Balloons, Cakes & Demons

Part 4

The library for any first time visitor was something out of a children's book. The ceiling in the center of the room rose high up to disappear into the shadows above. Sunlight shone through the lattice windows, creating patterns of light and shadows along the hardwood floors. There was a suit of armor at one end of the room which was only for decorative purposes. Books of every size and shape lined the shelves in the library, some as thin as a notepad, others as thick as a dictionary, some bound in leather covers, others in hard cardboard covers or just plain paperback covers. There were several tables and chairs for the student body and faculty to use in research or doing assignments.

The sudden bright lights and melodic chimes of an orb alerted the librarian of an unexpected visitor. The lights faded to reveal the Charmed Ones and the Elder. The sisters' and Leo's coming and going at Magic School was something of the norm now. No one batted an eyelash when they orbed in and out of the school.

"Ms. Matthews!" the librarian exclaimed in surprise at the sight. "Mrs. Winterbourne had mentioned you wouldn't be coming in today."

"Change of plans, Daniel," Paige said, waving her hand offhandedly. "I need to use the restricted section."

"You have a restricted section?" Piper asked in astonishment. They'd been here several times before Gideon's demise and had never heard of a restricted section.

"If Hogwarts has one, why not Magic School?" Paige answered.

"You do know your knowledge of a fictional magical school is creepy, don't you?" Phoebe made a face. She remembered when it came to choosing a name for the then-as-yet-to-be-named Wyatt, Paige had made a crack about Harry Potter and using Potter for the name.

Paige made no reply to her sister's comment. Instead, she beckoned for them to follow her to one end of the library where there was a mahogany door with a brass knob and the gold plated sign which read, 'Restricted Section' in bold letters.

"I never saw this door before," Leo commented.

"That's because it's new," Paige said. "The door's just for show. It's enchanted to open only to Daniel Chaplin over there and me. No one else has access to this section."

True to Paige's words, the door swung open on its own accord without her turning the knob, opening to a narrow stairway leading up into shadows.

"How are we going to see in the dark?" Piper said, raising an eyebrow.

Paige stepped foot through the doorway and immediately, the stairway was lit up by the lights along the walls. She smirked at her sisters' amazement and headed upstairs. "Tick, tock, as Pheebs like to say. Unless you still want to gawk some more at the marvel of magic?"

"Sarcasm doesn't become you," Piper retorted, following her sister up.

The restricted section was only half the size of the library below. Here, the shelves rose from floor to the ceiling, crammed with hundreds or more books. There was only one large table and several chairs in the center and two lamps at each end of the table. Strangely, there was another suit of armor at the corner; this one holding a mace. Sunlight filtered through the only stained glass window in this room. It was eerily silent and Phoebe half expected something or someone to jump out from behind one of the shelves before them.

"Welcome to Magic School's restricted section," Paige said with flourish."Here you'll find books that are normally not accessible to the students and faculty without permission."

Piper read the titles on the spines of the books as she went along. Most were enough to make her eyebrows migrate all the way to her scalp. 23 Ways to Resurrect The Dead. The Uses of Dragon's Heart. History of Dark Magic. Demons, Demons, Demons. Curses 101. Not knowing where to start, she grabbed several titles off the shelf along with the Demons, Demons, Demons volume and headed to the table, where she found Leo was already looking through a large flat book. The illustration of a half naked woman in nothing but strips of cloth on the page made her clear her throat loudly.

"Would you like me to dress like that?" she asked in a light tone as she sat next to him, placing her books with an audible thump beside her.

Leo turned red and closed the book hastily, reaching for another book by his elbow. She smirked then her face grew somber when she remember why they were all here in the first place.

"We'll find him, Piper," said Leo in a soft tone.

"I can't lose him again, Leo. I just can't."

Leo drew her close, resting his hand at the nape of her neck. "You won't. I promise." He thought back to another time when he had said those words in vain. This time, he would keep his promise, or die trying.

Piper looked up to see her husband's look of determination transform into a small reassuring smile. She smiled in return, suddenly glad he was here with her, going through this with her.

The moment was broken when Phoebe and Paige came over. Phoebe juggled several heavy tomes in her arms, while Paige was empty handed.

"Aren't you researching?" Piper asked suspiciously.

"I am. Just not too keen on carrying heavy volumes here." Paige lifted her hand and gave a wave with a flourish. Sounds of jangling bells could be heard and lights seemed to flash here and there among the shelves before several orbs materialized on the table and their lights faded to reveal a pile of books.

"Personal gain," Phoebe muttered, giving her sister a look of envy.

"As headmistress I am allowed to use magic freely here." Paige gave her a smug look before sitting down and starting on her research.

"What are we looking for here? Exactly?" Leo finally asked.

"Anything to do with acid spitting demons or demons who kidnaps babies or eat babies," Paige replied without looking up from her own dusty tome.

"Basically, anything on acid spitting, baby-snatching demons," Phoebe said wryly.

Silence fell on the group as they all concentrated on their books.

The old hag pushed her plait back impatiently as she raised the butcher knife and brought it down on butcher block. Blood dotted her face and clothes but she barely noticed as she went through the motions of chopping and cutting. She was in a foul mood and her pet seemed to sense this, staying well away from her. She brought the knife down hard on the deer, face etched in an angry scowl. The latest addition to the ragamuffins had proven to be bolder than the rest of the pack. He didn't seem fearful of her or her pet, and the prospect of being the next dinner didn't faze him.

He had twice orbed out of the cage and to the clearing, but the wards to prevent anyone from coming and going magically around the clearing had forced him back into the house. For the moment, he was now inside the wooden cage, eyes following her every move with all the intensity of a hunter following its prey. She lobbed off the flesh and tossed it to her pet at the corner of the room. It snapped up the morsel eagerly then lay back down.

"You will be next here," she said crossly to the toddler, jabbing the chopper at the butcher block.

The toddler blinked up at her and she suddenly found the knife gone from her hand, disappearing in a flurry of lights. She stared for a minute before marching towards the bamboo cages, slamming a hand against the bars, frightening the other children into tears and whimpers.

"Do not play around, child," she said, her voice suddenly, deceptively soft. "I have ways of making you obey. I know you understand me very well. Try another one of your tricks again and one of them will be dinner tonight."

"Hag," the toddler said, brow drawing together.

The hag's face turned almost purple at the name. "Impudent child," she hissed. "I will enjoy having you. I know I will."

Chris made no respond to her threats.

Books, books, books and more books. Phoebe felt like she had gone through at least a dozen or more of those wretched things. Her eyes were beginning to feel dry and they hurt. She rubbed them before looking to her left to see her sisters and brother-in-law diligently searching, with some urgency in their manner.

Piper was turning pages as quickly as she was skimming through them, tossing the books she had looked through aside to a growing pile next to her. Paige picked up a book from that pile, in case her harried sister missed anything. Leo was doing it more methodically, starting from A to Z, 1 to 10, scrutinizing every word or sentence or picture.

"Phoebe, why have you stopped?" Piper demanded from her seat, nose buried in a thick, leather bound volume. Phoebe could see Demons, Demons, Demons on its spine.

"There is nothing about that blasted demon in those books," said Phoebe, not feeling the need to excuse herself for stopping.

"Well, so far, I've found descriptions on dragons, unicorns, gryphons, and whatnots," Paige said from her place. She shut her book with a thump. "Did you know dragons don't really eat virgin princesses or damsels like in movies?"

"Really?" Phoebe's interest was piqued. "What else?"

"Focus here, people," Piper said, glowering at them. "Nephew's life at stake here. Not virgin damsels or virgin eating dragons."

"I think I found our demon," announced Leo. He placed the book in front of themon the table, jabbing a finger at the fading watercolor illustration on the yellowed page.

Paige got up, going around the table to Phoebe's side. Piper had full view of the illustration and details.

"It's a canis lupis demon," Paige said from the first paragraph. "Kind of like a dog demon but hairless and spits acid."

"I'll bet it isn't friends with Lassie then," quipped Phoebe. Paige's lips twitched but she kept from laughing.

Piper refrained from rolling her eyes and said nothing, reading out loud. "'It was first created by a dark wizard named Morgoth to hunt down the traitorous apprentice when the dark wizard discovered the apprentice ran off with his new bride. The demon then proceeded to shred the poor man and the unfortunate bride to pieces' Huh, so much for the honeymoon."

"Whoa, back up. It was created? As in made?" Phoebe gave a shake of her head. "Must be really dark magic then to create something so horrible. What did Morgoth do, sell his soul for the spell?"

"Uh, yeah, he did." Paige tapped the last paragraph. She squinted. "It says he made a bargain with the demons from hell to create such a beast and grant himthe power of dark arts in exchange for his soul. Talk about being intense about your craft."

"Okay, so now we know what demon it is," said Piper. "How do we find it?"

"Tracking spell?" Paige suggested.

"For us to track it, we need it to put the spell on it," Piper said crossly. "And it isn't exactly here now, is it?"

"No need to bite my head off," Paige said, just as cross.

"What we need is bait," Leo said.

Piper's head swivelled to Leo, incredulity on her face. "If you even suggest Wyatt..." she warned.

"No, not Wyatt, of course," Leo said hastily.

"Using someone else's kid is out of the question," Phoebe pointed out. "Besides, we are supposed to keep the demon away from children, not drawing it to them."

"What we really, really need to find out is who sent the demon," Paige said. "Who is it working for and where it comes from? Why is it targeting kids only?"

Leo grew thoughtful at Paige's words. "There might be something..." he trailed off, leaving the sisters to give him expectant looks. "It's at the back of my head but I need to check out some sources. I'll be right back."

Without further explanation, he orbed out.

"Someone better nail his wings to the floor next time," grumbled Piper, turning back to the book. "Or else we'll be left without any explanations."

TBC...

AN: The book Demons, Demons, Demons is from an episode of Angel or Buffy, whichever I can't remember. The library is based on the library at Hogwarts since I love Harry Potter as well, and decided to incorporate it in.