Darkness Rising: Cursed Guardians

Reading

"Are you sure we need to go to WitcheSex?" Cass was whinning. "Yes at least I am. Celeste is going to come by and do the tarot reading during lunch." I was so antsy about the reading I tossed and turned all night and when I wasn't doing that sleeping over Cass moaning in her sleep proved challenging.  As soon as I woke at 6 I sent a text to Cel and asked her to come to the shop. Thankfully when they weren't out hunting my cousins used their phones and she immediately agreed. "If you don't want to come I'll tell Marge you still weren't feeling up to coming in but you'll have to meet me at Cauldron by 6 tonight." Tonight Cass started at Cauldron and already I was apprehensive. Not that I was worried about being replaced by her or anything like that. It was more like she hated Stefan and the feeling was mutual. I knew neither of them to be able to be civil around people they didn't care for. Plus I knew Demetri was going to watching me like a hawk after the attack at my house. I knew when I hung up with him he wasn't happy I'd come back to the compound with Draco. Such fun I had ahead of me. I finished getting ready by 8 and packed my change of clothes for later. I grabbed a bagel out of the kitchen then headed to the garage to unhook the trailer from the Jeep and head into town.

The going to town was slow. I never truly appreciated how much I loved having GPS on my phone as I did on the drive to town. I'm not directionally inclined by any stretch of the imagination. I finally made it to WitcheSex at quarter after 9, I was late. I hate being late. I parked in my usual spot in the back and walked through the back of the shoppe. Apparently my shipments of merchandise had come in judging by the huge boxes by the back door. I went to my locker and ran right into Marge.

"Oh honey! What on earth are you doing here!?" she exclaimed pulling me into a bone crushing hug. Marge was one of the tiniest women I knew standing at 5'1"she was all bone but the woman had a grip. She was maybe in her late 40s although she'd never tell, and always had her platinum hair teased to great heights. Most days she wore jeans and t-shirts and kinda looked like a soccer mom. People were genuinely shocked to find that she owned a s*x shoppe...and a book store.

"Um I'm supposed to work today." I told her after she released me. "Sweety you and Cass were in such a bad accident! She told me she was knocked out for a few hours. You're lucky both of you weren't hurt more. I told her that you two needed to take a few days." She was looking me over like she was inspecting merchandise. "I'm okay really. And you know I hate being stuck at home. Working will make me feel better. Really." I smiled at her which seemed to ease her some. "Well alright but you feel sick or achey you tell me and you go home. Understood?" She got that mom look when she said that. I nodded "Yes Ma'am."

My morning went by slow. Marge went down to Starbucks and brought me the biggest white chocolate mocha they had which helped me get past my lack of sleep and general chaos of the last few days. While I sipped my coffee I dragged my shipment from the back into the book shoppe. Being with the books helped calm and focus me. The book store was rarely busy so going through boxes of dildos, vibrators, and different s*x games wasn't a big deal. Besides our typical clients knew the book shoppe was apart of a s*x store and they didn't care. So I drank my coffee and sorted and priced the new merchandise. Once that was done Marge had one of the new employees on the s*x store side come and get the merchandise to be placed on the floor. I left myself a note to check product placing after I got back from lunch. Marge and I went over the new merch and she told me about the new books we had received. I emailed my book clients to let them know about the shipment as some were special order books and then emailed my Passion clients about the new s*x merch. At noon my three cousins walked in ready for lunch.

"Hello cousin." Cel said as usual. So formal that one. "Hey." was what I got from Orion. Clearly he was still pissed at me about the other night. Jeez this was gonna be a fun lunch. Angelika came around the counter and kissed my cheek. "Hi Sabella you ready?" she asked. I called Marge who came out front to relieve me and off we went to the bistro down the street. After we got our food we found an empty corner to sit in and began to eat.

I looked at Celeste "Have you talked to your mom?"

"Not since we told her about the attacks. I tried to call her this morning but no answer." She shrugged. Sybil not answering wasn't that unusual still...something.

"How was the hunt?" I asked. Before they had showed up at my house, the three had been in New Orleans visiting their mom and hunting evil beings. Angelika shrugged. I looked at Orion, who true to his name, was every bit the hunter. He looked at me and frowned but decided to talk anyway. He never could help bragging.

"We took down a group of despair demons who were feeding off an entire neighborhood. They didn't put up much of a fight. Then we ran into demons of wrath. They put up a good fight. I tracked one of them through Mississippi. When I finally cornered him in the swamp he didn't fight much. I took his claws to Sybil as a gift." He smiled proudly. Orion had done this since we were kids. He'd go frog hunting and bring them back to Sybil smiling proudly at his successful hunt. Cel chimed in over her soup. "We also hunted down numerous vampires as usual. They are getting bolder. We found a group of them in Georgia that were trafficking humans for food. It feels like something is making them take bigger risks. I remember when we first started hunting they kept to the shadows trying to not draw any attention, now it's the opposite." Ang nodded in agreement.

I got the same feeling. Something was coming and it wasn't anything good. "We got to hang with Mom for a while when she was in a good mental place. Reminded me of before Dad disappeared." Ange said looking happy but still sad. Sybil hadn't been the same since her husband had vanished. Clearing her throat Ang looked at Cel. "Are you done yet? We need to get a move on this reading before Sabella needs to go back to work." Angelika was never patient but she did have a point. Taking a last bite of soup Celeste pushed aside the bowl and withdrew her tarot cards from her bag. Even though we are the same age she always appeared older to me. 

If you didn't know the three siblings you'd swear they were triplets. All of them had the same golden blonde hair as Sybil. Cel and Ang kept theirs long, Cel went for just below the shoulders while Ang went mid waist. Orion kept his somewhat long. He had the I rolled out of bed but my hair looks awesome look mastered. Besides their hair color they all also shared a beautiful hazel eye color, high check bones, slender noses, and golden skin. The only thing that separated them was their height. Celeste stood at 5'8, Orion at 6'5", and Angelika at 5'4". "You know the drill." she said handing me the deck. I got a bad feeling. "Shuffle and cut the deck please." I did so and handed her back the cards so she could deal her regular Celtic cross formation. Immediately I knew she wasn't happy with what she saw. "What?" I asked. She collected the cards and handed them back to me. "Shuffle and cut again." I did as she asked, the feeling growing in my gut. From what I saw the first time she dealt the same cards. Huffing she snatched the cards off the table and shuffled and dealt them herself. "Seriously Cel what the hell do you see?" I couldn't take anymore.

"I'm sorry Sabella. I just don't understand how you could be dealing these cards. Every card dealt has its opposites dealt. For instance the Magician indicates you are taking action to do what you feel needs to be done yet the next card in the High Priestess who looks to block your actions. It's like your every move is being blocked or counteracted. One good sign is the lovers reinforced by the ten of pentecales. Relationships with strong ties and family. The wheel of fortune and the eight wands confirm that change is coming at a rapid pace. My general impression is this, you are doing exactly what you are supposed to be doing where you are supposed to be. There are a lot of changes coming and a fight, I think, but we face it together. We get stronger together no matter what." She closed her eyes for a moment as if taking it all in.

I let out a breath of air I didn't realize I was holding. Well at least now I knew. "One other thing. I see someone is bound." She pointed at the devil then to the hanged man. " I can't determine if they need to let go or are making a sacrifice. The cards aren't giving me much on that. Last someone is seeking you." Here she pointed at the hermit then the chariot. "I think it's whoever is sending the demons. They want to control you." Gulp. "Now I know and that's half the battle right." I tried to sound not freaked out. Not doing so well at that. "Well I gotta go back to work. Oh hey I forgot to ask Cel. My friend Cass, she was at the house the other night, she wanted to know if you would do a tarot reading for her?" Quirking an eyebrow she asked "Is she a vampire?" Ugh. I rolled my eyes. "No she's not. She's a pixie and by the way they aren't all bad." Eye rolls from my cousins. Whatever. "Sure then. Let me know when and where." They rose and we walked out together. I hugged them all and even though Ri was tense to start he hugged me whole heartedly after a moment. I instantly felt better. I hate fighting with my family. After that we parted ways, they going to their car and me back towards the shop. I hadn't taken three steps when the feeling sucker punched me and a demon popped out and grabbed my arm dragging me into the alley.

God damn it this was starting to get old! I screamed for my cousins as I twisted in the demons grip. Tuning me around to face him he snarled "Someone wants a word with you and you've kept him waiting." Attitude alone screamed fury demon, absolutely no relation to actual furries. No these demons thrive on the rage and furry of others and then admit that energy into violence. This one seemed to be incredibly pissed off. In response to his strange statement I shot back "Kidnaping and destroying my house is not a great motivator to speak. Tell your keeper I decline." With my free hand I jabbed my pointer finger into his eye and then ripped it back out popping his eye out. He wailed and slammed me into the side of the building. I really am getting sick of being thrown around like a rag doll. The glass bulbs in the alley were shattering. Feeling my temper rising I kneed the demon between the legs then when he bent over double I kneed him in the head knocking him backward. I could hear the footsteps and yells of my cousins. Kicking the demon to his side I jumped on top of him and began twisting his head until it snapped. I got up and began surveying the damage to my outfit. I am a girl after all.

"Damn Sabella!" Ri exclaimed. I shrugged. "I'm getting tired of being attacked and the asshole ruined my outfit and scuffed my boots! Do you have any idea how hard I worked to get to this size just to wear these pants?" It was true my first pair of skinny jeans ripped and ruined. Oh when I found the douche bag ordering these attacks so help me I fully intend on removing his balls and using them as a wall decoration. "I'm okay" I said silently counting to infinity in my head to calm myself. Stupid, stupid, stupid demons. "Can you guys handle body disposal? I really do need to get back. Marge is gonna freak when she sees me." Damn it, damn it, damn it. Plus I needed to call Cass so she could tell Puff. Motherfucker, motherfucker, motherfucker. This was going to be a bad day which could only lead to a bad night. s**t, s**t, s**t! "We got this you go."Ang said a machete in her hand. "What the hell Ang where the hell do you carry that thing?!" She was in a dress for cryin out loud! In reply she just smiled. Good grief I turned to hurry back to WitcheSex saying thanks over my shoulder.

As expected Marge threw a fit when she saw. I told her I hit a wall walking back from lunch. Which was completely true the demon did throw me and I did hit the wall. She assumed I tripped and fell into it. When Marge went back to the office I called Cass. "Hey girl I'm getting ready to drive in." She sounded excited. "Hey" I said "So here's the thing I just got attacked by a demon in broad daylight. He dragged me into an alley and said someone wanted to talk to me." Heartbeat of silence. "Are you f*****g serious?" she screeched. Cass mad. "Um yeah. Oh and I need you to bring me a pair of pants. There is a pair of black leather pants in my overnight bag. My jeans got ripped in the scuffle." She actually shrieked. "I am coming to get you and we are coming back to the house!" Oh dear Cass very mad. "Sweety I have to work it's my livelihood and tonight is a busy night for me since it's Friday. Tell Draco what happened I'm sure you'll be coming with an escort now. Try to keep it to a minimum." She was breathing deeply, a sign she was considering. "You won't change your mind?" she asked quietly. "Nope and please bring my pants." Sigh of resignation. "Fine. I'll see you in a bit." Phew. "Thanks. See you soon."