"Hey there!" His deep voice booms when he answers the phone, sending my insides a fluttering. "I heard you figured out your present. Hope it was okay I did that? I thought you might like something a little unconventional... but after hearing what Mina did, I feel mine pales in comparison." I can hear a little frown in his voice.
"Dean. I loved it." I say in a serious tone. "Mina's was fabulous, but what you did was different. It was intimate, thoughtful and showed that you took some time to be creative. It was wonderful. How did you know which book was my favorite anyway?"
He laughed. "Sam helped me out with that one. We were in the spare room/office and I couldn't believe a college girl would have such an extensive book collection of non-school books. Sam looked through the books and picked out your favorites. Jane Eyre, the Harry Potters, A Separate Peace, The Alchemist, A Prayer for Owen Meany, A Walk to Remember. Just a few that I remember. Those books all have a little extra wear and tear as if they have been read several times. An idea just formed in my head right then. Now I'm not a writer by any means so I found some Haiku's online and the rest is history."
I chuckle. "Well, it was a great idea. Thank you. And you will be happy to know I picked out a gun and it should arrive in a couple of weeks."
"Oh yeah? What did you decide on?" He pauses as I inhale to tell him. "No wait, don't tell me. I want to see it when I see you again. It'll give me one more reason to heal faster."
"Oh geesh!" I tease him. "How are you feeling?"
"Ah, you know. Same ole, same ole." Dean replies.
"Still no word from Cas to come in and fix you right up? Don't you know another angel who might help?" I ask.
"We know a lot of other angels. The problem is we don't trust any other angels." Dean snaps. "Cas will show up soon enough. He always does."
"I hope so, Mr. Grumpy Gills. But until then, we both need our rest." I explain.
"What do you mean both of us? Are you okay?" Dean asks, concerned now.
"Too much birthday celebrating I'm afraid," I answer back, giggling. "Plus, it was a tough week for classes. Didn't mean to cause you concern."
I hear an audible sigh of relief. "Ah yes. The birthday! So, did you have fun with all your festivities? Is that why you're calling me on a Saturday night?" He asks suspiciously, but in a teasing way.
"Yes. I couldn't have one more night of fun. I was too exhausted." I give him a big yawn to boot. "I'm going to heat up some leftovers and finish off Stranger Things. I only have three episodes left."
"How is that? I have heard good things, but you know I'm not usually into that kind of stuff. My life is strange enough." He chuckles at his joke.
"I like it, but then I'm not as familiar with the supernatural as you are," I tell him.
"Ah, but soon you will be my dear." I hear the happiness in his voice. "Oh Ugh! Bobby just came in with some medicine for me so I better get off the phone. He says hi." Dean replies.
"HI, BOBBY!" I yell into the phone.
"Good lord women! You've got some pipes! That may come in handy..." Dean says mysteriously. I can hear Bobby chuckling softly in the background.
"Alright. I'll talk to you soon Moon of my life. I miss you and I love you." I say softly.
"I know my Sun and Stars. I know," He responds and we hang up.
It seems like that is how all our conversations go. 'How are feeling? How's school? Are you being safe? I love you, I miss you.' I wish we could talk more. About life things, getting to know about what's deep inside. I needed to tell him about being a Valkyrie, my wolf. I was hiding so much from him, not wanting to cause him to worry. Everything is so superficial and I hated it. I wished the last couple of months of school would hurry by so I could be done with the waiting and start my life with Dean. "NO!" I tell myself. Sam's voice in my ear. "College life is an experience you'll never have again, savor it. There will be plenty of time with Dean later." But I wondered if that was going to be true. His life was so fraught with danger. As my irrational side tried to take over and freak me out, I made my way to the kitchen to find some food. Then I settled myself on the couch to let Netflix push those crazy thoughts away.
A few hours later I shut off the smart TV. "Wow! I cannot wait for season three." I say to the kittens who came to watch with me.
"Meow!" Mingho says in agreement. Midnight yawns sleepily at me.
"Alright, Midnight. I can take a hint. Let's go to bed." So I do.
My phone chirps incessantly, waking me up from a really good dream. I check and they are all from Ben. I'm so angry I don't even read them. Just delete the lot of them. Now that I'm fully awake, I text Mina. "Are you ready with that spell yet? I got another round of texts this morning from Ben and I'd like it to stop."
"Come over whenever you're ready." She replies quickly.
"Oh good!" I change out of my PJ's, grab a bagel and head on over.
Mina answers the door looking like she has been up for hours. Though as I look more closely, I notice she's wearing the same thing as yesterday. Maybe she hasn't even been to sleep. "Mina?" I say in an accusing tone. "Please don't tell me you stayed up all night researching this?"
"I did not!" She answers shrilly. "Honest. I came home and went right to bed. Well, after I meditated anyway. I've found that if I meditate on a question before bed, the answer can be found in my dreams. And that's just what happened!" she grabs my arms excitedly and leads me inside to her jungle of a living room. It really is a jungle now. I can't see a discernable piece of home décor in here. Just various shades of earth, moss, and saffron with a few pops of rose, scarlet, amethyst, and sapphire from blooming flowers.
I sit on the log couch, which is surprisingly comfortable. Maybe it really is a couch? "So, what exactly did you come up with?" I ask munching on my bagel. "Please say it's as simple as last time. I don't want anything too complicated for me to mess up."
She laughs at that. "I wouldn't let you mess up, Alyx. It's actually much simpler than last time." She points to the Ziploc bag, piece of paper and eggplant on what I think is her coffee table.
"Okay, now I'm thoroughly confused. What is all this?" I ask.
"It's for the spell. Here's what we need to do. You will write out Ben's name on this piece of paper. His full name. Do you have that?" I nod. "Good. Make it a little larger than normal because you are going to be burning the paper with this black candle." I now notice a black tapered candle near the eggplant. "As you burn the paper, I have a spell for you to say. Burn it as close to the edge of his name as you can. Then you will tear it up into tiny pieces and place it in this Ziploc bag, putting the eggplant inside the bag too. Then you will fill the Ziploc with some consecrated water. We will put it inside your freezer to solidify for three days. We just missed the full moon which would have been great to do this under, but its power is still active until the waning gibbous. After three days we will drain the consecrated water onto some weeds and get the frozen bits of paper. Let them shrivel as they dry up, kept in an iron box so the negativity can't escape. Then we'll scatter the bits to the winds in the moonlight three days hence. We will toss the eggplant out as it has done its job. Does this sound do-able to you?"
"Wow! It is simpler but takes longer. How is that?" I inquire. This spell has a darker undertone but I know it's necessary to get Ben off my back. If it takes a little longer so be it.
"Sometimes things just don't make sense. I just follow what the spells say and tweak it a teensy bit if necessary." Mina answers.
"One more question just because I'm curious." Mina nods. How do you get consecrated water? Is it special?"
"Only because it's consecrated." Mina laughs. "If we lived by the sea, I would just use seawater. Since we don't, I have to make my own blessed saltwater. I add in some teaspoons of salt then pass it through the four elements on my altar over there to bless it with the powers of earth, air, fire, and pure water. If it wasn't so cold out right now, I could use the moonlight, which I would prefer, but a witch has got to be flexible with the seasons.
"I'm so glad you are gaining more knowledge and honing your craft every day. After that little scare over break, I think you are going to be one hell of a witch, if I do say so myself." I beam at her.
"I'm glad to hear you say that. I am still a little worried about learning to control myself. I applied for some teachings from some different covens and I got in. Over spring break, I will be heading to the Louisiana Bayous to gain knowledge from the witches there. I hope that's OK. I mean I figured you would probably go and visit Dean…" she says as if realizing that might not be true.
"Of course, that's alright! I want you to learn as much as you can. Maybe you can even find some information about that Rowena? See if other covens have run across her and possibly give you a clue as how to reach out to her if she's in hiding. I know you need this. It's perfectly alright. And I haven't actually decided what I'm doing for spring break this year." I tell her truthfully.
"Really? Hm. Well, we'll talk more about that later. Let's get this spell done." I nod and Mina sets about calling the four corners, starting in the West and ending in the South. Once that's done, she motions toward me. "Okay come here. You will start your spell by sprinkling salt around the circle in a clockwise rotation. Facing South light your black candle from the Southern point and say the spell as you burn the paper. Remember the rest?"
"I think so," I answer back. Mina indicates for me to begin then. I enter the circle and place everything I need in the circle at the southern point. I sprinkle pink salt in a circular motion. Upon returning to the South I open the Ziploc baggy and then pick up the candle. I light it and pick up the paper with Ben's name written. I start the paper on fire. I begin,
"To change his soul, from dark to light,
activate Ben's fight or flight.
Turn back time to before it began,
to before Ben ever felt the touch of my hand.
Take him away don't let him linger,
don't let him become a stage five clinger.
Remove him now, don't let him stay,
I want to keep Benjamin Coalpepper at bay.
I do not want him bothering me,
because I'm already spoken for you see.
As I will it so mote it be."
I watch it burn, seeming to pick up as the spell is closed. I direct the ashes to fall into the baggie, in case we need them. I snuff the flicker of flames out as it closes in on his name and blow out the taper. The scorch marks lick at the curls and Q's and I tear the remaining paper into tiny bits and place them into the bag. I put the squat eggplant and place it on top of the pieces. I fill it with the saltwater mixture and seal it. I mix it up watching the paper swirl around the vegetable. And I slowly blow out the candle circle, thanking the watchtowers for letting me cast, effectively closing the circle.
"I didn't know you knew how to close a circle." Mina comments.
"I've watched you do it enough, I figured I should be able to." I smile. "I'm going to go put this in my freezer, be right back. "I head over and bury it in the back of my freezer where no one else can find it but me. Returning to Mina's, I bring over some more food. "We need to eat. I have way too much food here Mina." I say handing her a box of something.
"Yeah. I'm surprised at how much was left over." She laughs. "Did you really like your day? Now that it's over, I'm thinking it was a little much."
"It was a lot, but only because of what had happened. If I had been feeling like my old self I would have wanted more. As it was, it was still grand, just tiring. I don't regret any of it though. I can't believe you got that all together! How long were you planning it?" I ask curiously.
Since the semester started!" She confesses. "It took some finagling that's for sure. I'm so glad you liked it and were able to make it. When the wolf thing happened I mini-panicked. What was I going to do if you couldn't go? But after you started talking, I somehow knew that it was all going to work out." She rushes over to hug me almost squashing the box.
"Hey! Food! We don't want a repeat of the cupcake incident now do we. I know you fixed my dress, didn't you? Admit it." I goad her. She nods and rolls her eyes. "Ah-ha! Thank you. Again. Let's eat some of this stuff eh?"
We eat a bunch but when I think about everything still in my fridge, I get an idea. "Hey Mina. Why don't we take the extra food to the shelter? I know they can use it and I haven't been there in ages. It would be nice to see everyone again. You don't have to come unless you want to, but I think you should. There are some really great people there, you'd be surprised. I'm going to give Valerie a call." I get up, a bagel in my mouth and wander through the forest of Mina's place. "This place is going to be a bitch to clean when Mina moves out!" I think listening to the phone ring. "Unless it's all magical."
"You've got Valerie." A voice on the other end says picking up.
"Hey, Valerie. Long time. How's it been?" I ask her.
"Oh, Alyx! My goodness! I haven't talked to you forever, Sugah!" She gushes excitedly. Valerie was always very enthusiastic. "I've been the same ole same ole but how have you been? I've heard some crazy rumors floating around this city… about some crazy happenings at the university. Ugly ducklings becoming swans, the death of an upperclassmen, some disappearances. You wouldn't happen to know anything about all that, now would you?"
"I might know a few things," I answer back, intentionally vague.
"Oooh I wanna hear all about what you know, but I reckon that's not why you called me. What's up?" She says knowing me too well.
"First things first, I did want to come say hi to everyone. It's been a long while and I miss you guys. How's Arlene and Robert and Kate? They still coming in?" I ask.
"Don't you know it." She laughs. "Robert and Kate have actually gotten together and kind of adopted Arlene. It's a very weird trifecta, Kate not being much older than Arlene, but it works and keeps them out of trouble so I'm all for it. And what was your second reason, Sugah?"
"Well, my birthday was on Thursday," I confess.
"Yeah? That's right! Well, Happy Birthday Darlin'. You're what twenty-three now?" She guesses.
"Twenty-five and thank you. So, it being my birthday my friend Mina, you remember Mina, right? I talked about her all the time, lives across from me, basically my sister." I say as I described her.
"Oh yeah. Yeah. I remember you talking about her." Valerie offers. "Continue."
"Well, she planned an insane surprise party for me. She went a little overboard and I have so much food I don't know what to do with it." I finish. "I know, I know before you say anything, it's all store-bought, most of it is still in the unopened packaging so it's perfectly legit. I know this time of year is tough and I figured what a great excuse for me to come by. So, is it okay?"
"As long as everything you bring me is unopened, we can take it." Valerie replies. "I'll put out the word to Arlene. She'll tell everybody, so we could probably have a packed house for lunch. Do you think you could get it here by say, eleven-thirty?"
I check the clock on my phone. It was nine-thirty now. "That's totally do-able Val."
"I hate when you call me that. Its Valerie!" She says with a smirk in her voice. "I'll unlock the back so whenever you get here just come on in and find me. We'll help you bring it all inside. Alright?"
"Sure thing Val-er-rie!" I emphasize her name for good measure. "I'm trying to convince Mina to come, but I don't know if she will. It'll probably be about an hour. I'll help you set up and stay for lunch and a bit more if I can. I'm so excited to see you all! I've got tons of juicy news for you!" I say to tease her some more.
"Oh, you're killing me, Smalls!" She wails. "I can't wait to see your smiling face!"
Perfect! I head into the kitchen to let Mina know. She's nowhere to be found. She's always in the kitchen, where could she be? I check her whole place and can't find her. I shrug and head to my place. I find Mina in my kitchen packaging up everything. That bit about it being unopened was a little white lie and I guess Mina heard it because she is fixing all the things that were opened and making them not. Transferring other bits and pieces so that everything looks brand new. "You heard that bit huh? Thanks, Mina. Does that mean you're coming?" I ask hopefully.
"Nope. It means that I hoped if I helped you prepare it and get it all in your car you wouldn't make me go. It brings back too many memories of when I was on the run, Alyx. That's why I never went with you. I could never tell you before because… well, I hope you understand." Mina confesses.
"Oh, how insensitive of me!" I say embarrassed. "I never even thought of that! Of course, you don't have to go. I always wanted you to because you're my best friend and I wanted to spend time with you. Now it makes so much more sense. I'm sorry I pressured you so hard."
"You didn't know." She smiles back at me. "There it's all ready to be packed into your car. You go get dressed. I'll grab your vehicle and back it up for loading okay? We'll get you there in a snap!"
