FIVE

Leo tried his healing power on Paige for the third time. As with the first two attempts, there was no change in Paige's condition.

"It's no use," said Leo. "I can't heal this."

"That doesn't make any sense," said Piper. "Your healing power is supposed to be able to heal any injury."

"That's right," said Leo. "Only Paige isn't injured. And she's not sick either. At least not in the normal sense."

"What are you talking about?" asked Phoebe.

"It's what the Elders have learned," said Leo. "Paige's powers are increasing exponentially. That's why she's gaining new abilities so fast. But they don't know why it's happening."

"Is that why she has the fever and is unconscious?" asked Piper.

"Yes,' said Leo. "With each new ability you get your magical power level increases. That's why your powers grow slowly. To let you get used to the increased power level. But Paige's powers are increasing so fast she can't adjust to them quickly enough. All of that power is too much for her system to handle. It's like overcharging a battery. Eventually, she won't be able to contain the charge. And she won't be able to survive that."

"This is just great," said Piper. "AS if we didn't have enough to worry about with the increased demon attacks."

"The increased demon attacks are part of it," said Leo.

"You mean there are more attacks because of her increased power level?" asked Phoebe.

"Yes," said Leo. "Demons are attracted to your power. That's one reason witches are constantly being attacked while mortals aren't. As Paige's power continues to grow, the increased power will attract more and more demons. Stronger demons."

"Now there's a comforting thought," said Piper. "Her increased power is attracting more powerful demons. Except she's unconscious and can't help defend against these demons."

"Our first concern has to be Paige," said Leo. "We have to find out why this is happening. Then we have to find a way to stop it and reverse it."

"I'll check the Book of Shadows again," said Phoebe. "There still may be something in there that can help us."

"I'm going to make a binding potion," said Piper. "Maybe if we bind Paige's powers it will at least slow it down until we can find a more permanent solution."

"The Elders will let me know when they find out anything," said Leo. "Until then, there's nothing else I can do."

"You can help me with the potion," said Piper.

Piper and Leo went into the kitchen as Phoebe went to check the Book of Shadows.

"Do the Elders have any idea what's going on?" asked Piper. "Any explanation for why this is happening?"

"None," said Leo. "There's never been something like this before. They can't figure out why it's just suddenly started."

"Well, if a binding potion doesn't work," said Piper, "we may have to use a power stripping potion. She may not have her powers any more, but at least she'll be alive."

"I hope it doesn't come to that," said Leo. "Without the Power of Three you'd all be at greater risk from demonic attacks."

"Piper," said Phoebe, rushing into the kitchen, "I found this in the attic. It's in Paige's handwriting."

Phoebe handed a pad to Piper and Piper read what was written on it.

"What is it?" asked Leo.

"A spell," said Piper, handing the pad to Leo. "It would seem our little sister was curious about what powers she might get later on. I think we found the source of the problem."

"She was asking about that the other day," said Leo. "After the first demon attacked. I didn't give it much thought."

"Apparently she's given it a lot of thought," said Phoebe. "From the looks of the spell, it was designed to show her what those powers might be."

"It's worse than that, if I understand this spell right," said Leo.

"What do you mean?" asked Piper.

"This part here," said Leo. "The part that says 'what my powers might be'. There are dozens of powers, maybe hundreds. As I told Paige, there's no way to know which ones she's going to get. It's possible she might get any of them."

"And in order for her to know what powers she might get," continued Piper, "she'd have to know what all of them are."

"Exactly," said Leo. "This spell is giving her every power she might possibly gain one day. Which means it's giving her all of them. No human can handle that kind of power, no matter who they are. I'm not sure even a supernatural being could withstand so much power. If we don't find a way to stop this very soon, it's going to destroy her."