Than just strolled past her, ignoring her as if she weren’t worth his attention. “Is there tea?” he asked.
“Upper right in that last cupboard,” I said.
“Thank you. I believe I am going to enjoy this.” That was when he looked at Xtelle. It was amazing to see her eyes widen, her nostrils flare, and every muscle in her body go hard.
Afraid. She was afraid of him. Good.
But he wasn’t the one she should be worried about.
I was.
I opened my bag and began taking out the items.
A heart-shaped ruby on a pure gold chain, a bumble bee’s wings in a tiny glass box, a few drops of red ink, the very rare, very dangerous dried flower from my pocket, and lastly, a chipped terra cotta teapot from the local thrift shop.
As soon as I placed the teapot on the countertop, Xtelle broke her silence.
“I will not be crammed into that grimy little thing.”
I turned the teapot in my hands so she could get a good look at it. It was just your basic orange-brown, with a perfect surface for the glyphs and symbols I had written across it in thick, black Sharpie a month ago.
“I am not some common demon spawn you can defeat with a turnip.”
“Yeah, I got that. You’re a demon who forced her way into Ordinary, passing herself off as a unicorn—a creature of purity—who then lied about who she was, what she was, and why she was here.”
“You never asked me why I came here.”
That was true. But it was also a diversion. Words were a demon’s sharpest weapon. Best way to disarm her? Ignore her.
Than put the kettle on and selected two mugs and two tea strainers.
There was something soothing about his long, pale fingers delicately tamping tea leaves into place as if he had all the time in the world. As if we all did. It was calming. Ritualistic.
The last thing I pulled out of my bag was a piece of chalk that I kept on the windowsill during the full moon.
“Xtelle, you are no longer welcome in Ordinary.” I used the chalk to draw a triangle on the counter, placed the teapot in the center of it, then opened the pot. Next, I placed the ruby heart and bee’s wings into it, then tipped out three drops of red ink and added the flower.
So far so good.
“It won’t work,” she said. But her arms were crossed and her lips were wet. Her gaze kept skipping between Than and the teapot, and there was a heavy dose of fear in her eyes. Anxiety.
It would work. It was just going to take some time.
“Tea?” Than offered. He placed the mug of tea on the counter a good distance away from the teapot, but still in my reach.
“Thank you.” I picked up the mug, inhaled the woodsy green scent, blew across the liquid and, for a moment, just centered myself. I sipped the tea, savoring.
Then I began the spell.
It wasn’t something that could be done quickly. It wasn’t one or two lines of Latin, like they did in the movies, and call it good. This had to be strong enough to hold her and keep her until I found a way to send her back to the Underworld and make sure she would stay there.
I got the spell wrong three times.
After the last attempt, which had ended with a small puff of smoke rising from the chalk triangle that surrounded the teapot, I groaned and slumped down onto a kitchen stool.
“What am I doing wrong?” I growled at the ceiling.
Xtelle snorted. “For one thing, you didn’t summon me. That’s an uphill battle right there.”
