sensethevisions | 9:30 A.M. Friday Morning, Suite 518/520

One of the absolute worst weeks of her life was finally drawing to a close and Phoebe was damn glad it was. Tomorrow was Prom and if she focused on that for right now, everything that was making her want to hide and cry wouldn't seem to matter -- for right now.

She could hear Cole in the shower and was pondering on surprising him in there...

	If Barbas had known what Phoebe was thinking, he would've chuckled in glee and told her it was about to get worse. As it was, he materialized in the room behind her, silently watching. Oh yes, this would be enjoyable.
	Deciding that she was indeed going to join her soulmate in his shower, Phoebe turned to head there and drew up short. She stared at the stranger in shock. "Who are you? How did you get in here?"
	"That's not important, witch," Barbas said. He waved his hand in front of Phoebe's face. "Ah, such an old-fashioned fear for a witch. Being burned alive at the stake?"
	Phoebe backed away from him, fear starting to rise within her. "H-how did you know that?" She looked towards the shower, wondering if she should scream for Cole.
	"It's my gift," Barbas said, waving his hand again. The room around them changed to a forest clearing, in which stood people wearing Puritan garb. Two men grabbed Phoebe and pulled her against a wooden stake that jutted from a pile of wood, then began to bind her hands behind her back.
	"No," Phoebe whimpered, trying to fight her way free. "No. This isn't real. It's just a dream."
	Barbas just smirked as the men finished tying Phoebe to the post. "Burn, witch!" one snarled, then took a torch and touched it to the pile of wood at Phoebe's feet.
	Okay, in dreams, you didn't feel yourself starting to burn. When kicking out at the fire didn't make it stop, Phoebe started to scream in terror. "Don't do this!" She tried getting away from the stake, but she was tied too tightly. "Stop them! Help me!"
	The flames crept higher up Phoebe's body as the people surrounding her chanted, "Burn, witch, burn!" It may not have been historically accurate, but it was the fear Barbas was after, not the messy details.
	As the flames crept higher, Phoebe started writhing against the stake in earnest. When that didn't do anything, her screams became high-pitched shrieks of pain and fear. There were no longer any words there, just screams of terror.
	As Cole turned the water off and stepped out of the shower, he heard Phoebe's screams. He bolted from the bathroom to the bedroom and found Phoebe standing in the middle of the room, screaming and writhing. Grabbing hold of her shoulders, he said, "Phoebe, what is it, what's wrong?"
	It took a few seconds for his words to penetrate the fear that was surrounding her. When her eyes cleared, she saw that Cole as there. She whimpered a llittle, looking around them. "Our rooms... no forest..." She was shaking as she reached for him, pulling him close. "There was a man in here... and then I was burning..."
	Barbas scowled and vanished. He'd heard of Belthazor before, and he didn't want to deal with him just yet.
	Cole looked around. "There's no one here, sweetheart, you're okay," he said, holding her close, hoping she didn't mind him dripping water on her.
	Considering she had just felt herself burning to death, the water was a welcome relief. "I was being burned at the stake, Cole," she whispered. 'I could feel the flames and I could feel myself burning..."
	Cole tensed. He knew there were demons who could manipulate fear or cause illusions, and if one of them was after Phoebe. . . . He hugged her tightly and kissed the top of her head. "You're safe now," he murmured. "I'm here, I won't let anything hurt you."
	Phoebe clung to him, trying to still her shaking. "I know," she said softly. "I know. I think... I think you kept him from killing me."
	"I'll kill him before I let him hurt you," Cole vowed.
	Phoebe nodded against his chest, still holding onto him. "Safe with you."