TWO
"What do you mean you can't find her?" Piper asked Leo very slowly and
deliberately.
Leo recognized her tone. It was all she could do to keep from loosing her
temper. And he had to admit a missing sister was good cause for concern. He
knew going in that this was not going to be easy.
"No one seems to know where she is," said Leo. "I can't sense her
anywhere. And none of the Elders can find her either."
"Wait a minute," said Paige. "I thought you said you could sense all of
us no matter where we are."
"As long as they're on the mortal plane he's supposed to," said Piper.
"So, Leo. If she's still on the mortal plane, why wouldn't you be able to sense
her?"
'Well," said Leo, "if she's magically shielded I might not be able to
sense her. And there are a couple of places on the mortal plane where a White
Lighters' sensing ability won't penetrate. But none of them are near San
Francisco."
"What aren't you telling us?" Piper asked.
"I wouldn't be able to sense her," said Leo, after a short pause, "if she
were dead."
"Dead?" shrieked Paige. "What do you mean, dead?"
"If she was killed, I wouldn't be able to sense her," said Leo. "When I
sense someone it isn't their body I'm detecting. It's their soul or spirit.
And their power. If Phoebe had died, her spirit would have moved on and there
would be nothing to sense. She could be in the next room and I wouldn't know
it."
"No," said Piper defiantly. "I will not entertain the thought that
another sister is dead. If someone or something had tried to kill her she would
have put up a fight. Nothing's been disturbed in here. Which means that there
wasn't a fight. There has to be another explanation."
"I agree with you," said Leo. "But I just don't know what to tell you.
Even if someone had taken her there would be signs of a struggle. Something to
indicate she hadn't gone willingly. But like you said, this place is completely
undisturbed."
"Well, something has happened to her," said Paige. "She wouldn't just
blow off Piper unless it was important. And she would have left a note or
something."
"Okay," said Piper, "first, let's start by rechecking the entire manor.
Maybe she left a note or something and I just missed it."
The three split up and began to check the manor. To be thorough, they all
checked the entire house looking for anything that might indicate what had
happened to Phoebe. Just as when Piper had searched, there was no sign that
anything was out of place.
"Something screwy is going on here," said Paige. "Phoebe wouldn't just
disappear like this."
"You think Cole has something to do with this?" Piper asked.
"I doubt it," said Leo. "Cole's trying to win her back. Even though
that's not going to happen I don't think he'd risk his chances by harming her or
kidnapping her."
"I agree with Leo," said Paige. "Cole may be evil but he loves Phoebe. I
don't think he'd do anything to hurt her."
"So, what do we do now?" Piper asked. "We have absolutely no clues to go
on."
"I have an idea," said Paige.
She picked up a pad and began to write on it. After a few moments she
stopped and looked at what she had written.
"This might help," she said. "I've never written a spell like this before
but I think this might work."
Piper looked the spell over.
"It's worth a try," she said. "Go on. Cast it and see what happens."
Paige took the pad back from Piper and began to read the spell.
"A sister missing we search for her now, show us what has gone before."
The three watched as a vision formed in front of them. Phoebe was in the
entryway of the manor and turned to answer the door. When she opened the door,
a man in his late thirties was outside. There was no sound from the vision so
none of them could tell what was being said.
Phoebe smiled at the man and pointed into the living room. Then she
turned and headed for the living room. As she did, the man reached up and
touched her. Almost instantly Phoebe collapsed unconscious. The man caught her
as she fell to the floor. Then he shimmered slightly and his form changed.
Piper, Paige, and Leo stood watching as a demon replaced the man. It was
about average height and had yellow skin. Its eyes were solid orbs of blue with
no pupils. It had pointed ears and only three fingers on each hand. A red
strip ran from its neck down both arms. Small markings like tribal markings
covered both arms.
It smiled and looked around. Apparently satisfied that it had been
unobserved, it turned and closed the front door behind it. Then it shimmered
and was gone from the manor. The vision ended.
"She's been kidnapped," said Piper. "By a demon."
"That's why there wasn't any signs of a struggle," said Leo. "Whatever it
did to her knocked her out instantly."
"Paige," Piper said, "come on. We're going to check the Book of Shadows
and find out what this thing is. Leo, go back to the Elders and let them know
what we found out. Maybe this will give them some clues about it."
"Right," said Leo as he orbed out.
"Good spell," Piper said as she and Paige headed for the attic. "Now,
let's find this thing and go kick some demonic butt."
"What do you mean you can't find her?" Piper asked Leo very slowly and
deliberately.
Leo recognized her tone. It was all she could do to keep from loosing her
temper. And he had to admit a missing sister was good cause for concern. He
knew going in that this was not going to be easy.
"No one seems to know where she is," said Leo. "I can't sense her
anywhere. And none of the Elders can find her either."
"Wait a minute," said Paige. "I thought you said you could sense all of
us no matter where we are."
"As long as they're on the mortal plane he's supposed to," said Piper.
"So, Leo. If she's still on the mortal plane, why wouldn't you be able to sense
her?"
'Well," said Leo, "if she's magically shielded I might not be able to
sense her. And there are a couple of places on the mortal plane where a White
Lighters' sensing ability won't penetrate. But none of them are near San
Francisco."
"What aren't you telling us?" Piper asked.
"I wouldn't be able to sense her," said Leo, after a short pause, "if she
were dead."
"Dead?" shrieked Paige. "What do you mean, dead?"
"If she was killed, I wouldn't be able to sense her," said Leo. "When I
sense someone it isn't their body I'm detecting. It's their soul or spirit.
And their power. If Phoebe had died, her spirit would have moved on and there
would be nothing to sense. She could be in the next room and I wouldn't know
it."
"No," said Piper defiantly. "I will not entertain the thought that
another sister is dead. If someone or something had tried to kill her she would
have put up a fight. Nothing's been disturbed in here. Which means that there
wasn't a fight. There has to be another explanation."
"I agree with you," said Leo. "But I just don't know what to tell you.
Even if someone had taken her there would be signs of a struggle. Something to
indicate she hadn't gone willingly. But like you said, this place is completely
undisturbed."
"Well, something has happened to her," said Paige. "She wouldn't just
blow off Piper unless it was important. And she would have left a note or
something."
"Okay," said Piper, "first, let's start by rechecking the entire manor.
Maybe she left a note or something and I just missed it."
The three split up and began to check the manor. To be thorough, they all
checked the entire house looking for anything that might indicate what had
happened to Phoebe. Just as when Piper had searched, there was no sign that
anything was out of place.
"Something screwy is going on here," said Paige. "Phoebe wouldn't just
disappear like this."
"You think Cole has something to do with this?" Piper asked.
"I doubt it," said Leo. "Cole's trying to win her back. Even though
that's not going to happen I don't think he'd risk his chances by harming her or
kidnapping her."
"I agree with Leo," said Paige. "Cole may be evil but he loves Phoebe. I
don't think he'd do anything to hurt her."
"So, what do we do now?" Piper asked. "We have absolutely no clues to go
on."
"I have an idea," said Paige.
She picked up a pad and began to write on it. After a few moments she
stopped and looked at what she had written.
"This might help," she said. "I've never written a spell like this before
but I think this might work."
Piper looked the spell over.
"It's worth a try," she said. "Go on. Cast it and see what happens."
Paige took the pad back from Piper and began to read the spell.
"A sister missing we search for her now, show us what has gone before."
The three watched as a vision formed in front of them. Phoebe was in the
entryway of the manor and turned to answer the door. When she opened the door,
a man in his late thirties was outside. There was no sound from the vision so
none of them could tell what was being said.
Phoebe smiled at the man and pointed into the living room. Then she
turned and headed for the living room. As she did, the man reached up and
touched her. Almost instantly Phoebe collapsed unconscious. The man caught her
as she fell to the floor. Then he shimmered slightly and his form changed.
Piper, Paige, and Leo stood watching as a demon replaced the man. It was
about average height and had yellow skin. Its eyes were solid orbs of blue with
no pupils. It had pointed ears and only three fingers on each hand. A red
strip ran from its neck down both arms. Small markings like tribal markings
covered both arms.
It smiled and looked around. Apparently satisfied that it had been
unobserved, it turned and closed the front door behind it. Then it shimmered
and was gone from the manor. The vision ended.
"She's been kidnapped," said Piper. "By a demon."
"That's why there wasn't any signs of a struggle," said Leo. "Whatever it
did to her knocked her out instantly."
"Paige," Piper said, "come on. We're going to check the Book of Shadows
and find out what this thing is. Leo, go back to the Elders and let them know
what we found out. Maybe this will give them some clues about it."
"Right," said Leo as he orbed out.
"Good spell," Piper said as she and Paige headed for the attic. "Now,
let's find this thing and go kick some demonic butt."