“But the incubus does,” Ethan continues.
“Exactly. And if I use the pentacle as a basis for casting my circle, I can call upon all five of the elements for strength. It will keep the ward strong and that surge of energy is going to be very appealing to the demon, even though it’s not raw sexual energy. I think. I hope.”
“In theory, that could work.” Ethan gets back to his feet, holstering his gun and looking out the windows. Hunter gives me a look and I silently agree. There’s no point in Ethan trying to keep watch like this. The demon is still biding its time, hiding in the astral plane. “And as soon as it appears, trap it, and then we’ll kill it. Still not sure on the how but decapitation is fool-proof. Well, most of the time. If we cut off its head and burn the body, I’d feel satisfied.”
“And if that doesn’t work?” Nik asks, fiddling his hands together.
“Then we’ll come up with a plan B, Ethan tells him. “We know one surefire way to get this thing to manifest into our world.”
I grab a notebook, scribbling down my plan, and don’t look up. It’s been several days since I’ve felt their presence, but I know without a doubt I could call upon my reaper demons who feed on auras and they’d be here in a moment’s notice. Since both the reapers and the incubus survive on sucking energy from victims, I’m not sure it will work like last time, but I know my little demon-army is loyal and will do what they can to protect me.
“It’s too windy to do the same spell outside.” I flip a page and sketch out what my circle will look like.
“The wind is coming from the back to the front,” Ethan says. “The front porch should be protected enough to keep the candles going and the salt from blowing out of place. I’ll test it.” He grabs the canister of salt and goes onto the porch.
“And I have a feeling I should make another batch of healing balm.” Nik puts the demon encyclopedia on the coffee table. “And cancel my date.”
“No, go on your date. Just…just don’t bring anyone back here.”
“And miss all the fun?” Nik smiles. “Truth be told I wasn’t too eager for this date. All he does is talk about how big of fish he catches and I don’t mean that as a euphemism. He’s very into fishing.”
I laugh. “Yeah, you might have dodged a bullet with that one.” Finishing my sketch, I go into the attic to try and find something to use to represent the element of spirit. There are no standards when it comes to representing this element, though circles and swirls have been used traditionally. I know there’s a metal bowl with circles etched along the top up here somewhere.
My phone, which I bought up with me, vibrates with a text. It’s Rene, and she wants to know if I can grab dinner.
Me: I would, but kinda have a demon problem right now
Rene: Shit! How can I help?
A smile takes over my face right away, grateful to have her as a friend.
Me: I think we have this one handled. Not as big and bad as before but need to handle before it tries to eat my uterus.
Rene: THE FUCK?
Me: I accidentally summoned an incubus
Only seconds later, my phone rings.
“Hello?” I answer, holding the phone to my ear with my shoulder.
“Girl, explain yourself.”
I open a box labeled altar cloths and reach inside, pulling out two folded black tablecloths. “You know how I told you about the ghost hunt that wasn’t actually a ghost hunt?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, while we were waiting for the bodies to burn, Ethan and I had sex in his car and I kinda, accidentally, gathered a lot of energy and then released it. Somehow that summoned the incubus, which I think was lurking about just not on the same plane as me.”
Rene doesn’t say anything as she processes everything I just spit out. “Again. The fuck? And you’re just not telling me you got down and dirty in public? Look at you!”
“Hah. It definitely was hot. Very hot.”
“Obviously, since you summoned a freaking sex demon. Is that what they really are?”
“Yeah,” I say and keep digging through the cloth . My fingers scrape against something metal. It looks like the handle of a sword, but instead of a blade, there’s just a foot-long metal rod that’s charred on the end. “They feed off your energy slowly over time until you’re too weak to fight. And then they eat your uterus if you have one. They look like the offspring of a California Raisin and a gargoyle.”
“Way to ruin my favorite book series where the hero is an expensive-suit wearing incubus.”
“Sorry,” I say with a laugh and hold up the sword, if you can call it that. The pommel is inlaid with amber, but it’s overall plain, much like the enchanted dagger. “Finding out the truth about a lot of this has…has…” I trail off when I wrap my fingers around the grip.
“Steady,” Aunt Estelle tells me and moves backward, holding out her hand. “Don’t overthink it.”
Nodding, I let out my breath, steady my grip and extend my hand, looking at the end of the metal rod. Fire springs from hand, traveling down the hilt and taking on the shape of the sword, making a blade out of fire.
“Holy hell,” I whisper.
“Anora?” Rene’s voice comes through the phone but echoes in my ear. “What’s going on? Are you okay?”
“Y-yeah,” I say as the phone slips, and I reach up with my other hand to push it back into place. I’m still holding the sword in front of me and I remember it clearly, standing in the backyard at twilight, practicing summoning the fire, slashing the sword through the air as embers rained on around my feet. They magically went out before anything came close to burning.
But I wasn’t in Aunt Estelle’s yard, I was in my parents. And I was twelve.
“Are you sure? You don’t sound sure.”
“I…I can wield a sword of fire,” I say out loud. “Hey, I’ll text you later.”
“Okay…uh, be careful, Anora.”
“I’ll try.” I end the call, put the phone in my pocket, and turn to Hunter, eyes wide “I can wield a sword of fire,” I repeat and then laugh. Clamping my hand over my mouth, I hurry downstairs, carrying the sword.
Ethan and Nik are in the library, going over the very rough plan I sketched out. “Guys,” I start, holding up the sword. “You’re never going to believe this.” I wrap my fingers around the grip and suddenly remember something else, and it stops me in my tracks all over again.
“It’s going to be big, my dear,” Aunt Estelle says, line forming between her eyebrows. “Bigger than the War of Light and Dark. Heaven and Hell are not meant to clash, and I wish it weren’t in the cards for you, but when you find her, you’ll—”
“What the hell is that?” Ethan strides over, and I’m jarred back to the here and now. Aunt Estelle was prepping me for something. There’s a fight coming, a big, colossal, apocalypse-type fight. She saw it no matter how many times she tried to see a future that had a better fate.
And I was in this fight for some reason.
“A sword.” I blink a few times. “I remember Aunt Estelle training me with this thing. The blade is formed from fire. I’d try it, but not in the house. And I’d prefer you had the hose ready outside. Just in case.”