Midnight Magic

Chapter 4

  "What did she mean by 'the other sister?'" asked Leo. "You're the only remaining one, yet she didn't go for you, too. Does the little girl have a sister? Has news not yet gotten around the Underworld that Phoebe's been captured by the Prince?"

"Maybe she wastalking about me, and didn't attack me because she needed to hold Paige against me as leverage. Or, possibly, did she not know that I'm one of the Charmed Ones? Don't they, like, have drawings of us in their evil textbooks or paintings of us on their evil walls? Because if there isn't some likeness of me making the rounds of the demonic circle, I have to admit I feel kind of hurt."

"How will we find her?"

"Look," she said, pointing to the floor. "I see a few drops of blood! When Paige smashed that potion on the vampire's arm, the glass must have cut her skin. We can use it to scry for her!"

Piper ran downstairs to the kitchen and came up with a paper towel. Tearing off a small piece, she gently dabbed the blood on the floor and absorbed it onto the towel. She brought the blood-soaked paper over to the table where the map of San Francisco still lay. She folded the map, put it back where she found it, and unfurled a map of the world. With the paper towel in one hand and the scrying crystal in the other, she rubbed the blood onto the crystal. Discarding the paper towel, she poised the crystal above the map and started swinging it in small circles. It landed on the Pacific Ocean.

"What? That can't be," said Piper, astonished.

"What can't be?"

"It landed right in the middle of the ocean."

"It's actually not so uncommon for evil lairs to be located underwater. I mean, of course they're built of fire and brimstone, but they're protected on all sides from the water with magic. After all, it's not the first place one would think to look."

"I am learning so much today. Now, how do I get there?" she asked.

"I can't orb you," said Leo.

"I can teleport you," said Slappy.

"Thank you for offering, but somebody has to stay here and watch Leo and our son. There must be something here in the Book that will do the trick," Piper said, walking over to the podium on which lay the Book of Shadows. She raised her hands above the pages and they started flipping themselves until they stopped at a spot in the middle.

"Here we are. A one-way transportation spell."

"How will you get back?" asked Slappy.

"Once I rescue Paige, she'll orb the both of us back," said Piper confidently.

"You're sure about this? What if things get hairy? You won't be able to escape," said Leo.

"I have a few tricks up my sleeve. Trust me, I'll be fine."

"I still don't like it."

"Well then, lucky for me you can't get up and stop me." She started chanting:

"Sands of time, days unravel,

Give me guidance in my travel.

Help me tame my greatest fear,

Let me be no longer here."

In a moment, Piper showed up where the female vampire had taken Paige. It was a dark, dank, dungeon-like place. Across the room, she saw Paige in a glass coffin like the one in which she'd last seen Phoebe.

"A little clichéd, don't you think?" she said to nobody, walking over to her sister.

"Actually, I thought it was rather clever," said another voice, sultry and dripping with disdain.