“Ris, what aren’t you telling me?”
“It’s nothing, seriously. Just trust me when I say they’re evil. All of them.”
“Hmph.” Lily slumped back in her chair. She knew her sister well enough to know when she wasn’t going to say more. “Something’s not adding up.”
“You could say that again.”
Except they were saying it for different reasons.
Iris thought it wasn’t adding up because she couldn’t pinpoint the demon’s evil motives. Lily wasn’t convinced Mist had an evil motive at all.
What if the tattooed demon hadn’t been lying?We were trying to help Mist get out of a bad sitch, but it seems he’s gone right back to the lion’s den.What bad situation? And what did he mean by the ‘lion’s den?’ Was he referring to Hell?
She was more confused than ever. Worst of all, her annoying witchy instincts were screaming at her again, so much it was making it hard to breathe.
Sorry you had to find out your date was a demon, but he’s really not a bad guy.
Her heart squeezed. She couldn’t shake the feeling that Mist was in trouble and needed help. It was absurd, but she felt it nonetheless.
“Iris,” she said suddenly, sitting upright again. Her sister was mid-rant about the evilness of demons, but Lily hadn’t heard a word.
“What?”
“Do you ever feel certain… instincts? Like a really strong urge to do something you might not have done otherwise?”
To her surprise, Iris flopped into the chair opposite her. “Honestly? No, I don’t.”
“Oh. Never mind, I’m probably just—”
“You’re not imagining it. Mam told me about it. She said it’s a manifestation of our gift. She said all the greatest witches in history have written about having a guiding instinct along with an individual manifestation of their abilities. Like a special power, kind of. She told me that if I ever felt the instinct, I should listen to it unfailingly.” She breathed a bitter laugh. “She never told me how to feel it in the first place, though.”
“So you don’t… feel anything ever?”
She shook her head. “I think I used to. Before they died. But I was young, and I didn’t pay enough attention to it, and now it’s gone. Probably a stress response to the trauma or whatever. But I can’t figure out how to get it back.” She shrugged. “Maybe I’ll never get it back.”
Lily stared at her sister. Though they were close, it was rare for Iris to open up this much.
“I think that’s partly why I study and practice so hard. I don’t have any of the abilities that the greatest of our kind have, so I guess I’m hoping if I work hard enough, I’ll make up for it with book knowledge. Which is stupid, I know. But I don’t know what else to do.”
Shame crept up the back of Lily’s neck. While Self-Doubt Lily ran rampant in her thoughts, she’d been busy pushing aside those empowering instincts. She’d spent years ignoring them, while Iris had spent years wishing she had them.
Iris looked up suddenly. “Why? Are you feeling something now?”
She hesitated. Iris was hotheaded and opinionated, and she’d made up her mind about demons. Would it make a difference? “Yes. At least, I think so.”
“What are you feeling?”
“Last night, I should have been afraid, but I wasn’t. Because I knew I wasn’t in danger somehow. And now, with everything, I just… I can’t shake the feeling that he’s in trouble. And that I need to help him.”
“That who’s in trouble? The demon?” Iris looked incredulous. “He’s a bloodydemon, Lil. When are you going to get that? If he’s in trouble, good. He probably deserves it for all the terrible stuff he’s done. That creature belongs in Hell, and you need to get any ideas of him being some wounded puppy out of your head right now.”
“Yeah.” Lily sighed. “Okay.”
Except hadn’t Iris just told her of their mother’s counsel? To listen to her instincts?
If she abandoned this right now, she would never get another full night’s sleep because that damned intuition would keep her up, urging her to act. She’d probably spend the rest of her life chugging whiskey to keep her nightlight magic battery from reaching full charge.
Or… it might finally go away like it had for her sister.
