Phoebe assumed a karate stance as Ivan unfroze. He stared at the animals posed all around them. The lion began to shudder, and Piper instantly froze it again.
“What have you done?” Ivan cried. “What are you doing?” He hurled himself toward Piper.
“Back off!” Prue pointed her finger at him and sent him flying into the bushes. She turned back to her sisters. “Now!” she shouted.
The three Halliwells grabbed hands and raced away from the clearing.
Please don’t follow us, Piper prayed silently. She didn’t think she had any energy left in her to contend with those beasts.
The sisters didn’t slow their pace or dare to look back. Prue led Piper and Phoebe through the least populated areas of the carnival. People, booths, scenery all flew by Piper in a blur.
No one spoke a word until they were in Prue’s car. The moment they were buckled up, Prue peeled out of the lot and headed for home.
“Now do you believe me?” Phoebe demanded. “Ivan is bad news.”
“It sure looks that way,” Prue admitted.
Piper could hear the disappointment in her sister’s voice. She knew how hard it was to hear that someone you trusted wasn’t who you thought he was. Not only did it hurt, it made you doubt your own judgment, and that never felt good.
“I think there was some kind of antiwitch charm on those animals,” Piper added. “It may have been very general, so it didn’t block me completely, but it definitely cramped my style.”
“Ivan didn’t know exactly what sort of power to protect against,” Phoebe suggested. “One size doesn’t fit all in magic spells.”
“But what is he after?” Prue said. She banged the steering wheel, then turned into their driveway. “What could he possibly want?”
Phoebe shrugged. “What does any demon or warlock want? Us dead.”
Piper shot Phoebe a warning glance and tipped her head toward Prue. Sometimes Phoebe could be a little insensitive.
“What?” Phoebe demanded. “I know that sounded harsh, but it’s the truth.”
Prue sighed as she parked. “Sorry, guys. I put us all in danger. He just seems so . . . so not warlock.”
“I know, sweetie,” Piper said sympathetically. “And we actually don’t really know what’s going on. It is still possible that Ivan himself is under some kind of curse.”
“I’m just really glad that my vision still hasn’t come true.” Phoebe climbed out of the car. Piper and Prue followed her up the walk.
“Only one of the visions has,” Prue reminded her. “The fire.”
“That hairbrush must have belonged to Miranda,” Phoebe realized. “Instead of seeing her, it was as if I became her.” She shuddered. “How horrible for the poor girl.”
Piper wondered if Ivan was responsible for the tragic death. From the look on Prue’s face, she knew her sister was wondering the same thing.
“Well, these photos should clear up some of our questions,” Prue said. “At least about the magic of the violin.”
Prue’s tone told Piper she was trying very hard to mask her hurt and concern. She was working double-time at being the strong, efficient Prue.
“So let’s get to it,” Piper said. She knew Prue would feel better if she was doing something, taking action.
They went down to the darkroom. While they waited for the enlargements to develop, Phoebe and Piper filled Prue in on what they had discovered in The Book of Shadows the previous day.
“So it could be that Ivan channels his power through the violin?” Prue asked.
“Or the violin may have its own power and is using it to channel Ivan,” Piper suggested. She almost wished she hadn’t said that. The flicker of hope that appeared in Prue’s eyes at the thought that perhaps Ivan wasn’t evil made it clear how much this situation was costing her.
“What we need to figure out is what the symbols mean,” Piper said. “How they work together to create the specific magic of this violin. That’s the only way we’ll know how to stop him.”
Prue paced the room as they waited for the pictures to develop. She kept checking the trays, the timer, then the trays again.
“Can’t you hurry the process up, somehow?” Phoebe asked. “They don’t need to be perfect. It’s not like they’re going to press or anything.”
“Actually, they do need to be perfect,” Prue countered. “We can’t risk misinterpreting any of the symbols with blurry images.”
“You’re right,” Phoebe said with a sigh. “Too bad I don’t know any hurry-up-already spells.”
“Not much longer,” Prue promised. She moved photos from the developing solution into the washing trays.
Piper thought back to what they had learned about Gypsy magic. There had been a Gypsy zombie lurking around. A violin that appeared and disappeared. A whole system of love spells. A legend about a magic gem that granted power. A fortune-teller who was afraid of Ivan.
Maybe Ivan is trying to steal Olga’s powers, Piper reasoned, the way warlocks try to steal power from us. That would give her cause for fear. There was definitely some kind of connection between those two, but Piper wasn’t sure what.
“They’re ready,” Prue announced. Piper and Phoebe crowded around the trays as Prue lifted the first picture out of the solution with a pair of tongs.
“Good clear shot,” Piper commented. “We should be able to match these images up pretty easily with the examples in The Book of Shadows.”
Phoebe glanced into the tray. “What are the other photos of?” she asked.
“I was able to get pictures in Ivan’s dressing room of the carvings in the bow,” Prue said. “I blew them up, too, to make them easier to read.”
One by one, Prue pulled the enlargements from the development solution and clipped them up to dry. Piper and Phoebe studied them carefully.
“Hey, wait a sec,” Phoebe muttered.
“What?” Piper asked.
Phoebe held a photograph delicately between her fingers, being careful not to smudge the still-drying picture. “These were shot in Ivan’s dressing room?” Phoebe asked.
“Yes, he was getting ready for the performance,” Prue said.
“Is that clock right?” Phoebe asked.
“I suppose so. I didn’t check it or anything,” Prue answered. “Why?”
“There are shots of his watch in these performance pictures,” Piper said. “Do you want to check the time in these?”
“Yes.” Phoebe joined Piper and peered at the photograph.
“Okay, so it says eight o’clock on the clock in the dressing room,” Phoebe said. “Let’s assume it’s close to being accurate. It says eight-ten on Ivan’s watch when he’s in the ring. Again, for argument’s sake let’s assume that’s also basically right.”
“It should be—there’s a time stamp on the film for that roll,” Prue said. “It’s for taking action shots.”
“Well, something is very weird here,” Phoebe said. “Because I know for a fact that at eight-ten Ivan was screaming in my face.”
There was a moment of silence as Piper glanced back and forth between her sisters. They all gaped at each other, wondering what this new bit of information meant.
“I—I never left his side,” Prue declared.
“Even if you weren’t around to verify his alibi,” Phoebe said, “he never would have had the time to read me the riot act and still be onstage at eight-ten unless Piper and I both had set our watches wrong.”
“Let me think . . .” Prue’s eyes narrowed. Piper could tell her sister was flipping through her mental hard drive. “I set my watch by Ivan’s dressing-room clock earlier in the afternoon.”
“And I asked you the time before we split up!” Piper exclaimed. “Then gave you the time!” she added to Phoebe.
“We were all in sync with Ivan,” Phoebe finished. “These times are accurate, all right.”
“So, somehow, Ivan was in the ring performing and in his trailer yelling at Phoebe at the same time,” Piper said. She
turned to Prue. “Do you think he can astral project like you?”
“I don’t think so, but I don’t really know.” Prue shrugged. “This whole time I haven’t spotted any supernatural qualities in him. Only in the violin.”
Phoebe paced the tiny space. “Could he have a twin?”
“How would we not notice a guy who looks exactly like him running around? And he would have mentioned it,” Prue said. “He’s told me a good deal about his family.”
“And someone at the circus would have said something,” Phoebe added. “Gossip flies around that place.”
“Maybe no one knows,” Piper suggested. “Including Ivan.”
“You mean there’s a second, secret Ivan?” Phoebe raised a skeptical eyebrow. “Do you think that’s who’s causing all of Ivan’s bad luck? And the twin is the person I saw strangle you in my vision? Kind of dubious.”
“I think it sounds more like Jekyll and Hyde,” Prue commented. “As much as I hate to say it, are we sure we’re talking about two different men?”
“You have the evidence right in your hands,” Piper said. “Unless he can astral project, there seems to be two of them: a good Ivan and a bad Ivan.”
“Well, we aren’t going to solve this standing here. Time to do some more research,” Phoebe said.
“Maybe the violin can give us some clues,” Prue suggested.
“Book of Shadows, here we come!” Phoebe declared.
Prue gathered up the now-dry photographs, and the three Halliwells headed up to the attic.
Piper had barely touched the thick book when the covers burst open, straight to the page of symbols. “That was a time-saver,” she commented. She raised her eyes heavenward. “Thanks.”
“Okay, let’s figure this out.” Prue laid the photographs beside the illustrations in the book. She ran her finger along the page. She peered carefully at something, then raised her eyes to her sisters. “The carvings on the bow are a spell for power over animals.”
“Wow,” Phoebe commented. “So Ivan’s act is really thanks to this violin, not anything special that he’s doing. Well, that’s kind of disappointing.”
“It also means that he could have used the violin to make the animals attack us,” Piper added.
“Maybe . . .” Prue murmured. She went back to studying the images. “Actually, the painted symbols on the back of the violin modify the spell on the bow, and build in protections and warnings.”
“What do you mean?” Phoebe asked.
“The power over animals is based on the nature of the player,” Prue explained. She looked up at her sisters again. “That makes sense. The animals are responding to the sweet and gentle Ivan that I’ve encountered.”
“And the animals attacked because they were responding to the nasty Ivan I’ve met?” Phoebe asked. “Maybe.”
“But he didn’t have the violin with him when those animals got out,” Prue said.
“Adding to the theory that there are two of him,” Piper said.
“I don’t know how anyone else could have gotten hold of the violin,” Prue said. “I watched Ivan lock it in the company safe. He’s extra careful with it now.”
Now Piper studied the book. “This is something. It says here that the power can follow the violin only if the instrument is freely given. Otherwise the violin will always return to its owner.”
“That explains its rematerialization,” Prue said excitedly. “Someone must have stolen it, and the violin returned to Ivan. He was afraid it had been taken. In fact, he had been out looking for it when it reappeared in front of me.”
“Does The Book of Shadows say anything else?” Phoebe asked.
Piper scanned the page. She nodded. “If the owner dies, the violin and its powers go to whatever family member touches it first.”
“Let me see that,” Phoebe asked, moving closer to the heavy book.
“I think we have an idea of what’s going on,” Piper suggested as she stepped aside to make room for Phoebe. “There really is an Ivan twin. He must be some kind of relative, and he wants that violin.”
“Is there more about Gypsy magic in here?” Phoebe asked, riffling through the pages. “Oh, here’s something.”
“What?” Prue asked.
“Some Gypsy beliefs,” Phoebe said. “It almost reads like my textbook from the folklore class I took. Mostly the stuff Ivan told you about: the love spells, the Romany ruby.”
“The threefold power gem,” Piper remembered. “Olga mentioned it, too. It must be big in Gypsy magical systems.”
“This is all very interesting,” Prue commented. “But I’m more concerned with why someone would go to such lengths for this violin. Why would anyone care so much about getting tigers to dance?”
“I think I know why.” Phoebe tapped the page she was consulting. Piper leaned in close to peer at the picture painted on it.
A horrifying monster glared back at her from The Book of Shadows. The beast had the powerful front body of a lion, but its back half looked like a gigantic lizard. It had twelve eyes that burned with evil and a double set of enormous teeth. A spiky row of tusks circled its neck and its face was uglier than any dragon Piper had ever imagined. The word “Loriathian” was written underneath the illustration. She quickly read the text accompanying the drawing.
Piper took in a deep breath, then looked up at Prue. “It’s not tigers someone wants to use the violin to control. It’s the Loriathian.”
CHAPTER
16
Prue stared at the picture of the Loriathian. It was a horrible-looking creature.
“What is that thing, and why does someone want to control it?” Prue said.
“Look at it,” Phoebe said. “Between you and it, who would you prefer to be in charge?”
“Got a point,” Prue replied. “But really, Piper, what’s its story?”
Piper started to read from the book. “Let’s see. ‘The Loriathian guards the Romany ruby on the astral plane. The only way to get the gem is by distracting, killing, or otherwise defeating the Loriathian. So far, no Gypsy has been able to do so in over five hundred years.’ ”
Prue put it together. “So whoever is after Ivan’s violin plans to use it to placate or soothe the Loriathian long enough to snatch the gem.”
“That would be my guess,” Phoebe said.
“And that’s where all the rumors about Ivan started—the bad luck is the result of someone trying to steal the violin.”
“Or scare him into giving it over.” Prue began pacing as the elements all clicked into place. “Ivan said that Olga had tried to convince him that the violin was cursed and that she would be willing to take it off his hands.”
“That way the violin’s power would transfer from Ivan to her, since he’d be giving it to her freely,” Piper said slowly, picking up Prue’s train of thought.
“Olga. She’s also a Gypsy. She knows all about the Romany ruby,” Phoebe said. “She must be behind this.”
“She’s also the one who sent us to find Prue, and instead we found a pack of hungry animals,” Piper added. “You know, I thought she might have guessed that we were Charmed Ones. So she used some kind of charm that protected the animals from our power. They were just doing what wild animals do—go wild.”
“But she can’t be doing this alone,” Prue said. “She isn’t any kind of ringer for Ivan.”
“Could she be a shape-shifter?” Piper asked.
Prue thought for a moment. “I don’t think so. I saw her hanging around the ring when Phoebe was being grilled by Ivan number two in the trailer.”
“So we’re back to figuring out who her accomplice is,” Phoebe said. “At least we know what they want.”
“I think we know one of her accomplices,” Piper said. “The Gypsy zombie.” She explained to Prue what she and Phoebe had discovered about the ghoulish creature Prue had encountered that first day, and about their own battle with it earlier. “Powerful Gypsies use them to do their dirty work.”
“T
hey’re up to some pretty dirty work, too,” Prue said quietly. “They’ve tried stealing, coercion, and attempted murder.”
“The fire,” Phoebe said. “They hoped Ivan would be inside. They knew the violin would survive.”
“Instead, they killed Miranda,” Prue said. Her eyes widened with alarm. “We have to warn Ivan.” She smacked her forehead. “Oh, no! We just left him there. I tossed him into the bushes and we left him there with the animals.”
“I have a feeling Ivan had no trouble handling the animals,” Phoebe assured her. “It’s the time-freezing and telekinesis angle that may need explaining.”
“Actually, his witnessing our powers may have been a good thing,” Prue commented. “Ivan doesn’t believe in magic. Now he’s going to have to. It may help when we explain to him what is going on.”
“And that he’s in danger,” Piper added. “Maybe now he’ll believe that.”
“Okay, but who is he in danger from, aside from Olga?”
“How could we not have noticed a dude with Ivan’s face?” Phoebe said. “He has a very memorable face.”
“We’re not the only ones who didn’t notice,” Piper pointed out. “If Ivan had a dead ringer at the circus, everyone would have said something.”
Prue remembered all the circus habits Kristin had prattled on about over the last few days. There was something in all that trivia. . . .
The answer hit Prue like a lightning bolt. “Not if the twin is known by another face—a clown face.”
“We have to go back to the carnival,” Phoebe said. “We have to warn Ivan, and we have to find out who is behind this so we can stop them.”
Piper nodded. “These aren’t the kind of Gypsies I want with threefold power.”
“You’re forgetting something,” Piper pointed out. “Olga knows about us. She and her accomplice will be on the lookout.”
“You’re right. And we already know how far they’re willing to go.” Prue bit her lip, thinking. “So how can we do this safely?”
Phoebe’s eyes lit up with an idea. “I know exactly how we can poke around the circus,” she declared.
Charmed: The Gypsy Enchantment Page 12
