A Life or Death Struggle Ch. 03

"How are you feeling?" Cole asked, sitting down on the edge of Beth's bed.

"I'm tired," Beth murmured. Cole nodded and kissed her gently.

"Why don't you stay in bed today?" Cole suggested.

"I have to get to the restaurant," Beth argued.

"No, you don't," Jimmy said grimly.

"What? Why not?" Beth asked.

"Because it caught fire last night," Jimmy told her. Beth's eyes widened and met Cole's.

"Was anyone hurt?" Beth asked.

"No, the cleaning crew had just left; the kitchen is completely destroyed, but the dining room is okay," Jimmy said. "Whoever did it left this," he added, handing Beth a piece of paper encased in plastic.

"That's it, we're moving to my parents estate until this guy is caught," Cole growled.

"I am not leaving my home because some lunatic has it out to get witches," Beth argued.

"Beth, you have to think of your safety," Raven protested. Beth looked at her cousin through narrow eyes.

"If you were the direct target of this mad man, you would take him on head on," Beth retorted angrily. Her green eyes were flashing with fury and her fists were clenched.

"But I'm not pregnant, you are," Raven said gently.

"You guys are going to need me to help get this guy," Beth reminded Raven.

"I know we will, but until we know where this guy is attacking from and what he wants and how to defeat him, it's too risky for you to be in the open," Raven insisted.

"You can't hide me away forever, and besides, how and where are you going to hide me?" Beth wanted to know.

"I know a few ways," Cole said. Beth glared at him, he was hovering over her like he was her nurse maid.

"Listen buster, just because I'm pregnant doesn't mean I can't take care of myself!" Beth grumbled.

"But that is my child you're carrying and it is my duty to protect you both!" Cole shouted.

"I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself!" Beth remarked. The growl that flew from Cole's throat had Beth's eyes widening and sliding back towards the head of the bed, away from him.

"I WILL NOT ALLOW YOU BE SO STUBBORN THAT YOU ENDANGER YOUR LIFE OR THE LIFE OF OUR CHILD!" Cole roared.

"Cole, simmer down," Jimmy warned, pushing Cole back slightly from the bed and stepping between Cole and Beth.

"Guys, are you up here?" Mage called from downstairs. Cole took a deep breath as Mage and Logan walked up the stairs and into the bedroom.

"Are we having some kind of supernatural orgy up here?" Logan asked, his eyes twinkling. Beth gasped and covered her mouth with her hand as she glanced at Raven. The girls began giggling causing Jimmy and Cole to look at them strangely.

"Don't ask, just don't ask," Mage managed to say, giving Logan a dirty look.

"Promise?" Logan asked with a grin. Beth giggled again before shivering under Cole's gaze. "So what is going on?" Logan wanted to know. Cole filled Logan and Mage in on the events of the last forty-eight hours.

"You're going into hiding," Mage insisted, siding with her sister and Cole. Cole gave Beth a triumphant look.

"The hell I am! I'm fine right here!" Beth retorted.

"NOW YOU LISTEN TO ME BETHANY LEANN OLSEN! YOU ARE CARRYING MY CHILD SO I HAVE FINAL SAY IN ANYTHING REGARDING THAT CHILD AND I SAY YOU ARE GOING INTO HIDING!" Cole shouted.

"This has nothing to do with the baby! This has to do with me not wanting to give in to a maniac! This is my life and I am going to live it. I am NOT going into hiding!" Beth exclaimed. Cole growled loudly, grabbed her arms and shook her. "Anything that happens to you happens to the baby, please Beth, just give this once," Cole pleaded, the angry look in his eyes subsided when he saw the fear on her face.

"I'm not going into hiding. Give me a body guard if you feel I'm in that much danger, but I'm not giving up my life to fear," Beth said firmly. She pushed against him, sending Cole against the bedroom where he landed against the wall with a thud.

Cole stood up and shook his head before lunging for her. He grabbed her arms and pulled her to him.

"You don't have a say in this Beth," Cole growled, a menacing look on his face.

"That's enough Cole," Logan said firmly. Cole took look at the frightened look on Beth's face and backed away.

Logan placed himself between Cole and Beth. "Are you alright?" Logan asked her. Beth rubbed the red marks on her arms from where Cole had grabbed her.

"Keep away from me Cole. We're done," Beth said before sliding out of bed and running from the room.

"Beth, wait!" Cole exclaimed, starting after her.

"Let her go," Jimmy advised.

"She's carrying my child and I'll be damned before I let her out of my sight when things like this are going on," Cole growled. He began to shift right in front of their eyes and the girls took several steps back.

"She's a very strong willed person Cole, and you might end up killing each other. Besides, you'll never find her, she has ways of masking her movements," Logan agreed. Mage and Raven began to follow their cousin. Mage paused in the doorway of the bedroom and turned back to Cole.

"Cole, if you've hurt her, we'll kill you," Mage threatened.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"What are you doing here?" Parker asked when he saw Beth standing in the dining room of Gambit.

"I needed to see for myself," Beth whispered.

"You shouldn't be here after last night. You should be home resting. What does Cole think about you being here?" Parker inquired.

"I'm a big girl Parker," Beth reminded him.

"And you're pregnant which makes you a bit more fragile," Parker said gently.

"I wish people would stop saying that!" Beth shrieked.

"Calm down Beth, people are just worried about you," Parker murmured.

Beth took a deep breath and sighed. "Show me the kitchen," she told him.

"You don't want to see the kitchen," Parker said.

"I sign your paychecks Parker, show me the kitchen," Beth repeated. Reluctantly, Parker led Beth into the kitchen. He winced at her gasp.

"At least nobody was hurt," Parker told her gently. He watched as his boss who was normally well composed sank to the charred floor and burst into tears.

Parker looked up to see Cole in the door way, a look of concern on his face. "Beth, you should go back to the dining room. It isn't safe for you in here," Parker told Beth.

"What do I do now Parker?" Beth whispered. "This restaurant is, was my whole world. I worked so hard to create this restaurant, to create a place that was nice, family friendly, affordable with good food. I put all I had into this place, now what do I do?" Parker looked up again as Cole started moving towards them. Parker nodded and slipped out of what used to be the kitchen and knelt down in front of Beth.

"I'm sorry Beth," Cole said gently. Beth looked up with a gasp, her sad eyes widening in fear, a fear he had put there. "I'm not going to hurt you and I'm not going to yell at you, I promise. I'm sorry if I hurt you and I'm sorry for scaring you, I never meant to do either," Cole murmured.

"What do I do now?" Beth whispered. Before Cole could answer, Parker started yelling from the dining room.

"Stay here," Cole instructed. He hurried towards the dining room in time to see Parker fly across the room; he crashed into a painting on the wall. Cole growled and shifted quickly as a figure all in black approached Parker.

"You witches are all the same! You think that just because you are good that you are more important then you truly are!" he exclaimed.

"I'm not a witch," Cole growled, shifting to his werewolf form. He charged the shape, baring his teeth and snarling as he ran. The man just raised up a hand and swatted at the air in front of him like he was swatting a fly and Cole was sent through the plaster and steel wall behind him.

"Cole!" Beth gasped, kneeling down next to him.

"Run," Cole managed, coughing a little. Beth wiped at the blood coming from Cole's mouth. "Beth run, go now."

"It's too late for her to run," the man sneered. Beth looked up and gasped, the man was hovering in the air above them. Beth could hear Parker chanting quietly from the dining room and began chanting with him. She could feel the air particles dancing around them. Two more voices joined the chanting and the man started chanting, trying to counter the spell being woven around him. He screamed as the spell overtook him before he exploded into a cloud of smoke and sparks.

"Beth! Are you guys okay?" Logan called as he, Mage, Raven and Jimmy ran towards her.

"Cole is hurt badly but I'm okay, Parker are you?" Beth asked.

"A few bruises and scratches, I'll live," Parker answered. Logan knelt down next to Cole and looked him over.

"It's good to have a paramedic in the family," Mage mused as she and Raven pulled Beth back.

"It's better than good," Raven agreed. She turned to Beth. "Give me the number to your OB, I want to call her," she added.

"No, I'm fine. He didn't touch me, Cole intervened," Beth protested.

"But when he blew up, you could have gotten hit by the energy wave," Parker chimed in.

"Parker, he wasn't really here, it was a projection. If he'd been here, the wall would have been covered in remains and so would we but we aren't. This guy has some serious mojo about him," Beth said grimly but logically. She gasped as Logan and Jimmy helped Cole to his feet. "Are you alright?" Beth asked softly.

"I need to visit the healer when we get back to the retreat, but I'll live," Cole answered. He searched Beth's face and eyes for signs of pain or injury. "I'm sorry about earlier, I was an ass," he added. "I don't know what I would do if anything happened to you or the baby."

Beth smiled weakly and threw her arms around him but pulled away when Cole winced loudly. "I overreacted. I know you were just trying to protect me, us. And you guys were right, I need to be out of the open, this guy is far more dangerous than we thought," Beth murmured.

"We need to go now," Parker said urgently, his amber eyes glowing. Cole nodded and he and the other men of the group ushered the girls to the large, non-descript SUV that was parked in the shadows.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

The dark figure threw a large crystal in anger. How could they have defeated him? He was the most powerful dark wizard of the age and four little young, inexperienced witches had managed to defeat him! He thanked whoever spawned the evil in him for his ability of astral projection and tapping his fingers maddeningly on the granite table, considered his options. He tossed something in his cauldron and watched the interaction between Beth and her family. He smiled darkly when he heard Beth comment on his "mojo." "I am more powerful than you know. And my power will be your undoing," he growled at the figures floating on the surface of the contents of the cauldron. He stalked to the bird cage by the window and opened it. "Find a woman with anger and hatred in her heart so that she may help me kill these witches once and for all," he instructed. The black bird made a squawking noise and flew from the tower and into the darkening sky.