THIRTEEN
"I don't understand," said Piper after they had searched the outside of
the house thoroughly. "That's the second time I've seen him but he's nowhere to
be found."
"It is a augury," said Margaret.
"A what?" Paige asked.
"They are called auguries," said Margaret. "They are a portent, a sort of
omen. They appear from time to time but only briefly. They are supposed to
predict things for the ones who see them."
"Good things or bad things?" asked Cole.
"That depends," said the woman. "You called it Leo. Did you recognize
the face?"
"Leo Wyatt, my husband," said Piper. "He came with us but when we got
here we couldn't find him."
"Was he a good person?" asked Margaret.
"Oh, you betcha," said Paige. "The best kind
"The visage of the person is supposed to define the prediction," said
Margaret. "If the person is a good person, the portent is good. If the person
is not a good person, then the portent foretells evil. And it's supposed to
affect even those close to the person that it appears to. Sounds to me like
this is a portent for good."
"We could use some right now," said Piper. "Seems we've had nothing but
bad luck since this whole thing started."
"Is everything okay, master?" questioned Amador, sticking his head
tentatively in the door. "I was told you were outside. And that you seemed to
be looking for something. Is there anything I may do for you?"
"No," said Cole. "We were, uh, just looking around. Everything is fine."
"I'm glad," said Amador. "Dolcine, it is late. You should be getting to
your quarters and leave the master in peace."
"Yes, sir," said Margaret.
"Amador," said Cole, glancing at Margaret, "I would like her to stay. She
is a very efficient servant. I may have need of her later."
"Oh, master," said Amador, "I can provide you with much younger, more
robust companionship if that is your desire. Dolcine is an efficient servant
but I have others who are more pleasing to the eye."
"She'll do fine," said Cole. "If I need anything else I'll call you."
"Yes, master," said Amador. "Dolcine is yours for as long as you wish."
Amador backed quickly out of the room obviously not wanting to incur
Coles' wrath.
"You seem to be taking to this master/servant thing pretty quickly," said
Piper, looking at Cole.
"Over a hundred years in the underworld," said Cole. "This is actually
old hat to me."
"Are you sure he's one of the good guys?" Margaret whispered to Paige.
"Not entirely," Paige whispered back. "But like I said, you don't have to
worry about him. He's on our side here."
"I'll talk to Amador first thing in the morning," said Cole. "Maybe he'll
let me buy Margaret on credit. By the time he realizes he isn't going to get
paid we should be long gone."
"I don't know," said Margaret. "The demonis have never heard of credit.
I'm not sure how he'd react."
"It can't hurt to try," said Piper. "Are there any other people here from
the mortal realm that you know of?"
"I've only heard rumors," said Margaret. "And not many of those. By the
time we hear about anything like that it's been months or years since it
happened. And there's no way to know what happened to those people."
"Well, one thing is for sure," said Paige. "We aren't staying here any
longer than necessary. We're going to find Phoebe and get her back where she
belongs."
"What about this Gastion?" Margaret asked. "What are you going to do
about him?"
"I may just have to teach him a lesson," said Cole. "If he knows how to
get to the mortal plane without any problems he'll be a threat in the future.
At least to any unsuspecting women who happen across him. We can't just let him
roam around free taking other innocent women captive. They won't have sisters
to come after them."
"Cole's right," said Piper. "If we let him go he's bound to try it again.
We'll have to put a stop to him once and for all."
"How?" Paige asked. "We don't have any of our powers."
"I do," said Cole. "And like I said, Gastion is no match for me."
"We'd better get some sleep," said Margaret. "They get up pretty early
around here."
"Good idea," said Piper. "Let's all get a good night's rest and start
fresh in the morning."
Realizing they were all very tired, the four got ready for bed. It had
been a long day. And tomorrow promised to be even longer. Late into the night
Piper thought about the apparitions she had seen of Leo. And wondered just
where he was and if he was okay.
The next morning Cole spent a great deal of time talking with Amador.
They seemed to be arguing about something even though Amador was clearly very
frightened of Cole. He was respectful but appeared adamant about his position.
Finally, Cole shook his hand and walked over to the sisters and Margaret.
"Well, he won't budge," said Cole. "He insists that payment has to be in
full and up front if we want to buy Margaret. Apparently not even my being a
demon was enough to dissuade him."
"I told you," said Margaret. "The law says that a demonis can ask for
payment up front if he so chooses. Amador is well within his rights to do it
and he knows that not even you being a demon can alter that. Besides, he's a
very shrewd businessman. When I came here he only had three gadlings besides
me. Now he has over one hundred."
"How much does he want for her?" Piper asked.
"He insisted on twenty-five gold barracks," said Cole. "Whatever barracks
are."
"It's the usual form of currency here," said Margaret. "Twenty-five is a
large amount. I must be worth more to him than I thought. He's never asked for
more than seventeen before."
"Well, it's a sure bet we can't buy you," said Cole. "What about sneaking
away after it gets dark. By the time they find you missing in the morning we
should be a long way off."
"That's not a good idea," said Margaret. "Oh, I could get away. He
trusts me as much as he trusts any gadling. But they'd suspect you of stealing
me right away. They'd probably contact the magistrate in the town south of here
to send the Imposers after you."
"Imposers?" questioned Cole.
"Kind of like the police here," said Margaret. "Not even demons like you
are above the law. Imposers are demons with magical powers that enforce the
laws. Stealing a gadling is a very serious offense. The penalties can be
severe."
"Well, we can't risk that," said Piper. "We have enough to do without
worrying about these Imposers coming after us."
"Don't worry, Margaret," said Paige. "We won't leave you here. We'll
find someway to take you back with us."
Before Margaret could respond several of the women began to shriek. The
men began yelling. Within seconds the entire yard was in pandemonium. Everyone
was yelling and screaming and words like "augury" and "evil spirit" could be
heard. Everyone seemed to be pointing at Cole and the sisters.
Almost on impulse, Piper turned to look behind her thinking maybe it
wasn't her they were pointing at but something behind her. What she saw made
her heart skip a beat. Standing not three feet behind Margaret was a figure. A
ghostly figure that was completely transparent.
Cole, Phoebe, and Margaret, seeing Piper's reaction, turned as well. Cole
and Phoebe just stared at the figure in shock. Margaret got a terrified look on
her face and started to back away from the figure. Standing directly behind her
was Leo.
"I don't understand," said Piper after they had searched the outside of
the house thoroughly. "That's the second time I've seen him but he's nowhere to
be found."
"It is a augury," said Margaret.
"A what?" Paige asked.
"They are called auguries," said Margaret. "They are a portent, a sort of
omen. They appear from time to time but only briefly. They are supposed to
predict things for the ones who see them."
"Good things or bad things?" asked Cole.
"That depends," said the woman. "You called it Leo. Did you recognize
the face?"
"Leo Wyatt, my husband," said Piper. "He came with us but when we got
here we couldn't find him."
"Was he a good person?" asked Margaret.
"Oh, you betcha," said Paige. "The best kind
"The visage of the person is supposed to define the prediction," said
Margaret. "If the person is a good person, the portent is good. If the person
is not a good person, then the portent foretells evil. And it's supposed to
affect even those close to the person that it appears to. Sounds to me like
this is a portent for good."
"We could use some right now," said Piper. "Seems we've had nothing but
bad luck since this whole thing started."
"Is everything okay, master?" questioned Amador, sticking his head
tentatively in the door. "I was told you were outside. And that you seemed to
be looking for something. Is there anything I may do for you?"
"No," said Cole. "We were, uh, just looking around. Everything is fine."
"I'm glad," said Amador. "Dolcine, it is late. You should be getting to
your quarters and leave the master in peace."
"Yes, sir," said Margaret.
"Amador," said Cole, glancing at Margaret, "I would like her to stay. She
is a very efficient servant. I may have need of her later."
"Oh, master," said Amador, "I can provide you with much younger, more
robust companionship if that is your desire. Dolcine is an efficient servant
but I have others who are more pleasing to the eye."
"She'll do fine," said Cole. "If I need anything else I'll call you."
"Yes, master," said Amador. "Dolcine is yours for as long as you wish."
Amador backed quickly out of the room obviously not wanting to incur
Coles' wrath.
"You seem to be taking to this master/servant thing pretty quickly," said
Piper, looking at Cole.
"Over a hundred years in the underworld," said Cole. "This is actually
old hat to me."
"Are you sure he's one of the good guys?" Margaret whispered to Paige.
"Not entirely," Paige whispered back. "But like I said, you don't have to
worry about him. He's on our side here."
"I'll talk to Amador first thing in the morning," said Cole. "Maybe he'll
let me buy Margaret on credit. By the time he realizes he isn't going to get
paid we should be long gone."
"I don't know," said Margaret. "The demonis have never heard of credit.
I'm not sure how he'd react."
"It can't hurt to try," said Piper. "Are there any other people here from
the mortal realm that you know of?"
"I've only heard rumors," said Margaret. "And not many of those. By the
time we hear about anything like that it's been months or years since it
happened. And there's no way to know what happened to those people."
"Well, one thing is for sure," said Paige. "We aren't staying here any
longer than necessary. We're going to find Phoebe and get her back where she
belongs."
"What about this Gastion?" Margaret asked. "What are you going to do
about him?"
"I may just have to teach him a lesson," said Cole. "If he knows how to
get to the mortal plane without any problems he'll be a threat in the future.
At least to any unsuspecting women who happen across him. We can't just let him
roam around free taking other innocent women captive. They won't have sisters
to come after them."
"Cole's right," said Piper. "If we let him go he's bound to try it again.
We'll have to put a stop to him once and for all."
"How?" Paige asked. "We don't have any of our powers."
"I do," said Cole. "And like I said, Gastion is no match for me."
"We'd better get some sleep," said Margaret. "They get up pretty early
around here."
"Good idea," said Piper. "Let's all get a good night's rest and start
fresh in the morning."
Realizing they were all very tired, the four got ready for bed. It had
been a long day. And tomorrow promised to be even longer. Late into the night
Piper thought about the apparitions she had seen of Leo. And wondered just
where he was and if he was okay.
The next morning Cole spent a great deal of time talking with Amador.
They seemed to be arguing about something even though Amador was clearly very
frightened of Cole. He was respectful but appeared adamant about his position.
Finally, Cole shook his hand and walked over to the sisters and Margaret.
"Well, he won't budge," said Cole. "He insists that payment has to be in
full and up front if we want to buy Margaret. Apparently not even my being a
demon was enough to dissuade him."
"I told you," said Margaret. "The law says that a demonis can ask for
payment up front if he so chooses. Amador is well within his rights to do it
and he knows that not even you being a demon can alter that. Besides, he's a
very shrewd businessman. When I came here he only had three gadlings besides
me. Now he has over one hundred."
"How much does he want for her?" Piper asked.
"He insisted on twenty-five gold barracks," said Cole. "Whatever barracks
are."
"It's the usual form of currency here," said Margaret. "Twenty-five is a
large amount. I must be worth more to him than I thought. He's never asked for
more than seventeen before."
"Well, it's a sure bet we can't buy you," said Cole. "What about sneaking
away after it gets dark. By the time they find you missing in the morning we
should be a long way off."
"That's not a good idea," said Margaret. "Oh, I could get away. He
trusts me as much as he trusts any gadling. But they'd suspect you of stealing
me right away. They'd probably contact the magistrate in the town south of here
to send the Imposers after you."
"Imposers?" questioned Cole.
"Kind of like the police here," said Margaret. "Not even demons like you
are above the law. Imposers are demons with magical powers that enforce the
laws. Stealing a gadling is a very serious offense. The penalties can be
severe."
"Well, we can't risk that," said Piper. "We have enough to do without
worrying about these Imposers coming after us."
"Don't worry, Margaret," said Paige. "We won't leave you here. We'll
find someway to take you back with us."
Before Margaret could respond several of the women began to shriek. The
men began yelling. Within seconds the entire yard was in pandemonium. Everyone
was yelling and screaming and words like "augury" and "evil spirit" could be
heard. Everyone seemed to be pointing at Cole and the sisters.
Almost on impulse, Piper turned to look behind her thinking maybe it
wasn't her they were pointing at but something behind her. What she saw made
her heart skip a beat. Standing not three feet behind Margaret was a figure. A
ghostly figure that was completely transparent.
Cole, Phoebe, and Margaret, seeing Piper's reaction, turned as well. Cole
and Phoebe just stared at the figure in shock. Margaret got a terrified look on
her face and started to back away from the figure. Standing directly behind her
was Leo.