“That was truly impressive,” I said, a huge smile on my face, wondering if the food I’d given him was the reason his magic had resurfaced. I inspected him the way I might inspect a new spell. “You’re not a demon. Are you?”
The tiny man’s blue eyes glittered brightly as his face crinkled in a smile.
“I’m going to take that as a no,” I told him. “I don’t even know your name. But I thank you. Thank you, for bringing me home.” The wards, I realized. He’d scratched them all off.
The little man slipped his hand from mine and said, “You’re welcome.”
And with a pop, the tiny man vanished.
26
There’s nothing in the world more glorious than waking up in one’s own bed—except perhaps, sleeping in one’s own bed. Especially after having spent days sleeping in a cold metal cage in a world where the air was toxic. I felt like I was sleeping on puffy white clouds, and I never wanted to get up. But I had to.
The first thing I did when I got home was hug my grandfather, whose face was drawn with worry. I gave Poe a big kiss on his head, thankful he was safe, and then jumped into a steaming-hot shower. A half-hour later, as soon as my head hit my pillow, I went to dreamland.
I stretched, feeling better, but not completely healed and refreshed. The Netherworld had taken a lot from me, including my health and a part of my soul. Granted, I didn’t feel any different, but that didn’t mean I was whole again. I had no idea what the effect would be to me later on.
Last night, before my shower, Poe informed me that Logan had come by earlier that day. He’d been in an angel-born hospital recovering and had told my grandfather and Poe everything. Logan told them he was working on a plan to get me back, that he’d been in contact with Kyllian, and they were trying to work out a deal with the Angel Legion.
Faris had been true to his word. My insides squirmed. It didn’t seem right or fair that I was back home safely whereas Faris was awaiting trial. It felt as though I had failed him.
But I wouldn’t let him rot in the Netherworld.
I rolled over and grabbed my alarm clock from my nightstand. Seven p.m. Crap. I’d slept the whole day away, and there was still so much to be done.
I swung my legs off the bed and went to my dresser. After pulling on a pair of jeans, a black t-shirt, and a pair of flat boots, my gaze drifted back to my nightstand. Faris’s small dagger lay next to my alarm clock. I picked it up, now that I wasn’t facing imminent death, and took my time to inspect it.
It was heavy for such a small blade, as long as my hand. Forged with some dark gray metal, sharp as a shard of glass, demonic sigils and runes were carved along the blade. The hilt was molded with the face of a wailing, horned demon.
“Creepy.” I slipped the blade into my back pocket and stepped into the hallway. The house was unusually dark and silent. I stopped over the staircase and listened. Only the constant hum of the refrigerator answered back.
“Poe?” I called. “Gramps?” Nothing.
Then I perked up at the sound of muffled voices. I turned around. It came from my grandfather’s room.
I let out a sigh. “What are you up to, old man?” With a small smile I went across the hall to my grandfather’s room and pushed open the door.
“Hey grandpa. Can I borrow your phone—”
There, in his bed, was my grandfather and a female witch.
Which would have been fine if they’d been wearing clothes. As it was, they were both on top of the sheets—butt naked.
“OH. MY. GOD!” I covered my eyes with my hands. But it was too late. The image of two, saggy, wrinkled and very naked bodies was imprinted on the backs of my eyelids.
“Oh, hi, Samantha,” said my grandfather, his voice bright and cheery like he was commenting on a new batch of his gin. “I’d like you to meet, Charlotte. Charlotte—this is my granddaughter Samantha.”
“Hello,” came Charlotte’s happy voice. “Your grandfather’s told me so much about you. I feel like we’re friends already.”
“Hang on while I go wash out my eyes with bleach,” I said, my hands still covering my eyes, but the images of their naked bodies kept flashing in my mind’s eye. “You do realize you’ve scarred me for life. There’s no going back from this.”
“Nonsense,” chirped my grandfather. “This is all very natural. There is no shame in being undressed. Why are people so uptight about being naked? We should embrace our bodies, not be ashamed of them.”
“Why are you naked?” I howled.
My grandfather chuckled. “Well, it would be rather difficult to have sex with our clothes on—”
“Stop!” I shouted. I was the idiot for asking that. I swallowed and said, “Why didn’t you tell me you had company?”
“My dear girl,” said my grandfather, his tone amused. “I don’t need your permission to have sex—”
“Stop saying that word!” I cried, my hands slipping from my eyes. Crap. I looked again. Moaning, I covered my eyes again. “I’m never going to be the same again.”
“You are overreacting, Samantha,” soothed my grandfather. “Besides, we were finished. Unless. Charlotte. You’d like to go for another round?”
The bed squeaked, and then I heard the sound of bodies moving. There was a slap on skin. “Why, you naughty witch,” squealed Charlotte.
Shoot me now. “I should have stayed in the Netherworld.”
A flutter of wings appeared behind me. “What’s all the shouting about—Oh. Boy.”
“I have to get out of here.” I spun, ran out the room and headed for the staircase, the sound of Charlotte’s laugh trailing behind me.
I took the stairs up to the third floor and hurried over to my work table.
Poe landed on a cleared spot on the table. “What are you doing?”
As I rummaged through the stack of papers, books, and candles, a white chalk peered from under my Wicca for the Modern Witch book. I grabbed it. “I’m getting Faris out of the Netherworld,” I said as I headed to the spot on the wood floor where I could make out the faint traces of the summoning triangle and circle I’d used before.
“Right,” said the raven. “About that. Listen, while you were napping, there was another murder.”
I halted, tension spiking through me. I knew exactly what he meant by murder. “Are you sure?”
The raven nodded his head. “Another young witch that fits your description. But if what you told me was true, why is Vorkol still having this vampire working to kill you? I thought she grew bored of you?”
Heart thumping, I dropped to my knees and began to trace the Circle of Solomon. “Maybe he doesn’t know. I don’t think she cared enough to tell him.”
Poe walked over to the edge of the table. “So, what are we going to do about it?”
I sighed, trying to focus. “First, we get Faris back. Then, we go find that bloodsucker.”
“How? He could be anywhere.”
“Then we’ll look everywhere,” I snapped, regretting it immediately. I took a calming breath and said, “I don’t care. But this has to stop. I don’t want to think about all those dead witches.”