5. Ethan

Chapter 5

Ethan

I scrub the towel over my hair, then wrap it around my waist. It’s just me, Florence, Vi and Squid in the house as far as I know. My grandmother’s familiar, a raccoon named Rosco, probably lurks outside to alert her of anything going on. I’ll have to remember to pop into the kitchen to grab him an apple for a bribe.

When I leave the bathroom, I head for the crystal room, as we call it. If anyone thought dragons hoarded shiny shit, my grandmother is worse. Entire rooms dedicated to her collections. Don’t get me wrong, I lived in this mansion for years before she shipped me and Florence around the US to teach at different schools, so I have my own tiny hoards of things added to hers.

Vi flitters in front of my face, and I pause. I’d forgotten what I’d sent her on a mission for before the disaster. She reminds me now. Images of demons flow through my mind. None of them my demon .

I shake my head. “Thanks, but none of them are who I’m looking for.” She’d infiltrated a few of the other coven houses to read their books on demons. She’s so tiny no one’s wards notices her.

The next image stops me cold. The headline reads: Crossroads Demons.

I scan the article she read and something pokes at my memory. This feels familiar. Maybe not this article, but I know it’s the right direction.

“Search for more on crossroads demons. Everything you can find. You’re the best, thank you.” I hold out a finger and pat her head when she lands.

Vi’s tiny head nods, and she flies from the house faster than I can see. I’ve had her for about five years, wanting to research more than I had time to and she comes in handy. Plus, it doesn’t hurt that she can get to places I can’t. In the time we’ve worked together, she’s been invaluable.

Florence finds me in the crystal room wrapped in her own towel from using a guest bathroom. The room has shelves upon shelves of crystals in all shapes and sizes and types. The windows have blackout curtains because my grandmother loves crystal balls and they do not mix well with sunlight coming through. We go to the drawers of quartz points and each chose one that’ll easily fit in a pocket.

“I’m still not sure we should do this tonight,” Florence says as we pad over to my grandmother’s room.

“If not tonight, then when? We have our final exams of the year tomorrow. Then it’ll be my birthday. Tonight is the only time we have to test my theory. If it fails, then I beg my grandmother for a day pass.” I grin at Florence’s sour face.

“You’re right. I hate when you’re right.”

I bump their shoulder with mine. “No, you don’t. We have more fun when we get into shenanigans.”

“When you get us into shenanigans.” They bump me back.

“Exactly.” My grandmother’s room is impeccably clean. Not one speck anywhere, and I’m sure she uses a spell to do it. Before we step across the threshold, I press a hand to the doorjamb and scan for any kind of spell that might ping her about intruders and find none. “Come on.” I wave Florence in when they hesitate.

My grandmother’s room, and well, the entire mansion, always smells like roses. Always. Sometimes it gives me a headache and I often wonder if she’s hiding something. I don’t have time to think about it today. We dash to her walk-in closet.

Florence runs a hand over a shirt. “We probably should use dirty clothes, something she’s already worn.”

“You’re right.” In the back of her closet she has a small hamper where she keeps dirty clothes that haven’t gone through the cleaning spell. I grab it and pull out the first thing on top, then toss it back in when Florence starts laughing. “I did not need to touch her underwear.” I shiver and remind myself to pay attention. The next item I grab is a blood red shirt, thankfully. I spread it over one of the shelves to my left and we wrap our crystals in the soft cloth tightly. “There’s not enough clothes in here for us both.” I frown as I dig around some more. Only one outfit. The red shirt, underwear, and black slacks.

“You wear them,” Florence says as they grab a shirt and skirt from the racks around us. “There should be enough of her essence on her clothes in general as long as this works.” They wave at the crystals in the shirt. They’re right and I know it.

We dress in our stolen clothes before finishing with the crystals. It’s not a complicated spell to fuse the crystals with my grandmother’s essence, but it does take concentration. Sitting on the floor of the closet, we hold the shirt and crystals together. I shut my eyes as heat fills my cupped hands. We mumble our intentions.

Cordia Speller’s essence fills the crystals, making us one and the same.

Over and over, we chant softly until the heat becomes unbearable. I squint to find our hands glow. “It’s done,” I croak out. Now all we need is a little bit of luck.

I have to wear a belt to keep the pants up and I stuff the bottom of the shirt into the waistband. I’m thin, but I hadn’t realized how much smaller I am than my grandmother. It’s like I’m a child playing dress up. Florence, at least, looks put together.

“This is just to test a theory.” I don’t have to look like I’m dressed up or anything.

“Exactly. We’ll walk through the spell and come right back.”

I yank the belt tighter.

“Right?” Florence pokes me.

“Right,” I mumble.

The moment we leave my grandmother’s room, Squid scurries up Florence’s body to sit on their shoulder. I give the squirrel a pet and lead the pair towards victory.

Grandmother’s mansion is… huge. It’s one of the biggest houses in Hex, boasting thirteen bedrooms, seventeen bathrooms, and seven various other rooms. It’s three stories and Florence and I have played in every nook and crannie. There’s also a pool with pool house, garden shed, and three garages. Not to mention the garden that has its own hedge labyrinth. When she passes, it all comes to me, but I much prefer my studio apartment on campus. Well, the freedom of my apartment. If I had all this square footage, I’m not sure what the heck I’d do with it all. I hope I don’t have to think about it for a long time despite how irritated I get with my grandmother.

The glass in the front door rattles like it always does when we open it. I suck in a deep breath of fresh air. The night critters sing their songs and the stars twinkle brightly in the night sky. One of the best things about Hex is the night sky. We don’t have a lot of light pollution because of the veils and wards keeping us safe from humans. The scent of rain hints on the air and I breathe it in.

My heart pounds as we step onto the porch.

“Rosco,” Florence whispers and nods towards one of the oak trees in the front yard.

“Right!” I run back inside, racing to the kitchen to grab an apple. They’re his favorite treat and usually he’s compliant when I give him one. I grab a second, just in case.

Florence laughs when I join them again. I take their hand with my free one and we take the steps down into the yard. Rosco’s dark beady eyes track us. The moment we step onto the gravel, he scurries down his tree.

I squat as he runs towards us. Squid dashes off from Florence’s shoulder. The two never really got along, but they’ve never hurt each other. Rosco chitters at me as he takes me in.

“Hey, Rossy. I have two apples for you if you promise not to tell Cordia anything.” I hold my hand and wave it in front of him. He’s practically hypnotized as he watches the apples. He nods and holds out his little hands. “Promise?”

Another nod. I place the apples on the ground and he snatches them up.

“Come on,” I whisper to Florence and take their hand.

We run across the yard until we get to the edge where there’s a faint glow before yard turns into pavement.

“Moment of truth,” I say.

Florence squeezes my hand. “We got this.”

I hold my breath and shut my eyes while we take the final step onto the pavement. I wait for the spell to activate. To pull us back into the yard and into the house. But nothing happens. Nothing .

“We did it!” I whisper shout. “We did it!” I release Florence and throw my hands into the air and dance to a beat in my head. Freedom!

Florence palms their crystal and grins. “Okay, now we gotta go back in before it wears off.”

“Nu uh, we need to test it to see how far it works. If it’s just to the road, it’s not that useful. But…” I look towards the rest of the town with pleading eyes. “We can investigate that Flutter and Fangs place. We’ll grab a drink and come right back.”

“Sounds reasonable enough.” They shove the crystal back into their pocket. “We look ridiculous, though. Well, you do.”

I rework the belt to keep the pants up. “If anyone asks, I’m testing out a costume.” I grin up at them. “It worked.”

“It did.” Florence grins back.