All The Wrong Signs

It was dark by the time we made it to Lakyn’s grandmother’s house. She lived in an isolated cabin looking house in the woods. It fit her hippy lifestyle, but it was also a little spooky in the dark.

Opening my car door, I looked up at the sky. The clouds were moving quickly in the sky and the wind had picked considerably. Blaze was sure to know I was missing by now.

Could he track me? I doubted it. If he could, he’d be glaring at me now.

Before Lakyn and I made it to the front door, an older woman with long, grayish white hair opened the door ahead of us. “Just in time, girls. I just pulled supper off the stove.”

The woman looked every bit the hippy that Lakyn had said she was. She wore a long boho type skirt, with a white button up blouse. Her hair hung loosely braided over her shoulder.

“You must be Riley,” the lady said, opening the door wider for us to enter.

“Yes, Ma’am,” I said. “Thank you for the plants.”

“You are most welcome,” she said. “And please call me Rose.”

As we entered her house, the first thing that hit you was the smell of cinnamon and apples. Glancing around, I saw her house was decorated in an eclectic style. Nothing matched but at the same time seemed to fit the space. Plants and candles were spread out throughout the house.

Lakyn sat her purse down on a table and looked over at me. “Is it everything you expected?”

“Everything and more,” I said, setting my purse beside hers.

“Come sit down,” Rose said. “Riley, wild you like some tea or water?”

“If you say tea, it’s unsweet,” Lakyn warned me.

“Water is fine,” I said, smiling at Lakyn. I followed her, taking a seat at an old round table that had mismatched chairs.

“It’s not a lot,” Rose said, setting a bowl of what looked like stew in front of me. “It’s Lakyn’s favorite.”

“It’s really good. I promise,” Lakyn said, grabbing a piece of bread out of a basket that Rose had just sat on the table.

The food was delicious. I can’t remember the last time I had a good stew. I’d never thought to ask for stew in any restaurant and I’d never tried to cook it. It wasn’t something I’d eaten a lot in my lifetime. The bread was homemade and delicious.

As we ate, Rose and Lakyn made small talk and at first I thought everything would just be normal and that nothing would get brought up about what had happened. I didn’t want to be the one to bring demons up and, as it turned out, I didn’t have to.

Rose sat down her spook, looking over at me. “I heard you had a problem with a demon.”

“Gran,” Lakyn hissed as she looked over at me. I could tell she had not expected her grandmother to say anything to me.

“I did,” I admitted, knowing there was no use in lying. It would only make me look guilty. “But it’s gone.”

Nodding her head, Rose sat back, picking up her cup and taking a long sip. “Lakyn said you summoned him with a tattoo. Can I see it?”

“Umm, yeah, sure,” I said, feeling awkward. I really didn’t want to show her. What if she recognized the mark? Yet If I didn’t show her, she would know for sure I was hiding something.

Putting my hand on the table, I moved it closer to the middle of the table. “It was supposed to be a sigil I saw in a book, but I messed it up.”

“Usually demons can only be summoned by saying their name.” She looked up at me, then to Lakyn. “I’ve never heard of summoning a demon with just a sigil. I wonder…”

“Gran,” Lakyn said. “Leave it alone. She said it’s gone.”

Rose looked over at Lakyn. “The demon could come back if you didn’t banish him. He could simply be playing games with you. It is important that you find out his name. I have a cousin that might can help but…”

“No,” I said, causing both of them to look over at me. I knew I had to gather myself quickly. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be rude, but there hasn’t been any signs of him being back. It’s almost like he was never there to begin with. I’m not even sure if I actually summoned him or if some random demon followed me home.”

“I didn’t mean to offend you, dear,” Rose said. “I only want to help. Lakyn told me…”

When I glanced over at her, Lakyn shook her head. “She’s still new to all of this gran. I think you are scaring her.” Lakyn turned to look at me. “I told her not to say anything, but as you see, she doesn’t listen.”

“It’s ok,” I said, trying to figure out how I could spin this into gathering more information. “It is nice to know if I need any additional help. I have someone I can reach out to that will actually believe me.”

Rose nodded. “I don’t know a lot, but I have family that does. I can find out more information, but I know the most important thing is finding out the demon’s name.”

I nodded, “if he comes back, the two of you will be there first to know.” I smiled. “Lakyn told me your family is from Wales?”

Rose nodded. “That’s right close to Prembrokeshire Coast. My family lived near the coast for centuries. We moved her after my grandmother moved her family here after her husband died. I really don’t remember much, but I know the circumstances were suspicious.”

“I hope I’m not ben too obtrusive, but why did she decide to move to America?”

Rose sighed. “Well, her family was obsessed with catching and controlling demons. There was a rumor that they had managed to capture one but couldn’t control him. The rumor is, the more they tried to control the demon unsuccessfully, the crazier they got. Once her husband died, she wanted away from all of it. She blamed the family’s obsession for husband’s death. She ran away and had her name changed to McAlester to hide from them. Of course, she eventually reconnected with them, but it was much later.”

Lakyn looked over at me. “Isn’t it nice to know everyone’s family has problems?”

“Not everyone has demon problems,” Rose said. “It’s lucky you found Lakyn. It must have been fate.”

I nodded, agreeing with that. Blaze had come to me after I had met Lakyn, but what were the odds? If I had met her afterwards, I would have suspected her from day one. Now I wasn’t sure what to think.

“Gran said she can put up some wards at your house, if it would make you feel better.”

“I don’t think that will be necessary. If anything changes, I can let Lakyn know.”

“It’s easier to do them before there is a problem and not afterward,” Lakyn said, looking at me. “It’s why I didn’t suggest it at first.” She looked down. “I wasn’t sure I believed you. It wasn’t until I talked to gran that I realized you weren’t crazy.”

I opened my mouth, but Rose laughed. “Don’t let her lie. She really was worried about you. I won’t press you into doing something you don’t want to do, but know the option is always open. I know it can be a lot to take in at first, especially when you had been a nonbeliever.”

“Thank you for offering to help,” I said. “But I think I will need more help keeping these plants alive than anything else.”

“No!” Rose said, smiling. “Just water them about twice a week. When you feel the soil and it’s dry, you add a bit of water. Not too much though, you don’t want to drown them and cause the roots to mold. And talk to them. They love it.”

“Roots can mold?” I asked, which happily changed the subject from demons to watering plants. By the time we left, they had given me a lesson on each of my plants. I now knew when to water them, how much to water them, and even had a basic knowledge on cutting them back once they start growing more.

By the time we left, I felt a little better about Rose. Even though I couldn’t read her like Blaze and Petra would have been able to, I didn’t think she had any ill will toward me. She honestly wanted to help. She told me one last time as we shut my plants up in Lakyn’s backseat that if I started noticing anything funny, not to hesitate to call.

On the drive back to Lakyn, I was now anxious for a completely different reason that I had been on the way down. Now I knew I would have to face Blaze. The rain was now coming down and the car’s headlights did little to cut through it.

Lakyn had turned on her radio, probably to distract her. I leaned back in the seat, surprised at how much the rain had picked up the further we drove from hr grandmas. So much for missing the storm. It appears as if we were going to drive through the middle of it.

I was staring ahead when I swear I saw something in the road. I squinted my eyes, leaning forward when I swore I saw Blaze. I opened my mouth to scream because there was no way Lakyn would be able to stop, but she drove straight through as if nothing had been there.

Turning around in my seat I looked behind us but couldn’t see anything expert the glow of her taillights in the rain.

Lakyn frowned, “what’s wrong? Did you see something?”

I nodded. “I thought I saw an animal in the road.”

Nodding, Lakyn gripped the steering wheel. “I hate driving at night and this rain doest help things at all.”

It seemed to take forever for Lakyn to make it to my house, and when she did, it tempted me to tell her to keep driving. There on my doorstep stood Blaze. He was soaking wet, his shirt clinging to his skin. His hands were crossed and the expression on his face gave me no doubt he was ready to kill me.