by JournalStone
The cat jumped beside her and rubbed her soft fur against Julia's arm.
“Thanks.” Julia stroked her companion behind the ear. She placed her left hand over the infinity symbol on the book cover and the pages came to life as it searched for something about the Sinti Tribe. Once again, her body lit up with pulsating energy. Lulu rubbed her head closer to Julia's warm skin.
The pages fluttered with each turn and came to a sudden stop. She lifted the book so she could see the picture, an illustration of a Sinti gypsy tribe member casting a spell on a person who had wronged her. According to the text, Sinti were known to use their enemy's weaknesses against them.
Julia narrowed her eyes. What did Trich's associate's hair have to do with his weakness?
As she contemplated the question, Lulu jerked her head up. She scurried off the couch and vanished into the kitchen. Julia lifted her head as well, listening for what had scared her cat. A large shadow passed outside her first-story window. She hurried to her front closet and grabbed the metal baseball bat her father had given her as a housewarming gift when she had moved out on her own. With the handle in her firm grasp, she opened the door, seconds away from swinging.
“Whoa!” Sam raised his arms to shield himself. “It's me Jules!”
Her heart pounded beneath her chest as she lowered her weapon. “What are you doing here?”
“You didn't call, so I got worried.” his brows knitted. “What happened with Trich?”
She bit down on her bottom lip to stop it from shaking. She couldn't let her emotions take over again.
“You were right,” she said, turning back into her apartment. “He wants to use me for something,” she put the bat back in the closet.
Sam followed her in, closing the door behind him. “Like what?”
She showed him her book, the page still open on the picture of the Sinti woman cursing her enemy.
“He wants me to find a reversal spell on a gypsy curse,” she said. “One that makes your hair fall out,” she filled him in on Emilie Balanescu and her ninety-minute time limit as well.
Sam rubbed the back of his neck. “Jules, we can't do this alone.”
“I know,” she set the book back on the table and the pages turned at a rapid speed before settling on a spell.
Sam widened his eyes. “To conjure a spirit? What are you thinking?”
“The only person who can break this spell is Emilie Balanescu and she's dead.”
“Fuck Jules, I watched you do a retrieval spell and go meet a demon but I'm not going to let you do this,” he grabbed her book.
Julia gasped. “Sam, don't!”
His face tightened as the book emitted a blue light. Soon, the light flooded his body and the book's warding spell attacked him like a taser. He collapsed to the ground, shaking with each violent shock.
She yanked her book from his grasp. Back in its owner's possession, the blue light dissipated but the damage had already been done. She put her hands on Sam's chest to hold him down with each convulsion. Why would Sam do this to himself? Every librarian knew each book came with a protective warding spell.
“Sam?” It took all her strength to keep his strong frame from leaping off the floor. “Please, stop....”
He pursed his lips together. “Sp—spell-”
Julia shook her head. “What spell?”
Sam shut his eyes and he began to chant at a feverish pace. She leaned in and heard bits and pieces of Romani. She pulled back, her mouth open and eyes wide. He had taken her book in order to bond with the conjuring spell so he could perform it himself. He shuddered under her hands for another moment. Then, his body went still.
“Sam?” she held in her breath and pressed her knuckles against his hot forehead. “Can you hear me?”
His eyes fluttered open.
She finally exhaled and wrapped her arms around him. He lifted one arm to return the embrace. She pressed her face against his stubbly cheek, breathing in the salty scent of sweat and the faint smell of his woodsy cologne. When she lifted her head, Sam’s soft gray eyes stared at her. Another surge of energy filled the space between them but it wasn't from either library book.
Sam's gaze drifted behind her. “Look.”
She sat up and turned. A heavy-set woman wearing a long flowered dress and an apron stood in her living room. Her dark hair was pulled back in a loose bun and her brown eyes moved from Julia to Sam.
Julia stood to meet Emilie Balanescu. The air around the woman smelled like frosting and cinnamon.
“Emilie, my name is Julia McKinley,” she said.
The other woman tilted her head.
“I need your help,” she took another careful step toward the spirit. “A demon has taken my father. A demon named Trich-”
Emilie snarled. “Monster!”
Julia jumped back. “Yes, he's a monster, and I'm sorry for what happened to you but I need to know what kind of curse you put on Trich's associate. My father's life depends on it.”
My life depends on it, she added in her thoughts.
“You wish to help the demon?” Emilie said.
“No, I wish to save my father.”
Emilie looked her over and held out her closed fist. “Then let me show you what happened,” she opened her hand to reveal a pile of gray ash. “Give me your hand.”
Julia glanced at Sam, now propped up on his elbows. He gave her a quick nod. She turned back to Emilie and offered the woman her open palm. Emilie poured the ash into Julia's hand. It was still warm.
“Close your eyes and open your mind,” Emilie said, enclosing the ash in Julia’s hand.
Julia followed the instructions as Emilie began to speak in Romani. Soon, the words faded into English.
“Listen to me, gypsy!” Trich's angry voice broke through the darkness. “I will make your life a living hell if you don't give me the money you owe me.”
An image played behind her closed eyes. She saw Trich, his fedora and his black-red eyes. He stood with Emilie in a large kitchen. Julia caught the familiar scent of cinnamon and sugar.
Trich grabbed Emile's arm. “Don't you remember who made this all possible? I can take it away just like that,” he snapped his finger and a burst of fire appeared between his thumb and middle finger.
Emilie responded by spitting at Trich's sneer. She swore at him in her native language.
Trich removed a white handkerchief from the breast pocket of his suit jacket and wiped the saliva from his chin. “So, this is how you choose to repay me.”
Julia watched the scene enfold like a horror movie; her stomach turned, even though she already knew the ending.
Trich wrapped his hands around Emilie's neck. She gasped and flailed, knocking the fedora from his head to reveal the uneven blond patches of hair. She grabbed a handful and pulled. He groaned and slapped her. “You bitch!”
With a bloody lip, Emilie raised the strands in her hand and started to chant in Romani. She grinned with each word.
“You won't be smiling for long.” Trich flicked his wrist and the bottom of Emilie's dress caught fire.
Emilie clung to Trich's hair and lifted it over her head as the fire consumed her.
Everything around Julia burned.
She forced her eyes open, thankful to leave that horrible image. Shaking, she stared at Emilie's somber spirit. “I'm so sorry.” The words came out in a hollow whisper.
“Now you know the truth,” Emilie said.
She stepped to the side so she could see both Emilie and Sam. “Trich was the one who killed Emilie and set fire to her store.”
Sam winced as he sat up, shaking his head. “That bastard.”
Emilie pointed to Julia's hand. “Look inside.”
She uncoiled her fist clutching the ash and gently picked out a blond lock of hair. She held it up into the light. It was such a small thing but it was the key to saving her father.
“I will help you Julia,” Emilie said. “But you must also help me find vengeance,” she glided acr
oss the floor until she stood inches from her and raised her hand, palm open. “I will give you all the power you need to stop Trich, so he will never harm another human or También again.”
“You want to use me as a vessel,” Julia said.
To bond with another form of magic was forbidden. If that happened, her connection with her book would be broken. She would no longer be a librarian.
“Jules.” Sam's weak voice spoke up. “Think about it. Think about what you would be losing.”
She looked at her book, flung to the floor after the warding spell attacked Sam. The infinity symbol called to her. Forever. Her bond was supposed to be forever.
So was her bond with her father. That was what she didn't want to lose.
Julia lifted her hand to meet Emilie's. Once their palms connected, Emilie stepped forward, dissolving into her. A rush of warm air coated her from the inside out. Her vision blurred like she was underwater. Her ears popped and her stomach lurched. She had to blink several times before her vision cleared. When it did, Sam was on his feet, one hand on the back of the couch to keep him steady, the other raised in case something had gone wrong.
“Sam.” It was her voice, but the name rolled heavy off her tongue.
You trust him. It wasn't a question from Emilie, more like an observation.
I do, she answered.
Julia held out her hand for Sam. He hesitated, but then grabbed it. Relief broke out on his face when he realized she was still with him. “Jules,” he pulled her into a tight hold. She buried her face into his chest, comforted with his presence. Then, she turned her head to check her wall clock. 11:30. Sam tensed too, when he followed her gaze.
She held up the lock of hair again. It was time to meet Trich.
* * *
Without the ability to use her book, Julia could only depend on the dead gypsy woman inhabiting her body and an injured librarian, as she met Trich at Stockland Beach. Standing in the empty parking lot in front of her Honda, Julia listened to the ocean waves roar as they tumbled to shore. She took a deep breath of fresh air, her lungs expanded and exhaled with a grateful sigh. For some reason she couldn't explain, she felt centered and at peace. Perhaps this was Emilie's spirit, knowing she would soon be able to confront the monster who killed her or the fact this would be over soon and Julia would be with her father.
Sam joined her at the hood of her car. He didn't say anything as he interlaced their fingers.
She kept her gaze straight ahead to the dark beach. “Whatever happens Sam, just—just let it happen.”
He responded with silence.
A pair of headlights washed over them and a red convertible pulled up in front of her Honda. The driver—one of the guards with bullhorns on the sides of his head—stepped out and shot them a menacing look. From the backseat, Trich exited with another guard, this one holding her father. Her eyes narrowed when she saw her father’s bruised face.
“Julia,” his voice sounded raspy, as though he needed a glass of water.
She started toward him but Trich held up his hand.
“Not so fast,” he glared at Sam. “Who are you?”
“I'm here to make sure you sons of bitches don't do anything stupid,” Sam said.
Trich raised a brow, as he looked him over. Sam's size must have intimated him enough, since he stepped back. He returned his attention to Julia. “Show me what you got.”
She felt Emilie stir inside her. “No problem.”
Romani flowed from her lips. They moved at such a fast pace Julia couldn't decipher the words. She could only feel the charged emotion behind each syllable. Her head jerked up to the night sky as Emilie's power strengthened inside her. Energy coursed through every single pore, like rivers made of boiling water. The streams collided into a pool in the pit of her stomach. She removed the plastic baggie from her pocket that held the lock of Trich's hair and raised both arms over her head. Her voice grew louder.
A strong breeze knocked Trich's fedora off his head, revealing a pale, bald scalp.
“Jules.” Sam's voice broke through the spell and blowing wind.
She wanted to call out to him and tell him she was fine but Emilie was in charge. The gypsy continued chanting, harnessing power into her hands until her chest ballooned. With one more shout, she lowered her arms and the wind died down. She opened her palm and the lock of hair was gone.
Trich touched his head, now thick with blond hair. “Excellent work Julia. My associate is very pleased.” A grin broke out on his pale face. “Oh fuck it. I killed that gypsy and now I get to kill your daddy.”
Julia's entire body went numb. The guard holding her father poured a bottle of whiskey over her father's head.
Trich snapped his finger and a small ball of fire formed over his index finger. One spark would set her father on fire in an instant.
“You see Baby Girl, I gave you my word I would return your dad but I never said he would be alive,” he flicked the fiery ball toward her father's alcohol-soaked body.
“No!” she lifted her arm and an electric current surged from her chest to her fingertips. The ball of fire froze mid-air.
Trich's eyes bulged. “What the-”
Even she was surprised but Emilie knew what to do next. She slammed the ball of fire into the driver. His flailing body fell to its knees and quickly turned into a burning sack of bull.
“Shoot him!” Trich wailed to the guard holding her father.
The guard pulled a handgun from under his blazer. Sam charged forward, pushing him away and slamming the demon against the convertible. They wrestled for control of the gun.
Another whirlwind started beneath Julia’s skin and a new string of Romani words flowed from her lips. With each one more blond hair sprouted from Trich. The hair on his head grew past his shoulders and down his back. Hair streamed out of his nostrils. His knuckles sprouted blond locks; hair appeared from under his nails.
Julia glared into his now hairy face. “So, this is how you chose to repay me.”
Trich sneered as his own words were thrown back at him. “You bitch!” She wasn't sure if he was addressing her or Emilie but it didn't matter. He gagged on a very large hairball and soon, hair spilled out from his ears and his eyes.
“Prender fuego,” Julia said under her breath.
To catch fire.
She repeated the Spanish spell with no help from Emilie. This was the spell she had been saving for Trich. She had to fight fire with fire.
The edges of his pants burst into flames. He stomped his feet on the hard pavement and pulled at his hair but with each strand he removed, ten grew back. His muffled howls echoed in the parking lot as the fire engulfed him.
“Julia!” her father called out to her. He and Sam pinned the last guard against the convertible but the demon overpowered them both, tossing them aside. He picked up the gun from the ground, aiming it at her father.
“Cucaracha explosión,” she cried out.
Before he could pull the trigger, a hacking cough overcame him. He doubled-over and something black scurried from his mouth. Then another and another. Cockroaches scrambled across the cement. On his hands and knees, the demon's back arched and he fell over as lines of cockroaches poured from his gaping mouth.
Her father ran past Trich's charred body and into her arms. He pushed his hands through her hair. “Oh Baby Girl....”
Exhausted, she closed her eyes and let her father hold her.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
She nodded, blinking back the tears.
Her father cupped her face. “How did you do all that?”
She smiled at Sam. “I had a little help,” she stepped away and a burning sensation formed in the middle of her chest as Emilie's spirit separated from her body.
“Thank you,” the woman said. She headed toward the ocean and her image faded into the dark horizon.
Julia put her hand over her heart. Emilie had left behind one thing: that feeling of being centered and at peace.
&
nbsp; * * *
Three weeks passed.
Julia was on her way to her father's place for dinner after work. She worked as a fourth grade teacher's aide now. She was still putting her knowledge to use answering questions from curious human and También children. Why does Amy only have five fingers? Why doesn’t Nathan have a belly button?
After the library board found out what had happened to her book she was almost put on trial for breaking her bond but Sam's testimony saved her. Instead of being punished with jail time or a large fine, her book was burned. In her opinion, that punishment was worse. Sam didn't get off easy either. He was dismissed from the library for helping her but he still could use his book in his new consulting job with the Stockland Police Department.
A lot had changed over the past weeks but as she approached her father’s door, she heard the familiar chatter from CNN coming through the open window. She took out her keys to find the copy to her father's house and smiled at the photograph dangling from the heart-shaped keychain. It was the picture of her young parents, which used to hang from her refrigerator. Now the L.A. Lakers magnet held up a photo of Lulu, which seemed to please the cat, since she purred at herself whenever she passed the fridge.
“Hey, Dad,” she entered the house to find her father in his recliner in front of the television.
On the screen, Anderson Cooper was reporting on the latest scandal. Gideon Salazar, the También's beloved leader, had been caught tweeting shirtless pictures of himself to women who were not his wife. It was only a few months before that Salazar had been going off on human politicians for their infidelities.
“Look at this,” her father gestured to the news. “I told you he was a phony.”
Julia rested on the recliner's arm and leaned down to kiss his cheek. “I guess the more things change, the more they stay the same.”
He patted her knee. “Not everything Baby Girl.”
She smiled in return, just as a knock came from the door. She stood to answer it, narrowing her eyes at her father.
He gave her an innocent hug. “Must be dinner.”
When she opened the door, she put a hand on her hip and cocked her head. “What are you doing here Sam?”
