Lisa sized up the college aged woman in front of her. The girl didn't seem to be an outward threat, however, looks could be deceiving. She would need to approach the subject carefully, her previous experiences with age magic told her that if she wasn't careful, she could easily find herself in a compromising position.
"So," she questioned. "You met Josh at his party last night, correct?" Katie nodded.
"It's funny I've worked here for years. I thought I'd seen just about everyone from the campus. I don't ever recall seeing you."
Katie shifted uncomfortably. "I don't live on campus," she answered. "I usually keep a low profile around and don't socialize often."
Lisa nodded. "So what made you want to socialize last night?"
Katie paused. This woman was asking a lot of questions Katie didn't want to answer. What could she be looking for? Obviously she was suspicious of Katie, but why? Katie decided to be defensive.
"I guess I was just tired of not having any fun," she said with a shrug. "Nothing wrong with wanting to have a little fun once in awhile right?"
Lisa chuckled. "No nothing wrong with that. I love fun. Still there's just something about you. By the way how old did you say you were?"
"21," Katie answered quickly. Lisa smirked. "Are you sure?"
Katie could feel herself breaking into a cold sweat. Did this woman know about the ring? Could she possibly know the truth? And if so, did she want it for herself. "Of course," Katie shot back. "I have no reason to actually lie about my age. Why would you ask such a silly question?"
"I don't Katie," she said, glaring at Katie. "Call it a hunch. Personally I don't think your telling me everything. I find it hard to believe you just magically appeared out of thin air."
Katie gulped. Lisa had emphasized the word magic in her sentence. Somehow, someway, this woman knew about the ring of age. Katie could practically feel this woman's gaze surveying her. Fear began to creep into Katie. This woman was creeping her out and all her instincts, both child and adult, told her to run.
"Well it's not like that," Katie stammered. "Anyway, there's someplace I need to go. Totally forgot about it. Tell josh I'm sorry I had to leave, I'll catch up with him later."
Lisa smiled and nodded. "Of course but before you go..." Lisa mumbled a quick incantation.
Katie shivered. The sensation was familiar and she quickly recognized it. The ring of Age had been activated and she was becoming younger again. "No!" She exclaimed and in a flash of brilliant light the sensation stopped.
Lisa had muttered a spell to neutralize any magic that was active in the store outside of her own. She suspected the woman in front of her being in possession of a powerful magical item. The effects of her spell would neutralize these magics and reveal the person for who they were. It was a simple yet powerful spell that Lisa had performed before without incident. When Katie screamed Lisa was surprised by what happened.
A beautifully brilliant white light filled the shop with power. What was even stranger was that the light emanated from the girls stomach. Even with Lisa's magical defenses in place she was knocked backwards, staggering a bit. Quickly coming to her senses she looked at where Katie stood. The young woman was unaffected by Lisa's spell. She appeared frightened and pale but no worse for wear. Oddly Lisa could see a small ring glowing underneath her shirt on her stomach. Quickly she realized that the object was not only powerful but seemed to have bonded with her on a spiritual level. Before Lisa could utter a word Katie turned and bolted out of the shop. Now alone, Lisa surveyed herself.
Her clothes seemed a little loose around her waist but that was her preferred style. She was, after all, a 21 year old college student. "Wait," she thought that's not right. Quickly she dug into her purse and retrieved her license. As she feared the license stated she was 28, not 21. Looking at her face in the mirror she could see that she had indeed regressed to 21. Her face appeared more innocent and youthful, highlighted by her emerald green eyes. "Unbelievable," she thought. "Even with my defenses at there max she still managed to make me younger." Lisa shivered at the thought of what would of happened if she had not been prepared. Concentrating her magic, Lisa slowly was able to make herself 28 again but suspected that she could possibly become younger if she failed to concentrate. The residual magic in the air told her she wasn't quite out of the woods yet. "I need to call Gregor."
Katie sprinted as quickly away from the shop as she could. Fear engulfed her as she tried to piece together what happened. The woman had cast a magic spell on her, An actual spell! If the ring hadn't protected her who knows what would of happened. The idea that people had magical powers was in unfathomable, sure her ring was magical but actual people?! That was too much for her to comprehend. Katie needed to find her friends and the person responsible for creating this ring. Hopefully then she could get the answers she needed, and save herself from whatever else was out there that desired her power.