Angel awoke—groggy with a hangover—from a restless night's sleep to the sharp, sweet smell of freshly brewed coffee. His eyes opened to find a steaming mug next to his face, and he looked up to see Cassie playfully looking impatient for him to take it. He smiled and sat up, gratefully accepting the cup as Cassie sat next to him on the couch with her own cup.
"How'd you sleep?" Cassie asked gently.
"Mostly on my left side."
Cassie rolled her eyes, but his playful banter assured her that he was feeling better. Hopefully for the right reasons, "Did you get to talk to Charlie last night?"
Angel nodded as he gently sipped the hot liquid, savoring it. It helped him to feel a little better, but some headache pills were called for. "A little bit. We were both exhausted by the time she came back down from the roof, but I think we sorted some stuff out."
"And did you tell her?" Cassie prompted.
Smirking at the memory, Angel took another sip first, "She decided to have a drink with me and passed out before I could say anything. I bet she could drink most under the table. But, with the exhaustion from the mission and our fight, she was done for. I took her to our bed and tucked her in. I figured it was best to sleep on the couch until we had a sober talk."
Cassie was silent, and Angel looked over to her, "I will tell her, Cassie. I want her to know I love her as much as she loves me, and I want us to work once we figure her past out. We tried putting it aside, but I believe what you said. If our love can help her fight whatever comes our way, I want her to know how I feel."
Cassie smiled wanly but shook her head, "It's not that, Angel. I woke up early again and checked my emails and messages. I found some things out that worry me."
Sitting his cup on the coffee table by the couch, Angel turned to face Cassie directly, "Tell me."
"A few of my Wiccan sisters up in Baton Rouge have been gossiping about a strange, suspicious man who'd been visiting some of their shops over the past couple of months. Gathering supplies related to demon summoning, dark magic spells, including body manipulation, and magics designed to cover a Wiccan's presence. He always paid in cash, so there are no records, but one of the sisters did get a name. Samedi."
"Samedi." Angel repeated the name, thinking, "What kind of body manipulation could those magics do, theoretically?"
"There are many kinds," Cassie admitted, "Including magically burning a body beyond recognition."
"Jesus," Angel rubbed his temple, "do such magics really exist? How come it's not more common?"
"We police ourselves, Angel. Most of us do anyway. We discourage improper use. We denounce anyone who may try to use any of the magics for wicked reasons." Cassie sipped her coffee, "We keep most of what we do on the down low, only advertising the most benign of magic gifts: amulets, incense, love spells, and earth magic. We're very careful to remind a new user that any spell they want to create will come back on them tenfold and to only practice for the sake of the energies of the Earth."
"So, where do demon summonings come in?"
"Some magic is very real, Angel, like the amulet I gave Charlie or the powders I use." Cassie sat the coffee mug down, "And some magic is very dangerous. We hope that as time passes, those types of magic will be all but forgotten. But some want to explore their dark powers, call up demons from hell, and create havoc. So, we have some who keep the knowledge alive, if only to combat it. Samedi would be a good reason to know more about how it works, as well as how Charlie got here and how to get her memories back."
Angel nodded along to all Cassie had told him, absorbing it. After a moment, he turned his attention back to the immediate threat: "Samedi. New in town, at least from what your sisters say. Gathering supplies and having magics that we've now seen in action. Charlie's gut feelings after seeing the dead girl. What the children said. The puzzle pieces fit. We have a new player on the board working for Bible, and if he was in the warehouse at any point, he may have seen Charlie and knows what she is."
"We need to tread carefully here, Angel. Let's go to the shop. I want to show you some things and explain how they work. You have the necklace to protect you from Charlie should she lose control, but I think it's prudent that you become more versed in my world."
Reaching for his cup, Angel took a long drink, emptying the cup quickly. "Six months ago, I would never have thought I'd be interested or even eager to learn, but now? With finding Charlie? I want to know everything."
"Should we wake Charlie and tell her?"
Silent in thought for a moment, Angel decided against it: "No, let her sleep. She fought hard last night and deserves the rest."
"She is one of the toughest souls I've ever encountered, but I could sense she was drained last night from everything." Standing, Cassie moved to the kitchen to collect the coffee pot so they could fuel up on caffeine as they worked. "This should keep us going for a little while, at least. Will you grab the keys?"
Standing, Angel stretched quickly, and picking up his empty cup, he stepped to the entrance and fished out the keys from the bowl on the table beside the door. Cassie joined him, and they left the apartment for the shop downstairs.
—
Stirring from a collage of dreams, most lost to her as her eyes opened, Charlie moved subtly under the covers. Slowly, she rolled from her side position to lay on her back, her hair falling over her face. Breathing softly through the strands, she held onto the one dream she didn't want to ever let go of. In it, Angel had told her he loved her, and it was so soft, sweet, and real that Charlie felt it actually had happened. Reaching out to feel Angel, she discovered she was alone in the bed, but she didn't feel loss. She immediately realized he probably decided to sleep on the couch since they'd not completely healed from their fight, and getting drunk didn't really help the issue. A dull ache became apparent once she remembered drinking the Scotch. Looking at the clock on the nightstand, Charlie double-blinked at the time. 12:26 p.m. stared back in bold red numbers. Angel had let her sleep in.
Charlie turned back to look at the ceiling through the curtain of her hair and sighed. She supposed it was the right decision, but they had so much they had to do, and she wanted the air between them cleared. Using her feet, Charlie pushed the blanket down and away from her body so she could kick the excess away. Clear of the constraints, Charlie slowly sat up and turned to sit on the side of the bed, and the full impact of the hangover hit her. Groaning, Charlie quickly decided alcohol was not her thing. Especially in such an emotional state.
Taking a deep breath and opening up all her senses, she determined that both Angel and Cassie were downstairs in the shop and quickly closed her senses back up as her head pounded. Standing, Charlie took a couple of steps towards the door to go shower when a thought occurred to her. Taking a step back, she turned to the full-length mirror hanging on the wall by the dresser. Pulling at the power in her core, Charlie transformed into her hybrid form and concentrated. Her body began to glow as she brought forth her healing power and let it cascade over her for a few moments before the glow ebbed and she returned to her human form.
Shaking her head, Charlie smiled as the pain from her headache no longer existed. So, maybe she could drink as often as she desired if she could magic away any hangovers. Then she recalled that Angel didn't really drink and scolded herself. Sighing, Charlie turned to go shower when she suddenly cringed at a sharp, sudden itch emanating from her shoulders. Cursing the human body for not being able to reach the one place a determined itch would attack, she propped her back against the door frame and wiggled to try to scratch the annoying itch. Barely relieved, Charlie decided to scald it away under the hot water of a much-needed shower. She would go join the siblings in the shop after primping herself a bit.
