“I’ve just discovered that.” My lips curve into a smile. “No one else in the family has red hair.”
Tabatha smiles but then shakes her head, frowning. “And I must apologize, Anora. Had I known what your aunt was planning…” She trails off and lets out a breath. “She didn’t want you to attend Grim Gate, and I tried talking her out of that. She insisted that you were to be raised as a non, living with your parents in New York. I wasn’t the High Priestess of the coven at the time, so there wouldn’t have been much I could do. Ultimately, the decision to send you to Grim Gate would have come down to your parents.”
“That makes sense. I was just a kid at the time.”
“I’m sure you have many questions.”
“Yeah, just a few,” I say with a chuckle. “I have so many that I’m starting to forget what I want to know. I mean, obviously, the biggest question is why my aunt thought it was best to bind my powers and make me forget everything about magic. Well, that and the question of if you can undo the memory spell so I can get all my memories back?”
Tabatha straightens up. “I can undo the spell, though I must warn you, it could change everything.”
“What do you mean?”
“Your past shapes you, as you know. Some of your core memories could have been altered. Changing those could have lasting effects. You’ll remember most of what transpired between you and your aunt, though it’s also normal for childhood memories to fade.”
“Right.”
“The mind is a complicated yet fragile thing. I don’t agree with what your aunt did to you, and as High Priestess now, I would punish one of my coven members for doing that to another without consent. But it’s been done and you’ve come to who you are believing what you think happened. Uncovering the truth can come at a cost.”
Her words hit me and suddenly I don’t know what to do. I had a happy childhood filled with many good memories. My biggest trauma was growing up feeling like an outcast with my ability to communicate with the dead. But what if that’s not the case? And what if the way I remember someone changes completely?
“I did tell her how she couldn’t get all her memories back at once,” Ruby says. “That if she wants to go through with it, the spell would have to be reversed little by little.”
“Yes.” Tabatha nods. “Changing life as you know it sounds dramatic, but it could essentially be what happens. You’re randomly getting some memories back?”
“Yeah. Just being here made me remember something else.” My brows furrow as something else occurs to me. “The binding spell broke when my aunt died, but why didn’t the memory spell?”
“The two spells are entirely different. Binding powers is tricky. It requires strength and concentration. And if I remember correctly, you were quite gifted with fire magic. The kinetic powers in particular are temperamental and can be easily influenced by emotion. If you got so angry you started a fire with your mind, I’m sure a nearby coven would have heard of it.”
“Right?” I shake my head. “Never started any fires until after I knew I was a witch.” Taking a breath, I run my hand down Hunter’s back, tangling my fingers in his thick fur. “And about the fire magic. I remember sitting in your office with my aunt. I don’t think I was supposed to be listening, but I was. You told my aunt I should go to school here so I can learn to control it because it’s dangerous. But, uh, my aunt said she’d handle it and I couldn’t start late in the term or something like that.”
“Yes.” Tabatha clasps her hands together and sighs. “And that was the last time I ever saw you, I’m sad to say. Your aunt was quite gifted in divination and saw something in a tarot reading. She never shared what it was but insisted you not attending the school was for your own safety.”
I look into the fireplace, mind racing as I try to put the pieces together. I might have discovered the why, but I don’t want it to be true. Though if Aunt Estelle wanted to keep me from the pain of losing a loved one, going to school and learning how to do magic would only give me an advantage in life. “Her husband was killed by a demon, and then she started hunting demons?”
“Yes,” Tabatha says, and Ruby looks surprised.
“Professor Fowler hunted demons?” Her brows go up.
“The demon who killed Estelle’s husband got away. It was in her search for it that she realized she could locate demons remotely and a group was formed who knew how to cast the demons into pocket dimensions.” She gives me a wink, knowing I remember seeing her with Aunt Estelle before.
“Those dimensions,” I start. “They’re weakening too since she died. Is there something I can do to keep more from falling apart?”
Tabatha and Ruby exchange looks. “What do you mean, dear?” Tabatha asks.
“One of the demons, Asaroth, escaped in the fall and came looking for Aunt Estelle, blaming her for getting locked up. But he found me instead. I killed him, with help.” I give Hunter a pat. “But if one dimension can weaken like that, can’t the others? I found a list of demons she helped trap,” I add for clarification, but it doesn’t seem to help. Because a few seconds pass and Tabatha is still staring at me.
“Once created, a dimension doesn’t fade like a spell,” she finally says, speaking slowly. “I was not there when Asaroth was vanquished, but I do know of the demon you speak of. He targeted witches, taking their strongest power by ritual.”
I nod. “Yeah. That’s the one.”
“There’s no way the demon could have escaped, unless.” She pauses and shakes her head. “Unless someone let him out.”
Chapter
Nine
“Why would anyone let a demon out?” I ask and then remember Claire, who was tricked into helping a demon escape into our world. She was just a regular human with no powers but was able to give the demon just enough for him to get power. “Well, I guess there are a lot of reasons and demons are quite manipulative.”
“Exactly,” Tabatha says with a nod. “Rest assured it is something I am going to look into. Though, the demon is dead. If a non was tricked into releasing him, they have nothing to gain now.”
“True. And he is dead. So are the Pricolici and the creepy Harvester demons. Hunter took out quite a few.”
“How did you survive?” Ruby asks, resting her elbows on her knees. “You said this happened in the F all, but you also said you’ve only known you were a witch for a few months.”
“That’s, uh, how I discovered everything. The binding spell broke and Asaroth was able to sense me because of magic or something. He sent Pricolici after me and then wanted to do the same ritual to me that he did to the other victims to get my powers.” It’s weird and kind of exhilarating to be able to tell this story not only to people who don’t think I’m crazy, but know what I’m talking about.
“You survived not only a demon but demonic bounty hunters as well?” Ruby eyes me. “I need to hear the rest of the story.”
“I’m going to chalk a lot of it up to luck, random memories coming back at the right time, and having a demon-hunter for a boyfriend.”