Eva
“We need to talk,” I say as Riley steps back in the house.
The kitchen goes quiet, and the mood shifts immediately. “Sounds like we’re going to need this,” Paige says and holds up the tequila bottle.
“Come sit, before I change my mind,” I tell them, still staring at Sorren’s glasses.
We sit down at the cluttered table, the grimoire staring right back at me.
“It all started the night of Mabon,” I begin. “That grimoire showed up out of the blue.” I point to the tome.
Their eyes flicker to the book before returning to me. I explain everything that led up to Sorren being conjured.
“You summoned the Prince of Hell?” My mom sounds terrified, she looks around the house like he’s going to pop out and attack.
“Technically, yes, but he’s actually pretty great.”
Paige and Riley’s eyebrows shoot up at my comment.
Shit. I thought I was being neutral enough to keep that little detail to myself for now.
“I mean, he’s not like what we thought demons would be, but it sounds like Hell isn’t either.
It’s like a corporate nightmare, not the fire and brimstone we’ve been imagining.
” It’s a lot to take in, so I keep some things to myself.
I don’t think they’re ready to hear about how it’s been a massive bang fest here the last few days.
“I feel like a hypocrite, I’ve been keeping this giant secret while being mad at you all for not telling us about the coven’s past.”
Paige reaches across the table and lays her hands on mine. “Eva, we never meant to deceive you.”
“I know that now.”
“So you sent him back to the underworld?” Mom asks, looking around the empty house.
“That’s the thing. I don’t think he is. He’s been working remotely from the shed, and it’s a disaster in there. Everything was knocked over and rifled through. I don’t think he left, I think he was taken.” I glance over my shoulder at his glasses, feeling something in my chest akin to heartbreak.
The three of them look between each other, no doubt trying to figure out if they agree with my assumption.
Riley breaks the silence. “We know that the Holloway coven knows about dark magick, it explains the fog and why they would want to keep us out. And Lena has been poking around the café. The break in totally had to be her. Maybe she found Sorren and decided to kidnap Eva’s demon.”
“Sorren? You know the demon’s name?” Paige turns toward Riley, picking up on that little detail.
“Oh yeah.” Riley laughs nervously. “I met him a few days ago. He’s cool.”
I grab her knee to stop her from talking. I don’t need to get into a discussion about the ethics of a witch dating a demon at the moment. We have more pressing matters to discuss.
“We can talk about that later, but I need to find Sorren. She could be cutting him up into tiny pieces as we speak.” A spike of fear stabs me in the chest. In this short period of time I have developed real feelings for the guy. Instalove is so inconvenient.
“Will you help me find him?” I plead, knowing full well they won’t say ‘no’ to me. Our family has always been there for each other.
Paige rolls her eyes. “Like you even need to ask.”
Riley claps and squeals. We all look at my mom and wait for her answer.
“Fine. Hand me this grimoire. But after we get him back, we are having a very serious discussion about your irresponsible magick.” Mom says, matter-of-factly. “Then we can talk about your new love.”
I groan, there is no way I’m avoiding that conversation.
“Where do we start?” Riley asks with enthusiasm.
“Where it all began.” Paige points at the tome.
I reach across the table, drag it to the middle, and tilt the spellbook so it’s standing upright on its spine. It drops open with a bang and the blank pages flit back and forth. I hold my breath, hoping the same summoning charm shows up.
The three of us watch in complete silence as the book settles on a page. The lettering appears slowly, just like before. It works through the languages again, and when the black cursive letters turn to English, I realize right away that it’s not the same spell as that first night.
“It’s not the summoning spell it gave me before.” I sit back and wait for the rest of the instructions to materialize.
“Whatever it is, it’s going to help you get your demon back,” my mom says.
My demon.
My mom divides up the preparation for the spell between the four of us.
Riley sits down at the table and starts working on the incantation. A perfect task for a word witch. She grabs a piece of paper, flips it over and starts scribbling away her thoughts and notes.
Paige sets up the ritual. She thoughtfully arranges sigils and draws precise interlocking circles.
Mom excuses herself to the backyard. She needs quiet for her artistic magick to speak to her. The medium will call to her, and whatever she creates will enhance the spell.
I work to control my breathing. I’m hurrying around gathering the ingredients for the potion. In my haste, I could make a mistake and make this whole situation worse. I’m grateful my family is here with me. Their calming presence and methodical magick practice is exactly what I need in this moment.
Everyone is so focused and calm in their mission while I feel untethered and insecure about what I bring to the circle. I hope that whatever I do will be enough. I think about the ingredients for the spell, hoping that maybe there is a clue about my archetype there.
Mom comes back carrying a thick piece of parchment and a handful of river rocks. She carefully balances them one on top of the other. The four of us create a circle around the perfectly arranged items.
Three candles form a triangle. “Red for seeking, gold for worthiness, white for truth,” Mom says, lighting each one as she speaks their meaning.
In the center of the triangle is a small bronze bowl filled with spring water and an abalone shell next to it. A thin line of white smoke rises from frankincense incense in the shell. She pours a thick line of salt in a wide circle, large enough for us all to stand inside the barrier.
“Eva, the spell requires your blood.”
I put my hand in hers. She pulls out a long thick needle and pricks each fingertip. Five dots of blood appear with a sting.
She holds out the parchment. “Swipe your open hand across the parchment from top left to bottom right, maintaining contact with all fingers the whole way.”
I follow her instructions, streaking my blood on the paper. She rolls it up and lights it on fire with the flame from the red candle.
The four of us hold hands and close our eyes.
Riley breaks the silence with her incantation.
“Taken from love—”
“Riley!” I interrupt the charm to correct her.
“I’m working here.” She holds up her hand to silence me.
“Where no witch can find.
Lead Eva to him
With heart, not mind.”
We stand in silence, bracing ourselves for the spell to take effect.
I expect an explosion of magick, but instead the sound of a rusty hinge squeaks from the bent scales on the Mabon altar above the fireplace.
Back and forth, it tings every time the bronze bowls strike the mantle.
I pick it up, and heat sparks deep in my chest. The scales flare to life beneath my fingers, humming with a power I recognize from the grimoire.
This isn’t magick I cast—it’s magick I’ve unearthed.
The silly trinket, the family heirloom nobody thought twice about, was a relic all along, and it’s been waiting for someone to finally wake it up.
I turn in a complete circle. When I face west the spark burns brightly inside me. I turn to the east, and the feeling disappears. I smile despite the serious situation.
“It’s like a magick version of hot-and-cold.” I laugh. “He’s west. I feel it right here.” I point to the place on my chest where the flame guides me.
“I’ll drive,” Paige says, grabbing her keys from the entryway table.
Hold on Sorren, I’m coming.
The sun has faded behind the horizon, and Paige drives the dark winding road to Holloway.
It feels completely different from the last time I was here.
The fresh air and view don’t comfort me like they did before.
It sickens my stomach. The fog has creeped closer to Raincrest. It’s a strange and eerie quiet that feels like everything around us is being suppressed.
The beams from the car reflect sharply off the low clouds, making it even harder to see.
The steady hum of the SUV cuts without warning. We don’t say a word. We don't even breathe as the fog trickles in through the vents of the car.
Paige tries to turn the engine back on, but nothing happens.
She tries again.
Nothing.
“What happened?” Riley asks quietly.
“It just stopped,” Paige answers.
My chest tugs at me, a hot wire dragging me forward. I unbuckle my seat belt and tentatively open the car door. Cold damp air clings to me as I inch out into the middle of the street with the bronze scales gripped tightly in my hand.
Paige, Riley, and Mom exit the car and follow behind. The fog is thick and oppressive. The longer I stand in it, the more obvious it becomes that it’s supernatural.
“I think we have to walk the rest of the way.” I turn back to them. Terror strikes deep when I’m met by thick white fog blinding me. I wave my hands in front of my face to clear the air, with no effect.
“Riley! Mom! Paige!” I yell, but my voice sounds dull and doesn’t carry. I’m scared and alone. My breathing speeds up faster and faster as I turn in circles calling for them. The double yellow line of the road catches my eye, and I follow it carefully, tracing my way back to the car.
Like stepping out of water, the thick uncanny fog falls away. They stand against the car, their faces twisted with worry.
“The fog won’t let us through,” Riley says.
“How far is Holloway from here?” I ask.
“A mile at most,” Paige answers. She gets back in the SUV and tries unsuccessfully to turn it back on.
My mind races, trying to think of some way around the fog blocking our path. The only other road to Holloway is from the north and it would take hours to go that way. We don’t have that kind of time.
“It’s the only way to get to Sorren. I’m not leaving him there to be tortured to death.” I’d never forgive myself if something happened to him.
Deep down I know that whatever spell Riley used is calling something deep and primal inside me. Something that no magick can block.
“You don’t have to do this.” Mom comes over to me and looks at me intently.
She’s wrong. I do. I brought Sorren into this, and there is no turning back now.
“I’ve got to. Sorren needs help.”
“Lena is dangerous. There is no telling what she would do to you,” my mom says, grabbing my hands in hers, anchoring me and passing along some calm.
“If I can get to him, our magick is stronger together. We can fight her off.” The thought of that possibility makes me sick to my stomach.
“I don’t doubt your power. You can handle her, just don’t turn your back on that witch.”
I take a final deep breath in, and breathe out all of my doubt and insecurity. I take one step, then another, drawing in my focus and determination.
“Keep your phone on you!” I call as I step through the fog toward Sorren. One last time, I look behind me. The car headlights are gone. It’s only me and the thick, suffocating fog now. Whatever happens next is up to me.