"Demon Rogue"

Rated: F13

Usual disclaimers apply.

Follows immediately after "Triumphant Schemer". Still no beta-reader again (would anyone like to volunteer?), so all errors are mine and still there! ::gulp::

~*~*~*~*~

Previously on Zankou…

Phoenix watched in awe as her husband pulled himself up to his full height, shut his eyes and chanted the unintelligible spell that would summon the Nexus from the hole in the Charmed Ones' basement. She was aware of movement behind her as the three witches linked hands and began a mantra of their own.

Skipping down the last few steps, Leo launched himself at Zankou, but Phoenix was ready for his intervention. With a sweep of her hand, she raised a chain mail barrier to prevent the Whitelighter reaching her husband. It wrapped itself around Leo and dragged him to his knees. Then, opening her mouth, Phoenix let forth a banshee screech, high and shrill, rattling the floorboards above them and dislodging the scattered debris at Zankou's feet.

Her wail threw the witches' stride, their spell disintegrating as they covered their ears with their hands. Continuing her blood-curdling cry, Phoenix watched Leo ineffectually try to free himself from the crush of the metallic tarp. Satisfied, she turned back to Zankou in time to see him jerk and shake as the dark plume of the Nexus slithered into his body.

Zankou seemed to grow taller; bigger. Meaner. His dark expressive eyes, in which she so often lost her pride, became opaque and the cocky grin she always thought sexy turned brutal. Phoenix shut off her wail, its last notes ending in a confused query.

"Zankou?" Phoenix took a tentative step forward. "Honey? Are you okay?"

He turned to her, no acknowledgment in his soulless eyes. "Do you address me?" he asked, and Phoenix shuddered at the inhuman reverberating bass of his voice.

Walking slowly toward him, Phoenix closed a hand over his upper arm, needing the assurance of the familiar feel of him. She shivered, feeling nothing but cold living rock under her fingers. Raising her hand to his face, she cupped her palm around his bearded jaw and felt only fur-dusted stone. She snatched her hand back and spun round to the Charmed Ones, her mouth opened in horror.

"Where is my husband?" she whispered.

oOo

Continuing…

Piper ignored Phoenix, rushing past her to help Leo extricate himself from the chain mail. The pitying looks from Paige and Phoebe were no help, only inciting Phoenix' anger. Grasping both of Zankou's arms, she shook him hard.

"Zankou!" she shouted, rallying through fear of what he had become. "Snap out of it!

He looked down at her; no recognition in his eyes, no warmth in his gaze.

"This isn't part of the deal, darling," she coaxed. "You're supposed to become all-powerful and when you're done, we go home and gloat. Now, stop scaring me and let's get back to business."

Zankou jerked his arms free of her grip and walked past her, his eyes fixed on Leo and the Charmed Ones. "You serve me now," he said, his voice guttural and alien. Stopping in front of the witches, he raised his arms.

"Zankou, stop!" Phoenix strode toward him, seized an arm and spun him around, then gasped as he locked a hand onto her throat, squeezing hard. Terror stole her breath and slammed her heart against her ribs.

His fierce eyes bored into hers, then raked her body with an insolence that made her skin crawl. "You too will serve me," the thing that was her husband said, "but in a more… entertaining way."

Clawing at his hand, Phoenix wheezed through a bruised throat, her fear disappearing as she openly defied him. "It will take… you and an army… to make me serve you," she rasped.

"That will be arranged," he said, releasing her throat to slide his hand through her hair and tug down hard.

Phoenix gritted her teeth to prevent the cry of pain as her head snapped back, exposing her maltreated throat to his gaze.

Zankou's eyes fastened onto her parted lips. "Later," he said, "it shall be."

He disappeared; Phoenix stumbling from the shock of her sudden release. She flung out a hand, looking for support. Leo was there, catching her before she fell; the Charmed Ones charging to join him.

Piper patted her hand, her eyes sympathetic. "I tried to warn you."

"Did Zankou know it would affect him like this?" Phoenix asked, her voice raw.

"He may, but I had the feeling it wouldn't have made any difference."

"That's what I'm afraid of." Anger vibrated through Phoenix, her body trembling with the aftermath of how her husband had treated her. "It's useful to know where I factor into his scheme of things."

The knowing look the witches shared didn't lessen her temper.

"Well, I make it a rule to never wallow in my mistakes," Phoenix said curtly, standing straight. "Nor do I give up what's mine without a fight."

"You can't fight something you can't find," Leo said, his mouth twisting with irritation. "And the Book of Shadows has disappeared with him." His eyes narrowed in suspicion. "What did he mean about arranging an army?"

Phoenix hesitated, unsure whether to reveal Zankou's intent. But that thing was no longer her husband, and as far as Phoenix was concerned, his plan had back-fired. "Zankou's goal, once he has the Nexus, is to head for Magic School and pick up some new recruits. You've been steadily wiping out his supply of demons." Phoenix took a deep breath, nearly choking on the lingering pain. "I want my husband back and you no doubt want your Book, so why don't we join forces?"

Paige cocked her head, jerking up her palms. "With the Book of Shadows in his possession, Zankou has our powers. We won't be of much help to you."

"Other than giving me credence in Magic School," Phoenix said.

Phoebe frowned. "The Nexus doesn't like conflict. It will run for cover rather than get caught in the middle. That could be useful in evicting it from Zankou if you get the chance."

"I'm very good at raising conflict," Phoenix smiled. She looked from Leo to the witches. "How about it?"

"I don't see how we can refuse," Phoebe said.

"Get the boys to Dad," Piper told Leo. "Then join us as soon as you can."

oOo

Arriving at Magic School, Phoenix had no time to take in her surroundings as she materialized head on with a man rushing toward her. His impetus threw her back against Phoebe, who grabbed her shoulders, steadying them. Shouts could be heard coming from the end of the corridor, amid a loud crashing of furniture and screams. Piper stopped another fleeing figure by grabbing her arm.

Phoenix looked into the distressed face of a middle-aged woman and wondered what her husband could have done to put such terror into these people.

"Rachel, what's going on?" Piper demanded.

The woman looked wildly at the group. "Thank God, Piper, you're here. There's some… madman in the main Lecture Hall. We were in the middle of Assembly, when he just showed up and starting inciting the students to join him in something he calls 'The Greater Order'." She paused, darting a look behind her. "The young ones are swallowing it whole and any teachers trying to shut him down are being physically evicted. I was just going for reinforcements." She searched their group. "Where's Leo?"

"He's getting our boys to safety."

"Good," Rachel nodded. "Two less to worry about. This demon calls himself Zankou and says he has consumed the Nexus. Is this possible?"

"Unfortunately, yes."

Rachel bit her lip. "The egotistical bastard's got the Book of Shadows with him too. I presume that's why you're here." She eyed Phoenix. "Who is this?"

"The egotistical bastard's wife," Phoenix said dryly. "If I can't stop him, no one can." She strode down the corridor, heading for the heavy double door partially opened. As she approached, a body hurled through it toward her. Phoenix suspended the man in mid-air and lowered him gently to the floor.

Pushing past the others milling inside, she discovered her husband at the front of the large room, commandeering the raised dais on which he stood, legs astride and arms raised. The Book of Shadows rested on a wooden pedestal beside him, serenely innocent of its purpose there.

Phoenix cringed at the sight of Zankou. He no longer wore his leathers and boots; the long shirt replacing them was loose and diaphanous, decorated with swirls of grey and charcoal and black that seemed to float around his bare arms and chest. He wore black tight-fitting pants underneath and was barefoot; the effect raunchy but bizarre.

"Good Lord," Phoenix breathed. "It's like something out of Woodstock. Without the music."

The crowd gathered before him ranged from fresh teenagers to youths in their early twenties. Teachers were keeping their distance from Zankou but eyeing him warily as they appealed to the students or attempted to drag them out of the room. The young witches ignored their elders, watching Zankou with adoration, their faces fanatical and eager, while the untried males were steely-eyed and snarling, stamping their feet with impatient energy.

"He must have the whole school here," Phoenix said.

Piper nodded, her mouth thinned. "This is a General Assembly. He just lucked it."

Phoenix watched as Zankou plucked at the round collar of the flared shirt he wore as if even that light material was irritating him. He continued to incite the crowd to join his cause, his body quivering with zeal.

"I'm guessing the Nexus is objecting to being confined," Phoebe said, observing Zankou's discomfort.

"I'm seriously considering materializing a sheet over his head," Phoenix snapped, annoyed at the way his outfit revealed the lean contours of his body. "How's that for conflict?"

"Why aren't the teachers captivated by his speech?" Paige asked.

"They have more sense," Piper said, then held up a hand. "Listen!"

"I can give you immediate wisdom and control of your lives," Zankou intoned, "not the breadcrumbs the academics toss to you. There will be no more need to practice or have your powers channelled until they consider you are ready. I can give you such power that you will be the teachers!"

"How can he hope to control so many if he gives them unlimited powers?" Paige said, her voice quiet with awe.

"Zankou's not worried," Phoebe scoffed. "The sort of havoc caused would be right up his alley." She cast a quick glance at Phoenix. "No reflection on you, but… well, how did an intelligent woman like you hook up with him in the first place?"

Phoenix' lip curled, wondering how much of the witch's attitude was spite. "He was a dare that back-fired on me – a one-night-stand that I just couldn't get enough of. Still can't get enough of." She gave Phoebe a speculative look. "Intelligence takes a back seat when your body and mind is being transported to paradise and back."

"It also took a back seat when you indulged him in this Nexus-gathering fiasco," Piper said dryly.

Phoenix rounded on the elder witch. "Look, I don't tell you how to run your marriage, Piper. My man's not perfect but he's devoted to me in his own way and he gives me everything I need. The thrill of living with him–"

"He's out to give every woman in his radius the same thrill," Phoebe sneered. "I don't know how you stand it and you certainly can't trust him."

Phoenix glared at her. "And did you get a taste of that same thrill, Phoebe? Are you talking from experience?"

"As a matter of fact–"

"Now is not the time," Piper hissed. "Listen!"

"One of you shall be chosen," Zankou preached. "Who will stand by my side as my Queen while I lead this army?"

The lecture hall erupted with the sound of shrieks and scraped chairs as the women surged toward the stage. Zankou jerked his arms and the tide froze, all noise evaporating as he scanned the room. Phoenix watched as his attention was caught and held by a self-assured teenager with fashionably cropped hair who was the only one still moving, her hips swaying as she boldly approached the stage. Phoenix' blood fired at the confident look on her face.

"I know her," Paige said. "That's Veronica. She was with me the day I met Zankou outside Magic School. She was the only one of the students he didn't manage to intimidate."

"Behold," Zankou called, reaching for Veronica's hand and drawing her to his side. "My Queen in the Greater Order!"

"Like hell!" Phoenix said, turning to the Charmed Ones. "When I've got his attention, you retrieve the Book of Shadows," she ordered and headed for the stage.

Phoenix tossed her hair as she walked, undid another button on her blouse and fixed Zankou with a determined look. Her tongue trembled with abuse for her fickle husband, but she consoled herself in the knowledge his actions were under the Nexus' control. Instead, she focussed her anger on the girl beside him.

"I'm sorry, dear," Phoenix spoke up, "but how bad do you want him? Because, sweet thing, you're gonna have to fight for him. Fight… me."

Reaching the stage, Phoenix threw her hands in the air and Veronica was hurled from Zankou's side, hitting the back wall where she landed in a heap. Veronica scrabbled to her feet, sizing Phoenix up but staying her ground.

"You see that, Zankou?" Phoenix demanded, sliding a triumphant look at him. "Your new… Queen… is spineless. Unsure. Unable to defend her King." Phoenix rounded on him, facing him off. "Is that what you want in your mate? Or do you need more? Do you want an equal? As fearless as you?" Phoenix eyed the crowd in front of them but they were still frozen in time. "As capable to lead your followers?"

Zankou growled and raised a trembling fist; his teeth fixed in a snarl as bleak eyes snared hers. Phoenix wavered, disguising her alarm by lifting her chin and trailing an evocative hand across his shoulder.

"Well, Zanky?"

He blinked and Phoenix thought she saw a remnant of her roguish husband before his eyes shuttered again and his mouth curled into a vicious smile.

"Any woman will do," he rumbled, running his fingers across her breasts exposed by the parted blouse. "But it is better if she has the fortitude… to endure."

"I have that… and more," Phoenix promised, desperate to find more of her husband within. Winding her arms around his neck, Phoenix molded her body to his, her involuntary revulsion of his coldness disguised by a breathy purr. "I will endure you. Let me prove it."

A ghost of a smile quirked Zankou's lips. "You… entertain me," he said. "It is enough. For now. Later, when we are alone, you can prove yourself."

Feeling a brief burst of heat from the body pressed to her, Phoenix breathed a quick sigh of relief. Her husband wasn't totally lost to her. Yet.

Zankou pushed her from him and raised his hands. The Lecture Hall burst into sound and movement as the students were released. "Return to your seats," Zankou ordered. "I have my Queen and I have my army. We shall descend upon the city and recruit more." He smiled with confidence. "Our victory will be as insidious as it will be assured."

Cheers exploded from the crowd amidst stamping of feet. Aware that the Charmed Ones had circled the Hall and were approaching the stage from the other side, Phoenix lifted her hand to caress Zankou's jaw, regaining his attention, her body stirring with an interest that wasn't totally forced. If she could forget the influence within him, it was easy to lose herself in her attraction to this delicious stud. Zankou lowered his hands to her waist and she answered his advance with a soft grinding of her hips against his.

"What's with the caftan, Zanky?" Phoenix said, her lips against his neck, muffling her words. "I have to say I like the skin-tight trousers," she slid a hand down his thigh, "but the shirt is a bit retro, don't you think?"

Zankou tugged at the thin cloth against his chest. "I feel as if… I should be wearing something," he said, confusion making his voice more human, "but it feels so… constricting–"

Over Zankou's shoulder, she saw Piper grab the Book of Shadows from its pedestal and carefully retreat. Phoenix smoothed her hands underneath Zankou's shirt and up his rippled spine, pleased she could still divert him. "When we're alone," she promised, "we'll get rid of it all. I can make you forget–"

"Tell us more, Zankou!" someone from the crowd shouted. "When we do start?"

Zankou's concentration on Phoenix waned and he lifted his head to survey the crowd again. Phoenix looked for Piper who was at the other end of the stage, urgently flipping through the Book. Hopefully she would find a spell to drive the Nexus from Zankou, but Phoenix felt she could take her conflict campaign a step further and drive the Nexus out herself.

"Forget them, Zankou," she said, "we don't need these people. We have each other."

"We are not important," he argued. "The Greater Order is imperative."

"The Greater Order is crap," Phoenix hardened her voice in her ridicule of him. "It's something you made up during a wet dream, no doubt. And what makes you think you're fit to rule as a King of an Order?" Phoenix poked him in the chest. "You're nothing but a half-dressed, bad-assed knave with delusions of grandeur! Get off this stage and go home where you belong and run my bath for me." She turned her back on him, and made to leave the stage, then stopped. "Oh, and use those freesia-scented bath salts you stole from the Sheik of Sadir’s harem. I'm needing to rid myself of the stench you've surrounded yourself with."

"How dare you speak to him like that?" Veronica shouted, launching herself at Phoenix.

Phoenix raised a hand to ward off the naïve witch, but pitched forward as she lost her footing, her stomach lurching in shock. The floor beneath her feet was shaking, the wood groaning in protest as the boards rattled against each other. Zankou's roar of rage rose above the rumble of shaking walls and Phoenix cried out as her splayed fingers stopped her face from slamming to the floor.

Seized by invisible hands, Phoenix was thrown in the air, her heart pitching in her chest as her body rushed toward the ceiling, two levels high. The impact exploded within her skull, bones breaking and sending a roaring mass of pain throughout her body. With a flurry of ache and thrum of shocked senses, Phoenix fell back to the floor. The last thing she heard was a heavy thump reverberate in her head and a cascade of splintering bones, before unconsciousness took her.

oOo

Gazing down at the crumpled, bleeding body on the stage of the Lecture Hall, the Nexus-possessed Zankou experienced a most alien emotion of remorse and loss. He could barely comprehend it, much less process it. This broken human had been alternately supporting and cajoling him, before turning on him and berating him. Insubordination was not to be tolerated and resistance squashed before it could swell and spread.

He felt he should move on, having stopped her aggravation with a flick of his hand, but his gaze was drawn back to the lifeless body against its will.

Zankou honey, you are such a bad boy!

An image of this woman, swaying toward him and playfully shaking her finger, filtered through the insular purpose at the forefront of his mind. Zankou grinned at an erotic and highly satisfying memory, but the Nexus stirred with impatience, intent on stamping its single-mindedness upon the human vessel that contained it.

Why don't you wear black satin today instead of leather? Then I could slide all over you.

Zankou quivered at the recollection of cool, firm fingertips gliding down his back and into the hollow at the base of his spine. Splaying themselves over his ass, they kneaded his flesh and his hips jerked in response. Zankou gasped as the Nexus from within clamped his throat in warning at the man's mental detour from its objective.

How do you want it, Zanky? Quick and rough? Or… a slow slide… long kisses… and…a sensuous steamy ride?

Although it was just an ether of a memory, Zankou could almost hear the breathy voice in his ear. His body flooded with hot need. Punishing Zankou for his weakness, the Nexus charged an excruciating bolt to his brain, doubling him over in agony.

A light touch to his shoulder made Zankou yelp and swing around, arms raised in defence. The young student who had first joined him on stage now stroked his arm, her eyes wide with concern. Blanketing the emotions that tore at his control, Zankou pulled himself up straight, quivering with challenge as two other women rushed to the aid of the body at his feet.

"You bastard!" one of them shouted at him, before passing her hands over the human wreckage on the floor. He watched, detached, as she bypassed a wrist unhinged from its arm, and gently latched onto the other. "She's dying!" the witch said. "You've mortally wounded your own wife! Piper! Bring me that Book! Hurry!"

Zankou shuddered, torn between the task at hand and investigating the woman's strange words. Wife? What wife? He eradicated the insulting red-haired stranger who challenged the other girl for the honor of being his Queen. She was useless to him now but the other would be adequate. Yet, he felt a gnawing at his resolve that it should matter to him.

"Zankou! Do something!"

The witch sounded desperate, as if she cared. Zankou's patience shredded at the diversion from his purpose. He needed to rid himself of all irritation and raised a hand to dispose of this one as well.

"What's the use of being an all-powerful demon if you can't save the life of your wife?"

Zankou ground his teeth at the implication that he was less than superior. Insipid minions. He would have to prove his eminence. If it meant fixing the damage he had caused, then he would do it. Setting Veronica aside, Zankou reached down, touching the long red hair that fanned over the floor, watching as some of its silk slowly matted with blood. He ran an unblemished lock through his fingers, marvelling at its softness.

Soft against his skin, sensitizing his nerves.

He touched his fingertips to her lips and felt their dry yield.

Lips exploring his body, causing delicious ripples under his skin.

He put his palm over where her heart lay, beating weakly.

Heart hammering against her breast as he slid into her, his blood surging with strength.

A horror crept through the flat instinct that seemed to be driving him.

"Phoenix!" Zankou's voice was tortured as he skittered back from Phoenix' body in shock.

"You did that!" Phoebe accused.

A war raged within Zankou, his own dismay infused with the Nexus' impatience, his sorrow with its anger. He began to tremble, the churning within him signalling the Nexus' disgust with his weakening. The dark power's fury curled and snapped at his senses, then tried to free itself from the confines of Zankou's awakening conscience.

"No," Zankou said weakly, his confidence evaporating.

"Yes! You threw her into the ceiling, for God's sake! You tried to kill her!"

Shaking his head, he denied the impossible. "I couldn't. I… love…"

Zankou's head snapped back, his body bending backward at the waist. Arms flailing to the side, he desperately tried to stay on his feet as his body and limbs wildly shook. A pervading cold punched at his core then seemed to radiate and seep from him. He couldn't see for a dark haze in front of his eyes – a plume of smoke which coalesced, thickened and tightened, then rose in a weaving spout above him. It swirled and coiled, hovered, then disappeared in an explosion of ether.

Zankou sank to his knees beside Phoenix' body and buried his face in his hands. He could hear frantic voices and slowly looked up to see the Charmed Ones, gabbling as they bent over the Book of Shadows.

"Hurry, Piper!" Paige urged. "We can do this! She hasn't gone yet."

Zankou knew spells to destroy and disintegrate. How much harder could it be to restore and bring back to life? Gritting his teeth, Zankou determined he should be the one to save Phoenix. His supreme self-centredness would not allow this woman to leave him. Reverently placing his hands on Phoenix' broken skull, Zankou blanked all else from his mind, submerging himself in his love for his wife; his need of her; wishing his own life force into her. Transferring his power through his palms, he willed her to feed upon it, cutting open the core of his strength so that it could wash over her.

He trembled with the effort of it, but Phoenix continued to lie still under his hands. Looking desperately at the Charmed Ones, Zankou didn't bother to hide his fear. "I… can't do it," he cried.

"Keep trying!" Piper ordered. Her fingers were running through the book, flipping pages. She stopped and thumped her fist onto the page before her, then began a chant, joined by her sisters, their fervent words undulating in a desperate harmony.

Shutting his eyes, Zankou channelled his energy into Phoenix' body, raising his chin and bellowing at the ceiling. His cry was inhuman and chilled his own blood, not recognizing the depth of feeling he had plundered. He felt a slight stirring beneath his fingertips and looked down to see Phoenix' skin rippling and tightening, bones moving and reshaping, her skull meshing before his eyes.

"Zankou, honey?" His wife's voice sounded broken and in pain, but blessedly alive. Zankou's shoulders slumped in relief.

"Phoenix–"

"Are you okay?" she asked, her voice firming until it was almost normal.

"Am I okay?" he rasped. "My love… I'm more than okay. Now." Bending down, he touched his lips to her forehead. "It is you we were worried about." Tenderly brushing his hand over her scalp, his magic removed the congealed blood from her hair, eradicating the physical signs of the damage he had done.

Phoenix started to push herself from the floor, but Zankou scooped her up into his arms and straightened, swaying slightly from loss of strength, and held her gently to him.

"What happened?" Phoenix asked. "Is the Nexus gone?" She tried to look around, flinching with the effort.

"Don't move," Zankou ordered. "It's gone. I don't know where and I don't care."

"I feel like a mess," Phoenix muttered, looking over her clothes. "There's blood–! What happened?" She struggled in his arms. "Put me down, Zankou. This is embarrassing."

"You look fine. And I'm not letting you go."

Zankou felt her balk at his high-handedness, but he didn't care, even if he paid for it later. Carrying Phoenix down the stage steps, he was aware of the teachers and the Charmed Ones restoring order among the students who were milling around demanding explanations. Zankou left them to it. He had what was important in his life.

"Wait, Zankou!" Veronica was hurrying at his elbow. "What of the Greater Order? I was to stand by your side as your Queen and help you rule the masses, remember?"

"My Queen–?! Who do you think you are?" Impatience plucked at Zankou's nerves and he felt like tossing the witch to the other side of the room.

The girl froze, her face shocked, then her expression crumpled. "You promised me. I was to help you lead the Greater Order–"

"Zankou?" Phoenix sounded confused and hurt, her green eyes flashing a diamond brilliance that meant explanations would be demanded.

Zankou seethed at Veronica's presumption. "There is no Greater Order! Go back to your classroom and books." Zankou pushed her aside, striding toward the doorway. He was suddenly pushed from behind, Piper's hands guiding him out of the Lecture Hall and into the room opposite.

"What the–?"

Closing the door, Piper rounded on him. "Not so fast, Zankou."

Looking over her shoulder, Zankou could see they were in a small library. Setting Phoenix to her feet, he wrapped his arms protectively around his wife, legs astride in defiance. "What do you want?"

"I'm going to say this once, and once only," Piper stated. "Stay out of our lives and keep away from what you don't understand."

Zankou bristled at her tone. He set Phoenix behind him and closed in on Piper, forcing her to tilt her head back to maintain his stare. "When I have ever given you the misapprehension that you could order me to do anything?"

"Haven't you learned? You nearly–" Piper's gaze skittered from his face to over his shoulder. "You did a lot of damage back there. We're not going to tolerate your meddling anymore."

Zankou angled his body closer, leaning down to thrust his face into hers. "During all of our dealings, I have never presumed to tell you and your sisters what to do or keep out of. You will accord me the same respect."

"Only if it's deserved. I suggest you get your wife home and look after your own house instead of pushing your way into other people's."

Piper took a step back, but Zankou followed her, forcing her up against the edge of a desk. "Our duels have been honest ones," he said, his voice uncharacteristically sincere, "and we will clash swords again, I promise you. So, Piper dear, keep your senses sharp and your wits about you till our next meeting."

As far as Zankou was concerned, he was finished here. "Until then," he said, "as a gesture of good faith–" With a flourish of his hand, Piper's vanished horse statue rematerialized on the desk beside her. Zankou handed it to her. "This was yours, I believe."

Piper eyed the horse, then shook her head. "No, thanks. You need that as a reminder that when you try to cash in on our lives, you buy trouble." Piper pushed at his chest and strode out the door, leaving it open.

Phoenix picked up the horse, eyeing it closely and shaking her head. "This is really ugly. I wonder why she had it." She swung her gaze to Zankou. "What did she mean you did a lot of damage?"

Zankou took the horse from her, putting it back onto the desk. It toppled slightly, then righted itself. Zankou frowned, alert, but swinging around, he saw no one else in the room.

"Zankou?" Phoenix persisted. "What did Piper mean?"

"Sour grapes, my love," he said, thankful Phoenix was unaware of what happened. "Forget her. Let's go home."

"Un, unh," Phoenix said. "I've got a business to run. It's back to the office for me."

Zankou didn't push the issue, knowing he wouldn't win. "How about a compromise, then? We'll call in there on the way home, and if you're not needed–"

Phoenix grabbed the horse again. "Okay, but I'm taking this fellow for a memento. I have this weird feeling he's important–."

"Where is he–?!" Paige shouted, hurrying into the library, closely followed by Phoebe. They stopped and stared at Zankou. "What did you do with Veronica?"

"Ver–? Nothing! I have no need of her. What do you think I would want with her?"

"You wanted plenty before. You singled her out for–"

"Paige!" Phoebe shushed her with a hand on her arm, throwing a significant glance at Phoenix.

Paige shook off her hand. "She's gone, and I'm betting you have something to do with her disappearance."

Phoenix' attention was fixed on Zankou again, her face hardening with suspicion. "Zankou! What does she mean?"

"Fuck this!" In a roar of flame, Zankou grabbed his wife's arm and disappeared.

oOo

Phoenix slammed the horse onto her office desk and turned on Zankou. "I want an explanation, and I want it now. What happened back there?"

Zankou winced. "It was time to leave, that's all."

Phoenix' eyes flashed. "That's not what I mean and you know it!"

With a quick glance, Zankou checked her door was closed. Phoenix' office was the same size as his, but the floor-to-ceiling panoramic windows and the aquarium glass floor gave the illusion that it was twice the size, its occupants suspended in a kind of theme park.

Zankou frowned, not wanting to do this. "Not now, Phoenix."

Grabbing a remote from beneath the paper clutter on her desk, Phoenix pointed it at the office door and Zankou heard a heavy lock fall into place. He tensed with anticipation, noting the thin line of her mouth and the flashing fires in her eyes. A battle with Phoenix, whether physical or mental, was always exhilarating and usually ended with their clawing the clothes from each other.

"Yes, Zankou, now," she said, the steel anger in her voice slicing his nerves. Flicking her wrist at the corner of the room behind her, Phoenix activated the automated vertical blinds which slid slowly shut, enclosing the room in a darkened hue. Hitting another button on the remote, the aquarium floor beneath their feet lit up in random slashes of rainbow colour, eerily highlighting the circling marine life within.

Zankou's mouth went dry. Recognizing the prelude to some of their most intensive love-making sessions, he balked at his wife's opposing anger. A peculiar sensation tickled the nape of his neck as Phoenix swept up her other hand. With a sensation of dread, Zankou looked behind him.

A section of the glass floor had disappeared; the water and mantra ray that was investigating his heels was contained only by her magic. He knew this was how she fed her fish – her magic created a one-way window through which she would throw bait, but she never needed to take away nearly half the floor before. His throat constricted with the realization that the room's exit was inaccessible.

Zankou wasn't sure what she had in mind this time, but he wasn't waiting to find out. Summoning the power to project himself out of there, Zankou's heart jerked as he remembered.

"Shame on you, Zankou, for thinking you might escape," Phoenix said, shaking her head. "Coward!" There was no hint of teasing in her voice, only deadly intent. "You know I have a personal shield in this room, where no magic can be performed other than my own." Phoenix slowly moved toward him, Zankou tensing with each step.

"You'll pay for the 'coward' remark later," he promised. He loved her, he nearly lost her, but he wasn't going to let insults go unpunished.

"Tell me what happened, Zankou. Now."

"You don't want to know." It was a last desperate attempt to keep the truth from her, even knowing it was futile.

"You're trying my patience, lover."

Zankou still hesitated. "You remember nothing?"

"My last memory is being in the Charmed Ones' basement, watching the Nexus enter your body until you went cold and alien. In the next, I was in your arms covered in blood. Nice place to be but I didn't like the messy part, and it's time I found out what happened."

With a resigned sigh, Zankou strolled over to her sofa and threw himself on it. With a reluctant flick of his finger, he projected a miniature holographic image and sound of the events within the Lecture Hall, onto the floor in front of her, then lay back with an arm tossed over his eyes. At the point where Phoenix challenged Veronica's claim to be his Queen, Zankou sat up with clasped hands between his knees and watched his wife's reaction.

Her jaw set and her eyes fixed on the hologram, Phoenix' face mirrored her disgust of his antics on the stage, her challenge of his power-hungry ideal and then horror as she watched him throw her cruelly from him. As the rest of it played out, she was unmoving, her face shuttered. The holographic image halted, evaporating into the kaleidoscope of colours projected by the aquarium beneath her feet.

Zankou waited.

"You betrayed me, lover," Phoenix said, her voice controlled, but rising in intensity. "You ignored me, you threatened me, you damned near choked me to death, treated me like meat on display, and then you threw me around the room till every bone in my body broke–"

"Phoenix, I wasn't aware–" He rose from the sofa and approached her, his hands held out in appeal.

"Silence! How many witches did you seduce along the way, besides this Veronica person? Were you aware of that?"

"You gave me carte-blanche to trick the Charmed Ones–" Zankou smoothed his hands down her arms, needing the contact for himself and hoping his touch would divert her wrath.

"How convenient for you," Phoenix snarled, flinging his hands from her as hers darted to circle his throat. "How do you like being at the mercy of an ego-maniacal lunatic?"

Zankou flinched, his own anger igniting.

"Bastard!" Gripping the neckline of the loose grey shirt he still wore, Phoenix yanked, hard, the shirt tearing in two as it came away in her hands.

Zankou lost his balance and pitched forward, Phoenix stepping swiftly out the way. Falling to the floor on all fours, Zankou's chest heaved as he watched one of the larger sharks make a tail-sweep pass beneath him. Heaving his body, he attempted a forward roll away, but Phoenix thumped a foot into the small of his back, splaying him to the floor, the shock rushing the breath from his lungs. The one-way barrier between him and some of the sea's most voracious predators was less than a foot away from his nose.

Phoenix' satisfied murmur from above was just as deadly. "Who's got carte-blanche now, lover?"

oOo

More Rogue to come…