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"What?!" Charlotte exclaimed. "You mean to tell me he somehow managed to make one of these talismans he's been ranting about?!"

"Not exactly. I was barely conscious at the time, but I'm fairly certain he said something about the rod being an accident. I don't think it worked the way he intended. Maybe the flame is all it does, instead of allowing him to cast all sorts of spells without a circle, as he wanted. I'm not sure." Kerry said.

"Even so, this is bad! Nathaniel is unstable, at best. With a weapon like that in his possession, who knows what he'll do? If he uses it in public, or against a mundane, we may all be exposed!" Charlotte said worriedly.

"He might not." Tina said thoughtfully.

"Why do you say that?" Kerry asked.

"Well, he seems to be totally focused on learning how to make a talisman, right? A mundane couldn't teach him that. So it'll be practitioners that he goes after. Is there any chance we could set some kind of trap, maybe?" she replied.

"Hey, that's a great idea! Then Tina could blast him again!" Willow said enthusiastically.

"Uh, I'm not so sure about that, Willow." Tina said.

"I agree with Tina, we shouldn't count on that kind of magic just yet. A trap isn't a bad idea, but it's very dangerous. With that rod of his, he could seriously injure or kill whoever tries to trap him. Total surprise would be required, I think." Charlotte said.

"We would also need to know who he was going after next. I don't see how we could anticipate him like that." Kerry said.

"Well, wouldn't another member of your coven make the most sense? He knows them, after all. Unless he would go after Grandma!" Tina said, looking worriedly at Charlotte.

Charlotte chuckled, "I don't think I have to worry about that. He knows I taught you magic, so he'll assume that I'm more adept at magic than you are, and you blasted him once already. I think it's safe to assume that he'll stay far away from either of us. At least unless he gets truly desperate."

Kerry sighed, "And considering there are eighteen members in our coven, he has plenty of targets to choose from."

Willow looked disappointed, and then worried. "He wouldn't...come after me, would he?" she asked.

Kerry shook her head, "I doubt it. He knows you're new to magic. And from what Rose said about your visit to Charlotte's shop, it sounds like he feels some connection to you. He may assume that all newer members of the coven, or even all members who aren't from magical families, are being kept in the dark about certain magics like the talismans."

"Oh, okay." Willow said, relieved. Then she cast a worried glance at Rose, "But doesn't that mean that Rose would be a logical target for him? Maybe even his next target, considering she's your niece?"

"Oh, you may be right." Kerry replied worriedly.

"I'll stay with her all the time, just in case." Willow declared.

Rose smiled at Willow, "Thanks, but what could you do if he does? With that rod thing of his, he could kill us both with ease."

"Wait." Tina said, "Didn't you say the rod was an accident? He must have been trying to make a talisman, right? And a talisman is just a way of focusing the magic so you don't need a ritual circle? So, wouldn't the rod be powered by him?"

"Of course! Good thinking Tina!" Charlotte said. "That means it's limited to the amount of energy he has. If we could get him to use it too much, he would drain himself and pass out like you did."

"That's still very dangerous. I wish we could talk to the police on this, but he might hurt or kill one of them. Besides the harm he could do physically, he would certainly expose us all." Kerry mused.

"I think the best thing for us to do at this point is make sure all your coven members stay in pairs or larger groups at all times. Rose, you should be especially careful. Willow is right, you're a logical next target. Tell everyone to be very careful if they see him. Don't try to fight him if he attacks, just run! But if he wears himself out using that rod, take it and bring it to me or Kerry." Charlotte said.

"What about Tina's idea of setting a trap?" Willow asked.

Charlotte shook her head, "It's too dangerous without knowing more. It's possible that the rod is a fully functional talisman and Kerry misheard him. If so, he's a lot more dangerous. We also can't be sure who he'll attack next, even though Rose seems a logical choice. After all, he isn't acting very logically so far."

Willow sighed, "I guess you're right. I think Becky would be willing to help me keep an eye on Rose, so with the three of us I guess we should be okay."

They discussed who could pair up with whom for protection for a while longer, but Kerry was getting tired. Rose drove everyone back to Charlotte's shop and dropped her and Tina off there. "Be careful." Tina said as she got out of the car.

"We will. You should, too. He's probably not too happy with you right now." Rose cautioned.

"I will. Bye!" Tina replied. With that Rose and Willow drove off and Tina and Charlotte went back into the shop.

Both buried in their own thoughts, they went about getting something to eat in silence. It wasn't until they'd finished cleaning up that Charlotte broke it by saying, "Do you want me to walk you to work Monday?"

Tina thought about it for a moment and then shook her head, "No, I'll be okay. If you did that then you'd be alone on the walk back. I might be able to repeat what I did before, maybe even without knocking myself out, but you'd be more vulnerable. I'll work on developing some defensive spells tomorrow so I have something ready if he shows up."

"Be careful, you could still seriously hurt yourself. Glyphs are still new to both of us, after all." Charlotte warned.

Tina nodded, "I know. I'll only use them if I can't get away. And he probably won't come after me anyway. He's still got all those members of the coven to choose from. You're probably right that he'd go after them before he went after either of us."

They spent the rest of the night going over their notes on the glyphs they'd identified thus far, trying to find combinations that would produce defensive spells that hopefully wouldn't require too much power for Tina to use.

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To Be Continued…

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