Page 44 of Hex You

Mercy tossed the bathrobe to her familiar. “Coffee is almost ready and I thought I’d scramble a bunch of eggs.AndKhenti and I think we figured out what the Japanese demon is.”

“Oh, that is wonderful news! Tell us!” Xena slid into the bathrobe and then perched beside Khenti on the top of the breakfast table.

While Khenti filled them in on the Nure-Onna, Mercy made breakfast. She was humming softly to herself and loving the feeling of her family being together again when she realized Hunter was unusually quiet. From the stove, Mercy studied her twin. She looked normal and she was being attentive to the monster discussion Khenti and Xena were having, but she wasn’t saying hardly anything. Mercy quickly divided the eggs—including some for Xena—spread plant-based butter and Abigail’s strawberry jam on the toast, and then carried the plates to the table.

“Xena, you gotta get your butt off the table so we can eat,” said Mercy.

“Well, of course, kitten. I know how to eat at a—” Xena coughed as she slid off the table and then plucked something small and spindly out of her mouth. She stared at it for a moment before her yellow eyes flashed and she said, “Ooo! Sparrow claw.” She popped it back into her mouth and chewed it loudly as the three humans stared at her. “What?” she asked after she swallowed. “They’re crunchy. Like sparrow potato chips.”

Khenti covered a laugh with a cough while Mercy and Hunter exchanged a long-suffering look that warmed Mercy’s heart.My twin is back!

“So, we must go to the sites we know the demon has visited,” Xena said as she licked at the scrambled eggs. “And look for scales or discarded serpent skin.”

“Yeah,” said Mercy. “But I think you should wait until Hunter or I can go with you. Remember the part about the Nure-Onna’s bite being super poisonous? And since it’s not a straight-up snake—like a rattler or any other poisonous snake around here—we don’t have an antitoxin for it.”

“You are quite right to remind us. We must be very careful when we battle the demon. I will kill it, but you must not get bitten by it before I do,” said Khenti.

“Then what shall we do while the girls are at school today, Khenti kitten? Shall we hunt again? I will be hungry soon. Sparrows are delicious, but not very filling,” said Xena after she’d lapped up the last of her eggs.

“Xena, I think you should help Khenti with his research.” Mercy spoke quickly before Khenti—who was always polite—said he’d go hunting with the cat. “We can’t forget that Khenti is only staying here until he kills the demon. Then he has to go home and figure out how to petition Osiris for the release of his mom from Duat.”

“That is so true. Forgive me, Khenti kitten. Of course you must return to rescue your lovely mother. We shall diligently research how to petition Osiris.” Xena gave Khenti’s shoulder a motherly pat.

“Hunter, what do you think?” Mercy asked her twin.

“About what?”

“About the Nure-Onna.” Mercy watched as her twin shrugged.

Hunter moved her eggs around with her fork and didn’t look up at Mercy. “I don’t know. It’s good you two figured out which demon it probably is. I guess we find out for sure after school.”

Something was definitely wrong with Hunter, and Mercy had little doubt that it was her fault, which meant it was up to her to fix what was still messed up between them. Quickly, she put the dishes in the sink and then disappeared into the spellwork supply pantry onthe far side of the kitchen. She worked methodically, knowing exactly what she’d need. She even wrote a quick spell on a slip of prayer paper. When her basket was loaded she carried it from the pantry and returned to the kitchen nook where Xena and Khenti were having a lively debate about the merits of wearing less clothing. Hunter was still picking at her eggs.

“Hey, uh, H—would you come with me for a sec? There’s something I have to do before we leave for school, and I need you to help me.” Mercy nodded at the back door.

“Yeah, okay.” Hunter stood and followed Mercy out the door. “What’s up?” she asked as soon as they were alone.

“Would you come to my greenhouse? It’ll be easier in there,” Mercy said.

Hunter glanced at the spellwork basket held in the crook of her sister’s arm, shrugged, and nodded. Silently the twins made their way across the dewy grass to Mercy’s greenhouse. They went in and Mercy flipped on the light, inhaling deeply the scent of green, growing things before she turned to face her sister.

“Hunter, I’m sorry,” Mercy said.

Hunter cocked her head. “About?”

“Well, for one”—she held up a finger for each point she counted off—“being so damn selfish that I messed up our relationship. And two—about not being there for you when you needed me most. Three—about running away and, as you said, leaving you to clean up my messes. And four—about not showing you every day how important you are to me, how much I need you, and how much I love you.” She met her sister’s gaze steadily. “I’m sorry for all of that, Hunter. I really am, and I promise I’m gonna do better.”

Hunter didn’t say anything for so long that Mercy started to chew her lip and sent a silent prayer to her goddess.Freya, please don’t let me have messed-up things between Hunter and me permanently.

“Thanks for saying all that. I appreciate it,” Hunter said slowly. “But what happened between us wasn’tcompletelyyour fault.”

Mercy sighed. “Not completely butmostlymy fault.”

Hunter’s lips twitched like she wanted to smile. “True, but I did push you away.”

“You had reason to. It was because of me that you and Tyr broke up.” Mercy had to brush a tear from her cheek, but she didn’t stop apologizing. “I’m really sorry about that, H. Your god is your business. I shoulda never even considered that you reject him.”

Hunter looked down then as her fingers found the pendant that had returned to its rightful place in the center of her chest. “Yeah, I should never have rejected him.”