“Hey! Is everyone okay in here?” Cassie’s cheerful voice rang out from the doorway. I pulled away from Hadur and glared at her. My sister, worst timing in the whole world.
“Wow, I’m really not a fan of the redecorating effort here.” She grinned over at me. “I’m guessing you’re okay. Either that, or your demon was busy checking your tonsils for damage there.”
“We’re fine. Pull up a chair and let me tell you about the eighteen werewolves we just fought off, though.”
“I know.” Cassie righted one of the chairs and sat down. “Ophelia called me in a panic because she’d had a vision. Then I panicked and Lucien and I drove up here at speeds Jeff Gordon would have envied. Lucien grabbed four of the werewolves crawling their way through the woods. Nice job with the wand, by the way. I totally want you to make me one of those, only not on a tool. Maybe something like a judge’s gavel or a silver candlestick.”
“I’ll get right on that,” I drawled.
“Good. Anyway, Lucien and I had a chat with the werewolves we grabbed, and let’s just say I plan on paying a visit to Clinton Dickskin first thing in the morning.”
I shot Hadur a knowing glance. “So we’re good here?”
“You’re good.” Cassie waved a hand. “Go back to swapping bodily fluids. Lucien and I are going to head home with a quick pitstop at the Accident jail. He’s got those four werewolves, or maybe more by now, and I’m thinking there are some assault as well as breaking and entering charges about to be filed. The werewolves are going to learn that this kind of thing is going to result in a whole lot of legal trouble.”
Leave it to my sister, the lawyer and the head witch of Accident, to step up to the plate and handle this like a pro.
Leave it to Cassie to once again take care of her family, to make us all feel safe, to let me know she had it all in hand.
My sister headed out into the night and I turned once more to Hadur.
“So, can I stay? Are you satisfied that there won’t be any further threat on my life?”
He smiled down at me. “Yes. And I’m happy to have you stay with me for as long as you want.”
I smiled back. “Good. Now…where were we before my sister so rudely interrupted us?”
Chapter 16
Bronwyn
“Ready?” I looked over at my demon.
“Ready.” Hadur took a breath and went to stand at the edge of the summoning circle while I crossed over the line to the other side.
Six weeks I’d lived here with him in this cabin. Six weeks of what felt like a honeymoon to me. Well, not quite a honeymoon with my sisters in and out every few days, but probably the closest I’d ever get to one. My leg had healed, and with Ophelia and Glenda’s help, I was almost back to normal as far as mobility was concerned. My sisters joked that I’d never truly be normal, but then again, they weren’t exactly normal themselves.
Hadur and I had pored over spell books in the cabin, and my sisters had done the same in their homes. Hundreds of years of Perkins witches made for a whole lot of books, and the spidery writing wasn’t always that easy to read. We never did find Celesta’s missing spell book, but we did find that Temperance herself had noted several rituals for summoning and banishing demons in an ancient spell book—each entry with quite a few admonishments that future generations should avoid these at all costs. Evidently Temperance was not fond of hellspawn.
I, on the other hand, was fond of one particular hellspawn. And let me tell you, we’d done a whole lot more in six weeks than read spell books. Holy moly, that demon could seriously rock my world in bed. Rock. My. World.
“You sure this is gonna work?” Cassie asked as I took my place beside her. Each of my sisters was stationed at a key point around the summoning circle, each ready to contribute her energy.
“It’s this or banishment, and that’s not an option,” I replied.
“It might eventually be the only option,” she told me with a sad smile.
I knew what she meant. If this didn’t work, then we’d still continue our quest to find a spell to free Hadur, and in the meantime I’d live with him here. If we never found the spell, a future generation of witches would need to banish Hadur after my death.
Or not. If I bonded with him as Cassie and Lucien were planning to do, I would live forever as some sort of demon witch, either here or in hell. It was an idea I was beginning to embrace. Hadur and I, together. Forever. The thought made me ridiculously happy.
With a nod to Cassie, I lit my candle. She did the same, calling out the words to create a magical space. I heard each sister do the same in turn, felt the magic snap around us like a band, a circle on top of another circle.
“Let what is old fall away, and the new remain,” I said. “Let the power of our circle draw its strength from the old. Let both become one.”
We began to chant, the energy humming and pulsing. I felt the circles join together, felt the bonds that held Hadur in place merge with what we had created.
Then I began the ritual—the summoning ritual from Temperance’s spell book. With my sisters holding the circle in their chant, I traced Hadur’s sigil upon the ground and called him forth from hell.
Only he wasn’t in hell. He was already here, just twenty feet away. A new summoning to take the place of the old. I only hoped it would work.
Hadur stepped forward. “Who summons me and for what purpose?”
“I, Bronwyn Perkins, witch of Accident, summon you. In accordance with this ancient rite, I command you to do my bidding. Complete the task I request of you, and you shall be free to remain here or return to hell.”
That was another long shot. The ritual had the demon immediately returning to hell upon completion of the task. I hoped that my re-wording things didn’t screw anything up.
“I will obey, my witch. Tell me my task, so that I may perform it and be free.”
I pointed to the ground beside me. “Your task is to bring me that rock.”
Cassie snickered, then slapped a hand over her mouth. With an apologetic glance, she continued chanting.
“That rock?” Hadur gave me a strange look.
“Yes. That rock. I want that rock. Your task is to retrieve it and give it to me.”
“I accept the task, my witch.” He took a step forward and hesitated, eyeing me uncertainly.
Here it was. He’d told me when he touched the invisible barrier of the summoning circle, it was painful. It shocked him, hurt him like nothing in hell ever had, like a thousand barbed needles stabbing and ripping at his flesh. This was the moment of truth. He’d either pass through the circle, or be in agony on the other side.
The demon took a breath and walked forward. I felt the energy of the circle shimmer, tense, coil as if it were a snake about to strike. Then it allowed him through.
He walked to my side, bent down to pick up the rock, and handed it to me. “My task is done, Bronwyn Perkins, witch of Accident.”
“Yes, your task is done, Hadur, my demon.” I launched myself into his arms, slipping the rock into my pocket. Then I kissed him and left my sisters to dismiss the magical circle, leaving nothing but woods, a wrecked truck, and a cabin here. The lack of magic seemed odd, empty and hollow.
No, I was wrong. It was far from empty. There would always be something magical about this place. It would always feel like home to me.
“I can’t wait for you to see my home—our home,” I told Hadur.
“I can’t wait to see everything,” he replied. “Your home, your work, your friends. I can’t wait to have Sunday dinner with your noisy and somewhat obnoxious family and that spoiled pompous demon who has attached himself to your sister. I can’t wait to spend each day and night with you, my beloved witch.”
Me too. Oh, me too. There was a rustle in a nearby briar and out popped a giant, fat raccoon. I bent down and picked Diebin up, knowing that we wouldn’t be a family without the little guy. “Ready to go home?” I asked him.
He chattered, then squirmed free fr
om my arms, heading up toward the road where our cars were parked. Me. A demon. A raccoon. Funny how life had taken a turn for the better when I’d crashed down this mountain.
“Hey,” I asked Hadur as we walked up the hill hand-in-hand. “Do you think Diebin would be okay if we got a cat?”
Acknowledgments
Thanks to my copyeditors Erin Zarro and Jennifer Cosham whose eagle eyes catch all the typos and keep my comma problem in line, and to Renee George for cover design.
About the Author
Debra lives in a little house in the woods of Maryland with her sons and two slobbery bloodhounds. On a good day, she jogs and horseback rides, hopefully managing to keep the horse between herself and the ground. Her only known super power is 'Identify Roadkill'.
For more information:
www.debradunbar.com
Debra Dunbar’s Author page
Also by Debra Dunbar
Accidental Witches Series
Brimstone and Broomsticks
Warmongers and Wands (Feb 2019)
Death and Divination (March 2019)
White Lightning Series
Wooden Nickels
Bum’s Rush
Clip Joint
Jake Walk
Trouble Boys (2019)
***
The Templar Series
Dead Rising
Last Breath
Bare Bones
Famine’s Feast
Royal Blood (2019)
Dark Crossroads (2019)
* * *
IMP WORLD NOVELS
The Imp Series
A Demon Bound
Satan’s Sword
Elven Blood
Devil’s Paw
Imp Forsaken
Angel of Chaos
Kingdom of Lies
Exodus
Queen of the Damned
The Morning Star
* * *
Half-breed Series
Demons of Desire
Sins of the Flesh
Cornucopia
Unholy Pleasures
City of Lust
* * *
Imp World Novels
No Man’s Land
Stolen Souls
Three Wishes
Northern Lights
Far From Center
Penance
* * *
Northern Wolves
Juneau to Kenai
Rogue
Winter Fae
Bad Seed
Warmongers and Wands Page 15