Page 116 of Kick the Candle (Knight Games 2)
"Poe, he used to live in the attic, as a ghost. Besides, he didn't actually know. It was his dead mother. He's a medium."
Poe flapped and plumped his breast skeptically. "Likely story. Can you see this so called dead mother, Miss Witch? How do we know he's not possessed? Or a nekomata in disguise?"
"I'm not a demon!" Logan said, extending his hands to the sides. "Or a shapeshifter."
I scratched my jaw. "He came through the front door, Poe. He's not supernatural."
"Did you invite him in?"
Oh crap. I had invited him in. And come to think of it, I couldn't see the ghost of his dead mother, and it did seem rather coincidental that he knew just where to look. "Oh my God, Logan, are you a demon or a shifter?"
"No," he insisted as if the mere idea was ridiculous. "No!" he repeated more emphatically.
Poe hopped to my shoulder. "Prove it."
"How exactly am I supposed to prove it?" Logan's outstretched hands balled into fists and came to rest on his hips.
I pulled out my phone and searched my database for a spell to detect supernatural beings. "Stay right there." I ducked into the downstairs bathroom, and filled the empty soap dish with some water. When I returned, Logan looked more than a little put out. I held the dish toward him.
"Tip forward so that I can see your reflection in the water."
He hesitated for a second but indulged me. I placed my free hand on his head and repeated the phrase I'd learned from my spell database. "Ostendil mihil teipsme"
The water glowed cerulean blue then rippled from the inside out as if a teardrop had fallen from his face and landed at the center. When the rings settled, I could see his reflection clearly. It looked just like Logan, with the addition of a blue star glowing in the center of his forehead.
"See! He's one of them," Poe accused, pointing a talon toward Logan.
"Wait up, Poe. The spell said the supernatural would appear as shadows in the water. Logan's reflection is clear, aside from the star.
"What does that mean?"
"I think it's because he's a medium. He can channel and talk to the dead. That's all."
"You think? You're not sure." Poe narrowed his eyes.
"I'm sure he's not anything maleficent."
Logan stood straight, rubbing his head. "Can we move on please? Honestly, if I was a demon, I'd have plowed over the flying rat and gotten the hell out of here while you were in the bathroom."
Poe's beak dropped open at the flying rat comment. He squinted his eyes at Logan. "I don't like you."
"Feeling's mutual."
In answer, I turned my back to them and stared at the symbols in the concrete. "Now that that's settled, how do we open this?"
Poe hopped down the table's edge to get a better view. "You can't. These symbols are ancient nekomata runes. It says it can't be opened until equinox on the winter solstice."
"Not even with magic?" I asked.
"No. It says when the sunlight hits the stone at midday of the solstice, the treasure will be revealed."
"We're inside. How does the nekomata expect sunlight to hit the stone?"
Logan looked over his shoulder at the sliding glass door to the backyard. "I saw a Scooby Doo episode where the bad guy used a series of mirrors to reflect the light."
Poe stared at him incredulously. "Were you eating Fruity Pebbles at the time?"
"Hey, it's a viable alternative."
