The War on Witches (18 page)

“I'll just leave him in the emergency room,” Paige said. “They can fix him now and we'll come up with an explanation later.”

“No.” Austin's voice was scratchy and weak. “No time.”

“Shh, honey,” Phoebe said. “Don't talk.”

“Have to . . . stop . . . Isaac.”

“We got that,” Phoebe said. “You need to rest.”

“No . . . blood . . . dangerous.” Austin coughed. It was as weak as his voice. “Made . . . books.”

“It's okay,” Piper assured him. “We expected as much.”

“My blood . . . different. Stronger.”

“Someone's getting delusions of grandeur,” Paige said.

“Descendant . . . Matthew Tate.”

The Charmed Ones leaned back in unison. Phoebe nearly laughed when she realized what they were doing. It was as if they were subconsciously trying to put some distance between them and Austin, which was kind of funny.

“It's okay, Austin,” Piper said. “Matthew Tate wasn't a particularly powerful warlock. He was just a bastard Melinda Warren trusted. Your blood is no stronger than that of the other warlocks.”

“Besides,” Paige said, “if he was still bleeding you, he couldn't have finished all three books he needed in order to take us on. So, even better.”

“Not three.” Austin's head jerked to the side in the direction of the incomplete book. “Four.”

“Prue,” Piper said. “Once he's done with us, Izax is going to go after Prue.”

“If he gets her magic, does that mean he'll control the Nexus?” Paige asked. “Suddenly, he's not looking like too midlevel of a demon.”

“Doesn't matter,” Phoebe said. “To get to Prue, he's got to go through us.”

A set of wooden double doors stood before the Charmed Ones. They weren't locked. No one needed to test them to confirm it. What was on the other side of those doors was obviously a trap. Austin had pretty much confirmed it for them. It was possible that Izax wouldn't have counted on them finding his lair so quickly, but if he was really the kind of planner that he was rumored to be, he may have anticipated that occurrence.

It was possible the doors themselves were rigged. Even touching them could set off some kind of magical chain reaction ending with the Charmed Ones losing their powers. Paige had offered to orb them into the next room, but it was just as likely that the use of magic would trigger it as well.

Austin was resting back with Prue and Cole, where Alysha was likely taking good care of him. The color had come back to his cheeks and they'd determined that his recovery would likely be better helped by magical means than medical ones. Unfortunately, Paige's Whitelighter powers to heal were useless against the magic Izax used to drain him of his blood. But maybe something about his proximity to the Nexus and it being a place for the balance of magic for both good and evil might be beneficial. At least that's what they hoped as Paige orbed him away.

Austin hadn't known anything more about what Izax was planning, just that the demon had all the books, including three empty ones written in Austin's blood ready to take the power of the Charmed Ones.

The one bright spot was it seemed like Izax needed a mortal to channel the magic of the warlock blood in the Books of Light. That was the only way to explain why he'd collected all those descendants of the jurists in the original Salem witch trials. It was a bit flashy when it seemed like any random mortal could do, but Izax was turning out to be something of a showman. So far as the Charmed Ones knew they were now completely alone in the church with the demon.

“This is ridiculous.” Phoebe took a few steps back, then ran for the double doors, lifting herself several feet into the air and delivering a powerful kick. The doors burst open, nearly coming off their hinges.

Piper and Paige were beside her the moment she landed in the chapel.

No trap had been sprung. No demon appeared.

They stood beside the abandoned altar. The pulpit was little more than a raised wooden platform.

The pews in the nave were gone too, just as Austin had said they would be. But the room was not completely empty. In place of the wooden benches stood five rows of pedestals laid out in some kind of pattern. The first row had four stands. Behind that, the next row had five, and then another row three. The shape diminished in the same manner with five stands in the fourth row and four pedestals in the fifth. A Book of Light sat open on each of the pedestals, with twenty-one total volumes containing the power of witches from across the area. The pages faced away from the Charmed Ones, but they didn't need to see the blood-red ink to know powerful magic lay before them.

They doubted that the three books intended for them were mixed in among the others. But the question was—where were they? And where was Izax?

The Charmed Ones moved to step down from the pulpit to search the chapel.

“I wouldn't do that if I were you,” a deep, scratchy voice echoed through the church. It came from the shadows in the choir loft, where three more pedestals with three additional Books of Light stood along the balcony rail.

“What's with the hiding in shadows?” Paige asked. She and her sisters were careful to stay on the pulpit. “We already caught a glimpse of you at the art gallery. Not like we're going to be shocked by the big reveal or anything like that.”

“Maybe he's hiding from us?” Phoebe suggested. “Too afraid to take us on face to face.”

Izax emerged from those shadows with a sneer on his demonic face. He was no longer in his human disguise, revealing his true hulking red and silver body, crazy hair, and horns. “Do you really think you can bait me into letting you beat me?”

“We baited you out of the shadows,” Piper said. “I'd back us in this fight.”

“You are three witches,” Izax said. “Powerful, I grant you. But I have the magic of dozens of witches at my control.” He motioned to the three books in front of him and the others below him as he spoke. “And before you think of throwing any potion bottles up at me”—Izax held his hand out above the balcony rail, and the air in front of him changed to a swirling blue wall of magic—“I've protected myself against your potions. And your orbs.”

“He has thought of everything,” Phoebe said softly to her sisters.

“He's a better planner than he's been given credit for,” Piper agreed.

“Good thing we're more the fly-by-the-seat-of-our-pants types.” Paige boldly ignored the demon's warning and stepped off the pulpit. “Come on, Izax. Hit us with your best shot.”

Piper and Phoebe shared a look, then followed their sister down onto the floor of the nave, bracing themselves for an attack that did not immediately arrive.

Then the chanting began in Izax's deep voice.

When the other witches had referred to a language they didn't recognize, that barely came close to describing the groans emitting from Izax's body. There were no words, not ones constructed in human language. The spell Izax uttered was more a collection of sounds that could only come from a demon. No human would be capable of creating them, which begged the question of how humans did?

A torrent of water burst from a book in the first row. Piper froze it before they could be doused. Paige orbed it outside, where they heard it splash harmlessly on the ground.

“That's the best you can throw at us?” Phoebe asked. “A bucket of water?”

“Don't bait the demon,” Piper warned with a glance toward the other books. “He's got plenty of ammunition.”

Phoebe rose off the ground. “Oh, come on, Piper. Where's your sense of adventure?” She pulled her potion bottle from her pocket and threw it at the force field. The glass smashed against the invisible wall, reawakening the swirling blue light with an added spark of green. “Now, Piper!”

Below her, Piper raised her hands in Izax's direction, flicking out her fingers in an attempt to make the demon explode. Nothing happened except for the deep, taunting laughter that came from behind the swirling blue.

“It was worth a try,” Phoebe said as she floated back to the ground.

Izax emerged again as the swirling blue light dissipated while the remains of the potion trickled down the balcony rail. “My turn.”

The inhuman keening began again.

Lightning shot out at Phoebe from another book. She dove from its path as it struck the altar behind her, starting a small fire.

A book in the third row fired thorns at Piper. She froze the pointy little missiles, then ducked out of the way, allowing them to harmlessly continue into the flames.

The book beside that one produced a lasso of light. Paige dove away from the glowing rope, but it countered the move and wrapped her up. The rope of light continued to grow from the book, twisting around Paige's body, tightening like a boa constrictor, crushing her. “Can't . . . orb.”

Phoebe grabbed Piper's arm. “Blow up the book!”

Paige gasped. “No!”

“That's a witch's power,” Piper said. “I can't destroy it if there's a chance we can return the magic to its rightful place.”

“Either a witch loses her powers,” Phoebe said, “or we lose an entire witch. Blow up the book!”

Another book attacked, sending out ice darts. Piper countered by speeding up the molecules and melting the ice. By the time it reached them, it was little more than a fine mist.

Paige dropped to the ground as the rope continued to tighten around her. Phoebe was quickly by her side. She tried to pull the light rope off her sister, but it refused to budge, sending shocks to her hands each time she tugged against it.

“Maybe I can take out the pedestal.” Piper held out her hands again and tried to blow up the pedestal the book rested on without harming the book. A small explosion knocked it to the ground. The rope of light held tight to Paige as the source of its origin dropped.

“Nooo!” Izax screamed, reverting to his human tongue.

“Aauggghh!” Paige yelled as she thrashed about on the floor, trying to break free from the rope of light.

Piper unstopped her potion bottle and moved toward Paige, dodging another rope of light as it shot from the book, darting past her and attacking Paige. “I've got an idea.”

“What are you doing?” Phoebe asked as she fought against the two glowing ropes tangled around her sister. “That potion was brewed for a midlevel demon, not a witch's magic.”

“That magic is tied to Izax now,” Piper reasoned. “Maybe we can weaken it. Or him.”

Piper carefully poured a couple of drops on the rope. It sizzled in the spot where the liquid fell.

“More!” Phoebe said. “I think it's working.”

Reluctantly, Piper spilled the rest of the potion on the ropes. As it made contact, the ropes frizzed and frayed, and the light blinked. Phoebe attacked the area, pulling away the ropes and giving Paige room to breathe. But the ropes refused to break. “Orb, Paige!” Phoebe urged. “While the rope is weak.”

Paige closed her eyes and slowly, painfully, broke her body into orbs. The tiny balls of light slipped out of the rope, rolling across the floor until they slammed against the wall, forming Paige's body once more. She gasped deeply for breath as the ropes, now empty, tightened into a ball and disappeared.

“Are you okay?” Piper asked as she and Phoebe helped their sister to her feet.

Paige waved them off, standing firmly on her own as a lightning bolt flew toward them. Paige orbed it away, altering its direction and sending it smashing out of the church through a window. “Just getting my second wind.”

The Charmed Ones turned to face the room again, preparing for the next onslaught. The books that had been used in the attack still showed signs of their magic. Water dripped from the first book, while another had sprouted thorns and a third had icicles hanging from its stand. The book on the floor was wrapped in threads of light, while another crackled with tiny bolts of lightning.

“Why are you playing with them?” a shrill voice shouted from within the shadows of the choir loft. “Finish this! Take their powers!”

Piper thought she recognized that voice. “Emily?”

The woman that they had reluctantly unfrozen revealed herself beside the demon, causing Phoebe to throw a side-eye at Paige. “Timbuktu?”

Paige shrugged. “Demons can teleport too. How was I supposed to know he put a tracking device on her?”

“Or she could have, you know, picked up a phone,” Phoebe said.

“You've teamed up with a demon?” Piper shouted up to the loft. “How is that not working with evil?”

“One evil at a time,” Emily said. “Once I get the witches, I can take on the demons. And then beat back any other darkness that exists in the world.”

“You are an idiot,” Piper said, “if you think he's not going to kill you the moment you've served your purpose.”

“Isaac needs me,” Emily said. “He has to channel his magic spells through a human for them to work. You see, even without your unnatural magic, we're still the dominant species on this planet.”

“His name is Izax,” Phoebe said. “And you're still an idiot.”

Emily laughed, sounding almost as inhuman as the demon as she stepped up to one of the Books of Light in the choir loft and started to read from it. Izax was chanting along with her, making those guttural sounds again. The pair spoke in unison, with the sounds from Emily coming out more like words but still completely unrecognizable.

“The force field,” Piper said. “One of these books has to be controlling the force field.”

“You don't think it's up there with them?” Phoebe asked as the chanting continued from the choir loft.

As her sisters talked, Paige grabbed her stomach. She felt odd. Uneasy.

“Look at how the books on the floor are laid out,” Piper said. “It's some kind of pattern. Did you hear how Izax yelled when I knocked one off the pedestal? I think the books that are already holding witches' magic are linked somehow, working together. If we can separate the book that's creating the force field from the others, we can disrupt it and take out the demon.”

Phoebe looked out at the books. Sixteen still hadn't revealed their magic yet, but none of those remaining tomes showed any signs of an invisible force field. “But how do we—”

Paige doubled over. “I don't feel so good.”

Phoebe moved to her side. “Paige!”

“He's stealing her magic.” Piper grabbed Phoebe. “Get to the books. Move them! Throw them! Do whatever you can!”

“Just don't destroy them,” Paige said, wincing in pain.

Piper and Phoebe ran from the altar, moving into the rows of books. Phoebe kicked a pedestal out from one while Piper picked another book up and threw it to the back of the room. As she went to pick up a second book, flames burst from the pages, forcing her to jump back. “Phoebe, look out!”

Vines burst from the book Phoebe held, but she was standing beside Paige before they could get her, the final orbs putting her body back together.

“That worked,” Paige said, standing tall and no longer seeming to be in pain at all. “Looks like you distracted him.”

Izax's voice was the only one chanting spells from the choir balcony at the moment, but not the only one they could hear. “What are you doing?” Emily screamed. “We have to take their powers.”

The hulking demon brushed the woman aside, pushing her back into the shadows. “You want to fight the magic instead of me?” he called down to the Charmed Ones. “So be it. I can take the power from your bodies once you're dead.”

Izax held his arms out before him and raised his voice, booming loud enough to shake the walls. The noises he made vibrated through the floor as the books below him rose into the air.