Hands Of Fate -- 2/2

[deeperwonderment]

Title: Hands Of Fate
Author: sehkmetenkare
Fandom: Charmed (Canon and Fanon)
Characters: Phoebe, Clay, Belthazor/Cole
Word Count: 15,300
Rating: PG-13
Summary: After running away to New York, Phoebe Halliwell gets into some trouble, but she has someone watching over her.
Author's Notes: This was written as a holiday fic for kajivar and timjr who said they wanted to see Cole deal with Clay from the episode "Feats of Clay". It's not exactly what I expected to come of it, but here it is.




Phoebe opened her eyes slowly and was aware that she was moving, but the movement was uneven. She blinked her eyes and thought that she was in some kind of a boat and the boat seemed to be anchored as it was just rocking back and forth. Then again, she really couldn't be sure she was on a boat. Her head hurt and her vision was still a little blurry. Her arms were tied behind her, but she found that she could flex her hands and manuever them a bit. With some work, she could probably get the ropes off of her arms and find a way to get the hell out of here. There was no one in this place with her, but she could hear people talking outside her prison room. She tugged at the ropes on her wrists and then froze as the door to the room opened.

"Ah, Miss Halliwell, it's good to see that you're awake. I thought Strom had killed you by accident when he hit you with his gun."

"Who are you and where am I?"

"I am Lysarius, and where you are is of no matter."

Phoebe looked at him. "And where is Clay?"

"Clay? Oh, you mean Caronzor."

"Caronzor?"

"Why yes, my dear. The man you call Clay is the demon we call Caronzor."

Phoebe's mouth went dry. "Demon?"

Lysarius nodded. "Caronzor is a demon. Don't tell me that you, as a witch, didn't realize that he was one of the enemy?"

Phoebe suddenly felt incredibly ill.

Lysarius smiled at her again. "Oh, I see that you didn't know about his real identity. You shouldn't feel bad. Caronzor is the best there as at what he does. The others never knew he was a demon, either."

"Others?"

"Oh yes. Caronzor is one of our best hunters."

Phoebe felt her blood turn to ice in her veins. "Hunters," she whispered. "Witch hunter demons."

Lysarius shook his head. "Oh, not really. Our prey is usually just women of any kind. You were just a very lucky catch for us this time. One of the Charmed Ones. Our boss would be so pleased if he knew we had accomplished such a feat."

"He's a demon." Phoebe shook her head slowly, feeling another part of her fracture. "Just a game? I was just a game to him, prey."

"Oh no, not really... well, you weren't at the time. Caronzor had no intention of letting anything happen to you or let you be hunted. He became attached to you. And then, he swindled the wrong people. And now, you're our collateral."

"Collateral?"

"If he doesn't do what he is supposed to do, you're the payment for his debt."

"What?! Why me?" But, she already knew why. She knew the why and she just couldn't run from it, couldn't escape it.

"Oh, it's all very simple. You're one of the Charmed Ones. You have one of the highest prices on your head in the Underworld that I have ever seen -- and I have seen a great deal."

Phoebe looked at the ground, feeling more than a little overwhelmed.

"What do you mean that Clay is a hunter?"

"He means he talks too fucking much about things that he doesn't know much of anything about." Clay said as he came into the rrom. He gave Phoebe a tender look. "I really am so sorry that you got dragged into all of this, Pheebs."

She glared at him. "You lied to me."

"No, I just didn't tell youI was a demon -- just like you didn't tell me that you were not only a witch, but one of the Charmed Ones."

"I'm not. Not any more."

"You cannot run away from your destiny or escape from who you are. I keep telling you that. Whether you use your powers or not, you are still who destiny has made you. It's not something you can quit or hide from. It's who you are."

Phoebe changed the subject, not wanting to get into this discussion with him of all people. "What am I collateral for?"

Clay sighed deeply. "We're kind of in the middle of a clan war."

"Demons are having a family feud?"

He frowned at her. "It goes beyond a feud. I owe one side alot, and now I may be in debt to the other side if I don't tread carefully. If we don't figure out how to placate both sides, they get you to fight over."

"Excuse me?"

"Simply put, child," Lysarius said with a jovial smile. "They will tear you apart. The one with the most pieces of Charmed witch wins."

Phoebe had worked her hands free by this time and she jerked away from where she was tied and made a run for the door. Unfortunately, Lysarius was there and slammed an arm against her throat as she tried to run. When her throat impacted with his arm, Phoebe gasped and went down. He grabbed her hair and jerked her to her feet.

"Not a smart move, girl," He hissed.

Phoebe spit in his face.

Lysarius growled and back handed Phoebe with a fist. She cried out as she fell to the ground. He then stood over her with the gun.

"Do anything like that again and I will shoot you. I won't kill you, but I will put a bullet in you so you cannot escape."

Phoebe stared up at the gun, her eyes wide with terror. She would do almost anything to get away from the gun. She looked to the door and then she looked back at the gun.

"Don't try it, Witch. I will shoot you."

"I think not," a new voice said from the shadows.



He really had heard more than enough, and as he once again felt the pain Phoebe was in, and now her fear as the other demon threatened her with the gun, he hadn't been able to contain his rage. A gun was the one main thing that Phoebe was terrified of. As he watched her face and saw the terror in her eyes, he had stepped out of the shadows.

"You're not going to do a damn thing to her."

It was hard to say who was more surprised at his arrival -- Phoebe or the other two demons.

"C-Cole?"

Lysarius jerked his arm and Phoebe saw her premonition playing out in her mind. Lysarius was starting to aim his gun at Cole.

"No!" she yelled out as she saw Lysarius start to squeeze the trigger. She flung herself at Cole to tackle him down to the ground, but she heard the gun go off and then felt something slam into her, propelling her right into Cole's arms.

"Phoebe!"

Cole held her against him, smelling blood. "Bright One," he whispered, using the name that she hadn't heard for a very long time.

"You remembered."

"Of course I did."

"Looks like I can be the martyr to something I fear to save someone."

"God, Phoebe, why?"

"Couldn't let him shoot you."

"He couldn't have killed me."

"I didn't think, I just reacted."

"Sweetheart, why?"

Phoebe looked at him, her eyes damp. "You called me, sweetheart."

"Yeah, I guess I did."

"Guess I was brave enough after all," she said. Her eyes closed and she went limp against him.

Cole snarled out angrily and while he was holding Phoebe's unconscious form against him, he threw a fireball, incinerating Lysarius.

As the other demon burned, Cole checked Phoebe over, and then lay her down gently. She needed care, but he had some business to finish first. He didn't want any of these assholes to come after her again. He stepped forward and smiled ferally.

"Caronzor."

"Belthazor."

"I see you know who I am."

"The entire Underworld knows who you are. You're the Source's pet assassin who sent demons to kill his fiance because the Source told you to do so."

That was interesting that this one knew about that. However, he was confused by the disdain in the younger demon's voice.

"What is it to you what I do?"

"I just don't get how you could get someone to fall in love with you, someone who knew you were a demon, and then you ordered her death." He glared at Cole. "You couldn't even face her and do it yourself. You sent a hit squad to kill her."

"What I do or do not do is none of your business, Caronzor," he growled. "What happened between me and the witch is none of your damned business."

"It is when I find a witch that I want, and who I care for," he spat. "It makes me wonder if I would be as disgustingly weak-spined as you were if I was ordered to kill her."

"Witches don't fall in love with demons."

"I would have made her love me."

Every muscle in Cole's body stiffened. "Who would you have tried to force to love you?"

"Phoebe. She's a witch and I want her, but someone from her past hurt her a great deal so she's only now starting to thaw."

"You say you want her, but you were going to let her be killed?"

"I would have figured out something to save her! I wouldn't have let her die."

"You mean like you saved all of those other women?"

"That was different. That was what I do, what my nature makes me."

"Yet, you think you could have fought your nature -- and your bosses -- and kept a witch? You kidnapped and murdered all of those other women." He sneered. "Phoebe would never have loved you. You are the very example of everything she hates."

"She would have. I would have compelled her to love me. She would have had no choice and we would have gone far away from here and from the Source. Later, she would have learned to love me."

Cole lost his temper and backhanded him. Caronzor spit out blood and glared at him. "What the fuck was that for?"

"For daring to think you could do anything of the sort. Phoebe is mine. You're not going to be doing anything to her or laying a hand on her ever again."

"No she isn't," Caronzor spat at him. "You don't even know her!"

"Don't I?" Cole taunted him. "She threw herself between a bullet and me to save me."

"She thought you were an innocent."

"Wrong. That witch that was supposedly killed on my orders last year at that island? That was Phoebe." He held up his hand to show a ring. It was a ring that looked an awful lot like something the other demon had once seen in Phoebe's desk. "Phoebe is mine. I never ordered her death and yet, she thought I did. No one knew that story, and I know that Phoebe would never have talked about it with anyone. So, all you have is rumours."

"The Source told us you had your witch girlfriend killed."

"The Source was wrong."

Caronzor shook his head "You just want her because she's beautiful. You're not taking her from me."

Caronzor threw a fireball at Cole, which he dodged. Shaking his head, Cole summoned an athame to his hand and threw it into Caronzor's chest. He cried out and Cole threw a fireball at him.

"Keep your hands off my witch," he said quietly as the demon Phoebe had known as Clay died. After he was sure the other demon was dead, he went to check on Phoebe.

She was still breathing, but she had lost a lot of blood. There was only one place that he knew he could take her that she would survive her wound.

"Come on, sweetheart," he said, cradling her against him. "Let's get you home."


When Cole appeared in the living room of the manor, all three women sitting there jumped up in shock. "Belthazor," Piper growled, bringing her hands up to blow him up.

"Wait! She needs help."

Piper took a closer look at the woman that he was holding. "Phoebe!" She looked at Cole. "What the hell did you do to her?!"

"Nothing, she's been shot, damn it. She needs help or she's going to die!"

"Leo!" Piper called. "Leo, get down here!"

Cole laid Phoebe down on a couch as Leo appeared.

"Piper?"

"It's Phoebe, she's been shot."

Leo looked at Cole suspiciously,but then turned his attention to healing Phoebe. Like Cole had saud, she had been shot... in the back no less.

Piper turn her attention to Cole. "What the hell did you get her involved in?"

"I saved her! What the hell was she doing living in New York away from the protection of her family?!"

Piper and Paige looked away for a moment and Prue glared at him. "She left after I found out about her and Roger."

"Roger?"

"He was Prue's fiance before he accused Phoebe of hitting on him and sleeping with him." Paige said softly.

"And you three believed him... over Phoebe?"

"I didn't," Paige said calmly. "Phoebe never would do anything like that and she was in no shape to even look at another guy at that time."

"Then why did she cut and run to parts unknown, then?" Prue demanded angrily.

"How about because her soulmate had just ordered her death and Grams had just died. Maybe she couldn't take anything else on top of that?" Paige shot back. "Did you think about that, Prue? Did you think that maybe, just maybe, she couldn't deal with a third catastrophe and fight, too?"

"She never even denied it."

"She shouldn't have had to, Prue," Piper finally said quietly. "She's our sister. She was so in love with Bel at the time and so shattered, she never would have looked at another guy, no matter what had happened between the two of them. She especially wouldn't have moved in on one of our guys." She looked sad. "It just wasn't something that Phoebe -- our Phoebe -- would have done to us, or to anyone."

"She almost was killed tonight," Cole bit out. "A demon who had been preying on women decided he wanted Phoebe. But he was in deep with two warring factions and she was going to be a pinata in their celebration."

"How did you find her?" Piper asked after a long moment of silence.

Cole didn't respond, but someone else did.

"I told him," Paige said defiantly. She lifted her chin, daring her sisters to say anything. "He was going around to everyone looking for her. If he thought she was dead... that he had killed her, why would he been trying so frantically to find her."

"How could you tell him and not us where she was?" Piper asked in a hurt tone.

Paige looked at her sadly. "Do you really think Phoebe would have talked to any of the three of us after what she was accused of and how we didn't defend her or stand up for her?" She shook her head. "Bel was the only one I knew that was underhanded enough to get close enough to her to make sure she was safe and that she was alive and okay."

"She is so far away from okay that it wasn't even funny to see her," Cole hissed at all of them. "She's just been going through the motions at being alive with no real life in her. At least now I know what the third thing was that caused her to act so broken. She never even realized that her new guy was a demon who hunted women. She tried to shut out her premonitions so when the danger came to her it was too late." He shook his head. "She could have been killed and none of the three of you would have had any idea."

Piper's eyes suddenly widened. "It was you," she said hoarsely. "You're the one who called me to tell me Phoebe was in danger and needed us." Cole nodded. "Why didn't you call back?"

"I didn't have time... and why didn't you show up? I told you she needed help." He glared at her. "I told you how much danger she was in."

"I didn't know where she was. None of us knew."

"Paige found her."

Paige shook her head. "I only had a rough estimate of where she was. That was only because I got a little bit of help."

It was Prue's turn to look surprised. "Help? Help from who? Who could have known where she was if none of us did?"

"Grams."

Cole shook his head. "You three have a lot to work out with your sister," he said in disgust. "You let her leave, let her disappear and Caronzor almost was able to add her to his check list of dead women."

"After what you did to her, what right do you have to judge us?" Piper asked angrily. "You turned your back on her, became evil. You sent demons to kill her. It wasn't enough to break her heart and tear her apart, no you had to send killers from the Source to get rid of her permanently."

"No I didn't, and that's something that has to be resolved between Phoebe and I."

"You're not discussing anything with her," Prue finally said, going into over-protective mode. "You are going to stay away from her before you hurt her even more than you already did."

"I'm the reason she's alive right now," Cole growled. "She obviously still cares about me."

Paige looked at him. "Not that I doubt it, but what makes you say that?"

"Because she threw herself between a bullet and me."

"Phoebe is terrified of guns," Piper whispered. "She has been since the mugging."

Cole nodded. "I know. I don't think I need to explain to you the significance of Phoebe deciding to throw herself in front of a bullet."

All three of the sisters were silent for a long time and then Paige finally spoke up. "She has thought you have wanted her dead all of this time, Bel," she said quietly. "You might have a hell of a time convincing her otherwise."

Cole sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I could never have ordered her death, Paige. That is one thing that no matter how much blackmail he used, there was no way The Source could have convinced me to do otherwise."

Phoebe stirred on the couch and Cole was immediately at her side. He kneeled on the floor beside her and took a hand in his. When her eyes opened, he breathed a sigh of relief -- even as he flinched inwardly at the pain swimming there.

"Cole..."

"Easy, sweetheart, don't try to talk right now. You need rest. You were hurt."

"Where are we?"

"I brought you to the Manor so that your sisters could help you."

Sadness filled Phoebe's eyes and then she closed them. "You shouldn't have brought me here." Her voice was soft. "I don't belong here."

"This is your home, love," Cole said gently.

"No, it's not, not any more. You don't know..."

"About Roger?"

Phoebe stiffened and then a tear slipped from beneath her lashes. "I never did anything with Roger. He tried... he wanted... he attacked me. When I fought back and kicked his ass, he told Prue that I had seduced him and slept with him." She shook her head. "I never touched him, I wouldn't have done that to anyone... and especially not my sister." She swallowed. "I'm not... the Manor isn't home anymore. My sisters..."

"They know you didn't betray Prue, sweetheart."

"They never said anything. They let me walk out the door." She sighed softly.

"Paige told me how to find you, Phoebe. She didn't believe you would have hurt Prue like that."

"That was nice of her. I thought she was angry with me." She swallowed. "Isn't it ironic that it wasn't a demon that tore this family apart, but a human being?" She shook her head. "I wonder if he knows what he did to this family and if he's happy with the results of his machinations. I hope Prue at least finally saw that he was a slime ball and kicked him to the curb at least. If he accused me, who is to say that he wouldn't accuse Piper or Paige?" Phoebe sighed and then her body went limp again. Cole looked at Leo in alarm.

"It's alright, Belthazor," the Whitelighter said. "She's just resting. It's what she needs most right now. She lost a lot of blood and it was a shock to her system, but I healed her. She just needs to rest for awhile."

Piper was growing pale as she listened to Phoebe's words and then she looked at Prue. Prue's eyes had filled with pain and then with tears as she listened to her baby sister.

"Oh god," Prue said, shaking her head. "Oh god."

"I told you," Paige whispered softly. "I told you to talk to her and to listen to her side of the story."

Piper looked at both of her sisters. "Phoebe matured a lot and changed at Fandom. She's not like you remember her being, Prue," she said softly. "I should have thought to point that out to you. But there was just so much that happened all at once..."

Prue had never felt so guilty in her life. How she had believed that Phoebe would ever hurt her that way, she didn't know.

Cole was disgusted, and he gathered Phoebe up in his arms. "Which bedroom is hers?"

"I'll take you," Paige said quietly, relieved that he wasn't just going to disappear with her sister right now. She looked at Prue and Piper, and then headed up the stairs, Cole following her with Phoebe.


Cole spent that night sitting by Phoebe's bedside, watching over her the entire time. It was true that Leo had told him that she was fine and just needed rest, but he was still worried about her. He didn't think he'd ever not worry about her. He sighed, brushing hair back from her face as she slept. He had done nothing but think about her and wonder if she was safe and alright in the time he had been forced to be apart from her. Now he wondered if there had really been something he and their friends could have done that would have thwarted the Source? Could all of them have pulled together and figured out a way to protect Phoebe and keep her safe so the Source couldn't use her safety as a leverage with him? At the very least, perhaps Aziraphale could have done something to protect her. Maybe the Angel could have even hid her away from the Source's radar for awhile.

Hell, if only he had asked and not just reacted like he had no options. If only he had asked one of them for help.

If only.

"I am so sorry, love," he whispered. "I was only thinking of trying to keep you safe and alive. He would have killed you if I hadn't done everything he said."

He drew one of her hands to his lips and closed his eyes. They said that hindsight was always 20/20 and having experienced this past year, he was inclined to agree with them.

His eyes opened when he felt movement on the bed in front of him.

"Cole?" Phoebe said sluggishly.

"I'm here, sweetheart," he said quietly. "I'm here."

"Safe?"

He nodded. "You're safe. Leo healed you."

She let out a sigh. "I never expected I would see you ever again."

Pain swept through him. "I can go if you wish."

That was suddenly her pain he was feeling. "Do you... want to go?"

Don't screw this up, Turner.

"To be truthful, Bright One, no, I don't. I have no wish to ever be away from you again, but, I wouldn't blame you if you hated me and wanted me to leave you alone and never bother you again."

"I don't hate you, baby," she said softly. "I never hated you. Hurt and depressed by everything that happened, but I could never hate you."

Cole let out a deep sigh of relief that he hadn't realized he had been holding in. "That's good to know, Phoebe."

"Why did you do it, Cole?"

He swallowed. "Which part?"

"The witch... sending demons to kill me... not helping me when your friend attacked me..." There was no anger in her words, just a touch of pain and a feeling of tiredness. "I've wanted to ask you about all of that for a very long time... even after it was over between us. I needed to know, and I still do."

"Oh sweetheart..." Cole leaned down to kiss her forehead and then straightened up. "Killing the witch was not something that I wanted to do. The Source did something to me... forced me to act upon it as he wished. I never would have killed a witch willingly... but he was holding something over me... something that I couldn't fight against."

Phoebe nodded, then swallowed. "After I got calmed down, I had expected it was something like that... but then the night on the beach..." She sighed again.

"Night on the beach? What night on the beach? What happened?" He had heard the stories and the rumours, but he needed to hear for himself the truth of what had happened that night.

"In a moment," she said, turning her head so she could look up into his face. "What was the Source threatening you with, Cole? What was he holding over you?"

Cole winced inwardly. He hadn't wanted her to know, but he decided that she deserved the truth. "You," he finally said quietly. "He was holding you over my head. He told me that if I didn't do exactly what he said that he would torture you and kill you slowly." He swallowed thickly and looked at her. "I couldn't risk you like that, Phoebe. He picked the one thing that he knew would be guaranteed for me to follow his orders. When he told me what would happen to you if I didn't comply, I just couldn't fight him any longer. You were too important to me -- and to the world -- to have you at risk like that. So, I followed orders -- for a time, at least."

"Me... he used me to torment you..." There was a deep sadness in Phoebe's voice. "You should have told me, love. I would have found a way to help you."

Cole sighed deeply. "At the time, to be perfectly honest, Phoebe, I was scared. All I could think about was the fact that I could not let him get his hands on your. I was so scared about what he would do to you." He shook his head. "I know, not the best course of action, but at the time all I could see was that if I didn't do what he wanted me to do, he would hurt you."

Phoebe looked up at him. "Do you think he would have followed through on his threats?"

He nodded. "Yes. He always does." He squeezed her hand gently. "I decided I would do whatever I had to do to keep you safe."

"But, I wasn't safe. You sent..." She looked into his eyes. "No, you couldn't have. But they said you sent them."

"I never would have sent them, Phoebe."

"I know," she said softly.

"What," he swallowed again, not sure he wanted to know. "What happened that night?"

"Four demons trapped me on the beach at Galactica Cove. They tried to herd me into the caves -- into that cave, but I wasn't about to ever go into there again."

Cole knew what cave she was talking about. It was the one that his mother had held her prisoner in when she had kidnapped her to try to force him to kill her. "Then what happened?"

"I turned to fight."

He stared at her. "You were going to fight four demons on your own?"

"I wasn't going to let them kill me without a fight. They talked about wanting to take me and break me..." Phoebe shuddered at the memory of that and didn't notice when Cole's nostrils flared in anger at the thought. "I had to fight."

"So then what happened?"

"I jump kicked one and another attacked me when I was distracted."

"Distracted in a fight? You? That doesn't happen."

"When they're talking among themselves and mention that Belthazor sent them to kill me I do." Phoebe showed him her hand. "One shoved a knife through my hand when trying to go through my throat."

Cole looked at her hand, at the dark and angry scar that stood our against her pale skin tone. He remembered seeing that hand bleeding the last night they had spoke. "Phoebe... you could have lost the use of this hand." He ran a thumb gently over the scar.

"Paige and James made sure that I didn't. They worked together to heal it as much as they could."

"What happened next?"

"I heard explosions and heard yelling. The leader tackled me and we rolled down the dunes. he went to claw my throat out and managed to get my shoulder instead. He went for my throat again, and next thing we both knew, there was a silver sword through his chest and he burst into flame on top of me."

"Aziraphale," Cole breathed in relief. Oh how he owed the angel.

"Aziraphale," Phoebe confirmed. "He helped me up and held me, letting me know I was safe until my sisters got to me. James helped Paige put me back together and then the next night..."

"The next night you got torn apart again," Cole said with regret heavy in his voice.

"Why didn't you help me?" Phoebe looked at him calmly. "He could have killed me and you just stood there and watched."

Cole winced outwardly this time. "I wanted to, Phoebe, you have to believe me. But the Source was there and he told me what he would do to you if I assisted you."

Phoebe nodded. "That doesn't surprise me." She yawned then closed her eyes for a moment. When she opened them, there was hope in her eyes. "Will you stay?"

He leaned down and kissed her. "I will never leave your side again, Phoebe. I promise you this."

Phoebe nodded and moved over on the bed. She looked into his eyes for a long moment and then tugged at him gently. "Please stay... here?"

Cole smiled in relief and got onto the bed with her, pulling her into his arms. He couldn't believe that he was here with her again and he couldn't stop the tears that pricked his eyes as he laid there with her resting against his chest. "I love you, Phoebe," he whispered softly. "I am so sorry for everything you have gone through and I won't let you go through anything else alone."

"I love you, too. I never stopped, no matter how much I tried. You're in my blood and in my soul and I just couldn't stop those feelings."

He dropped a kiss on the top of her head.

"What happened to Clay?"

"Clay? Oh, the demon that you were dating." He sighed. "I killed him. He planned on taking you somewhere and forcing you to love him somehow."

Phoebe flinched and then sighed softly. "I didn't know he was a demon."

"Because you tried to shut everything down about you and who you were." He sighed. "You can't do that, Phoebe. Your powers keep you alive."

"I tried to leave everything about my life as a Charmed One behind."

"Because of me... or because of Prue?"

"Both of you I guess," Phoebe said calmly. "Everything just happened all at once. I lost you, Grams died, and then Roger accused me of trying to seduce him." A tear slipped down her cheek. "It was just too much."

"Did you defend yourself to Prue?"

"I told her I didn't do anything, but she didn't believe me. When I saw that, I just didn't have the strength to fight back anymore. I couldn't do it, so I left."

Cole tightened his arms around her. "No leaving this time."

"No leaving this time," she agreed tiredly.

"We have a second... or third chance now, love. I want to make that chance worthwhile."

"Don't leave. Be here when I wake up. That would be a good start." She closed her eyes.

Cole nodded and stroked Phoebe's hair as she fell asleep in his arms -- where she belonged.


~~Fin~~