The stone covering the demon began to crack. The cracks spread, running like rivulets through mud in a rainstorm.
“Now what?” Nessa asked. “How do you get rid of an unwanted demon?”
“To summon or disperse a demon, you must know its true name,” Aunt Emerald said.
She looked at her aunt. “Do you know…”
Her aunt cut her off. “I do not consort with demons, thank you very much. The dark side is more your father’s playing field than mine.”
Both Nessa and Aunt Emerald shifted their eyes to Fiona.
Fiona made a face. “Hey! Don’t look at me. I don’t know its name.”
With a roar loud enough to make the glass in the windows tremble, the demon broke out of the stone. It lunged at them only to bounce back from the barrier.
The sigils inside the pentagram glowed brighter. The demon’s outer form began melting away like hot wax from an open flame.
Nessa could only stand and stare as a far more grotesque figure than the Japanese demon revealed itself.
Hunched, with wide shoulders and arms longer in proportion to its body than a human’s, the demon stared at them, rocking from side to side in an odd hop-step movement almost like it was dancing. Its skin was pasty white with a flat nose and two bulbous staring eyes. The eyes were the worst. They were as big and round as oranges.
A long red pointed tongue flicked in and out of its wide mouth to lick its eyes.
“Ewww,” said Fiona. “Gross.”
The demon looked at Fiona. It grinned showing sharp oversized yellow teeth.
“Grosser,” said Fiona rolling her eyes.
Whipping out her phone, she snapped a picture.
“Fiona!” Nessa protested. “What the hell?”
Fiona smirked. She’d tried to set up a Voodoo Bounty Hunting Instagram site only to have it shot down by their boss. No doubt she had several other secret sites up and running with supernatural photos. Fiona loved attention. .
The demon wore layers of ragged turmeric- and red-colored robes. A wide red sash tied around its waist was decorated with small skulls.
Nessa hoped they were monkey skulls, not human children’s.
The bones clattered and clicked as the demon rocked back and forth in its weirdly rhythmic hop-step, seemingly unable to keep still. It was barefoot and the long nails on its misshapen toes clicked and clacked along with the rattling bones.
The demon raised a thick, cleaver-like notched sword and smashed it against the barrier.
Nessa flinched as the barrier trembled.
“Rakshasa,” said her aunt. “Indian demon. Shapeshifters.”
“Fuck me,” breathed Fiona. “Rei, Brian summoned a Rakshasa? Are you crazy?”
“It was disguised,” Reiko protested. “He didn’t know.”
“What’s an Indian demon doing manifesting through a Japanese altar?” Nessa asked, completely out of her depth. Running from Fallen Angels, she knew. Dealing with demons was a whole new level of weirdness.
“Many Hindu deities are part of Japan,” Reiko said, eyeing the demon. “People are always surprised. But they traveled along the silk road with Buddhism from India to China and finally Japan. Japanese incorporated them into their mythology. Shiva, Lakshmi, Vishnu, they all have Japanese counterparts. And demons too.” She indicated the Rakshasa with her elbow, her hands being full of parrot.
“And you know this how?” Nessa asked.
“I told you I spent a semester in Japan studying Yokai. I met Brian there. He was on the same UCLA exchange program. Both of us were interested in Japanese folklore and we hit it off.”
“Bet your mom didn’t like the Yokai part.”
“Stop bringing my mom into this,” Reiko snapped.
“Later, children,” spat her aunt. “We have more pressing matters.”
Rocking back and forth, the demon took in the room. All the while licking its eyeballs with its nasty tongue.
The bugling eyes settled on Reiko Sömmerhaulder.
“I know you,” the demon snarled. The circle quivered as it threw itself against the barrier again. A little of the salt shifted from the impact.
Not a good sign.
Pim hissed, his collar sparking as he attempted to change into his werecat form. He howled in frustration.
“I know, kitty,” Nessa said quietly. Being locked out of her Elemental magic was unnerving. She felt… off balance. Though even without the Infernal Court Jinx she could hardly summon a tornado in her aunt’s house. The thought of her aunt’s reaction to the chaos made her insides gurgle. If the demon broke free she would have to go to the dark side.
Period.
Barracuda Bail Bonds was the reason Aunt Emerald had been drawn into this. Nessa’s fault. If she had to open the cage holding her Fallen Angel powers or summon Frank the Fallen Angel himself, so be it.
Reiko raised her hands and took a firm stance, much like Fiona had when she entered the room.
The demon crashed against the glowing walls of the barrier.
More salt shifted.
Taking a deep breath, she opened a mental image of the spiritual cage where she kept the energy locked away. There would not be much time. She’d have to be ready.
“The name of the demon,” said Reiko Sömmerhaulder. “You need his name?”
Nessa, her focus turned inward, couldn’t seem to croak out an answer.
“Hell yes!” shouted Aunt Emerald.
“Poppy knows,” Reiko said.
“Poppy?” Nessa managed to croak.
“Who is Poppy?” demanded her aunt.
Reiko held out the bird. “This is Poppy. Poppy is Brian’s Familiar. He channels through her.” She flipped the parrot around to face her. “Poppy, listen, please. This thing took Poppy’s daddy away from her.”
She gently turned the parrot back toward the Rakshasa.
The demon grinned and chopped viciously at the barrier with the cleaver.
“Hate,” squawked Poppy, flapping her wings, sharp beak darting out as if to bite. “Hate, hate.”
“I hate it too,” Reiko agreed. “Poppy, we need Brian’s banishing spell. To stop it from hurting me, from hurting you, and these other people. We have to send it back. Can you help?”
The bird looked from the demon to Reiko and back with uncanny intelligence for both its size and species.
Reese had said Poppy was Brian’s Familiar. As a witch’s companion, she must be far more than a pet. Look at Pim. He could transform into a lethal werecat, he could read and type. His knowledge of magic was extensive.
Poppy… Well, the only superpower the bird had demonstrated today was the power to annoy.
She looked at Pim and crossed her fingers.
The demon rammed the barrier again shifting the salt perilously close to the edge. If the circle was broken the demon would be free.
Its horrible eyes bulged so hard they looked like would pop right out of its skull. Nessa thought a little hysterically of a demonic Pug dog.
Lifting its cleaver, it ran the blade down the barrier.
“I ate your friend’s soul,” it howled, “as I will consume yours.”
Reiko stood her ground. Her stance wide and firm.
“Poppy hate,” the bird said with venom.
“Do it,” Reiko said. “Do it for Brian.”
She held the bird out with both hands at shoulder height, aiming it like a loaded gun.
Poppy became still. Closing her eyes and opening her beak, she hissed out a long breath. The breath coalesced into a translucent fog surrounding the parrot. A light, white as sheets in a laundry commercial, blossomed around the parrot.
“I call on the Twelve Deva,” said the parrot.
Nessa’s mouth dropped open. Though still spoken in its raspy voice, the bird’s pronunciation was perfect.
“I’ll be damned,” she heard her aunt say.
“I call on the Twelve Deva,” Poppy repeated. “Guardians of the four directions. Guardians of the sun, moon, the rising and the falling,”
The demon screamed, throwing itself furiously against the glowing barrier as Poppy recited Brian’s banishing spell with astonishing clarity. Even Pim appeared mesmerized.
“By the power of Bonten . By the power of Taishakuten , I name you in the daylight, in the moonlight, and at midnight. I name you Servant of the Demon King, Oni no Oh S huten doji no Kerai .”
A fiery pit opened inside the circle at the demon’s feet.
“I name you Yami no Mishimune, Yami no Mishimune, Yami no Mishimune.”
Hell itself erupted from the floor of the séance room. Flames leaped up like living things to wind around the demon’s writhing body.
“You are banished from this circle. Return to your prison on Mount Oe.”
Anchoring its cleaver to the floor, it tried frantically to claw its way back up and out. Snakelike the flames leaped high twining around its arms, legs, face, and throat. Fighting all the way, the flames dragged the Rakshasa down.
The floor closed over the pit and the séance room was quiet.
“Break the circle,” Poppy squawked.
Nessa followed the parrot’s orders. This bird obviously knew what she was doing. Nessa swept a hand through the circle of salt. The dispersal of energy knocked her off her feet and she fell on top of Pim who had been on her heels.
“Sorry, kitty.”
“Close the path,” said Poppy.
Her Aunt threw herself into a chair at the séance table. Weaving her fingers together, she closed her eyes, chanting under her breath.
The words her aunt spoke sent hot and cold flashes up and down Nessa’s body. The world tilted to one side and Nessa dropped back to her butt just as she’d started to stand. Luckily not on top of Pim this time.
Nessa was sensitive to ghosts and the spirit trails they traveled. This particular trail was rocking and rolling as her aunt sealed it from ever being hijacked again.
Pim rubbed his head against her legs, trying to shield her from the spectral run-off of her aunt’s magic.
Nessa closed her eyes, her heart pounding. After far too long for Nessa’s aching body, the spell wound down. The door to the spirit trail slammed shut.
“Done,” said her aunt. “No one is sneaking down that path again.”
“I need a drink,” said Fiona, tucking a stray lock of hair behind one ear.
“Drinks are in the kitchen.” Aunt Emerald’s voice was hoarse. She rubbed her hands over her face. “Bring me a beer while you’re in there.”
Fiona flashed an ‘okay’ sign saying, “Be right back,” to Reiko.
“Oh,” added Nessa’s aunt, “tell Mrs. Winters it’s over. I’ll be in in a minute.”
“Got it.”
“Bring a bowl of water for Poppy, please,” Reiko called.
Fiona brought the beer for Aunt Emerald and a bowl of water she handed to Reiko.
Reiko put the bowl on the floor, setting the parrot beside it.
Going back into the kitchen Fiona returned with two bottles of Coke. Regular, not Diet. Even a chronic weight watcher like Fiona understood sugar and caffeine were important energy boosts to recover from using magic.
“Have you got any rum?” Fiona asked Aunt Emerald.
“Dining room. Bar cart.”
A few moments later Fiona brought the bottle of rum.
The two young women twisted off the tops of Coke. Fiona poured in some rum. The two clinked bottles in a mock-toast. They drank deeply and Fiona poured in more rum.
Aunt Emerald took a long pull on her beer, sighing in satisfaction. “Going to have to bump up the wards in the otherwhere tonight.” She waved a hand over her head to encompass the room. “Can’t have my spiritual visitors being threatened by damn demons. You’re the reason the cursed thing came into my house, aren’t you?”
Nessa’s heart jumped into her mouth before she realized her aunt was talking to Reiko.
Lowering the bottle of soda, Reiko ran a sleeve across her lips. “Yes ma’am, I must be. Only… How did it know I was here? I have my amulets.”
She reached into her sweater pulling out several string bags on braided cords around her neck.
“Come, show me,” Aunt Emerald demanded, beckoning imperiously.
Reiko walked over, scooting a chair from the table close to Emerald. She held out the bags.
Emerald fingered the amulets, whispering strings of words under her breath. The little embroidered bags glowed with soft blue and yellow lights. She gave Reiko an appraising look.
“These aren’t protective amulets. They’re to keep you hidden. Cloaked.”
Reiko looked puzzled. “What do you mean cloaked?”
“To hide your magic. You’ve got more on you than these amulets. I can feel ripples of energy. Tattoos?”
Reiko looked surprised. “Ye… yes. Since I was a baby. Mother said it was to protect me from Sömmerhaulder enemies.”
Nessa guessed it was to keep the girl’s power from being discovered by members of her own clan. What magical Mom wanted to protect was her daughter’s birthright to the Sömmerhaulder fortune.
“The demon couldn’t trace her here directly,” her aunt said. “Not with my level of cloaking. He followed someone else.”
Nessa and Pim exchanged looks. She swallowed.
Crap, crap, crap.
“Me. The demon must have followed me. I was at Reiko’s house.”
“Did you come directly back here?” her aunt snapped.
“No. Desiree and I went to their friend’s place. The one who was petrified by the demon, Brian Sameijima. My fairies joined us there. We stopped at Del Taco in Pasadena. Ravi came...”
“You have fairies?” Reiko interrupted, wide-eyed.
“I do. Three of them.” She held up a hand to stop any fairy-related questions. “Not the issue here. Let’s see. I opened a gate to drop the girls off in Fae. Then Pim and I paid a visit to Regency Bail Bonds in Glendale. Regency bonded Reese Villanova. They want me to bring Reiko to them instead of the Infernal Court. Promised me big bucks, too.” Nessa felt the color drain from her face. “I met Belencourt there.”
“At Regency?” said her aunt.
Nessa nodded.
“Bingo,” said her aunt, snapping her fingers. “The bastard knows you live with me. He sent the demon gambling Reiko might be here.”
“Belencourt wanted to invest in your drink,” Nessa said. She was still sitting on the floor, too weary to move. Too scared to look at the damage to her hip by the Rakshasa’s claws.
“He gave me the shivers,” Reiko said, grabbing onto her upper arms as if remembering. “He was waving around a lot of money. He was ready to hand it over, even had a bottling plant scouted to begin production. Promised to streamline testing and licensing from the Food and Drug Administration. Brian and Reese wanted to take it. I was the one who said wait. I wanted to talk to my sister Elizabeth. You know, ask her advice. She has much more experience in corporate business and witchcraft.”
Nessa’s brain screeched to a stop. “Wait, wait, wait. Your sister knew about Bee Buzzed ?”
“I talked it over with her once we had a viable formula.”
“Before or after the supernaturals in Redondo Beach and Torrance started going crazy.”
“Before.”
“And your mom? Because she seemed clueless at your house.”
Reiko went white. “What did she say? When you saw her.”
Nessa thought back. “She didn’t know about Barracuda Bail Bonds for sure. Since she didn’t know you were out on bail, I assume she didn’t know about the drink. Everybody knows now. Apparently, your and Reese’s families have lawyered up and stormed the Infernal Court. But getting back to your sister. Did you talk to her after the incidents in the South Bay?”
“Yes. Who else? I was panicking. All three of us were.”
“With good reason,” snorted Aunt Emerald.
“Elizabeth wanted us to let her handle things, including negotiating with Belencourt or other potential investors. Brian wanted to get the families involved. He was all about the money. He didn’t have anything to prove.”
“By prove you mean?” Nessa asked.
“Reese and I started the venture to prove to our families we had value. Both of us are the youngest and…” she paused, looking down, “overlooked, I guess you could say. Our older siblings are smart and successful. I don’t know. I think for me, my dad was like ‘here’s a pony, go outside and play.’ You know? He’d done the dad thing already. I know he loves me…” she trailed off.
“Ravi told me you were the one who went to the Infernal Court after the summons was served. What about Reese and Brian?”
“Brian wasn’t served. Only Reese and me. She was scared and wouldn’t go. I told her I’d explain it was my idea. Judge Jelani knew much more than us about the side effects and possible dark magic benefits of our formula. Scared the hell out of me. I can tell you. Said we’d pinned targets on our back. Everyone and their Familiar was going to want the formula. She said the only recourse was a forgetting spell.”
“Smart Judge,” Aunt Emerald said approvingly. “Irreversible. Good choice.”
“Did your sister Elizabeth know about the forgetting spell?” Nessa asked remembering the goons at Brian’s house. They’d been wearing suits. Maybe Reiko’s family knew more than she thought. The formula represented big money in the right hands.
Reiko shook her head. “No. I went to Reese and Brian and told them what we had to do.”
“They agreed?”
“When I explained the dangers, they did. None of us wanted to die for an energy drink.”
“Too late now. Brian didn’t make the formula, did he?” Nessa asked.
“No. I mean yes. He… We all experimented with different ingredients. He’s a good chemist. Was. He was a good chemist. Ultimately, we really needed him for the magical zing since neither Reese nor I have magic.”
“Right. The demonic zing. Is the zing gone along with Brian?”
She shook her head. “I have the spell to summon the demon committed to memory along with my part of the recipe. It’s why I need the forgetting hex. I can’t unlearn it.”
Nessa looked at her aunt.
“Don’t look at me. The best I can do is fog memory. Speaking of, I need to take care of Mrs. Winters. Poor woman. But a memory wipe?” She shook her head. “Even if I could, why would Belencourt or whoever believe it had been done? No. You need the power of the Infernal Court and an official declaration the recipe has been destroyed once and for all. Otherwise, you’ll never be safe.”
With that pronouncement, her aunt walked wearily to the kitchen.
Fiona put an arm around Reiko, leading her to the séance table. They both sat.
Nessa decided it was finally time to look at the damage the demon had done to her hip. Blood had soaked her torn jeans all the way to the ankle. Three jagged tears ripped through the material and beneath... A roaring filled her ears.
“Pim...” she whispered.
The room went dark.
Cushions and a warm furry body under her arm were all she could register at first when the lights in her head came back on.
“Drink this.”
Her aunt’s voice.
She felt a straw pressed to her lips.
She drank. The liquid was cold, a little sweet and sour at the same time. She drank more. It was good.
The straw was pulled away and Nessa said, “More.”
The straw returned.
A ripple of cool energy washed through her. She opened her eyes fully.
Aunt Emerald, Fiona, and Reiko were all staring down at her. Pim was squeezed between her and a throw pillow. She was lying on the couch in her aunt’s living room.
Reiko made an urging motion with her hands. “Have some more. It’s helping you feel better.”
Raising her hand she grasped the bottle, drinking deeply.
Feel better? Hell, she felt great.
Holding out the bottle she saw the familiar yellow and purple label with the cartoonish bee.
“Bee Buzzed?” she yelped. “You gave me a cursed energy drink?”
“Not cursed,” said Reiko with a frown. “It has health benefits. Feel your hip.”
Keeping the bottle in one hand, Nessa slid the other under what she now saw was a beach towel. Her jeans were gone and she was in her underpants. Under her fingertips, she felt three long rough scabs running from her hip to her stomach.
“No stitches?” she asked.
“Nope,” said Aunt Emerald. “We cleaned them up and I put my special salve on them. Demon injuries can easily get infected. While I cleaned, Reiko used my turkey baster to get Bee Buzzed down your throat.”
Nessa stuck out her tongue, “You used a turkey baster? Gross.”
“Needs must,” said her aunt with a shrug.
“Drink,” Reiko urged.
Nessa sipped at the straw noting Reiko watching her perhaps a little too eagerly.
“Hey,” she stopped, “am I market research?”
Fiona laughed.
“Well, okay, kind of,” Reiko said. “I didn’t know one of the effects was healing. I mean, wow. We could see your wounds closing and scabbing over in minutes.”
“Pretty cool,” agreed Fiona. “We thought for sure we’d have to take you to the hospital. Then poof !”
Nessa held out the bottle. “Where did you get this? I thought you destroyed your supplies.”
“Fiona still had the six-pack I’d given her during our promotions at the beach.”
Nessa took out the straw draining the bottle.
Pim meowed, placing a paw on her shoulder. He seemed to be saying, ‘slow down.’
Nessa didn’t want to slow down. She tapped the bottom of the bottle to get the last few drops.
She sat up, swinging her legs off the couch. Experimentally she turned her head from side to side and rolled her shoulders. No pain.
“I feel great,” she said getting to her feet. “Is there anything to eat in the kitchen? I’m starving. Maybe I could cook if there’s nothing. Wow, yeah. I haven’t cooked in ages. Lasagna. I want lasagna. Or maybe chili. Or pot roast. What’s in the freezer?”
Nessa walked into the kitchen.
Muffins were in the open pink bakery box on the table.
She picked one up and sniffed.
“Apple cinnamon! I love apple cinnamon. Can I have one Aunt Emerald?” Without waiting she peeled the paper off the muffin and took an enormous bite as she moved to the refrigerator.
“There’s spaghetti,” she announced. “I’m going to heat up the spaghetti, okay?” She looked in the direction of the dining room. Aunt Emerald, Reiko, Fiona, and Pim were crowded in the doorway staring.
“Spaghetti?” she said holding up the container. “Okay?”
“Help yourself,” said her aunt. “Make sure you clean up.”
“Oh, I will clean up, I will clean everything.”
She popped the spaghetti in the microwave and tapped in the time before going back to the refrigerator. “I’ll clean this for you. Let me get started right now.”
She began unloading the shelves and placing everything on the kitchen counters.
The microwave pinged. She pulled out the spaghetti, popped the lid off, and began eating with a fork. Between bites, she kept unloading the refrigerator.
Fiona came over and put a restraining arm on her shoulder. “Hey, Nessa, why don’t you sit down and eat?”
“What? No. No, no, no. I can totally do two things at once. Three things. Everything. I will have this kitchen sparkling. Not as if it isn’t already clean, Aunt Emerald. You know what I mean.”
“Is this what the fuss is all about?” she heard her aunt say.
Reiko cleared her throat, “Side effects… uh, um, there are a few side effects as your niece pointed out. Results may vary. But look on the bright side, it healed those nasty wounds.”
“Aunt Emerald?” Nessa called, “where’s the scouring powder?”