between the shadow and the soul - english edition

Chapter 7 - the possibilities of witchcraft

Jasper tried to find a comfortable position on the couch, leg propped up onto some cushions on the table and his laptop on his lap. He heard Aristes in the kitchen snooping through his cabinets and coming back with a chocolate bar and some sour sweets.

»Want some?«, Aristes asked, when he settled on the couch next to him and Jasper shook his head. They were sitting close enough that he could feel the warmth radiating off the demon and wondered if it was weird how quickly he became accustomed to a demon invading his personal space.

»No, thanks. Leave me some gummy bears for later, though.«

»No promises«, Aristes answered, already chewing away. The laptop made a sound, when the call got picked up and Jasper smiled at the screen, when he saw a blonde woman in her fifties appear. She was standing in the kitchen, looking down at her phone camera with a frown like she wasn't entirely sure if the phone worked properly or not.

»Hi, mom.«

»Hello sweetheart«, she smiled then, laugh lines clearly visible on her face. The similarity between her and Jasper were unmistakable. The same ocean blue eyes, the related facial features and the similar aura of calm collectedness that radiated off of Jasper. »How are you?«, she greeted him with concern colouring her voice.

»I'm okay, more or less. That's why I'm calling actually«, Jasper answered. »I think we found a way to break the curse. That is, Aristes here found it.« Aristes waved at the screen.

»Hi.«

»Oh, a new friend of yours?«, Jasper's mom asked, pleasantly surprised but Jasper shook his head.

»I guess that's one way to describe it. He's a demon. And he's helping me.« Jasper's mom visibly stumbled over her son's words. But Aristes had to credit her as she recovered fairly quickly.

»Oh. That's... very nice of you«, she said, looking at her son in concern. »But you are sure you're alright. I told you curses lose their power over time. As long as you keep using the tea I gave you, everything should be fine.«

»I don't think the solution is that easy, mom. But don't worry about me. I need to ask you, have you ever heard of something called a soul scythe?« Jasper had decided to go with the lesser evil of all his options and get Avery and Aristes to do a purification ritual on him. Avery has yet to find out about her luck. His mom thought for a moment.

»No, but remember the story Cynthia told me at the last coven meeting? Did I tell you that?«

»I don't think so«, Jasper said.

»Apparently, there was a witch that got out of a contract with a demon, by splitting her soul off from her body and locking it away. It's all just one big rumour, but every rumour has its truth, you know?«

»When did it happen? Recently?«, Aristes piped up, leaning against Jasper to get a better look at the screen.

»It would have to be. News like that spread through the witch world like wildfire.« Aristes looked at Jasper, excitedly swatting him against the arm.

»I can find out if that's true. If that happened, there have to be records in the Underworld. Where did I put my phone? I have to call Batest«, Aristes announced and jumped off the couch to search for his mobile.

»So... Aristes was his name, right? He's really a... you know... «, Jasper's mom asked.

»A demon? Yeah«, Jasper said, scratching his neck. »But honestly, he's not that bad, when you get to know him. That's not going to be a problem, is it?« His mom waved a hand.

»What? No! We're an all inclusive household and I trust your judgment in other people. Or creatures«, she added with a slight frown. »But I'm also your mother and as such it is my job to worry about your well being.«