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My eyes flew open and I stared at the bank of Ivy's electronic equipment. "She finished it?" I said, and Kisten grunted when my elbow pushed off his gut when I sat up. My sock feet hit the rug, and my eyes shot to the clock on the TV. It was past noon?
"I fell asleep!" I said, seeing our pizza-crust-strewn plates on the coffee table. "Kist," I complained, "you weren't supposed to let me fall asleep!"
He remained reclining on Ivy's gray suede couch, his hair tousled and a content, sleepy look to his eyes. "Sorry," he said around a yawn, not looking sorry at all.
"Darn it. I was supposed to be helping Ceri." It was bad enough she was doing my spelling for me. To be sleeping when she did it was just rude.
He lifted one shoulder and let it fall. "She said to let you sleep."
Giving him an exasperated sigh, I tugged my jeans straight. I hated it when I fell asleep in my clothes. At least I had showered before di
Ceri was sitting with her elbows on Ivy's antique table. Beside her was a pizza box, empty but for a single slice and an untouched container of garlic dipping sauce. Her long, wispy hair was the only movement, floating in the chill breeze from the window. The kitchen was cleaner than I ever managed when I did my spelling: copper bowls stacked neatly in the sink, the grit of salt under my feet from where she had made a circle, and a scattering of ley line magic paraphernalia and earth magic herbs. A demon book was open on the center counter, and the purple candle I burned last Halloween guttered even as I watched.
The early afternoon sun was a bright swath of light coming in the window. Past the drifting curtains, pixies shrieked and played, shredding the fairy nest in the ash tree with a savage enthusiasm. Jenks was sitting on the table, slumped against Ceri's half-empty cup of tea. "Ceri," I said, reaching to touch her shoulder.
Her head jerked up. "O di immortals, Gally," she said, clearly not awake. "My apologies! Your curse is ready. I'll have your tea directly."
Jenks took to the air in a clattering of wings, and my attention shot from him to her. "Ceri?" I repeated, frightened. She called Algaliarept Gally?
The young woman stiffened, then dropped her head into her hands again. "God help me, Rachel," she said, her words muffled. "For a moment…"
My hand slipped from her shoulder. She had thought she was back with Al. "I'm sorry," I said, feeling even more guilty. "I fell asleep and Kisten didn't wake me. Are you okay?"
She turned, a thin smile on her heart-shaped face. Her green eyes were tired and weary. I was sure she hadn't slept since yesterday afternoon, and she looked ready to drop. "I'm fine," she lisped faintly, clearly not.
Embarrassed, I sat before her. "Jeez, Ceri, I could have done something."
"I'm fine," she repeated, her eyes on the ribbon of smoke spiraling up from the candle. "Jenks helped me with the plants. He's very knowledgeable."
Eyebrows rising, I watched Jenks tug his green silk gardening jacket down. "You think I'm going to take a spell without knowing what's in it?" he said.
"Jenks helped you make it?" I asked.
She shrugged. "It doesn't matter who makes it, as long as you kindle it." Pale face smiling tiredly, she nodded to the potion and finger stick.
Moving slowly, I rose and went to Jenks's spell. The crack of the safety seal on the finger stick breaking was loud.
"Use your Jupiter finger," Ceri advised. "It will add the strength of your will to it."
It made a difference? I wondered, feeling ill from more than lack of sleep as I pricked my finger for three drops of blood. Kisten stirred in the living room when they went plopping into the spell pot and the scent of burnt amber rose. Jenks's wings blurred to motion, and I held my breath, waiting for something to happen. Nothing. But I had to say the "magic words" first.
"Done," Ceri said, slumping where she sat.
My eyes went to Kisten's lanky form when he strode into the kitchen, barefoot and rumpled. "Afternoon, ladies," he said, pulling the pizza box closer and dropping the last stiff slice on a plate. He wasn't the first guy to have a toothbrush at my sink, but he was the only one to have kept it there this long, and I felt good seeing him here in his disheveled, untucked-shirt state, content and comfortable.
"Coffee?" I asked, and he nodded, clearly not functioning on all levels yet as he dragged the plate from the table and headed into the hall, scratching the bristles on his jawline.
I jumped when Kisten pounded on Ivy's door and shouted, "Ivy! Get up! Here's your breakfast. Rachel is leaving, and you'd better hurry if you want to see Jenks change."
So much for coffee, toast, juice, and a flower, I thought, hearing Ivy's voice rise in disgust before Kisten shut her door and cut off her complaints. Ceri looked mystified, and I shook my head to tell her it wasn't worth explaining. I went to clean the coffeemaker, turning the water to a trickle when Kisten thunked my bathroom door shut and my shower started.
"So, we going to do this, Jenks?" I prompted while I swirled the water around.
His wings shading to blue, Jenks landed by the shot-glass-sized cup of brew. "I drink it?"
Ceri nodded. "Once it's in you, Rachel will invoke it. Nothing will happen until then."
"All of it?" I asked, eyes widening. "It's like, what, a gallon in pixy terms?"
Jenks shrugged. "I drink that much sugar water for breakfast," he said, and my brow furrowed. If he drank like that, we might be stopping every hour anyway.
My fingers fumbled to unroll the coffee bag, and the dark scent of grounds hit me, thick and comforting. I measured out what I needed into the new filter, then added a smidgen more while I surreptitiously watched Jenks procrastinate. Finally he scuffed his boots on the counter and spooned out a pixy-sized portion with a tiny glass. He downed the dripping cup in one go, making a face when he lowered the cup.
I flipped the coffeemaker on and leaned against the counter, arms crossed. "What does it taste like?" I asked, remembering the demon spell already in me. I was hoping he didn't say it tasted like my blood.
"Uh…" Jenks scooped out another cupful. "It tastes like the garden in the fall when people have been burning their leaves."
Dead ashes? I thought. Gre-e-e-e-eat.
Chin high, he swallowed it, then turned to me. "For the love of Tink, you aren't going to stand there and watch me, are you?"
Grimacing, I pushed myself from the counter. "Can I make you some tea?" I asked Ceri, not wanting to look like I was watching but not wanting to leave either. What if he had a reaction or something?
With a barely perceivable motion, Ceri regained her upright posture, my offer seeming to turn on an entirely new set of behaviors. "Yes, thank you," she said carefully.
I returned to the sink and filled the kettle, wincing at Jenks's tiny belch and groan. The sound of ru
"So can I," she said. "You have a long way to drive, and all I have to do is—" She looked sourly about the kitchen. "I don't have anything to do but sleep. I should be thanking you. It was exhilarating to craft such a complex curse. It's one of my best efforts."
Her pride was obvious, and after the burner ignited under the kettle, I stood against the counter and watched Jenks belch and recite his ABCs at the same time. Would the man's talents never end? Curiosity finally prompted me to ask, "What was it like, being his familiar?"