Disclaimer: None of it's mine. 'Cept Pamela.
A/N: Gimme all you got. I need some constructive criticism on this story.
"Wow," Pamela said, flipping the pages of the Book of Shadows. "Are all these real?"
"I guess so," Sydney said, almost as fascinated as Pamela.
"Are these real spells?"
"I don't know. I'm not a witch. I've never seen anything like this before, either."
"Hey, look at this. A conjuring spell," Pamela said.
"I don't think you should be playing with spells without supernatural supervision," Sydney said wryly.
"Aw, come on, it's just a harmless little spell. I'm a witch, right?" Pamela argued.
"No. You know even less about magic than I do," Sydney asserted. "No spells."
"Fine," Pamela pouted.
"Sydney." Paige appeared in the doorway. "They need the Book upstairs. I'll stay with Pamela."
A sense of urgency in Paige's voice caused Sydney to snatch up the Book of Shadows and dash wordlessly up the stairs. She was out of breath when she reached the attic.
"What's going on?" she gasped.
"We think the Source is going to come after Pamela," Vaughn said before anyone else had a chance.
Piper took the book from Sydney and returned it to its place.
"What are we even looking for?" Vaughn asked.
"There's a sense of urgency in the underworld," Leo said. "There is still a deadline they're trying to meet. The Source might be trying to get to Pamela before the sisters can perform some binding actions, presumably casting a spell."
"A spell?" Sydney said. "What kind of spell?"
"It could be almost anything…" Piper murmured distractedly.
"Could it be a protection spell?"
"There's no such thing," Phoebe protested.
"There is. I saw one just now, when Pamela was looking at the Book." Sydney came to stand beside Piper and flipped a few pages, then a few more. "Here. Power of Three Protection spell."
"I've never seen this before," Piper said.
Phoebe came to stand on the other side of Piper.
"Leo, will this work?" Phoebe asked incredulously.
Leo shrugged.
"There's only one way to find out."
A shriek from downstairs sent them all--even those without powers to defend themselves--scrambling down the stairs. Sydney grabbed the Book as she ran.
The reached the living room to find Paige shielding Pamela from the fireballs of a demon, but Pamela was just too far for Paige to reach her to orb her away.
Phoebe charged in, levitated, and delivered a solid kick to the perfectly human-looking demon's head.
"Leo! Take her away until we call!" Piper yelled. "Move, Phoebe!" she cried, trying to get a clear shot at the demon. She blew up a vase instead.
When the demon saw Pamela was gone, he shimmered before Piper got another chance at him.
Piper took the Book from Sydney and set it on the coffee table.
"We can't send Pamela home until we figure out how to keep her safe," Paige said. "And we sure can't bring her here."
"We'll just have to take precautions," Phoebe said.
"Right. That's all we can do," Piper said. "Phoebe, you look for that demon in the Book. Paige, see what you can do about a demonic alarm system, there's a box of cleansed crystals in the attic somewhere. I'll…"
"What can we do?" Vaughn asked.
"I will arm these two with some potions to protect themselves with, since they know no fear," Piper amended, turning for the kitchen.
Twenty minutes later, the kitchen reeked of potions. Three large pots bubbled and boiled as Piper filled various vials with the colorful liquids.
"Now," she said, still at her task and glancing up only briefly to assure she had her audience's attention. "The blue one duplicates my exploding power. Use it carefully; it will blow up on contact. The red one is a vanquishing potion for Jinx. I doubt we'll need it since there is a different demon out now, but just in case." She handed them each a vial of both potions. "The green one is an anti-shimmering potion. If you hit a demon with it, it'll prevent him from shimmering long enough for us to vanquish him, hopefully." They each got one of those, too.
Paige walked in to place large white crystals in front of the windows and doors.
"That's the last of them," she said. "I'm not sure it'll work, though. We don't know what level the demon is."
"The demon's not in the Book," Phoebe said in frustration, joining them. She tore pages off of a legal pad. "But I did copy down that spell Sydney found."
"What spell?" Paige demanded.
"Oh, sorry," Piper said. "The spell we suspect the Source is trying to kill Pamela before we can cast."
"Great. What do we do now?" she asked, studying the vials of potions Sydney had lined up on the counter. She held up a blue one. "This doesn't simulate your exploding power, does it? Sure that's smart, to give them that?"
"Yes, it does, and no, I'm not," Piper said, looking at the clock. "Pamela should have been home already."
"But we can't possibly send her back until we cast the spell," Phoebe protested. "Her power is active. That's how the Source is tracking her."
"We have to bring her back here and hope we can cast the spell before the demon attacks," Piper said.
"Where?"
"The attic. It's the safest place within the manor."
Standing in a tight circle, hands joined, Piper, Phoebe, and Paige awaited Leo's return. They'd already filled him in on the plan: he was to orb Pamela within the circle, then orb himself out. Sydney and Vaughn stood nearby, neither quite sure what to expect. Each had the blue and green vials clutched tightly in their hands.
Blue lights danced and formed into human shapes, signaling Leo and Pamela's arrival. Leo orbed out without ever having fully solidified.
As one, the sister's began to recite the spell they'd memorized.
"Protect now our sister witch
Within the Power of the Circle of Three…"
Before they could finish, the newest demon shimmered into the attic. Before anyone could react, the demon telekinetically threw the sisters across the attic, effectively scattering them and leaving Pamela unprotected. Clearly unsure of the power of the power of the witch he'd been sent to kill, the demon put his arm around Pamela from behind, intending to shimmer with her to someplace where there'd be less interference with the kill.
Sensing, on some elemental level she'd never be able to explain, that they'd lose Pamela forever if the demon shimmered with her, Sydney hurled the vial of green liquid and hit the demon in the back.
Furious, the demon spun on Vaughn, still holding Pamela against him. Piper, Phoebe, and Paige, largely unscathed, scrambled to reach each other and finish the spell.
The demon produced a fireball in his hand. Pamela shrieked.
"From all powers of evil…"
The fireball zoomed toward Vaughn's head. Pamela stared in horror, praying for a miracle.
"And the strength of its will…"
At the last possible second, the flaming projectile curved sharply, hitting the wall just inches from its mark.
"Until she and her magic reach maturity."
Pamela glowed for a moment, then out of nowhere, a clear, jelly-looking blue shield sprang up around her, knocking the demon backward.
All at once, Sydney and Vaughn threw their blue-potion-filled vials, and Piper threw up her hands. The explosion was such that Piper, Phoebe, Paige, Sydney, Vaughn, and Leo were all thrown up against the wall, and Pamela flew backward and skidded several feet--the shield completely gone now--to land at Vaughn's feet.
Everyone sat on the floor in a kind of shock for a few moments.
"Well," Paige finally said. "The spell worked."
Vaughn stood and hauled Pamela to her feet.
"I should be dead now," he commented. "What happened?"
"Pamela," Sydney said, looking to Leo and the sisters for confirmation. "Pamela saved him."
"Me?" Pamela squeaked. "What did I do?"
"You moved the fireball," Phoebe said. "You're the only one that could do that, sweetie. It had to be you."
Vaughn put one hand on Pamela's shoulder to turn her to face him.
"Thank you," he said solemnly.
Pamela blushed.
"I didn't do it on purpose. I mean, I didn't know I did it," she stuttered.
Piper smiled softly, noticing once again how much like Pru Pamela looked.
"I think you'll be safe now, Pamela, but you should practice that power of yours," she instructed. "You'll be a target now, too."
Pamela's eyes widened.
"I think that's enough sage advice for now," Paige broke in. "We're late."
"Oh!" Pamela moved hastily to take Paige's hand.
Someone was pounding on Pamela's door and shouting when they orbed into her room.
"Pamela! If you don't come out here right now, the others are going to eat your dinner, and I'm going to let them!"
Paige winked and disappeared before Pamela opened the door and walked out, still shell-shocked but grinning.
Aw, how sweet! And, yes, I borrowed Pamela's shield from Wyatt, whom I should have had in this story but didn't. We'll just say Leo left him with his Elder babysitter because the elf nanny had the week off, right? Lol. If you don't watch Charmed, just don't ask, you'd only be confused. If you do watch Charmed, don't be too mad at me for leaving Wyatt out. I'd hate to have to have him abducted by Jinx, or something. Anyway…please review! This story's almost over now!
Nice try, Rebkos, but no cigar! lol