demonbelthazor | Room 412

"Cole. Wake up, son."

He mumbled sleepily in protest and rolled away from the voice. But his father's hand followed and shook his shoulder again. "Cole," his father whispered. "Wake up. You have to get dressed."

Rubbing his eyes, he peered up at his father through the darkness. It was far too early to get out of bed, and it was always his nanny who would wake him, not his father. But even at the age of three he could sense the urgency in his father's voice. "What's wrong, Daddy?" he asked.

"We have to go," Benjamin Turner said. "Get dressed quickly. I will tell you why later."

"Don't want to get up," he pouted, pulling the blanket over his head.

"Colerige Benjamin Turner, you will do as I tell you," his father said, his voice tense but not angry. "Get up now. Get dressed."

His father never called him by his full name unless it was something serious. He obeyed and got up from his bed. Stumbling in the dark, he found some clothing to pull on; once he was dressed, his father took his hand. "Come with me," he said. "Don't make a sound, promise me."

"I promise," he said in a small, frightened voice. "Where's mama?"

"She...she will meet us later," his father said. "Now off we go, quiet as mice."

Benjamin led him quickly through the dark halls of their large home and out the back door, then guided him towards the woodline behind the house. He wanted to ask where they were going, but remembered his father's words and stayed silent.

A few minutes later, he heard his mother's voice, calling his name. "Mama!" he called out excitedly.

"Cole, no!" his father whispered frantically, picking up his son and putting his fingers over his mouth. "Quiet!"

Then his mother was standing before them, a look of fury on her face. One minute she wasn't there, the next she was. "What do you think you're doing, Benjamin?" she snapped.

"You can't have him," Benjamin said. "I won't let you. I know what you are now. I saw you. I heard you."

Elizabeth Turner threw back her head and laughed. "You saw? I was careless, but only because I really didn't care. You're no longer needed. Five years I've played your devoted wife and pretended to be a pitiful human, and now that my mission is done, I can kill you and put this farce behind me."

"You want to kill Cole, too," Benjamin said. "Your own son!"

She scowled. "I want to, but the Source wants him first. Give him to me."

"No," Benjamin said. He turned and ran, but after a few steps, Elizabeth appeared before them again. She snatched her son from his father's arms.

He began to wail, scared and confused. His mother had never been a strong presence in his life, but she had never frightened him like this before. He reached out toward his father, but Elizabeth turned, raising her arm. Blue fire shot from her hand, striking Benjamin in the chest. He cried out in pain, spasmed, and vanished.

Elizabeth made a gesture, and a small crystal orb appeared in her hand. "Might as well get some use out of him," she muttered. White light gathered where Benjamin had stood and flew into her hand. She closed her hand over the orb and it vanished.

"Now for you, you little brat," Elizabeth addressed her crying son. "I'd send you to your father, but the Source seems to think you're special. Child of a human and a demon. You shouldn't exist and I wish you didn't. You're an embarrassment."

He struggled in his mother's grasp, but her grip was too strong. She laughed at his efforts. "Keep crying, brat," she said. "Show the Source how weak you are. The sooner he realizes how pathetic you are, the sooner I can be rid of you. You're nothing but a disgusting half-breed. I look forward to the day when I can finally be rid of you."

Belthazor jolted awake from the dream. He was unsure about just what had brought that on -- he preferred not to think of the night his mother murdered his father, the last night he thought himself a normal human boy.

With a sigh, he sat up, hoping he wouldn't wake Phoebe. Seraphim, curled on the pillow and returned from wherever he and Valkyrie had been last night, opened one eye and peered at him, then closed it and resumed sleep.

He stood up and started to get dressed, planning to hit the gym to work off some of this tension before going to the library for a little more research on possible ways to desoul Angelus.