by Crystal Ash
"Oh, we know, baby," Raum grinned. He leaned against the counter, proudly naked with no desire to change the situation.
"He took the words right out of my mouth, you know," Sal whispered as he wrapped around me tighter.
"Huh?" My mind still seemed unable to form coherent sentences.
"About being a father again." He nuzzled me sweetly. "I can't wait to raise the next generation of witches with you."
Slumped against him, naked, sweaty and barely able to walk, I couldn't imagine another moment where I felt happier.
"What did I do to deserve you guys?" A goofy grin spread across my face.
"That's what we should be asking." Raum came over and stroked my cheek, not even fazed by Sal's nakedness just inches away. I loved how they were so comfortable around each other.
Fuck, I loved every damned thing about them.
The sharp click of a lock turning jolted us out of our intimate moment.
"Oops. Nona must have forgotten something," Raum chuckled.
A stab of panic hit me but I quickly relaxed. While she didn't know of our magical abilities, Nona had been rooting for me to land all three guys since we first spotted them. She wouldn't be surprised at the scene before her. In fact, she might just question why Ash missed the party.
But the pale blonde hair coming through the door wasn't Nona's.
"Deja? Are you here?"
"Shit!" I hissed but it was too late.
Juno pushed the door open. Her jaw dropped as her aquamarine eyes took in the sight before her.
Three naked people. Two of them with Lucifer's sigil tattooed in plain sight.
16
DEJA
At that point, I knew nothing could be salvaged. The moment Juno's eyes took in the distinct sigil tattooed on Raum's back, her lips trembled with fear.
Raum slid his pants back on with surprising speed, then turned to face the door. Juno's eyes darted to my face and then to Sal, his own tattoo standing out clearly on the pale skin of his ribs. The realization seemed to hit her hard but slowly. Her eyes welled with tears as she brought a hand to her open mouth.
All I could do was stare back at her. It was like being entranced by a sad scene in a movie. While my heart crumbled apart painfully, I felt helpless to do anything but sit and watch.
One of the guys shoving my shirt and underwear at me was the only thing that broke my stupor. No one spoke and the silence was deafening as I fumbled to put my clothes on. After pulling my shirt over my head, Juno blinked and seemed to come out of her own trance.
She backed toward the door, fumbling for the knob as the tears finally spilled. While my heart knew I could do nothing, my mind pleaded for my coven sister to understand.
"June." I stepped forward, holding my hand out to her. "Please don't go." Like obedient soldiers, the guys stepped right in line with me.
"You," she choked out, her face grimacing. "With them? Why?"
The disgust and vitriol with which she said them hit me like a punch to the gut. But she wasn't bolting out the door yet so I took a tentative step closer.
"Because I love them, June," I answered. "And they love me. They're capable of love, community, and incredible power to change the world, just like us witches. You've been lied to about them your whole life, sister. I'm sorry for hiding it but what choice did I have?"
"They seduced you," she sobbed. "They used you to get to us. I understand it now. They want to alert the humans and watch us burn!"
"You've got it all wrong," I said with a slight shake of my head. "I seduced them. I was nothing but an ordinary human when an angel fell in love with me. He fell from heaven just to be with me. These two?" I gestured to Raum and Sal. "Lucifer created them to protect, guide, and satisfy me."
"Damn right," Raum muttered with a smirk under his breath.
"So you're just like them," Juno said in a shaky whisper. "A fucking demon."
"And yet so different," I replied. "Have you ever wondered why demons and witches have such similar abilities? Why would cross-bearers paint us all with the same brush? Have you ever stopped to think about where your magic came from?"
"We're nothing alike!" she shot back. "How could you betray your own people like this? Laurel fast-tracked you into the coven! I considered you my sister and you turn out to be some kind of demon queen?"
"Juno," I pleaded. "We don't have to be enemies. I never joined or became your friend with bad intentions. But these are the men I love and I won't stand for them to be treated as less than us."
She hesitated as if she wasn't sure how to respond, then ultimately chose not to. Her hand found the doorknob and she turned, making a dash for the outside but the guys were on her in an instant.
Raum clapped a hand over her mouth before she could scream, pinning her body effortlessly against himself while Sal calmly re-locked the door. Juno's eyes were wide with fear as Raum half dragged, half walked her to the center of the room. She began to sob behind his palm, struggling weakly under his grip.
"Calm down. He's not going to hurt you," I told her. "Or seduce you. He's loyal to me."
"She ain't my type, anyway," he added with a wink.
Next to me, Sal glowered with an angry scowl. His aura encompassed his whole body with a fiery glow that seemed to lick at his skin. Since Juno was no longer an ally of mine, I wouldn't put it past him to hurt her if I ordered it.
"June." I leaned down close to her face. "If you don't tell Seth and Laurel what you saw here, we'll leave tonight. You'll never see ours or any demon's faces in this city again. But if you start a war against us, we will fight back. And it won't be one that you can win." My eyes flickered over to Sal. "War also just happens to be this one's specialty. " I laced my fingers through his and kissed his shoulder before resting my head on it. He kissed my forehead and squeezed my hand.
I nodded at Raum to let her go and he hesitated, his smirk disappearing.
"Baby, if she runs, we're fucked. There's no stopping her from bringing all the hunters right on our heels."
"I know," I said tersely. "Now she knows the consequences of that. We're all about free will, remember? Let her make the choice."
A tingle grazed across my scalp as Raum's aura reached out to mine.
I don't know if you know this. But I can wipe her memory.
A faint glimmer of hope rose within me.
You can?
Yes. I can just whisper an incantation in her ear now. Give her something to sleep and we'll leave her somewhere safe before we split. She'll never know she was here.
I chewed my lip as I thought about it. It could save us a lot of trouble. But it could also give the coven more ammunition to use against us.
And that spoke nothing of the feeling of dread in the pit of my stomach.
"Let her go, Raum."
His expression made it clear that he disagreed with me, but he did as I said. The lower half of Juno's face was red from where his hand clamped down and her knees buckled as he moved away.
She stood frozen like a deer in headlights for a few moments before taking a few shaky steps toward the door. When none of us moved to stop her, she made a break for it without looking back. With a flick of her wrist, the deadbolt slid under the force of her magic and she was gone.
I stood looking at the ajar door as if expecting her to come back. Deep down I knew she wouldn't but a part of me still asked why. Why would a friend turn against me just because of who I loved? When those I loved did nothing against her and had been treated like feared monsters for the last two thousand years? Friends should be there for each other, even if they didn't fully understand or agree with each other.
Sal's shoulder stiffened under my head and he turned to me with frustration in his eyes.
"We've gotta go, beautiful. She's not the only one who's got to live with the consequences."
I looked up at him, challenging his gaze.
"So you think Raum should have wiped her memory?"
"That certainly would have
made things easier for us." He spoke calmly as he crossed his arms in front of his chest but the heat from his aura told me how badly he was trying to control his temper.
"So how does it help our cause to take cheap shots like that, huh?" I mimicked his crossed arms. "Why not accept that demons are master manipulators and just want to control people?"
"This isn’t even close to the same thing." Sal clenched his jaw. "We exist because we don't follow the rules. We're not above taking cheap shots to keep you safe."
"It takes away her free will!" I yelled in his face. "It's exactly what a human would do to date rape someone and I will not allow it to happen! And that's exactly how the coven will see it, which only hurts our cause."
My whole body shook like a leaf. Every emotion inside me felt like a jumbled up mess. I was angry and hurt, sad and scared. I hated that Raum and Sal felt so strongly that I made a bad call and maybe on the surface, it was. But I couldn't even begin to entertain the thought of wiping Juno's memory. I didn't want to exert that kind of control over anyone.
"Sal's right. We can't dally here." Raum broke the tense silence after remaining quiet during our argument.
"I know." I sprung into action, rifling through my pants pockets under I found my phone.
After pulling up Nona's number, I turned in a slow circle to look at my shop, knowing it would likely be the last time I saw this place.
This building was where I poured my blood, sweat, and tears ten times over, and even maybe a little magic before knowing I had any. And now I had to leave it for good. My already bruised heart pulled painfully in my chest. I might as well had been forced to abandon my child in the woods.
"Baby."
Raum's voiced reached an urgent pitch. He reached for my arm but I yanked out of his grasp. At that moment, his touch was the last thing I wanted to feel on me. I couldn't place the source of my emotions with everything clouding over my brain, but all I knew was my desire for him was, at least temporarily, completely gone.
"We need to get moving. Now." I ignored the sharp edge of hurt in his voice.
"I know," I repeated. "I just need to do something first."
With that, I hit the call button and brought the phone to my ear, waiting for Nona to pick up.
17
DEJA
"Hello?"
"Nona."
Hearing her voice was the only spark of happiness that shined through me at that moment. But it dimmed down to nothing when I realized I'd probably never see her again. I never got a chance to properly thank her for saving my ass and my business so many times. And now I'd have to say goodbye without even giving her a hug.
"What's up, D? Is everything alright?"
"Um, no. Not really." I chewed my lip as the emotion rose high in my chest and threatened to spill out through my eyes.
"What's going on?" she demanded. "Do you need me to come out to your place?"
"No, don't come here tonight. Tomorrow should be okay, though. Um, fuck." I wiped my eyes as I struggled to keep it together. "Congratulations, Nona Parks. The tea shop is yours."
"Dude, stop. What's really going on?"
"I mean it," I said through a shaky breath. "I have to leave town, like right now. I can't get into it right now but I can't come back, at least not for a while. So I'm handing the business off to you. You’re the only one who can keep it going."
A long pause was my only reply on the other end.
"Nona?"
"Deja, I just don't understand. Are you okay? I don't even give a fuck what's going on but are you going to be okay?"
I squeezed my eyes against the tears. For so long, I was desperate for a family that accepted and loved me, never realizing I had true family working her ass off next to me all along.
"I will be okay," I promised her. "But not if I stay. I fucking hate that I can't say a proper goodbye or explain all this shit but please just know that I love and adore you. I never would have made it without you and will always remember everything you've done for me. I swear it, Nona."
"I trust you, Deja," she soothed me over the speaker. "I trust you'll take care of whatever you need to do. You always do. And I really hope this isn't the last time we talk."
"Me too. Fucking hell, me too."
She snickered lightly over the phone. "My fortune came true."
"What?" I asked, confused.
"Remember when we saw the tarot card reader? She said I would soon come into a lot more wealth and responsibility. And you were so worried about me finding another job."
"That's right," I breathed, the memory already feeling like so long ago. "She really did predict your future. And mine."
I remembered my cards as clearly as if they were sitting in front of me then. The Tower. The Lovers. The Devil.
The Tower signified a monumental sudden change in my life. My world literally flipped on its head when my grandmother came to my door and told me the truth. The Lovers depicted what appeared to be Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. But I had been there, and I decided to view Ash and myself as the original love story when he took me from Adam.
The Devil typically indicated slavery to a certain mindset or idea, leading yourself to think you have no control over a situation when you truly do.
"Or you may fall in love with the devil himself," Minerva told me with a knowing grin.
"Good thing Death didn't come up in those cards," Nona joked, then in a more serious tone, "Be careful, Deja. Take care of yourself. I won't let this be the last time we talk, you hear me?"
Her protective nature brought a smile to my face. "Yes, mom. I will." My fingers ached from the grip I had on the phone, wishing I didn't have to hang up or stop hearing her voice. "You do the same. Bye for now."
"Later, Deja."
Not a breath after ending the call did I feel Sal's gentle touch on my hand.
"Did you need anything from your place before we go?" he asked softly.
"Um, I should probably check," I mumbled, distracted. "And I'll have to call my landlord. Shit."
The three of us finished getting fully dressed and trudged up the stairs. Raum seemed to have enough sense to stay a few paces behind me, but he grabbed my arm suddenly right before reaching the door.
"Something's not right," he hissed, looking over at Sal.
Sal took a sharp inhale and frowned, his aura surrounding him in a fiery glow again.
"I smell blood. A fucking lot of it." He stepped forward and stretched his hand out behind him to keep me back.
With a nod from Raum, he shoved my front door open with his shoulder. The scene laid out in my once clean but mismatched apartment made me want to throw up.
Blood covered every surface from the floor and walls to the windows and furniture. And standing over the coffee table with a human-sized heart in her hands as she mumbled an incantation, was my grandmother.
18
DEJA
Diana's eyes opened to slits as she registered us in the doorway but never stopped muttering her spell. I tried to move forward but the guys blocked me from entering the room. Sal snarled like a predator at her but Raum looked unusually cool and aloof.
"Grandma," I whispered. "What's going on?"
My skin seemed to electrify at all the blood in the room and I knew it was my earth magic responding. Blood, bone, and living tissue always broke down and returned to nature after all.
"I've come to finish what I've started," she said in a barely recognizable growl. "Demon whore."
I blinked, my confusion spiraling as I tried to approach her again. But both guys blocked me with their arms.
"Guys, let me talk to her. That's my grandmother," I protested.
"I wouldn't advise that, babe," Raum said softly, never taking his eyes from her. "She's using blood magic, which means she intends to kill you."
"What?" I pushed against his forearm but like a boulder, he wouldn't move.
"He's right." A slow, evil smile spread across Diana's face. "He would know better than any
one."
"What?" I repeated, looking between Raum and my grandmother. My heart and brain felt like they were being ripped off in chunks as the information sank in. She wanted to kill me? And Raum knew?
"It should've been you," Diana mumbled nearly incoherently.
"You're wrong, witch," Raum snarled. "She was meant to come into this body in this lifetime. If only you would accept that, Deidre would still be alive."
"Deidre? My mother?" I turned to look at Raum, his jaw clenched with tension as he refused to meet my gaze. He just kept staring at Diana.
"Raum!" I yelled, clutching at his arm. "What the fuck do you know?"
"Yes tell her, demon," Diana sneered. "Tell her how you first met my daughter all those years ago."
He finally looked at me with something I never saw in those dark eyes before. Regret.
"I saw when you would return to us," he said darkly. "I saw the woman you would be born from. And I just... had this overwhelming urge to meet her. I wanted to make sure I found her."
My eyes opened so wide I didn't bother to stop the tears from falling.
"Found her? You found my mother?"
He nodded. "I met her and we spoke. I told her who her daughter was going to be. Lilith, the Mother of Witches would be returning with her soul intact again." He allowed a tiny smile on his lips. "And she was elated. I was so worried she hated demons like most people do at this time, but I didn't even detect an ounce of hate in her. She was so excited to be the one to nurture your powers and watch them grow." The smile disappeared as his eyes flicked back to Diana. "But then I suppose she told this vile woman right here, which ultimately led to her death."
"My Deidre was never supposed to die!" Diana shrieked. She jabbed a finger in the air, pointing it straight at me. "It was supposed to be you, demon whore!"
The realization hit me like a wall of bricks. And just when I thought my heart couldn't break anymore, it crumbled into numbness in my chest.