Southern Charms

Facts

 "Okay, let's go over the facts."

Ash paced across my bedroom. He'd made so many passes the carpet beneath his feet could no longer recover, and I wondered how I was going to explain the spot to my mother. Of course, explaining all of this to my mother sounded like the smart thing to do. We were in over our heads the moment my best friend's brother ended up possessed by a demon. The resurrection and possession of a dead woman was just the icing on the cake.

"We've been over this a million times," Willow said in an exaggerated whine. Her southern really came out when she was worked up, and I was impressed by the number of syllables she worked into the word times.

"We can't take the chance we missed something. Ok. So first things first. Someone is peddling magical drugs to the impotens. Our theory is that they're Siphoning their latent magic. Charlie was possessed by Malphas. To what end, we don't know. He mentioned a contract."

I rolled over on my bed and stared at him. Malphas had said something about being on earth under a contract, but I'd forgotten that until just now. "A contract is a binding agreement, but it typically implies that both parties are getting something out of the deal. We kind of know what Malphas is getting- a body. Why he wants one, we don't know."

"Probably the same thing all demons want," Willow said, "power or mischief."

"Okay, that's a little vague. A demon as powerful as Malphas- a freaking prince of hell- is surely after something greater than practical jokes," I argued.

Ash sat on the floor and tapped his chin. I was glad he'd stopped. The sight of him going back and forth, back and forth was starting to give me anxiety, and I was juggling all of that I could handle already.

"I agree with Rose, but I don't know that it matters so much. A contract requires both parties to fulfill their side of the deal, and it's void if someone falls through."

"There's usually a penalty for breaking a contract."

"With magic, there's always a penalty."

His words didn't comfort me. The rational part of my brain said whoever started this mess deserved what they got, but the softer, kinder side- the one Clemmy claimed came from my daddy- didn't want to see anyone get hurt. The people in this town hadn't always been kind to me, but in a small town, everyone was family to some extent. This being Mississippi that statement was more literal than figurative, but either way- we had to get through this without another death.

"So where does everything else fit in?" I asked.

Willow piggybacked off my question with one of her own. "What if we're making a mistake by assuming this is all connected?"

Ash gave us a flat stare. "What are the chances that all this is happening and it's not connected?"

"Well, then... we should focus on the one common denominator in all this," I said, sucking in a deep breath before spitting out, "my family-"

"My family-"

Ash and I spoke at the same time. Willow blinked owlishly at us before rubbing her finger up and down her nose. "So, which is it?"

"It's both," Ash answered. "We discovered the drug when Harmony showed up high as a kite, but she'd been out all night with my sister. They were both at the party at my house. Then, both of our dads were on the street when the explosion happened."

"But this all just con-con-con... help me out, Rose. What's the word I'm looking for?"

"Conjecture?"

She snapped. "That's the one. We're just putting together random incidents and drawing lines between them."

"I mean, if the dots connect..."

I fell back on my pillow and rubbed my eyes. They were grainy and tender from sleep and tears, and all I wanted right now was to kick everyone out of my room so I could rest. Never had I longed for my carefree, almost human existence as much as I did right now.

"We should just wait for Clemmy," I said after no one spoke again.

"I've tried. She's not answering the spell."

"Has Willow tried it? Maybe she thinks it's odd coming from you?"

"I did. Same thing. One of the big rituals is happening tonight. She may be out of pocket until then."

"Let's just wait it out then."

Ash surged to his feet, and stomped over to the bed. His face was twisted in anger as he hovered over, and I caught the faint scent of sulfur as smoke billowed between his clenched fingers.

"We literally saw a dead woman roaming around town tonight," he whisper shouted. "I know you saw her eyes. What if Malphas has found a new host? Or even worse, what if it's another demon? How are you gonna feel if a bunch of people die and you could've done something about it? Huh? I thought you were different, but I do know one thing. I won't sit around and wait until someone can put another black mark against my name."

"Ash!" I shouted as he marched out of my room, now sparking instead of just smoking.

Willow perched awkwardly on the edge of the bed, looking between the door and me with a torn expression. Sighing, I threw my legs over the edge.

"Do you think he's right?"

"I don't think he's wrong."

"Rats. Willow, it's not that I don't want to help. I'm just dead-weight."

"Bullshit," she hissed, catching me off guard. Willow wasn't a prude, but she used colorful language sparingly. "You've led this charge from the beginning, and if it wasn't for you, Charlie would still be possessed. You've got your amulets to protect you, but even those aren't the most powerful thing you possess. I've never met anyone as smart or as caring as you."

"Th-thanks?"

"It's not a compliment- yet. Rose, for as long as I've known you, you've been more concerned about what you can't do or who you aren't, than what you can do and be. Quit letting what people say you're lacking define you."

I snorted, not in amusement but in shock. That was surprisingly deep from my pint sized friend. And so very true. Gritting my teeth, I stood up. The amulet and bracelet warmed against my skin, almost as if in approval of my decision.

"Guess I best go and apologize to your cousin."

"Bet he'd accept a kiss," she said, pursing her lips together and making obscene noises.

"And she's back folks."

"Go on, get. I'm sure Ash is just waiting for us to agree to some harebrained scheme."

I paused at the door and turned to look at her. "Well, if he doesn't have one, I sure do."