by Cassandra
“Come on, everybody. Sit down. Sit down.” Grandma Ethel beckoned them to the dinner table and shooed away a few cats who eyed the tablecloth with interest.
Jessica looked at all the food once again in disbelief. She wasn’t sure how many more surprises she could handle in one day.
Her mind replayed all the countless meals she’d had at her grandmother’s. The birthday dinners and the holiday feasts.
Had they all been a sham?
“Grandma, you stole this food?”
She waved her hand dismissively. “Don’t be such a prude, honey child. There’s nothing wrong with saving a little time every now and then.”
Saving time and stealing are two different things. Jessica refrained from voicing the thought.
“Do you ever actually cook?” Jessica asked.
Grandma Ethel turned a stern gaze on her. “Of course I cook. But what do you expect me to do when you and these demon-hunting hooligans pop up on my doorstep unannounced? Do you want to eat or do you want to wait two hours for me to get my old bones in the kitchen and cook something up from scratch? As a matter of fact, you can get in that kitchen and cook. It’s about time you learned. By the time I was your age—”
“Okay, okay! Grandma, I’m sorry. I was…curious, that’s all. Like…how did you get all this food so fast?”
“Curiosity killed the cat. Don’t ask me stuff like that. A lady never tells her secrets.”
Jessica huffed. “Yeah. Secrets. That’s exactly what’s wrong with this family,” she muttered.
“Oh, I’m only yanking your tail.” Grandma Ethel winked. “Sit down. Eat. You’re too skinny these days. That goes for both of you, too,” she declared and cast her gaze toward Chad and Roger.
Jessica took a seat, and Chad sat across from her. Grandma Ethel moved to the head of the table, and Roger dragged his folding chair beside Chad.
“Well, should we say grace?” Roger asked once they were all situated. Before anyone could answer, a big tabby cat leapt at him. He yelped, caught off guard, and slid off his chair. He landed on the floor and the chair clanged as it folded onto his leg. The cat jumped onto his chest and made itself comfortable. Roger lay there, trapped, while the cat purred on his chest.
“Get off him, Grace! Leave him alone,” Grandma Ethel yelled.
Jessica stood and removed the cat, while Chad sat with his hand over his mouth and clearly tried not to laugh.
“And that is why it doesn’t pay off to say the word ‘grace’ too loudly around here,” Jessica chided. “Next time, say ‘blessing.’”
“Would you believe that out of all these cats, Grace happens to be the only one who actually responds to her name?” Grandma Ethel looked fondly at the cat. “Come here, ya ol’ gal. Come here.”
The feline leaped out of Jessica’s arms and hopped onto her grandma’s lap.
Roger stood, cleared his throat, and plucked a strand of cat hair from his shirt.
“Please don’t do that so close to the food,” the old lady joked.
Chad snickered.
“Shut up,” Roger muttered at Chad, his ears red. He headed toward the bathroom. “Excuse me for a moment.”
Jessica sat and rubbed her forehead. Times like this forcibly reminded her of why she had never brought friends over to her grandmother’s before. Although the house was clean, the crazy cat lady stigma had always been too strong. She had once spent a summer at Grandma Ethel’s and had felt compelled to come up with dozens of excuses for not letting her friends visit. She knew they were simply curious to see whether the rumors were true with their own eyes.
Roger returned from the bathroom smelling of lavender hand soap.
“All right. Enough with the pleasantries and table manners. Let’s dig in. I’m hungry.” Grace slinked off her lap and Grandma Ethel piled food onto her plate.
“Like I was saying,” Chad began and looked at the old woman, “I need to do some investigating at Jessica’s school. I’ll pose as a student, and she’ll tell everyone we’re cousins.”
The old woman squinted at him but merely nodded before she turned to Jessica. “Speaking of your school—what’s going on there? Tell me about these girls you’re having trouble with.”
Jessica raised her eyebrows and wondered how her grandmother knew about the girls. She glanced briefly at Chad, but his expression didn’t give away much.
“Come on, talk. None of these cats got your tongue,” Grandma Ethel pointed out.
She quickly swallowed a mouthful of buttered roll. “Yeah,” she finally uttered, “there are some girls in my history class who are always talking crap.”
“What kind of crap?”
“Well…stuff. I don’t know. It really doesn’t matter.”
“Just say it.”
“I’d rather not.”
“Oh, come on. It can’t be that bad. Trust me, Jessie, at my age there probably isn’t anything I haven’t heard before. So spill it.”
Jessica stared into her plate and picked a piece of meat from her chicken leg absentmindedly. “They tend to say things about you.”
“Calling me a witch, eh? Well, they’re not exactly wrong, are they?” her grandmother laughed.
“I guess not.” She looked up. “But I don’t like the way they say it because they clearly mean it in a… Well, they…they’re not nice girls. When they say it, it’s in a mean way.”
Grandma Ethel waved her hand dismissively. “Do you really think my feelings can be hurt by a bunch of snotty schoolgirls?” She shifted in her seat, snatched a chicken leg from the center of the table, and took a bite. “You’ll have to grow thicker skin, darling,” she declared and waved the chicken leg in front of Jessica’s face. “Sticks and stones, sticks and stones. There’s no better time than now to adopt that philosophy. And if you play your cards right, I’ll teach you to make it so that sticks and stones aren’t even a match for the spells you can fight back with.”
Jessica’s eyes widened. “You’ve actually used spells on people?”
The old lady grinned mischievously. “There’s a nice one that makes you puke up worms. Can you imagine? It certainly helps people put their lives into perspective when something as disgusting as the words they speak actually starts to wriggle out of their mouths.” She slammed the table with her hand and laughed. “Is there any one of those girls you particularly don’t like?”
It was tantalizing to imagine watching her tormentors freak out at the sight of worms dropping from their mouths, but Jessica was wise enough to know that kind of revenge wouldn’t do her any favors. It would only result in people calling her a witch and she would undoubtedly spend the rest of her high school days as a social pariah. She could completely forget about the chances of ever finding a prom date.
Instead, she would have to leave town and never look back.
“Don’t be silly, Grandma,” she begged and shook her head.
Grandma Ethel shrugged and took another bite of her drumstick. “I’m simply trying to help you out.”
Chad cleared his throat. “I think it’s time to put all the fun and games aside for a moment,” he declared and wiped his hands and mouth with his napkin. “Let’s get to business, Ms. Ethel. I don’t know how much you’ve heard lately—”
The old woman stuck a finger in her ear. “I’ve heard just fine, thank you very much.” She produced her hearing aid and let it fall into the palm of her hand.
Jessica grimaced and stared at her plate again. I love my grandma dearly, but this is precisely why I don’t bring friends around here.
“You know, your mama made me get this thing,” Ethel confided. “I mean, I told her I could probably do a spell that helped my hearing better than this thing, but I guess it’ll have to do for now. I’ll wait until I really stand on the Grim Reaper’s doorstep before I study up on those wellness remedies and potions. They sometimes backfire, you know? It’s best to use them when you only have a few moons left of life in you anyway. When it can’t do you no harm. Somet
imes, you’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t. But what do you young folks know about that kind of thing, anyway?” she asked. She paused a moment and rambled on.
Jessica stared at her for a moment, suddenly curious about how long witches lived. She knew it probably would have been rude to ask. Her grandmother was eighty-seven years old, and if she didn’t consider that old enough yet…
She shook her head and glanced at Chad. He was clearly ready to continue the conversation if the old lady would only be quiet for an instant.
“Grandma,” Jessica interrupted, “I don’t think that’s what Chad was saying.”
“Chad said he wants some bacon?” Ethel turned her gaze toward him. “You’re a handsome little devil, but you’re an ungrateful one, aren’t you? What do you want bacon for when I produced this perfectly good chicken—”
“Grandma!” Jessica yelled over Roger’s hysterical giggling fit.
“Girl, what are you yelling at me for?”
Jessica pointed to her ears to urge her grandmother to replace the hearing aid.
“Oh…” Grandma Ethel plopped the thing back into her ear. “I don’t really need this thing, you know. Anyway, back to you and this bacon—”
“I don’t want any bacon. No one said anything about bacon, Ms. Ethel,” Chad assured her.
“Why not? You a vegan-terian?”
“Vegetarian? No. And—”
“That’s what I said, vegan-terian. Plant-eater.”
Chad’s eyes twinkled with simultaneous amusement and exasperation. “Whatever you say, Ms. Ethel. But no, I’m not a vegan-terian, I simply don’t want any bacon. This chicken is fine.”
Ethel turned back to her granddaughter. “Then what were you talking about? Do you want the bacon and you’re just trying to put it off on him?”
Jessica placed her hands on her forehead. “Nobody wants bacon, Grandma.”
“Get your elbows off my table,” she chastised.
Jessica lowered her arms and smiled tersely at her grandmother.
“Ms. Ethel, Seventh Coven has had a lot of trouble lately,” Chad blurted before the conversation could be derailed any further.
“You use your inside voice when you’re talking to me,” Ethel warned. “I swear, you young folks have no home training these days.”
“Sorry,” Chad continued. “Still, I’m here to talk to you about Seventh Coven.”
She sighed and leaned back in her seat. “And what has that lot gotten themselves into now?”
“There’s been an increase in instances of demons on the loose,” Chad admitted. “I know you’ve heard about those two cops who were recently killed in Greenlawn Cemetery, right?”
Ethel cocked her head to the side, narrowed her eyes, and rubbed her chin. “Oh, yeah… I do remember hearing something about that. On the news the other day, right?”
Chad nodded.
“So the police actually caught the demons?”
He shook his head. “I have a buddy who works at the police station and he heard the call when the officers requested backup. He called me at home to give me a heads-up, and I was able to get there before they did.”
“You took care of it, then?”
“Yes, but barely.” Chad let out a low whistle. “Those demons—they were something else.”
Jessica listened, riveted. She leaned forward in her chair, her plate of half-eaten food forgotten. “So…what do demons look like? What do they want? Are they trying to possess people? If demons exist, do angels, too? What are demons doing on earth in the first place? Are they fallen angels? No…that’s not right. Demons are from Hell. Oh, my God—these things rose from Hell?”
Roger laughed across from her. “See, I told you she was curious. She’ll make a good student.”
Chad stared at Jessica and shook his head, impressed and amused at the same time. “Um…Where am I even supposed to begin with all that? How about one question at a time?”
“Sorry,” Jessica said and her face felt warm again. “It’s just… Wow.” She leaned back in her seat. “I can’t believe all this stuff is real. To say my mind is blown is an understatement.”
“Well, I have a question for you.” Grandma Ethel ignored her and focused on Chad. “What kind of demons are we talking about?”
“Big nasty ones,” he answered. “I’m not sure what kind. They look and sound human until they reveal themselves. From the looks of those cops, they don’t even have to do much to their victims. It seemed like they literally scared them to death—scared them right into a heart attack, probably. When I saw them with my own eyes, it was easy to see why.”
“They’re ugly?” Jessica asked.
“Hideous.” Chad grimaced at the memory. “And they don’t smell like roses, either. If you have a sensitive stomach, their stench alone will probably do you in.”
“I’ll need a better description than that, honey,” Grandma Ethel replied. Her eyes narrowed. “What do they actually look like?”
Jessica saw that her grandmother’s expression had suddenly turned serious. Gone was the silly old woman who had greeted them at the door, and in her place was someone who looked startlingly wise and…
Powerful, Jessica thought. She gaped momentarily. It was like seeing the old woman in a whole new light. There had always been two sides to Grandma Ethel, but it had never been as apparent as it was at that moment.
Obviously, this was the version that Chad had referred to as a badass. Jessica felt like she saw it clearly for the first time. What he had said about her grandmother in the car had seemed unlikely at first, but now, Jessica believed it.
“Yes, of course,” he replied. He straightened in his seat and looked Ethel in the eyes. “They were tall, had horns, and there was a reddish glow in their eyes. They seemed to blend in with the shadows, so it was difficult to track their movements at first. They smelled like sulfur, of course, only ten times stronger. But I guess that could have been because there were three of them in the same area.”
“Three of them, eh?” Ethel muttered. She stared off into the distance with her brow furrowed. “Hmm.”
“Any idea what we’re dealing with based on that description?” Chad asked.
“Something bad. Really bad,” she admitted.
“That means you’ll help the coven, right?” Roger asked.
The old lady smirked. “Well, I guess I have no other choice, now do I? Something is definitely up if three major demons attacked two cops for no apparent reason.” She turned to Chad. “Did the cops see you there when they arrived?”
He shook his head. “No, I hid. I knew there was no way to explain what really happened, and more than likely, I would have ended up a suspect. I may have a buddy in the police force, but he wouldn’t have been able to get me out of a bind like that. I didn’t want to risk it.”
Grandma Ethel nodded approvingly. “Smart man. Smart man.” She sighed. “I hate to hear that things have come to this.”
“So what do you guys plan to do?” Jessica asked, following the conversation closely. “You have to fight the demons? Is Seventh Coven like a…like a demon-fighting army or something?”
“I guess you could call it that,” Chad replied.
Ethel stared at her granddaughter.
“What?” Jessica asked and a prickle of apprehension raced through her.
“You just asked, ‘What do you guys plan to do?’ You know you’re a part of this now too, right?”
Her mouth dropped open. “W-what?” Every horror movie she had ever seen in her life flashed before her eyes. She envisioned coming face to face with something twenty feet tall that wanted to either eat her or smash her to smithereens.
Suddenly, she regretted coming along. Maybe her parents had been right after all.
I wonder if there’s a spell to let me click my heels and go back home. One to put me safely in my room, studying for my history test
To her surprise, her grandmother reached across the table and took her by the hand. �
��Jessica, darling, as my granddaughter, you are a very special young lady. You have power and strength that you haven’t tapped into yet. I can sense it in you. I think the fact that you are here proves that the time is right. It is time for you to learn the secrets of this world. There is a great responsibility on your shoulders.”
Jessica blinked. Her mouth moved, but no words came out.
Suddenly, Grandma Ethel gave a loud and hearty laugh. “I’ve always wanted to give a speech like that. Like the wise old person in one of those hero movies. I sounded good, didn’t I?”
“Grandma—you almost gave me a heart attack.”
Chad chuckled. “In all seriousness though, we really would like your help,” he reminded Jessica.
The old woman. “Yes, we would.”
“My help doing what? I don’t have the slightest idea what I could possibly do for you guys.” She looked at Chad. “Pretend I’m your cousin—fine. But anything other than that—”
“Relax,” Chad assured her. “We won’t give you anything you can’t handle.”
“And you’ll learn everything you need to know along the way. Don’t worry about the coven. You worry about doing what’s right,” Grandma Ethel advised.
“I know fighting the demons is the right thing to do, but honestly, what feels right to me is wishing I’d stayed home to do my homework.”
Chapter Six
A long silence settled on those at the table as Jessica let what she was being asked to do sink in. She trusted her grandmother as she trusted Chad and Roger, albeit for reasons she still couldn’t fully comprehend. Hence, if they said they wouldn’t give her more than she could handle, she needed to take them at their word.
But still, being asked to help with something like this? Unbelievable.
Jessica had been so zoned out and lost in her thoughts that she barely noticed the conversation resume around her.
“You look like you’re about to faint, honey. Have some dessert,” Grandma Ethel suggested as she produced a saucer and proceeded to cut a slice of the apple pie.
“Thanks,” Jessica muttered, grateful for the gesture. Grandma Ethel’s pie—or wherever she preferred to steal her pies from—was so good that it was almost enough to make Jessica temporarily forget all the craziness going on around her.
