“Anyway, come on through. We’re all set up in the kitchen.”
“Set up?”
“Yeah. For the spell?”
“Oh! Right.”
“I can’t wait to actually meet this demon,” said Raya. “He sounds like a real character.”
In the kitchen, Erin looked around for a place to set her bag of supplies, but every square inch was full.
Raya swept her arm through the jumble of candles, rocks, papers, small glass jars half full of unknown powders, and plant clippings in varying states of freshness. “Just put it up there.”
Erin complied. “How does it work? The spell, that is,” said Erin.
“It’s like a recipe, really. Not all that different from what you’d see in a cookbook. Except instead of ending up with a pan of brownies, you get a demon.” She pulled Erin’s purchases out of the bag, inspecting each one before setting it aside.
“I guess I expected it to be more complicated somehow.”
Raya shrugged. “Oh, complications happen. Just like with recipes. You can’t always predict the result. There’s an element of luck on top of the element of skill.” She seized the container of salt and ripped it open. “Back up a second.”
Erin backed up.
Raya drizzled a stream of salt in a swooping pattern on the linoleum floor, then layered sweet-smelling items over the salt and set aside the more pungent items, like licorice and garlic.
“What are those for?” Erin peered over Raya’s shoulder.
“Sweet stuff to draw him in. Not-so-sweet stuff in case we need to get rid of something less— shall we say—friendly.”
“Less friendly?” Erin’s mouth went dry and she swallowed involuntarily.
“You never know,” said Raya.
“Are you sure this is safe?”
Raya laughed. “Of course it’s not ‘safe.’ Nothing’s ‘safe.’ What, you want to live forever?” She shot Erin a crooked grin.
“Maybe not forever, but a normal lifespan would be nice.”
“You want this demon back, or not?”
Erin squared her shoulders. “I want him back.”
“Then let’s do this.” She kneeled and returned to the intricate work of decorating the salt design with rose petals at precise intervals.
Erin looked out the window. The harsh light of the sun softened as it slid closer to the horizon. “Shouldn’t we be doing this at midnight or something?”
“Nah,” said Raya. “Sunrise and sunset are in-between times. Good for reaching out to things that are neither here nor there.” She stood up and dusted off her hands. “And that’s where we find your guy.”
“He’s not my—”
“Whatever. You ready?”
Erin nodded.
From down the hallway, Blaze barked.
Raya lit candles and placed them around the design on the floor.
