“But there’s no reason for him to be hunting anyone now!” I protested. “Olivia’s soul is safe, right?” Her expression wasn’t reassuring.
“Apart from the fact that he’s not likely to just take our word for it,” she said, “Dara’s still a demon and demons, by definition, don’t belong here. Even if he doesn’t blame her personally for taking Olivia’s soul, he’s going to eliminate her as a matter of course. We also have to think about Olivia.”
“What about her?” I asked uneasily.
“Even if the hunter cuts the bond holding her soul here, it’s still inside Dara. She can’t take it to Heaven and it doesn’t belong in Hell. It’s stuck here in the mortal realm unless we can release it.”
“Well, how do we do that?”
“I have no idea,” Mrs. Kendricks admitted. “I know how to remove demons from people. I’ve never heard of anyone removing a person from a demon.”
“Other than by killing the demon,” Lilith smirked. Daraxandriel gasped and pressed her hand to her chest as if someone had just driven a stake through her heart.
“We’ll do our best to avoid that.” I couldn’t help but notice that Mrs. Kendricks didn’t say she wouldn’t kill Daraxandriel, just that she’d try not to. “What’s the hunter’s name, Lilith? Maybe I can contact him and ask him to hold off until we can get this sorted out.”
“We were never formally introduced,” Lilith told her dryly.
“Can’t you break the bond?” I asked Mrs. Kendricks, but she shook her head.
“I’d need the artifact it’s bound to and he isn’t likely to just hand it over. No, we’ll have to try a different tack.” She tapped her lips with her forefinger as she studied Daraxandriel with a pensive look. “Perhaps we can slow him down a bit,” she mused finally. “That may give us enough time to come up with a better solution.”
“How?” I asked eagerly. That sounded much better than the only plan I could come up with, which involved hiding somewhere and listening for approaching footsteps.
“He’s using the bond to trace Olivia’s soul, sort of like a psychic compass. We may be able to blur the signal enough to throw him off for a while.”
“Great! How do we do that? Do we need to call the other witches?”
“Anastasia and I can handle this. We’ll need a very large pentagram to scatter the trace as widely as possible. Fortunately,” she smiled, “I happen to have one of those.”
Her pentagram, as it turned out, encompassed her entire property, with the points occupied by five garden gnomes facing outwards like sentries. The center of the pentagram was in her back yard, marked by a circular flagstone engraved with a crescent-moons-and-disk symbol that matched the circlet she wore during Melissa’s initiation. That was only a couple of hours ago, I suddenly realized. What a day this is turning out to be. Mrs. Kendricks had Daraxandriel stand on it while she and Stacy paced around her.
“Normally I have this set to ward off supernatural threats,” she explained. “The house and everyone in it is essentially invisible to demonic eyes.”
“Yet I perceive thee,” Daraxandriel said nervously. She turned to keep Mrs. Kendricks in view.
“Once you’re inside the boundary it has no effect,” she explained. “Were you able to see the house when you drove up?”
“I did not look,” she said, scowling at Lilith standing beside me by the back door. “I was distracted.”
“Well, this will be a fairly straight-forward modification of that spell. Hopefully we won’t have to deal with any invading demon hordes until we change it back,” she added sardonically. “Let’s make sure we can see the trace first,” she told Stacy. “That way we’ll be able to tell if it’s working properly.” Stacy nodded and used her wand to trace a symbol on her forehead. Mrs. Kendricks did the same. “Hold still for a moment, Dara.” Daraxandriel froze in place as the two witches gazed at her intently. “I see it.”
“I do too,” nodded Stacy.
“I don’t see anything,” I said, not really sure what was supposed to happen.
“You’re not a witch, Peter,” Mrs. Kendricks reminded me absently. Both witches turned their heads to the southwest.
“It’s moving,” Stacy murmured and Mrs. Kendricks nodded her agreement.
“What does that mean?” I asked nervously.
“It means he’s closer than I thought he’d be. Are you ready?” Mrs. Kendricks asked her daughter. She responded with a curt incline of her head.
“How close?” I couldn’t see the street from here but I didn’t hear any cars nearby.
“I can only judge direction, Peter, not distance. Hush, we have to concentrate.” I clamped my lips shut as the witches stood on either side of Daraxandriel and raised their arms, their wands gripped in one hand and their ceremonial daggers – athames, Susie once told me – in the other. Daraxandriel shot me a worried look but stayed perfectly still.
“Claudere oculos,” they intoned in unison. “Dispergat lucem. Semita abscondam.” With each phrase, they gestured with the knives and wands like they were drawing some elaborate three-dimensional shape in the air, although I couldn’t make out what it might be. They moved around Daraxandriel counter-clockwise and repeated the words and gestures, and then they did it again. They stood with their arms upraised for a minute or two, murmuring something under their breaths, and then they sagged and dropped their hands to their sides. They both looked exhausted.
“Did it work?” I asked cautiously, not entirely certain if they were done.
Mrs. Kendricks raised her head and gazed at Daraxandriel for a long moment. “Yes. The bond is still there but it’s scattered. It’ll be much harder to follow now. Oh, you can move now, Dara.” Daraxandriel hesitated and then scurried to my side, hugging my arm. “That will have to do for now,” she went on, rubbing her eyes. “The rest will have to wait until morning.”
“Okay,” I said, hoping this was going to be enough to keep Daraxandriel safe until then. “When should we come back?”
“Oh, perhaps I wasn’t clear,” Mrs. Kendricks smiled wearily. “Dara can’t leave. As soon as she steps outside the pentagram, the hunter will find her again.”
Daraxandriel gasped in dismay but Lilith just smirked. “Well, enjoy your time among the witches, dear sister,” she said smugly. “Come along, Peter, take me home. I’m looking forward to getting to know you better. If I must be human, I may as well enjoy it.” She ran a finger down my arm with a wicked smile and Daraxandriel yanked me out of her reach as her eyes blazed bright orange.
“You,” Mrs. Kendricks said firmly, gesturing with her wand, “are not going anywhere.” For an instant, silvery bands appeared around Lilith’s wrists and ankles before fading from sight. Lilith gaped at herself in shock and then anger.
“You can’t keep me here!” she retorted. “I’m not a demon!”
“Not at the moment, no, but you’re the person who caused all this trouble. I want you within reach until we decide what to do with you.” Lilith wrestled briefly with her invisible bonds and then subsided, her eyes seething with frustration. “We’ll be up to greet the dawn, Peter,” she told me. “Come by any time after that. Or before, if you’d like to join us,” she said with that smile again.
“Ah, no, that’s okay. All right, I’ll see you first thing. Good luck,” I told Daraxandriel but she seized my hands and wouldn’t let go.
“Nay, Peter Simon Collins, do not abandon me here!” she pleaded. “Thou has placed the lamb among the lions!”
“They’re not going to hurt you, Dara,” I insisted, trying to free myself. Lilith’s humorless smile and Mrs. Kendricks’ carefully neutral expression gave me pause, though. All they’d have to do is drop the scattering spell once I’m gone and let the demon hunter take her, I thought uneasily. In fact, how do I know their spell even did anything? Maybe he’s already on his way here. I hated the doubt and uncertainty. “Is it okay if I stay too?” I asked reluctantly.
“Of course, Peter,” Mrs. Kendricks
assured me. “The more, the merrier.” Her smile made me wonder if this was her plan all along.
“Well, you all sort it out,” Stacy said. “I’m going to bed.” She made a two-fingered I’m-watching-you gesture between her eyes and mine as she passed me on her way into the house.
“We should all get some rest,” Mrs. Kendricks said, ushering the rest of us in after her. “We don’t normally have this many overnight guests,” she warned us, “but I’m sure we’ll find room for everyone.” She was looking right at me when she said that.
“I’ll, uh, call Mom and let her know what’s going on,” I said, pulling out my phone as I followed them inside. Mom answered on the first ring.
“There you are, Peter!” she exclaimed. “I was getting worried after you left so quickly! Why didn’t you answer?”
I glanced at the call log and saw several incoming calls from her number. “Oh, sorry, I must have had the ringer turned down.” I’d actually shut the sound off entirely after her first call to avoid being distracted during our breakneck race over here.
“Well, where did you go? Are you on your way home?”
“Oh, um.” I should have come up with a cover story before I called her. I looked around the kitchen for inspiration and saw all four women watching me from the end of the hall with expressions ranging from amusement to sullen resentment. “We, uh, decided to go visit a friend we haven’t seen in a while. You remember Stacy, right? She’s heading off to college soon.” Stacy rolled her eyes.
“Oh.” Mom sounded really disappointed. “Your father just walked in the door. He was looking forward to meeting Dara’s sister. I made cookies and everything!”
“Well, just wrap them up and we’ll eat them later. I just wanted to let you know – wait a minute. How did you know about Lilith?” I thought for sure Susie kept her trapped in my room the whole time.
Mom tsked in my ear. “She knocked on the door and introduced herself, silly. I can’t tell you how surprised I was to see her standing there. I thought Dara had gone and dyed her hair! They’re spitting images of each other, did you notice?”
“Yes, Mom, I noticed,” I sighed. “They’re twins.” Other than the fact that one of them has horns and a tail and glowing eyes.
“Dara must be beside herself with excitement,” Mom gushed. “Imagine her sister coming all the way from England to visit!”
“Yes, beside herself is a good way to put it. Look, I just called to tell you that we won’t be home tonight. Stacy’s, uh, having a sleepover and she invited us to stay.” Stacy heaved an irritated sigh and vanished down the hall. A moment later I heard a door close very firmly.
“Oh, I don’t know, Peter,” Mom said doubtfully. “Boys and girls at a sleepover? Will there be any responsible adults there?”
“Stacy’s mom is here,” I assured her, although I wasn’t convinced the phrase responsible adult really applied to her. “You remember Mrs. Kendricks from Susie’s club? You met her a few weeks ago.” Standing in my room wearing only a skimpy pair of panties, I recalled uneasily.
“Oh, yes, of course,” Mom said warmly. “Well, I guess that’s all right then. Tell her I said hello. Will you be home in time for church tomorrow?”
“Ah, no, probably not, sorry.”
“Well, don’t worry about it. Have fun with your friends. And turn your ringer on!” she reminded me with mock sternness.
“I will. Good night!” I hung up and let my breath out with a whoosh. “All right, that’s all sorted out,” I reported.
“Wonderful,” Mrs. Kendricks smiled. “This way.” The hallway had three doors on the left and one at the far end and she stopped at the first one, opening it to let us look in. “This is the guest room,” she announced. “No one’s stayed in here for some time so everything should still be fresh.”
I peeked through the door and found a cozy bedroom in autumn colors dominated by a queen-size poster bed in the center. A dresser in one corner held a collection of ceramic knick-knacks and a padded bench sat at the foot of the bed. “You two should sleep here,” I told Daraxandriel and Lilith.
“I am not sleeping with her,” Lilith declared haughtily.
“Nor I with her!” Daraxandriel protested.
“You two are just going to have to work it out,” I said. “It’s only for one night.”
“One night or one minute, it’s intolerable!” Lilith spat. “I want my own room!”
“This isn’t a hotel!” I snapped. “Get in there and go to sleep!” They both looked at me and then at each other. Grudgingly, they entered the room and sat stiffly on opposite sides of the bed, glaring at me with their arms crossed like almost-identical bookends.
“I’m impressed,” Mrs. Kendricks murmured at my side, “but I doubt it’ll last very long. You’re going to have to keep them quiet and make sure they don’t start throwing things at each other.”
“Me?”
She ignored my dismay and pointed to the next door down. “That’s the bathroom if anyone needs it,” she said. “Anastasia’s room is the last one on the left. Mine is all the way down at the end.” She paused expectantly but I kept my face carefully neutral. “Well, good luck. Try to keep Lilith from sneaking out of the house,” she added.
“I’m insulted at the suggestion,” Lilith sniffed, although her eyes stabbed daggers at us.
“She wouldn’t get very far,” Mrs. Kendricks assured me, “but I don’t want to wake the neighbors unnecessarily.”
“Why, what’s going to happen?” I asked uneasily. She just smiled enigmatically. “All right,” I sighed. “I’m sorry we’re causing so much trouble.”
“It comes with the territory,” she shrugged. “Although I’ll admit this is a first,” she added dryly. “Demons usually don’t come to me for help.”
“I suppose all this violates the Witch’s Code or something.”
She laughed softly. “Witches and warlocks are independent creatures, Peter. There’s no central authority dictating our actions and no book of magical laws we have to obey.”
“What’s to keep witches from abusing their powers, then?”
“Independent doesn’t mean uncaring. We take action when action needs to be taken. Balance must be maintained or everyone suffers.” She eyed Daraxandriel and Lilith and shook her head with a resigned sigh. “Well, good night, everyone,” she said. “Sleep well. We’ll get this sorted out tomorrow, somehow.”
She walked away and disappeared into her room without a backwards glance. If she meant her statement to be reassuring, she failed miserably.
7
English is a strange language, full of weird rules and baffling inconsistencies. I am, you are, he is? It’s like they weren’t even trying. English also steals words shamelessly from other languages, like karaoke and croissant, and makes up others out of the blue, like fleek or bling. It’s no wonder that English arguably has the most words of any language, upwards of half a million by some counts.
Yet despite this propensity for adopting new words, English runs the words it already has right into the ground. The word set has four hundred and sixty-four distinct meanings, which is insane. The purpose of language, supposedly, is to allow individuals to share their thoughts and feelings, learn from each other, and work together with a common purpose. How is that possible when we can’t even agree on what a simple word like set means?
Things get even worse when you use words that have a strong emotional component, like love. I love pizza, Dara, and my fellow man, not necessarily in that order, but does that mean that I care for them or enjoy them or want to have sex with them? It’s no wonder we’re so angry and confused all the time.
The ancient Greeks had at least eight words covering the concept of love: agape for selfless love, storge for familial love, philia for platonic love, pragma for enduring love, ludus for romantic love, philautia for self-love, mania for obsessive love, and, of course, eros for sexual love. I storge Mom and Dad and Susie, I suppose I ludus Melissa a little bit, and, let
’s face it, I would eros Mrs. Kendricks if I let myself. My feelings for Dara, though, don’t seem to fit any of these definitions. There needs to be a ninth word for love.
I woke up as I often did, with my arms wrapped around Daraxandriel. Her back was pressed against my chest, her skin cool against mine, and I felt the slow rise and fall of her breathing. I touched my lips to her bare shoulder, wishing she would let me do more, and she shifted slightly before settling down again.
I opened my eyes but the room was dark except for a spattering of moonlight leaking through the curtains. It dappled a dresser I didn’t recognize and it took me a moment to remember that we were in Mrs. Kendricks’ guest room.
My left arm was trapped under Daraxandriel’s body and I carefully eased away from her to try to extract it without waking her up. The illuminated display on my watch told me it was almost one in the morning and I wondered what woke me up. I listened carefully but all I heard was Daraxandriel’s steady breathing.
I closed my eyes and rolled over onto my other side, or at least I tried to. I encountered another naked body, this one as warm as a heating blanket, and I scooted away from it in alarm. I’d had to lie down between Daraxandriel and Lilith to keep them from sniping at each other all night long and it had taken forever for the two of them to finally drift off to sleep. At least they were both quiet now.
I moved as far away from Lilith as I could, resting my back against Daraxandriel’s as I tried to convince myself to go back to sleep. Something niggled at me, though, just persistent enough to keep my thoughts churning around in a sluggish circle.
I hope Mrs. Kendricks gets Olivia’s soul out of Daraxandriel’s head soon, I thought muddily. She can’t stay here for the rest of her life. That would be almost as bad as being trapped in one of Dr. Bellowes’ geodes. Why did Lilith have to show up and ruin everything? We were happy the way things were. Well, I was, anyway.
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