Sophie goes first, dropping her flower petals with deliberate motions. It’s adorable, but when she reaches the pier, she does something I probably should’ve predicted, but didn’t.
She tosses the mothereffing basket right into the water.
Diego sighs as Sophie’s dad snatches her up before she jumps in the water too. “It’s okay. We still have the candles.”
Since the binding spell actually worked last night, and the wedding theme is goth black, Diego went around carving tiny binding symbols into all the black candles.
Tierra bless Caro’s dark sense of humor.
The wedding planner gives us our cue, and we walk down the aisle between the chairs, heading for the pier. Diego’s mother waits there with El Libro de Brujería, the sacred text of Isla Bruja. As High Priestess and mother of the groom, she is serving as officiant for the ceremony. Diego’s father is seated in the audience.
I’m still a little scared of Señora Paz, but it’s clear she’s in the demon’s thrall. Her eyes are glazed, and she’s staring off into space. Plus, I haven’t heard her make a critical remark about me or my sisters all night.
Matteo stands in front of her. He makes eye contact with me and sends me a smug grin.
The demon inside him is awake and well, and he has no fear of me.
Diego pats the hand I have wrapped around his bicep, and I realize I must be squeezing him. I try to loosen my grip and instead send up a silent protection prayer while strangling the hex out of my bouquet of black roses.
En el nombre del Sol, la Luna, la Tierra, el Mar, y el Espíritu, protegeme.
Diego and I part at the pier and take our places on either side of the arbor. Without him, I feel exposed and alone, barely three feet from the demon.
The others join us, and then my father walks Caro down the aisle.
I’m proud of her dress. It’s not my best work, or even my most outrageous. But it’s perfect for Caro.
It’s nearly a living thing, capturing all her dark and twisted visions for this wedding.
The bodice fits her perfectly, giving her all the lift and cleavage she demanded. We inherited our mother’s boobs, and they are, inarguably, our best assets.
Caro’s arms are encased in lace. The patterns move like living tattoos, changing from flowers to snakes to skulls, and back again.
The full skirt billows like it’s made of thick, black smoke, giving the appearance that she’s walking on fog. Behind her, the ends of her veil curl and flutter like ink in water.
The guests gasp as she arrives. She walks with her eyes downcast, her false lashes dark against her tan cheeks. Her lipstick is wine red to match her bouquet, a thing of beauty all its own with roses, trailing vines, and gold-tipped leaves. It weighs a ton.
Caro reaches us on the pier. Dad takes his seat next to Mom, who is wearing a long white mermaid gown because, as she put it, “Someone should be wearing white at this wedding.”
I glance up at the moon. Luna, please give me strength.
Señora Paz opens the ceremony. “Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today—”
To witness an exorcism.
“—to join esto brujo y esta bruja in magical matrimony.”
In a wedding of the damned.
I pay close enough attention for my cue, but I am otherwise completely absorbed in not hyperventilating. Finally, Señora Paz closes El Libro de Brujería and begins the vows.
“Mijo, repeat after me. I, Matteo Alejandro Paz De León…”
Diego and I wait for the exact moment the demon opens Matteo’s mouth to speak the vows. And then we burst into action.
Using my telekinetic power, I grab El Libro and hurl it into Diego’s waiting hands. At the same time, all the candles surrounding the assembled guests flare like torches, including the single additional candle Diego hid among the arbor. The binding symbols glow with golden light.
With the circle cast, I turn my magic toward holding Matteo’s body immobile. Maybe I can’t banish the demon, but I can affect Matteo’s carbon-based form. It’s difficult as all hex, and I feel the demon fighting to move. Matteo’s eyes glow red and his perfect teeth bare in a snarl.
