Southern Charms

A Moment of Normalcy

 Flannery and Willow were waiting for us when we made it back to the cabin. They both looked tired, sagging more than the furniture, and I imagined Ash and I must look pretty bad ourselves. This day had stretched on forever, moving from one hectic moment to the next until I felt like sitting down and indulging in a good cry.

But, tired as they were, both of my friends immediately noticed that Ash and I were holding hands. A triumphant glint sparked in Willow's eyes, while Flannery looked away, keeping me from seeing her expression.

"Y'all okay?" Ash asked.

"We're good. Y'all?" Willow replied.

Ash and I shared a look. We hadn't considered what we were going to tell them. Willow's reaction would be far more volatile than her cousin's, and Flannery was a wild card. This world was too new to her, and all she knew of it was that it had put her brother in mortal danger.

There was also the small detail of where we went next. We had to purify the Vampire Stone, but if we were too late to save my father... A sob choked me. He had to still be alive, and not just because he was the only one who could tell us what we needed to do to stop this madness.

"What did you discover? How did Charlie get mixed up in all of this?"

Willow sighed and rubbed her eyes before answering me. "Most of this is just us putting together pieces of information, but my gut tells me we're right. According to some of Charlie's friends, he'd been having a hard time with some of his classes. He came home the weekend of the party to clear his head a little bit."

Flannery spoke up, her voice soft and woeful. "Charlie's like that, you know. He probably figured his old way of doing things wasn't paying off so it was no use to keep at it. Maybe a break would clear his head."

I reached over and touched her knee. She wrapped her hand around mine and continued to cry quietly. No one spoke as she tried to get herself together. With a shuddering sigh, she straightened and wiped her eyes.

"It's all my fault, Rose."

I went stiff and pulled away. "Wh-what? No. How could it be?"

"I asked him to go talk to Allyson. Remember? Turns out, when he found her, she was hanging out with some new friends."

Feeling confused, I motioned for her to continue. "Flannery, I still don't see how that makes it your fault."

Willow slipped her arm around the girl's shoulder, catching me by surprise, but a pleasant warmth filled my middle to see the bond forming between them.

"Rosey, it was Jemina and Harmony. We talked to Allyson, and she described both of them. They've been slumming with the impotens in St. Augustine, getting them hooked on the Siphon drug. Allyson said it was supposed to help her focus, but she just became too tired to do anything. That's when she turned to other drugs."

"But how does this involve Charlie?"

"Allyson remembered Charlie was dancing with you at the party, and she asked if he knew me," Willow explained with a blush. "She wanted my number, and turns out Harmony and Jemina recognized the descriptions of us. They convinced him to try the drink. Told him it was all natural and would help him focus. Probably used a spell to make him susceptible to suggestion."

I jumped to my feet and wrapped my arms around my waist. "Harmony, that cow. Flannery, trust me. If it's anyone's fault, it's mine. They targeted him because of me."

"Let's stop assigning blame," Ash snapped, a wrinkle creasing the space between his eyes as he watched me. "None of that matters now."

Willow nodded. "He's right."

"But this would explain why they picked him to host Malphas. Out of spite."

"Not exactly," Flannery said, her eyes darting to Willow who nodded as if encouraging her to go on. "Remember the story I told you about my grandmother cursing that girl to lose her hair?"

"Yeah."

"Well, there might've been something more to it than Alopecia. Allyson told us Charlie had a strange reaction to the drink. One that had Harmony and Jemina dragging him away with them."

"Y'all think it triggered some sort of latent power in Charlie?"

"Yeah, and my dad probably figured he could use Charlie as a host without sacrificing a witch. A demon like Malphas wouldn't settle for a mere human. He'd want access to witch power."

"A fortunate accident," I whispered. That's what Luis had called Charlie, and it really had been nothing more than that. Wrong place. Wrong time.

"So, what now? From the way Allyson talked, there's a lot of people in St. Augustine who have taken Tio Luis' drug, but was that just so he could summon Malphas?"

"Maybe. I think to find out, we have to talk to my dad."

I launched into what Ash and I had accomplished, leaving out a few, key details when I explained the purification process. Ash's eyes bored into me, but he didn't add anything so I assumed he agreed that it would only cause unnecessary worry. When I finished, he walked out of the room without speaking, and I decided it was best to give him some space.

"Okay, now that he's gone, you need to spill. What else happened today?" Willow asked, leaning forward with a grin plastered across her elfin face.

"Isn't this weird? Talking about something like this when we're trying to stop a demon apocalypse?"

The girls settled back into the couch as I returned to my seat across from them. If we could forget that we were sitting in a creepy, abandoned shack in the middle of the woods, this would almost feel like a slumber party. Just a few girlfriends whispering their secrets as the moonlight grew bright in the sky.

"I don't know. It feels... nice," Flannery said. "Like my entire world didn't just turn upside down."

"Flannery, I am sorry."

"I know you are, but for a little while, I don't want to talk about it. I want to hear about this hand holding business."

Biting my lip, I launched into the moment Jemina almost caught us. My friends called her terrible names at the appropriate times, and they both clapped when I told them I punched Jemina in the face. Twice. I hesitated to share what happened after we teleported away. It almost felt like I was breaking the trust between myself and Ash, but if I didn't tell someone, I would explode. And who better to tell than my best friends?

"He kissed you?" Willow shrieked, then squatted down as if preparing for her cousin to come storming into the room.

"I told you," Flannery crowed. "That boy has it bad for you. As much as I'd like to call your kids my nieces and nephews, I can't deny I see the appeal in Ash. Damn, that boy is fine."

I laughed as she fanned herself while Willow pretended to gag. We carried on that way for hours, too afraid to fall asleep and miss the dawn. And maybe too afraid that this would be the last time we had a moment like this. To just be teenagers talking about love and life.

Willow dropped off first, slumping over Flannery's lap, a gentle snore buzzing between her lips. The conversation shifted to something bittersweet as we reminisced about Charlie, neither of us willing to admit that he could already be gone. Our memories and thoughts were too vivid to belong to the dead, and even though I couldn't promise Flannery, I promised myself. I would do whatever it took to bring Charlie home.

Finally, her eyes closed. Ash materialized in the doorway soon after, his face unreadable in the dim light. I rose and walked over to him, and without hesitation he drew me into his arms.

"Is it ready?"

"Just finished the spell."

I looked through the gritty window. The black was brightening to violet. Dawn wasn't far away. It was time.