My brother spent the next twenty years training and studying for the day that he'd be officially inducted as a hunter. The reason for the time delay was twofold. First off, there was a ton of demons to learn about and all their sweet spots to be able to recall. Not to mention fighting, laying wards –all the tricks of the trade.
The second reason was more practical. After a lot of trial and fatal error, the Brotherhood had pronounced age twenty as being the soonest that initiates were strong enough to receive the magic power conferred upon them in their official induction ceremony.
When Ari's ceremony revealed that the Brotherhood had been training the wrong Katz sibling all these years, the shit had hit the fan. My parents were as knocked for a loop as the Brotherhood. Ari had been the golden child with a destiny. I'd had a destiny at one point too, but being a professional tap dancer didn't buy much cred at faculty parties. Neither did being Rasha, since it was top secret, but at least my parents could bask in the glow of clandestine knowledge at their job well done producing such a mensch.
Funny how the glow didn't happen for their little menschette.
Dr. Gelman pressed a glass of room temperature water into my hand, laying a wet washcloth on the table beside me.
"Todah rabah." It couldn't hurt to express my gratitude in her native tongue.
"What do you expect me to do?" she asked.
I fumbled in my skirt pocket for a tiny complimentary package of salt, dumping it in the glass. That little amount of sodium wouldn't deter a demon, but it would help with my electrolytes in case Gatorade wasn't available. Stirring it with one finger, I plugged my nose against the taste and gulped most of the drink back before replying. "His initiate status has been confirmed but re-running the ceremony didn't induct him. Rabbi Abrams thinks you can help."
I swallowed a few times against the disgusting aftertaste of the drink, wiping off my bloody handprint with the wet cloth.
"Thus the golem reference." Dr. Gelman looked me over, tapping her lip with her finger. "The twin factor complicates things." Given the gleam in her eyes, it also made this problem more interesting. "No one ever performed the first ritual on you?"
I shook my head.
"Then your potential had been laying there dormant all this time. Corked up and wanting out. That's how it would have remained had you not been in the right place –the induction ceremony –at the right time of your life to uncork it." Dr. Gelman tossed out the salt package. "Essentially, that ceremony called up all the pressure the magic had built up inside you and the cork popped."
"Like a fine champagne." I cleaned off the blood, dirt, and people ash as much as possible. My movements were slow and careful, my healing not yet complete.
Another coughing fit overtook her. This time I got her a glass of water, taking the opportunity to rinse out the washcloth in the sink. Streaks of red and black swirled down the sink. I handed her the glass and continued cleaning myself off. "How long did you smoke for?"
She frowned. "How'd you know?"
"I had a teacher who died of lung cancer." I scrubbed at a stubborn patch of dried zmey flesh stuck to my leg.
She ran her finger over the rim of the glass. "Why bother quitting? Can't kill me twice. So Isaac re-ran the ceremony and bupkis." It took me a second to realize that Isaac was Rabbi Abrams. I hadn't thought about him having an actual first name.
I tossed the washcloth down. "Do you have a way to help?"
She inclined her head. "I do."
"And Rabbi Abrams," I couldn't bring myself to call him Isaac, "didn't think the Brotherhood would sanction that way. Because you're a … what?" I held up my hands at her glare. "My best friend is a half-demon. I'm not going to judge. Especially if you plan on helping me, but this is about Ari's safety. Please."
Her indignation turned to amusement. "A Rasha with a demon friend. You're an interesting girl."
"Thanks. The Brotherhood fails to see it."
"Yes, well, they are stunningly myopic. I'm not a demon, Nava. I'm a witch."
I laughed. "There's no such thing as witches."
Dr. Gelman's face pinched in prune-faced disapproval. "Says the girl with the magic powers." Her fingers twitched.
"Sorry," I yelped. A touchy witch. Awesome. "Besides, I have Rasha magic. Not witch magic. I've never seen anyone go around casting spells."
She grabbed my ring. "What is this, if not a spell?" Her accent grew more pronounced in her anger.