THREE
"A watch?" questioned Prue. "You want us to go through the danger of fighting demons for a watch?"
"It's a very old watch," Daniel said. "It's been a family heirloom, of sorts for a very long time. Pierre Cordavanna constructed it. It is one of the few still in existence."
"Pierre Cordavanna?" questioned Prue. "I thought all of his watches had been lost."
"You've heard of this guy?" Piper asked her sister.
"Sure, every antique dealer knows his name," Prue said. "He was the official time keeper for the Catholic church sometime in the 1500s or early 1600s. He created some of the most beautiful and accurate watches in history. It's even rumored he was specially commissioned by the Pope to create the most magnificent watch in the world. Any of his watches would be worth a fortune today."
"As I said," Daniel said, "there is only a small handful still in existence. Mine is one of them. And aside from its' monetary value, the sentimental value is beyond estimation."
"Still," Prue said, "it's only a watch. No matter how valuable it is, I can't see that it's worth going up against demons for. Besides, what would these demons want the watch for anyway?"
"You have lovely hands," Daniel said to Phoebe, taking one of her hands in his.
It was as if he hadn't even heard Prue's questions.
"Thank you," Phoebe said. "I try to...."
The vision hit her full force. She watched in her minds eye as a young man about her age stood around with four or five other men. They seemed to be congratulating him and patting him on the back. He appeared to be very happy with their attention. He was holding a pocket watch in one hand.
Suddenly, one of the men changed into a demon. It reached down and snatched the watch from his hand and howled in victory. Before the young man could move, the demon formed an energy ball and cast it at the man. He vanished in a conflagration that left only a charred stain on the floor.
"Phoebe, are you okay?" Prue asked, noticing her sisters' reaction.
"Yeah," Phoebe said. "I just had a premonition."
She quickly told her sisters what she had seen. Normally, the sisters would have been up in an instant, rushing out to save the innocent in danger. Instead, Prue sat at the table looking suspiciously at Daniel.
"A vision you didn't have until he touched you," she said. "Maybe it was a premonition. Or maybe it was some sort of false vision he implanted to get us to do what he wants. This could all be a trap."
"It is necessary that she touch something to get a premonition," Daniel said. "I simply helped to facilitate the premonition itself. I can assure you I had nothing to do with what she actually saw."
"Prue," Phoebe said, "it felt like any other premonition. Besides, how can we take that chance? If there's an innocent in danger from demons, we can't just ignore it, can we?"
Prue looked at Piper.
"Phoebe has a point," Piper said. "Daniel hasn't done anything to show that he's a threat. And we can't just ignore an innocent in danger because we're suspicious."
"Okay," Prue said. "Phoebe, do you have any idea where this supposed innocent is and when he's going to be attacked?"
"I think so," Phoebe said. "I think he was in that old factory on the north part of town. The one that closed down a few years ago. And from the lengths of the shadows I'd say it was nearly sunset at the time."
"Just remember something, Daniel," Prue said. "If you know who we are and what we can do, then you must also know that we don't like people who play us for fools. If you're not on the up and up about this I can promise you will be very sorry."
"I assure you," Daniel said, "everything I've told you is the absolute truth."
"Fine," Prue said. "Phoebe, you check the Book of Shadows and see if you can figure out what kind of demon that was. There might be a vanquishing spell or potion for it. At any rate, we need to know what we're up against.
"Piper, you'll need to prepare a potion if there is one. It's still several hours until sunset so we have plenty of time. We'll leave here about two hours before sunset. That should give us plenty of time to get to the factory before they show up."
"Be back as soon as I find it," Phoebe said, heading for the attic.
"As for you," Prue said looking at Daniel, "you're going to stay right here where we can watch you. If this is a trap, I don't want to give you any opportunity to warn anyone that we're coming."
"It would be my pleasure," Daniel said, smiling at her.
Prue was uncomfortable with Daniel in the manor. True, he hadn't done anything that might show that he was a threat. But it wasn't every day that someone just came right up to them and told them he knew who they were and asked for their help. And they seemed to come up against a new enemy every week. Prue decided she was going to watch Daniel Kaminski very closely for the next few hours.
"A watch?" questioned Prue. "You want us to go through the danger of fighting demons for a watch?"
"It's a very old watch," Daniel said. "It's been a family heirloom, of sorts for a very long time. Pierre Cordavanna constructed it. It is one of the few still in existence."
"Pierre Cordavanna?" questioned Prue. "I thought all of his watches had been lost."
"You've heard of this guy?" Piper asked her sister.
"Sure, every antique dealer knows his name," Prue said. "He was the official time keeper for the Catholic church sometime in the 1500s or early 1600s. He created some of the most beautiful and accurate watches in history. It's even rumored he was specially commissioned by the Pope to create the most magnificent watch in the world. Any of his watches would be worth a fortune today."
"As I said," Daniel said, "there is only a small handful still in existence. Mine is one of them. And aside from its' monetary value, the sentimental value is beyond estimation."
"Still," Prue said, "it's only a watch. No matter how valuable it is, I can't see that it's worth going up against demons for. Besides, what would these demons want the watch for anyway?"
"You have lovely hands," Daniel said to Phoebe, taking one of her hands in his.
It was as if he hadn't even heard Prue's questions.
"Thank you," Phoebe said. "I try to...."
The vision hit her full force. She watched in her minds eye as a young man about her age stood around with four or five other men. They seemed to be congratulating him and patting him on the back. He appeared to be very happy with their attention. He was holding a pocket watch in one hand.
Suddenly, one of the men changed into a demon. It reached down and snatched the watch from his hand and howled in victory. Before the young man could move, the demon formed an energy ball and cast it at the man. He vanished in a conflagration that left only a charred stain on the floor.
"Phoebe, are you okay?" Prue asked, noticing her sisters' reaction.
"Yeah," Phoebe said. "I just had a premonition."
She quickly told her sisters what she had seen. Normally, the sisters would have been up in an instant, rushing out to save the innocent in danger. Instead, Prue sat at the table looking suspiciously at Daniel.
"A vision you didn't have until he touched you," she said. "Maybe it was a premonition. Or maybe it was some sort of false vision he implanted to get us to do what he wants. This could all be a trap."
"It is necessary that she touch something to get a premonition," Daniel said. "I simply helped to facilitate the premonition itself. I can assure you I had nothing to do with what she actually saw."
"Prue," Phoebe said, "it felt like any other premonition. Besides, how can we take that chance? If there's an innocent in danger from demons, we can't just ignore it, can we?"
Prue looked at Piper.
"Phoebe has a point," Piper said. "Daniel hasn't done anything to show that he's a threat. And we can't just ignore an innocent in danger because we're suspicious."
"Okay," Prue said. "Phoebe, do you have any idea where this supposed innocent is and when he's going to be attacked?"
"I think so," Phoebe said. "I think he was in that old factory on the north part of town. The one that closed down a few years ago. And from the lengths of the shadows I'd say it was nearly sunset at the time."
"Just remember something, Daniel," Prue said. "If you know who we are and what we can do, then you must also know that we don't like people who play us for fools. If you're not on the up and up about this I can promise you will be very sorry."
"I assure you," Daniel said, "everything I've told you is the absolute truth."
"Fine," Prue said. "Phoebe, you check the Book of Shadows and see if you can figure out what kind of demon that was. There might be a vanquishing spell or potion for it. At any rate, we need to know what we're up against.
"Piper, you'll need to prepare a potion if there is one. It's still several hours until sunset so we have plenty of time. We'll leave here about two hours before sunset. That should give us plenty of time to get to the factory before they show up."
"Be back as soon as I find it," Phoebe said, heading for the attic.
"As for you," Prue said looking at Daniel, "you're going to stay right here where we can watch you. If this is a trap, I don't want to give you any opportunity to warn anyone that we're coming."
"It would be my pleasure," Daniel said, smiling at her.
Prue was uncomfortable with Daniel in the manor. True, he hadn't done anything that might show that he was a threat. But it wasn't every day that someone just came right up to them and told them he knew who they were and asked for their help. And they seemed to come up against a new enemy every week. Prue decided she was going to watch Daniel Kaminski very closely for the next few hours.