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Lena gives this weird half-chuckle, half-sob, and Samsher finally relaxes. I guess whatever tension he sensed from her has faded enough that he’s not worried she’s a threat to the kids anymore.
Dinner, it turns out, is takeout. Once inside, I smell the aroma of eleven herbs and spices, plus gravy, biscuits, potatoes, and corn. Lena’s not much of a cook, but I guess her guys were too busy for kitchen work themselves. They help out at the magic shop—it’s a whole family affair, just like Mom and Dad’s shop used to be—and sometimes, when customers stay late, only the Colonel will do.
Lena invites Az to join us, which catches me off guard. She can’t really stand her pseudo-Father-in-law, especially now that He’s my personal trainer in Hell, but I suppose it’s a sort of peace offering. Definitely a new side of my sister.
The dining table isn’t big enough for all of us, so this once Lena allows us to gather in the living room to eat. Az and I sit on the floor with Ben and Niki, helping them wipe the grease from their little hands and faces in between bites. Ben babbles about his day, telling us how a lady came into the shop asking Lena for a spell to ward off “bad guys,” which it turns out meant creditors. Lena explains that she sold the woman a self-control tincture and cast a binding spell to prevent her from compulsive spending, all the while telling the customer that these “remedies” should stop the creditors in a few months.
This is why I could never work in the magic shop for a living. I can’t stand the lying and bullshitting it requires at times. If Lena had told the woman straight up that the creditors were her own damn fault, she wouldn’t have gotten paid for the spells she did. No pay, no money for groceries and what have you.
Me? I would have been blunt. Maybe too blunt. I would have lost the sale in favor of being honest. How’s that for irony? I’m the one pushing the use of demonic magic, and I can’t stand the thought of lying to make a buck.
Lena might have had a point earlier, though … I mean, howdoI plan on making a living when this is all said and done? If I can’t schmooze with the customers, I can’t work in the magic shop. What else is there for me to do with myself? While we all catch up on the time I was gone, the back of my brain runs through a list of possibilities.
It’s a short list.
I remember my favorite fictional character, Charley Davidson. She runs her own private investigative business. I could do that. Use the ley lines in Nowhere and my demonic magic to solve crimes and catch cheating spouses. That might be fun. I could be, like, the Nowhere PD’s secret weapon against all the paranormal weirdness this town attracts.
What else could I do?
Shit. Lena might be right. I might have to actuallythinkabout my future and my potential career. Like, seriously consider what I’m going to do with my life after I master the magic of Hell.
I hate it when Lena’s right.
Not that I’ll admit it. If I have to die on this hill I’ve climbed, then so be it. Besides, it’s going to be a while before I learn all that Az has to teach me; I’ve got plenty of time to figure out the future.
Speaking of learning from Az, it seems that He’s actually got something to teach me about kids. Ben and Niki crawl all over Him, laughing and grabbing His hair and clothes, and Az just laughs right along with them. It’s so strange to watch; Az is a Prince of Hell, and after living with Him for a few weeks, I’ve forgotten that He’s also a Father and Grandfather.
He’s good with them.
After dinner, Az and I play with the kids for a while before Lena has Arman put them to bed. Once it’s just us adults again, she tries one more time to push a college degree on me—a little gentler this time, almost like she’s just going through the motions.
“Callie, I really wish you’d reconsider college. Even if it’s just a semester. Try it out, see how it feels. Who knows? You might surprise yourself.”
I get up and give her another hug before I go. “Sorry, Lena, but this is important to me.”
The sadness in her eyes breaks my heart, but I can’t go back. I’ve chosen my path, and no amount of guilt-tripping or nagging is going to change my mind.
Chapter 6
Asmodeus
Seeing My Grandchildren brings great joy, but it comes at the cost of also seeing the strain between Callie and her sister.
Young Callie is determined, that much is clear, but for the first time in my long, long life, a human’s reaction surprises me. Lena doesn’t continue with her angry tirade. Instead, she relents. She gives in, something most out of character for the fiery woman.
A strange emotion inches in as I watch the two sisters grow more distant. What is this feeling? It’s like a part of me feels responsible for the rift. Is this what the humans call “guilt”?
A useless emotion, to be sure. I wasn’t the catalyst for this argument. I simply gave Callie a venue for self-expression and a home away from home. Nothing to be guilty for there. Besides, after her visit with her family, she seems even happier in Hell. She throws herself into her lessons with more seriousness than I’ve ever seen a human apply to collegiate studies. Whether or not her study of infernal magic benefits her future, she treats her time with me as though it’s vital to her continued existence.
She takes to the casting of lightning bolts like the proverbial fish to water. If her sister is a being of fire, a combination slow burn and explosive temper, Callie’s personality fits more with the chaotic lightning. Flashy and fierce, bursting with life from the tension around her and using that tension to electrify any threat. While a fire can be contained, lightning is much harder to control. Callie’s spirit attests to this crucial difference between the two women.
Once I’m certain that Callie has mastered her new power, I feel more comfortable in letting her have free reign in Hell, so to speak. I spend less time watching over her and more time in my administrative duties when we’re not practicing, and she ventures out into the other Realms of Hell from time to time, exploring and learning her way around her new home.
Not that there aren’t risks in letting Callie wander off alone. She comes back on occasion with a few scrapes from battling demons who think she doesn’t belong here. I take note that she wins each of these fights. They may be lesser demons, true, but for a human to consistently best demonic foes speaks of Callie’s strength. Pride may not be My Domain, but I definitely feel that emotion when I see her marching back from yet another scrap, golden hair askew, knees scraped and bleeding, battered but intact.
I use My infernal Powers to heal her from these injuries, though it perhaps wastes energy that I could better utilize to maintain my own health. Healing is not a demon’s forte, and it costs more for one such as myself to repair wounds than it does to cause them. My kind were built for destruction, our sole purpose to torture and rend souls that committed atrocities in life.
My foolish determination not to cheat on Callie, if it could even be called cheating when we are not in a romantic relationship, continues to drain me. I need sexual energy to maintain myself, and it’s not enough to draw from the chaos of the hellscape around me. I need to engage in the activities, to take part, in order to fully regain the power that’s draining from me.
