Coven
Paige and Qiang Li strolled into the jewelry store. Laughing and chatting,
they wandered through the aisles, inspecting the display cases' contents.
Bright gold chains nestled next to cords of amber and turquoise, silver
bracelets and rings rested on trays beside jeweled earrings.
D'Artagnan's was an upscale, and very expensive place. Paige whistled
softly as she read one of the price tags.
"May I help you ladies?" The clerk approached, smiling .
"Do you do custom work here?" asked Paige.
"Oh yes indeed. We have several fine jewelers on retainer. Would
you like to see one of our design catalogs?" At her nod, he turned
and strode briskly over to the counter. Rummaging behind the cash
register, he produced a large folder of photos and sketches.
Paige leafed through them, and stopped at one that caught
her eye. "Whose work is this?" she asked .
"Ah. That's Dorian Castillo. He's been quite popular. However,
he doesn't design wedding rings, if that's what interests you.
Almost anything else-- bracelets, rings, torques, but not
those. I don't know why." He led them over to a glass display
tower by one wall. "These are some of his pieces that he
made over the summer--Oh, please excuse me." More people
had entered as he spoke. "If you see anything in particular,
I'll be right back." He nodded and turned away.
Qiang Li pointed to a solid gold bracelet that had
a five-pointed star carved onto it. Paige's eyes flickered
to the clerk and the patrons he was chatting up.
"Sure the glamour will hold?" she whispered urgently.
"Yes. Please trust me. It is not only you at risk here," the
older witch reminded her.
"Yeah. " Paige orbed the bracelet into her hand, stuffing
it quickly into her purse.
Bane appeared at the entrance. He waved to her, smiling.
"Coming, honey, " Paige called. She heard someone chuckle
as she hurried out to him.
"You did good."
"My first theft. A real milestone. Come on, let's get this
goodie back to the Manor."
Bane opened his Pontiac's passenger side doors and stepped
aside to let Qiang Li and Paige be seated.
"Did you get the name?" he questioned,glancing over his shoulder, as he
slid into the driver's seat and started the engine.
"Dorian Castillo. He's the witch."
"Do we know that for sure? Could be he just makes the pieces and someone
else does the magic on 'em afterward, " Bane said.
Paige didn't take offense at the questions. "According to Piper, if that were
how it was done, the spell should be easy to remove. We tried to unenchant
that ring Li found, and couldn't do it even with all three of us. The magic's
been set into the metal itself, from the time the jewelry's made."
"So what does this one do?"
"That we don't yet know," Qiang Li answered. "I think not the same as the
other. This...feels worse to me. I advise we don't experiment until there
is a Whitelighter present, no offense to you, Ms. Matthews."
"None taken. I think you're right. Can you hand me that case Piper
sent with us?"
Qiang Li opened the glove compartment. She took out a small metal
box that resembled a miniature safe.
Not too wrong, Paige thought. She removed the bracelet from her
purse, holding it between thumb and forefinger. Making a face,
she dropped the bracelet inside the silver-inlaid box and firml
closed the lid.
All of them breathed a sigh of relief.