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Imagine my surprise when, rather than tear into me, she dives in for a bear hug.
“Oh, my Gods, I thought you were dead! You’ve been gone forweeks, and when you said you were going to live in Hell, I thought you were just talking out of your ass. Then I couldn’t find your spirit on the Earthly plane, and I thought ‘Jesus, fuck, did she really do it?’” Lena’s talking a mile a minute as she crushes the air out of me. “I’m so glad you’re back!”
I hug her back before gently working my way free of her grip. “Lena, I’m totally fine. Az is taking great care of me in Hell, and I’m learning a lot.”
She wipes her eyes, and I realize she’s crying. My big sister, the toughest of the tough, lover of demons, mother of half-demons, the woman who stormed into Hell and exorcised Satan Himself from her son,crying?
“Elena, I assure you, no harm has come to Callie in My Realm.”
Lena’s expression morphs from relief to rage, and I realize Az should not have spoken up.
“You! You took my sister! What fucking lies have You been feeding her, You irritating bastard?”
I step between them before she vanquishes another Prince of Hell. “Lena, calm down! Az hasn’t been telling me anything hinky. No lies, no games. He’s just been teaching me. That’s it.”
It comes as no surprise when Lena conjures a fireball and threatens Az with it. She’s so hotheaded! Can’t she see that I’m fine?
“What, exactly, is the Prince of Lust teaching you?”
Frustrated, I make about the dumbest move possible: I smack Lena upside the head.
“Magic, you idiot! What did you think I went there for?”
She rubs the back of her head, fireball dissipating. “I thought you hated carnal magic. Why the hell did you go to Hell to learn it from Him?”
I throw my hands in the air and roll my eyes. “For fuck’s sake, Lena, I’m not learning carnal magic from Him! He’s teaching me infernal magic. Hell magic. All the stuff you won’t let me learn here.”
Lena frowns. “You could learn legitimate magic from the college, you know. Their mythical studies program has tons of Earth magic courses if you really don’t want to learn the family spells. I tried to tell you that. Why the fuck are you so dead set on learning demonic magic? That shit is dangerous.”
Since she didn’t incinerate me when I slapped her, I push my luck a little further and poke her in the chest with my index finger. “I was kidnapped. Possessed by the Mother of all Monsters. Aged ahead of my time. Exorcised, reverted to normal, and left with dozens of infernal tattoos. Molli cleansed those off me, but I still have the huge one on my back that’s tied to my lifeline, and I guess that one’s going nowhere. I have lived the dangerous life, Lena, and I’m sick and tired of being a victim in it. I want to learn to protect myself. Earth magic won’t do shit against another Hell incursion, or against some other weird threat that might come around thanks to Nowhere’s ley lines. It’s high time I learned to fight fire with fire, and Hell is the best place for that.”
Lena stands there with her jaw hanging open for a few moments before I think my words finally sink in. Her expression softens, and she takes a step back. “Cal, if youreallywant to learn demonic magic, we have four incubi right here at home to teach you.”
“If that was really an option, you wouldn’t have pushed the college thing.”
“I still think you should go to college. I never had the chance, and look at where I am! Stuck here in Nowhere. Maybe if you get a degree, you’d have an opportunity to get the hell out of this dump.”
I lean back and cross my arms over my chest. “Oh, please. Don’t try to lie; you love it here. This is the first place you’ve ever set down roots,realroots. Besides, you don’t have a degree, and you run a successful business. Most small-town magic shops barely scrape by, but yours is thriving. If anyone in Nowhere needs some magical intervention in their life, they know where to go.”
“That’s—” She pauses, and I think I’ve wedged a little bit of sense through her defenses. “That’s not typical, Cal. These days, it takes more than luck to get by. I want you to be able to support yourself, to have a career of your own. Maybe you don’t want to take over the magic shop, and that’s cool, but you’ve got to have a plan for what youdowant to do. Using demonic magic isn’t a career path. It’s an act of rebellion, and those only get you so far before you’re burned out and broken down.”
Damn. So much for needling down her defenses.
“I’m eighteen, Lena. Why do I have to nail down the rest of my fucking lifenow? From what Molli says, the lifeline tattoo indicates that I’ve got years and years and years left in me. By her account, I’m gonna live to a ripe old age. Why can’t I just take some time to experience that life before I settle down into some stale routine that I’ll never escape from?”
By this time, Lena’s four boyfriends have shown up in the foyer, wisely staying out of our conversation. They’ve known Lena long enough that they know to pick their battles with her, and that’s especially true when she’s getting into it with me. Arman holds Ben, and Kamran carries Niki. Samsher stands between them and Lena, arms crossed like he’s standing guard. They’re keeping the kids safely away from their irate mother, though I know Lena would never hurt her kids. Not even accidentally. For all that she’s a pain in the ass as an older sister, she’s a phenomenal mom.
Aistan, the wildest of the four, has a wicked smirk on his face that will probably get him in trouble with Lena if she sees it. He’s enjoying this little show.
Lena sighs and runs a hand through her hair. “Okay, so if you’re not back to stay, why are you back?”
I curse the slight wobble in my lower lip. I’m trying to be tough here, but damnit, I missed them all! I take a shuddering breath and clench my jaw before I answer, hoping to hide any weak emotions. I try to play it off as NBD.
“I thought I’d come hang out. Have dinner. Maybe play with my niece and nephew a little before going back to Hell.”
“But you’re definitely going back.” It’s not a question. More of an accusation.
I give a defiant nod before I notice the tears building in Lena’s eyes again. To soften the blow, I reach out and give my sister a gentle hug. “I’m not going back forever. Just for a little while. Think of it like a summer abroad. The normies do that all the time, right?”
