Prue sighed and combed her fingers through her dark hair in exasperation. "Jack, just get out of here for one minute, all right? I've got work to do." She glanced down at the pile of paper on her desk and wished she could freeze time like Piper.
The tall, casually dressed blond man grinned. "To please you, Miss Halliwell." He swept a clumsy imitation bow and sauntered out of the room. Prue ground her teeth in frustration.
I'm never going to finish these on time. She plopped herself down on the chair and began to ruffle through the stack. An article caught her eye: "Crystal Ball, believed to be magic, selling at $30,000 to the highest bidder." The picture depicted a round glass paperweight-like object on a silver stand. She looked at it, intrigued. The ball was not clear; it was filled with a smoky haze. She shook her head. "I'd like to see anyone try to see their fortunes in that," she muttered under her breath.
Prue put the article off to one side and continued reading the others. The article dropped, unnoticed, to the floor.
Phoebe flipped through a magazine while sprawling on the couch. "Piper, this is probably one of the most boring days of my life. There aren't any demons or warlocks, and everyone's out on vacation!" She tossed the magazine aside. "That's it, I'm going for a walk."
"Hold on, Phoebe. Look at this." The strange tone in Piper's voice made her hesitate.
"What?" She walked over to her sister, who was pointing at a newspaper article. "Several men killed of unknown causes..." She smiled. "Well, it came just in time."
"No, the weird thing is that none of them had any puncture holes, any bruises. All of them were perfectly healthy. And then they died of suffocation." Piper shook her head. "It's definitely magical..."
"Here, I'll go check the Book." She ran upstairs.
Piper clipped out the article and read it again. "I'm going to the police station to see if I can find out anything."
Phoebe's voice floated down: "They're not going to tell you anything!"
"Well then I'll go through their files. They'll need our help, even if they don't know they do." She stuffed the article into her purse and walked out the door.
Phoebe sighed. "Oh great." The heavy vellum pages in the Book turned under her fingers. "Piper's off again, and I'm the one stuck in the house." Then the words formed at the top of the page.
"Darkcloud. Smokelike substance wielded by Demon or Warlock. Kills by suffocation of the victim, leaving no trace in the body." She paused. "Now we have a demon or a warlock plus his pet ball of gas. I guess I shouldn't have asked for another demon after all." She went back to reading. "Is only able to be trapped in Crystal and Silver." She thought for a moment. "Prue will probably be able to find us some silver-crystal combo. No problemo." She raced back down the stairs and dialed Prue's work number on the phone.
"Hello, this is Prue." Her eldest sister's voice was haggard.
"Hi, this is Phoebe."
"Oh, great. I needed a break. My boss dumped a whole stack of articles on me and they're due by Monday."
"Oh my god, uh, I was just wondering if you had any crystal and silver combinations over there that I can use. There's this demon or warlock who is using a sort of smoky gas or something called Darkcloud and it's been suffocating several people already. We read this in an article. And the Book of Shadows says that it can only be trapped in crystal and silver."
"Hey! I read an article on a crystal ball with a silver base, the picture shows it's filled with gray stuff!" Prue searched for the fallen article. "Okay, hold on for a sec while I find it...I'm swamped and Jack just keeps bugging me." She blew a sigh into the phone, nearly deafening Phoebe. "Okay, here it is. The article says that the crystal ball is believed to be magical and is going to be auctioned off--here--starting at $30,000."
"Oh, god, isn't there a way you can like take it off the auction? If anyone breaks it that Darkcloud will be out on the hunt."
"Sorry, Phoebes. The best thing we can do is keep an eye on the new owner and protect them if possible."
Jack's annoying voice said faintly, "Hah! You protect anyone?"
"Get out of here!" A deafening crash of the receiver onto Prue's desk was followed by the yelps of Jack as he was bundled hastily out the door. Then a slam as the mentioned door was closed firmly on his heels, and Prue's breathless voice returned to the phone. "Okay, sorry. I just had to get rid of him."
Phoebe giggled. "You go, girl." The front door opened. "Okay, Piper just came back from the police station. I gotta go. If you can just keep track on the bidders, I'm gonna go check out every bit of silver and crystal we have and see if we can catch ourselves a Darkcloud."
"Okay, bye." They hung up.
"Alright, Piper, what have you got?" Piper waved the notepad she held in her hand.
"I found out who all the victims were, their occupations, everything. But they aren't in the least similar to each other." She flopped down on the couch next to Phoebe, then flipped the notepad to the right page. "Here, see?"
"Hmm. They're mixed male and female, so this isn't some gender problem. They range from twenty to forty-five. The occupations are carpenter, seamstress, lab assistant, nurse, and--" Phoebe gasped. "Oh no. It can't be."
The last victim's job had been Auctioneer.
The cloud formed a mouth and a tongue, licking its lips. That last one had been close. The next time it would free its master.
Prue waited by the elevator, clutching the article. "I have to sell this off because the auctioneer died?" Her voice was incredulous. "What sort of deal is that? I get stuck with everything!" Jack smiled.
"If you let me help--"
"My life would be even more messed up than it already is. Bug off." The elevator door opened, and she stepped in. Jack followed. She resignedly watched the door close. Another day with Big Blond Jerk. She pressed the button for ground level. "I'm going home," she announced as she stepped out. "I'm sick of people treating me like a doormat." She briskly walked out and got in her car, grinning with fiendish delight as Jack stood forlornly by the door.
Her cell phone began to beep. "Oh no not again."
"Hello, this is Prue."
"Don't be the auctioneer. Please, Prue. The last one was killed because the warlock wants his Darkcloud back. Get home, we need to talk." Phoebe's strained voice sounded through the receiver.
"I'm heading home right now. I got the article in case you want to see it." She turned onto the highway.
"The warlock seems to have two Darkclouds, or else he is in cohorts with another. People who had the crystal ball before were all killed by a Darkcloud. He won't be satisfied with one, and we'll have to find a way to trap him before the auction or else he could actually bid for it."
"Okay. Did you explain everything to Piper?"
"Yeah, I just did."
"I'll be home in a minute. See ya."
"Bye."
She tucked the phone into her open purse and stuffed the article in alongside, gunning the motor. If this were as bad as Phoebe thought, they'd be in trouble.
Piper made a snarling noise as the doorbell rang. "Seriously, first we have nothing to do, then we're swamped." She walked over to the door and pasted a smile--not without effort--on her face.
"Oh. Hi." Dan was standing at the door. "Uh, this isn't a really good time right now, we're kinda busy. If you could just..."
He backed off. "Okay, I'll see ya later."
"Yeah." She watched him walk away, his shoulders slumped, then closed the door.
"Okay, let's get to work." Phoebe walked in with a smile on her face. "That was the fastest conversation you've ever had with Dan."
"Shut up." Piper grinned. "I was kinda rude, wasn't I?"
"Rude isn't the word." They laughed and made their way back to the couch.
"These people were all single. They lived pretty isolated lives at home, and they were found dead in their own houses. Obviously this warlock is not wanting to attract attention, because if they take the ball off the auction he will have a much harder time freeing the Darkcloud."
"So if we want to stop the warlock or at least slow him down, we have to get the ball or take it off the auction."
"And I think we can wheedle Prue into getting it."
"Oh. Hi." Dan was standing at the door. "Uh, this isn't a really good time right now, we're kinda busy. If you could just..."
He backed off. "Okay, I'll see ya later."
"Yeah." She watched him walk away, his shoulders slumped, then closed the door.
"Okay, let's get to work." Phoebe walked in with a smile on her face. "That was the fastest conversation you've ever had with Dan."
"Shut up." Piper grinned. "I was kinda rude, wasn't I?"
"Rude isn't the word." They laughed and made their way back to the couch.
"These people were all single. They lived pretty isolated lives at home, and they were found dead in their own houses. Obviously this warlock is not wanting to attract attention, because if they take the ball off the auction he will have a much harder time freeing the Darkcloud."
"So if we want to stop the warlock or at least slow him down, we have to get the ball or take it off the auction."
"And I think we can wheedle Prue into getting it."
"Oh. Hi." Dan was standing at the door. "Uh, this isn't a really good time right now, we're kinda busy. If you could just..."
He backed off. "Okay, I'll see ya later."
"Yeah." She watched him walk away, his shoulders slumped, then closed the door.
"Okay, let's get to work." Phoebe walked in with a smile on her face. "That was the fastest conversation you've ever had with Dan."
"Shut up." Piper grinned. "I was kinda rude, wasn't I?"
"Rude isn't the word." They laughed and made their way back to the couch.
"These people were all single. They lived pretty isolated lives at home, and they were found dead in their own houses. Obviously this warlock is not wanting to attract attention, because if they take the ball off the auction he will have a much harder time freeing the Darkcloud."
"So if we want to stop the warlock or at least slow him down, we have to get the ball or take it off the auction."
"And I think we can wheedle Prue into getting it." Phoebe smiled.
The front door closed. "I think you're forgetting something. Didn't you say that this could either be a demon or a warlock? We could just destroy the demon to make the Darkclouds useless." Prue walked into the room, holding the article. "Here, check this out."
"Is there any chance of us buying the crystal before it goes on auction?"
"I think we could, but I doubt any of us has a free thirty thousand bucks lying around." Prue looked at them. "You're not suggesting that I--"
"That you just 'lose' it, let us say, until we can lure the warlock or demon over here so we can kill it." Both girls looked at Prue. "Face it, it's the best way we know where we can have the demon delivered to our front door so others won't be harmed. We also get to study the Darkcloud."
"All right, I'll try it. But don't ask for a guarantee, I might lose my job." Prue dropped onto a chair. "This is just what I need."
Phoebe put on the silliest grin she could. "Yep, two sisters ready to sabotage your job." She looked at first Prue, then Piper. "What?" The two were staring at her with very skeptical looks.
"Okay I'll go back later today."
Piper put the notepad, the article, and the Book of Shadows in front of her. "Here. Read and get all the details. I'm going to go apologize to Dan."
She walked out amidst a sea of snickers. "Apologize?"
"Shut up." The front door slammed. Prue and Phoebe burst into laughter.
The dark haze writhed within the crystal, struggling to find a single crack to force its way out. But there was none.
Prue returned with the crystal ball cradled in her hands. "Here it is." She looked around, puzzled. "Where's Piper?"
"Oh, she's still apologizing." Phoebe rolled her eyes. "She's been going on with him for an hour." The dark form swirled and formed a face in the crystal. She gasped and jumped back. "Prue, put the ball down."
Her sister placed it on the table. Then she saw the face. "Oh my god." The lips started forming words. Prue scribbled the words down on a clean page in the notepad.
"Let me out of here."
Prue shook her head. "Definitely not." She turned to her sister. "Phoebes, I think you'd better get Piper over here. Fast."
She watched her youngest sibling dash out of the room, flinging on a coat. "Piper! Piper!" Her howls ceased as the door closed behind her. Prue looked at the face.
It was forming new words.
"Repeat that, will you?"
"My Darkcloud will be here in a moment. You will never have a chance. Let me out and I will stop him from killing you."
"Ha, ha. Very funny. If I let you out I'll have an even harder time 'cause there'll be two of you." She stopped and looked out the window. "What am I doing, anyway? I'm talking to a ball of gas with a face who can't hear me. Or, at least I don't think so."
She kept writing. "I can hear you but you can't hear me."
"So you think that's an advantage?" She glared at it. "Guess what, I am out of the ball. You are within."
"I am protected from the Darkcloud. You are not."
She paused for a moment. Then her eyes widened. This is not good. This is definitely not good. I don't think this is the Darkcloud...this must be a demon who changed himself into one so he could disguise... "Okay, so maybe that's an advantage. But you're trying to make me mad so I want to throw you across the room. But I won't. So give up." She covered the ball with a newspaper.
Piper came back in looking annoyed. "Stop teasing me, Phoebe."
"Apologizing?"
Piper whirled on her sister.
"Argh! Shut up, both of you!" Prue laid a very firm hand on each of their shoulders. "I want you to all go into the kitchen and get a drink. Now."
They took the hint. All three marched into the kitchen.
"So what's this about?" Piper looked at Prue.
"I got the ball, it's on the table. It formed itself into a head and talked to me. The thing is, I don't think it is a real Darkcloud. Demons can change form too. I think he changed himself into a Darkcloud and was trapped. The other Darkcloud is the real one, and he's coming to save his master."
"You could hear it?" Phoebe looked at her. "I couldn't."
"No, I wrote down what it said. But I don't think that a Darkcloud really could talk. Anyway. The demon can hear us, but we can't hear him. His Darkcloud is coming really soon and we'd better be ready. He doesn't realize we're witches yet. We have to find a crystal and silver device and trap his Darkcloud, then destroy our friend Mr. Face."
The three of them bustled around the kitchen, looking for crystal glasses and silver objects. "Hey wait. The necklace Dan gave me today--"
Phoebe burst into giggles. "Oh my god."
"Shut up, will you?" Prue held out her hand. "Thank Dan afterwards. This is gonna save us a lot of time."
"Oh, don't worry, she will. Then she'll end up spending the night..."
"Out, get out of the kitchen. We have to wait for the Darkcloud and keep it away from the crystal ball." Piper hustled both out, smacking Phoebe as they went.
"Ow!"
The pink house with white trimming hovered into sight. The cloud shuddered. What a sight. But its master was here. It could feel the power...
Prue sent the last newspaper onto the huge pile already on the table. Then she seated herself behind it and waited. "Good thing you thought of the soundproof box, Piper. Now we don't have to talk in the kitchen." She looked at her sister who was standing near the door. "I hope you can freeze it."
"Yeah, that would make our lives easier, wouldn't it?" Phoebe popped her head out from behind the couch where she held the crystal ball in its case. "Do you actually think that by sending newspapers into its face it will slow down? You said yourself it was a gaseous substance."
"I'm not sure. That's why we have Piper to help us."
Piper clutched the necklace. "And then later I'll have to try to explain to Dan why I can't wear his necklace anymore..."
"Is that all you're thinking about?" Phoebe rolled her eyes. "You'd think you had more sense."
The window behind the couch collapsed in a shower of glass slivers.
"Get down, Phoebe!" Prue pulled her sister out of the path of the flying dark thing. Piper tried to freeze it.
"Oh great. This isn't working." She clamped her hand over her mouth and nose and walked towards the Darkcloud, holding the necklace as a ward.
"Prue, I think you'd better start on your newspapers right now." Phoebe cowered on the floor near the table. The box in her hands was shaking.
Prue sent the first "volley" of newspapers at the flying cloud. It met the gas with a slapping noise. Then the newspaper disappeared. "Oh my god. It eats newspapers?"
The gas formed a mouth--complete with fangs. Phoebe stood holding the box.
"Are you mad? Get down!" Prue tugged on her sister but to no avail. The mouth leered closer...
Piper lunged at the cloud. It emitted a shriek and shriveled into the necklace.
"Phew!" Phoebe's face was paper-white. "Thanks, Piper. I guess I'm not doing any teasing anymore."
"We still have our demon to kill." Prue stood looking apprehensively at the box. "The sooner we destroy this the better."
The box glowed with a silvery light. Phoebe nearly dropped it. "Hey! Careful with that thing!" Piper grabbed it and put it on the table, dangling the necklace as if it were a dead animal from her two fingers. "Ick. Someone take this thing away and put it somewhere safe."
Phoebe ran upstairs with the offending object.
Prue looked at the box. "Should we open it?"
"Let's look in the Book." They sat down and flipped through the pages once more.
"Shape-changing Demon. A rare but deadly type of demon. To kill one must use both fire and water in a circle and set ablaze with demon in the center." Prue looked confused. "How do you make water burn?..."
Piper snapped her fingers. "Gasoline. Put gasoline in the water and the fire will burn. Those oil leaks burn at sea. The gas will burn here." She ran to get the container.
Prue filled a bucket of water and looked at the floor despairingly. "We'll have to do this outside. Phoebe!"
Her sister walked unsteadily back down the stairs. "That necklace is dangerous." She looked at her wrist where the necklace had twined itself tightly. "Alright, what do we have to do?"
"You're going outside and digging a circle."
"I'm what?"
Prue led her sister out the back. "I'll help." She tossed Phoebe a shovel, hefting one herself. "The Book didn't say how big it had to be, did it?"
Piper had reappeared with the can of gasoline. "Nope. As long as it's big enough to break the crystal in." She pointed to a slab of stone. "Dig around there. When we are ready to break the crystal we won't have to throw quite as hard."
She headed back in to get the box.
They filled the circular ditch with water and gasoline. "Now we're gonna have a burnt ditch in our backyard. Great." Phoebe held the lighter. "Ready?"
"As soon as you light it, run back. It could explode." Piper aimed at the rock, holding the uncovered crystal in her hand.
"Here we go." Phoebe lit the circle. The flames roared up with a whoosh while Phoebe scrambled to safety. Piper hurled the crystal into the center of the blaze.
The bloodcurdling howl caused them all to wince and put their hands over their ears. "Jeez, don't be so loud," Phoebe muttered under her breath. They watched as the flames turned blue-green and consumed the strange-looking figure at the center of the circle.
"Bye, Mr. Face." The flames died. Not even a droplet of water remained in the ditch. Prue smiled and picked up the crystal ball, which seemed unharmed except for a tiny chip. "Tomorrow this thing goes back to work."
She slung an arm over Piper and Phoebe's shoulders and walked with them back into the house.
"Time to explain to Dan."
Phoebe ran up and got the necklace. The crystal in the center, once smoky with the Darkcloud's presence, had grown clear. "No need," she said. "Have a nice time, anyway."
Prue and Phoebe smiled as Piper glided out of the house.
The tall, casually dressed blond man grinned. "To please you, Miss Halliwell." He swept a clumsy imitation bow and sauntered out of the room. Prue ground her teeth in frustration.
I'm never going to finish these on time. She plopped herself down on the chair and began to ruffle through the stack. An article caught her eye: "Crystal Ball, believed to be magic, selling at $30,000 to the highest bidder." The picture depicted a round glass paperweight-like object on a silver stand. She looked at it, intrigued. The ball was not clear; it was filled with a smoky haze. She shook her head. "I'd like to see anyone try to see their fortunes in that," she muttered under her breath.
Prue put the article off to one side and continued reading the others. The article dropped, unnoticed, to the floor.
Phoebe flipped through a magazine while sprawling on the couch. "Piper, this is probably one of the most boring days of my life. There aren't any demons or warlocks, and everyone's out on vacation!" She tossed the magazine aside. "That's it, I'm going for a walk."
"Hold on, Phoebe. Look at this." The strange tone in Piper's voice made her hesitate.
"What?" She walked over to her sister, who was pointing at a newspaper article. "Several men killed of unknown causes..." She smiled. "Well, it came just in time."
"No, the weird thing is that none of them had any puncture holes, any bruises. All of them were perfectly healthy. And then they died of suffocation." Piper shook her head. "It's definitely magical..."
"Here, I'll go check the Book." She ran upstairs.
Piper clipped out the article and read it again. "I'm going to the police station to see if I can find out anything."
Phoebe's voice floated down: "They're not going to tell you anything!"
"Well then I'll go through their files. They'll need our help, even if they don't know they do." She stuffed the article into her purse and walked out the door.
Phoebe sighed. "Oh great." The heavy vellum pages in the Book turned under her fingers. "Piper's off again, and I'm the one stuck in the house." Then the words formed at the top of the page.
"Darkcloud. Smokelike substance wielded by Demon or Warlock. Kills by suffocation of the victim, leaving no trace in the body." She paused. "Now we have a demon or a warlock plus his pet ball of gas. I guess I shouldn't have asked for another demon after all." She went back to reading. "Is only able to be trapped in Crystal and Silver." She thought for a moment. "Prue will probably be able to find us some silver-crystal combo. No problemo." She raced back down the stairs and dialed Prue's work number on the phone.
"Hello, this is Prue." Her eldest sister's voice was haggard.
"Hi, this is Phoebe."
"Oh, great. I needed a break. My boss dumped a whole stack of articles on me and they're due by Monday."
"Oh my god, uh, I was just wondering if you had any crystal and silver combinations over there that I can use. There's this demon or warlock who is using a sort of smoky gas or something called Darkcloud and it's been suffocating several people already. We read this in an article. And the Book of Shadows says that it can only be trapped in crystal and silver."
"Hey! I read an article on a crystal ball with a silver base, the picture shows it's filled with gray stuff!" Prue searched for the fallen article. "Okay, hold on for a sec while I find it...I'm swamped and Jack just keeps bugging me." She blew a sigh into the phone, nearly deafening Phoebe. "Okay, here it is. The article says that the crystal ball is believed to be magical and is going to be auctioned off--here--starting at $30,000."
"Oh, god, isn't there a way you can like take it off the auction? If anyone breaks it that Darkcloud will be out on the hunt."
"Sorry, Phoebes. The best thing we can do is keep an eye on the new owner and protect them if possible."
Jack's annoying voice said faintly, "Hah! You protect anyone?"
"Get out of here!" A deafening crash of the receiver onto Prue's desk was followed by the yelps of Jack as he was bundled hastily out the door. Then a slam as the mentioned door was closed firmly on his heels, and Prue's breathless voice returned to the phone. "Okay, sorry. I just had to get rid of him."
Phoebe giggled. "You go, girl." The front door opened. "Okay, Piper just came back from the police station. I gotta go. If you can just keep track on the bidders, I'm gonna go check out every bit of silver and crystal we have and see if we can catch ourselves a Darkcloud."
"Okay, bye." They hung up.
"Alright, Piper, what have you got?" Piper waved the notepad she held in her hand.
"I found out who all the victims were, their occupations, everything. But they aren't in the least similar to each other." She flopped down on the couch next to Phoebe, then flipped the notepad to the right page. "Here, see?"
"Hmm. They're mixed male and female, so this isn't some gender problem. They range from twenty to forty-five. The occupations are carpenter, seamstress, lab assistant, nurse, and--" Phoebe gasped. "Oh no. It can't be."
The last victim's job had been Auctioneer.
The cloud formed a mouth and a tongue, licking its lips. That last one had been close. The next time it would free its master.
Prue waited by the elevator, clutching the article. "I have to sell this off because the auctioneer died?" Her voice was incredulous. "What sort of deal is that? I get stuck with everything!" Jack smiled.
"If you let me help--"
"My life would be even more messed up than it already is. Bug off." The elevator door opened, and she stepped in. Jack followed. She resignedly watched the door close. Another day with Big Blond Jerk. She pressed the button for ground level. "I'm going home," she announced as she stepped out. "I'm sick of people treating me like a doormat." She briskly walked out and got in her car, grinning with fiendish delight as Jack stood forlornly by the door.
Her cell phone began to beep. "Oh no not again."
"Hello, this is Prue."
"Don't be the auctioneer. Please, Prue. The last one was killed because the warlock wants his Darkcloud back. Get home, we need to talk." Phoebe's strained voice sounded through the receiver.
"I'm heading home right now. I got the article in case you want to see it." She turned onto the highway.
"The warlock seems to have two Darkclouds, or else he is in cohorts with another. People who had the crystal ball before were all killed by a Darkcloud. He won't be satisfied with one, and we'll have to find a way to trap him before the auction or else he could actually bid for it."
"Okay. Did you explain everything to Piper?"
"Yeah, I just did."
"I'll be home in a minute. See ya."
"Bye."
She tucked the phone into her open purse and stuffed the article in alongside, gunning the motor. If this were as bad as Phoebe thought, they'd be in trouble.
Piper made a snarling noise as the doorbell rang. "Seriously, first we have nothing to do, then we're swamped." She walked over to the door and pasted a smile--not without effort--on her face.
"Oh. Hi." Dan was standing at the door. "Uh, this isn't a really good time right now, we're kinda busy. If you could just..."
He backed off. "Okay, I'll see ya later."
"Yeah." She watched him walk away, his shoulders slumped, then closed the door.
"Okay, let's get to work." Phoebe walked in with a smile on her face. "That was the fastest conversation you've ever had with Dan."
"Shut up." Piper grinned. "I was kinda rude, wasn't I?"
"Rude isn't the word." They laughed and made their way back to the couch.
"These people were all single. They lived pretty isolated lives at home, and they were found dead in their own houses. Obviously this warlock is not wanting to attract attention, because if they take the ball off the auction he will have a much harder time freeing the Darkcloud."
"So if we want to stop the warlock or at least slow him down, we have to get the ball or take it off the auction."
"And I think we can wheedle Prue into getting it."
"Oh. Hi." Dan was standing at the door. "Uh, this isn't a really good time right now, we're kinda busy. If you could just..."
He backed off. "Okay, I'll see ya later."
"Yeah." She watched him walk away, his shoulders slumped, then closed the door.
"Okay, let's get to work." Phoebe walked in with a smile on her face. "That was the fastest conversation you've ever had with Dan."
"Shut up." Piper grinned. "I was kinda rude, wasn't I?"
"Rude isn't the word." They laughed and made their way back to the couch.
"These people were all single. They lived pretty isolated lives at home, and they were found dead in their own houses. Obviously this warlock is not wanting to attract attention, because if they take the ball off the auction he will have a much harder time freeing the Darkcloud."
"So if we want to stop the warlock or at least slow him down, we have to get the ball or take it off the auction."
"And I think we can wheedle Prue into getting it."
"Oh. Hi." Dan was standing at the door. "Uh, this isn't a really good time right now, we're kinda busy. If you could just..."
He backed off. "Okay, I'll see ya later."
"Yeah." She watched him walk away, his shoulders slumped, then closed the door.
"Okay, let's get to work." Phoebe walked in with a smile on her face. "That was the fastest conversation you've ever had with Dan."
"Shut up." Piper grinned. "I was kinda rude, wasn't I?"
"Rude isn't the word." They laughed and made their way back to the couch.
"These people were all single. They lived pretty isolated lives at home, and they were found dead in their own houses. Obviously this warlock is not wanting to attract attention, because if they take the ball off the auction he will have a much harder time freeing the Darkcloud."
"So if we want to stop the warlock or at least slow him down, we have to get the ball or take it off the auction."
"And I think we can wheedle Prue into getting it." Phoebe smiled.
The front door closed. "I think you're forgetting something. Didn't you say that this could either be a demon or a warlock? We could just destroy the demon to make the Darkclouds useless." Prue walked into the room, holding the article. "Here, check this out."
"Is there any chance of us buying the crystal before it goes on auction?"
"I think we could, but I doubt any of us has a free thirty thousand bucks lying around." Prue looked at them. "You're not suggesting that I--"
"That you just 'lose' it, let us say, until we can lure the warlock or demon over here so we can kill it." Both girls looked at Prue. "Face it, it's the best way we know where we can have the demon delivered to our front door so others won't be harmed. We also get to study the Darkcloud."
"All right, I'll try it. But don't ask for a guarantee, I might lose my job." Prue dropped onto a chair. "This is just what I need."
Phoebe put on the silliest grin she could. "Yep, two sisters ready to sabotage your job." She looked at first Prue, then Piper. "What?" The two were staring at her with very skeptical looks.
"Okay I'll go back later today."
Piper put the notepad, the article, and the Book of Shadows in front of her. "Here. Read and get all the details. I'm going to go apologize to Dan."
She walked out amidst a sea of snickers. "Apologize?"
"Shut up." The front door slammed. Prue and Phoebe burst into laughter.
The dark haze writhed within the crystal, struggling to find a single crack to force its way out. But there was none.
Prue returned with the crystal ball cradled in her hands. "Here it is." She looked around, puzzled. "Where's Piper?"
"Oh, she's still apologizing." Phoebe rolled her eyes. "She's been going on with him for an hour." The dark form swirled and formed a face in the crystal. She gasped and jumped back. "Prue, put the ball down."
Her sister placed it on the table. Then she saw the face. "Oh my god." The lips started forming words. Prue scribbled the words down on a clean page in the notepad.
"Let me out of here."
Prue shook her head. "Definitely not." She turned to her sister. "Phoebes, I think you'd better get Piper over here. Fast."
She watched her youngest sibling dash out of the room, flinging on a coat. "Piper! Piper!" Her howls ceased as the door closed behind her. Prue looked at the face.
It was forming new words.
"Repeat that, will you?"
"My Darkcloud will be here in a moment. You will never have a chance. Let me out and I will stop him from killing you."
"Ha, ha. Very funny. If I let you out I'll have an even harder time 'cause there'll be two of you." She stopped and looked out the window. "What am I doing, anyway? I'm talking to a ball of gas with a face who can't hear me. Or, at least I don't think so."
She kept writing. "I can hear you but you can't hear me."
"So you think that's an advantage?" She glared at it. "Guess what, I am out of the ball. You are within."
"I am protected from the Darkcloud. You are not."
She paused for a moment. Then her eyes widened. This is not good. This is definitely not good. I don't think this is the Darkcloud...this must be a demon who changed himself into one so he could disguise... "Okay, so maybe that's an advantage. But you're trying to make me mad so I want to throw you across the room. But I won't. So give up." She covered the ball with a newspaper.
Piper came back in looking annoyed. "Stop teasing me, Phoebe."
"Apologizing?"
Piper whirled on her sister.
"Argh! Shut up, both of you!" Prue laid a very firm hand on each of their shoulders. "I want you to all go into the kitchen and get a drink. Now."
They took the hint. All three marched into the kitchen.
"So what's this about?" Piper looked at Prue.
"I got the ball, it's on the table. It formed itself into a head and talked to me. The thing is, I don't think it is a real Darkcloud. Demons can change form too. I think he changed himself into a Darkcloud and was trapped. The other Darkcloud is the real one, and he's coming to save his master."
"You could hear it?" Phoebe looked at her. "I couldn't."
"No, I wrote down what it said. But I don't think that a Darkcloud really could talk. Anyway. The demon can hear us, but we can't hear him. His Darkcloud is coming really soon and we'd better be ready. He doesn't realize we're witches yet. We have to find a crystal and silver device and trap his Darkcloud, then destroy our friend Mr. Face."
The three of them bustled around the kitchen, looking for crystal glasses and silver objects. "Hey wait. The necklace Dan gave me today--"
Phoebe burst into giggles. "Oh my god."
"Shut up, will you?" Prue held out her hand. "Thank Dan afterwards. This is gonna save us a lot of time."
"Oh, don't worry, she will. Then she'll end up spending the night..."
"Out, get out of the kitchen. We have to wait for the Darkcloud and keep it away from the crystal ball." Piper hustled both out, smacking Phoebe as they went.
"Ow!"
The pink house with white trimming hovered into sight. The cloud shuddered. What a sight. But its master was here. It could feel the power...
Prue sent the last newspaper onto the huge pile already on the table. Then she seated herself behind it and waited. "Good thing you thought of the soundproof box, Piper. Now we don't have to talk in the kitchen." She looked at her sister who was standing near the door. "I hope you can freeze it."
"Yeah, that would make our lives easier, wouldn't it?" Phoebe popped her head out from behind the couch where she held the crystal ball in its case. "Do you actually think that by sending newspapers into its face it will slow down? You said yourself it was a gaseous substance."
"I'm not sure. That's why we have Piper to help us."
Piper clutched the necklace. "And then later I'll have to try to explain to Dan why I can't wear his necklace anymore..."
"Is that all you're thinking about?" Phoebe rolled her eyes. "You'd think you had more sense."
The window behind the couch collapsed in a shower of glass slivers.
"Get down, Phoebe!" Prue pulled her sister out of the path of the flying dark thing. Piper tried to freeze it.
"Oh great. This isn't working." She clamped her hand over her mouth and nose and walked towards the Darkcloud, holding the necklace as a ward.
"Prue, I think you'd better start on your newspapers right now." Phoebe cowered on the floor near the table. The box in her hands was shaking.
Prue sent the first "volley" of newspapers at the flying cloud. It met the gas with a slapping noise. Then the newspaper disappeared. "Oh my god. It eats newspapers?"
The gas formed a mouth--complete with fangs. Phoebe stood holding the box.
"Are you mad? Get down!" Prue tugged on her sister but to no avail. The mouth leered closer...
Piper lunged at the cloud. It emitted a shriek and shriveled into the necklace.
"Phew!" Phoebe's face was paper-white. "Thanks, Piper. I guess I'm not doing any teasing anymore."
"We still have our demon to kill." Prue stood looking apprehensively at the box. "The sooner we destroy this the better."
The box glowed with a silvery light. Phoebe nearly dropped it. "Hey! Careful with that thing!" Piper grabbed it and put it on the table, dangling the necklace as if it were a dead animal from her two fingers. "Ick. Someone take this thing away and put it somewhere safe."
Phoebe ran upstairs with the offending object.
Prue looked at the box. "Should we open it?"
"Let's look in the Book." They sat down and flipped through the pages once more.
"Shape-changing Demon. A rare but deadly type of demon. To kill one must use both fire and water in a circle and set ablaze with demon in the center." Prue looked confused. "How do you make water burn?..."
Piper snapped her fingers. "Gasoline. Put gasoline in the water and the fire will burn. Those oil leaks burn at sea. The gas will burn here." She ran to get the container.
Prue filled a bucket of water and looked at the floor despairingly. "We'll have to do this outside. Phoebe!"
Her sister walked unsteadily back down the stairs. "That necklace is dangerous." She looked at her wrist where the necklace had twined itself tightly. "Alright, what do we have to do?"
"You're going outside and digging a circle."
"I'm what?"
Prue led her sister out the back. "I'll help." She tossed Phoebe a shovel, hefting one herself. "The Book didn't say how big it had to be, did it?"
Piper had reappeared with the can of gasoline. "Nope. As long as it's big enough to break the crystal in." She pointed to a slab of stone. "Dig around there. When we are ready to break the crystal we won't have to throw quite as hard."
She headed back in to get the box.
They filled the circular ditch with water and gasoline. "Now we're gonna have a burnt ditch in our backyard. Great." Phoebe held the lighter. "Ready?"
"As soon as you light it, run back. It could explode." Piper aimed at the rock, holding the uncovered crystal in her hand.
"Here we go." Phoebe lit the circle. The flames roared up with a whoosh while Phoebe scrambled to safety. Piper hurled the crystal into the center of the blaze.
The bloodcurdling howl caused them all to wince and put their hands over their ears. "Jeez, don't be so loud," Phoebe muttered under her breath. They watched as the flames turned blue-green and consumed the strange-looking figure at the center of the circle.
"Bye, Mr. Face." The flames died. Not even a droplet of water remained in the ditch. Prue smiled and picked up the crystal ball, which seemed unharmed except for a tiny chip. "Tomorrow this thing goes back to work."
She slung an arm over Piper and Phoebe's shoulders and walked with them back into the house.
"Time to explain to Dan."
Phoebe ran up and got the necklace. The crystal in the center, once smoky with the Darkcloud's presence, had grown clear. "No need," she said. "Have a nice time, anyway."
Prue and Phoebe smiled as Piper glided out of the house.