The door chimed to announce Angel and Charlotte's arrival in the shop. Cassie was handing Davis his bonus and thanking him when they'd arrived. She quickly introduced Davis to her brother and Charlotte and then ushered him out. Once he'd left, she locked the door and turned, her bright smile fading. "Before you ask, no, I didn't have a lot of luck today."

Charlotte's shoulders fell, and she looked at Angel sadly. Angel nodded, "You tried your best, sis."

"Don't say that like I've given up." Cassie admonished him, "I honestly did not expect to find all the answers on the first day. This is new territory for me. The books here are not the best resources, and my Wiccan friends didn't know that much about demon summoning. It's not magic that any of us practice. So, I figured I'd next look into crystals."

Cassie walked past the pair, went behind the counter, and opened the back. She reached in and pulled out a tray of amulets and crystals, the ones she told Davis not to sell. She pointed to them and explained, "Crystals have power. Most don't know how to really call upon it, only admiring the beauty and ideas of what they are. But those who are attuned to nature, the natural and supernatural—those who know the world has more in it than the naked eye sees. These crystals hold real power."

She pointed to a few of them and explained the various crystal types, and then the amulets. "Amulets, charms, and trinkets can be worn with imbued crystals for the wearer to utilize. Now, it's important to understand that using any power, spell, or incantation has consequences if it's used with ill intentions. This is why some become corrupted."

She picked up a white crystal with stalagmite protruding from it, "This is barite. It helps with wisdom and mental awareness, as well as enhancing memory through cleansing. If you have a lot of negative energy stored, accessing and retaining your memories becomes difficult. This has a gentle, soft cleansing of the chakra, breaking down the barriers hiding your deepest memories."

Handing the crystal to Charlotte, Cassie warned, "It's not a quick fix, though. It can take time, but I want you to keep it on your person at all times, okay? As we look into ways to break those walls down, it will help the process."

Flipping the crystal in her hands, Charlotte smiled softly, "Thank you, Cassie. I'll cherish it!"

Smiling back, Charlotte explained a few of the other crystals and selected a hematite for Charlotte to hold onto, telling her that it would help with focus and drain toxic emotions and negative energies. "While they say you can mix multiple crystals, that's mostly for the common folk. Knowing their true power, it's never good to go past two, maybe three. So we'll start here. Tomorrow, I'll commune with the Frequencies for more advice."

"You've done a lot today, sis. Why don't we take a break and go out to dinner?"

"Good idea. I forgot to text you today so we can all go shopping and pick out things we all like—in the vegetarian area, that is." Cassie smirked at Charlotte, who nodded back, and the three went upstairs to get ready to go out.

—

That night, after a fine dinner, shopping, laughter, and Cassie taking a few pictures, including some very sweet pics of Angel and Charlotte flirting, they returned to the apartment. Charlotte had shared with Cassie during a moment alone in their shared outing that she'd had the talk with Angel, and Cassie clapped Angel on the back for not screwing this one up. Angel just gave her a playful, dirty look. Cassie told them she'd taken a midday shower, so she was off to bed, and for them to enjoy themselves. Charlotte blushed, and Angel gave her sister a look, who smiled and stuck her tongue out, giving him a raspberry as she shut the door.

Charlotte slipped her fingers around Angel's hand, and with her soft, inviting smile, she asked, "Will you join me, my Knight?"

Angel nodded. "Yes, your Highness."

The pair walked down the hallway to Charlotte's bedroom. Charlotte was happy; even though they couldn't make love, she could hold him for the first time, and she knew he felt the same way about her. For a flash of a moment, she worried that if she regained her true self, she would lose him, but that flash faded as fast as it came. Tonight, she would dream wonders, just as Cassie suggested.