Page 29 of Hex You

“Why ‘of course’?” asked Khenti, who, except for his long, dark hair, looked like any other teenage guy who went to Goode High School in his new jeans, tee, Mustang hoodie, and Converse All Stars.

“Oh, I know!” Emily bounced on her toes, making her dark curls dance around her shoulders. “Because juniper smoke is excellent for fighting malefic magic, negative energy, and illnesses in general.”

“You are quite right, kitten!” Xena clapped, then hugged Emily, who stepped out of her embrace quickly enough to avoid a cheek lick.

“Have you been studying witchy stuff?” Mercy asked.

“Absolutely.” Then Em’s expression fell. “Wait, that’s okay, isn’t it?”

“Of course!” Mercy said quickly. “It actually helps if you understand the basics. Well done, you.”

“Oh, good! But the phases of the moon still kinda confuse me,” said Emily.

“There are two that are most important, kitten,” said Xena. “The full moon is for completing projects. The new moon is for beginning projects. Everything else is like feathers on a bird—pretty, but not as important as what’s beneath them.”

The three teenagers stared at Xena.

“What?” The cat person smoothed her hair. “Is my fur out of place?”

“No, you look great, Xena,” Mercy said quickly. “We were just thinking about the fact that you love toeatwhat’s beneath those feathers.”

Xena laughed. “Of course I do, kitten! Though I do take time to appreciate a well-dressed meal.”

“Gross,” Emily whispered.

“Okay, well, we gotta go,” said Mercy as she herded Khenti andEmily out the door. “And, speaking of dinner, we’ll swing by the pizza place on the way home and get dinner if that sounds okay to you.”

“Oh, yes, kitten! Please be sure they—”

“I know—you want extra tuna on your pizza and not much else,” Mercy said.

“I do like the cheese, too,” said Xena.

“Right, but not many vegetables.”

Xena shuddered. “No. Please. They are too crunchy. Not like sparrow bones. Sparrow bones have exactly the right amount of crunch.”

“All righty then. We gotta get to the tree. Love you and see you soon!” Mercy blew Xena a kiss as the three of them hurried from the porch to Emily’s vintage T-bird, climbed in, and took off.

“That cat,” said Emily.

“Right?” said Mercy.

“She is a unique creature. Today she introduced me to albacore tuna and something calledThe Bacheloretteon Hulu,” said Khenti from the backseat.

“Oh, Freya! That cat is way too into trash TV. Wait, did she pour cream over your tuna?” Mercy spun around to look at Khenti.

“She gave me the option of adding cream or not. When she gave me the choice it made me think that perhaps she did so because that isn’t the way humans in this realm usually eat albacore tuna, so I told her I’d try mine without the first time,” said Khenti.

“Smart,” said Emily as she turned onto an old one-lane gravel road that snaked around the northeast side of Goodeville and through the fields that surrounded the banyan tree that held the Hindu Gate.

“Khenti, seriously, don’t eat anything Xena recommends,” said Mercy. “I shoulda told you that before I left for school. I’ll show you how to use the microwave tonight, and also how to order delivery.” She shuddered. “No oneeats cream on tuna except cats.”

“So disgusting,” Emily murmured.

“Yup,” agreed Mercy. “Em, see that dirt road up there on the left? That’s the one you need to take.”

“Okay, got it. I forgot how close to the school it is. Hey, remember our freshman year when we used to sneak out to this tree and cut class to drink your mom’s wine coolers?” Em said.