She shot him a dirty look before heading into her kitchen. She was making a mistake, yet she could not determine another course of action. Nonetheless, this situation was going to get worse and worse the longer she remained in the demon's company. If she could just find a way to send him back she might avoid whatever those angels had in mind for her.
She grabbed a healthy choice of chips and a Coke. Her mind was cluttered with thoughts of spells and repercussions as she walked back to him and handed him the chips.
He took the chips, studying the bag with interest. She opened the bag for him.
"What are these?" He leaned down to smell the contents.
"They're chips."
He pulled a chip from the bag and studied it. "What are they made of?"
She shrugged. "Potatoes."
He gave her a look that made her feel two inches tall. "These are not potatoes." He put the chip in his mouth and chewed slowly. After a moment of seeming to savor the taste, he smiled. "They are inherently better than potatoes."
She waved a dismissive hand at his midnight snack. "Whatever. I want to know what consequences you think those angels have in mind for me."
If this wasn't a lesson in preventive spell mistakes, she didn't know what was.
"You will summon Michael."
Nice way to avoid the question. Didn't he hear her when she told him she wasn't a witch? "I don't know how. I have very few psychic abilities, and I don't contain the knowledge of how to control the abilities I do have."
He closed the bag. "Then it looks like you will be doing some research. You obviously contain the
power to summon or I would not be standing before you. One way or the other, you will be coming with me."
She resisted the urge to argue with him. She didn't think it wise, not after what she had seen him do to the angels. "I guess I'll go change."
"You will want to pack some clothing. I do not know how long I will need you."
She bit back the remark that came to mind and turned to go to her bedroom. Kelly had warned her about dark magic and taught her how to keep away from it. She had always been jealous of Kelly's powers, of her ability to cast spells and read palms. Because of Brianna's psychic abilities, Kelly had told her she could learn the art of witchcraft. Some were born with it, and others, like Brianna, could learn and practice it.
So much for practicing it, she thought as she grabbed a small tote bag from her closet. She put the can of Coke on her dresser, opened her dresser drawers and filled her bag with clothes. When she was finished she picked out a pair of shorts and a T-shirt.
She was through with spell books and tarot cards. She'd still sell them at her store, but she'd be damned if she picked one up again. She was through with palm reading as well. If you read someone's future wrong, the power of suggestion could change the true predestination of a person's future.
Yes, she was finished with this art. She'd leave it to those who were truly gifted, like Kelly.
First she had to figure out how to get rid of Asmodeus without him finding out what she was trying to do. The last thing she wanted was to go toe to toe with that man, but she had no choice but to send him back to the Abyss.
As she slipped into her shorts she caught sight of him walking into her bedroom. Her foot caught on the waistband and she went tumbling to the floor. Lying in a heap, she yanked her shorts on and pushed herself off the floor, swinging her hair from her face. "A little privacy, please?"
He stood just inside her bedroom door, ignoring her chagrin as he held up her most prized possession.
"Explain this to me, witch."
Chapter Three
Asmodeus waited impatiently as the human looked at the dagger in his hand, emotions tearing across her face as she tried to think of a lie. Did the woman take him for a fool?
The hilt of the dagger was pure ivory, with three rubies encrusted at the top, representing the Son, the Father and the Holy Ghost. Michael's name was embedded in the Angelic tongue in the steel of the blade, which was as sharp as it had been millennia before. He should know. The damned thing had been used on him on more than one occasion.
"Do not stand before me and lie, witch. You told me you could not summon Michael, yet you have his dagger. Explain yourself."
She shook her head, her dark hair cascading around her shoulders. Her blue eyes rounded in feigned innocence. "It's a dagger. Someone pawned it in my shop and I liked it enough to take it home."
She lied. She was well aware this was no ordinary dagger. As a witch she would be able to feel the power emanating from it.
She had known how to speak the demonic tongue to summon him. He could not fathom why she wouldn't know the Angelic language, and if she had not been able to comprehend the writing when she had acquired the dagger, he was positive a witch such as herself would have done some research.