by Paul Ruditis
“Freeze them!” Paige yelled. “Freeze the magic.”
“I can’t!” she said. “It belongs to good witches.”
“But it’s being used for evil purposes!” Phoebe said.
“Maybe I can. . . .” Piper closed her eyes and concentrated. She could feel the magic around her, closing in on her. It was too powerful. Too much. She couldn’t stop it.
But she didn’t need to. All she had to do was slow it down.
Piper felt her own magic build within her, emanating from her fingertips and flowing out. When she opened her eyes again, she saw that she was at the center of a maelstrom set to slow motion. Vines crept toward her that she could easily sidestep. The fire that rose from another book barely gave off heat as its flames hardly flickered. Above her, Izax continued chanting his unintelligible spells in his booming voice, but the effect was muted on the floor below. She could pick the thorns out of the air as they floated by.
“The force field!” Phoebe said as she and Paige came down from the altar. “Which one is it?”
The Charmed Ones searched the lower level, weaving in and out of the books and the magic they created. Paige moved past a book that had the beginnings of a whirlwind forming from its pages. Piper hopped over a book that had thousands of tiny bugs spilling from it. She assumed it was a projection, as creating actual bugs didn’t seem to her much like the natural power of a good witch.
“I think I got it.” Phoebe stood beside the lone book in the back of the room that had no visible magic coming from it until Phoebe tried to touch it and the book erected a swirling blue shield around itself.
Paige was the first to join her. “Now what do we do?”
The moment Piper arrived, every book in the place went silent again. Evidence of the magic remained with them, but they no longer fought against Piper’s will. She released them from her magic, and those that were hovering all fell to the ground.
Above, they heard Emily’s voice becoming one with Izax’s again.
“No!” Paige doubled over.
Piper looked at the book in front of her. “I have to blow it up.”
“It’s a witch’s power!” Phoebe reminded her. “You were right. Maybe it belongs to Nat. The force field could be some sort of natural progression from her ability to sense danger. It’s a power she hasn’t even learned of yet. How can we destroy it before she has the chance to see what she can do?”
“I know, Phoebe, but you were right too. It’s either Nat or Paige.”
“You can get my magic back too,” Paige strained to say.
“Not if Izax takes all our powers,” Piper said.
Paige pulled the last remaining potion from her pocket, cringing from the attack on her. “Still have my potion bottle. Could weaken the shield.”
“If we use the potion against the book, we won’t have it to use against Izax,” Piper said.
“He’s a midlevel demon,” Phoebe replied. “You could just blow him up.”
“He’s channeling enough power for an upper-level demon now,” Piper said. “It’s too risky.”
Paige let out a howl of pain that rivaled the booming voice of Izax mixed with Emily’s. Tiny white orbs rose from Paige’s body, popping in the air above her as her magic was stolen by the duo above.
Phoebe’s eyes met Piper’s. “Do it.”
Piper grabbed the potion from Paige and handed it to Phoebe. “We need to time this right. I’ll get the book while you take out the demon.”
“On it.” Phoebe ran out from under the choir loft and turned so she faced her sister again. She gave a nod and Piper held out her hands. The book swirled with blue light as it fought against Piper’s power. The magic didn’t want to die as much as Piper didn’t want to destroy it. But it had to go. If Paige’s magic was lost, the Power of Three would be gone and Piper and Phoebe would become Izax’s next targets.
The book fought, but it was outmatched. Nat’s stolen magic was nothing compared to the strength of a Charmed One as Piper continued to batter it with a pop, pop, pop of explosions. The blue, swirling light spiraled out of existence and the book exploded, sending singed pages around the room.
The resulting boom was a starting pistol, prompting Phoebe to leap into the air, raising herself till she was level with the choir loft. As the demon continued to chant, she threw the potion. The bottle broke against his hulking red and silver body.
Izax ignited as soon as the liquid touched his skin, exploding in a burst of flames that knocked Emily to the floor beside him and blew Phoebe back toward the pulpit.
Phoebe righted herself in midair and watched as the last of the demon dematerialized, leaving silence in his wake.
Chapter 22
“What do we do with her?” Paige asked as they stood over the unconscious body of the woman who had decided that teaming up with a demon was preferable to letting witches run loose in the world. Phoebe had seen Emily fall against the balcony rail when Izax’s body exploded, but she’d been unable to do anything about it, since the explosion knocked her back through the air as well.
They’d already confirmed that Emily was breathing. There didn’t seem to be any other visible injuries, aside from the possible concussion. Paige had considered using her Whitelighter ability to heal Emily, but she liked the idea of the woman coming away from this encounter with a bump on the head to remind her that she shouldn’t go around attacking people, no matter who she believed them to be.
“We can’t take her to the police,” Piper said. “There’s no way to explain her crime.”
“Already tried leaving her in a foreign land with no way to get home,” Paige added. “That didn’t work so well. Maybe I could orb her to the Underworld for a while. Teach her what demons are really like.”
“Paige,” Piper warned.
“Kidding! Kidding!”
Phoebe leaned over the woman’s body. She placed her hands on the sides of Emily’s head. “I think I have an idea.”
Piper pulled her away. “Phoebe!”
Paige chuckled. “And you thought leaving her in the Underworld was too extreme.”
“We can’t kill her,” Piper said. “Much as we might want to.”
“I’m not going to kill her,” Phoebe said. “But I think I can teach her a better lesson. Give her a glimpse into what her all-consuming hatred of witches is doing to her.”
Piper looked down at the woman, who was slowly rousing. At any moment she was going to start screaming, or hitting. They probably should have checked her for a gun while she was still out. “Are you sure?”
Phoebe shrugged. “Pretty sure.” She took her position on the floor above the woman again, placing her hands on either side of Emily’s head. Phoebe hadn’t known what this power was when she’d had that original glimpse into her future. Back then, in the early days of learning she was a witch, Phoebe had only been able to see the future. In the years since, her premonitions had evolved into empathic abilities, and that had changed into something with the potential for violence. Not only could Phoebe sense people’s emotions; she could use the feelings against them as a weapon. She’d seen herself kill a man with his emotions and then—years later—almost made that vision come true. She used it against a powerful being once, only to be shaken off like she didn’t exist. Now Phoebe wanted to try something in between.
As Emily’s eyes flitted open, Phoebe tapped into the woman’s emotions. She felt Emily’s hatred, mixed with righteous indignation. Emily truly believed she was doing good, but her emotions had twisted it into something evil. For a brief moment, Phoebe touched on the fear at the core of all of that and then turned it around and projected it back into Emily’s mind.
White light emanated from Phoebe’s hands, crackling with energy. The woman screamed—more from fear than pain—as she was hit by her own raw emotions. Phoebe was careful to filter the strength of the images. Too
much and she could kill Emily. Not enough and the lesson would be completely lost on her. The connection was intimate and uncomfortable, and Phoebe ended it the moment she realized it was as much an intrusion as what Emily had done to the witches.
“I’m sorry,” Phoebe said as Emily eyed her with fear. “But you needed to know. If you don’t stop this, the only person you’re going to hurt is yourself.”
The woman didn’t say a word as Phoebe got up and moved away from her. “Paige, send her home.”
Without uttering a word, Paige used her power to return Emily to the place in her mind that she thought of as home. Once she was gone, the Charmed Ones turned away from the choir loft to look down at the destruction wrought below.
The small fire on the altar had gone out on its own. A gentle breeze blew in through the smashed window. The Books of Light littered the floor, dormant now. The thorns, ice, vines, and other manifestations of power had disappeared. The burnt and singed cover and pages of the one destroyed book remained.
“We’ll bring it all back to Prue,” Piper said. “The Nexus may be able to give her an idea of what we can do to restore the balance. But first . . .” Piper held out her hands and blew up the three Books of Light in the choir loft to ensure no one would ever use them against the sisters. Paige then orbed the remaining bits of the books to various points in the world, scattering the ashes far enough away that they would never be a danger.
The Charmed Ones went back down to the first floor of the church and carefully piled the Books of Light that held the other witches’ powers into three stacks on the floor. Paige then orbed the remains of the book Piper had destroyed into its own pile beside the stacks in the hope that some element of the power that had been stored in the book could be salvaged. None of them wanted to go back to Nat and tell her that she would never be a magical witch again.
They scoured the building to make sure there weren’t any other books before destroying the one that had been intended for Prue and scattering it as well. They dismantled the magical machine that Izax had used on Austin. Might as well protect the warlocks too, as long as it also kept witches safe in the bargain.
Once they were sure the building was clear of anything that could be used against witches, they reconvened in the church and orbed to the Nexus with the books.
Prue was on her feet and welcomed them with open arms upon their return. Her living room was back to normal and looking even better than it had before. The children’s painting hung straight above the mantle once more.
“You look so much better!” Piper said as she wrapped her sister in a hug.
“There were a couple moments there when things got wonky while you were gone,” Prue said. “But overall, the world has stopped spinning and I feel pretty good. I’m guessing these are the books that hold the witches’ powers?”
“And one other,” Phoebe said, pointing to the remains of the book they’d had to destroy. “The only casualty.”
“We were hoping you or the Nexus could do something about it?” Piper said, silently pleading with her eyes.
Prue looked skeptically at the pile of books and then sadly at the remains of the destroyed one. Her powers didn’t extend beyond the Nexus, since they weren’t her powers at all. The only thing she’d done since she became tied to the place was redecorate. She wasn’t sure if that was even considered real magic. It might have all been an illusion. She couldn’t stand aside and do nothing out of fear of learning the truth. The Nexus had spoken to her. It had let her know about the attacks and allowed her to feel the pain of loss. It was possible she could be an agent for healing as well.
Prue stepped up to the three stacks of books they had lined up in a row. She could feel the magic coming from them the closer she got. She’d long since learned that anything was possible, so she approached it with a kind of optimism she hadn’t felt much recently.
Holding her hands out over the books, Prue reached out to the power of the witches contained within the pages. She felt the darkness in there too, the remnants of the warlock blood stolen to make the horrible books. She felt the evil recede as she connected with the light within the pages.
Prue closed her eyes, calling out silently to that good magic. Her body warmed with an internal glow as she connected with the Nexus and allowed the light magic to wash over her. For a brief, shining moment, she was filled with the power of dozens of witches, becoming the most powerful witch on the planet. Even more powerful than the Charmed Ones. The magic swirled in her body. She could do anything.
It was a tempting power, but it wasn’t hers. It had to return home. She used this new strength to reach out into the world, touching each of the women whose powers had been stolen from them, and a few men as well. With each person her essence touched, she felt the magic ebbing away, returning to its rightful place. One by one she experienced the joy each witch felt as she regained her abilities. The silent prayers of gratitude came back upon her until the last bit of magic left Prue’s body and she was alone with the Nexus again.
When Prue opened her eyes, she saw her sisters staring at her in awe. Piper held another Book of Light that had not been in any of the stacks. “Where did that come from?”
“It’s the book I blew up,” Piper said. “You put it back together.”
“You didn’t know?” Phoebe asked.
Prue reached out to touch the book. It was solid . . . whole. “I could feel the magic flowing through me, but I couldn’t tell you what was happening. It all just felt . . . right.”
Paige threw an arm around her sister. “Looks like the Power of Three has nothing on the Power of the Nexus.”
“I guess.” Prue was both excited and scared by what that could mean.
Prue was surprised to find herself alone in her bedroom when she woke as the sun was just beginning to set over the desert. By the time she’d returned all the magic to its rightful witches, it had grown late in San Francisco. The fight against Izax had pretty much drained them all of their energy, if not their magic. Her sisters had been too tired to make the orb trip home and bother getting ready for bed, so Prue used her magic to extend her bed to twice its size and they had an impromptu sleepover. Sure, the girls could have gone off to the many bedrooms in her new castle to sleep, but this was more fun. Unfortunately, everyone was too exhausted for chatting, ghost stories, or childish pranks. But Prue slept more soundly among her three sisters than she had in a while.
She figured they’d needed to get back home first thing. They all had kids to prepare for school, husbands to kiss goodbye, and their own jobs to get to as well. But Prue had assumed they’d at least wake her to say goodbye before they left.
As she got out of the giant bed herself, she realized it was Saturday morning in San Francisco. Piper’s restaurant didn’t open till later, and Phoebe didn’t have to work at all. Time kind of lost all meaning when one was stuck above a magical Nexus and didn’t have a calendar to answer to. But still, the kids would probably want to know where their mommies were when they woke.
Prue went to her bathroom to splash some water on her face and brush her teeth. Alysha and Austin would still be around. The young warlock had been healing nicely with a magical nudge from the Nexus, which could apparently do what a part Whitelighter could not. Time would tell if he gave in to the darkness of his warlock heritage, but for the moment he seemed to be on the right path. Prue was pretty sure Alysha had plans to keep him on the straight and narrow.
Cole was probably puttering around somewhere as well, possibly making breakfast if the smells from the kitchen were any indication. Prue made her way toward the delicious aromas.
“What’s this?” Prue asked when she saw the smorgasbord of food laid out on the kitchen table and Piper by the stove.
“We made breakfast,” Phoebe said as she bit into a strawberry while sitting on the counter.
“We?” Piper asked.
Pho
ebe raised a hand. “Official food taster. It’s an important job.”
Prue was glad to see that her sisters hadn’t left. She took a strawberry and dipped it in the bowl of whipped cream beside it. “It’s nice to know some things never change. I’ve missed you.”
Phoebe slid off the counter with a suddenly serious expression. “I’m sorry I haven’t been around more.”
“It’s okay, Phoebe,” Prue said. “I understand. You were avoiding my roommate.”
Phoebe took her sister’s hand. “True. But I think I was avoiding you too. Just a little. It’s wonderful having you back, but it’s weird too. Like with Cole, I moved on. I had a life. And I feel a bit like I cheated you out of one. Like I should have found a way to bring you back. Piper took forever to give up on you. She tried everything and then she tried everything more.”
Piper stepped away from her cooking. “Phoebe, I was obsessed. It wasn’t healthy. And it didn’t work anyway.”
“But she found a way on her own,” Phoebe said, turning back to Prue. “Why couldn’t I? If I could see the future, why couldn’t I see you?”
“Phoebe, I was a mess back then. I wasn’t ready to come back. Not even to visit like Mom and Grams. But I’m better now. I’ve healed. Accepted who I am—and I’m even kind of happy. I’ve got you two back in my life, and now I have the chance to get to know Paige. Okay, I’m stuck here. Life isn’t perfect. But it is life.”
“I love you.” Phoebe pulled her sister into a warm hug.
“I love you, too,” Prue said.
“Oh, and remember your black jacket that a cat peed on and you blamed Piper because you thought she borrowed it? Yeah, that was my fault. I was the one that took it. Whew. Been holding that one in for years! Feels so good to get it out. Oh, look, Cole’s here. Good morning, Cole! Or, I guess it’s evening here.” Phoebe hurried off as Prue watched her, awash in confusion.