Third Time Charmed

Size Matters (Part 6)

Gammill put the finishing touches on his latest piece, sure to add extra clay to the unconscious witch's base just in case she came around, then placed her gently next to the other woman on the shelf to dry, marveling at his work.

"When your clay hardens, I'll fire up the kiln, and once you're in the kiln, there'll be nothing left to save," he told them with barely restrained glee. It was then that he stiffened at the sound of a voice in the hall.

"Prue?" a man called out.

Gammill quietly scurried away into his hiding spot between the walls. He watched through the cracks in the plaster as the door creaked open to reveal yet another intruder.

Cole entered the room cautiously. He could see that people had been here recently from the footprints in the dusty floor, Leo and Piper's, he supposed, but as to whether Prue's were among them, he couldn't be sure.

If Piper had just told him what was going on, he wouldn't need to follow them; he wouldn't need to guess why they had been scoping out this old house. Didn't she understand by now that he was on their side? Didn't she get that Phoebe would want him to help? If Prue was in some kind of trouble, why not let him?

Cole found his way to the corner of the room, where a strange assembly of figurines was on display. He frowned at them with disgust, faintly recalling a rumor he once heard. "Oh no," he said, frantically scanning the contorted faces for some sign of recognition, some sign of Prue. "The Collector!"

"That's right," a voice replied to Cole's rear.

He formed an Energy Ball in his palm and turned, but it was too late. Cole was struck by a bolt from Gammill's wand, immobile as he shrank down. Before he even had a chance to comprehend his new situation and Shimmer to safety, a foot came down on top of him, stomping him like a bug. He lay helpless, a mess of broken bones, unable to move, barely able to breathe, staring up at the giant now looming over him.

"I'm flattered to hear that you've heard of my work, but I'm afraid I don't collect men," said Gammill. He kicked Cole with the tip of his slippered foot, sending him skidding across the room like so much trash, then returned to the two women without another thought for his uninvited guest. "Don't worry. I'll be back. Once I complete my collection."

***

Upon arriving at the club, Piper had to fight off new bouncers who didn't realize she signed their paychecks, before her blood ran cold. There was twice as much white gauze as before, the booths had been replaced with mountains of pillows that her patrons were lounging all over, surely meaning she was going to have a huge cleaning bill to contend with, and the so-called waitresses were gyrating on top of her bar with more abandon than she once had while possessed, and to the kind of music that had never before graced P3's sound system.

The whole thing gave Piper one of Paige's creepy shivers, not to mention a serious case of buyer's remorse. In short, she regretted ever hiring Treat. Even if he turned out to be right about the changes boosting the club's profits, Piper wasn't sure it was the kind of place she even wanted to be part of anymore. She could just imagine the look Phoebe would have given her had she lived to see The Spot.

Paige, it transpired, had left the club in search of somewhere quieter. Why she needed somewhere quieter to talk with Finn, Piper wasn't sure, but as soon as she learned that the youngest Halliwell wasn't present, she tracked down Leo. She pulled him free from a dancer sandwich, noting with some annoyance that he wasn't exactly unhappy with being ground upon, and they made a swift exit.

Leo used his Sensing power to find Paige, and they Orbed to her apartment. What they found there was more concerning than the near orgy they had just witnessed at the club. "Paige!" Piper exclaimed when they found the girl kneeling in front of Finn, who was in a state of undress.