NO SOUVENIRS

by

Piper Merlyn

Chapter 11

The Chapters

INTRO

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 6

CHAPTER 7

CHAPTER 8

CHAPTER 9

CHAPTER 10

CHAPTER 11

CHAPTER 12

CHAPTER 13

The warehouse had once been a studio for a fashion designer, but was now eerily empty save for the occasional dismembered mannequin. The two lower levels were dim despite the afternoon sunlight, and the cavernous room had an ominous feel to it.

Several young women stood in nervous groups in one corner where a circle of chairs stood among dozens of lit candles, as the Halliwells and their companions entered the warehouse. Paige immediately went over to talk to one tall, raven-haired girl. She looked around, uneasy and then nodded.  Paige came back and smiled at Vanessa and Callie. "Sabrina said to come over. She wants you feeling comfortable, like you're part of the group."

Joe started to follow Vanessa but Piper touched his shoulder. "We have to hide." It had been decided since it might not have been safe to use any sort of invisibility spell, that Paige would orb Phoebe out and Leo would orb Piper out of the immediate vicinity but close enough to help.

Joe and Frank crouched down behind some old crates. Joe shook his head. "Never get away from stakeouts, do we?"

"Shh." Frank motioned his brother to be quiet. Paige had finally told them the warlock's name: Savion. She didn't go into much detail except the man was dangerous. She never mentioned the demon's name, saying it was better not to say it out loud.

The six women plus Vanessa and Callie stood in a circle. Joe could see something was drawn on the floor in chalk. To him, it looked like a five-pointed star within a circle. "What's so special about a star in a circle?"

"It's a pentagram." Frank watched the women clasp hands and begin to chant. To him, it sounded like ancient Latin.

The air seemed to thicken and haze, like a fog. Pressure filled the room and it seemed concentrated on the circle of women. Joe shifted position to get a better look. He dipped one hand into his jeans' pocket. "This stuff. You think it will actually work?" He pulled out a tiny bottle full of a thick pink liquid.

Frank swallowed hard. "I don't know, Joe, but something is about to happen."

Suddenly, a tall, dark man stood on the outside of the pentagram. He glared at the image on the floor and growled low in his throat. Joe recognized him as the man who'd grabbed Macey and later had appeared in the elevator with them. "Well...well, all pretty maids in a row," he said in a gravelly voice. "Or circle, whatever." He moved to step over the lines and stopped. "I sense...protection."

He paused and grabbed a mannequin leg from a pile of trash and scraped it across the floor, smearing the outline. "Ahh..." he said, smiling. "Now there are no hindrances."

Savion stepped closer and all the women moved away, their chanting fading into silence. Savion smoothed a hand over one woman's auburn hair, making her cringe. He smiled and sniffed the air. "Fear..." His black eyes settled on Callie and Vanessa. "Ahh...new recruits, I see." He reached out and pulled Vanessa close. He tugged on the cord around her neck to pull the pendant out of her shirt. "Ahhh..." He smiled. "You...yes."

Forgetting the plan, Joe jumped over the crate and ran for the warlock. "No!"

The warlock turned around and letting go of the pendant, made an odd gesture with his hand. A putrid yellow-green fireball appeared in his hand. "You...no."

Joe dived, landing hard on the floor and sliding. He slammed into the warlock's legs, toppling both Savion and Vanessa. A second later, all three of them vanished.

Frank's jaw dropped. "Joe!" He spun around just as the Halliwells and Leo orbed in. Frank focused on Piper. "Where'd they go?"

Piper looked surprised as well. "Damn." Almost as an afterthought, she blew up the fireball before it could do any damage. "Leo..."

"I'm on it." Leo vanished in a swirl of blue lights.

"Where'd they go?" demanded Frank, feeling the first stirrings of true fear. He'd seen his baby brother just...disappear. "Where?"

Callie rushed over to Frank, her brown eyes wide with fear. "Oh God, where'd they go?"

Piper swallowed hard and glanced at Paige. "Get them back to the house. I was afraid this would happen."

Frank shook his head. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm dogging your rear end until I get my brother back."

"And I'm with him," said Callie.

Piper took a deep breath, threw her hands out and both Frank and Callie went still. Piper put her fingers to her temples and closed her eyes. "I have enough stress in my life, thank you," she said to no one in particular. "Paige..."

"Wouldn't that be against their will?" asked Paige in a small voice.

"I'm only doing it to protect them."

Leo reappeared and touched her shoulder, carefully, as if she were brittle glass. "You don't have the right."

"Damn it," said Piper, softly. She gestured with her hands again and the two teenagers blinked. "Fine," she told Frank. "We have to make a new plan."

Frank shook his head. "To hell with plans. This time we do it my way."

Leo sighed. "That won't work either. If Savion took them down to the Underworld, there's no way you could get there. You'll have to trust us."

"I trusted you and look what happened." Frank took a deep breath as the man's words sank in. He shifted his gaze to the spot his brother and Vanessa had disappeared. "The...underworld? You mean—?"

"Not exactly. The underworld is more of a hideout for them. Whitelighters can't sense anyone in the underworld, so that's where warlocks and demons go to hide."

Phoebe cleared her throat. "Well, they both have protection. If need be, the potions alone can vanquish him – or at the very least, incapacitate him."

Paige looked over toward the area where the chairs were set up. Someone had relit the candles and a soft glow filled the warehouse. "Um...maybe not. Look."

Piper followed her sister's pointing finger. "Damn. It must have fallen out when he slid."

Leo took a deep breath. "Okay, let's get out of here. We have to figure out a different way to rescue the girls..." He nodded to Frank. "And your brother."

Frank found himself reluctant to leave. The detective in him ached to look for clues, to search for evidence to where his brother was but he'd seen with his own eyes...Joe vanishing. He shuddered. What would he do without his baby brother?

*****

It was a somber group that reconvened in Halliwell Manor a few minutes later. Leo looked toward the ceiling. "I'll be right back."

Piper nodded distractedly. Various expressions passed over her face – anger, sadness, guilt. "Now do you see why I resisted? Now do you understand?"

Frank looked over at her and took a deep breath. "It would have been worse. We would have continued and...and..." His voice trailed off. "We wouldn't have known what we were dealing with.."

"If it's any consolation," said Phoebe. "It will come out all right."

"How can you be so sure?"

Before Phoebe could respond, there was an odd little sound that came from the solarium. A moment later, a short, tubby person clad in an odd green suit hobbled into the room. "Harumph, this place again?" He looked at Piper. "What is it now, lass? Ye missin' yer pot o' gold?"

Callie swallowed hard. "Um...is that a....?"

"Aye, I'm a leprechaun. Now don't be chasin' me, lass. Now's not the time. Haven't got me pot o’ gold at any rate. ‘Tis at the other end of the rainbow."

Paige blinked, recognizing the short little man. "Aengus, what are you doing here?"

"I was summoned, lass. ‘Tis all of us summoned, by the Queen herself."

Piper shook her head. "I don't follow. What Queen?"

"Queen of the Wee Folk, lass." The leprechaun smiled and nodded, brandishing his knobby walking stick. "She around here somewhere?"

Phoebe let out a little squeal. "Joe's fairy!"

"Oh my..." Piper looked stunned and then she turned to the leprechaun. "Aengus, what do you mean 'all'?"

"All the Wee Folk, lass. We're all awaitin' the Queen's command."

In the sudden silence, Leo reappeared in a swirl of lights. "The Elders said they've never seen anything like—" He broke off, seeing the leprechaun. "Like this. There's another dozen leprechauns in the parlor." He gestured to the back yard. "Good thing no one's nosing around the backyard right now."

Piper frowned and darted for a door that led off the kitchen. She hurried through and came right back inside. "Oh my..." She looked at Aengus. "Can you locate your queen?"

"Aye, lass, just need a wee bit of a magical push."

Callie shivered. "Um, what's going on?"

Leo sighed. "There's two unicorns out back."

"Unicorns?" Callie didn't even ask if she could, she dashed through the door Piper used. There was a faint squeal of childlike glee that drifted back to them.

Frank stood there for a moment. "Um...what just happened?"

"A girl thing," said Paige dismissively. "You think they'll stay for awhile afterwards?"

Piper shot her sister a look. "Paige."

"But I love unicorns."

Piper snorted. "Focus, people. We need to focus."  She turned to Aengus. "Instead of a push, how about hitching a ride?"

Leo frowned. "Piper?"

Piper grinned at him. "The fairy queen is lost, Leo. If we do a spell to locate said fairy queen and bring all of us to her, we'll find them."

Paige started for the back door. "I'll...just go get Callie away from the unicorns..." Before anyone could say differently, she was gone.

"Well, why don't we just leave those two with the unicorns and we'll take care of business?" Phoebe asked, rolling her eyes.

"Don't even," said Piper. "You were into much more than unicorns at one time."

"Don't you dare bring that up."

"Anyway, it's a power-of-three spell," said Leo. "Remember?" He moved closer to Piper. "Piper, you know not everyone can come."

She nodded. "Right. Aengus, get all your fellow leprechauns to touch your stick, infuse it with power. Then we'll have the unicorns touch their horns to it. We could use some powdered unicorn horn to help us along as well."

Aengus nodded and hobbled off to the parlor, like he knew his way

around the house. Frank stared after him, and then shook his head. "This is too weird."

Piper nodded. "Tell me about it. Leprechauns in the parlor, unicorns in the backyard. And that's on a good day."

Aengus returned and they all headed outside to see the unicorns. Paige was scraping one unicorn's horn, letting the powder fall into a small bowl. Frank stared at the two creatures. They looked just like horses except for the delicate spiral horns coming out of their heads. They seemed to glow with an almost heavenly light. "Wow."

As Aengus walked by, each unicorn arched its neck and touched the leprechaun's stick with its horn. Frank looked at the stick and did a double take; it was glowing ever so faintly.

Paige finished scraping the horns and orbed away, presumably inside. A few minutes later, she returned with a small bag and a sheet of paper. "This what you were talking about, Piper?"

Piper scanned the sheet of paper and nodded. "It'll work. It'll work better than the spell to call a lost witch." She looked around. "Everyone inside. Best not give the neighbors too much to gossip about."

They all went back inside and headed for the solarium. "Okay, everyone hold hands in a circle." She nodded to Aengus. "You think of your  queen. Frank, focus on your brother. Callie, you focus on your friend. Think their names in your mind, form a picture of them and hold that picture." She nodded to Paige and Phoebe. "Okay, it's time."

Her sisters scanned the two lines of words and then let the sheet of paper fall to the floor. Piper lit a single candle in the middle of the circle. Everyone held hands and the sisters began to chant.

"Lead me to the one I cannot find Restore that and my peace of mind."

They repeated the couplet two more times and suddenly there was a loud rush of air, a feeling of displacement and then all was quiet. Frank had instinctively closed his eyes against the rush of air, and now he opened them to see a cold, damp cavern. Four women sat huddled in a large cage but he saw no sign of Vanessa or Joe.

Paige had scurried over to let the women out of the cage, when Savion came into the cavern. He looked at the intruders and let out a roar of laughter. "No one believed such an obvious trap would work. But now I've got the Charmed Ones."

Piper gestured to freeze him but he didn't freeze. "You see, you thought I was a warlock. That's what I wanted you to think."

Phoebe groaned. "Damn it."

Aengus threw the walking stick like a spear. It hit Savion full in the chest, sinking into his body. Stunned, Savion stared down at the stick as the faint glow spread from the stick to his body. He started to shake with convulsions and then in a burst of flame, he disappeared.

Frank blinked. "Whoa." Then he frowned. "Where's Joe and Vanessa?"

Something moved in the dimness and Frank saw it fly out of the archway Savion had just walked through. Frank darted after the creature, with Callie and Aengus on his heels. He found another cavern and another cage, this one holding Joe, Vanessa and Macey.

"Joe!"

Joe shot to his feet. "Wow, how'd you find us?"

Frank hurried over to the cage. He spotted an old-fashioned lock holding the door shut. He looked around and found a good-sized rock. He dashed it against the lock until it shattered and then pulled the door open.

Joe arched an eyebrow. "Why not use the lockpicks?"

Frank felt around in his pockets and gave Joe a sheepish look. "Didn't think about them."

Vanessa and Macey got out of the cage. "Oh Frank," said Vanessa, giving him a hug. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me. Three witches, a leprechaun, and two unicorns helped."

Joe stared at his brother and then reached out to touch Frank's forehead. "Are you feeling all right?"

"Unicorns?" squealed Vanessa and Macey.

"Frank?" came Callie's voice. "Frank! Oh God, you found them." Callie rushed over and gave Vanessa a hug and then hugged Macey. "I'm so glad you're all okay."

"Hey, what about me?" asked Joe.

Callie punched him in the shoulder. "That's for scaring the dickens out of us."

Joe rubbed his injured shoulder. "Ouch. Did you have to hit so hard?" he asked with a smirk.

"I'll hit harder," muttered Callie. She looked around the dank place and shivered. "Let's get out of here."

"I'll agree with that," said Joe. "Let's go. Witches, leprechauns and unicorns.." he added, muttering to himself. He looked back at Frank. "Are you sure you didn't hit your head or something?"

Frank grunted. "Just go."

Joe grinned and led the way into the other cavern. Macey let out another squeal and joined her other friends, making Vanessa go with her. Joe looked at Frank and then at the small man hobbling around. "You almost had me going, there. He's—"

"A leprechaun."

"Aye, Aengus be the name. The queen says ye've been kind to her."

"Queen?" asked Joe.

"Queen of the Wee Folk, lad. Rhiannon."

"Oh....oh. You mean she's royalty?"

"Aye, lad, and she wants me to give you this." In his hand was a fresh green four-leaf clover. He waved his walking stick over it and it changed into a small gold pin in the same shape. "Here ye go, lad. For luck."

Joe took the pin. "Thank you."

"No, lad, thank you. Ye've helped Rhiannon find her way home."

Joe glanced over at Frank, surprised. "How would she have known we were coming here, that all this would happen?"

Aengus laughed softly. "Ah, lad, the Wee Folk know a bit more than most." He waved his walking stick which now seemed just a piece of wood. "If ye're ever in Ireland, come by for a visit, lads, with your lasses." He thumped the stick on the ground as the fairy flew over to him. Where the stick had hit the ground a small rainbow-colored arc formed. He and the fairy started walking and in a moment were gone.

Joe blinked. "Did I just see what I think I saw?"

"Don't even try, little bro." Frank gave his brother a hug. "Let's go."

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