Chapter 12
Ican’t believe I just said that.
From the roguish grin he’s aiming at me, he’s not complaining. Of course he isn’t. It sounded like I was flirting with him.
You were flirting with him.
Was I? Or was I trying to throw him off?
Except he’s been docile since I woke up.
Is this shock? Is that why I’m so discombobulated?
Ever since Percy told me demons are amazing in bed, it’s all I’ve been thinking about.
Dimitri is the only demon I know so it stands to reason he’s starring in every fantasy my mind can conjure up.
Doesn’t mean I actually want to sleep with him.
Except you do. You really, really do.
No, I don’t. This isn’t like me. I’m logical and even.
Steady and volatile all at once. I’m the shitty yet reliable sister.
When our aunt took a turn health-wise, I was the one the coven leaders called.
Dependable. When my sister needed to get rid of an ex, I was the one who ran him off.
Brutally honest. Lark always said I wielded my pain, my cruelty for the good of others.
I didn’t know what she meant then. I still don’t.
Waffling between wanting to fuck Dimitri or banishing him to the ether isn’t unusual. Along with all my stunning qualities came a wicked case of indecisiveness. Decision paralysis, my aunt called it, though how she knew that term, I don’t know. She was practically a shut-in by the end.
I shake my head and focus on Dimitri. He licks his lips, pulling my gaze down. My eyes widen when I notice his horns growing from the top of his head, longer than the first time I noticed them.
He brushes a hand over them and chuckles. “Handlebars?”
I scoff, though I don’t have a quippy comeback. Slowly, as if he expects me to give more commands, he pushes to his feet. It takes everything in me not to stumble back.
“Now, spitfire, I’m only going to say this once, so listen closely.” He leans close, his lips brushing my cheek, and he whispers in my ear. “I don’t get on my knees for just anyone, but I’ll do it for you anytime.”
“You’re incorrigible.”
“Why yes, yes I am. Something tells me you like that.” He pulls back slightly. “As much as I’d love to keep up this dance, I’m pretty sure you’re in shock. And I won’t take advantage of that. Let’s get you in the shower. Then we can—”
“Can’t,” I mutter, and he raises an eyebrow. “I’m still…sparking. I’d rather not get electrocuted.”
He’s shaking his head before I’ve finished. “You won’t. Promise. If you didn’t get shocked to shit when my magic went haywire, you won’t now. See?”
He reaches out and laces our fingers together.
Heat gathers between our palms. He’s right.
I’ve been bouncing from one thing to the next, completely unhinged at my sister’s disappearance, I haven’t thought things through.
I don’t know him or what his true intentions are.
He showed up randomly, and I never questioned it.
Not really. Without information about demons, I’m woefully out of my depth here.
“Okay,” I breathe, then untangle us. “This isn’t…I don’t know what to…”
I can’t get my thoughts in order enough to even tell him what I’m thinking.
He doesn’t rush me or try to finish my sentences.
As much as I love Percy, she’d be throwing out suggestions about what I’m feeling.
Lark wouldn’t even bother letting me work through things on my own.
She’d hand me the answer since she knows me so well.
Then again, if she did, she wouldn’t have disappeared without a trace.
She’d know what it would do to me. Unless I was a necessary casualty in her quest for knowledge.
I wouldn’t be surprised if she fell so deeply into magical lore she forgot what the consequences would be.
If she just would have called me, I could have warned her.
I’m sure my insistence all these years to leave well enough alone made her second-guess talking to me.
I don’t blame her. It’s exactly what I would have done.
“I need something,” I whisper, throwing caution to the wind. I’ll loosen the reins just enough—trust him just a little.
“What kind of something?” He glances around the room at the many items strewn about.
“Not something witches usually have.”
His eyes narrow, and I swear recognition flares in his eyes, though he can’t possibly know I’m looking for a book. His nostrils flare, and a curse forms on his lips. Then he disappears.
“Of fucking course.”
“Percy, we’re going out. Don’t care where. Don’t care what we do. I just need out of this house.”
I shouldn’t be taking out my piss-poor attitude on her. She’s not to blame for the mess in the living room. Or the fact I still don’t have any leads on my sister. It’s not her fault that every time I stop moving, Dimitri pops into my head.
I imagine he poofed off to Hell. Again.
The problem is, he hasn’t really left. The longer he’s gone, the more worried I become.
I fucking hate it. I don’t pine. It’s not in my nature.
Yet as spring bursts into summer, I’m still wondering where he slipped off to.
After so many random visits in a week, I’m surprised he hasn’t collapsed back into my life.
Maybe he found a cure and doesn’t need you anymore.
The voice in my head has morphed into my aunt’s.
She always was a pessimist. Nothing good ever came from anything in her eyes.
Most people would think we make our own happiness.
Not Aunt Star. She just assumed everything would eventually go to shit regardless of what she did.
Maybe some of her cynicism rubbed off on me.
“We looking for low-key and calming? Because there’s a goat yoga class tonight—”
“Not goat yoga,” I say quickly as I flip through the necromancer book again. For some reason, I keep coming back to it. Not that there’s anything in here I can use to fix the summoning circle. There isn’t even a scrying recipe in here.
“Sorry, forgot you’re scared of them.” She laughs, and I roll my eyes.
“I’m not afraid of them. They chew on your shit, and I don’t exactly have a lot of clothes left.” I’ve thought about borrowing some of Lark’s, but I can’t bring myself to do it. It’d probably make her appear just to yell at me for taking her shit, though.
“Sure you’re not. Except last year there was that petting zoo, and you practically bowled over that five-year-old to get away from them.”
“They should have a warning so people don’t get too close,” I cry, slamming the book shut.
Her peals of laughter ring down the line. “They did. In big bold letters,” she says between gasps.
“Whatever. We’re not doing goat yoga. Let’s go clubbing.”
Her giggles cut off abruptly. “For real? Do you even have clothes for clubbing? When was the last time you went to a club? Do you have a push-up bra? You realize you’ll have to wear a dress, right?
An oversized shirt and no pants won’t cut it.
Plus, we’ll have to drive at least an hour.
Unless you’re thinking of going to a dive bar and just randomly calling it clubbing. ”
“You fucking sound like Dimi—” I wince, then rush, “I’m aware of what it takes to go clubbing. I’ll just channel my sister. What time should we go? Five?”
“Five?” she chokes out. “Girl, they won’t even be open then.”
“Well, if we leave at five—”
“No. I’m saying, they won’t be open until like nine. Maybe ten. Are you sure you want to go clubbing?”
“Yes. I need to not be me for a little while. It’ll take my mind off everything, and then I can focus on what needs to be done.”
She doesn’t respond, and the silence stretches on so long I’m afraid she hung up.
If she doesn’t go with me, I doubt I’ll go myself.
I need to get out of here, though. Out of this house, this town, this life.
Just for a bit. I’ll get rip-roaring drunk, flirt with those willing, maybe hook up with someone…
well, that’s pushing it. I can pretend, though.
I’ll cleanse my mind of a certain demon.
Who knows? I might find what I’m looking for when I stop looking.
Isn’t that how it always works? Lose your keys, search for days, give up, then six months later they show up in the most obvious of places. It’s science or something.
“Percy?”
“Yeah, I’m here. Who’s Dean?”
“I…I have no idea what you’re talking about.” I started to say Dimitri, but it doesn’t sound a lick like Dean.
“Mmmkay. Listen, you know I’m here for you, right? Whatever you need, I’ll be there.”
I freeze, running over our conversation. “Uh, yeah?”
“So whatever you’re planning, just talk it through with me first, okay?”
“Perce, I’m not going to do anything reckless. No dark magic or running off into the woods to find bigfoot. I promise. I can’t stop searching for Lark, though. I’ve put it off long enough, and I have a feeling it’s not going to be easy or pretty.”
“Are you sure she even wants to be found?” she whispers as if saying it too loudly will invite the ghouls in.
“She wouldn’t have just left. It’s not like she went up in a puff of smoke, Percy. You know her well enough to figure that out. We’ve exhausted all our other options. I can’t keep waiting for her to show up. I know I probably should, but—”
“No, I get it. I’d want to know what happened, too. Not that I have siblings so I can’t really relate. I can’t imagine, though. Not fully, obviously. But—”
“I get it, Percy. Just know I’m not going to go off the rails. Even if it does run in the family. So, clubbing. What time should I be at your house?”
She huffs. “Fine. I’ll take you clubbing. But if you meet someone and decide to go home with them, I’m dragging your ass out of there so damn fast. We’re not fucking randos tonight. It’s just not in the cards.”
I power walk to my bedroom, then stop. “Wait, the actual cards or the turn of phrase?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know, weather boy?”
She hangs up before I can call her out for perpetually being online.
Half the time she’s speaking in memes I haven’t seen.
I haven’t exactly had room in my head for anything other than keeping myself afloat.
I resist the urge to check my bank account.
There’s enough in there for me to take a couple days off.
At least I haven’t had any other clients like Jeremiah.
With what I threatened him with, maybe he told his friends.
A cautionary tale or whatever. The weird witch will wither your willy.
I could get that printed on a business card—hand them out at the grocery store.
I’m sure I’d get a few scorned exes that way.
I flip through all the clothes in my closet five times before giving up.
Calling Percy and admitting I don’t have anything to wear isn’t an option.
She’d lend me whatever I need. Except she’s a lot shorter than me.
A dress to her knees would barely cover my hooha.
Plus, her hips aren’t as big as mine. Nor are her boobs. She’d never be able to wear it again.
Which is why I’m standing outside my sister’s bedroom door.
The knob heats under my palm the longer I stand here.
I told myself I wouldn’t go in here—not to raid her closet or search for clues.
I wanted to figure it out without invading her space.
She was always protective of her peace. I suppose it didn’t help we were forced to share a room when we were growing up.
She just wanted a place that was entirely hers.
And then I moved into her house and used all her things.
The least I could do was vow to stay away from her bedroom.
Yet here I am, breaking that promise. I don’t have to go through her things. If she was into the dark side of magic, she’d take pains to hide it.
I turn the knob and swing the door open. “Or not. What the fuck did you do, Lark?”
Black. Every single surface is black. From the walls to the ceiling to the bedspread—complete darkness. Even the light from the hallway doesn’t penetrate the deep void she’s created. I flip the switch and yelp, jumping back.
“What in the holy goddess did you do?”
Somehow she’s magicked her room to become a kaleidoscope of color.
Gone is the blackness, replaced with something I can’t begin to explain.
The room cycles through each color—blood red, forest green, sky blue.
The bulb above her bed loops faster, adding more and more hues.
Plum to gold to magenta permeates everything.
I shut my eyes when my stomach rolls and nausea bubbles up my throat.
When I peek at it again, the color has settled on the exact shade as my hair.
It’s a lot more welcoming than the desolate gothic void from before.
I hurry to her closet and rifle through the dresses.
I pick a black one at random and yank it from the hanger.
The irony isn’t lost on me, but my hair wouldn’t go with half the pieces in here.
I rush from the room, slamming the door behind me as my heart hammers in my chest. I’ll deal with that conundrum later. Right now, I need to forget I’m a witch for a few hours.