Disclaimer: This story has the typical violence you'll see in the show along with all the angst. I try not to get too off character or too violent, but I'm giving it a mature rating just to be on the safe side.

I of course own nothing and get nothing but the satisfaction of writing the story and hopefully making it enjoyable for others as well. Comments are always welcome, good or bad. Thank you and I hope you enjoy it.

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Sarah returned to her house and began photocopying several pages from the old book. She pulled out a spiral notebook and wrote down the name of the shop and owner. On her computer, she typed in several of the phrases and searched for their meanings. It was Latin and some of the lines scared her.

Before she knew it, the clock downstairs was chiming six times. She took the book and quickly put it in the bottom of her china cabinet with some cook books. In the bathroom she attempted to make herself look decent. She was pale and her mouth was dry. Whatever that old woman had been in to, it was really dark and scared the hell out of Sarah.

Mr. Culver unlocked and opened the door for her, stepping back so she could enter. "Welcome back, Miss Blake." He closed and locked the door behind her. She suddenly felt extremely nervous. "Follow me please," he walked to the other door and unlocked it. Inside there was a small table and two chairs. "Now, what exactly are you looking for? I know each book in this room and can help you find whatever it is you need." His smile seemed genuine and he maintained a place on the opposite side of the table from her.

"I'm looking for books that might provide information regarding old rituals." She pulled out the copies she'd made and placed them on the table. "I did some research to determine what some of the phrases meant. It's pretty creepy stuff. I didn't realize that people actually did this, I mean … I know some of the histories of some of the religions, but I … I never really knew that they used these types of rituals."

Mr. Culver glanced over the pages slowly and carefully. His face appeared taunt and slightly pale. "These are incredible, though I wish you had not used a photocopier. You might damage the writings." He turned and looked at the bookshelves around him. Walking over to one shelf, he pulled out an old leather-bound book about the same size as the one she had found. He stepped to stand beside her and placed the book on the table in font of her. The writing inside it was the same calligraphy style and the first few pages in the beginning were the same. "This first section is an incantation that was used in most of these books. It basically says that only the true owner can use the book and anyone else attempting to use it will have everything backfire in a very unpleasant way. Only the true owner can pass it to the next one."

Sarah listened to him explain what each of the pages she had meant, some of which she had figured out by translating the actual words. As he stood beside her with the book showing her the pages and illustrations, she noticed he had a strange scent to him. It wasn't any particular cologne she recognized, but perhaps a mixture of several. She remembered it from one of the other shops that was burning multiple incenses on a table dedicated to a particular deity.

"So, tell me. Where is this book that you have? I would be very interested in reviewing it, perhaps even buying it from you." He turned his head towards her, as he spoke, but his body remained facing the table. She was starting to relax a bit. Maybe this guy wasn't so creepy after all.

"Unfortunately, it's not mine. But I really appreciate everything you've shown me this evening." She glances down at her watch and realizes that it's going on 10 o'clock. It shocked her; she didn't think they'd talked that long. "I should really go; I didn't realize it was so late." She gathered the papers from the table and turned to leave.

He touched her elbow, didn't grab it, just touched it gently underneath. It was enough to make her stop and turn back towards him. "I would really like to know more about this book, Sarah. Can you tell me who owns it?" His hand was still there, just touching her elbow, but he was now facing her and his blue eyes were concentrating on hers. She hadn't bothered to really look into his eyes until now. They were deep, inviting, and controlling all at the same time. She caught herself before she actually told him the truth, blinked, and said, "I'm sorry Mr. Culver. I can't just pass around names. But I will definitely pass on your interest in the book." She took a deep breath as she headed for the front door.

The lock on the door was a deadbolt that required a key on both sides. Fear took her breath and she turned around. He was right behind her. All kinds of thoughts ran through her mind, most of how stupid she had just been to allow herself to get locked in a store with a strange man. However, he passed by her, unlocked the door, opened it, and then stepped back to provide her more than enough room to exit. "Thank for stopping by Miss Blake. I hope to see you again sometime." His smile was pleasant and she returned it a little hesitantly as she walked out the door bidding him a good night.

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Sara was standing in a large room with a black ornate table large enough for six to eight people to sit comfortably around it. There were two chairs, one at each end. A candelabrum sat in the middle of the table with long black tapered candles burning in it. The room was large enough that the candlelight caused the walls to be shadowed. There was a crystal wine glass with red wine at one end and the chair was pulled out slightly.

"Welcome, Sarah. I'm glad you could join me." It was Mr. Culver's voice. Sarah turned around completely but didn't see him. As she completed her turn she suddenly felt him behind her. His warm breath was on the back of her neck and she stood trembling. He had that same scent of various incense all mixed into one, but it was still pleasant. Her hands were clasped together at her chest, and she could feel his hands resting under her elbows as he had in the store. The pressure was so gentle as he steered her towards the chair and yet it was as if he had taken her by the arms or shoulders and moved her there himself. "Please sit and join me for a drink," he whispered softly at the back of her left ear. The warm breath caused a shiver to ripple down her back.

She moved to sit in the chair. A ringing sound off in the distance sounded a little familiar, but her attention was on the glass of wine in front of her. She could still feel him behind her and realized that she hadn't really looked at him yet. She started to turn around, but his warm breath was at her ear again, "it's an excellent wine, I'm sure you will enjoy it." The ringing sound came again as she reached down and picked up the drink.

12 days ago…

She woke from her dream with a start as her cell phone rang one last time and rolled over to voice mail.

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Sarah showered and headed to the auction house. Once she arrived, she went upstairs to the office and started reviewing the paperwork from the previous day. Most of the items from Ms. Montague's estate had sold and the information needed to be submitted to the state. The rest of the items would be sold in a public auction within the next few days.

10 days ago…

Ms. Montague's remaining items were placed neatly on the auction house floor or tables. The auction began around 10 o'clock and was open to the public this time. Normally her father would make it an outside auction, but there weren't enough items left in her estate to require it. Everything went smoothly. Sarah and her father wondered around the floor speaking to various individuals and answering questions. Mr. Blake preferred silent auctions to the rambling of individual sales auctions, but if the rest of Ms. Montague's belongings weren't sold today, they would need to do one.

By the time the auction ended at 4 o'clock, the remainder of the items had been sold. Most of it was to various antique stores in the area and surrounding counties. As she was completing the paperwork later in the evening, it surprised her to see that the statue and weird knife had actually sold. They sold to the Supernatural Supplies and Books store. Sarah had been in the auction house all day, but never remembered seeing Phillip Culver or the young lady that had been working behind the desk a couple of days ago.

When Sarah got home she glanced over at the china cabinet. Remembering the book, she walked over and opened the door. She pulled out the book and went over to her computer. She started to flip through the pages of the book when a knock came from her door. Tucking the book quickly into one of her desk drawers, she went to see who it was.

He stood on her porch dressed in a casual business suit. Sarah inhaled sharply and hesitated to open the door. The knock sounded again and she jumped in her skin. After several more heartbeats, Sarah took a deep breath and opened the door. "Mr. Culver?"

"Phillip. Please, call me Phillip." He smiled sweetly and did a quick, small bow. "May I call you Sarah?"

"Uh … sure. But, what are you doing here?" Sarah was trying to keep the fear out of her voice and hoped that it'd come across as simple curiosity.

"Well, after you left the other day, I realized that your last name 'Blake' sounded very familiar. So I looked it up and found that your father owns the auction house."

Still trying to remain calm, she smiled, "but you're at my house, Phillip."

"True and I'm very sorry. I've obviously upset you. I was hoping to find out more about the book we were discussing. Unfortunately it wasn't available for purchase, wasn't for sale to start with, or it's already been sold. So, I found you in the phone book and thought I would check with you again." His voice was soft and his eyes mesmerizing as he spoke. He gave her a sensation of trust and fear all at the same time. But Sarah still wasn't comfortable enough to step from the doorway or ask him to enter.

"I haven't had an opportunity to talk to the owner," she didn't normally lie and technically she hadn't talked to the owner since the owner was dead, but she was still lying and hoped that it didn't show on her face.

"Well, I apologize for disturbing you this evening. Please have a good night." He smiled again, did his little nod and partial bow then turned and headed for his car. Sarah watched as he got in his car and drove away. She didn't close her door until after he was completely out of sight and then she closed the door, locked it, and then quickly set her alarm.

Picking up the book, she quickly locked it into her wall safe that was tucked behind a portrait of her family. Something was really creeping her out about the book and Phillip, but she still wasn't sure that she wanted to actually give the book to him. Something intrigued her and scared the hell out of her all at the same time about this man. She decided to get some sleep and try to move it to the back of her mind until she could decide. After all, she was supposed to sell everything at the auction and she kept the book out of the logs. She was committing fraud and needed to be very careful.

She thought about calling Sam again, but decided against it. After all, he had left a message that he would be finishing up his job soon. Maybe he'll call again once he's done and she'd tell him about it then. In the mean time, she curled up under the covers and tried to clear her mind until she finally fell asleep.