Raya set her glass down and smiled. “That’s quite a question.”
“Well?”
“Why do you ask?”
“Why do I ask? Because, one, I’ve never met one before—”
“That you know of,” said Raya.
“That I know of,” agreed Erin. “And, two, it must be an interesting story. I mean, I grew up going to a regular old church. Did you grow up going to—I don’t know—witch school?”
Raya laughed. “Witch school! Hardly. My family wasn’t particularly religious in any direction. I started reading books about magic when I was in high school—you know, as teenage girls will do—and I liked the whole idea of having some kind of power.”
“I didn’t think anything like that was even real,” said Erin.
“You went to church, though. You believed in all kinds of things,” Raya said.
“Sure, but that’s more taking things on faith than seeing an actual demonstration. Meeting Andy—and then seeing you send him away—was pretty impressive.”
“Eh.” Raya drank from her glass and looked thoughtful. “You prayed in your way, I prayed in mine. We probably both had times where we felt our prayers were answered.”
“I guess you’re right,” said Erin. “Still, that was pretty dramatic. I’ve never banished a demon before.”
“You never tried to,” said Raya.
“Good point.” Erin’s gaze drifted over the pool. “It’s one thing to believe in something. It’s another thing altogether to see it for real before your eyes. When I saw Andy for the first time, he spread his wings right there in the kitchen—to prove what he was, you know? And I was shocked, but at the same time, I thought, ‘Of course.’ Like it was a confirmation of what I’d believed all along.”
“Exactly.”
“If demons are real, and witches are real, what else is out there? Angels? Where is God in all this? What about other religions?”
“That’s above my pay grade,” said Raya.
Erin shifted onto her side and faced Raya. “Don’t you think about it? What’s out there? Where did it come from?”
“Who knows?”
“Has Phoenix said anything about it?”
Raya scoffed. “Phoenix? He’s too busy thinking the universe revolves around him to put any serious thought into the actual nature of the universe.”
“I just want to know if all this is a product of human belief, or some great unknown force.” Erin tipped her glass back and drank the last of her Singapore Sling. Sure enough, it had gone straight to her head. She stared into the empty glass. “My beliefs seem to have manifested as a demon in a red suit and bow tie with a really good massage technique.”
“Well, mine manifested as an English-accented demon with an attitude and a drinking problem. Go figure. Speak of the devil … ”
Erin sat up straight. “What?”
“Isn’t that Phoenix?” said Raya.
17
Phoenix sauntered into the pool area like he owned it. He carried an old fashioned glass brimming with amber liquid over ice and mint leaves. As he walked, he sipped from the rim as if to prevent spilling the drink on his white linen suit.
“Hello, Witchiepoo,” he said, addressing Raya.
“What the hell are you doing here?” she replied.
“Thought you might like to know”—he paused for a leisurely sip—“the quarry decided to make a return trip.”
