from Comfortably Numb for the millionth time, trying to get it perfect.
“Yeah. I always made fun of his geriatric taste in music.”
“I got to hand it to him though. Pink Floyd could very well be the best rock band of all time.”
“If I told you something important, do you promise not to act like I was crazy?”
“I’m pretty open-minded.” He leaned in closer and I could make out the green flecks mixed in with the blue of his irises. “Remember, I’m the one with the freaky mode of transportation.”
I unclipped the two buttons and showed him the tattoo.
“Nice ink. What does it mean?” he asked.
“Well, I’ve been doing a bit of magic and it turns out you can’t get away with doing it for free. So here I am, left with a tattoo I have no way of explaining to anyone.” I pursed my lips and blew out some air, sending the stray hairs out of my eyes.
“You sure you know what you’re doing? That stuff can get complicated. And dangerous.”
His concern warmed me more than I cared to admit.
“Yeah. I have help.” I left out the part that our English teacher was also an expert in the demonic arts.
“Just be careful,” he said clasping my hand in his.
“I will.”
He didn’t let go of me until it was time again for class. We confirmed our after-school plans and went our separate ways. Mine included another torturous session of gym and a chemistry class I was getting lost in.
I was happy to see that Allison hadn’t made it to class and I could spend my time paying attention to Mr. Flynn’s in-depth explanation of Hamlet’s soliloquy. Ian, however, also wasn’t there, which I should have expected from the way he kept verifying our non-date. Even though this was our third time spending time alone with one another, I wasn’t jumping to any conclusions until he started using explicit terminology. If he didn’t use the word ‘date’ it didn’t count as one . Even Mimi would agree with me on that one. At least, she would have.
When it was just Thom and I in the room, he took his usual spot next to me as I pulled out the heavy grimoire from my bag.
“This thing is getting too heavy to lug around.”
“I could lock it up here. You could copy certain pages or take photos with your mobile if you need to work on something specific.”
“That might be a good idea. I don’t like leaving it home either.”
“So, have you given much thought to your demon of choice?” He was more at ease today, leaning back against the chair with his legs stretched before him.
“Can’t say I have.”
“Tsk. Tsk. Gemma. Get to work.”
I skimmed through the texts as best as I could. At least the book was organized, each section catalogued according to the demon in charge and his or her underlings.
“How about him?” I pointed to a half man, half lion riding a bear with a serpent in hand.
“Meh.”
“Alrighty, I’ll keep looking.”
I was getting antsy. In another hour, Ian would be waiting on the front steps of the building and if I didn’t pick the right demon soon, I was going to be stuck here for a while.
Finally, I left my choice to instinct and settled on the page with a winged man, also holding a serpent named Ashtaroth. What’s with all the snakes? His page held a complex drawing of a pentagram along with a short story describing his temptations of St. Bartholomew.
“How about this one? Duke Ashtaroth, says here he can answer any question posed to him. That sounds promising.”
“Could work,” Thom answered.
“You know, I can’t tell if you’re being sarcastic or not.”
“Must be the accent. You Yanks seem to use so much energy deciphering the words, you lose much of the meaning.”
“So, am I on the right track now?”
“I think we could give it a whirl.”
I pulled out a piece of parchment, set on the task and with the last circular flourish, asked: “Am I going to find this somewhere on my body too?”
“You know it.”
“How come I have to get
“Yeah. I always made fun of his geriatric taste in music.”
“I got to hand it to him though. Pink Floyd could very well be the best rock band of all time.”
“If I told you something important, do you promise not to act like I was crazy?”
“I’m pretty open-minded.” He leaned in closer and I could make out the green flecks mixed in with the blue of his irises. “Remember, I’m the one with the freaky mode of transportation.”
I unclipped the two buttons and showed him the tattoo.
“Nice ink. What does it mean?” he asked.
“Well, I’ve been doing a bit of magic and it turns out you can’t get away with doing it for free. So here I am, left with a tattoo I have no way of explaining to anyone.” I pursed my lips and blew out some air, sending the stray hairs out of my eyes.
“You sure you know what you’re doing? That stuff can get complicated. And dangerous.”
His concern warmed me more than I cared to admit.
“Yeah. I have help.” I left out the part that our English teacher was also an expert in the demonic arts.
“Just be careful,” he said clasping my hand in his.
“I will.”
He didn’t let go of me until it was time again for class. We confirmed our after-school plans and went our separate ways. Mine included another torturous session of gym and a chemistry class I was getting lost in.
I was happy to see that Allison hadn’t made it to class and I could spend my time paying attention to Mr. Flynn’s in-depth explanation of Hamlet’s soliloquy. Ian, however, also wasn’t there, which I should have expected from the way he kept verifying our non-date. Even though this was our third time spending time alone with one another, I wasn’t jumping to any conclusions until he started using explicit terminology. If he didn’t use the word ‘date’ it didn’t count as one . Even Mimi would agree with me on that one. At least, she would have.
When it was just Thom and I in the room, he took his usual spot next to me as I pulled out the heavy grimoire from my bag.
“This thing is getting too heavy to lug around.”
“I could lock it up here. You could copy certain pages or take photos with your mobile if you need to work on something specific.”
“That might be a good idea. I don’t like leaving it home either.”
“So, have you given much thought to your demon of choice?” He was more at ease today, leaning back against the chair with his legs stretched before him.
“Can’t say I have.”
“Tsk. Tsk. Gemma. Get to work.”
I skimmed through the texts as best as I could. At least the book was organized, each section catalogued according to the demon in charge and his or her underlings.
“How about him?” I pointed to a half man, half lion riding a bear with a serpent in hand.
“Meh.”
“Alrighty, I’ll keep looking.”
I was getting antsy. In another hour, Ian would be waiting on the front steps of the building and if I didn’t pick the right demon soon, I was going to be stuck here for a while.
Finally, I left my choice to instinct and settled on the page with a winged man, also holding a serpent named Ashtaroth. What’s with all the snakes? His page held a complex drawing of a pentagram along with a short story describing his temptations of St. Bartholomew.
“How about this one? Duke Ashtaroth, says here he can answer any question posed to him. That sounds promising.”
“Could work,” Thom answered.
“You know, I can’t tell if you’re being sarcastic or not.”
“Must be the accent. You Yanks seem to use so much energy deciphering the words, you lose much of the meaning.”
“So, am I on the right track now?”
“I think we could give it a whirl.”
I pulled out a piece of parchment, set on the task and with the last circular flourish, asked: “Am I going to find this somewhere on my body too?”
“You know it.”
“How come I have to get
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