kink free, and Ethan comes back down, spraying what’s left of the bird-demon. I keep the fire contained and don’t dare drop my hands until the last ember is put out. The hose falls from Harrison’s hands, and I can feel both him and Laney staring at me.
“Holy shit,” I pant, and Ethan takes me in his arms. I don’t know what I’m more shaken up over: the fact that a demon attacked me or that I almost burned my garage down.
Blinking a few times, I tear myself away from Ethan and turn back to Harrison. “Are you okay?”
“I…I don’t know. I’m not hurt,” he says.
“We need to get inside,” Ethan says, looking around the yard. “There could be more.”
I nod and step away to check on Hunter. He’s sitting calmly, watching us as if he knows exactly what’s going on. We all hurry into the house, and Ethan closes and locks the door behind us.
“Where’s your salt?” he asks, and I point to a cabinet next to the sink. He opens it, knocking a few plastic jars of spices down in his haste, and then goes back to the door and pours a line of salt in front of it.
“Is that going to keep that thing out?” Harrison asks, eyes still wide.
“Probably not,” Ethan says. “But it will at least slow it down.”
I let out a breath, hands trembling a bit. And then the doorbell rings and we all jump.
“The food,” I pant. “It’s our food. Unless demons ring doorbells.”
“I’ll get it,” Ethan says, handing me the salt. Hunter trots along with him, and I take the bottle of wine and a glass for Harrison into the living room. Ethan gives the delivery driver a tip and takes the food, shutting the door before the guy has a chance to turn around and leave. He puts the bags of takeout on the coffee table and starts opening them, because, unlike the rest of us, what just happened didn’t make him lose his appetite.
“That was a demon, right?” Laney asks and takes a big drink of wine.
“Yes,” I say and look at my best friend. It’s one thing to be told that demons are real, but another to witness it. Her world has just been turned upside down and I’m not sure if I should feel guilty about being the one responsible for it.
“I’m going to make sure no more are out there.” Ethan takes a bite of an egg roll and goes to leave but I grab his arm.
“There aren’t any more,” I say. “I can sense it, or more I can’t sense it. And Hunter is calm too.” Ethan looks at me, jaw tense. It’s in his nature to go after the bad guys, I know. “Stay with me?”
He nods and takes another bite of the egg roll. “I’m going to get plates.”
I lean back on the couch and let out a breath, looking at Harrison and Laney. A few seconds of silence ticks by and Harrison picks up my wine glass, drinking it all. I know for a fact my brother hates red wine.
“I have vodka,” I offer.
“I want to drink, but I don’t,” Harrison says, not looking at me.
“I know what you mean,” I tell him. “Like you want to dull your senses but want to keep your mind sharp.”
“That’s where I’m at.” He blinks a few times, slowly shaking his head. “How did you set that…that thing on fire?”
“Your sister is pyrokinetic,” Ethan answers, coming into the room with plates.
“Pyro-what?” Laney echoes.
“Pyrokinetic,” Ethan repeats.
“Fire magic,” I say, Aunt Estelle’s voice echoing in my head again, and another memory crashes down at a dizzying rate.
I’m back in that office, sitting in front of a fireplace while I pet the white fox named Artemis.
“Fire magic is dangerous and unpredictable,” the woman with the pretty brown eyes says. “Without proper training, she could hurt someone or even herself.”
“I won’t let it come to that.”
“Estelle,” the brown-eyed woman says sternly. “She’s your family but know I strongly disagree. She belongs here with us.”
“She already missed the beginning of her first term.”
“You know that doesn’t matter. Our most promising student started last year after missing her first term as well and had no prior training. Don’t do this to her, Estelle.”
“Anora?” Ethan’s hand lands on mine. “You okay?”
“I…I remembered something else.” I get another flash of Aunt Estelle and me leaving the office. We pass by a group of kids, who for some reason I know are students. “Good evening,