“Thank you, Hannashurie,” I manage to say in spite of the fact that her bright light is making it impossible to see her face.
“Happy to help,” she says as she turns off the bright shield and the girls and Pete gather around us.
“Oh my God,” Lia says.
“Please help her,” Shar pleads with Hannashurie.
“You have to save her,” Pete adds, tears racing down his cheeks.
Hannashurie smiles as she opens her hand and a several foot long staff, radiating golden light, appears in her palm. She wraps her fingers around it then she carefully touches my torso with it and the cuts made by the demon start to heal. And I stop feeling dizzy.
A few seconds later, I’m completely healed and finally stand up. “Thank you,” I say. “Has the apocalypse started?”
“Questions later,” Hannashurie says. “Your friend needs you.” She motions toward Emma.
“I’m supposed to teleport her to the car. She’s possessed by Jenna.”
“Go for it,” Hannashurie says.
I teleport to Jenemma’s side. She appears to be out cold still, but when I lift her eyelids to check, all I see is black.
I’m about to grab Jenemma by the arms when she’s suddenly revived, which I realize when she grabs me by the breasts and squeezes wicked hard, which hurts a lot, and gives me that horrible Jenna laugh.
Reluctantly, I punch both sides of Emma’s head as hard as I can, using some of my fairy strength, until I’ve hit her at least ten times and she’s finally unconscious again. Whew. I just hope I didn’t cause her any permanent brain damage. I also hope she didn’t scar my boobs since she dug her nails into them and they’re bleeding through my already torn dress.. Hopefully, my fairy godmother can heal them.
Lia, Shar, Juliana and Pete come running to us. Hannashurie and the small fairies all teleport over together.
“You OK?” Shar asks me.
I nod. “Better than. See you down the street.”
I put my hands on Jenemma’s shoulders and I’m about to teleport down the street to the cars just when the Donatello twits and their friends start circling us with those tridents in hand. I almost forgot about them.
“Go!” Lia yells to me. “We’ve got this!”
I teleport to the cars with Emma, who I place on the ground, She groans then I place my hands on her head. My telepathic powers are stronger than most witches’s so hopefully this will work. Besides, I’m just going to push my thoughts on her to hypnotize her. I don’t dare look at her memories, less the memories I see be Jenna’s. Plus, I wouldn’t want to see Emma’s and thus invade her privacy. Sleep, sleep, sleep, I push on her. Sleep, sleep, sleep. Sleep, Jenna, sleep.
I don’t know if it worked, but she doesn’t groan again and her eyes shut. With a flick of my wrist and a little fairy magick, Jim’s car trunk unlocks and pops open; Pete will have to drive us home. I pick Jenemma up and place her in it, putting a towel behind her head as a cushion.
“What are you doing?” I hear female kid’s voice ask.
I turn and see no less than eight kids behind me, most on bikes. The one I think asked the question is in front of them and looks like she’s eight or nine. She’s sitting on a fancy pink bike. Five of these kids are filming me with their phones, but not the young girl who asked the question. As my eyes flick from one phone to the next, it dawns on me that there must be hundreds of Youtube videos of this shit already. So, even if demons haven’t appeared elsewhere, the world will now know the supernatural is real, which will change everything even if it’s not quite Armageddon.
“Are you gonna kill her?” the little girl asks.
“No,” I say. “Of course not. But she has one of those monsters inside her, so I need to put her in here until we can get it out.”
After reaching over Emma and digging through blankets, jumper cables, antifreeze, windshield wash, etc, I find a rope and use it to tie Emma’s wrists and ankles together, using my best Girl Scout knots. Please, Hannashurie, Lord and Lady and all Gods and Goddesses, we could really use your help here. Please make these ropes magickal and strong so that Jenna can’t free herself from them. Please, Hannashurie, Lord and Lady and all Gods and Goddesses, make these ropes magickal and strong so that Jenna can’t free herself from them. So mote it be. Technically, fairies can’t do spells; we can only use the magick and/or psychic abilities we’re given by Hannashurie before she sends us back here. But I’m sure she wouldn’t mind me praying.
I shut the trunk, turn to the kids and yell, “Boo!” And they all scramble, half of them screaming as they run or ride their bikes away. Only the little girl who questioned me remains and she isn’t the least bit startled. “Was that giant monster the devil?”
There’s no point in telling her the devil isn’t real under the circumstances; she’d never believe me. Besides, after all I’ve seen tonight, I wouldn’t be surprised if the devil actually is real. “No, but it was evil. That means you should get as far away from here as you can. In case another one comes. Just find your parents and leave town.”
“Will his friends come and kill everyone?”
“I sure hope not.”
“Oh. Are you good at fighting monsters?”
“Yeah, we’ve taken care of monsters before. They just weren’t gigantic like that one. But you saw how we killed him. Anyway, you really should find your parents and scram.”
“I don’t think they know about this yet. They probably won’t believe me.”
“I’m sure they felt the earthquake. They must be worried about you.”
Just then a channel 5 news van stops on the street and the newscasters and crew hurry out of it and the big antenna goes up.
I put my hand on the girl’s shoulder. “Go tell your parents to turn on the news. Can you do that?”
“Yeah, if they’re home. They’re usually working right now.”
“Well, go see,” I say.
The girl nods and goes in the opposite direction of hell on earth.
Now what do I do? I want to go back and make sure the Donnatello twins aren’t hurting my friends, but what if Jenemma wakes up and tries to take off. We can’t do an exorcism without the person who needs it. Plus, all these kids saw me put her in the trunk. One of them is bound to get curious and they could break the car window and let her out. What should I do now? I ask Hannashurie telepathically. She’s a Goddess, so maybe she’ll hear me.
Stay with Emma. Things are going to be OK here, Hannashurie says.
Guess I’m staying put.
CHAPTER FIFTY SIX
LIA
In self-defense, Shar, mom and I zap the Donatello twins and their friends unconscious as they’re reciting a spell. One twin hurls her trident at me just before, but I manage to teleport out of the way, which surprises me because I’ve barely ever teleported before. Only trouble is, one of the prongs pierced the middle of my right hand before I teleported. And boy does it hurt. It’s bleeding like crazy, too. Motherfucker. I wish January didn’t have to stay with Emma so she could come heal me already. Although I’m sure Hannashurie can take care of it. I’m assuming that’s who this giant fairy is.
“Hannashurie, I take it?” I ask.
“That’s me,” she says as she lands beside us and taps my hand with her stick thing, immediately healing it.
“Thank you!” I say. What a relief.
Now she points the wand at the tree Aetheal ripped out of the ground and it stands up, the flames going out and the snakes turning back into roots. The damage caused by the fire even heals, leaves appearing where they were before. Then she moves her hand so that the wand points at where the tree was and she moves it to that spot and lowers it. I watch in awe as the ground around where it was ripped out returns to normal, the tree standing tall and healthy like nothing happened. That’s some powerful magick. Makes me wish I could be a Goddess. Then she astounds me even more when she blows on George’s house and a powerful gust of wind hits it and it’s like watching a videotape rew
ind, the way the house goes from being wrecked to back to normal, bit by bit.
It’s like nothing happened except for the casualties. George and his whole coven. Sati. And, sadly, Jim. Magick-eating vampire or not, I do believe he loved Emma and that they could’ve gotten past his hiding what he was. By the looks of it, we might have killed the girls who came with Sati and the Donatello twins because the twins roll over and moan, but the others appear dead.
“What about them?” Shar asks Hannashurie.
Hannashurie grins. “I could send them to the ninth dimension.”
“I thought hell was the sixth dimension,” I say.
“No, it’s the ninth. But it has six levels within it,” Hannashurie explains.
“I’m not sure they deserve that,” mom says.
“What if you give them amnesia and take away their magick?” Pete suggests.
“They’re natural born witches and the one thing I can’t do is permanently remove their magick,” Hannashurie says. “But amnesia is a great idea.”
“What the hell happened?” one of the twins asks.
I laugh for a second. “Your demons went back to hell.”
The twins stand up and open their hands, and magically pulling a trident into each of them. Now they each hold two.
“Seriously?” Shar asks. “There’s a Goddess beside you and her fairies can fly right through you like bullets.”
The twins both look up at Hannashurie. “Trust us,” one of them says, “We’ll never summon a demon again.”
“Good,” Hannashurie says. Then she opens her left hand – the staff is in her right – and the tridents go from the twin’s hands into hers.
Both twins go to say something at the same time, but Hannashurie blows in their faces and they collapse. Then she blows on their friends, who are starting to come to right now, only they stop as her breath hits them. I suppose it’s a good thing that they weren’t dead after all.
Pete scratches his head. “What did you do to them?”
Hannashurie laughs for a moment. “Nothing much. They won’t remember anything that happened this week when they wake up, but you should get them out of here to make sure they don’t piece things together.”
I shake my head. “We don’t have enough room in the cars.”
Hannashurie laughs again. “Not a problem.” She drops the tridents and waves her staff at the twins and company and they all vanish.
“Where’d they go?” mom asks.
“The twins and their friends are presently in the girl’s locker room at your school, all tied together with magickal ribbon that cannot be untied unless it’s by someone other than them.”
I laugh. “Good. Let them be the subject of stupid rumors now. But what about the good people who are dead? Can you bring them back?”
“Raising the dead isn’t one of my gifts, otherwise I would happily bring back Kat, George and their coven.”
“Will the twins and company remember Sati?” Shar asks.
“Yes, but, again, nothing that happened recently. She’ll just be a missing person they can’t find. Let that drive them crazy as their penance.”
Pete sighs. “What about her body? And all the other dead bodies?”
Hannashurie laughs. “I could make them all disappear but people saw some of them die on the news. And they’d all be missing persons with active investigations if they don’t have the bodies. So, I think it’s best I leave them be. Except for Sati. Let her friends try and find her.”
“Now, we should meet up with January,” Hannashurie says, shrinking down until she’s about eight feet tall, still towering over us. She brings her hands together in a single clap like Emma does then, suddenly, we’re all standing by the cars down the street. Except for her entourage of fairies, which hover in the air.
We immediately see channel 5 and Fox TV news vans. The people in front of the camera are speculating about what might have happened to the “giant beast,” as they’re calling it.
“You really don’t know if this is the apocalypse?” January asks Hannashurie.
“I wish I knew. I just heard you cry out in trouble and came. I don’t know if anything else has happened. And I’m afraid I can’t remain here any longer or I could lose my position as your fairy Godmother. But don’t give up on your friend, Emma. No matter what.”
“Can’t you get Jenna out of her?” January asks.
“Unfortunately, that’s not something I have the authority to do.”
January frowns. “Oh. So, am I gonna be in trouble for Emma pushing that spirit into the other side?”
Hannashurie rubs January’s arm. “No, but it’s something we’ll all have a talk about soon enough. As for Emma, I’m sure you and your friends can cast Jenna out. It won’t be easy, but I know it can be done. Just rise to the occasion, pray and remember this too shall pass.. Now I must go.” She brings her hands together in a single clap and disappears along with her small army of fairies, except for one. That’s odd.
“Are you staying with us?” January asks this fairy as she turns into human form. Now that she’s no longer glowing, we see that she’s Asian and around our age.
This new fairy smiles at us. “My name is Gemini and I’m here to help you. At least until your friend Emma is herself again.”
“Do you know how to do exorcisms?” Shar asks her.
“Unfortunately, no, not yet,” she says. “But I’ll do everything I can to help. Where’s Emma now?”
“In the trunk,” January says.
“Can I see her?” Gemini asks.
January twists her wrist and the trunk pops open.
Our jaws drop.
Emma isn’t here.
Neither is Jenna.
“I tied her up,” January says. “I prayed for magick knots and everything.”
The ropes are now tied up like a perfect bow, just sitting there in the trunk.
“Shit,” Shar and I say at once.
We are so fucked. I feel like my head is going to burst wide-open. “If we don’t find her soon she could summon another demon.”
“Or do a thousand other things that would make life miserable for us,” Pete says.
“At least now you have two fairies!” Gemini says a bit too cheerfully.
Nobody says anything. Now is simply not the time to make jokes.
Unfortunately, one of the reporters notices us and rushes over, followed by several peers. “Lia, can you tell us what happened?” she asks. The others immediately bark other questions. For one thing, they’re asking if we knew the humans who were helping the demons, but we don’t answer.
I look at Shar, who shakes her head no slightly.
“Let’s just leave,” January says.
We hurry into the cars, January and Gemini with Pete and Shar and Juliana with me.
The reporters, cameramen and photographers surround the cars. Juliana and Pete – our drivers – beep a few times but they don’t back off.
Juliana bites her fingertip as an idea hits her and she speaks to all of us – in both cars – telepathically. Before I run them over, I just remembered something. Kat gave Emma her Book of Shadows notebooks. Emma had them in a purple bag on the deck when she came outside on the porch.
You want to go back there? Pete asks from the other car. Are you insane?
January speaks excitedly. I’ll do it. I’ll just teleport over. Give me two seconds.
That said, January vanishes as Shar and I look back at her and Pete in their car. A few seconds pass and she reappears, holding the backpack. We’re wanted back at the house!
What do you mean? I ask her, scratching the side of my head.
Kat and George are there. I mean, they’re still dead, but their spirits are. And they want to talk to us.
What about the cops and such? Juliana asks.
Frustration mars January’s face. They’re busy dealing with the bodies in the yard right now. They haven’t gone in the house yet.
Alrighty, then, I say.
/> Suddenly, the sky grows bright. I’d forgotten about how dark it had grown with the demon smoke or whatever that shit was. But now it’s getting brighter and brighter and, surprisingly, so is my mood. In fact, I find myself feeling relaxed, more so than I have in weeks.
Dudes, check it out, the reporters are gone, January says. They vanished.
Shar opens her door and goes to get out of the car.
“Are you crazy?” I ask her.
“I have to look,” she says.
“What if you vanish, too?” Juliana asks.
“I won’t. Don’t ask me how I know, but I do.” With that, Shar gets out of the car and stands next to January, who appeared outside the cars when she teleported back. I get out, too, because there’s no way I’m letting anything happen to Shar. Then Juliana gets out.
Pete and Gemini get out of their car as well. I find myself smiling and notice that everyone else is, too. How can we be so happy right now after everything we went through tonight?
We all look up at the sky. It’s so beautiful and bright. I’ve never seen it this bright before. And yet, somehow it doesn’t hurt my eyes or blind me.
Suddenly, the faces of the most handsome man and the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen appear in the sky and warm sensation comes over me like a blanket on a cold day.
Both the man and woman have long hair, his dark brown and hers auburn. They’re glowing with bold, yellow light that sparkles like there’s glitter or tiny pieces of mirror in it. The man has yellow eyes like a cat, pronounced cheekbones and perfect five o’ clock shadow. The woman’s face is flush with color, but it doesn’t look like she’s wearing make up. And she sure doesn’t need it. Her eyes are a shimmering, metallic green. Both have large pupils, like you’d see on someone who was stoned out of their mind. I feel weightless in their presence and notice that my scrapes and bruises from everything we’ve been through tonight are gone.
In Memoriam Page 43