The group appeared in the same place they had appeared before. Ready for a possible attack, they found the room mysteriously empty. A quick search showed that the entire house was empty. Jessica was apparently not at home.
"This is odd," said Piper. "It's nearly midnight here. Where could Jessica be at this time of night?"
"I don't know," said Prue. "The shop she runs in town closes at five. But she has the athame back. She might be trying to reinchant it. So that Stuart can start using it again to kill the descendents."
"If the enchantment was gone at all," said George. "If Penny had it long enough, she would have removed the enchantment. But we don't know how long she had it before she died."
"Well," said Phoebe, "according to the newspaper article, it looked like she had it in 1995. That would have given her two years to remove the enchantment."
"But there were two more victims," said Prue. "One in 1996 and one in 1997. If Grams had the enchantment, how could it have been used to kill those two victims?"
"It's possible it wasn't Penny in that photograph," said George. "As a Dark Priestess, Jessica would have access to some pretty high level spells. Including one that could change her form. I suppose it's possible that she assumed Penny's form so that if anyone saw her they'd think it was Penny and not her."
"So if Jessica was killing the victims," said Leo, "where does the warlock fit in? I thought we had agreed that he was doing the killing."
"They're working together," said Prue.
"Together?" questioned George. "That's very unusual for warlocks. They don't like to share power. Besides, they're also serial killers. And from what I know of serial killers they always work alone. I've never heard of a single case where two of them worked together."
"They may be serial killers," said Prue, "but remember they're killing the descendents of the prosecutors. Somehow I don't think it has anything to do with revenge. I can't explain it I just feel like there's something else going on here than punishing the families of those people who persecuted the accused Salem witches."
"That would make sense," said George. "Warlocks, even a Dark Priestess, are interested in one thing. Power. Revenge isn't something that's likely to give them much power."
"Uh, guys," said Phoebe, peering through a door, "maybe you'd better come look at this."
They all walked over and peered through the same door that Phoebe was looking at. It was apparently a stairway leading to the basement. Hanging from the top of the doorframe was what appeared to be some form of charm. It was made of silver and looked like an upside down pentagram with a circle in the center.
"Protection charm," said George. "And from the looks of it a very powerful one."
"Protection for what?" asked Phoebe, reaching for the charm.
"No," said George, pulling her hand away. "Don't touch it. If it is a charm it's going to be enchanted. There's no telling what will happen if you touch it."
"Okay, so what do we do?" Piper asked. "If that's a protection charm that means there's something in the basement she doesn't want disturbed. And with all the unanswered questions we have I'm betting we'll get some answers down there."
"Everyone move back," said Prue.
They all moved back into the living room away from the open door. Prue tapped into her telekinetic power and ripped the charm from the spot where it was hanging. As the charm fell to the floor bolts of lightning shot around the doorway.
"Whoa," said Phoebe. "Good thing I didn't grab that thing. It would probably have fried me."
"What now?" Piper asked.
"It's probably safe to go down the stairs now," said George. "That booby trap was designed to keep anyone from going down there. But we need to be very careful. Don't touch anything down there. There's no telling what other traps she has set up to protect whatever it is she has down there."
"Maybe I should orb down there first," suggested Leo. "Just to check it out. There's nothing that can hurt me permanently. And I can make sure there aren't any more booby traps set up down there."
"Good idea," said George. "Only let me go. I've had more experience with these types of things. You might not recognize a trap."
"Okay," said Leo. "If you get into any trouble, just call. I can orb you out if necessary."
George just smiled and then orbed out of the living room. They waited for several moments before they heard him call from the basement. He told them it appeared safe and they should come down.
When they got to the basement they just looked around. The room was completely set up and appeared to be some type of study. A pedestal similar to the one on which the Book of Shadows sat, was in one corner. A large chest like the ones Grams had sat next to it. In the center of the room was a table on which sat the athame they had found in the floorboard of the attic. Next to the athame sat a small box that contained all types of papers and news clippings. Several books sat on bookshelves attached to the walls.
The most noticeable thing in the room, however, was a large cabinet-like item. It had two large glass doors on the front and appeared to be filled with more than two dozen glass orbs, each about three inches in diameter, each sitting on a separate stand. Seven of the orbs appeared to have some type of gas or mist in them and the mist swirled about inside creating a variety of colors. The remaining glass orbs were empty.
"Those are pretty," said Phoebe admiring the mist filled orbs. "I wonder what she uses those for?"
"Soul orbs," gasped George.
"Soul orbs?" questioned Prue.
"Yes," said Leo. "Specially enchanted orbs that hold the souls of people. The multi-colored mist in the orbs? That's someone's soul. Now we know what she's been doing with the souls the athame takes. She's collecting them. But for what?'
"Some dark ritual no doubt," said George. "I've seen orbs like these before but never one with a soul inside. They're very rare. I've never seen more than two or three together at one time. I wonder how she got so many. These are not easy to enchant to hold a soul."
"I had twenty years to prepare them," said a voice behind the group.
They all turned to see Jessica and Stuart standing near the stairs. Stuart was holding the Dark Grimoire from the manor. Obviously they had gone back into the house and stolen it after the others had come to Jessica's house. Jessica was holding another athame similar to the one on the table.
"And you're right," said Jessica. "They aren't easy to enchant. That's why it's taken me so long to go after my victims. I needed enough of the orbs to hold all the souls."
"What do you need souls for?" Prue asked, keeping a watchful eye on Stuart. "Are you going to torture their souls as punishment for what their ancestors did to your ancestor?"
"Revenge?" questioned Jessica, laughing. "You think that's what this is about? I couldn't care less about revenge. That all happened three hundred years ago. Any revenge I might try to take now would be misplaced.
"But this has nothing to do with revenge. It's about power, pure and simple. I found a spell that will allow me to resurrect my ancestor. But in order to complete the ritual, I need the souls of all those who murdered him. Or a blood relative of those people. Once I've collected all the souls I'll be able to complete the ritual and bring my ancestor back."
"Giles Corey," said Piper.
"I see you found out my little lie," said Jessica. "No matter. You're not strong enough to stop me. I knew about your powers being bound. Penny told me all about it. Remember, we used to be almost as close as sisters. Even after she died I knew your powers would remain bound until you found the Book of Shadows.
"Then, when rumors of the Charmed Ones began to circulate, I knew you had found the book. Penny used that book to protect the items she took from Palmer. She put them in that chest and put the Book of Shadows on top of them. We couldn't get to them because we couldn't touch the book."
"That's why she suddenly put the book away," said George.
"Yes," said Palmer, holding up the Dark Grimoire. "We didn't know about that false bottom. And before these witches got their powers back the enchantment their grandmother had put on the attic kept either of us from getting in there to look for the items."
"It wasn't you, George," said Leo. "Penny enchanted the attic to keep them out, not you."
"That's right," said Jessica. "You may be the Charmed Ones but I know you haven't had your powers long enough to really master them. And with the power contained in this Dark Grimoire not even you can stop us. We'll get what we've been after all these years and there's no one who can stand in our way."
"Just what is it you're after?" Prue asked. "Isn't the power of a Dark Priestess good enough for you?"
"Oh, no," said Jessica. "There's a much greater prize than that. A prize so great that whoever finds it will be unstoppable. Not even the Elders will be able to stop me once I'm finished."
"What could be that powerful?" Phoebe asked.
"The Tome of the Ancients," said Jessica. "One book containing the sum total of the magic of those beings that were ancient before the first witch even appeared. Magic so powerful that whoever wields it becomes unstoppable. Magic that has been forbidden to mankind since before recorded history. And when I'm finished, that tome will be mine. And no one, not even the famed Charmed Ones, will be strong enough to stand against me."
