Barbas had found Ames' lair. Ames orbed in to find one of the old volumes he had forgotten and found the Demon of Fear sat back casually flipping through the exact book he had came for. Barbas wore the amulet he had taunted Ames with around his neck and had made sure that it was in plain view at all times.
"They are recognised by their pale faces and dry skin, and by the deep sleep into which they fall when they go to the moon and eat it. When the spirit of the Vârcolac wants to eat the moon, the man to which the spirit belongs begins to nod, falls into a deep sleep as if he had not slept for weeks, and remains as if dead. If he is roused or moved the sleep becomes eternal, for, when the spirit returns from its journey it cannot find the mouth out of which it came and so cannot go in." Barbas read aloud. "Are you sure this thing exists? This sounds like the work of a Shaman to me"
"It exists. It needs a willing soul in order to make it live" argued Ames, moving in closer
"And whose soul did you have in mind?"
"I had planned on using my own"
"Aha, the plot thickens" Barbas laughed
"What are you implying?"
"Nothing, nothing at all. It all just sounds a bit suspect in my opinion. You mean to tell me that you are going to willingly offer your own soul to this thing" Barbas leaned forward in the chair and passing his hand over Ames face, "This thing that you fear losing control of so much that you had to beg me for my help? It has to go deeper than that"
"I have my reasons, but like you I choose to keep them to myself" Ames chose his words carefully. His eye flicked to the amulet for the barest hint of a second. It was so vital to his plan, and now Barbas would certainly know why.
"Do Darklighters even have souls?" asked the Demon with a wicked gleam in his eye. Ames snorted.
"I need that book in order to finish the preparations. And I will need the amulet" he said. Barbas dropped the book on the table and leaned back in the chair. Ames held the Demon's gaze as he picked it up.
"And now that you mention it, I think you're right. I should use a different soul. Lucky for me the witch's spell has made so many people so willing to co-operate"
Ames orbed away. He would have to find another way to get his hands on the amulet, it was too important to his plan.
-
Phoebe was having very little luck. She had brought the Book of Shadows downstairs and was now sat on the couch flicking through the pages looking for, well, anything really. She could find demons that feared the sun and creatures that worshipped the moon but nothing that mentioned both. Piper came in with coffee.
"Thank you, you're the best" Phoebe said to her as she took the cup
"Chris dropped by. I asked him to tell Gideon what we know seeing as Paige is too preoccupied" said Piper, lowering herself into a comfy chair. The sound of humming drifted in from the kitchen.
"She keeps saying 'don't worry, plenty of time for that later'. It is driving me insane" Piper grumbled, "Any luck with the book?"
"Nothing. I don't know, maybe it was in the book that was stolen" said Phoebe, dumping the book on the table and rubbing her eyes.
"Chris thought he'd heard of something, he wasn't too sure though" said Piper
"Something from the future?"
"Could be" Piper looked down at her bump. It wouldn't be long until Baby Chris was born. Phoebe picked the Book of Shadows back up.
-
Chris found Gideon talking to the Librarian. He waited until the Elder had finished his discussion before approaching him.
"We think we know what's happened. It looks like a Darklighter called Ames managed to steal the book and he's planning to summon something that feeds on the sun and the moon" Chris told him
"The sun and the moon. I can't say that sounds familiar" said Gideon
"That's just it, I'm sure I've heard of something like that. I just can't think of where" said Chris, frustration leaking into his voice. Gideon nodded.
"I'm sure that whatever it is, you and the Charmed Ones will find out. At the moment I'm more concerned with how a Darklighter was able to take something from within these walls. It's impossible for Evil to gain forced entry, there are too many protection spells. So someone must have helped him"
"Gideon, there's something else. The sisters think that Barbas is involved somehow. We don't know how yet". Gideon's face grew grim.
"This is serious. The Demon of Fear wouldn't have concerned himself with this unless it was significantly bigger than a mere stolen book. I'll consult the other Elders, and I think it best that you inform Leo immediately" With that he orbed. Chris went to find Leo.
-
Phoebe had given up on the book and had decided to try scrying instead. She had attached one of the Darklighter's arrows to her scrying crystal and held it over a map.
"Hey, careful with that thing! Half Whitelighter baby here, or did you forget?" Piper protested. She had taken over checking the Book of Shadows. She now held it up like a shield whenever Phoebe came too close. Paige was still in the kitchen.
"Are you sure this is going to work? That isn't one of Ames' arrows"
"No, but it is one of Ames' minions' arrows. Trust me, it'll work" Phoebe assured her sister. Piper wasn't convinced.
"Shouldn't we at least wait and see if Chris can find anything?" she tried as Phoebe called out in triumph. The crystal pulled forwards and landed on the map. It was pointed straight at the Bay Mirror offices. Phoebe looked straight at her sister.
"Chris? Chris!" Piper called out. In response balls of white light filled the living room as Chris materialised.
"What's wrong? I found Gideon but he didn't know anything. He was more worried when I told him about Barbas" Chris reported before he noticed the scrying tools.
"We found Ames. He's at the Bay Mirror. Obviously Piper can't go and Paige is still… you know. That leaves you and me. Let's go" Phoebe ordered as she grabbed his arm. He looked across at Piper, who nodded.
"Be careful, you don't get to be senior Darklighter because of you sunny disposition" she said as Chris orbed.
-
The Bay Mirror offices were a mess. The workmen who were supposed to be rewiring had stopped work, leaving their tools and the old and new wires lying around and were now sat around a desk playing Blackjack. The few employees who had chosen to come into work today were sat around doing nothing at all. Ames brazenly orbed into the centre of the main office and cast a disdainful look at them. A few people looked up but other than that nobody reacted. The Darklighter reached into his pocket and pulled out a small blue vial filled with a clear liquid. This was going to be easier than he had thought.
"People! I need a soul; I've decided that I want one of yours. I don't care whose"
"Why do you need a soul?" asked a woman. Maybe she had been in charge here. She wasn't now.
"Yours will do" he said, holding the vial towards her.
"Will I get it back?" she asked naively. Ames smiled.
"Of course, just drink this"
The woman took hold of the vial and swallowed the contents. A moment later she slumped forwards. A beautiful sliver light floated out of her mouth like smoke and was instantly sucked into the vial. Ames took it and sealed it so that none would escape. The vial glowed as if lit from within. Ames couldn't believe just how easy that had been. The witches spell had rendered the entire world so passive. The fools would do anything they were told.
"Stop right there!" a voice shouted. Ames looked around to see that two more figures had appeared. He didn't recognise the young man, but the entire Underworld knew a Charmed One when they saw one.
"You're the Witch responsible for this? Thank you, I never could have done this without your help" he said, holding up the vial.
"What is that?" said the Charmed One. Ames smirked, emboldened by his success.
"That woman's soul. Careful, try anything and I'll break it" Ames taunted, spotting her companion raise his hand. The two of them hesitated for a second. That was all the time Ames needed to orb away with his prize.
-
Chris ran to the fallen woman's side. Phoebe followed close behind.
"What happened to her?" she asked. One of the workmen looked up.
"That weird guy gave her a drink out of a little blue bottle and she fell over. Wanna play?" he held up the deck of cards. Chris checked her pulse.
"She's alive, barely. I don't know how long she'll stay that way" he reported. Phoebe gasped in surprise. She had seen the woman's face.
"That's Donna! That's my boss!"
