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(Where's Phoebe)
Tossing her sisters words over and over again in her mind. Paige tried to sew the pieces together to find the connection with Phoebe and the Haruspex. "Phoebe said it wasn't until she met with the Sage that her dreams started to affect her in real life. It says here that the Haruspex must posses a magical being in order to gain the Ultimate power."
"So, the Sage is magical? I thought the Sage was like a Seer or a Soothsayer. You know practitioners of the craft and not actually possessing a power." Paige interjected "what about the Seer that convinced Phoebe to marry Cole in a dark ceremony and conceive the next source?" Annoyed that her train of thought had lost its course, Piper sarcastically whispered across the room "She was demonic".
"Yes but a Seer nonetheless." Hours earlier they were laughing and enjoying each others company but now under tremendous stain; Paige was determined she would find a way to prove to Piper she could save Phoebe.
"What else did the book say Paige?" irritated she wanted answers. Their sister's body was lying there on the sofa with no signs of life. This was no time for an argument. Piper had a way of letting Paige know that enough was enough with just a look.
"It says here the Haruspex seeks the Ultimate power. He possesses his victims by holding a Hand-Fasting ceremony. When the ritual is complete; the demon unites himself to the victim by overtaking their essence. To gain the magical beings' powers he extracts the kidney or liver from the body… Yuk." Flipping the pages in the book Paige recites the definition for Hand-Fasting "a ceremonial ritual eternally uniting two beings in love. I guess in this case an alliance of dark magic could substitute for love?"
Leo chimed in "In this case. The ultimate power would be Phoebe. Who else has the most concentrated power allowing them to see the past and the future? Her premonitions alone and the added bonus she is a Charmed One must be the path to the ultimate power."
Piper threw her arms up "So how do we find the Sage?"
Paige glanced at Phoebe lying on the sofa. "Guys, what if we don't have to find the Sage."
"What do you mean? Paige that is our sister lying in there of course we have to find her."
"What if she is right there, sleeping on the sofa? If the Haruspex must posses the magical being in order to gain the "Ultimate power" then he must have possessed the Sage. In turn her physical body had to land somewhere. He needs Phoebe alive to control her essence; to switch bodies with the Sage" Paige was quite proud of herself. She was definitely a mystery solver.
"Then where's Phoebe?" Piper asked.
"I think Paige is right. He needs a magical body to posses the second more powerful magical being. Somehow he has to have both Phoebe and the Sage."
"Paige, go and get the Scrying crystal. That should be the fastest way to find her."
"Shouldn't we call for a lost witch?"
"Technically, she's not lost."
"Then maybe we should we try dispossessing a life essence?"
Piper knew she was trying to help. "Paige I think the crystal is our best bet for right now besides dispossessing an essence is a power of three spell. Until we can locate Phoebe's body it won't work. You try Scrying. I'm going to see what I can mix together in the kitchen to vanquish this thing if need be."
Piper left the room. Leo was convinced there had to be something they were leaving out. He approached Paige "Something tells me that the Sage hasn't switched bodies with Phoebe."
Paige looked up from the crystal. "What do you mean? Look at her Leo she looks like the woman Phoebe was describing in her dreams."
"I know but if they actually switched bodies then the Sage would be here with us." Leo paced the room as he spoke "The book says the Haruspex has to possess his victims in order to gain their power. Phoebe's eyes are red just like the Haruspex… What if the demon couldn't finish and still has possession of the Sage?"
"Yeah, now that you mention it something distracted him" Paige looked as if a light bulb had lit up.
With a vile in each hand Piper made her way back to the living room. "Any luck with the crystal?"
"I think the demon has the place cloaked. Phoebe said the Sage was a practitioner and used protection spells." Dropping the crystal she faced Leo and Piper "The demon stopped when you orbed in Leo. You're an elder, a protector" Paige started remembering the events from earlier that day. "Do we have a potion?"
Piper sighed "Yes an essence separation potion and we still have the spell. I can't put my finger on it but something doesn't feel right. It can't be this easy." Leo and Paige looked at Piper. "Well think about it, we find the Sage or demon, throw the potion and say the spell. How do we know we'll get Phoebe back in her body? Nope, this sounds like a trap to me. What if she is not only possessed but has actually gone through the whole Hand-Fasting part. What if this is how he leaves his victims. We still don't have a clue where to find Phoebe's body."
Leo stepped towards Piper "Well, I have a theory. The demon can't posses both of them at the same time. He either has the Sage or Phoebe. Even though she looks different Phoebe was the one who came home and not the Sage. He needs her kidney in order to gain her powers."
"So Phoebe is still here?" Piper started thinking. "Which means the demon will come back to finish what he started. So let's get to it already. If I know Phoebe and her essence, she is going to be one pissed witch if we don't stop this thing from stealing her vital organs."