Sooo it's been like a whole year since I last posted a chapter for this story. Sorry about that. Hopefully I get some new readers. I really enjoy writing this story, and this time I'll finish it for sure. Thanks for reading!
"Are you sure this is gonna work?" asked Prue for what must have been the sixth time. She and her sisters and cousins sat gathered around a large wooden table in the large, main chamber of Magic School. It had been about an hour since the Halliwells and Leo realized that they were trapped inside of the school, with none of their magic being able to get them out. Since cell phones didn't receive service inside the school, they had no way of contacting anyone outside. They decided to keep the crisis a secret from the other students for now, who were on lockdown anyway due to the two missing witches, and were not allowed to leave Magic School.
"This is a centuries-old form of communication, Prue," explained Leo. "It was used in Magic School for centuries, but it's kind of outdated and forgotten about now. It never failed anyone before."
"Yes, but no one's ever been trapped in this place either, have they?" Prue retorted sharply, earning her a scolding glance from Melinda. "Sorry," Prue immediately sighed. "Everyone's nerves are getting to me. Let's just try it so we can get out of here."
Leo sat leaned over a half-sheet of paper, where he had just finished writing a message and brief instructions. "Of course, I'll need one of you witches to do it for me. We need a source of fire, too."
"I got it," offered Tamora, whose powers allowed her to set objects on fire.
"Perfect," said Leo, reaching to hand his niece the paper. "Just read the spell at the bottom, visualize the manor attic, and then burn the paper. Then, if it works, the paper should reappear in the attic, where hopefully Piper will find it."
"Okay," Tam agreed hopefully, looking carefully at the paper in her hand. "Spirits of fire, of thee I implore; deliver this message, through space shall it soar." And with that she shut her eyes, and her fingertips glowed, causing the message to ignite and disappear in a flash of brilliant blue flames.
"Well you definitely got it right," Leo said, grinning. "The blue flames mean the spell worked. Now, we wait for a reply. That is, if the message made it out of here. In the meantime, I need you all to keep looking through the library for something that can help us. I'm going to go talk to the other faculty about dealing with the rest of the students. I'll be in my office if you need me."
Meanwhile, in the Halliwell Manor, Chris and Piper stood over the Book of Shadows, searching for anything that could lead them to Wyatt down in the underworld.
"This is useless," Chris sighed. "We've tried everything, Mom. Unless I can find out exactly what demon has Wyatt trapped down there, there's nothing we can do. I have to go back down there."
"And get yourself killed? I don't think so," replied Piper, her hand nervously playing with her graying hair.
"Would you rather we just let Wyatt die down there?" argued Chris as he shut the magical book in frustration. "I wish I could just talk to him. He would know what to do right now. He always does."
"Oh, sweetie," his mother murmured, placing a comforting hand on her son's shoulder. She hated seeing her son under so much distress. There was no question that Chris lived in Wyatt's shadow, and struggled with wanting to impress his family when Wyatt wasn't around to take charge. Now, with no choice but to lead the search for his brother, he felt as if the weight of the entire world were crushing him relentlessly.
Just then, a flurry of glowing white orbs typical of witches' magic appeared over the Book of Shadows, and a sheet of paper materialized and landed gently on the dark green cover. Piper and Chris exchanged a skeptical yet hopeful glance, and Chris carefully picked up the paper. "This is dad's handwriting," he exclaimed, a smile quickly appearing on his face. "To whoever finds this message, know that everyone here at Magic School are safe, but unable to get out by any means. We've tried the portal, orbing, spells, and everything we could think of. If you haven't already tried, do not orb here, as you will likely get stuck here too. Chris has been out for a while looking for information about Wyatt – please have him send us any information he's gathered. Simply visualize Magic School, read the spell below, and burn a piece of paper with the message. Take care, —Leo."
"See, I knew everything would be okay," said Piper. "Let's hurry and send a message back to them."
Back at Magic School, the other seven Halliwell kids had once again spread out in the library, sifting through various piles of books on magical wards, forcefields, and more. Sitting at a small table by herself, Melinda glanced up to see a flash of white light in the center of the room, from which a yellow notepad paper floated down to the dark marble floor. "Hey guys, I think we just got a fire message back," Melinda announced, rushing over to the note.
"That was fast," said Kat. "I'll go get Leo."
"It's from Chris," Melinda told them. "He says Wyatt is being held somewhere down in the Underworld, but he doesn't know where or by who. And apparently, whatever is keeping us trapped in Magic School is also keeping him out. He can't orb in."
"What's the news?" asked Leo, rushing in with Kat. Melinda handed him the message and watched her father's expression grow worried as he read through it. "Well, at least we know Wyatt's alive. And we should definitely be looking for a demon here."
"Wait, a demon?!" exclaimed Henry from across the room. Everyone turned to look at the young intellectual, whose ideas usually led them somewhere. "Leo, remember the day Wyatt went missing, he was going to see what he could find on a demon? One who could absorb magic or something. I can't remember the name. Do you think maybe he found the demon and is stuck down there somehow?"
Leo frowned and looked at Henry, Jr. intently. "It's definitely a good place to start. And if the demon can absorb magic, then it makes sense that Wyatt hasn't orbed himself out of there. Are you sure you don't remember the demon's name?"
"Uhh… I think it started with the letter P," Henry said, racking his brain. "I have to find the book I read about it in. It should be somewhere around here." He then looked around at the scores of large tomes and small books piled and arranged all around the library. "I guess we'd better start looking."