Cole had debated whether or not he should let Phoebe bring Leo in to heal him. The whitelighter was bound to find out Cole was more than he seemed if he tried to heal him. But in the end, it boiled to either letting Leo and Phoebe find out or dying.
"Okay," he had said and Phoebe had scampered off to fetch the whitelighter.
He lay on his bed, alone. Briefly he switched into his demonic form, but quickly switched out of it again. His demonic form was better for healing, but demons had an easier time tracking him in it. Plus, if Phoebe came back and saw him as Belthazor, he was dead.
So he stayed as human.
Cole soon drifted off into a fevered sleep. Images formed in front of his eyes and he couldn’t tell dreams from reality.
When he rolled off the bed, trying to avoid a zotar's lightning bolt, the impact of hitting the floor jarred him back into consciousness. However, it took him a few more seconds to realize that he hadn't imagined the entire thing and that there was indeed a demon in his bedroom.
"Belthazor," the zotar hissed. Cole couldn't recognize that particular one. It wasn't Krell, though, and Cole had thought Krell was the only remaining bounty hunter after him. All the others had either killed each other, or been killed by their prey, had they come too close. Obviously, Cole had been wrong.
He untangled himself from the blankets and rolled to his knees, breathing hard. He kept his head ducked down below the bed. There was no sense in giving the other demon a clear shot.
"You're trapped," the zotar gloated. "You've no place to run."
Mustering all his strength, Cole leapt up and shot a fireball at the zotar.
It was amazing that particular bounty hunter had made it as far as he had. The single weak fireball was enough to vanquish it.
Cole staggered up. He had to go. They had found him. It was no longer safe for him there. He couldn't wait for Phoebe and Leo, he had to leave. He had to . . . He had . . .
He collapsed.
Using the last of his strength, Cole managed to drag himself over to the doorway before having to give up. Once there, he couldn't go on any further. He was so tired. He just had to close his eyes and rest a bit.
If he closed his eyes, he knew he wouldn't open them again. He struggled to keep them open. It was a losing battle. He could feel his life ebbing away.
He was going to die.
Cole closed his eyes and gave into the inevitable. Distantly, he imagined he heard Phoebe's voice call his name.
The End
Wednesday, April 04, 2001