It’s not the energy ball I thought I’d need to kill the demon. It’s something else…something that feels as familiar as it does different. I can’t explain it. I can only feel it. Conjuring this type of energy feels right.
“I told you,” I pant. “I. Stand. Behind. No one!”
The harrowing screams inside my head grow louder and louder, deafeningly painful. My eyes fall shut as tears roll down my cheeks. Then as suddenly as the demon forced itself into me, it leaves, smoke pouring out of my mouth. Instead of leaving and trying to find another host, it sparks, looking like an electrified storm cloud.
And then it explodes.
I fall back from the force of the blow, and stay flattened on the ground until the smoke settles. Little gold glowing embers sizzle out as they land on the cool stone. Lifting my head, I blink away the smoke from my eyes and slowly sit up.
Binx shadows over, shifting into cat-form and rubbing his head against me. “Hey, buddy,” I whisper, and run my hand over his sleek fur. “Kristy?”
“Cal? I’m here. Are you okay? I can’t see you.”
“Nobody move,” Tabatha instructs. “Ignus.” A fire roars to life in the fireplace, filling the room with light. She rushes over to Evander, and Kristy comes to me, extending a hand to pull me up.
“Is the demon gone?” Kristy asks, eyes wide.
“I think so,” I tell her.
Sister Ross, Ruby, and Tabatha help Evander up. He’s awake.
“Way to cut it down to the last second, sister,” he coughs. I rush over, tears filling my eyes again.
“I am so, so sorry.”
“Sorry?” He sits back down in the chair Ruby uprighted. “Sorry for saving us all?”
“You wouldn’t have gotten possessed if you hadn’t come out to help deal with the Ley line.” I make a move to wipe away my tears but remember something Lucas told me. Never be ashamed of how you feel, Callie.
“And then we’d all be screwed.” His eyes fall shut. “I need a drink.”
“You and me both,” I laugh and kneel down. “Are you okay?”
“Better than the demon, so I’ll call it a win.”
Sister Ross, who’s clearly still shaken, grabs her medical bag and begins an assessment.
“What went wrong?” I ask Kristy, moving to the side to let Sister Ross work.
“The hex-box wasn’t strong enough. I don’t understand why, though.” She shakes her head. “It should have worked.”
I flit my eyes to Ruth, who’s standing next to Tabatha, comforting her and probably filling her head with lies.
“I have a feeling I might know why, but I can’t tell you here. Oh, that reminds me…” I look at Binx. “Can you let the twins know we’re okay?”
He meows and trots out of the room. Kristy loops her arm through mine. “The demon possessed you, Callie.”
“It did.”
“And you…you burned it from the inside out. With golden light. I’ve never once seen you conjure gold light.”
“As far as I know, I’ve only done it once before. Recently.” I swallow the rising lump in my throat. “So we can add this to another thing that falls outside the range of normal witchcraft. Did I look evil doing it?”
“No. The opposite. The light…I can’t explain it, and I know this is going to sound really lame, but it was so pretty. I didn’t want to stop looking at it.”
“I felt the same way,” I confess. “I don’t think this is going to help my case.”
“Your vampire case?” she whispers and I shake my head. “What else…oh, that thing you can’t tell me.”
I put my head in my hands, expecting to feel exhaustion set it like it usually does after I do major magic like this.
But it doesn’t.
“Callie.” Ruby crosses her arms and strides over.
“Want to cuff me again?” I cock an eyebrow.
“Kind of. Though I don’t think it’s necessary. What you did…” She shakes her head. “How did you do that?”
“I don’t know,” I tell her honestly. “And I’m…I’m…” I have no idea what I am or what I should say. I’m digging myself into a hole and I’m getting tired of lying. “I’m just glad Evander is okay.”
“You and me both,” she says and looks me up and down. “You should get checked out.”
I nod, knowing I’m going to whether I want to or not.
“And can you, uh, walk in and out of that circle?” She points to one of the protective symbols drawn on the floor.
“I’m not possessed,” I sigh, though I can’t blame her for being extra careful. My body feels a little sore as I walk across the room, like I just completed an intense workout. I walk into the circle, hold out my hands and spin around, and then walk back out.
“No demon,” I tell her and come back over by Kristy, perching on the edge of Tabatha’s desk. The office is a mess and while cleaning it is one of the last things I want to do right now, it beats standing here being watched like a zoo animal by Ruby. Waving my hand, I use magic to sweep the broken pieces of the hex-box into a pile. Kristy, following my lead, straightens a bookshelf that looks as if someone was thrown into it.
“Callie,” Tabatha calls, motioning for me to come over and have a seat on the bench below the window. Sister Ross has her medical bag out, and does a quick assessment of me, taking my vitals.
“All within normal limits,” she says, trading the blood pressure cuff for a crystal to read my aura. Is it just me or did Tabatha tense? I think back to that morning she sat in my living room, looked me right in the eye and said there was nothing wrong with me.
I felt like she was lying then, and I hate it. I trust Tabatha with my life. She’s been more than a teacher to me since the moment she pulled me out of that medical laboratory, and I know she’d do anything to protect me.
Even keep a secret.
But the thing about secrets is they’re not ours to hide. They have a way of coming out, of making themselves known at the worst possible time.
Sister Ross holds the crystal above my head and slowly sweeps it down. “Interesting,” she mutters.
“What’s interesting?” I ask.
“There are no disturbances in your aura.”
“Isn’t that a good thing?”
“Oh, of course.” She holds the crystal above my heart and waits a beat. “But after a demon has possessed you, I’d expect to see traces of that energy clouding yours and you’d need a potion to help restore your natural energies. From what I’m seeing, it’s like it never happened.”
“Maybe because the demon wasn’t in me for that long?”
“Maybe, though whatever you did to make it explode should have depleted you.”
“I’m feeling really worn out,” I say, though I’m not. Not like I was after commanding the hellfire. It’s more like I’m unlocking part of me that’s been kept under wraps my whole life, and tapping into whatever power source this is feel so damn good. “I really want to go to bed.”
“You should. And while I have no reason to admit you to the infirmary, you are more than welcome to take a bed there tonight to be watched and assessed. Sometimes these things can take time and hit you hard out of the blue.”
“Thanks, but I’d like to go to my house. I sleep better in my own bed.” Because my undead lover will be there next to me. Naked, I’m sure.
“So do I.” Sister Ross smiles and starts packing up her bag. I’m fine. Evander will be fine. The Ley line is healed, the demon gone. Things are done. Over. Yet I don’t feel any relief.
My troubles are just getting started.