Bad Luck, Baby

19 - Bad Penny

"I wanted to be free, yes," Ro replied. "Free of your father, and free of..." He stopped and took a breath, gentling his tone and his hold on me. "Home is hardly a pleasant place, and no welcome awaits me there. Besides, there's no guarantee your father would have sent me back to my own realm. He might have banished me to a real hell—worse than Florida."

"Hey—I got relatives in Florida," Janelle said.

"I have relatives in hell," Kyrie added drily.

"My condolences to you both," Ro drawled. "The point is, I trust Janelle, and have trusted her for a long time. I trusted her with you, after all."

Another shiver raced up my spine as he nuzzled the side of my neck, which was something no one had ever done before, and also something I felt I might have enjoyed more without an audience.

"But... isn't it dangerous... for people to know your name?" I asked, once more attempting to squirm free of his hold.

"Mm-hmm," he hummed near my ear. "Which is why only three people in the whole world know it—of which you are one."

"Alright, that's enough of the possessive demon shit, or whatever this is," Janelle said, waving a hand at Ro. "Congratulations to you both. Now, Ellie's got a lesson to get to, and if you can't keep your hands to yourself, you'll have to wait outside."

"Not happening," Ro said.

"Then behave," Janelle returned with a note of sternness that told me she'd gone into teacher-mode again.

I yelped as Ro licked the side of my face, stuck his tongue out at Janelle, and shifted to cat form. He leaped up to my shoulders and curled around the back of my neck before I'd processed what he'd done.

Janelle shook her head, but smiled fondly. "I expected you two to work out some kinda deal—Ro's a jealous creature, at heart, and not one to share once he's got his claws in—but I never expected this."

"This?"

She gestured for me to take a seat on the other side of the table, and I obeyed. Ro purred and kneaded my shoulder, his whiskers tickling my ear.

"A mutual bond. Most times, the witch binds the daemon with a contract, and it's a one-way deal. How did you word the spell?"

"What spell?" I repeated, feeling lost.

"The contract is a spell, and as I've told you, words are the bones of magic. The words you choose, along with your intention, make all the difference. So, how'd it go?"

"Um... I just sort of agreed to be his witch. And then he pricked my finger, and..." I blushed.

Janelle's brows rose, and she gave Ro a pointed look. "His witch, hmm? If I didn't know better, I'd say someone took advantage of your innocence, Ellie." To Ro, she said, "You better treat him right. 'Cause I know your name, if you don't."

Ro growled again, but in his cat form, and while simultaneously purring, it was more cute than menacing.

Janelle rolled her eyes. "Well, let's get on with the lesson, then. How much you know 'bout Tarot?"

❧

The answer was 'basically nothing,' but an hour later I knew quite a lot. Janelle had explained how the cards could be used as a guide to unlock knowledge we already possessed, even if we didn't understand how we knew it. She'd had me draw a simple spread of three cards, supposedly representing past, present, and future.

The first was the emperor, reversed, the second was the ace of cups, and the third was the lovers.

"Daddy issues," Janelle said, pointing to the first card. "Absent father, abuse of power, oppressive rule—that sort of thing. Lucky it's in the past." She pointed to the second card. "This one signals new beginnings—social, emotional... romantic, even. Makes sense for your present situation. And the last one..." She shrugged. "Well, I'll let you figure that one out for yourself."