Page 47 of Obsession

The door chimes and I greet my client, waving goodbye to Azrael. He gives my client a tip of his hat and walks out. I lead her back and we begin the reading. She freaks out when I turn over the Death card and I try not to laugh. If only she knew she literally crossed Death’s path.

The next morning, I check on the wilting roses in my closet. There’s still that weird, dense energy coming from the bowl, so I decide to leave it be for a few more days. The good news is I haven’t had my dream again. Maybe the demon was just messing with me. I’m equally relieved and disturbed by that thought.

“How do we free Phenex? There’s gotta be something we’re missing,” I tell Elvis, who’s watching me from the hallway. He ignores me, and I’m not sure why I keep having these one-sided conversations with him; stubborn Aquarius is all I can come up with.

I grab my cards and give them a shuffle, pulling the Hanged Man reversed, reminding me of the delay in the outcome. Yep and yep. Firing off a text to Lucy, I ask to meet. Sorry, Universe, but I’m tired of waiting for answers. Lucy responds that she’s free this morning. I text Charlotte to ask if she can go with me and she responds yes. I then text my overbearing demon.

Me: I’m meeting Lucy this morning and before you start, Charlotte is going with me.

Damion: Daphne and Velma. That’s supposed to be reassuring? You both got yourselves kidnapped by milk toast Brad, need I remind you.

Me: You were with me, so technically you got kidnapped by Brad. And he’s psycho Brad, not milk toast Brad.

Damion: Pointing out the fact that he’s a psycho still doesn’t help your case. You’d better be careful.

Me: Yes, your majesty.

Damion: Now say that on your knees with my cock in your mouth.

Ignoring the tingling between my legs, I fire back a reply.

Me: In your dreams.

Damion: That can be arranged.

“Tell Damion—”

“Butt out,” I cut Grandma off, closing my phone screen.

“Have you thought about sending him some nudes? Try a mirror shot. Those are sexy.”

“Boundaries.” I groan.

“I for the life of me don’t know why you’re such a prude. Flaunt those perky breasts while you’ve got ’em, I say.”

Charlotte texts me that she’s arrived—perfect timing. “Bye, Grandma.”

Meeting Charlotte outside, I hop in her car, and we make the short drive to the coffee shop Lucy selected. “What’s wrong?” she asks as we find a table in the corner.

“The taint of Brad Cunningham. This is where he and I met for our first date. Grandma goes on and on about my aunt’s bad judgment in men, but I’m the one who went out with a psycho energy vamp. Twice.” I cringe.

“Don’t feel too bad. He tricked me too,” she says, shaking her head. “I thought he was this nice guy offering his ride share.”

“The devil wears many disguises,” I muse. Speak of the devil, here comes Lucy. I wave her over and she has a seat across from us.

“This is my friend Charlotte.”

“Nice to meet you,” Lucy says with a warm smile.

“Thanks, nice to meet you too,” Charlotte replies.

“We ordered you an iced tea,” I tell Lucy.

“Thanks for the tea; that was thoughtful. Aubry, it worked out perfectly that you wanted to meet today. I was here in Memphis on business. Just down the street, actually.”

“What is it you do for a living?” I ask.

“The farm you visited on Litha is mine. I have a small soybean crop. Pesticide-free but not certified organic. The organic certification process is a whole other can of worms. I sell most of my crop to a gentleman who makes soy milk yogurt he peddles at farmers’ markets. But you didn’t ask to meet so we could talk about soybeans,” she says as the barista brings us our drinks.

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