Luck of the Witch (Crypt Witch Cozy Mystery Series Book 1)
Page 22
The demon capturing fell to me if it happened outside of Willow Tree Falls. The rest of my family spent their time guarding the prison and kicking any demon butt that decided to sneak out.
“You’re a pretty witch,” Raksh said. “I’d like to wrap my claws into your long hair and take a bite of that creamy skin.”
“If you’re hungry, there’s a pizza parlor a block away.”
“I prefer my food alive when I eat it.” His forked tongue flickered across his teeth.
I shrugged. I’d met worse demons. I lived every day with a worse demon inside of me. Raksh could issue all the threats he wanted, but this demon was going in my bag. There was no way I’d miss the mid-summer celebrations because of this rule breaker. The celebrations meant lots of home-baked goodies and partying, and I was always down for some of that.
Plus, my own business, Cloven Hoof, was hosting a stall and selling pick me ups and tonics to give everyone a little extra buzz. My bar manager, Merrie, would cover the stall, but when Willow Tree Falls was full of celebrating locals and non-magicals, she’d need all the help she could get. I promised her I’d be back in time.
Raksh twisted his neck unnaturally. “How about we play a game?”
“I don’t have time for games.”
“How about I guess the real name of your demon?”
My breath hitched. No one knew Frank’s real name. To know a demon’s true name was to have power over him. It didn’t mean you could completely control the demon, but it gave you leverage and weakened them. I’d deliberately chosen the name Frank for my unwanted guest because it sounded like such a harmless name, and I knew it annoyed him.
“I see I have your attention.” Raksh tapped his claws on the brick wall.
“You can’t know who he is,” I said. “Nobody does.”
“Some do. Your demon does.”
“He’s not going to tell me, and I doubt the two of you ran in the same circles when he was free.”
Raksh shrugged. “If you’re not interested—”
“I didn’t say that. What do you know?”
His sharp-toothed smile grew. “Lower your bag, take me for a pizza, and we’ll talk.”
This was a con. It had to be. Still, I was tempted. If I knew Frank’s real name, it would make my life so much easier. I’d be able to spend more time in Willow Tree Falls with my family. As much as they annoyed me at times, I still loved them. It hurt to have to leave in order to keep them, and Aurora in particular, safe.
“I’ll buy you one slice, and you tell me everything you know about Frank.”
“I want a family-sized stuffed crust with twelve toppings. And I want dessert.”
“Two slices.”
“A medium Margherita with a stuffed crust.”
“A small Margherita and no dessert.”
Raksh scowled at me. “Very well.”
The door behind me opened again. Two guys stepped out with cigarettes in their mouths.
The demon lunged at them, screaming in an ear splittingly high range as he did so.
“Oh, balls!” I threw myself in front of the two men. Raksh would try to injure the non-magicals in the hope he could slip away in the chaos.
“What the...” One of the men jumped backward, and his cigarette landed on the ground.
Demons could reveal themselves to non-magicals, but they usually only saw a blur of movement when a demon was around.
“There’s nothing to see here,” I yelled. “Get back inside.” I took the full force of Raksh’s charge and stumbled into the non-magicals as his energy slammed into me.
Raksh bounced away, his laugh echoing off the walls.
I felt hands on my shoulders and quickly shrugged them off. “Get inside. It’s not safe out here.”
“Are you a cop?” one of the non-magicals asked as he scanned the alley with wide eyes. “Is something going down out here? Bruce said there was some junkie hanging around in the alley and to be careful when we came out for a smoke.”
“Bruce would be right. I’m much worse than the cops.” I blasted a throwback spell into Raksh’s chest as he dove at me, giving me a few seconds before he launched himself at the non-magicals again.
“What did you just do?” The taller of the two non-magicals stared at me with his mouth open.
“Nothing. It was a camera flash. I’m collecting evidence of the junkie. Now, get inside.” I gestured at the door. Why weren’t they getting the hint? They’d be dead if they didn’t get their butts out of this alley.
“Are you sure we can’t give you a hand? You look kind of small to handle some doped-up loser.”
“I can handle plenty more than that. Let me help you find the door.” I grabbed hold of them by the collars of their work shirts and threw them through the doorway, slamming it behind them and sealing it with a spell.
As I turned back to face Raksh, he threw himself at me. There was no time to open the bag as his claws flashed in front of my eyes.
I took a breath, steeled myself for what was about to happen, and swallowed him. He struggled and spat curses at me. He also exuded a sour tasting green goo that had me using all my willpower so as not to spit him out.
Tears ran down my cheeks as the hot acid sensation of a demon sliding down my throat tore through me. It was never my preferred method of capturing a demon. The bag was so much kinder on my stomach. This was a rare gift of mine, if you can call it a gift, being able to contain a demon inside me.
A loud belch shot out of my lips. That was another side effect of hosting demons. I almost lost my grip on Raksh. It didn’t help that Frank was already inside me and occupying so much space. He did not like to share his living accommodation with anyone.
“Stay down,” I muttered as I gripped my stomach and leaned against the wall, feeling the demon’s power trickle through my body, the hot energy heating me from head to toe.
After several minutes of deep breathing, I had Raksh under my control and a gross coating of green demon goo all over my favorite black shirt and sliding down my chin.
“There she is,” came a shout from the end of the alleyway.
I looked up to see two cops staring at me. The guys I’d shoved through the door stood next to them.
“She’s the junkie who attacked us.”
“Thanks for nothing, guys. Next time, I’ll let the demon play with you.” I pushed myself away from the wall. It was time to leave. I’d gotten what I needed, but this had been a messy search and retrieval operation. Whenever possible, we didn’t use magic around non-magicals. It left them confused and reporting they’d seen some alien or a ghost to a tabloid paper.
I was out of options and trapped in an alleyway with two cautious looking cops heading my way, their hands too close to their guns for my liking. I also had two restless demons on board. I had about two hours before I lost control of them both. I had to get back to Willow Tree Falls and release Raksh. I needed to use magic again.
I focused my energy on a transportation spell. This was taxing magic, so I needed to concentrate.
“Miss, what are you doing in this alleyway?”
I ignored the cop and imagined stepping through a door and finding myself on the main street in Willow Tree Falls, seeing the pastel pink sign of Sprinkles bakery and Wiggles racing toward me with his tongue hanging out.
“Miss, place your hands where we can see them and walk toward us.”
I shook my head, closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and stepped forward.
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