Page 26 of Obsession

I close her book and place it on my dresser, then text Damion to see if he wants to come over. I’m tired of thinking, and know just the demon to help with that.

Damion: I love getting a booty call from my wanton witch. How can I turn down that offer?

Me: Hush and get over here.

The next morning, Damion and I fuss about which part of the puzzle we should put together. “We should work on the Devil card, because I’m such a sexy devil.”

“We’ll see about that,” I say as I walk back to my room.

“What’s there to see about—didn’t I demonstrate that fact last night?” he calls after me.

Of course he did, but I’m not going to tell him that. I grab my deck of tarot cards that once belonged to Mama. I set my intention for the Universe to give me guidance on my life in general as I give the deck a good shuffle and then flip over one card. “High Priestess reversed,” I announce, joining him.

“Reversed?”

“Because the card is upside down,” I remind him. “A card about intuition and instincts, but when reversed, it can mean struggling with those things. Also a card about secrets or hidden agendas.” This card certainly embodies all that I’m feeling where Mama is concerned. Using the picture on the puzzle box as a guide, I search for pieces of the High Priestess.

“Don’t look at me. My agenda is pretty straightforward,” he says as his hand inches its way up my leg beneath my sundress. I laugh, swatting him away. “I’ve got to get to work. I’ll be back over this evening for our meeting with Leonard.”

When I told Damion I wanted to learn more about Lucy’s coven history, he suggested we meet with Leonard, the demon record keeper of all coven/demonic associations. Well, that was after he went off on a tirade about how I should have told him about Lucy before I met with the coven. Yes, it’s true I don’t know Lucy’s motives, but I can’t just jump to the conclusion that every stranger who walks into my life is nefarious and up to no good.

I open the shop and give a tarot card reading. The High Priestess makes another reversed appearance. It was coupled with other cards that meant something different to my client, but I do wonder what the High Priestess reversed means for me.

The day passes quickly, and Damion appears at a few minutes before five. He takes a seat on the couch and Elvis hops up in his lap. The cat tolerates me but loves the Cambion, go figure.

A group of teenage girls enter the shop, giggling and making eyes at Damion. He only adds fuel to the fire when he winks at them, setting off another round of giggles.

I roll my eyes at him, but he just winks at me.

“Ladies, thank you for stopping by, but I have to close up shop.” I usher them to the door.

They don’t take their eyes off Damion, bumping into my T-shirt rack and nearly knocking off a large rose quartz egg from the display table. I escort the girls out and flip over the closed sign.

“They break it, you buy it.” I point to Damion.

“I can’t be held strictly liable for being this irresistible.”

“My queendom, my rules.”

A moment later, the door chimes and a dapper fellow enters the shop. This must be Leonard. He’s shorter than I am by a couple of inches, with fair skin and bright auburn hair. He’s wearing a tweed jacket with a pocket watch attached to his vest. I’ve never actually seen anyone in real life wear a pocket watch.

He and Damion shake hands and I’m introduced. “So, Damion tells me you’re inquiring about a former coven?” he says in a British accent.

“Yes, it would have been a coven started in New Orleans twenty-four years ago. The two members I know are Cora Brooks and Lucy Parks.”

A huge leather-bound book appears on the counter. One thing I’ve learned from my brief time in the demonic world is they are sticklers for contracts and record-keeping. “Coven name?” Leonard asks, opening the book.

“I don’t know. That’s all the information I have.”

He huffs and flips through his book, but after a few minutes he says, “Ah, ha. Here we are. Dark Moon Coven. No points for originality on that name.” He chuckles. “Four members include high priestess Lucy Parks, Cora Brooks, Bettina Davis, and Delilah Jones.”

I grab a pen and furiously write down the names.

“Known demonic summoning and/or alliances,” he continues and then reads off a laundry list of demon names. Oh boy, that’s not good. “Coven status is inactive and alliances dissolved.” He turns the page. “Lucy Parks, current high priestess of Goddess of Light Coven. Another daring and original name choice,” he says in a bemused tone. “Coven located in West Memphis, Arkansas. Status active. No known demonic alliances.”

Well, that’s a good thing, at least. He rattles off the members’ names, and I write those down as well.

Damion and I thank Leonard for his help, and we escort him out. I turn to Damion. “So looks like my next step is to find Bettina and Delilah from Mama’s old coven.”

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