Page 19 of Obsession

“Work mostly. May through August is our busiest time of the year. Tons of tourists in Memphis for the summer.” Nora looks like she couldn’t care less. I guess that was more an “I’m asking to be polite but I don’t want an actual answer” kind of question. So I continue talking, giving her details about our best-selling items.

“It’s a shame no one ever encouraged you to pursue academics. Working retail is so dependent on the economy.”

I take a deep breath and try to pretend she didn’t mean to insult me. “It’s not a shame in the least. I learned by doing. Sitting in a classroom discussing theory wouldn’t have taught me the practical things necessary to run a small business.”

“Aubry not only runs the shop, she’s also a skilled diviner,” Damion says, squeezing my knee under the table.

“Tarot cards?” She scoffs. “You mean parlor entertainment. The original deck of tarot cards was intended for use as a card game. Think bridge but with fancier pictures.”

I’m biting my tongue so hard that it bleeds. Not literally, but almost.

“So Mother, I hear your work will soon be featured in a journal?” Damion changes the subject before I say something I’ll regret. Might regret. Probably would regret. Wouldn’t regret in the least.

“Yes, Sonia and I are working together on an article about incantation bowls. Sonia had the idea.” No doubt inspired by the Phenex bowl.

Nora goes on and on about her academic article, and I tune out, stifling a yawn. These past few nights of fitful sleep are catching up to me.

“What do you think, Aubry?” Nora looks like a smug professor who’s just called on a daydreaming student.

“Boy, it’s a good thing I’m not in your class,” I joke.

“No dear, you are not in my class,” she says with a smile. Really, really hard to be the bigger person. I’d love nothing more than to verbally school Damion’s mother, but I will my jaw to remain shut.

“Mother, if you continue to be rude to my girlfriend, you’ll force us to leave,” Damion says firmly.

“Nonsense, I wasn’t being rude.” Nora and Sonia begin a side discussion, and Damion sends a phantom touch up and down my spine.

We finish dinner without further incident and say our goodbyes. “Nora, thank you for the delicious dinner,” I say politely.

She gives me a tight smile and then frets over Damion for a bit longer before we walk to my car.

And the Oscar for overbearing southern mama goes to—dramatic pause—Nora Blackmon.

Chapter 9

We’re in the library working on the Phenex “project.” I’m starting to worry how long Zazel will remain patient while we try to figure out a way to release his friend. Although Damion’s father survived one hundred years trapped in an amulet without going insane. Talk about an exercise in patience. Okay, so whether or not Zazel is a patient demon, I’d much prefer to get the incantation bowl off my plate, dinnerware pun intended.

Gabe and Damion have already tried to summon Phenex using a reverse demon trap without success. Time for plan B.

Gabe draws an upside down triangle, filling it in completely with letters. I wonder if he attended some kind of graduate-level fallen angel grimoire course, because his drawings are amazing. When he’s finished, the triangle spells out Abracadabra on the first row from left to right and then spells it out again from the bottom to the top on the right side.

“Abracadabra? What shall we do for our next trick, pull a rabbit out of a hat?” Damion waves his hand behind my ear and pulls out a quarter. “Funny.” Turning to Gabe, I ask “How is it that you have all this occult knowledge?”

“What Cupid lacks in love magic, he makes up for in occult knowledge,” Damion ribs.

“If you two children would please be quiet, I’m trying to concentrate.” Gabe draws a large circle around the triangle and fills it in with symbols I don’t understand.

A piece of chalk appears in Damion’s hand and he draws a circle around me. “Do not leave this circle no matter what happens. You’ve already been possessed once. Let’s not risk it a second time, shall we? I don’t share my possessions.”

“Still not one of your possessions,” I say tartly.

“Aubry,” he warns.

“I’m not going to leave the circle.” I may be stubborn, but I’m not stupid.

Gabe and Damion begin to chant, their eyes glowing with power. The chant sounds like nonsense, but I wonder if they’re saying some version of abracadabra, backward perhaps? The energy shifts in the room—a heavy feeling in the air—and the temperature drops ever so slightly. Black sulfurous smoke fills the triangle and a demon appears.

“You rang?” the demon says in an impish voice. He’s a small creature; I’d put him around four feet tall, with a boyish quality to him. He has horns and a tail, but his green skin isn’t scaly like the drawing on the bowl. He does look a bit like Max from Where the Wild Things Are. I’ll have to tell Charlotte she was right. “Ah my sweet, step closer so that I may bask in your unmatched beauty.”

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