The demon charges for me and I throw my hands out. It’s self-defense, an old habit. I don’t expect anything to happen but suddenly my magic is here. Now. Right when I need it most. My hands are almost on fire with it, but it’s not just my telekinesis that’s at the ready. It’s all of it. My shields are blown away and I feel within me an awareness of all the fabric in this room, of the energies that make up our deities.
Outside, the moon is nearly full. La Luna has always been my guardian, and she is here now, filling me up with pure potential.
Pure power.
The apron ties skitter from around my waist and fly through the air at Matteo’s thick neck. They encircle twice, the ends twisting themselves into a binding knot.
I sense the second the knot is complete, and I shout, “En el nombre de la Luna, I bind you, Matteo!”
Since I don’t know the demon’s name, I used Matteo’s. And it works! Matteo’s body instantly falls limp, landing on the cushions beside me with a thud. His eyes are shut, and he doesn’t move.
I’m breathing hard, and I think I bruised my shoulder when I fell, but I feel more alive than I have in years.
My magic.
It’s back.
It courses through me like a thousand buzzing bees, like clouds filled with electricity before a thunderstorm. I laugh, because it feels so hexing good, and I’ve missed it like I’d miss air if I were drowning.
By Tierra, how have I lived like this for five years? A shadow of myself. A shell.
Diego is next to me, checking me over, and it takes a second before I can focus on what he’s saying.
“Cat? Carajo, Cat, are you okay? What’s going on? Are you hurt? Please talk to me, mi corazón.”
I raise a hand to his cheek and brush my thumb over the line of blood there. I whisper, “Sana, sana, colita de rana.” A healing rhyme for children. But there’s a spark of magic between our skin as his cut heals.
“I’m okay, Diego.” My voice is steady.
“Thank Sol.” He pulls me into his arms for a fierce hug. With my shields wide open, I can feel his power too. There’s so much of it. He’s always been strong, but it’s more refined now. He’s honed it from the blunt force it used to be when we were kids. And where it was once fueled by teenage insecurity, it’s sharpened by adult confidence.
But that’s not all. I feel his desire too. It stokes my own, and before I can think about the wisdom of it, I’m turning my face to his and kissing him.
With a groan, he drags me onto his lap and kisses me back. Deeply this time, with swipes of tongue and nipping teeth. My magic pulses in response to his and I pull back only to undo the buttons of his shirt.
“Your magic,” he says, panting. “It’s back?”
“Sure seems that way. Take off your clothes.”
“Cat.” He lets out a surprised laugh. “We’re not done here yet.”
“What? Oh, right. There’s still a demon in your brother’s sleeping body.”
“That was a brilliant spell, by the way.” There’s pride shining in his voice, and I soak it in. “I wanted to blast the demon back to whatever hellhole it crawled out of, but my parents would be annoyed if I’d blown my brother’s body to bits.”
“What do we do with him?”
Before we can decide, the door bursts open and our siblings pile in, hooting and hollering, followed by the silent camera operators.
My sister Crystal raises an open bottle of expensive champagne like it’s a sword and she’s going to war. “We’re crashing the party!”
Diego’s younger brother Lorenzo pushes into the room behind her. His face lights up when he sees Matteo passed out on the bench, and he barks out a braying laugh. “Looks like someone already partied too hard!”
A waitress follows everyone in, and I set the borrowed headband and glasses on her tray with a hundred-dollar bill. “Can you return these to the coat check attendant?”
Diego stands and tugs me to my feet. “Let’s go.”
I glance back at Matteo’s prone form. Crystal and Lorenzo are drawing dicks on his face with an eyeliner pencil. No one seems to notice the apron tied around his neck. “He’ll be out for a good twelve hours, maybe more,” I say.
