Chapter 16

CHAPTER 16

" S o," Damon says as we get into the car and buckle our belts, "that was…interesting."

"That's putting it mildly," I say, checking my mirrors before I pull out.

"So, I guess that was a date, then?" he asks, wiggling his eyebrows at me.

"I'm not about to give you or Beverly the satisfaction," I say, pulling up to a stoplight. "When you want to take me on a date, you can ask me properly yourself."

Damon opens his mouth, but I hold up one of my fingers to his lips to stop him.

"But not now. Don't you dare do it now. There is something else I need to do first."

"What?" he asks when I remove my finger so I can drive again.

"Something personal. Don't worry about it. I'll let you know when I'm ready."

"Like…later today? Tomorrow? Next year…?"

"Soon, okay," I say. "I just need a little time to wrap my head around stuff."

"Fine," Damon says. "But don't wait too long. I have a short attention span."

"You have literally all the time in the world," I say. "How can you possibly have a short attention span?"

"Oh, sometimes life just gets so tedious. I just need a change of scenery once in a while."

"Hmm," I say thoughtfully. If I am ready to date, I think I need to give this whole dating a demon thing a little more consideration. But then, that's what dating is for, right? To make sure you are compatible.

"What?" Damon asks.

"Nothing," I say. "Just…you know, me dating a demon and you dating a human. It's all new to both of us. We just need to know what we are getting into."

"I've dated humans," Damon says.

"In this century?" I ask.

"Well…" he hedges.

"In this country?" I ask.

"Umm…"

"Monogamously?"

"Okay, well, that might be pushing it a bit too far," he says, but I can tell he's joking.

Wow, how weird is that? I know a demon well enough to know when he's being serious or not. Life is just too wild.

"So, what are we going to do now?" Damon asks.

"I figured that while Bella is with my parents, we could check in with Beckett, and then go see Sophia and Jacob. You know, follow up with everyone on how their investigations are going. I'm not saying I want you out of my life, but, you know, I could do with not having to lug that silly cookie jar around anymore."

"I don't know," Damon says, examining the jar. "I've grown kind of fond of it. My little home away from home."

"Oh, that reminds me. What is going on with your shop?"

"What do you mean?"

"You said you have an antiquities shop in Milan. Is it weird that you've just popped off for a bit?"

"Oh, it's fine," he says. "I told my girl I was going to be gone for a bit. She knows how to run everything."

"Your girl?"

"Yeah, you know. My shop girl."

"Oh. You mean a shopkeeper?"

"Right."

"So, she's not your girl."

"Not literally. I don't own her."

"Okay, well, if you are going to live in the modern world, and especially be around my impressionable daughter, you are going to need to watch the things you say. The words you use matter."

"Right, fine, okay."

"So, what's her name?"

"Who?"

"The gir—" I grunt. "Your shopkeeper! What's her name?"

"Oh, right. Bianca. Bianca Marchetti."

"That is very Italian, indeed. Does she know about…you know? You being a demon?"

"Yes. We've been friends a long time. I trust her completely."

"Hmm. Interesting. Can I meet her?"

"Sure. But, why?"

"Well, I think that trust is something we will have to work on. I mean, all I know about you is what you've told me. And it isn't all good. I mean, you were sent to torture me."

"I haven't lied to you."

"I know. At least, I think I know. Anyway, I'm just saying… Okay, what if you get freed from the cookie jar, but the curse isn't broken? Are you going to possess and torture me?"

"I don't know."

That was not the answer I wanted. "What do you mean? You said you didn't want to."

"And I don't. But it might not be up to me. The Dark Lord is not an enemy I want to make. But that is why we are trying to not just free me, but end the curse, right?"

"Right."

"So, what are you going on about?"

"I don't know," I say, growing frustrated. "Okay, well, can I trust you to be monogamous? How do I know you aren't going to cheat on me?"

"Whoa, hey! We haven't even been on a date yet. I haven't agreed to be monogamous yet."

"I know . I'm just saying, if it does come time for that, and I want to be monogamous, how can I trust you to agree?"

"Why would you even ask someone you can't trust to be in a monogamous relationship if that's what you want?"

"I don't… Ugh!" I Press my lips closed and let out a muffled scream. "You are so frustrating."

"Well, you are just talking nonsense," Damon says. "You're creating problems where there aren't any. We aren't a couple, we aren't in a relationship, and I don't know why we are even arguing about this."

"Fine!" I say. "Then let's stop talking about it."

"Fine." Damon crosses his arms and looks out the window.

He is so infuriating! I just want to take the cookie jar and toss it out the window. I wonder what would happen? Would that set him free? Or would he be destroyed along with the cookie jar? It would be funny if the easiest way to get him out of my life is sitting right here next to me.

But I don't really want him out of my life. I…I'm attracted to him. And I enjoy his company. And I think his laissez-faire attitude toward life could be good for me. I need to have a bit more fun. Be more spontaneous. Worry less. But I also have responsibilities in my life that Damon doesn't have. I have to always consider Bella and what is best for her.

"I know you said that demons can't have children with humans," I say calmly, trying to bridge the gap between us. "But do you have demon children? Or children at all, maybe with other supernaturals?"

"Not in the human sense of raising someone from infancy," he says. "But there have been fledgling demons I have been…more of a mentor for who I consider my family. And there are a couple of elder demons I look up to who taught me to be the demon I am."

"Oh, okay. That's nice. Anyone I've heard of?"

He chuckles. "Perhaps. Anasazi?"

"The African trickster god?"

"Very good. I'm impressed."

"Don't be," I say. "I think I saw it on a TV show."

"He is what you would call a father to me."

"Hmm, so are you like Loki? That doesn't do much for making me trust you."

Damon chuckles. "No, I'm not Loki. That's my brother."

I gasp, imagining Chris Hemsworth stepping out of my shower in nothing but a small towel. "So are you, like, Thor?"

Damon laughs out loud at that. I hope he couldn't read my thoughts. "No, not exactly. Thor was, indeed, raised by Odin. Our family lines in the demon realm are not the same as they developed in human legends."

"Well, I look forward to learning more about your world," I say. "I'm sorry I picked a fight with you. I just… I haven't even dated a human in a long time. And I've never dated a supernatural, unless you count a fling I had in high school with Adrian Cooper."

"The werewolf Alpha?" he asks.

"One and the same."

"Does Olivia know?" he asks, naming Adrian's new wife, the owner of local coffee shop Jumpin' Beans.

"Hmm. I don't know. I haven't told her. It totally slipped my mind until just now. I mean, she can find out. I'm not hiding anything. It was just so long ago."

Damon slips his hand over mine, resting on the drive shaft. "Well, I forgive you. I don't want to fight with you."

"I don't want to fight with you either. Everything is just so… ‘New' seems too mundane a word. I didn't even know demons were real a week ago."

"Look, this is new for me too," Damon says. "But we will figure it out together, okay?"

"Okay," I say.

I pull up in front of the little boutique owned by Sophia and her friends, the twins Dawn and Destiny. Sophia, Beverly Barnes's granddaughter, sells spells and bath and body items out of an adorable and sweet-smelling shop near The Book Coven.

Damon and I walk in and the little bell over the door tinkles. Sophia sees me and waves, indicating that she is on the phone. It's a Saturday, but it is also off-season, so the shop is empty. I take a turn around the room, trying all the samples and smelling all the candles.

"Mmhmm… Mmhmm… I see…" I'm not trying to eavesdrop, but in the quiet little store, I can overhear Sophia on the phone without trying.

"See anything you like?" I ask Damon, trying to drown Sophia out.

"Anything that smells like sulfur?" he asks.

"I don't think ‘rotten egg' is on Sophia's list of ingredients," I say.

"You are sure you followed the directions exactly?" Sophia asks. "The slightest change can… Yes. No. Right. Well, love spells can take a bit of time to work. They aren't always instant."

I can't help but grimace. I feel sorry for whoever is on the other end of the line. They must be desperate. I wonder if Sophia has any spells to help me with… Well, I have such a laundry list of problems, she must have something that will help. Maybe I should ask her.

"Okay, well, it sounds like you did everything right. Just give it a few more days and let me know if there are any changes, okay? Thanks. Okay, talk to you next week. Goodbye." Sophia lets out a long exhale and then stretches her back and neck. "Sorry about that."

"No need to apologize," I say, walking up to the counter. "Sounded like she really needed your help."

"Yeah. Well, I can't talk about it."

"Understood."

"So, what's up?"

"Not much," I say. "Well, sorry. I'm just used to saying that. But you know I have a lot going on."

"Yeah. Hi, Damon." She gives him a wave. He is still looking at the shelves, which makes me think he probably does use skin and face creams, he just doesn't want to admit it.

"Hello, Sophia."

"Well, I was just checking in," I say. "Wondering if you or Jacob or Beverly had any ideas about Damon or Bella?"

"No," she says, shaking her head. "I'm afraid not. But I haven't had much time to help out. You should just talk to Beverly or Jacob about it. It's the slow season here in the shop, but that's when I'm the busiest brewing up new stock, so I've had my hands full."

"Yeah? Got anything good I should try?"

"Oh, you are interested?" She dips behind the counter and brings up a tray of potions. They are hidden from plain sight so that tourists don't see them. But for us locals, even us mundane ones, Sophia brings them out.

"Maybe. Depending on what you got."

"Well, what ails you? Other than having a demon attached to you?" Sophia laughs, setting the tray on the countertop with a variety of bottles, each filled with shimmering liquids of different colors.

"Well, I had a good meeting with my therapist today," I say. "I think…" I have to take a breath for a moment. "I think I might be ready to…to move on, you know? Let go of some of my guilt and grief."

"Oh, honey," Sophia says, putting her hand on mine. "I'm so proud of you. "Okay, let's see what we have." She picks up a bottle with a long neck, the liquid inside blue as a dark night. "This is one of my favorites. Twilight moonbeams, perfect for relaxation." She tips the bottle over, showing the blue swirl around with shimmering silver. "One sip and all your worries and any tension in your muscles just melt away. It comes off first as a cooling, tingling sensation. It also has the lovely side effect of sweet dreams."

"Oh," I say, mesmerized by the movement of the liquid in the bottle. "That sounds nice."

"Oh, here is a new one," Sophia pipes up, picking up a short, fat jar with an inky purple liquid. "Mallard weed brew is an extremely effective antidote to almost any poison."

"I'm not sure I need that one," I say. "I don't think anyone is trying to poison me, just curse me."

"Well, you have a kid. They are always putting things in their mouths."

"That is true, but I think Bella has grown out of the putting random things in her mouth stage, at least, I hope she has."

"This might be more what you are looking for, though," Sophia says, picking up a heart-shaped bottle with yellow liquid. "Willow bloom potion for a broken heart. This potion offers relief from any emotional baggage that may be bogging you down or holding you back from moving on. This potion will not cause you to forget your lost loved one, but it will replace all those feelings of suffering or melancholy with happy memories of your time together. It can also heal emotional wounds that may be holding you back. Of course, we do learn difficult, but important lessons from losing people who were once important to us. So, it is important to note that willow bloom potion for a broken heart does not cause you to lose any revelations, or intelligence, or insights that you may have gained from the experience. It only helps negate any suffering that may be holding you back from living your life in a positive way."

"That sounds…perfect," I say, reaching for the bottle. "I mean, I don't want to ever forget my husband, but if I could just, you know, hurt less when I think about him, that would be great."

Sophia starts to hand it over, but Damon pulls my hand back. "Hold on there."

"What?" I ask, wondering why he doesn't want me to take the potion. Does he not want me to get over my husband?

"I mean, it sounds wonderful. But we are already struggling with the issue of multiple spells overlapping. We don't know how that could interact with everything else you have going on."

"That's…true," I say sadly. Sophia pouts and puts the potion back in the box. "Well, hopefully, Beverly and Jacob will have answers for us soon. Then maybe I can try it out."

"I'll put it aside for you," Sophia says with a wink.

"Thanks," I say. "I'll talk to you later."

"Good luck!" she calls as we leave the shop.

"I'm sure your therapist would be happy with your sudden commitment to change," Damon says as we get in the car, "but I'm sure even she would not want you to risk causing more damage to yourself."

I let out a sigh. "You are right, of course. But, I guess the fact that I am disappointed is a good sign that I'm ready, right?"

"Of course," he says. "Baby steps."

"Baby steps."