I shook my head. Okay, he had made one point.
“Look, I can tell you about it, but you aren’t going to believe me.”
I sighed. “Try me.”
“I think your tattoos are demonic.”
I held in a laugh.
“Look, just because you saved my life the other day doesn’t mean everything that happens to be is demon related.”
“You haven’t wondered at all about where they came from? Why your mom never had them or why your sister doesn’t seem to have them either?”
My smile quickly faded from my face.
“How do you know all that?”
“I’m a demon. You do the math.”
I shook my head. “This lunch is over.” I grabbed my bag and rushed out the door.
“Kass wait!” he called from behind me.
My feet moved faster and faster toward my car.
“Kassandra! Stop!” he screamed so loud I swear I felt the ground shake.
I stopped and slowly turned my body to face him.
“Please. Just give me a chance here.”
“I can’t right now,” I said softly as I turned back toward my car. He said nothing as I got in and pulled away.
“LELA!” I CALLED SHUTTING the door a little rough behind me as I rushed into the house.
She came bouncing down the stairs with her hair pulled back into a ponytail.
“What’s wrong?” she questioned.
“Do you really think something is up with this tattoo?” I asked.
She bit her lip and nodded.
“Okay. Then it’s time to do something I never wanted to do.” I walked up the stairs, breezing past Lela and into the room we had locked for the day of the funeral.
“What are you doing?” Lela questioned.
“Summoning Mom,” I said pulling candles off the shelf and setting them on the floor in the spots marked with chalk.
“You’re doing what?” she exclaimed.
“You heard me.”
“You can’t just summon her.”
“Watch me.”
I flopped open one of the books and flipped through the pages.
“You can help you know,” I said as I looked up at Lela and pointed to a book on the shelf.
She shook her head but walked over to the books and picked one up flipping through it.
“Is there really a summoning to communicate with the dead?”
I nodded. “Of course, there is. There is a spell for almost anything these days.”
“Well, I think I found it.” She handed me the book and sure enough there was a summoning spell staring back at me.
My stomach suddenly started to feel like it was in knots, and I wanted to throw up.
Why was I nervous? I know I’m a witch. I performed spells before. I didn’t practice as much as my mom did, but I felt like I was at least decent at the witch thing.
I set the book down on top of the open book on the stand in front of me.
I read the words from the spell loud and as clearly as I could.
A light shined around the room and once my eye’s focused again, I saw her. Standing in the center of the circle I had made with candles.
“Mom!” Lela cried.
Tears welled up in my eyes as I brought my hands to my mouth.
“Hello, darlings.” She smiled.
I stepped around the stand. I believed in magic, but seeing it do something like that was almost unbelievable.
“Are you okay?” she asked us.
I nodded. Focus Kass! I said to myself.
“Mom, I need to ask you something. It’s important.” I managed to get out.
“What?”
I looked over at Lela who nodded.
I pulled my shirt up and turned so she could see the tattoo.
I heard her gasp as I pulled my shirt back down.
“What is it?” I asked.
She shook her head, “I, uh. I really don’t know.”
I didn’t believe her. I knew her. I knew when she was lying.
“Oh, okay.”
We didn’t even get to talk to her anymore before she disappeared.
Lela looked at me as I started blowing out the candles.
“So now what?” she questioned.
“Now I need to figure out what this tattoo means, and I know someone who might be able to help me.”
I didn’t want to think about it right then though. I was angry that my mother lied to me. Angry that some random demon seemed to know more about the marks on my body than I did.
The rest of the day I poured through every book I could find and every document that was in sight. Nothing gave me any explanation of my tattoo. Then I started to feel like Lela. I was worried.
“Kass, do you want to go to town for dinner?” Lela asked standing in the doorway of the room I was in.
I looked up at her and nodded, finally realizing that I needed a break.
“Good I’m starving.”
I shut the book in front of me and headed out of the room.
Every time we left the house, we made sure to seal the door.
“WHAT CAN I GET YOU girls?” the waitress asked us as I shimmed my jacket off.
I ordered the same thing I had the other night and a drink. I needed a drink.
“You know, the people here don’t seem all that bad,” Lela noted looking around.
“So, are you thinking of staying then?”
“Hell no. This place isn’t bad to visit, but living here? I don’t think I could do that.”
I nodded. Of course not. Lela needed the big city. She needed the stores, the people, and the night life. The moment she turned eighteen she moved to New York City.
That town wasn’t her scene at all, and I was surprised she managed to stay there that long.
“So, is he even human?” Lela asked nodding to Theo who sat at the bar.
I felt a sense of deja vu happening, and I didn’t like it.
“No, he’s not.”
“And why have we not killed him yet?”
“Because we don’t go around killing people who save our lives!” I snapped at her.
“Okay, relax. It was just a question.”
I turned my attention to Theo who had his back to us. He was captivating.
We ate in almost silence with a few things spoken here and there. I glanced up at Theo every couple of minutes. He never once turned around.
“Kass, are you ready to go?” Lela asked as she finished her drink and set the glass down on the table.
“Yeah, let me go pay. I’ll meet you outside.” I walked over to the register and handed the host our receipt.
“And I’d like to pay for that man’s meal and drinks.” I said pointing at Theo who was deep in conversation with the person next to him.
The host nodded and walked over to the bartender, when she returned, she held his receipt in her hand.
She gave me my new total.
“Who should I tell him paid?” she questioned.
I smiled, “Just tell him he received pay back.”
I pulled my jacket on over my body and headed outside to Lela.
“All good?” she questioned.
I nodded.
I SPENT THE NEXT FEW days going through as much stuff as I could with Lela. There wasn’t much she wanted of Mom’s, but the things she did want I let her have without a fight.