Page 93 of Obsession

“I don’t love Augustus,” she says, shocked. “Wow. That bitch Lucy is going to pay.”

“You two fight it out until the end of days for all I care. But remember, you’re contractually bound to leave me out of it.”

Damion transforms into his demonic form. “Bettina Davis, I can help with your Lucy problem.”

Should I warn Bettina? Nah, I’ve done my good deed. I step outside and walk over to a bench overlooking the Mississippi River. I have a seat and watch a towboat amble along. Several minutes later, Damion walks out looking rather pleased with himself.

We walk to an alley, and Zazel soon whisks us back to the shop.

“Thank you.” I scoop up B.B. in my arms. “I owe you one.”

“Whatever the queen wants,” Damion agrees, giving my cat a scratch.

Grandma and Aunt Callie make a fuss, and after, Damion and I leave to tie up one final loose end. We drive to West Memphis with Delilah’s remains.

Using the roses Damion gave me, I place them with her bones, and Damion sets it on fire. I burn Frankincense and say a prayer of peace for Delilah. Damion moves the charred ashes back into the grave site and covers it with dirt using his power.

“What happens to Delilah’s farms? I don’t know if Lucy used a mind control spell to coerce Delilah to write her will the way she did, or if they were truly friends. But it seems unfair for Lucy to disrespect Delilah’s remains like that and then return to living off her property.”

Damion aggressively passes an old man driving a tractor. “I took a peek at Lucy’s file in her lawyer’s office. Remember she mentioned a meeting with her lawyer?”

“Yes.”

“Turns out Lucy owes several years’ worth of property taxes. Tennessee and Arkansas are preparing to place liens, and once that happens, those farms will be sold at auction.”

“Sounds like the perfect karma to me,” I say with a yawn.

We return to the apartment, and I relay to Grandma and Aunt Callie the messages from Mama. “Now, if everyone will excuse me, I’m exhausted.” Walking to my room, Damion holds my door open for me and closes it behind us. “I need some time alone,” I warn him.

“How much longer are you going to make me be a good boy?” He growls in frustration.

“Ten minutes,” I tell him as I stand on my tiptoes and give him a kiss. “I just need to wash off all of Lucy’s negative energy.” Grabbing a sage bundle from my dresser, I give myself a quick cleansing.

“That still stinks.”

“Still a demon.”

Damion scoops me up in his arms and carries me to the bathroom. “You realize I can walk,” I protest.

“Ten minutes and then you’re all mine,” he whispers in my ear, causing my skin to pebble. Placing me on my feet, he walks out to give me privacy, closing the door behind him.

I do a quick shower visualization, and then figuring I have a few minutes to spare, I run a bath and climb in the tub. Ten minutes is waaaaay too long, so I decide to speed up the process. Pulling Damion’s demonic name from my mind, my mouth forms the unusual-sounding syllables. Yes, I could have just yelled through the door, but where would the fun in that be?

Damion appears in the tub on the opposite end facing me. “Did my wanton witch need something?” he asks, pulling me to him.

“Just you,” I say, kissing him sweetly.

“So you admit you’re my wanton witch,” he says, smiling against my lips.

Tricky devil.

Much later, snuggled in Damion’s arms in bed, I’m dozing when the “phone” rings. Tiptoeing to my closet, I answer. “Hello?”

“Aubry, I’m not sure I’ll be able to communicate this way with you again, but I promise I’ll always be here for you. I love you, my sweet girl,” Mama whispers.

“Did you die because of me?” I ask the question I was too afraid to voice earlier.

“Of course not,” she says gently. “It was just my time. Maybe my karma caught up with me and made that time shorter than I would have liked. But seeing you today for the first time, I’m so proud. Even with all my failings, you turned out better than I could have dreamed,” she says, her voice catching.

---