Raya looked up from the basket and eyed Erin. “Did you have some kind of thing for this demon?”
“No! I mean, he was really kind to me, and he went shopping with me and fixed dinner for me and came up with these elaborate charts of things he could do to torment Mark … ” Erin trailed off as the memories rushed back. “Are you sure cursing Mark again wouldn’t work?”
“I doubt it. Sounds like it was a freak accident in the first place.” Raya paused and retrieved a stack of sandwiches from inside of the basket. “Although you probably should be careful with what you say in the future. You might have some kind of latent ability. Anyway, what would you do if you did get your demon back? Were you really going to go through with some elaborate revenge plot?”
“I don’t know,” said Erin. “I didn’t think he’d be gone so soon.”
“Here, eat something.” Raya held out a package of sandwiches to Erin.
“You think—I have some kind of ability? What ability?” Erin reached out to take the proffered sandwiches.
“Honestly, I have no idea. Don’t try anything stupid, okay? Like taking matters into your own hands?” She pointed a bottle of soda at Erin.
“How would I even do that?” said Erin.
“By trying to conjure him up by yourself. God knows what you could end up with.”
“What could I end up with?” asked Erin.
Raya gave her a dark look. “You don’t want to know.”
Determination welled up within Erin, accompanied by an impulse to do something Raya would never expect. As soon as Raya looked down and bit into one of Andy’s sandwiches, Erin darted forward and snatched the wand right out of Raya’s hair.
11
“What the—” Raya dropped her sandwich and jumped to her feet, knocking the basket over. “Give me that.”
Erin backed away. “I’m getting my demon back and you’re not going to stop me.”
“You’re messing with things you don’t understand, Erin. Put the wand down.”
“You’re not giving me any choice! You won’t help me!” Erin continued backing away from Raya, heading toward the exit.
“For God’s sake, stop being a damned fool!” Raya stalked across the library, fury in her eyes.
Erin turned to run to the door, but made it only a few feet before Raya tackled her and sent her crashing into the thin industrial carpet over the concrete floor. The impact knocked the breath out of Erin.
With a strength she didn’t know she had, Erin pushed Raya away and sprang to her feet with the wand in her hand, then ran out the door. She had no plan but to keep running until she got to her car in the parking lot. As she looked over her shoulder to see if Raya was following her, she slammed into someone rounding the corner in front of her.
“Oh, my goodness, I’m so sorry,” Erin blurted. She had only an impression of a cobalt blue power suit and black leather pumps before it dawned on her who she’d run into. “So sorry—Mrs. Claiborne.”
Mrs. Claiborne, the school principal and Erin’s boss, was the worst possible person she could have run into at that moment.
“Erin,” said Mrs. Claiborne in a cool tone that somehow conveyed both greeting and chastisement.
Erin realized she still clutched the wand in her hand. She put it behind her back. “Are you okay, Mrs. Claiborne? I’m so sorry I ran into you.”
Mrs. Claiborne brushed at her suit. “I’m all in one piece. Where were you going in such a hurry?”
In her peripheral vision, Erin saw Raya emerge from the library.
“Oh, I—uh—forgot something in my car. For my new classroom. So I ran out to get it,” said Erin, trying to wrap up the conversation quickly.
It was too late. Raya sauntered up to Erin and Mrs. Claiborne.
“Raya,” said Mrs. Claiborne.
“Hey, Mrs. C,” said Raya. “How’s your summer going?”
