by Cassandra
Almost.
She took a forkful and chewed slowly, savored the taste of the sweet apples, and focused on what was being said around her.
“I have another question for you,” Chad said and felt in his pocket.
“In the meantime, can I have some pie too?” Roger asked with an eager smile.
“Of course.” Grandma Ethel smiled and served him a slice as Chad scrolled through his phone.
He pulled up a photograph and held the device so Ethel could see it after she passed Roger a slice of pie. “Do you know this pastor?” he asked.
The old lady took the phone and squinted at it. “Hmm. His face doesn’t ring any bells. Why do you ask?”
Chad pouted for an instant. “I hoped to get his help.”
Jessica leaned over the table toward her grandmother. “Let me see.”
Grandma Ethel handed over the phone.
“I know him,” Jessica exclaimed. She looked at Chad. “He’s from my church.”
His eyes brightened. “Excellent. Can you give him a call?”
“Sure,” Jessica said. A slight feeling of relief came over her. If her contribution to the effort could merely involve calling Pastor Norman, a man she’d grown up knowing, then things didn’t seem half as bad as they had barely moments before.
Pretending to be Chad’s cousin and making a few phone calls? That, she could handle.
She retrieved her own phone from her pocket and noticed for the first time that she’d missed several texts from her parents. The truth was that she didn’t need to open them to know that the tone of them was probably far from friendly. She’d have to deal with that later. Right now, there were bigger fish to fry.
Having shoved that thought aside, she scrolled through her list of contacts quickly and found Pastor Norman’s name.
The phone rang three times before he answered.
“Hey, Pastor Norman. It’s Jessica. What’s going on?” she asked, suddenly unsure of what she was supposed to ask him.
He chatted amicably to her while she looked frantically at Chad. “What do you want me to say?” she whispered, holding the phone momentarily away from her mouth.
“Can I speak to him?” Chad asked.
Jessica nodded. “That’s great, Father. Listen, I have someone who wants to speak to you if that’s all right? He’s…a family friend.” She’d almost called him her cousin but decided against lying to a pastor.
It’s probably best to let Chad explain, she thought.
“Yes, here he is.” She handed him the phone.
Chad stared at her quizzically for a moment before he took it from her.
“Hello, Pastor Norman. My name is Chad Hollingsworth.” He paused for a moment, his brow lowered in concentration before his demeanor suddenly changed. His eyebrows raised quickly as a slight smile came to his face. “Yes, yes. This involves Seventh Coven. Do you have a moment to speak, sir?” Another pause. “Great. I’m here with Ms. Ethel of Thirteenth Coven. There’s been a…uhm, situation. Demons running amuck, basically. I’m trying to investigate matters. My partner and I think it would be beneficial for me to remain in the area and take a closer look at things. A good cover for us might be to enroll at Bishop Fenwick High School… Yes, the school Jessica attends. The problem is that we need to make things look, uhm… Well, believable. Do you think you can help? Show up for moral support, or something along those lines? I know it’s not a Christian School, but who would be able to turn students down who were recommended by a pastor? I know it’s asking a lot of a man of your profession to consciously help with deception, but after all, the fate of the world is at stake, sir. With you there to vouch for us…”
His voice trailed off, and there was a long silence. Jessica, Grandma Ethel, and Roger all listened carefully to try to hear Pastor Norman’s voice on the other end. Even the cats seemed unnaturally quiet, as if they sensed the importance of the phone call.
Chad released a deep breath. “Thank you so much, Pastor Norman. Yes, we will iron out the details.”
“Whew!” Roger exclaimed. He leaned back in his seat and grinned. “It sounds like that went well.”
The other man smirked and nodded as he handed Jessica her phone. She took it and saw that the call was still in progress.
“Pastor Norman?” she asked as she placed the phone to her ear. “Thanks a million! Yeah, I’ll catch you later. Bye.”
Chad blinked. “Did you seriously just say ‘catch you later’ to the pastor?”
She returned her phone to her pocket. “Is that a problem?”
“How can you be so informal with him? You talk to him like he’s nothing more than an old friend of yours.”
Jessica shifted in her seat and shrugged her shoulders. “Well, I’ve known him for almost my whole life. He’s cool for an old guy. I mean—not old…” She hesitated in response to the look her grandmother shot at her.
Pastor Norman was considerably younger than Ethel. Jessica had learned a long time ago that for whatever reason, it was all right when her grandma referred to herself as old, but she didn’t take too kindly when other people insinuated it.
“I think what my loose-lipped granddaughter is trying to say is that, pastor or not, he’s merely a regular person at the end of the day. Just like the rest of us.”
Jessica nodded. “Exactly. So, what’s the plan?”
“Pastor Norman will meet us at your school tomorrow,” Chad explained.
“School tomorrow. Right…” With all the excitement and shocking revelations, Jessica had almost forgotten that something as mundane as school still existed. The was especially silly since they’d spent so much time discussing the fact that she was supposed to pretend Chad was her cousin when he enrolled.
“You’re coming too,” Chad added and looked at Roger.
“So am I supposed to say both of you are my cousins?” she asked.
Roger shrugged. “Sure. Why not? I can be a more distant relative. I realize I don’t quite share the family resemblance.
Jessica studied him quickly. He had a point. She and Chad both had dark hair, light eyes, and slender builds. Roger had dark eyes, lighter hair, and a stouter build.
“You can be a cousin from the other side of the family,” Chad continued. “I doubt we’ll have much trouble, regardless. With a pastor beside us, it’ll be a lot harder for people to doubt our story.” He nodded his head confidently and took a big forkful of apple pie.
“It looks like step one is all set then,” Grandma Ethel exclaimed. She clapped her hands. “Before you decide to leave though, you’d better help me clear this table.”
Jessica raised her eyebrows. “But Grandma, you’re a witch. Can’t you simply wave a wand or something and have everything all magically cleaned up?” She narrowed her eyes and glanced around the house. “Is that why your house has always been so squeaky clean despite having all these cats? I hardly ever see you actually cleaning, but the place is always spotless.”
“Never you mind about it,” the old woman snapped. “And we don’t use wands, for your information. What do you think this is, Harry Potter?”
Jessica grinned, an excited gleam in her eyes. “Can you show me something?”
“Something like what?”
“A magic trick.”
“I’m not a magician either, girl. I don’t do tricks on request.”
“Come on, Grandma. I need something to help me believe all of this stuff once and for all.”
Grandma Ethel stood from her chair, scooped up one of the cats curled between her feet, and patted her granddaughter on the cheek. “Sweetheart, clear the table.”
Jessica sighed but saw there was no use to argue any further. Clearly, the magic was over for the day. Evening had set in, and from the looks of Chad, Roger, and Grandma Ethel, there wouldn’t be any more surprising revelations.
Plus, as she’d only now been reminded, there was school tomorrow. She hadn’t started any of her homework.
More to the point, she didn
’t even have it with her.
Sighing, Jessica began to clear the table and carried dishes to the kitchen.
“As for you boys, come over here. Let’s get our story good and straight for tomorrow,” Grandma Ethel commanded Chad and Roger.
She half listened to them iron out their plans while the rest of her focused on loading the dishwasher and thought regretfully about her parents. It made her shudder to think about what she would go through when she finally returned home. There was too much on her mind for her to face another round of their speeches and both of them yelling about how upset they were with her. She could practically hear them now.
“What’s gotten into you? How dare you disobey us like this! You know everything we’ve ever done for you has been for your own good. You’re in over your head! You don’t know what you’re doing.”
A deep scowl formed across her mouth, and Jessica was forced to acknowledge that rather than being a prediction of what her parents would say, those words were really her own subconscious feelings.
Demons? Covens? Lying to teachers and the principal? Using a pastor, no less? In cahoots with her grandmother and a couple of guys she hardly knew? If anyone had told her only one day earlier that she’d do all this, she would have thought they lived in an alternate universe.
And now look at me, she pointed out to herself as she loaded the last of the dishes.
At the same time, she thought back to how she had never done anything wrong in her entire life and reminded herself that surely that was a serious flaw in her character.
I can’t really complete my teenage years without getting into some kind of trouble, right? That would be pathetic. What kind of stories would I have to tell my own grandkids if I don’t live a little?
Almost immediately, another voice appeared in her head to counter the first. Then stay out past curfew. Sneak behind the school bleachers to make out with a cute boy. Get a tattoo or a piercing. But don’t go out demon hunting, for crying out loud.
Jessica rubbed her temples. She felt much like she was a cartoon character with a miniature devil on one shoulder and an angel on the other, both fighting over her.
After she’d turned on the dishwasher, she returned to the front of the house. She found her grandmother, Chad, and Roger in the living room. The men stood near the door, clearly about to leave.
They looked at her and most likely wondered whether or not she would leave with them. She knew that if she did, they would drop her off at her parents’ house. Because where else would she go?
All the unanswered text messages from her parents sprang to mind. “Uhm, Grandma—is it all right if I stay with you tonight? You know, until…” She shrugged.
“Until you’re certain your parents won’t wring your neck?” she asked and cackled. “Certainly, darling. And I’ll talk to your parents in due time. Don’t worry. Your mother knows how it is, even if she wants to pretend she doesn’t.”
Jessica’s nerves made her wonder momentarily if the truth was that her mother simply knew how dangerous things were and consequently, didn’t want her mixed up with such things.
Live a little, Jessica reminded herself. She nodded. “Thanks, Grandma.”
The frown quickly returned to her face, though. She might have wanted to live a little, but she also didn’t want to mess up her grades. The painful reminder crept in that her backpack, with all her homework and studying material, probably still lay on the floor behind the couch exactly where she’d left it. She closed her eyes and sighed.
“What is it?” Grandma Ethel asked.
“I left my homework. I left everything, really. I don’t have a change of clothes or anything. I didn’t exactly expect to end up here.”
“Don’t look at us,” Roger protested. “We’d love to help, but we’re reasonably sure your parents would probably kill us if we showed up on your doorstep and asked them for your clothes and backpack.”
“Do you mean those over there?” Grandma Ethel asked in a lilting voice. She pointed to the couch. Lying on top of it were none other than Jessica’s backpack as well as a neatly folded pile of pajamas and clothes.
“Wh-what… How?” Jessica stammered, unable to believe her eyes.
Chad laughed. “See. I told you your grandma was a badass witch.”
“Is that a good thing?” Ethel asked.
“Yes!” He answered quickly. “It means you’re awesome.”
“Ahh, just checking.”
Jessica gave her grandmother a quick hug. “Thank you.”
Ethel kissed the top of her forehead. “You’re welcome, my dearie.”
“I guess we should get going.” Chad turned toward Roger and nodded.
Roger looked at Jessica and Ethel, giving them a salute. “See you ladies in the morning, then. Good night.”
“And goodnight to you too, my lady.” Chad bowed, and Jessica noticed with some consternation that he didn’t actually look at her or her grandmother. He looked at Grace, the cat.
“Oh, my goodness. You are crazy,” she blurted and realized too late that she’d spoken out loud.
He raised his eyebrows. “I beg your pardon?”
Jessica scratched the back of her head and looked from Roger to her grandmother. She wondered if either of them found it a little odd that Chad had bowed to a cat. Neither of them seemed at all weirded out about it.
She shrugged her shoulders. “Never mind. I guess plenty of people talk to pets so…”
Chad smirked. “Oh. You think I’m crazy for talking to a cat?”
“Maybe a little, but don’t worry about it,” she conceded, a good-natured tone to her voice. “But if you want me to be okay with this pretense that you’re my cousin, please don’t let anyone at school see you doing that kind of thing. I don’t need to be teased for being related to the…the crazy cat boy too.”
He laughed. “Well, that’s fine. But as for now, it would be a little rude to not speak to someone when they speak to you.”
Jessica looked at Roger and Grandma Ethel again. Why were they so quiet? “Chad—let me get this straight. You’re saying Grace spoke to you?”
He nodded as if there wasn’t the slightest thing unusual about that and turned to Roger. “By the way, I guess you should know that she really thought you had invited her to the table for dinner. She meant no harm.”
The old lady snickered.
“Am I missing something here?” Jessica asked. She began to feel more and more that she had made a mistake to hop into the car with Chad and Roger. Once again, if they really were crazy, she would never hear the end of it from her parents.
“Do you have a familiar?” Chad asked.
Of all the things he could have possibly said, that was the last thing Jessica had expected. “What?” she responded, dumbfounded. She turned her gaze slowly to Grace and put two and two together. “Hold on…”
For a brief moment, she locked eyes with her grandmother, who was trembling. Jessica’s heart leaped to her throat. For a moment, she thought something was wrong. But when she took a closer look, she realized that the old lady was simply shaking from trying to hold in her laughter.
Unable to keep it together any longer, Grandma Ethel gusted a loud and hearty laugh and bent over to slap her thigh. “Oh, Gracie girl, she’s figured you out,” she exclaimed to the cat.
Jessica blinked, stupefied. “Are you guys kidding me right now? Do you honestly mean to tell me that Grace is a…is a witch’s familiar?”
“Yep,” Grandma Ethel said. “I would have told you sooner, but I thought you’d been through enough for the day. I didn’t want to overwhelm you any further, but I guess the cat’s out the bag now.” She turned her gaze to Chad. “Now—let that be the end of it for today before you give my poor granddaughter here a heart attack.”
“No,” Jessica objected. “I want to know more! I’ve always heard the term, but I’ve never known exactly what it is. So tell me—what is a familiar?”
“It’s basically a spirit anim
al,” Chad explained. “They have human-level intelligence despite looking like other species and help witches, much like a personal assistant. The fact is that they can be extremely helpful since humans never really know what they really are. They make the perfect spies.”
Grandma Ethel nodded. “Right. And I have all these other cats to help hide Grace’s identity even further. She’s able to blend right in and nobody is any the wiser. Unless, of course, she reveals herself to you.”
“I don’t have one yet,” Chad lamented. Seeing the way Jessica looked at him, he added, “I haven’t taken the class for one. I can’t say I’m much of a pet person anyway.”
Grace hissed.
“I’m sorry,” He apologized quickly. “I know you’re much more than a pet.” He bowed again. “We really need to go now. So again, good night to you all, and see you tomorrow.”
With a wink, he and Roger made their exit.
Chapter Seven
“Rise and shine, lazy bones! Up you get!”
Jessica’s eyes flew open and she froze, startled to hear a voice she didn’t recognize yelling at her to wake up. Blinking rapidly, she let her eyes adjust to her grandmother’s guest room. The room was still dark thanks to the heavy curtains. A thin strip of light emanated from the cracked doorway. She looked and caught a quick glimpse of a long, bushy tail curl around the corner.
The thought of that shoved her sleepiness aside and she pushed up and sat there for a moment, dumbfounded. Before she could wrap her mind around the possibility that a cat had actually spoken to her, Grandma Ethel yelled from outside her door. “Get up, girl! We have an important day ahead of us, you know.”
Jessica climbed out of bed and padded into the hallway. “Have you heard from my parents?” she asked tentatively.
Her grandmother nodded. “I did, actually. You might have to answer their calls and texts one day soon, just so you know.”
“How mad are they?”
“Foaming at the mouth, probably.”
