“Whatever you think, Paige.” A gurgling noise caught Piper’s attention. She glanced toward the sink just as the gremlin jumped onto the counter. “Uh-oh!”
“What’s that?” Phoebe wrinkled her nose in disgust.
Gilbert sniffed, then gurgled again. His mouth opened to reveal two rows of tiny, sharp teeth. Wiggling with excitement, he made a chattering sound that reminded Piper of an annoyed squirrel.
“A gremlin that’s worn out his welcome.” Paige grabbed a wooden spoon from a holder and took a step toward the bold frog creature.
“No!” Piper jumped up and pulled Paige back. “We’ve got to catch it, not hurt it. Remember?”
Phoebe typed with one wary eye on the agitated gremlin.
“Oh, yeah.” Paige scowled. “Any ideas how? Because I’m not touching it.”
“Don’t look at me!” Piper shuddered at the thought.
“Oh, gross!” Phoebe gagged. “What does it want?”
Piper shrugged. “Chinese?”
Gilbert caught the fortune cookie Piper tossed and dove back into the garbage disposal.
Paige threw up her hands. “If you keep feeding it, we’ll never get rid of it!”
“If we know where Gilbert is,” Piper said, “maybe Cole can take care of it when he gets back. Since gremlins are indigenous to the underworld, upper-level demons must have some way to control them.”
“There’s never an ex-demon around when you need one,” Paige quipped.
“Cole’s expertise in the underworld comes in handy a lot, doesn’t it?” Phoebe asked as though looking for confirmation.
“Yeah, it does.” Paige nodded, smiling.
Gilbert is not our biggest problem right now, though, Piper thought as she sat back down. She picked up a pencil and scanned her notes.
If not for the Charmed factor that ruled their lives, their schedules would look completely ordinary and boring. Paige had been to work, the Fifth Street Shelter, and home. Phoebe had been to class and home, and Piper had been at P3 or home with only two exceptions: stopping for gas and getting money orders at the bank. She had finally agreed to let Leo grocery shop and run the other household errands.
“You were right, Paige,” Piper said, bracing her forehead with her hand. “The only place we’ve all been this week that’s the same is here.”
“Maybe we forgot something.” Paige carried three containers to the refrigerator and set them on a shelf beside Leo’s double order of egg rolls and crab Rangoon.
“I’m sure I did.” Phoebe clamped her pen between her teeth and flipped through the looseleaf notebook she had used in her computer class.
No matter how bad things get, Piper thought with affection, Phoebe always rallies.
At the moment, Phoebe was acting on two of Paige’s brilliant suggestions: She had made a paper copy of her list to carry in a pocket, and she was looking for hints about her recent activities in her class notes. Finding nothing in the notebook, she moved on to the papers she had taken out of her shoulder bag.
“Phoebe’s got a point there,” Paige said as she returned to the table. “She doesn’t remember anything, and we don’t know where she’s been. We’re just guessing.”
“I went to Compute-A-Cup Monday night.” Phoebe held up a credit card receipt. “I also paid for two coffees and two cheesecakes.”
Piper penciled in the popular off-campus coffeehouse. “I don’t suppose you know who you went with.”
Paige glanced at Piper. “She picked up the tab, so it wasn’t a guy.”
“No way!” Phoebe’s eyes blazed with indignation. “I love Cole. I don’t have coffee with other guys just because he’s out of town.”
Piper glanced up. “What’s the last thing you remember about Cole, Phoebe?”
“Kissing him good-bye.” Phoebe frowned, looking sideways at Paige. “And talking about his trip at breakfast.”
“That was Monday morning.” Piper turned the top page and jotted the info on a blank sheet. “What else do you remember about Monday?”
“Not much.” Phoebe nibbled her pencil eraser for a moment, thinking. “I did some ironing, had a sandwich for dinner with Leo ’cause you were at the club and Paige was at the shelter, and went to class.”
“Is that where the blur starts?” Piper pressed. “In class?”
“Actually, now that you mention it—” The phone rang, interrupting Phoebe.
Paige picked up. “Halliwell house.” After a moment she shoved the phone at Piper. “P3. Sounds important.”
“This is Piper.” Piper couldn’t stem a new tide of frustrated tears as she listened to Dixie’s panicked report. With a Vengeance had played a fantastic first set. The crowd loved them, but when Karen found out that Piper wasn’t coming in, she had demanded immediate payment. No money, no second set…or third or fourth, either.
“Trouble?” Phoebe asked when Piper hung up.
“Musicians. Same thing.” Piper paused to inhale and totally lost control when the doorbell rang. “Now what?” She asked through gulps of air between sobs.
“I’ll find out.” Paige rose and gripped Piper’s shoulders. “Relax.”
“Relax? I can’t relax.” Piper watched Paige disappear into the hall through misty eyes. She snatched her bag off the counter, threw it over her shoulder, and stomped after her. “I’ve got to go down to the club and pay the band before they walk and completely destroy P3’s rep.”
“What’s their problem?” Phoebe ripped the memory list page off her yellow pad, folded it, and stuffed it with the pen into the front pocket of her jeans.
“Me, when I get there.” Piper’s fury smoldered in spite of the tears.
Piper slowed to collect herself when Paige opened the front door. She didn’t recognize the blond man who carried a cane, and didn’t feel like making excuses for her distress to a total stranger. He was not a stranger to Paige, though.
“Kevin!” Paige sounded pleasantly surprised. “What are you doing here?”
“Doug said you were sick, and, well—I was worried.” Kevin leaned against the doorjamb. “I just thought I’d stop by to see if you need anything.”
“Thanks, but I’ll be fine after a good night’s sleep.” Paige held on to the doorknob, making no move to invite him in. “The extra hours at the shelter on top of my job just finally caught up with me.”
Volunteers are coming in new and improved packaging these days, Piper thought as she smoothed back her hair and started toward the door. Considering Kevin’s good looks and concerned interest, it wasn’t a mystery why Paige had decided to work another week at the Fifth Street Shelter.
Kevin seemed startled to see Piper, which threw him off balance. As he pitched forward, the end of his cane flipped up and touched Paige’s arm.
Piper caught a glimpse of the engraved design that began on the cane’s silver handle and tapered off in the wooden shaft. Just as she realized it resembled the scrolling pattern on Karen’s flute, Paige collapsed.
“Paige!” Piper’s bag slipped down her arm as she broke her sister’s fall.
“Hey, buddy!” Phoebe yelled from the kitchen doorway.
“Huh? I, uh—” Kevin held on to the doorjamb to steady himself while he planted the cane on the floor. He stared down at Paige for a stunned second, then glanced at Piper with a puzzled and worried look. “What’s wrong with her?”
Piper eased her arm out from under Paige and let her bag drop. She wasn’t exactly sure what had just happened, but it had to be related to Paige’s sudden need for naps. One thing was certain: She didn’t want Kevin hanging around complicating things with questions she couldn’t answer.
“She’s got, uh…narcolepsy,” Piper said as Phoebe stormed toward the door. That wasn’t exactly a lie considering Paige’s unexplained condition.
“What’s that?” Kevin asked anxiously, taking a step back.
“A sleep disorder,” Piper explained. “People who have it fall asleep a lot”—she snapped her fingers—“just li
ke that.”
“Why did this bozo hit Paige with his cane?” Phoebe glared at Kevin.
“It was an accident,” Kevin stammered. “I didn’t—”
“Not your fault, Kevin.” Piper cut him off. “I’ll have Paige call you later, Kevin, but it would probably be better if you left now and let us handle things.”
“Sure. I’ll be at the shelter again tomorrow.” With a tight smile, Kevin turned and hobbled down the steps.
Phoebe stepped into the open doorway. “Who was that guy?”
“One of the volunteers at the Fifth Street Shelter.” Piper stooped beside her fallen sister.
Phoebe dropped to one knee. “What happened to her?”
Paige’s breathing was slow and even. She snored softly.
“She fell asleep,” Piper said.
“In the hall?” Phoebe looked at her askance, reflecting the same sense of bewilderment Piper felt. “Why?”
“Good question that I don’t have time to answer right now.” Piper shook Paige’s shoulder. Paige swatted her hand away, but she didn’t show any signs of waking up.
“Maybe we should move her to the couch, where she’ll be more comfortable,” Phoebe suggested.
“We can try.” Piper gripped Paige under the arms. “Too bad she can’t sleep orb.”
“Like sleepwalk?” Phoebe grabbed Paige’s ankles. “That would be a neat trick—”
“Oh, my,” a woman said. “Is this a bad time, Phoebe?”
“Uh…sort of.” Phoebe dropped Paige’s feet and turned toward the woman standing on the front porch. “Do I know you?”
Piper eyed the new stranger’s blonde hair and big baby blues with curiosity. The beautiful woman had the same physical characteristics as Kevin.
“You are such a riot!” The woman laughed and rolled her eyes. “Kate Dustin from your computer class? We had coffee together the other night at Compute-A-Cup?”
Piper stared. Karen Ashley in the substitute band was gorgeous with blonde hair, blue eyes, and perfect skin too. An uneasy feeling stirred in the pit of her stomach. For the Charmed Ones, there was no such thing as coincidence.
“Oh, yeah.” Phoebe nodded, but she obviously didn’t remember the woman. “And you’re here because…?”
Kate held out a spiral notebook. “Since you didn’t make it to class tonight, I thought you could use my notes.”
As Phoebe started to rise, Kate leaned over. When they bumped into each other, the notebook slipped from Kate’s grasp.
“I’m such a klutz!” Kate exclaimed, bending to pick up the notebook at the same time Phoebe did. Her metal bracelet snagged on the loosely crocheted sleeve of Phoebe’s sweater and pressed into Phoebe’s arm as Kate carefully tried to untangle it. “Sorry about this.”
Piper noticed the engraved pattern on the bracelet as Kate pulled it free. It was similar to the designs on Kevin’s cane and Karen’s flute, and most of it was red.
“That’s okay…” Phoebe swayed slightly, as though she was about to faint.
Piper let go of Paige’s arms to steady Phoebe. Did touching Kate’s bracelet trigger a vision? she wondered.
Paige’s head hit the floor, but she didn’t wake up.
Kate frowned, perplexed by Phoebe’s blank stare. “Is she all right?”
“Does she look all right?” Piper snapped. Things were happening too fast to figure out on the fly, but her initial uneasiness about Kate intensified.
“Hey, I was just trying to do Phoebe a favor.” Kate raised her hands in a back-off gesture. She quickly retrieved the notebook, clutched it to her chest, and muttered as she turned to leave. “Forget it. What do I care if she flunks?”
“Who’s that?” Phoebe peered over Piper’s shoulder at Kate’s receding back.
“That’s Kate.” Piper slammed the door closed. “I guess it’s silly to hope you remember the vision you just got from her.”
“I had a vision?” Phoebe asked. “Just now?”
“Not a clue, huh?” Piper sighed.
“Sorry.” Phoebe winced with an apologetic shrug. “It was probably critically important, too, right?”
“Your premonitions usually are.” Piper paused. She had assumed Phoebe was having a vision, but what if she had just gotten dizzy? That possibility triggered something she had overlooked as inconsequential. She had suffered temporary bouts of light-headedness immediately after touching Karen’s flute…twice.
“Uh…Piper?” Phoebe tapped her on the shoulder. “There’s a strange lady sleeping in our hall.”
“Oh, that’s just great!” Piper threw up her hands. “Please, don’t tell me you’ve forgotten who Paige is.”
“Paige.” Phoebe smiled tightly. “Can you give me a hint?”
“What’s the last thing you remember?” Piper asked, frantic.
Phoebe frowned. “Cole killed a witch, only he didn’t really, because he was tricked by some guy in the Brotherhood of Thorn.”
Piper’s eyes widened with disbelief. Phoebe was relating events that had happened months ago!
“But then I became a banshee,” Phoebe rambled on, smiling suddenly. “And I found out that Cole really loves me and I love him. There’s a way to work this out, Piper. I couldn’t possibly love Cole if he was evil. I couldn’t.”
“We are in so much trouble.” Piper sagged against the wall.
“I can’t drink another cup of coffee!” Paige covered her mouth to make the point. Piper’s caffeine cure for acute fatigue was working to some extent, but her stomach was rebelling.
“Okay, but don’t you dare fall asleep.” Sniffling, Piper picked up the phone when it rang and whined, “Now what, Dixie?”
There isn’t even a partially effective cure for Piper’s nonstop blubbering, Paige thought, which was too bad. Chronic glee had been a lot easier to live with.
Forgetting her own power deficiency problem, Paige tried to orb her empty cup into the sink. When the orb particles finally arrived, a pile of china shards materialized instead of the cup. She orbed those into the trash, which seemed to take forever.
Sighing, Paige glanced at Phoebe’s laptop screen. The middle Halliwell sister wasn’t faring a whole lot better than her older and younger siblings. In addition to the total lack of short-term recall, Phoebe had developed a huge gap in her long-term memory. She had forgotten everything that had happened since just before Prue had been killed.
Phoebe hit “save” and picked up her pen to update the paper cheat sheets she kept in her pocket. She scanned her reference notes, then looked up with a sober expression. “Paige, right?”
“Right.” Paige just nodded. She and Piper had tried to fill in the more important events in Phoebe’s missing memory. Finding out that the Source was vanquished, Cole was human, and they were engaged had only slightly softened the shock and pain of Prue’s death.
“I can’t come in tonight, Dixie,” Piper said. “Karen will just have to wait until tomorrow.” Piper punched the phone off and dabbed her eyes with a paper napkin. “Now she wants to be paid in advance for the whole gig.”
“Which translates as, ‘I want to get to Piper,’” Paige said. When it had become obvious that her exhaustion and Phoebe’s memory were worse after visits from Kevin Graves and Kate Dustin, they had finally begun connecting dots.
Aside from the similarity in appearance, Kevin and Kate had both first met her and Phoebe on Monday, just like Karen and Piper. Then Piper had realized that no serious, ambitious band would tolerate Karen’s temperamental fit about money.
According to Dixie, the demand for payment had come after Karen learned that Piper wasn’t going to the club. Considering that Kevin and Kate had both concocted excuses to visit the house, risking exposure in order to contact Phoebe and herself, only one conclusion could be drawn. Karen’s actions were a desperate attempt to lure Piper to P3. To avoid walking into a possible trap, Piper had authorized Dixie to pay With a Vengeance from the cash register after each set.
“Where is Leo?” Pi
per looked up, pleading. “Can’t you guys speed things up a little?”
Piper’s raised voice jerked Paige back from nodding off. “I’ve got to do something to stay awake. Something caffeine free.”
“Let’s go over everything I’ve written down to make sure I’ve got it straight.” Phoebe braced a foot on the edge of her chair, pen poised over her pad. “Kevin, Karen, and Kate are using a cane, a flute, and a bracelet to steal our powers.”
“That’s what it looks like,” Piper said.
As much as Paige didn’t want to believe Kevin was a bad guy, no other explanation made sense. He had touched her with the cane three times: Monday at the shelter, Wednesday at the clinic, and tonight. Her fatigue had been greater and her powers weaker after each encounter.
“And we’re how sure of this?” Phoebe looked from one sister to the other.
“Pretty sure.” Paige stood up and began to pace. The movement helped ward off the sleepiness. “Earlier you seemed to think your memory losses started when your Web site class did. Kate was there Monday night, and Piper heard her say that she went with you for coffee.”
“She was in class with you last night, too,” Piper added. “I called and caught Professor Deekle before he left his office tonight, and he confirmed it. She sat directly behind you.”
“Which gave her plenty of opportunity to touch you with her bracelet,” Paige said as she walked circles around the stove island.
“Yeah, I got that.” Phoebe chewed on the end of the pen as she studied her paper. “Funny thing, though.”
Piper pulled another tissue from the box on the table and blew her nose. “I fail to see the humor.”
“I meant how the songs Karen played dictated your mood changes. I remember something like that,” Phoebe explained, “from a paper I did back in high school.”
“You’re kidding.” Paige stopped pacing to stare.
“No. Weird, huh?” Phoebe leaned forward, rushing her words before she forgot what she wanted to say. “There was this Tuatha de Danann guy in ancient Ireland called Dagda. He had a harp that manipulated emotions.”
“What’s a Tuatha de Danann?” Paige asked.
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