Leo Rising is the 40th novel in the Charmed novels.
The novel takes place in 2005, specifically somewhere between the season 7 episodes "Imaginary Fiends" and "Death Becomes Them", based on the statement that Piper summoned future Wyatt a few days earlier and the fact that Inspector Sheridan and Zankou are still alive.
Description
- The Power of Three has gone underground,
- Clues and magic can't be found.
- Grown-up sons, come quickly forth,
- Help your father find his worth.
While a newly mortal Leo is out for a walk with Wyatt and newborn Chris, demons trap the Charmed Ones in the house and take them to the Underworld, where they are imprisoned by demon scientist Dr. Gnivik, who plans to steal the Power of Three. When Leo returns to find the house empty and in even more disarray than when he left, he tries to piece together what happened, but can't. Due to his recent fall from grace, the Elders ignore his calls. What is he to do? With no other options—and no magic of his own—Leo becomes desperate.
Using a spell from the Book of Shadows, his sons' magic, and a sliver of unicorn horn, he calls the future versions of Wyatt and Chris back to the present. Together, the Halliwell men go in search of the Charmed Ones. With Dr. Gnivik nearing success and the sisters powerless to stop him, it's up to Leo and the boys to save the day…
Characters
Major
- Piper Halliwell: The eldest sister with the powers of Molecular Immobilization and Molecular Combustion.
- Phoebe Halliwell: The middle sister with the powers of Premonition.
- Paige Matthews: The youngest half-sister with the powers of Telekinetic Orbing and Orbing.
- Leo Wyatt: The Charmed Ones' Whitelighter and Piper's husband. He has the powers of Orbing and Healing.
- Wyatt Halliwell: Piper and Leo's firstborn son. He has powers beyond everyone's comprehension. He was called from the future by Leo to save his mother.
- Chris Halliwell: Piper and Leo's second son. He once came back from the future to change it. He was once again called from the future to help save his mother. His powers include Orbing, Sensing, and Electrokinesis.
- Darryl Morris: Police inspector at San Francisco Police Department. He is well-aware of the sisters' secret.
Support
- Nisha Maksoud: A recent graduate and new professor at Magic School. She is an expert in healing-herbs and potions, but is not experienced with fighting demons. Her power is Energy Blast.
- Xandra: A rebellious blond witch who was one of Leo's first charges in the 1950s. She resisted her destiny and turned to the dark side when Leo was forced to give her an ultimatum.
- Dr. Gnivik: A demonic scientist that is described as a typical mad scientist with bushy grey hair, glasses and a white lab coat. He is a renown scientist, though often referred to as a lunatic by people who have met him. He seeks to figure out how the powers of the Charmed Ones work exactly. His powers involved Projection.
- Zankou: The upper-level demon who is planning on destroying the Charmed Ones to gain access to the Nexus. His powers include Flaming, Energy Balls, Power Absorption, Resurrection, Shapeshifting, and Particle Swarm.
Minor
- Frick and Frack: Two demon guards nicknamed by Paige. Frick is female, while Frack is male and they are both very large and imposing. Frick possesses Energy Blasts.
- Cameron: A very handsome and charming demon that reminded Phoebe somewhat of Cole Turner. He possessed some kind of luring power. He manipulated Phoebe on behalf of the doctor, playing on her emotions.
- Benzimar: A demonic snitch nicknamed Benji. Wyatt and Chris use him for information in the future by bribing him with catnip. The boys think he is six hundred years old, though Leo guesses he is actually over a thousand years old.
- Melinda Halliwell: Seen in the bowl while Leo was calling Wyatt and Chris from the future.
Mentioned
- Cole Turner: Phoebe's ex-husband.
- Prue Halliwell: The eldest Charmed One who lost her life to the demon Shax. She had the powers of Telekinesis and Astral Projection.
- Mr. Whiskers: Nisha's cat.
- Mr. Maksoud: Nisha's father.
Plot
The Halliwell family is about to sit down for a family meal when suddenly a large group of demons attacks the manor. The Charmed Ones fight them while being videotaped by one of them. After the sisters are nearly defeated, Leo arrives from upstairs and attacks the demons, giving Piper the opportunity to vanquish them. However, the demon with the video camera escapes. While taking care of Leo's injuries, he and Piper argue about him getting involved in the fight while being powerless. After falling from grace, Leo has been feeling useless, while Piper is concerned for his safety. Piper later sends him and the boys to get take-out, as dinner is ruined, though it is also to keep him out of harm's way.
After Leo left, the sisters discuss his situation. However, they soon hear noise from the floor above and go investigating. On his way home, Leo contemplates the decisions he made the last year, which led him to becoming mortal. When he arrived back at the manor, he finds it deserted. Leo calls Darryl, though the inspector informs him he can't help in a supernatural case, and that it would make Inspector Sheridan suspicious. Meanwhile, the Elders are ignoring Leo's calls. A professor from Magic School named Nisha arrives in the manor, informing Leo the sisters are in the Underworld. As Nisha prepares a potion to clear the mind, Leo suggests consulting demonic sources. When Leo drinks the potion, he falls asleep. In his sleep, Leo has a vision of someone who could help. When he wakes up, he accuses Nisha of drugging him, at which she replies he needed the rest.
Piper wakes up locked in an inescapable cage in a strange laboratory in the Underworld and recalls how she was taken. She then discovers that someone had drawn blood from her. She notices three vials of blood, of her and her sisters, and blows them up. She then begins to destroy the entire lab. Paige wakes up in a different room and is trapped inside a force field. Phoebe wakes up in yet another room resembling an old mansion.
Leo has Nisha retrieve a mysterious item from Magic School and goes to a place in the city known as the Black Magic Market. There he meets an old charge named Xandra. He gives her a rare magical book in exchange for a sliver of pure unicorn horn that will allow him to do one spell.
Phoebe is visited by a very handsome demon and finds herself pulled to him. She goes along with it in an attempt to get a premonition for information, though she got a very passionate vision instead. She then slapped him. Using buttons form her shirt, Paige finds a weak spot in the force field and managed to orb out, though she is quickly knocked unconscious by one of her guards. After destroying the lab, Piper is visited by Dr. Gnivik, a demonic scientist, who explains he wants to perform tests on the Charmed Ones.
Back at the manor, Leo uses the little magic he has to summon the future versions of Wyatt and Chris. His sons are reluctant to help out of fear of changing the timeline. However, Chris quickly changes his mind when he realizes his mother is in danger.
After trying to get a reaction of her guards, Paige is able to orb one of their daggers to her. When she throws it at the force field, it is destroyed. She then quickly orbs away. Meanwhile, Phoebe is still stuck with the handsome demon and experiences mixed emotions for him after her steamy premonition. He introduces himself as Cameron and she comes to believe he is as much a prisoner as she is. Cameron then tells her she can escape through the fireplace, which she does.
Dr. Gnivik undoes all the damage Piper did to his lab. He then begins explaining his motivation to Piper, telling her he is fascinated with the Charmed Ones and what makes the Warren bloodline so powerful. He also wonders how the Power of Three transferred to Paige after the death of Prue. Piper attempts to destroy the lab again, but her powers are gone. The doctor explains that as long as she is in his lab, he controls her powers. He then paralyses her and injects her with a power negating serum, telling her that he does not really have her powers, but will very soon. At that point, both Phoebe and Paige are transported into the cage.
In the attic, Chris is scrying for the sisters, but it is not working. Leo is running out of ideas and they are interrupted by Nisha bringing cookies. Wyatt then mentions the demonic snitch Benzimar, and the boys and Leo orb to The Apple, a demonic bar. After bribing him, the guys learn that the sisters have been taken by the mad scientist Dr. Gnivik. Benzimar also informs Leo that Xandra is after him, as he removed several pages from the book he gave her. They return to the manor and inform Nisha, who reveals she has met the doctor during a year she spent studying in the rainforest, though she was unaware that he was a demon. Using the fact that the doctor wants to know everything, they form a plan to have Chris pose as a Magic School student who has discovered a way to turn lead into gold, in the hope of luring the doctor to them.
As the paralysis starts to wear off, Piper stalls the doctor by tricking him into explaining his plans. At the same time, the doctor gets a phone call about the discovery at Magic School. The stalling fails and Dr. Gnivik traps the sisters in a large maze while he goes to investigate.
The Halliwell men set their trap in the lecture hall of Magic School. Dr. Gnivik arrives with two bodyguards, and Chris is forced to give a speech despite his stage fright and lack of knowledge on alchemy. The doctor quickly figures him out and calls him a fraud before leaving. Leo, Wyatt and Chris then follow the demon through a portal.
While going through the maze, Piper mentions it might not be bad living without their powers, though the sisters figure demons would still come after them. Paige remarks it would be handy to have the power negating serum as a weapon, though her sisters think it is too dangerous. Dr. Gnivik returns, and after provoking him, he tells them the real test shall begin. The sisters realize out they are literally rats in a maze and find the exit by smelling the cheese. They are then teleported to another lab. Paige is trapped on a treadmill and forced to run, while Phoebe is trapped to a table and Piper in a chair with electrodes attached to her body.
Leo and the boys are stuck outside the laboratory with no way in. After attempting to force their way in with magic, Chris impulsively knocks on the door. Back at the lab, Dr. Gnivik arrives and continues his experiment in an attempt to figure out how the sisters' powers work. He tests Paige's endurance and Piper's emotional responses, while Piper attempts to distract him while Phoebe tries to free herself.
Nisha is still at the manor when Darryl Morris arrives. After he identifies himself, she lets him in just when Xandra arrives seeking revenge. They barricade the door and Nisha casts a spell to keep her out. However, as Nisha prepares a potion, Xandra manages to break and in corners Nisha and Darryl in the attic. Nisha then throws the potion on Xandra, causing her to freeze.
Cameron opens the door for Leo and the boys, though Chris knocks him out. They follow some cables to the security room and use the security system to find the lab holding the sisters. As Paige becomes exhausted on the treadmill, Phoebe breaks free and attacks the doctor, though as he restrains her, Piper is able to free herself. She distracts the doctor long enough for Phoebe to free herself again. As Piper frees Paige, Phoebe knocks out the doctor and they trap him on the treadmill. When they turn on the machine, the doctor is forced to undergo his own experiment and is vanquished as he falls. The sisters escape the lab, but are confronted by the doctor's mysterious benefactor, Zankou.
Zankou decides to kill the Charmed Ones and calls in his demonic army, though Leo and the boys arrive and Wyatt shields them. They want to escape, but Piper tells them they need to destroy the power negating serum first. Chris then orbs his parents away while the rest stays behind to fight Zankou. Piper and Leo make their way back to the first lab. As they destroy the serum, Piper tells Leo it could make her mortal and their lives easier. However, Leo replies magic will always be a part of their lives.
As the Halliwell family returns to the manor, Wyatt and Chris reveal they vanquished the demonic forces, but let Zankou escape, as he still had a part to play. As Nisha retrieves the infant version of Wyatt and Chris, Piper sends the adult ones back to their own time. As Piper and Leo spend some time with their family, Paige and Phoebe return Nisha to Magic School. When they come back, Paige wonders why there is a frozen woman in the attic.
Magical Notes
Book of Shadows
- It is mentioned that Piper wrote the spell she used to accidentally summon Wyatt in "Imaginary Fiends" in the Book of Shadows.
Spells
To Summon Future Wyatt and Chris
- Cast by Leo with the help of a sliver of a Unicorn Horn.
- Help this father save his wife,
- So they can lead a happy life.
- To ensure that this is done,
- Send, from the future, both his sons.
To Return Wyatt and Chris to their Time
- Written by Leo and cast by Piper.
- Sons in the future, come to the past,
- Seeing anew what once has passed,
- Return them now to whence they came,
- Back when they left, all now the same.
Protection Spell
- Cast by Nisha to prevent Xandra from entering the manor. It requires a broom to be swept in the direction of the evil at all times.
- Protect us from the coming dark
- With magic that provides a spark.
- The evil lurking while we sleep,
- I wisk away with a clean sweep.
Potions
- Phoebe brews an improvised potion to gain control over a group of demons, though they are vanquished before it can take effect. One ingredient is vanilla.
- Nisha makes a potion that allows a person to get a full night's rest in a half hour of sleep.
- Phoebe uses several generic potions to vanquish demons.
- A demon uses a sleeping potion on Phoebe.
- Nisha makes a potion to freeze Xandra, which she describes as an equivalent of a magically induced coma.
Powers
- Telekinetic Orbing: Used by Paige to orb a knife to her and silverware at demons. She later used it to cause a demon to burst into orbs. Also used by Wyatt without spoken command to orb a jar of catnip back and forth.
- Molecular Combustion: Used by Piper to blow up several demons.
- Energy Balls: Used by the demon with the video camera and Zankou's demons to attack the sisters.
- Energy Blast: Used in unison by the attacking demons to knock down the sisters. Also used by Frick.
- Blinking: Used by the demon with the video camera.
- Orb Shield: Used by young Wyatt to protect him and his brother. Later used by Wyatt to protect his family from Zankou's forces.
- Optical Energy Blasts: Two demons use this power to attack Piper.
- Molecular Immobilization: Used by Piper to freeze demons.
- Geokinesis: A demon uses this power to defeat Piper by causing a small earthquake around her.
- Reconstitution: Used by a demon after bursting into orbs.
- Orbing: Used by Paige, Wyatt and Chris several times.
- Teleportation Manipulation: Used on Paige as she orbs, trapping her in the Underworld.
- Sleep Induction: Used on Paige as she arrives in the Underworld.
- Force Field: Paige is trapped in a force field in the Underworld.
- Energy Beams: Used by demons to attack Phoebe.
- Levitation: Used by Phoebe to avoid the Energy Beams and to kick the demons.
- Luring: Used by Cameron to seduce Phoebe.
- Premonition: Used by Phoebe in an attempt to get information off Cameron.
- Thermokinesis: Used to rapidly heat the bars of Piper's cage.
- Scrying: Used by Chris in a failed attempt to find the sisters.
- Illusion Casting: Used by Dr. Gnivik to make the sisters experience a free fall by manipulating their sense of gravity.
- Holograms: Used by Wyatt to create a crowd of fake people for the lecture. Later used to create several glamours to sneak into the laboratory.
- Portal Creation: The lecture hall of Magic School is reachable through a portal.
- Remote Teleportation: Used by Dr. Gnivik to teleport the sisters between labs.
- Electrokinesis: Used by Wyatt and Chris in a failed attempt to break through a metal door.
- Remote Orbing: Used by Chris to orb his parents away.
- Energy Blast: Used by Nisha to blast at Leo, Wyatt, and Chris, but accidentally hit the grandfather clock.
- Projection: Used by Wyatt to repair the broken grandfather clock and by Dr. Gnivik to repair his destroyed lab.
- Xandra uses an unknown power in an attempt to blast through the door of the manor, though she might have been using a spell.
Artifacts
- Book of Shadows: The Book of Shadows belonging to the Warren line of Witches.
- Sliver of Unicorn Horn: The horn of a Unicorn is pure magic.
- Grandfather Clock: A piece of antique in the Halliwell Manor.
- Morder's Book of Magic: A rare magical book containing many powerful spells.
- Power Negating Serum: A serum developed by Dr. Gnivik from the sisters' blood, that prevents magical beings from accessing their powers.
Notes and Trivia
- This novel is written by Paul Ruditis, the writer of the Charmed comic book series.
- This is the third and final novel on which Leo Wyatt appears on the cover.
- This is the only novel with Leo, Wyatt and Chris on the cover rather than the sisters.
- When Leo summons Wyatt and Chris through a spell, he witnesses his sons battling demons with a dark-haired girl whose movements reminded him of Piper. Wyatt almost said her name ("Mel-"), but Chris cut him off. It is strongly implied the girl is Melinda Halliwell, the future daughter of Piper and Leo.
- It is revealed that the lecture hall of Magic School is located on a different plane from the rest of the school, allowing guests and demons to enter for seminars.
- It is mentioned that there is a class at Magic School called Modern Magic, which has a lesson plan based on the Warren witches.
- This is the first book to feature Chris Halliwell, and the only one to feature his adult self as well as Wyatt's.
References
- Phoebe makes a reference to Witch Wars, (a demonic reality show appearing in the episode of the same name), then Paige makes a reference to "Survivor".
- Chris almost mentions the Ultimate Battle, which occurs at the end of Season 8.
- Wyatt remarks that a demonic bar is very "Sex and the City: The New Generation". Sex and the City is referred to several times in the series.
Differences from the Show
- In this novel, Paige is able to cause a demon to burst into orbs by simply calling out "demon".
- A demon blinks, which is a warlock power.
- Molecular Immobilization is referred to as freezing time several times.
- Phoebe Halliwell has her Levitation power in this novel. It was stripped at the end of Season 6 and only restored in the comics.
- Leo tells Nisha to take the Book of Shadows to Magic School if a demon attacks, but only the Charmed Ones can take the book out of the manor.
- Benzimar refers to telekinetic orbing as beaming.
- Darryl Morris is still inspector instead of lieutenant.
- Dr. Gnivik refers to Paige as a stepsister, rather than a half-sister.
- Energy Balls are referred to as power balls several times.
International Titles
- Dutch: Hulp uit de toekomst (Help from the future)