ELEVEN

"Oh, this is just getting better and better," said Piper. "Not only is Abby a warlock out to kill us but she's using our own power to do it. Can this get any better?"

"It does give us an advantage, however," said Jerrod.

"How do you figure that?" asked Paige.

"Because the Power of Three is too powerful for even Abby to control completely," said Jerrod. "Which means she has to bide her time. Absorb the magic a little at a time. That explains why she hasn't attacked you yet. She doesn't have the power to overcome your magic."

"Okay," said Phoebe, "if magic can't hurt itself, how come I was able to hurt her?"

"Because as I said she hasn't absorbed enough of your magic yet. Plus you have access to the fantasy magic. That's enhancing your power. If you'll remember she only used her telekinetic power against Piper and the others. She didn't use any other powers against you. And when Phoebe attacked her she fled almost immediately. She's still too weak to confront you directly."

"What about whomever she's working with?" Cole asked. "They'd have the same power wouldn't they?"

"Probably. They'd be sharing their magic through a magical conduit. That means it's going to take longer for her to gain control of the magic. But it's still only a matter of time before that happens. And when it does there will be no stopping her. Then she'll come after you."

"We still have to figure out who she's working with," said Piper. "And since Zile is dead it's going to make it harder to locate whomever that is."

"Well I for one could use a shower," said Phoebe. "I think we should take a break. We aren't going to do anyone any good if we wear ourselves out."

"She's right," said Leo. "Piper, why don't you fix something for us to eat? We're going to need to keep our strength up if we're going against Abby."

"Good idea," said Piper. "Paige, will you help me in the kitchen?"

"Sure," said Paige.

"In the mean time," said Cole, "Jerrod can tell us everything he knows about Abby. There might be something we can use to our advantage. Some weakness we can exploit."

Piper and Paige went into the kitchen as Phoebe headed upstairs. In her room she began to look through her closet for something to wear. As she was deciding what to wear she heard someone move up behind her. Thinking it was Cole following her upstairs she turned to him.

"Decided to help me with my shower?"

She was taken by surprise when the man pushed her up against the wall and put one hand over her mouth and another hand around her neck.

"Hello, Phoebe. It's been a long time. I think it's time we got reacquainted."

Without another word he and Phoebe vanished from her bedroom.

"Whatever you can tell us about Abby could be helpful," said Cole in the living room with Leo and Jerrod. "You'd be surprise how something that seems insignificant could be helpful."

"Well, as I said, she and Zile were very close. Unnaturally close by most people's standards. It's why he went after Prue. After you foiled Abby's plan and the Grand Mystic banished her he swore vengeance on the sisters. He planned to steal their powers to free her."

"We know what happened there," said Leo. "He was vanquished and so was the priestess he was working for."

"Yes," said Jerrod. "She really wasn't close to anyone else. She kept pretty much to herself. Except for the Grand Mystic, of course. There wasn't anything she wouldn't do for him. I always believed it was because she wanted to take his place some day. Like I said he's physically very frail. He's confined to a wheelchair partially because of his advanced age. But his power is so great no one can oppose him. With your power Abby could conceivably do just that."

"So if she's not close to anyone, who could be helping her?" Leo asked.

"It could be anyone," said Jerrod. "Any warlock that would be interested in getting part of the Charmed Ones power."

"Which means any warlock," said Cole. "I doubt if it's a demon. Most demons won't work with warlocks. Besides a demon might not be able to utilize the girl's power. It would have to be a warlock."

"Or it could be a mortal," said Leo. "It's possible she's filtering the girl's magic through a human. It might be possible for her to use their power that way. If it is just a regular human it's going t make it more difficult…."

Leo stopped in mid-sentence and stared at the ceiling for a minute.

"Piper, Paige," he called out, "Phoebe's in trouble."

He didn't wait for them. He orbed immediately to Phoebe's room. At nearly the same instant, Jerrod blinked into her room and Paige orbed Piper and herself there. Cole, being the only one with no powers, had to relay on taking the stairs. He arrived a few seconds after the others.

"I suddenly sensed she was in a panic," said Leo. "But she's not here."

"Someone was here," said Jerrod. "I can sense the residual affects of someone blinking out. It's not very strong but it's there."

"You think it was Abby?" Piper asked.

"I don't think so," said Jerrod. "I'm not sensing any mystical magic that would be present if it was a Mystic. No, it has to be a regular warlock. But I can't sense where he's taken her. Something is blocking my tracking sense."

"I can't sense her either," said Leo. "I should be able to sense her no matter where she is on the mortal plane. But I'm not getting anything. It's like she's just vanished."

"Unless she's being shielded or in the underworld," said Cole. "I doubt if she's in the underworld. It would be dangerous enough for a warlock to go down there. Taking a Charmed One with them would be that much more dangerous. So he must have taken her somewhere that's shielded from Leo's senses."

"Why take her?" Paige asked. "If he wanted to kill her why not just kill her here?"

"He might not have had enough time," said Cole. "With all of us here she might have been able to alert us before he had a chance to kill her. So he'd probably take her somewhere that he could kill her at his leisure."

"That makes sense," said Jerrod. "And if he's shielded it from your White Lighter's senses then he may take his time killing her. Most warlocks are notoriously sadistic in that respect."

"Then we have no way to find her," said Piper frantically. "She could be just about anywhere and we have no idea where she is. By the time we find her it might be too late."

"I wouldn't say that exactly," said Jerrod. "There is a way we might be able to locate her. It's a long shot but it just might work. If you're willing to trust me."

"How?" Piper asked, frantically. "How can we find her?"

"I can tap into your dreams and fantasies," said Jerrod. "I might be able to locate her that way."

"How?" Cole asked.

"Well, no two fantasies or dreams are exactly alike," said Jerrod. "But with sisters as close as these are, they would be very similar. If they share a similar dream or fantasy, the underlying cause of those could be caused by the same stimuli. Since they are linked magically, as well as by blood, it's very likely there's a link between them. I can tap into that link and locate her that way."

"I never knew Mystic Warlocks could do that," said Cole.

"It's not something we broadcast," said Jerrod. "I'm sure there are things about demons you'd just as soon didn't become public knowledge."

"Point taken," said Cole.

"So, all Piper has to do is find something that she and Phoebe have in common," said Jerrod. "Some dream or fantasy they have in common. The more personal it is the better. That will make the connection even stronger. Then I can tap into it and create a psychic link with Phoebe. That will lead me right to her. All you have to do is decide on something you think Phoebe wants, too."

"That's easy," said Piper. "Having Prue back. No offense Paige but it's been very hard since she died. I know I'd like to have her back. And I know Phoebe wants the same thing."

"Don't worry about it, sweetie," said Paige. "I know how close the three of you were. And it's perfectly normal you'd want her back. Besides, it might help us find Phoebe."

"Great," said Jerrod. "That should make the link as strong as possible." He reached out and took Piper by the hands. "Now, just think about Prue. The better the memories the stronger the link. I'll see if I can tap into those thoughts. You may be tempted to push me from your mind. It's very important you don't do that. You have to allow me to tap into your thoughts."

Piper closed her eyes and thought about Prue. All the good times they had together. Even the arguments that had seemed to draw her closer to her dead sister. They were memories and thoughts she had never told anyone. Memories and thoughts that had consoled her on nights when Prue's absence was even more pronounced than normal.

As she thought of Prue she felt a presence in her mind. Just as Jerrod had said, her first instinct was to resist the presence. To push it out of these her most private of thoughts. As she fought the urge to push the presence out of her mind she concentrated intently on Prue and Phoebe. If this failed, it might cost Phoebe her life. Piper vowed that was not going to happen.