Something Wiccan This Way Comes

by Emma Harrison

  “I wasn’t expecting you,” she said with a smile.

  “I wanted to see how you were doing,” he said, kissing her forehead. He held her face in both hands and tilted her head so she was looking up at him. “Everything okay?”

  “Not exactly,” Phoebe replied with a sigh. “We just found out our demons are the bloodsucking type.”

  “But not vampires,” Paige put in. “Phoebe had a vision, and they used needles.”

  “And they’ve stepped it up from kidnapping to killing,” Piper said, cupping her forehead with her hand. “Although I guess that means that all the other victims are probably dead….”

  Piper felt her stomach turn as she thought of Tessa and Taryn and what they must be going through now that one of the victims had been found dead. She wanted to cry for them, but she couldn’t. She didn’t have time. She had to find the demons that had done this and make them pay.

  “You can’t assume that yet,” Leo told her, gently pushing her long hair behind her shoulder.

  “Well, what did you find?” Phoebe asked, clearly ready to get down to business just like Piper.

  “The bloodsucking fits into our theory, so I think we have your men, in a manner of speaking,” Leo said. “Paige, maybe you should orb the book here, just for a couple of minutes, so you can read what we found.”

  Paige looked at her sisters uncertainly. She had learned early on in her days as a Charmed One that the Book of Shadows was not supposed to leave the manor. But Piper nodded her approval. “It’s all right,” she said. “We need it right about now.”

  Closing her eyes, Paige held out her hands, concentrated for a moment, and said, “Book of Shadows.” A dazzling white light swirled to life in her hands, and the huge family tome appeared, already open to the page in question.

  Piper, Phoebe, Cole, and Leo gathered around Paige, reading over her shoulders. Piper instantly recognized the drawing. It was a perfect likeness of the jackal-faced creature from the videotape she and Phoebe had seen the night before. A thrill of fear washed down her spine, and she rolled her shoulders back, staving it off. Whatever it was, she and her sisters would face it and bring it down.

  “‘Anubi,’” Piper read from across the top of the page. She took the large book from Paige’s hands, and the spine creaked and cracked as she sat down on her cot. Leo sat next to her, and Paige crawled onto the mattress behind them, while Phoebe and Cole waited in the center of the room.

  “‘The first records of the Anubi originated in ancient Egypt in the Nile Delta,’” Piper read aloud. “‘They were demigods, followers of the god Anubis, who decided the fate of the soul upon death. After betraying Anubis, the Anubi were cast off to live a mortal life and to die a mortal death.’”

  Piper paused and looked up at Cole. “So if they became mortal thousands of years ago, why were they walking around twenty-first century Vegas a couple of nights ago? Shouldn’t they be major dust piles by now?”

  “Keep reading,” Cole instructed, pulling at the knot in his tie. He freed himself from it and tossed it on Phoebe’s bed, then undid his top button.

  Piper took a deep breath and looked down at the book again. “‘Decades after their banishment, as the Anubi began to grow weak, they went to a witch to demand a spell that would return them to demigods before their imminent death. When the witch couldn’t help them, they killed her and drank her blood. It is in this way they discovered that they gained strength from the blood of witches. That they could, in fact, live forever off their blood.’”

  “Okay, this is starting to make more sense,” Paige said, sitting back. “Icky sense, but sense.”

  Piper scanned the rest of the page. “It says they drain the blood and keep it in canisters to be stored and used later. They need to drink only a bit at a time, but apparently they’re plan-for-the-future demons.”

  “Is there a vanquishing spell?” Phoebe asked, pacing the room. “Just tell me there’s a vanquishing spell so we can annihilate these things.”

  Piper flipped the page. “Bingo, baby!” she said, slapping the book with the back of her hand. “It says they can be vanquished by a simple Power of Three spell.”

  “Ah! That’s what I like to hear,” Phoebe said with a smile. “Now all we have to do is figure out what hotel they’re staying in and find the little suckers.” She scrunched up her face apologetically. “Uh, no pun intended. Sorry.”

  “Wait a minute, they’re staying in a hotel?” Cole asked.

  “According to my vision,” Phoebe replied.

  Piper closed the book and handed it to Leo. “Okay, you’re a really old Egyptian demon, you come to Vegas—”

  “Which they probably love, considering the climate around here,” Phoebe said, lifting her hair off her neck and fanning herself with her hand.

  “It’s just like home to them,” Cole agreed, shrugging out of his jacket, as if to accentuate the point.

  “So, they’re here for a little gambling, a little comedy, a little bloodletting,” Paige continued. “Where do they set up shop?”

  “Omigod, you guys! I’ve got it!” Phoebe exclaimed. “Isn’t there a pyramid casino? You know, the one with that huge light beam thing coming out the top?!”

  “The Luxor!” Paige said, her eyes lighting up as she pushed herself off the cot. She grabbed her tourist map of the Strip out of the side pocket on her bag and flattened it on the table. “It’s down here at the end,” she said, pointing to the hotel. “You know, the Anubi probably get some of their strength from that whole pyramid power thing. And I bet they can walk right through the lobby without drawing much attention. People probably think they’re part of the theme. Why didn’t we think of this before?”

  “Well, we thought of it now,” Piper said, grabbing the map. Her adrenaline was already pumping, and she couldn’t wait to find these things and get this whole ordeal over with. “Come on. Let’s go vanquish some demons.”

  The servant entered its master’s chamber, its black robes swishing as it walked. The walls were lined with black candles, flickering and dancing as the servant passed them by. The Great One knelt before the bloodstained altar, eyes closed, palms turned up in supplication. The servant stood behind its master in patient silence, as it had been trained to do.

  “You come to disturb my meditation with ill tidings?” the Great One asked, body rigid.

  “Never, Your Grace,” the servant replied with a bow. “Only to bring you joyous news.”

  The Great One lowered its hands and stood slowly, pulling its hood away from its face as it turned. Its eyes were thick with pure, unadulterated evil. It cocked its head, intrigued.

  “Speak,” it commanded.

  “It is confirmed, O Great One.” The servant bowed once more, clasping its hands together. “They exist. And they are here.”

  “The Charmed Ones,” the Great One breathed.

  Another bow. The servant continued. “Their power is even greater than we imagined, Your Grace. If we can capture them, our circle will be complete. Our ascension to power a definite. Their blood is pure and strong. It is all we need to finish this. To become that which we were meant to be.”

  “You use the word if. Do you have some reason to believe that we will not prevail over these…girls?” the Great One demanded with a sneer.

  “No, Your Grace,” the servant answered quickly, sensing there could be no other answer without a violent reaction. “Yes, they are powerful, but they are, at the moment, distracted. They are too trusting, too…innocent.”

  “Then, it will be simple for us to take them,” the Great One said, lifting the hood again. It turned and lowered itself to its knees at the altar once more, raising its hands and tilting its head to the sky. “It will be as simple as one…two…three….”

  Chapter

  9

  Piper led the way out of the tent and headed for the parking lot near the front of the camp. All she could think about was getting to the Luxor and what they were going to do once they got there.
They couldn’t exactly walk up to the front desk and ask if they had a bunch of demons staying there. If the Anubi were holed up in the hotel somewhere, the people that worked there probably didn’t know about it. If they did, they would have contacted the National Enquirer by now.

  “Piper!” Leo called out, jogging to catch up with her. “Where are we going?” he asked. He had already orbed the Book of Shadows back to the manor but had opted to come back and help them just in case they ran into trouble at the Luxor. He skidded up next to her and grabbed her upper arm, forcing her to stop.

  Piper swung around, slightly out of breath from rushing in the heat. Her hair fanned out as she spun, generating a pleasant little breeze that cooled her off for about two seconds.

  “I’m going to the car, Leo, where do you think I’m going?” she said.

  “Why don’t we just orb there? Time being of the essence, I mean,” Leo suggested, glancing around to make sure no one was in earshot, just as Paige walked up to join them. Phoebe and Cole were bringing up the rear, Phoebe already scribbling on her notepad.

  “Yeah, Piper,” Paige said. “May as well use what we got.”

  “You guys, we don’t know where in the hotel the Anubi are, or if they’re even there,” Piper said patiently. “We can’t have you orbing us into some tourist’s room or right into the middle of the casino. Besides, Phoebe needs time to work on a spell. She can do it in the car.”

  “Oh,” Leo said, glancing sheepishly at Paige. “Good point.”

  “There’s a reason she’s the oldest,” Paige said with only a trace of sarcasm.

  “Let’s go,” Piper said, scrounging through her bag for the keys to the convertible.

  At this point the formerly packed parking lot was almost empty. It was depressing to see the place so deserted. As much as Piper had picked on the people that had been there, the lovefest party atmosphere had been kind of cool. Now the Wiccans were being scared off in droves. Piper just hoped that in a little while none of them would have to be scared anymore.

  She unlocked the car and tossed her bag on the floor. Phoebe, Cole, and Paige climbed into the back-seat, and Leo was just opening the door to the passenger side when Piper heard footsteps crunching through the dirt and gravel. She turned to find Christian and Jasmine jogging up to them, both gasping for breath.

  “Great,” Piper said through her teeth. “Just what we need.”

  “Where’re you guys going?” Jasmine asked, holding her stomach as her breathing slowly returned to normal. She was wearing a black T-shirt, a black skirt, black tights, and huge black boots. Piper had no idea how she was able to stand the heat in her outfit, but apparently she was a style-before-comfort kind of girl.

  “Are you on a mission or something?” Jasmine added, sounding a little too interested for Piper’s comfort. “Are you going to use your powers again?”

  Piper glanced at her sisters, and they stared back at her blankly, as did Cole. Leo cleared his throat and looked away, taking sudden great interest in the landmarkless desert skyline. Apparently it was Piper’s turn to come up with a cover story. She’d have to check the rotation on that one.

  “Actually, we’re just going to…see the tigers!” Piper said brightly. “So, see ya!”

  “The tigers?” Christian asked skeptically, hands on hips. He seemed to have gathered himself together since the last time she saw him. Piper almost preferred the dazed, question-free Christian. “First you want to see Craig’s body, and now you’re going to look at tigers?”

  Piper plopped down behind the wheel, turned, and shot Paige a help me look.

  “Yeah, you know, at the Mirage!” Paige said. “I find wild animals very soothing to the nerves. We’d ask you to come, but there’s no more room in the car.” She batted her eyelashes innocently, and Piper hoped for the best.

  “Look, if you guys have a lead on whoever killed Craig, I want to come with you,” Christian said, leaning on the back of the car. “You can’t just leave me out of it.”

  “Christian…,” Piper began.

  But before she could even formulate a sentence, Jasmine stepped up next to Leo and rested her hand on his arm, looking up at him appreciatively. Leo shot Piper an almost frightened glance as Jasmine actually squeezed his biceps.

  “Where did you come from?” Jasmine asked, raising her eyebrows as she tossed her curls flirtatiously. “Do you have special powers, too?”

  “All right, that’s it,” Piper said. “Leo, sit.”

  He quickly sat down in the passenger seat and closed the door. Then, before Christian and Jasmine could even breathe, she froze them right on the spot.

  “You didn’t have to do that, Piper,” Paige admonished.

  “Oh, yes I did,” Piper said. She started the car and peeled out. Just before she hit the driveway, she flicked her hand back in Jasmine and Christian’s direction, unfreezing them so no one would find them in suspended animation.

  “Hey!” Jasmine shouted seconds later, after she’d recovered herself. “You can’t do that to us! Get back here!”

  Piper tried not to laugh. That’s what you get for messing with my man.

  And, of course, for hindering the work of the Charmed Ones.

  The moment Piper walked into the Luxor, she was struck with an overwhelming sense of awe. The place was huge! She hoped Phoebe was right about the Anubi being in the penthouse, because if they were hiding somewhere else in this monstrous building, it was going to take forever to find them. And Piper didn’t have forever. Some of the kidnapping victims could potentially still be alive, but the longer it took for her and her sisters to find them, the smaller the chances were for the missing Wiccans.

  “Where the heck are the elevators?” Phoebe said, standing next to Piper as she took in her surroundings with wide eyes.

  There were people everywhere, standing at the check-in desk, loitering in the lobby, crossing through to the casino, which was down a few steps from where Piper stood. The standard casino noises—bells dinging, men cheering, change falling into trays—filled the air. The hotel decor itself contributed to the busyness. Everywhere Piper looked there was another sphinx or golden statue, and she could have gone cross-eyed from the labyrinthine patterns on the carpeting and wallpaper.

  “You guys! Over there!” Paige said, pointing at a tiny gold sign with an arrow pointing toward the elevators. “They must be down that hall.”

  “Okay. Let’s do this,” Piper said.

  As they turned toward the elevators she swore she heard someone calling her name. She decided it had to be a trick of the ear. With all the noises in this place, her head was probably just messing with her. Then, however, she felt a hand on her back and whirled around. Her heart instantly leaped into her throat. Taryn and Tessa were standing right in front of her.

  “Hey,” Tessa said, taking a deep breath. “Sorry if I startled you.”

  Tessa’s short hair was pushed back in a headband, and both she and Taryn were wearing head-to-toe black. They looked like either cat burglars or supermodels, with their modern blond haircuts and their sleek outfits. Of course, they probably weren’t trying to be sleek, Piper realized. They were probably wearing black as a sign of mourning, now that they knew their sister was most likely gone forever.

  “What are you guys doing here?” Piper asked, pushing her hair behind her ear.

  “Well, we followed you,” Tessa said, smiling apologetically. “We know that Christian let you see the body, and we figured you may have found something out about, you know, what might have happened to Tina.”

  Piper’s heart squeezed painfully, and she looked at her sisters. How was she supposed to break the news to these girls that their sister had most likely died in a painful and heinous way. that she had been drained by a bunch of demons? Was that something they could even wrap their brains around—the existence of actual demons?

  “Look, Piper,” Taryn chimed in. Piper snapped back to attention at the surprising sound of Taryn’s voice. “We realize that Ti
na is probably dead, and we’ll have to deal with that. But if you’re going after her killer, we want to come. I want to see the person who did this to her. To us.”

  The expression in her steel blue eyes was so determined Piper couldn’t even think of turning her down. She looked at her sisters and knew that they were thinking the same thing. It was time to let Tessa and Taryn in on a few little secrets. But revealing those secrets was going to mean a lot of explanation.

  “All right, but I have to warn you, we may not actually be dealing with a person here,” Piper said quietly, leading the group over to the nearest wall.

  “Come again?” Tessa asked, raising her eyebrows.

  “It’s hard to explain, but basically, demons are real, and we think that a few of them may be responsible for the kidnappings,” Phoebe said. “And for Craig’s death.”

  “Demons are real,” Taryn repeated flatly. Piper held her breath as Taryn and Tessa glanced at each other skeptically. Then Taryn looked Piper right in the eye, her expression determined, her jaw set. “All right, then. Let’s go find these demons.”

  Piper almost smiled, impressed with how easily they accepted Phoebe’s brief explanation. That took a certain degree of open-mindedness that she almost never came across. But at the same time her mind was shouting a thousand protests. They could not lead these innocents into a battle. They couldn’t put more people in danger just because they wanted to come. But she also couldn’t ignore their plea. She knew that if something had taken Paige or Phoebe, she’d want to face it down herself. She knew that nothing would be able to stop her from doing just that.

  “All right,” Piper said finally, turning and heading for the gold elevators. “But you have to stay back once we find these things. We don’t know what’s going to happen.”