well, the healers were pretty shocked I think. They said something like its time to go but I’m not sure if they were talking about me or Mark or both and the whitelighter’s whitelighter whatever overruled them and told me how to follow as it took Mark much further ‘up there’.”

“Eventually but touch and go even for whitelighter’s whitelighters. He was pretty weak but once after I had watched them fuss around him, they left him resting. I went over and Mark whispered that he thought he had given a choice to go or stay.”

“Said he got a lot of encouragement to make a choice to stay which he wanted to do anyway.” Leo assured Paige “They took good care of him but when I was there, you know Mark, he cracked some jokes, mostly self-depreciating but sort of at the Elder’s, which you have to know him to realise. They sort of laughed but one told Mark very severely, like to a naughty boy, he needed to learn how to manage. The Elders I think they meant.” Leo took a deep breath “I think I witnessed someone … being admitted to higher things.” He swallowed. “I think they meant me to.”

Leo shook his head awkwardly “Could not put a level on it. Elders’ whitelighters, whitelighters even, I think. Maybe.” He shook his head. “I can tell you something” he almost whispered. “Francesca walks among them. I saw her. She sounded like Francesca but looked… felt… seemed …more made of light. She meant me to see her. Not sure what I was supposed to know or learn or whether I was being tested. Francesca took Phoebe and me ‘up there’ once where we met Prue, further than well where Elders inhabit or connect even but this was different. Different plain” Leo added helplessly. “Very surreal.”

“Have you been there with Mark?” Piper snapped getting terse in her relief that Leo was finally home. “All this time.”

“No” Leo assured her “After Mark told me about the choice, I was kinda thrown out. Politely told I had seen and done what I needed to see and do, but the ways back here were blocked. I know some good tricks to find my way in the spirit winds but everything I tried turned in on itself. All I could do was go back to the Elders’ dimension. Reported on Mark but still could not leave. Checked about Caleb, they knew he went and how.” Leo explained.

“One of the reasons, I think” Leo admitted. “Bit of a panic going on. Caleb was not the only whitelighter gone. Hours after him, two were lost in Britain and three in India. And some mutterings about lucky there were not more. And then there was a real panic because while I was hearing about this, five of the more…venerable Elders were lost.”

Leo nodded. “Ones who had been around since well before the last eclipse, well over five hundred years. Apparently, there was a bit of a rift amongst the Elders on how to handle the current crisis. This group weren’t happy about the…discussion and went somewhere private…Rim I think, because its off the radar. Wanted to make their own plans.”

Piper and Paige nodded. They had both experienced the Rim, the faded nothingness that separated the realms of Good and Evil.

“Went there, only it wasn’t safe. They were picked up by sniffers, then trackers tagged them, and darklighters were waiting for them in the Rim. Took twenty-two of the damned things to get all five Elders and I heard shakers got involved and THEY don’t like darklighters, so weren’t to worried about taking out Elders and darklighters too.”

Leo nodded. “Then the Elders and those above I think, blocked every way in and out. Some whitelighters got caught outside, two did not make it to safety. Looks like Evil is bleeding darklighters. It seems to be taking about five or more to get rid of one whitelighter and now everything is locked down.”

“I got attacked by three” Paige confessed to Leo. “Got them, because it was not the usual venerable warrior fight. Just an everyday ambush.”

Leo nodded. “Darklighters are this ancient sect. All religion and greater ritual, samurai type working on their own. The Elders and whitelighters were kind of getting a fix on darklighters and sniffers, so I mean now you guys and every other witch know how to turn their weapons back on them. The Elders have been giving classes on it to all whitelighters. Doing pretty well, because until now haven’t lost a whitelighter in ten years. Except the cursed things are working with not only sniffers but shakers and in packs. Someone is using them … as vanquish fodder.”

“So no Elders and no whitelighters for a while” Piper asked not completely unhappy about it.

“So no Mark, when he heals?” Paige sighed. “No whitelighter advice for a while?” She asked.

“Finally convinced them to let me check on my family by orbing from ‘up there’ to a house with the block on it.” Leo explained.

“Safe enough here” Leo told her “As long as they don’t orb, but I need to explain it, and I have been thinking maybe Cole can put a block on schools for Melinda and Wyatt. They should not be tracked if we drive them.”

“I’ll hate that” Paige sighed. “I’ll get a block on the office and got one here. Should be okay.”

“I’ll hate that too” winced Leo. “I contacted Durand and he said ‘Keep safe’ and he was going to insist that Francesca stayed safe too. He was really smirking that he can manage without whitelighter supervision. He went off to see Arturo. Then to a bloody Vladivostok brothel I’ll bet.”

“Sniffers have got the place staked out in case you didn’t know. Hanging around.” Paige told him.

“I noticed” replied Leo drily. “I heard rumours there are various elvish amulets, but they don’t protect. Just mean whitelighter types can walk amongst mortals and sniffers can’t recognise them. Apparently darklighters hid out in the winds, while sniffers or trackers hang around the edges of them. If they catch the scent of an orber, they call darklighters.”

Piper swallowed “What about recognise by sight, if they don’t orb?” she asked nervously “The kids?”

“Ask Cole for sure” Leo suggested. “But I think it’s all by smell and aura. If darklighters and co can’t scent it I could walk up to one and they wouldn’t know.”

“So, Caleb and what ten others have gone?” Piper asked nervously as the adult family sat around after diner.

“Funny thing about Caleb, sad thing about him really I mean they are all distressed he has gone but a couple of newer Elders were kind of … relieved ...a little.” Leo told them. “Seems some thought Caleb was getting a bit self-righteous or you know … fixed in his ways, and his advice was...lacking in, so I heard, ‘modern’ understanding…the newer ones said. Caused a slight contretemps in a way, with the older Elders who took it that they were self-righteous too. Which was how the five got taken in the Rim. Long discussion about change happening when I was there. First time I’ve seen that. Funny thing too, the Elders that the darklighters took out. Not a pattern exactly but mostly they had got the wrong end of helping charges in my view anyway. They were pretty influential too, talk was never allowed about change, and since the eclipse there has been quite an amount of mutterings in the ranks. But now its being expressed openly, a little, and a few not so elder Elders are kind of talking about other ways.”

“Was Caleb obliterated?” Piper asked. “Were all the ones lost obliterated?”

“All very vague” Leo replied “I mean when you are called, whitelighters aren’t mortal or human but we are granted a mortal-like existence with some specific magic. I mean we aren’t very high on the scale of Great Magic and like witches … when they’re gone, existence of the soul… the spirit I think goes on. Just separation from the whitelighter type of mortality.” Leo shook his head ruefully. “I kinda think I understand that from what was said in the high ‘up there’.”

“I don’t think its ever happened. I mean unsuccessful whitelighters usually recycled as mortals or offered more suitable roles. I think. Funny I never really had an ... understanding but since that visit up there” Leo added perplexed. “But I think Caleb well…was a bit frustrated and unhappy with charges… these days particularly since he failed with the Charmed Ones and Mark succeeded. Not jealousy but…”

“Does a whitelighter get to spend time contemplating ...like Grams and Prue?” Phoebe asked.

“Not certain” Leo admitted, “but it seem some changes are being ... happening. And I’m not… don’t want to be an Elder but I’m suddenly not a … pariah ‘up there’ either. They listened to me a little.”

“You an Elder?” asked Paige scornfully. “Seen enough of those in the past.”

“Nope” Leo told her. “I think we can all safely say I have no skills in administrating witches and … Just the things I have learnt… these last years since I recognised that. More of a consultant. Very minor one. That was what I was talking about.”

“Is that what THEY in the other level did for you?” Piper asked suspiciously. “I mean you’re not being called higher up or anything?”

“Not sure” Leo replied. “I haven’t separated from the mortal realms. Wouldn’t if I had a choice. But was weird, with THEM.”