Page 2 of Kick the Candle (Knight Games 2)
"Logan's my friend. That's all." To signal I was done with this particular avenue of conversation, I flattened my page with my palm and returned to typing vigorously on my laptop.
Michelle raised an eyebrow and pursed her lips inquisitively. "How is Caretaker Rick anyway? You guys still trying to start a fire by rubbing your crotches together?"
I fought a smile but only half of my mouth obeyed my command. "Nice, Michelle. You know, it's not like it's tawdry or anything. We have to do it. It strengthens our powers."
"Power sex. Right. He gets all charged up and you get..."
"Multiple orgasms and sometimes his blood."
"Yum." She grimaced.
"It heals me. Last week, we were bringing in a vamp we caught feeding on a human at a strip club in the city. The thing practically bit though my arm before I sentenced it to Hell. A little sip of Rick and the wound healed right up. It's nothing short of miraculous."
Michelle shook her head and took another gulp of coffee as if she could rinse the taste of blood from her mouth. The TMI convo was enough to make her turn back to her work. She focused on the page closest to her and poised her fingers over the keyboard.
"Hey, here's something interesting," she said.
"What?"
"It's a spell to call a familiar."
"A what?"
Michelle scooted closer to the book and read to me. "Familiar, Spell to Call. A familiar can be summoned to amplify a Hecate's power by performing the following spell. A willing spirit will arrive in the form of an animal possessing those traits the current incarnation is deficient in and supporting optimum natural balance. Through mutual respect and bonding, a familiar can become a trusted and powerful companion."
"Cool. Like a black cat or what not."
"Or maybe you'll get an owl like Harry Potter!"
"Oh yeah, those things are wicked awesome." I stood and leaned over the book to get a good look at the spell.
Michelle tapped the yellowing page. "Hey, there are some notes here in the margin. Tabitha 1701, Abraham 1823, Gertrude 1898. Grateful, I think this is a list of past familiars. There's a half dozen here. Is that how many times you've lived before?"
I shrugged.
"Well? Are you going to do it?"
"Maybe. Does the spell look difficult?" I tried to read it through myself but Michelle's head was in the way. She was practically crawling into the page. My friend seriously needed glasses.
"You tell me. It says you have to meditate. Once your mind is clear, you make an offering in your silver bowl and a willing spirit will come to you."
"What kind of offering?"
"It doesn't specify."
"As long as it's not blood." I'd learned the hard way that blood, my own, was required to sort a human soul to the afterlife. When I'd put Logan back into his body, I had to slice my arm and bleed into my silver bowl to make his soul "stick." The cut itself healed magically, but the blood loss on top of the mystical effort involved left me exhausted.
"I guess it can be anything that's valuable to you," she said.
I nudged her out of the way and read through the spell myself. "Look, this symbol in the corner means I can do it during the day." I pointed to a yellow circle next to the title.
Michelle nodded and looked at me expectantly.
"It might be nice to have a pet," I said.
"Grateful, this isn't just a pet. This is a familiar, the perfect pet to balance you. It's like petmatch.com but better. This little guy will make you more powerful. Hell, all I've got at home is a pug with flatulence."
"You love Bosco."
