Chapter 2

The girl walked back to her seat, as slowly and as lifeless as before. The sisters looked at each other, a bit puzzled and unsure of what they should do. Phoebe was in a pensive mood, whereas Piper looked concerned, but calm.

"Okay. Family meeting outside…now," Paige hinted at the others as the audience started clapping politely, oblivious to any danger that was or could have been associated with the 'magic' trick.

'Well, that's good," Paige thought. "At least nobody really noticed anything."

The sisters, Leo, and the boys, quickly hurried outside as the doorman looked at them funnily, grinned,and opened the door for them. Piper noticed that he was professionally dressed and in his thirties.

"That's weird. I never noticed him before," Piper thought. Then, she just figured she was not paying attention at first.

'Outside' was actually a small hallway with beige-coloured walls. There were washrooms on either end. The group gathered around in a semi-circle, near the wall opposite to the door.

Paige looked around for anybody else listening, and whispered, "I don't know about you guys, but I just saw a demon attack some sort of girl. Now what are we supposed to do about that?" She sounded a bit impatient.

"Wait. Let's not jump to conclusions. Maybe it was just some eccentric magician pretending to do a 'magic' trick on a girl who was acting," Phoebe remarked, then added, "There are lots of cheap people in this world."

"Yeah, but we have been fighting demons for the past seven years and my gut is telling me this is no ordinary magician. So much for cute little bunnies," Piper answered.

Phoebe thought for a bit, disappointed that her logic did not work. "I guess you're right, but whether it's demonic evil or not, we have to watch ourselves; there are Mortals all around us," The rest of them nodded in agreement with her. Then, to break the silence, she added, "So does anybody here have a plan?"

Paige suggested, "I say Phoebe and I will go back to the attic to check the Book of Shadows for What's-His-Name. Phoebe will see whether she can get a premonition. Leo and Piper, you stay behind and question the girl. You should also keep an eye on Taleet and wait until we come back with more information."

"Sounds good to me," Phoebe said.

Leo was a little worried. "What about the boys?" he asked awkwardly, looking at Wyatt, who was jumping up and down while holding his hand, and Chris, who was sleeping on his shoulder.

"We'll take them to Magic School," Paige offered, "where they will be safe. All agree?" Everybody nodded once again.

"Well, better get going then," Piper said. "Don't want to waste too much time."

"Okay, big guys, time to go to Magic School with Aunt Paige and Aunt Phoebe," Leo said as he handed Chris to Paige. Wyatt's face turned sad and hedid not want to move. Then, Leo felt he had to add, "I'll promise there will be another magic show we can go to." This cheered his son up, who seemed relieved.

"We'll meet you two in the theatre." Piper commented as Paige orbed Phoebe, the boys, and herself away.

"Okay. Taleet…Taleet…Taleet. Where is this demon?" Paige wondered out loud as she flipped through the Book of Shadows. She had already dropped Wyatt and Chris offat Magic School. Phoebe was beside her, looking at the pages as well. So far, she had no premonitions.

"You know, Paige, I think we just need to do a little backtracking here. Taleet was the name he called himself. It doesn't necessarily mean it is the name of the demon. And what do we know about this guy, anyway?"

"That he is some dude who can read people's minds and then make them all zombie-like? Come on. We have dealt with quite a few mind-meddling demons before. There are probably lots of them too."

"Which is exactly the problem. This demon fits a lot of descriptions. What we know is too general."

Paige paused for a moment. "I see what you mean. We'll just have to ask Piper and Leo for more information when we meet up with them. In the meantime, why don't you try and find something at Magic School? It might help us. I'll orb you there."

"Sure. That's a good idea," Phoebe replied happily.

"So, what should we do first?" Leo asked his wife, while looking towards the door to the theatre.

"We should go in there and watch the show. During intermission, we shall find the girl and ask her some questions," Piper answered.

"Let's go, then."

The two of them walked towards the doorway. Piper, realizing that there was no doorman, reached for the door handle, then…

ZAP!

A huge electric discharge from the handle soon sent her flying to the opposite wall. After she hit the wall, she fell on the ground, knocked out.

They were not permitted to enter.