Page 63 of Bewicched

Demicche

Sam had apparently recently learned to drive, so she got behind the wheel of a sleek silver blue roadster with Clive in the passenger seat and sped off. Dave took his own car, scoffing at the idea of carpooling. The three of us climbed into Mom’s sedan and went to the hospital together.

Declan dove, as he was too tall for the back seat. Mom sat in the passenger seat, so I was relegated to the back. I liked the quiet and the dark of the backseat, though, staring out the window as Monterey slept.

“What are your impressions of these three, darling?” Mom half turned in her seat to see me.

“I haven’t read them, but I get the impression they’re on the up and up.” I was pretty sure, anyway.

“My goodness, Arwyn, you can’t adhere to these self-imposed privacy rules. We need to know if this demon has the power to help, and what he expects in return.” She turned back around, her jaw set. “I love my sister dearly, but I won’t allow a demon access to our family in an effort to save her. Better she die than we produce more sorcerers.”

As much as I wanted to disagree with infringing on another’s right to privacy, I had agreed when I joined the Corey Council to put the family first, to protect them. Dave wasn’t here with me, but I thought back to when he’d first visited me, when he came looking for his imprisoned banshee wife. I’d held his hand then.

Putting myself in that mindset, I slipped one finger out of my glove and slid it into the other glove, trying to connect to the memory within myself… He was driving to the hospital, thinking we didn’t seem like complete assholes, which was a surprise. Someone cut him off on the road and he flicked his fingers off the steering wheel, giving the car a flat tire. Wait. Was that a demon thing or was the other half wicche?

Get the fuck out of my head!

Oops. That last thought was a little too loud.Quid pro quo, buddy. You did this to me when you were trying to find your wife.

Girlfriend.

I rolled my eyes.Girlfriend? What are you waiting for? You should lock that down before she comes to her senses.

Hilarious. What do you want?

Can you really do this, and what do you expect in return? We don’t want any of our family members in league with demons.

Yes, and I already told you. I want the lemon bar recipe. And none of that leaving out a key ingredient so yours can be better bullshit. I’m pulling into the hospital. Now fuck off.

He pushed me out with an ease that was honestly embarrassing.

“I trust him. He says he can do it and just wants the recipe.” If this worked, I’d give him a few extra recipes as a bonus. “Also, the half not demon might be wicche.”

Mom turned in her seat again to stare at me and take that in. “Really?” When I nodded, she smiled and settled back in her seat. “I feel better about him now.”

Declan pulled into a spot beside Dave’s muscle car. The demon was leaning against the driver’s door, arms crossed over his chest. We got out and looked around at the mostly empty parking lot.

“We should get moving before security spots us on the cameras,” I suggested.

Dave led the way to the doors, saying, “The cameras are experiencing some technical difficulties right now.”

We followed him through the entry, walked right past an empty desk, a deserted water feature, down a few twisting halls. When we filed past the nurse’s station a few doors down from Sylvia’s room, none of the nurses looked up from their work. Dave pushed open the hospital room door and then held it for us.

Once the door closed, Mom moved to stand between Dave and Sylvia. “What’s your family name and how did you know this was her room?”

“Feels a little late for questions like that, don’t you think?” He walked around the bottom of the bed to the far side. He took Sylvia’s hand in his and closed his eyes. “Everybody, shut up now.”

Mom gave me a pointed look, expecting me to do something about this. Considering, I moved the blanket from Aunt Sylvia’s foot. She had little socks on, so I removed a glove and touched her ankle.

Fuck off.

I’m not bothering anyone.

You’re bothering me.

Oh, stop being such a baby. I won’t cause problems. I’ll just be your quiet little shadow.

You might want to work on the quiet part. Now, shut up.

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