Chapter Twenty-Five: Missing
"Here." Paige put the mug of chamomile tea into Ava's hands, where it remained for long, stared at though not seen.
Phoebe went behind the distressed Gypsy and attached her heirloom necklace back around her neck where it belonged: the Waffediyok.
This seemingly brought back some life into Ava, although not for the better. She unclasped a hand from the hot mug to grab at the pendant instead, fresh tears swelling her eyes.
"I am no longer worthy of this. All my life –" her voice broke. She choked on the next words and sank back into silent staring.
Piper grabbed both her shoulders, fiercely but with obvious tenderness. "Ava. You can't be held responsible for that demon's actions."
Blankly, Ava stared at her. Her fingers finally let go of the Evil Eye. "It is my body, my powers, what did those horrors. The Evil Eye is now officially an evil force."
That did it. Piper slapped her. Billie, Phoebe, Paige, Taylor and Amos all gawked. Shock rippled through Ava.
"I won't have you give up! Not after everything we went through to make you accept your magic. Ava, we need you. The ones who did this to you, they won't stop there. They won't stop until we're all dead."
Ava gulped air. "You know who did this to me?"
"We have a fair guess," Billie replied.
"Billie," Phoebe warned, "let's not jump to conclusions."
Billie looked at her, radiating arrogance. "Don't get me started, Phoebe. As much as you'd like not to blame it on her, we can't just turn a blind eye to the obvious!"
Phoebe sighed, turned to Ava. "Do you remember anything, besides –" she couldn't bring herself to say "the killings."
"I –" Ava trailed off, concentrating. "I'm not sure."
"Try," Piper encouraged her resting a gentle hand on her arm. "Sorry for the –"
Ava shook her head. "No Piper. I'm the one apologizing. There's more at stake than my self-pity."
Billie leaned toward Paige. "Found something?"
"No," Paige hissed frustrated; she Paige didn't look up from her frantic skimming of the Book to try and find what page was missing.
"Hand it over," Phoebe suggested, wriggling her fingers twice to indicate she would try herself.
"You think maybe he'll know?" Taylor asked, jerking her head toward the still out-of-it Brooks.
Paige shook her head. "Mortals usually forget everything related to possession once they're freed, kind of a self-preservation of their mind, I guess."
Phoebe's search suddenly slowed and she even looked a few pages back. "It won't be necessary anyway." Her face was grim.
"What did he take?" Piper asked, anxious.
Phoebe answer with but one word, "Nexus."