NINE
Piper opened her eyes and looked around. She was in some type of storage room. She was tied to a chair with her hands bound behind her and a gag over her mouth. The last thing she remembered was preparing her meal for the contest. Then she had suddenly become lightheaded and dizzy.
Apparently someone had slipped something into her meal. Her head was fuzzy. It was as if a fog were lifting from her mind. She didn't think it was from whatever someone had slipped her. This felt different.
"I see you're finally awake," said Wise.
That was when Piper realized she wasn't alone in the room. Wise and Walt sat off to one side. Wise was holding an athame.
"The ropes and gag are necessary, I'm afraid," said Wise. "Can't have you using whatever powers you have or trying to cast a spell. Gildarren's control of you has probably worn off by now. It doesn't last long on witches. But we have a problem. I need to find out just how much you know. And whom you may have told."
He handed the athame to Walt.
"I'm going to remove the gag," said Wise. "If she tries to cast a spell cut her throat."
Walt stood in front of Piper holding the athame as Wise removed the gag. Piper had no delusions. Walt would kill her if she tried to utter a spell. And with her hands bound she was in no position to protect herself with her powers.
"Now," said Wise, "what are you doing her? Did you come to stop us?"
"I'm not even sure what's going on," said Piper. "I just entered this contest at the urging of a friend."
"You're not her to vanquish us?" asked Walt.
"So, you're demons," said Piper. "I guess that explains a few things. If you know I have powers you must know who I am. You might want to reconsider letting me go before you have some real trouble on y our hands."
"You don't seem to be in much of a position to be making demands, witch," said Wise. "And no one is coming to your rescue. That little potion I had Clara put in your meal is only temporary. But it did make it appear as if you were extremely ill. As far as anyone else here is concerned, you've been rushed to the hospital. And tomorrow we'll sadly announce you died suddenly in the hospital. An allergic reaction tone of the ingredients in your meal apparently."
"You don't really expect to get away with this, do you?" Piper asked. "You might find it's not so easy to get rid of us. Others have tried. We're still around. They aren't."
"One witch isn't going to make a very big difference," said Wise. "And if your sister comes back looking for you we'll take care of her as well. Then we'll dispose of your bodies where no one will ever find them. Now if you'll tell me exactly what you know I promise to make your death quick and relatively painless."
"No deal," said Piper. "My guess is your pretty low level. And you need that information so you can tell your master you've fixed the problem. Well, I'm not going to play. You can just wonder what I know. And whom I might have told."
"That's very foolish," said Wise. "You know we're demons. So you must also know just what we can do to you. And how much we'll relish every minute of it. I'm going to give you one more opportunity to forgo all that unpleasantness. Just tell me what I want to know and it will be over very quickly. You have my word."
"The word of a demon?" Piper said. "Call me crazy but I'm thinking your word isn't even as good as the breath it takes to say it. Speaking of which you could really use a breath mint. Demon or not your breath is really bad."
"Very funny," said Wise. "You'll give me the answers I want. Walt is very good with that athame. Before he's finished you'll beg to tell me what I want to know."
Walt turned toward Piper brandishing the athame with an evil smile on his face.