THREE

"Are you okay?" asked Phoebe as she drove them home. "You've been awfully

quiet since I picked you up."

"What?" Cole questioned. "Oh, just tired, that's all. Being fully human

is more tiring than I thought. It will just take some getting used to."

"Well, you shouldn't take very long," said Phoebe. "What's that you have

there?"

"Oh, just a book on Latin," said Cole. "I thought I'd brush up on my

Latin since I seem to have time on my hands."

"Latin?" questioned Phoebe. "What on Earth would you need to know Latin

for?"

"Actually, I learned it about sixty years ago," said Cole. "There were

some texts I wanted to translate that were written in Latin. So I decided to do

it myself. I wasn't very trusting back then. I never trusted an underling with

anything really important."

"So why brush up on it now?" Phoebe asked. "Thinking about translating

some ancient texts?"

"No," said Cole, managing a smile. "Like I said, I just thought I'd brush

up on it. You never know when it will come in handy. Especially with all the

demon activity. I mean, not even Leo speaks Latin. This will be something I

can be something of a expert in just in case you guys ever need it."

"Well, that makes sense," said Phoebe. "I hope you do better than I did. I was never good at foreign languages."

"It will be fine," said Cole. "Remember, I'm not learning it from

scratch. Just refreshing what I all ready know."

Cole had written down as much of the spell that he could remember. He

couldn't remember all of it, of course, but he did remember the specific parts

that Corlin had pointed out. That should be enough for him to translate so that

he could try to verify if what Craggen had said was true.

To be honest, the offer intrigued him. He knew it was chancy to trust a

warlock. Any modern day warlock would have been more than suspicious. But

Craggen was from a different time. He knew enough about history that warlocks

of the past had lived by a sort of honor. They were evil, of course, and

usually out on their own agendas.

But in many ways it had been more civilized three hundred years ago. Men

fought duels over matters of honor and actually felt duty bound to protect the

weak and innocent. Even warlocks would have been influenced by that society.

Craggen was after a specific goal. If Cole could verify the spell it would go a

long way deciding if he should trust him.

"So, what did you do today?" Piper asked Cole at dinner that night.

"Oh, not much," said Cole. "I visited some shops, checked out the bus

schedules, wandered around downtown, just boring stuff really. But I did learn

some things that should help me be more human."

"He's also brushing up on his Latin," interjected Phoebe.

"Latin?" questioned Leo. "Why would you want to learn Latin?"

"Not learn," said Cole, "brush up. As I told Phoebe, I learned Latin some

years ago. I just thought I'd brush up on it. It might come in handy sometime.

If we come across any old documents, you might be glad I can translate it."

"Sounds like a good idea to me," said Paige. "I don't know about you

guys, but I suck at foreign languages."

"It might be handy at that," said Piper. "Any other languages you speak

we should know about?"

"A couple," said Cole. "Mostly I've learned languages when I needed to

blend in with the population. The first one is usually the hardest. After

that, it becomes easier."

"Oh, multi-lingual," Phoebe said. "Just don't be talking about me in a

language I don't understand."

"Oh, that's no fun," joked Cole. "It might be interesting to say things

you don't understand."

"Well, just let me say this," said Phoebe. "If I don't know what you're

saying, I get to make up what I think you're saying. And you definitely don't

me making up what you're saying."

"Better listen to her, Cole," said Piper. "You may not like what she

thinks you're saying."

"I'll keep that in mind," said Cole, smiling. "Anyway, my refresher

course has been easier than I thought. I actually remember more than I thought

I did."

"That's good," said Leo. "Maybe they can go to you for information

instead of me."

"Are you complaining?" Piper asked. "I thought that was part of your

job?"

"It is," said Leo, smiling. "I just thought he could help out when I

can't, that's all."

"I'll be more than happy to," said Cole. "Well, dinner was great as

usual, Piper. If you all don't mind, I think I'll do some more refreshing."

"Not doing the dishes tonight?" asked Piper.

"Well, sure, if you want me to," said Cole. "I still want to do my share

around here."

"No, go on," said Piper. "You've had a busy day. Why don't you just take

it easy the rest of the night?"

"Thanks," said Cole. "Phoebe, I'll see you upstairs later?"

"Sure thing," said Phoebe as Cole kissed her on the cheek.

Up in their room Cole finished his translation of the parts of the spell

he could remember. Corlin and his brother had done a fair job of translating

the spell. There were a couple of mistakes but overall it was exactly what they

claimed it was.

Which left only whether Cole should trust Craggen. Despite the fact that

Craggen had been raised in a different time and place, he was still a warlock.

And warlocks simply didn't get along with demons. Even a former demon.

Still, Craggen's offer might afford Cole an opportunity. There was

nothing he could do at the moment. He would have to bide his time. It was a

risk, he knew. But one he felt was worth taking. He now only had to wait for

Craggen to contact him again.