After the spell, we cleaned up and I made some burgers for dinner. Vithar eventually stopped acting so weird and timidly joined in on the conversations that I was having with Mom. A weight was lifted off of me after the results of the spell. It proved that my mom is my mom, which felt great. It also is quite a relief knowing that I don't have another of my father's children after me. Such a relief, in fact, that I got a wonderful night's sleep. After a rough start, of course. I tossed and turned at first because I kept feeling the magical energy within the house and the high-pitched warning my enhanced ears were picking up. The usual sound that we demonspawn have as part of our starter pack. It must’ve been the residual effects of mom’s magic. My senses were on guard and it made it hard to fall asleep. But I was able to tune it out after a short time and sleep better than I have in months.

I wonder if the resonance of magical energy to me is why mom didn't use magic around me when I was younger. There's a strong chance that if I had sensed it as a kid, it would have scared me away or made me really anxious all the time.

Thinking about how I spent all of my life unaware of a huge aspect of my mom's life, isn’t a good feeling. I thought about it a lot before I fell asleep because I was sure I knew who she was. I had built this person in my mind through my experiences and it was nowhere near correct. I guess it might be a pretty common thing not to give much thought to who your parents were before you were around. Regardless, I had a lot of those revelations last night and, when mixed with the magical warnings, it started to give me a headache before it calmed down and I fell into a sweet sleep. Then I had another bout of odd, but harmless dreams. Most notable was one regarding abstract visions of eyes watching me, probing my every move. That one was probably because of the spell–and only because the spell was strong. While the dreams were weird, they didn't affect my sleep, and I am thankful.

Mom stayed here for the night, much to Vithar's dismay. Not the fact that she stayed, just the fact that she did a spell that most likely was picked up by the guild's radar. So now, he's sleeping in the basement, and my mom slept in his bed.

I wake up with a huge stretch and get up for the day. Sitting in my chair in the living room, I search local news sites on my phone for any updated information on the Hound, but nothing new has been reported.

“That was actually really nice,” Vithar says when he comes upstairs.

“Really?”

“Yeah, it wasn't in the best condition, but the residual magic and circles drawn on the floor made it feel like I was back at the guild,” he says, speaking of the basement.

It is an unfinished basement, so it's not anything pretty to look at. I have used it for a limited amount of magic, though. Most recently was when I used a ritual to activate Demonsnare to use against Rhal and Bezhir. I got the Demonsnare from Eph's, I also got a book that he lovingly dubbed a 'Complete Idiot's guide to Demonsnare and other rituals.' It was a jab just like Olvira's when she said a baby could do better magic than me or something. Mildly insulting, but yeah, it made sense considering my limited magical knowledge. I didn't really care for either comment. Nevertheless, the spell worked.

“I'm glad you didn't mind it. I meant to finish it a while ago. There's no way you could miss all the supplies down there. I just never got around to it.”

“…Yeah, I saw it,” he says, and mumbles something else.

“What was that?” I ask.

His expression goes squirrelly and he shrugs. “I was going to be sleeping down there anyway, and the spell your mom did had to have had more power than mine.”

“More power than your what?”

Vithar doesn't say anything, just goes into the kitchen and looks in the fridge.

“Dude, did you cast something?”

He closes the fridge and sighs. “Alright, come on,” he says, heading for the stairs down into the basement.

I can already notice the change when I am standing at the top of the steps. The musty smell I have become accustomed to when I open the door to the basement is gone. It has been replaced by a dry, newly painted room smell. The open spaces and studs have been covered in the drywall I had purchased for the job. I wasn't sure if it was still good after realizing that there was a leak in the pipes down here, but said pipes have been covered. I run my hand along the textured walls as I walk down the carpeted steps. The recessed overhead lighting illuminates the new basement–and it is amazing. This is definitely better than I could have done it. It's completely finished and organized. All of the random things I have thrown down here and accumulated over the years had grown dingy and tarnished with time. But now it all looks new and clean.

I can't believe it.

“Vithar, what the hell?”

“I'm sorry. I thought the energy that was already here would mask it and–”

“Don't be sorry,” I say, shaking my head. “Wow, man. This is awesome. You've just upped my resale value by the thousands,” I say, still gawking at the space. I'm not selling or anything. It's just the first thought that came to mind after 'wow.'

“You're not mad?” he asks, seeming surprised.

“No. No, I am not. Why would I be mad? This is more than I would have or even could have done. How did you manage this?”

“Well, at first I got rid of the mold and mended the pipes. You had a leak.”

That leak should’ve been taken care of when I found it. So much happened so quickly after that. I forgot and didn't really come back down here after the Demonsnare incident.

Vithar animatedly explains what he was able to accomplish during the night while giving me a tour of my basement. It is clear he was happy to use his talents, even just to remodel.

“Then after all the cleaning was completed, I used a modified repair spell on all your stuff to get it to essentially put itself on the walls in what I envisioned was its 'natural state.' I thought you might be cross with me, because perhaps you had a different plan in mind for the layout down here.”

“No,” I say, with what I am sure is a look of wonder on my face. “This is great, man. Thank you.” I stare in awe at the area, and he smiles broadly.

“Oh! And I added this over here,” he says, pointing toward a doorway.

I open the door he gestures to and try to look in, but it’s so dark. I move through first, patting the wall to find the light switch. My fingers fumble around until I find it and I flick it on. This small windowless room has a table in the back with all manner of magical components looking like the setup at Eph's. There's a permanent circle etched into the floor in metal and likewise on the walls. It's a casting room. The metal embedded into the walls and floor hums with a small amount of collected energy, remnants of his casting.

“It's mainly for practicing for me if I stay, but I know you have a minor interest. Or maybe you'll need to do something again and it's out of the way of everything else.” I marvel at what he completed in just one night. This would have taken me many nights after work and days off. I would have been working at this for months and still wouldn't have done as good a job. It is truly amazing. I turn back to look at him and he is still looking around with a big smile.

“Thank you, man. Seriously, this is incredible.”

“Thank you for letting me stay as long as I have,” he says. “And as long as I'd like down here,” he adds in a lighter tone and eyes me in a sidelong glance.

I laugh. “Yes, you can stay down here for as long as you'd like.”

I continue to check out every little space down here for a few more minutes, taking it all in until I hear footsteps upstairs.

“We should head up, I'll make breakfast,” I say and he does a fist pump. “We should also maybe put up some wards on the house like Eph has if you're gonna stay here and practice again,” I say, cresting the last step.

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

“Unnecessary,” I hear from the living room, and I walk out to greet my mom. “I've already taken care of it,” she says.

“Good morning to you too. Are you gonna tell me you were up and casting last night too? No wonder my head was killing me. Both of you were setting my senses on fire.”

“Well, I've gotta protect my baby boy,” she says.

I roll my eyes.

“I can feel it,” Vithar says from behind me.

“Yeah? What were you able to do, Mom?” I ask

“Oh, I did a lot. No one from the Pit would get past these steps. And anyone from that guild would think three times before coming here and–” she is interrupted by a knock at the door.

I sigh as we eye each other. “We've gotta stop jinxing ourselves. I assume neither of you is expecting anyone?” I ask.

They both shake their heads.

“Great.”

There is another knock as I walk across the living room to answer it, but this is one more demanding. I look through the peephole and see Anna. She looks unhinged. Her hair is wild, and her eyes are darting around frantically, like she is looking for something. I quickly open the door and she stands there, not speaking or stepping inside, but fidgeting and wringing her shirt. She's changed clothes since yesterday, which is good. Given her current behavior, blood drenched clothes would have gotten her picked up. I can hear how hard she is tugging at the bottom of her shirt again, and her hands are red from the constant action. Her eyes are still red-rimmed, and look painful. She focuses on me briefly, but doesn't maintain eye contact.

I realize I am just staring at her with the door open when my mom calls out.

“Mikael, don't just stand there and stare. Let the poor girl in.”

“Yeah,” I say, shaking my head. “Do you want to come in?” I ask, stepping aside. She hesitates for a moment, but steps inside. Mom walks over and reaches a hand out to touch her shoulder. Anna flinches back and mom stops, then guides her to sit down on the couch without making any quick movements. Once she sits, mom slowly puts a hand on top of Anna's, resting on her lap.

“What's wrong, um–” Mom starts, but looks at me.

“Anna,” I tell her.

An expression of understanding forms on her face at the mention of the name. We spoke briefly about her when Mom got here. “What's wrong, Anna?” she asks, attempting to fix Anna's hair.

“Mike, did you come to the hospital?” Anna asks me.

“Yes,” I say.

“And we talked?”

“Yes,” I say again. Her eyes have stopped moving and are locked on me. I don’t have to look, I can feel the other’s attention on me as well.

“Did something else happen?” she asks.

“Like what?” I ask.

She leans her head back and closes her eyes. Tears stream down the sides of her face, falling into her hair.

“I don't know,” she says in a quiet sob.

I slowly glance over at mom and Vithar. They both have the same quizzical expression, but mom's is turning into a more concerned interest in what I have done. A look I am familiar with.

“Honey, what happened?” Mom asks me. I look at her guiltily while she turns and consoles Anna, urging her to lie on her shoulder. I don't really want to say what I think is happening, because I am pretty sure it is what I did. I screwed up, and it's hurting her. Now I need to take responsibility for it.

I sigh deeply and confess. “I thought I was helping,” I say.

“What did you do?” Her tone isn't accusatory, it's curious. I look back and forth between them then rest my eyes on the floor, unsure if I should say it. I have been so caught up in what happened after the hospital that I forgot what state she was in. It seems even worse now too. Leave it to me to try to fix someone and make it worse because I have no idea what I’m doing.

Nice job, Mike. You’re not always the hero.

“Is it okay for me to say what's been going on with you, Anna?” I ask. She takes her head off mom's shoulder and leans back forward, putting her head in her hands. Her shoulders shake briefly, then she shakes her head yes.

When it involves me, her memory is cloudy anyway, so here goes.

“She's been having trouble remembering things. She said it feels like her recollection is wrong somehow, or that she remembers it happening two different ways. Like a memory is replacing another but it's not completely erasing it. And it's usually when it involves me.”

“And?” Mom asks. I'm unable to gauge her tone and I glance at her. Her glare is intense, but still not accusatory. I shouldn’t get defensive even if it is an accusation, but it helps slightly. I already feel like an ass for this.

“And, so I thought I could help. I assumed that something went wrong with my friend helping her after an incubus’ failed seduction. But what I found is that it goes past that.”

Anna looks up and scrunches her face. It looks like something is happening right now.

“I used my void ability to nullify any potential mind altering effects present in her. It worked, but they snapped back into place after I turned it back off,” I say, leaving out the part where I never told my ability to consume whatever it was.

Mom's expression changes as she scrutinizes my face. Her eyes squint and she gives me a look I have seen many times before. I can tell by that damned look that she knows I am hiding something. Yeah, the jig is up. Unfortunately, she always knows.

“Do it again,” she says.

My eyes flick to Anna then back at her. “I–”

“Mikael,” she interrupts. “Do it again,” she says, leaving no room for argument in her demand.

Her tone made it clear that this is not a request and even if it was, inside, I know I should do this. I had intended to ask Mom or Vithar if they could track the effect on her mind back to its source, but it seems like it is too late for that now. My void energy pours out with little prompting. It feels more and more familiar, like it has gotten just as used to me as I have to using it. Anna's head is still in her hands, but the two watch me start with the marble-sized ball of the dark void energy. Anna looks up, I assume because of the silence in the room, and backs up on the couch when she sees it. Last time I had her close her eyes, but it doesn't matter anymore. She is about to get all of her memories back. It expands at my command when given the same parameters as I previously set in the hospital with the addition of wearing away at the effects as well.

Luckily, the void doesn't require the commands to be spoken out loud. The bubble keeps spreading toward everyone else in the room and Anna flinches at first and clamps her eyes shut. Her face relaxes once the nebulous bubble covers her and she opens one eye, then the other. The false memories should be held at bay and unable to erase the truth. She takes a deep breath and closes her eyes, this time in a look of relief. She keeps them closed as they dart back and forth underneath the lids until she breathes out slowly in a sigh and opens them again, looking at me. In a voice calmer than I would have expected she asks questions.

“Please tell me what's going on. I can't take another round of not getting the whole story anymore.”

All eyes turn to me. Screw it, I'm telling her everything.

“Alright,” I reply at first. I walk over to my chair and sit. “Let's start with the beginning. That first memory you recalled for me at the hospital.”

“That guy with the silver hair.”

“Yeah. What I'm going to tell you will sound unbelievable. But I promise you, it's all true.”

“Okay,” she says while taking another deep breath through her nose and letting it out through her mouth. She wipes her eyes and sits forward, seeming eager to hear it.

“That guy was a demon.” I search her face, but see no immediate changes that convey panic or disbelief, so I continue. “He was an incubus, to be more specific. He was using his abilities on you, and it made you extremely pliable to his questioning. He was actually after me though. And it was because of your sister.”

That gets a reaction. Her brow creases.

“What? Christine? Why? Wait, I haven't talked to her in . . . How did I forget about her? I–”

“I know this is a lot to take in. If you need a minute, let me know, but there's also a lot to get through,” I say.

She nods. “Okay. I'll let you know. Please, keep going.”

“There's a lot you might not know about your sister. For instance, she was a half-demon,” I say. Her eyes bulge and flash the whites for a brief moment. “And so am I.” The story continues to pour out. She hears of everything that I know–except one thing.

I tell her about what happened with 'the guy with the silver hair,' why I left her apartment in such a hurry before our date, and about my interactions with my demon. My throat gets tight when I get to the fight between Christine and I. It's hard to find the right words. As the story spilled out, she began crying again. When I near the end, she moves to full on sobbing, possibly knowing what is coming. After another round of starting and stopping, I manage to tell her the hardest part.

“It was eating her. She had no way out. Even if she got what she thought she needed, she had no way to get more once the artifact was emptied of its stored energy. The hunger would've kept growing and growing. In the end, that's what was killing her. She turned to ash in my arms. I held her as she went and–”

My voice cracks and falters–I can't say any more. Mom puts a hand on my shoulder, I look up at her and she holds out a tissue for me. I’m confused at first, but then feel the hot tears running down my face as well. I didn’t realize I had been getting that emotional. Regardless of everything I have just divulged, I can't bring myself to tell her that Christine may have survived at least a little longer if my power hadn't pulsed out and cut her in half. Maybe after she made her escape, and I know this is a long shot, but maybe she would have had a change of heart. Maybe she could've said her goodbyes or something. There’s no way to know because I killed her before her demon finished eating her. I haven't told anyone about that part.

I don't know if I ever will.

My mom stares at me in disbelief. Now she knows the whole story too. She walks behind my chair, wrapping me in a hug. I put my hand across her wrists, and we sit for a moment in silence.