Southern Charms

Demonology

Willow and Ash waited for me beneath our great Magnolia tree. Heavy white blossoms clung to the branches, their curved petals nestled between the tree's large, waxy leaves. Outside of Black Brier, the time for flowering had long since passed, but magic gave our trees an edge. I broke a flower off, inhaling its heady scent as another bloomed to take its place.

"Don't throw that out," Willow said, "we may need it for a spell."

"Okay, but you do see there are dozens more to choose from if something happens to this one?"

My tiny friend rolled her eyes and slapped her hands over her hips. "Yes, but you've already sacrificed that one. No need to waste."

"What did y'all need?" I asked, not willing to indulge in another argument with her over whether flowers had feelings.

"I found something out I thought you might want to know," Ash said in a rush, his eyes almost black with excitement.

"Did you discover this while you were out hunting for ferns near my school?"

"Flannery told you?"

"You told her to tell me," I replied, speaking slowly as I tried to decipher his tone.

"I did, but I knew you were out there."

I almost dropped the blossom in surprise. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"You were obviously trying to hide, and I didn't trust Harmony or Jemina to not cause a scene if they'd known you were there."

"What were you really doing out there?"

"Oh my lord, that's what he's trying to get to," Willow shouted.

"Let's go for a walk. To make sure no one is listening," Ash said.

I didn't argue, knowing anyone in my house was perfectly willing to cast a listening spell over the three of us. It was just one of the many perks of living in a witch town- you never knew who might be eavesdropping. Willow or Ash could've cast a deafening spell, but they might as well announce to anyone who looked out of the house that we were sharing secrets.

No one spoke as we made our way down the drive, gravel crunching beneath our shoes. In the shade and without the cardigan I was required to wear at school, the temperature was bearable- almost pleasant. A lovely autumn evening for a stroll. But tension radiated off Ash. It was evident in the bunching of his shoulders and the hard slant to his eyes.

"Are we far enough now?"

He stopped and kicked a pebble into the deep ditch on the side of the road. It crashed through the kudzu, eliciting a squeak of protest. The undergrowth beneath the trees was too thick to determine what type of critter we'd disturbed, but after a few seconds, the woods quieted again.

Ash pulled something from his back pocket and handed it to me. It was an old book. One in deplorable condition or one well-loved depending on perspective. Spine almost split and pages permanently curved from being bent in half. Much of the cover was worn so that the title was illegible, and as I thumbed through the pages, very little of what I read made sense to me.

"What is this?"

"It's a book on demonology."

"What?" I shrieked, shoving the book into Ash's hands. "Demonology is banned."

"The practice of it. Not the study of it," Ash said, the amused twist to his lips doing nothing to calm me. Touching that book made me feel dirty. Soiled. Too many good practitioners of magic had been corrupted by texts like the one he held.