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Date with Death

Date With Death is the 14th book in the Charmed novel collection and is written by Elizabeth Lenhard.

The novel centers around Lupercalia—the precursor to Valentine's Day. This novel is set between Season 4 Episode 12 "Lost and Bound" and Season 4 Episode 13 "Charmed and Dangerous" as Phoebe is engaged, and Cole is still human.

Summary

For a complete plot of Date with Death, go here.
Take this soul, who seeks revenge
Bind him from his cruel intent
With this spark, consign his soul
To the haze of his own hell.

As Piper and Leo contemplate parenthood, and Phoebe and Cole enjoy their engagement, Paige is feeling more of a push to find a significant other. In a moment of whimsy, she signs up for an online dating service. Needless to say, she soon finds herself flooded with eager responses. Almost every night she embarks on a new date that seems to lead nowhere—despite the fact that Paige has a perfectly good time when she's out.

Or does she? Before long the sisters discover that Paige spends her "dates" in a catatonic trance—she hasn't actually gone anywhere! Soon afterward her suitors are discovered to have committed evil acts. Paige is acting as a conduit for dark powers—and soon she is projecting her energies onto her sisters. Will Piper and Phoebe be able to save her using only the Power of Two?

Characters

Major

Support

  • Lupercalus: Antagonist. Initially the Roman emperor in the fourth century, Maxentius before he beheaded the saint and doomed himself into becoming an Ephemeral Demon. He used the name Max Wolf while in human disguise.
  • Josh Skilling: 32 years old. Works as a software designer. Phoebe's ex-boyfriend before she became a witch. Though things were great between them, he suddenly changed and Phoebe broke up with him. Broad shoulders, blue eyes, bright blue eyes, and chiseled jaw. Grew up in a farm in Ohio. Possessed by Lupercalus.

Minor

  • Saint Catherine: A princess living in Ancient Egypt. She refused the Roman emperor's offer in marriage, and was tortured and beheaded for it.
  • Stuart: One of Paige's dates. Has auburn hair and shorter than Paige. Social worker. Possessed by Lupercalus.
  • Sid: Nicknamed Mr. Forehead by Paige. Drives a Lexus.
  • Sweetie: The Charmed Ones' Siamese feline familiar.
  • Missy: Phoebe's friend; tall and skinny.
  • Chubby Hubby: A band performing at P3. Noted to be shimmery, poppy and slightly thrashing. Paige loves this band.
  • "Just James": Paige's coffee date, which led nowhere. Possessed by Lupercalus.
  • Carla Janowski: Phoebe's friend; a buxom blonde. Murder victim.
  • Charlie: Paige's coffee date and a veterinarian. Possessed by Lupercalus.
  • Alan: Media consultant. Paige's Sunday lunch date. Possessed by Lupercalus.
  • Teddy: E.R. doctor and Paige's date. Possessed by Lupercalus.

Mentioned

Magical Notes

Book of Shadows

Saint Catherine

Catherine of Alexandria was a princess living in fourth century, Roman-occupied Egypt.
The Roman emperor, Maxentius, demanded Catherine's hand in marriage. When the pious princess refused him, he attempted to torture her into submission. Among the devices in his arsenal was a spiked wheel, which was forever called a Catherine Wheel. Finally Maxentius beheaded the princess. From her neck flowed milk, rather than blood. And immediately a chorus of angels came to steal Catherine's body away for a proper burial on Mount Sinai. Maxentius, in executing the saint, became doomed. When he died a few years later, he became the ephemeral demon, Lupercalus.

Different Classes of Demons

Ephemeral demons can exist in the earth's orbit, electrical fields, nuclear power sources—anything that retains energy.

Spells

To Rescue a Witch from Points Unknown

Ingredients: Burn arrowroot, sage, suet, mustard seed, millet and a few other herbs while reciting the spell.
There must be a portal from one dimension to the next. Portals open at the exact moment of sunset or dawn; at midnight on a full moon; and at the first harvesting of millet or barley.
Our sister lies
In points unknown;
Restore her to her loving home.
Bring her back
And please, intact,
Put an end to her aimless roam.

To Erase a Memory

Let memories of these events,
Cease to even be past tense.
Wipe the slate as clean as air,
Let no recollection haunt them, ne'er,

To Summon Lupercalus

Give us this soul, brimming with malice,
Bring before us, Lupercalus.

To Banish Lupercalus

Origin potion needed to send an energy ball thrown by Lupercalus back at him. The spell must be chanted while the demon is in his incorporeal form.
Lupercalus, vengeful soul,
We bind you from your evil goal.
Through Catherine's will
And our Charmed power
Let this be your last cruel hour.
The ephemeral form of the demon will be contained in a chosen container.

Potions

Origin Potion

Ingredients: Five mustard seeds and eye of newt.
Used to send a demon's energy ball back at him and expel his corporeal form. After adding five mustards seeds, wait five seconds. The potion will erupt in pink goo, then recede and turn brackish green and finally corpse blue. Once the change is finished, add the eye of newt. Let the potion simmer for thirty seconds.

Powers

Artifacts

Locations

Notes and Trivia

  • According to this book, Paige was a vegetarian for a short time.
  • Piper mentions Paige's resemblance to Snow White; with her pucker lips, pale complexion and black hair. Coincidentally, Paige was transformed into Snow White in season 5 episode, "Happily Ever After".

Differences from the Show

  • When Phoebe is talking about the seven deadly sins (from the episode Sin Francisco), she says Piper suffered from 'greed', not 'gluttony'.
  • Grams's first husband died before the sisters were born, so that leaves only 3 husbands when she was looking after them, and not 4.
  • Paige has hazel eyes in this book. She has brown.
  • Paige has learned to orb to other places in this book, but always winds up in unintended places.
  • Cole has blue eyes in the book. On the show, they were green.
  • The sisters' familiar was named Kit. She ran away after the Charmed Ones were reconstituted.

Errors

  • The summary on the back of the book is incorrect. Paige does go on the dates, but because of the demon using her as a conduit, she doesn't really interact.
  • Time Travel is involved in the novel. However, the concept is quite controversial. When Phoebe first went back in time, she became invisible and intangible. The next time she went back with Paige, they visited a condo that swallowed them and sent them down to a realm with a building-sized computer chip and the air was filled with goo. More controversial, Paige was able to leave the realm and return to their own time by orbing. It would be more likely that they were actually visiting Lupercalus's Time Loop.

References

International Titles

  • French: Démons sur le Net (Demons on the Net)
  • Spanish: Cita Con La Muerte (Date With the Death)
  • Russian: Svidanije so smjert'u (Rendezvous with Death)
  • Dutch: Rendez-vous met de dood (Rendezvous with Death)