by Paul Ruditis
“But you can still use your magic without your ring,” Piper noted.
“Over time a bond forms between the Cupid and the ring,” Coop explained. “The love magic becomes a part of that Cupid. I can still access it without my ring, but it isn’t nearly as strong as when I have it. But it’s different when a Cupid is stripped of a ring. Like I told Phoebe, he would still have his magic, but trying to use it would be difficult.”
“Which is why we have to figure out where this new ring came from,” Phoebe said.
“I’m thinking the ambrosia might be a clue,” Paige said. “Far as I remember, that’s the food of the Greek gods, not the Roman ones. And Cupid was a Roman god, if I recall correctly.”
“It’s not as simple as that,” Coop said.
“Never is,” Paige replied.
“The entire Cupid Corps dates back to the original Greek god, Eros,” Coop explained. “Suffice it to say, if I’d eaten Piper’s food last night, I wouldn’t have gotten sick. It actually would have been the best meal I ever had.”
“And it would have been so nice if the gorgons and Dafydd were linked,” Paige said as she felt her cell phone vibrate in her pocket.
“I’m not so sure they’re not,” Phoebe said. “It’s too big a coincidence that we’re dealing with two kinds of ancient mythological powers at the same time.”
Piper clapped her hands together once, with forced enthusiasm. “Okay, then. One more mystery to add to the list!”
Paige held up her phone. “That’s not all we have for the list.”
“I’m really beginning to hate this era of being constantly connected,” Piper said. “What’s wrong now?”
“Same spells, different day,” Paige said. “Two more statues overnight. Prue just texted me the links.”
“Don’t these gorgons ever sleep?” Phoebe asked.
“To be fair, we did take some time off to deal with our non-witchy lives,” Piper said as she grabbed the phone from Paige. “Who are the latest victims?”
Before Piper could read the article Paige had pulled up the phone began to vibrate in her hand and a picture of Prue popped up onscreen. Piper pressed it to answer the call. “Hey! What’s up?”
“Piper?” Prue said. “I thought I called Paige.”
“I’m holding her phone,” Piper replied. “She’s here and so are Phoebe and Coop.”
“I’m guessing you got my text?” Prue said. “I didn’t want to bother you while you were dealing with the restaurant.”
“That’s on hold for the moment,” Piper said. “We’ve got to deal with these two new victims.”
“Three,” Prue said.
“Three?” Phoebe repeated as she looked at the screen of her own phone. “You just sent the text.”
“It didn’t make the news yet,” Prue said. “While you all slept I… kind of did something.”
“Did what?” Piper asked warily.
“It would be best if you came here,” Prue suggested.
Paige got up from the table and took back her phone. “We’re on our way.”
“I’m going to look into Dafydd,” Coop replied. “Now that I’ve know he’s involved, I’ll go back to headquarters and see what I can pull up.”
“Okay,” Phoebe gave him a kiss. “Just keep me posted. I’ve got five more couples to protect that I just don’t have the time to keep an eye on today if we’re going to deal with these mysterious statues too.”
“Will do,” Coop said as he beamed away.
A moment later the Charmed Ones disappeared as well.
Chapter 20
Coop looked out over the Italian coastline as he tried to suppress the guilt that was overwhelming him. To feel anything other than joyous love while in Cupid’s temple was upsetting. The depth of his dark emotion was surprising. He tried to tap into the temple’s more euphoric properties, but only rewarded himself with a headache.
Logically, he knew that the Charmed Ones were right. This wasn’t his fault. He’d just been doing his job when he’d made an enemy out of one of his oldest friends in the world. But Dafydd had broken the rules, and it was Dafydd who’d taught Coop about those rules in the first place.
This wasn’t the first time Coop had wondered if he could have played things differently. He could have spoken to Dafydd first. To get his side of the story. But no. What he’d done wasn’t just against the rules. It was against nature. He’d forced someone to fall in love with him. Coop’s intervention had made sure that Dafydd was stopped before he’d forced Marsha to do anything else against her will. Dafydd’s actions weren’t just a betrayal of his work as a Cupid, they were immoral and horrific. Marsha was a victim of Dafydd’s sick obsession. And now Coop, his family, and Phoebe’s readers were more casualties in the way of a man who needed to be stopped. But how?
Coop pulled himself from his dark thoughts when he saw Kama returning from the vault. She was dressed in one of her typically flowing white dresses, a striking look against her dark skin. But it was her expression that struck Coop the most. Kama wasn’t normally one for panic, but she looked to be barely holding it together at the moment. “You were right. Someone got into the vault.”
“One of the rings is missing?” Coop asked with worry edging into his own voice. A missing Cupid ring was bad, but it still didn’t explain her manner. Kama was more than just Coop’s superior. She was a friend. She’d also spent more time basking in the euphoric properties of the temple than any other cupid so the fear he saw in her eyes was disquieting.
“It’s worse than that,” she said, taking a seat on the edge of the fountain. “He has the Eros Ring.”
Coop dropped beside her, nearly falling into the sparkling water. “How is that possible? A fallen cupid couldn’t get into the vault and take it.”
“No,” she said, straightening her posture and pulling herself together. As warm and loving as Kama could be, she was also a no-nonsense type who had incredible control of her emotions. “A fallen Cupid could never set foot in the temple. He must have had help.”
“But who could get into the vault? Not even Elders can do that.”
Kama nodded. “That vault is secure, but not impenetrable. But it would require magic from the time of its creation, from the time of Eros.”
“Guess that answers our question,” Coop said. “Medusa and her sisters come from that time. They would have been able to get into the vault.”
“This doesn’t sound like the Medusa I know from my studies of history,” Kama said. “But it could have been her sisters. They never struck me as trustworthy. I never believed they went after Athena to protect their sister. I think they wanted the power back that they’d lost when Medusa was made into a gorgon.”
“This is bad, isn’t it?” Coop asked. “The Eros Ring being gone?”
“It means we can’t create any other Cupid rings,” Kama said. “Eros is the source that makes our magic possible. Without it, we’re down to the half-dozen rings we’ve got in the vault. Once they’re gone, that’s it for Cupids. If anything happens to the existing rings, we’ll have to give up our calling. Phoebe’s readership will be nothing compared to the uncouplings that will take effect all over the world. Of course, that’s the distant problem. The current issue is what Dafydd could do with the ring today. Breaking up a few couples is nothing compared to the power it holds.”
“I don’t get it,” Coop said. “Why wasn’t he completely stripped of his powers when he was caught? If he no longer had any magic, he could never connect with a ring again. He wouldn’t be a threat now.”
Kama signed. “We’re not the Elders. We do things a little differently here. To exile a Cupid is intended to be a learning experience, not a punishment. What was done to Dafydd was done because we hoped one day he would learn his lesson and repent for his actions. We thought the love magic of a Cupid would overpower his twisted emotions
and set him back on the proper path. We were clearly wrong.”
“You had good intent,” Coop said. “But, yes. You gave him far more credit than he deserved.”
“And now we’re all paying the price,” Kama said.
“Starting with my wife.”
Kama gently placed her hand on Coop’s. “There’s something else you should know.”
Coop forced a smile. “Of course there is.”
“With the ring of Eros,” Kama said. “Dafydd has the power to undo more than just mortal love. He can also tear down relationships that have been blessed in the Heavens. Like relationship between a Cupid and a Charmed One.”
Coop felt his heart drop, which for a Cupid was an agonizing experience. He’d suspected something like this in the back of his mind since he learned Dafydd was behind this plot. But to hear the words spoken aloud was something else entirely. “Is there a way to undo the damage?”
“We need to get the ring back,” Kama said. “It’s the only way to undo the damage to the mortal relationships.”
Coop didn’t like her choice of phrasing. “And my relationship if he uses it against me?”
Kama shook her hear. “I don’t know. I can’t say what will happen when the magic of Eros is used against a Cupid.”
Coop stood, ready to beam wherever he needed to go. There had to be a way to get through the Dafydd. “Then I’ll get the ring back. I have the best chance of anyone to convince him to turn the ring over.”
Kama rose as well, with a sad smile on her face. “Would that it were that simple. But the ring would have bonded with Dafydd immediately. Even if you could convince him to let it go, there’s only one way to remove it now.”
“How?”
“There’s a crystal goblet in the vault,” Kama said. “It’s still there. I checked. I’ve posted guards to protect it. Dafydd needs to drink from it.”
“I’m guessing there’s more?”
Kama nodded. “He needs to drink water taken from the River Styx.”
Coop almost laughed. “Kama, Styx is a myth. It doesn’t exist.”
“I don’t know about that,” Kama said. “It’s the only way to break the bond, so it has to be real. There’s no other option. There’s no other way. If you don’t find the river, Dafydd is going to destroy the work of Cupids all over the world.”
“It’s okay,” Coop said. “We might not know where the River Styx is, but I may have access to the perfect guide.”
Prue watched as Paige, Piper, and Phoebe orbed in with the newest statue for the collection. At present count, there were almost twenty victims, not including the congressman who’d lucked out and got turned back to normal before they lost the magical mojo.
The gorgons had been busier than anyone had thought overnight. There were four new statues: two that the media had caught wind of—forcing the Charmed Ones to pull their switch under the watchful eye of the police—and two that they’d discovered by other means. Correction: Two that Prue had discovered by other means that she hadn’t told her sisters about yet.
“I think that’s it for now,” Piper said as the trio collapsed onto the couch.
“I hope that’s it for now,” Paige said. “All this orbing back and forth around the world is exhausting.”
“Making all these statues under these conditions isn’t much fun either,” Prue said. “I still don’t think I captured the likeness on that last one properly.”
“It melted down before anyone could get a good look,” Phoebe assured her as she looked around the living room. “Where did Cole go?”
“Off on an errand,” Prue said. She didn’t think it was best to tell Phoebe that her husband had popped in a moment ago and taken her ex-husband off on some mysterious mission. He’d been very obviously trying to get out of there before Phoebe came back. Probably didn’t want to worry her. Prue wasn’t about to do that herself when she didn’t fully understand what was going on. They had enough issues to deal with.
Paige was already consulting her phone. “So far, people are still going with that viral marketing campaign to explain the weird statues. Looks like Medusa and her sisters have gotten shy since the attack at that website.”
Prue paced behind her sisters. “I wonder why. They made such a splash at those offices. Then they take their next victims quietly? It doesn’t make sense. None of this makes sense, really. Least of all how it took you all so long to let me know you weren’t coming back last night. I had to entertain that dwarf and fairy for hours.”
Piper stood up and came around the couch, standing in front of Prue to stop her mid-pace. “You’re stalling,”
Prue adopted an innocent expression that she’d learned from watching it on Phoebe’s face over many, many years. “I’m what?”
“Don’t you act like Phoebe,” Piper said. “You called us here because you did something, but you still haven’t told us what it was.”
“I thought it made more sense for us to take care of those statues first,” Prue said. “Before anyone got to them and tried to figure out what they’re made of. Or worse… decided to break them into tiny pieces and throw them out with the trash. That’s not so much stalling as it is a good day’s work.”
Piper looked to Phoebe. “She learned a lot from you.”
Phoebe nodded proudly with a big smile. “That she did.”
Piper turned back to Prue. “Okay. Spill.”
“I knew about the third victim before you did,” Prue said. “And the fourth.”
“Yeah,” Piper said. “You told us.”
“Did you get a news alert?” Phoebe asked as she pushed herself up and sat on the edge of the couch.
“More like a Nexus alert,” Prue said.
Now, Paige came around the couch to join them. “Was it like last time? Did the Nexus send you a vision?”
“Not exactly.” Prue moved away from her sisters. It was easier to admit this without them on top of her. “I’ve been experimenting with the Nexus of the All. Testing its powers. Trying to figure out how I’m linked to it… if I’m linked to it. Sometimes it sends me messages.”
“The tattoos,” Paige said. “We know.”
The newly formed, constantly shifting tattoos on Prue’s body were just one of the side effects of her new place in the universe. Occasionally, the tattoos gave her warnings or clues to some piece of information. It had only happened a few times so far, but they had become incredibly useful. She’d also had visions, forced on her when the balance of magic in the realms was altered through artificial means.
“I was trying to see if I could pull information from the Nexus,” Prue said. “Sort of how Phoebe can force a premonition now. If the Nexus of the All is connected to the magic of the universe, this could be like an early warning system.”
“Makes sense,” Phoebe said.
But Piper was more wary. “So why were you so afraid to tell us about it?”
“I wouldn’t say I was afraid.”
Piper gave her the same look Prue used to give her younger sister growing up. “Do you want me to start calling you Phoebe?”
“Hey,” Phoebe said. “Was I just insulted?”
Prue threw up her hands in resignation. She’d stalled long enough. “To access the power of the Nexus, I have to tap into the magic within me.”
Phoebe shrugged. “Again, I say: makes sense.”
“All the magic within me,” Prue said with emphasis. She knew this wasn’t going to be easy. Oh sure, Phoebe and Paige would go along with it. But Piper…
“The demonic powers within you,” Piper said through clenched teeth as she pieced it together.
“I am tied to the Underworld,” Prue reminded her. “It’s not my choice. None of this was. I’m just trying to make the best out of a crappy situation.”
Paige stepped in the middle of the conversation. “Scolding
later. Information now. What did you see?”
“I didn’t see anything,” Prue said. “Not really. It wasn’t a vision like last time. More like a blip.”
“A blip?” Piper asked with a whole lot of skepticism in her tone. “What kind of blip?”
Prue searched for the right words, but none came to her. “I don’t know how to explain it. It was more than a feeling, but less than a premonition.”
“That’s a shame,” Phoebe said. “Because if Prue starts getting premonitions, I can go on vacation more often.”
“Sorry, but no one goes on vacation till I get out of this place,” Prue said.
“But back to the point,” Paige said. “I swear, how did you people get anything done before I came along? Talk about your tangents.”
Prue smiled. “I enjoy her more and more every day.”
“Love you too, sis,” Paige said. “Now, continue.”
“Okay, yes,” Prue said. “I was reaching out to the universe and I kind of tapped into the gorgons’ plans. Well, more like I felt their intentions. But it was confusing. They were conflicted.”
“Well, they are three sisters,” Piper noted. “Conflicts are bound to arise.”
Phoebe and Paige let out a knowing chuckle as Prue continued: “It was more than that. It was like… well, it was like us when we don’t agree on something. I don’t mean like when we can’t decide to do for the holidays. I mean, like when we first found out we were witches and we each had totally different reactions. I don’t think Medusa and her sisters are equally committed on this plan to turn people to stone.”
