by Cassandra
She grabbed her keys and purse. “All right. Let’s go, girls,” she sang and tried to keep her voice lighthearted.
Chapter Twenty-Three
When the demon hunters returned to the truck, they sat in silence for a while. Jessica realized that she suddenly felt more unsettled than before. While she had been in quite a fair amount of denial about Debbie, Patricia, and Marie being behind the demon attacks, she now realized how much simpler everything would have been if it really had been them. Not knowing who was behind the madness made it more frightening.
Evil lurked in her hometown, and no one knew why. That was a hard pill to swallow.
“What now?” she asked from the back seat. She stared at the dark red stain that was left in the seat cushions beside her where Andy had lain bleeding not long ago.
“I’ll take you home.” Pastor Norman sighed wearily. “Then go check on Andy.”
She started to say that she wanted to go with him to check on the other man, but suddenly, all her energy seemed depleted. Simply talking felt like too much. She leaned her head back against the seat and closed her eyes for a moment.
Home. The thought of it made her remember how her day was supposed to have gone.
Had it been only that morning that she’d been on her way to Saturday detention to retake her history test? It felt like eons ago. Nevertheless, she knew the reality of it all would come crashing down on her once she set foot in her house. The school had no doubt called home to inform her parents that she had skipped her detention.
She sighed. Mundane life now felt like such a trivial annoyance. How was she still supposed to care about school and detention and history tests when a maniac lurked somewhere in town and unleashed demons on people?
Better yet, what would she tell her parents? She didn’t think she would be able to keep them from locking her in her room indefinitely, or at least forbidding her from going out again until she was thirty-five.
Jessica cleared her throat. Beneath her fear, there was still a healthy dose of curiosity. She looked at the backs of Father Norman’s and Chad’s heads. “Do demons always have to be conjured?” she asked. “Or can they come out on their own? I mean—how do you know someone around town is conjuring them? What if… I don’t know… What if they managed to get here on their own? Like…” Her voice trailed off. She had come very close to saying “like the apocalypse is coming,” but it sounded too dramatic. And scary.
“I don’t know what to think anymore,” Chad admitted from the passenger’s seat. There was a defeated note to his voice that Jessica didn’t like and it left her feeling sorry that she had asked the question at all. It was never a good sign when a trained demon-hunter—one who was responsible for mentoring others, no less—didn’t know what was going on.
“These are strange times,” Pastor Norman grumbled, his voice grim.
Jessica suppressed a shudder. She’d been unnerved to hear Chad sound clueless. That feeling paled in comparison to how she felt when a sixty-something-year-old pastor spoke in such a manner.
The older man’s eyes glanced at Jessica through the rearview mirror. “I don’t want to lie to you, Jessica, so I’ll be frank. I’m genuinely worried about these demons. To find one here or there is one thing. But this? It’s too much. Something unusual is going on. They usually aren’t this active, at least not here in the United States. I was used to this kind of thing in the UK and had tired of it long ago. That’s why I came over here.” He paused and shook his head. “Never in a million years did I think things would wind up being as bad over here. So much for my refuge.”
She leaned back against the seat again, more than sorry she had asked. A dull throb had set in at her forehead—an oncoming headache, due to all the excitement. “The UK?” she murmured. “I always thought you had an accent, Pastor.”
He glanced briefly into the rearview mirror and favored her with a slight smile.
It took Jessica a moment to realize that the truck had stopped moving and that it was parked outside her house. She must have nodded off, more exhausted than she realized.
With a heavy sigh, she shook herself awake and tried to mentally prepare herself to face her parents.
“Maybe you guys should come with me,” she offered, half-jokingly. “I might need some help to explain to my parents why I never made it to my Saturday detention.”
Neither man gave any response.
It wasn’t until then that Jessica realized something was wrong. Her stomach knotted when she noticed the expressions on their faces. She could see Chad’s worried expression reflected through the glass of the passenger’s side window. Pastor Norman was leaning over his passenger, his head slightly raised so that he could peer out of the same window.
They both stared at her house.
Slowly, she turned to look out of her own window. She wasn’t sure what she expected to see, but fear gripped her stomach, nonetheless.
At first glance, everything looked as it always had. But the longer she stared at it, the more something began to stir within her. Something was wrong. She was reasonably certain that an unusual shadow covered the house.
Her heart pounded. “My parents. Are my parents okay?” She already felt close to hyperventilating.
“Yes,” Pastor Norman answered quickly. He twisted in his seat to look at her. “Your parents are fine, I promise you.”
Her nerves began to subside, but barely. “What’s wrong then? Something doesn’t feel right.”
Chad looked at her. “It reeks of demons,” he said quietly. “Some have been here. They didn’t reach your house, thank goodness.” He turned to look out the window again. “But they’ve definitely been near.”
Jessica buried her head in her hands. “Are they looking for me?”
Once again, neither man responded.
“You two stay here,” Pastor Norman eventually ordered. “I’ll go inside for a moment and talk to your parents.”
“No, I need to go,” Jessica blurted and leaned forward.
He looked at her.
“No offense, Pastor, but these are my parents. This is a battle I need to face. I can’t let you fight it for me, no matter how much I want you to.”
“That’s fine. But I still need to have a word with them,” he demanded.
Chad undid his seatbelt. “We’ll all go then. Just like you said, Jess.”
The three of them left the truck and walked up the front porch. Jessica fished her keys out of her backpack and opened the door. As she stepped inside, she shuddered. She could feel it—that unusual, almost imperceptible shadow that hung over her house. Once inside, she couldn’t see it, but she could still sense it.
“Mom? Dad?” she called. She nearly panicked when she didn’t see them right away. A moment later, her mother appeared and came down the stairs. Seconds later, her father came out of the kitchen.
Both of them wore looks of exasperation before they noticed Pastor Norman. At the sight of him, their expressions turned into masks of surprise and then concern.
“Pastor Norman,” Mark greeted him and walked over with his hand outstretched.
The pastor accepted his handshake. “Hello, Mark.” He looked at the stairway. “Theresa.”
“Pastor Norman.” Theresa walked to stand beside her husband. “Do you mean to tell us that these two have been with you all day? When the school called and reported that they hadn’t shown up for their Saturday detention, we were worried. I called my mother, and she didn’t know where they were. And Jessica, you didn’t answer your phone—”
“I know. I’m sorry, Mom. It’s been a hectic day.”
“Your daughter and Chad offered to assist me for the day,” Pastor Norman began, and his words seemed purposely evasive. He glanced at Mark. “I have a feeling that you won’t want to be troubled with the details, but I will tell you this—it’s dangerous out there.” He gave Theresa a pointed stare. “Certain precautions need to be taken to keep your daughter safe.”
“Anything.
” She spoke without hesitation and turned concerned eyes to Jessica.
She, in turn, wondered where Pastor Norman was going with this.
“This house still hasn’t been magically protected,” he continued.
“I know,” her mother admitted with a hint of shame in her voice. “It’s just—nothing ever happened before. I didn’t think we needed it. We’ve lived normal mundane lives. I don’t understand why, all of a sudden, all this…this stuff has happened.”
Mark shifted uncomfortably. Jessica suspected her father wanted to bolt from the room rather than have this discussion.
Why was he so uptight when it came to magic? One day, when things weren’t so hectic, Jessica planned to work up the nerve to ask him.
“None of us really understand why things have gotten so bad all of a sudden,” conceded the pastor. “Regardless, I think it’s best to take the necessary precautions while we get to the bottom of things.”
“What do you suggest?” Theresa asked. “We can have protective charms put over the house. I’m sure my mother would be able to work something out.”
Pastor Norman nodded. “I’m glad you mentioned your mother. I thought it would be best for Jessica to move in with her for a while.”
“Ethel is a little old to deal with a teenager,” Mark protested.
“She is one of the best witches around. There is no safer place for Jessica to be during a time like this. I promise you, Ethel is more than capable of keeping Jessica safe. I don’t mean to startle you, but demons have been outside your home recently.”
Theresa gasped and grew pale. She stumbled until her back was pressed against the wall behind her. “They’ve been…here?”
“Not long ago, from the looks of it,” added Chad. “Or from the smell of it, rather.”
“But why?” Theresa’s gaze flitted back and forth between the two.
Chad glanced at Pastor Norman. “Do you want to know my theory?”
The older man raised an eyebrow. “What’s that?”
“Maybe the demons feel a little threatened by Jessica and her strength.”
“But I don’t have any strength!” she objected. “It makes no sense for them to be threatened by me!”
He sighed. “The sooner you’re willing to accept that you’re special, the better off you’ll be.”
A long silence filled the room.
“If…if it is safest for her to be with Ethel, then…” Mark’s voice was stiff but he gave a curt nod. “So be it.”
Reluctantly, Theresa nodded, too. “All right, then. But what about this house? What should we do?”
“I’ll talk to the coven to see what we can do,” Pastor Norman offered. “But for now…” He paused and looked at Jessica. “How about you pack up? I’ll take you to your grandmother’s house once you have what you need.”
She nodded. “Okay. I’ll only be a second.”
“I’ll get you a suitcase,” Theresa called and dashed to a closet.
Jessica ran up the stairs and headed to her room, her mind racing. She still felt shaken to her core. Demons had been near her home. Every time she thought about it, she couldn’t shake the feeling that they targeted her in particular for some reason. But she refused to accept that it was because she was somehow special. She didn’t see herself as a threat.
“These damned demons are clearly mistaken.” She spoke out loud, opened her dresser, and began pulling clothes out to take with her.
“Here you go, sweetie.”
She turned to see her mother drag a suitcase into her room. “Thanks, Mom.”
Theresa nodded, her mouth drawn into a tight line—a sign that she tried to put on her brave face. She cleared her throat. “You’ll be fine, you know that? Your grandmother will take care of everything. Pastor Norman is right. It’s the safest place for you until we figure out how to get this house protected.”
Jessica paused her packing. “You and Dad—you’ll be careful, right?”
“Of course, sweetheart.” Theresa cupped her daughter’s face in her hands. “I promise, you won’t have to worry about us.” She smirked. “Don’t forget, your grandmother raised me too, you know.” With that, she winked and headed out of the room.
Pastor Norman parked his truck outside Ethel’s house. Jessica stared at it from the passenger side window. Chad wasn’t with them. When they’d left her parents’ house, he had said he would catch up with them after he met up with Roger.
“I’m going to go chat with Roger for a second to see if he’s found any useful information from the lead he’s following. Maybe he might know something about who’s conjuring these demons.”
With a sigh, Jessica opened the passenger’s side door. She turned to the pastor. “You’ll let me know how Andy is doing, right?”
“Of course,” he promised. “Come on. Let’s fill your grandmother in on what’s going on.”
She nodded and got out of the truck. He helped her with her bags and together, they headed up to Ethel’s porch, careful not to step on any cats along the way.
“Back so soon…” A voice drifted toward Jessica.
She turned her head as Grace trotted across the lawn and stared at her with her head tilted to the side.
“Get used to it. I’m here to stay for a while.”
“The more, the merrier,” Grace retorted. She lay down near the front gate to enjoy the evening breeze.
“It’s Grace,” Jessica explained when she realized her companion was looking at her. “The cat. She’s my grandmother’s familiar.”
Pastor Norman nodded. “I figured that may have been the case.”
He turned and pressed the doorbell. Soon, the front door opened and Ethel peered at them, holding one of her cats.
“Why Pastor Norman!” she exclaimed and practically tossed the cat aside. “Do come in!”
She pushed the door wide open, smiled broadly, and ran a hand over the long braid hanging down her back.
“Good evening, Ms. Ethel.” He smiled at her, nodded his head, and dragged a couple of Jessica’s bags along with him.
“Why, Pastor, will this be a long visit?” Ethel asked, her eyebrows raised.
“Yes, but not for me,” he replied.
“Hi to you too, Grandma,” Jessica muttered, a little perturbed that her grandmother had practically ignored her.
“What is it, Jess?” Ethel blurted and immediately toned down her flirtatious gaze at Pastor Norman.
“Um, Grandma… Is it okay if I stay with you for a while? My house…” Her voice trailed off. She shuddered again at the thought of demons lurking around her home.
“Demons, Ethel,” the pastor finished for her. “We have reason to believe demons were around her home. Considering the recent encounters she’s had with them, it’s probably best that she stay with you for a while. Is that all right?”
“Of course it is!” Grandma Ethel turned to Jessica. “Why didn’t you say so? Honestly, I knew you should have stayed with me all along. Your mother is so hell-bent on pretending to be mundane these days.” She shook her head and sighed. “Here, let me get those.” With a complicated wave of her hands, Ethel sent Jessica’s bags hurtling through the house to settle into the guest room.
“Thanks, Grandma.”
The old lady placed her hands on her hips. “Pastor, I hope you’ll get to the bottom of this.”
“I’m trying, Ms. Ethel. We all are. Demons injured a young friend of mine today. The coven is tending to him now and—” He stopped abruptly when his phone buzzed in his pocket. He read a text quickly. “That’s Chad. He says he’s around the corner. Hopefully, he has some good news for us.”
“Oh, I wish you all would have let me know I’d have a full house again so soon. I would have actually bought some more groceries. I guess my other methods will have to do!” Ethel winked at Jessica.
“Grandma…” She sighed, slightly embarrassed because she had a feeling her grandmother was about to steal a meal to impress the pastor. That seemed utterly
inappropriate.
“Yes?” Grandma Ethel called from the kitchen. She could be heard tinkering about. Pots and pans began to clang.
Jessica sighed and looked at the pastor, who stared at messages on his phone. “Never mind,” she called to her grandmother. She made her way over to the couch and flopped down with no idea what to do with herself. It had been such a long and confusing day. She almost felt like she simply wanted to crawl into bed, go to sleep, and hope the following day would turn out somewhat normal.
“Make yourself at home, Pastor Norman,” Grandma Ethel called from the kitchen.
“That’s quite all right, Ms. Ethel,” he called back, returned his phone to his pocket, and shifted on his feet as a couple of cats curled around his ankles. “I won’t stay long. I wanted to make sure Jessica was settled in and I need to get back to the coven. Chad should be here any second now.”
And right on cue, there was a knock on the door. Chad had arrived.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Ethel emerged from the kitchen with steaming pots and pans floating behind her as the pastor went to answer the door. Moments later, Chad entered the house looking slightly upset.
“Hello, Ms. Ethel.” He nodded to her as the pots and pans arranged themselves on the dining room table.
“Hello yourself,” she responded. “Now tell us what we’re waiting to hear. What’s new?”
“Yeah. I thought you went to meet up with Roger? That was awfully quick.” Pastor Norman frowned slightly. “He’s all right, isn’t he?”
“Yes, he’s all right,” Chad confirmed. He looked as tired as Jessica felt. He collapsed beside her on the couch and immediately jumped back up due to the loud screech that sounded from the seat cushion. He swore as a cat scrambled from between two couch cushions.
“Lucy!” Grandma Ethel reprimanded. “What did I tell you about napping on that couch like that? You’ll give somebody a heart attack one of these days!”
