Minutes later-Molly would’ve waited much longer if it had come to it-Onyx’s eyes fluttered open. Clearly, she noticed Molly right away, but she kept her concentration despite the new presence.
“Hey,” Molly smiled softly. “How are you, love?”
Onyx sniffed. “How do I look?”
“Like you’re afraid and mixed up,” Molly said, “but not cursed or sick. You look cleansed, except you’ve been on an emotional roller coaster and no cleansing ritual fixes that.” Onyx nodded, looking at Molly with a quivering lip and moistening eyes. Molly shifted to her feet to step into the circle and gather Onyx up into her arms, ignoring the fact that she was still largely soaking wet. Onyx clung to her.
“What’s going on?” Molly asked, kissing her forehead.
“It’s Alex.”
“He didn’t hurt you, did he?”
“No. No, it was…wonderful,” Onyx said with a mournful tone. “We hit it off. Big time. He’s awesome. I…I had sex with him, Molly. It was…” she struggled for the right word. “Incredible.”
Molly stepped on her reactions. Onyx needed support, not badgering. “I told you I’m okay with it. You’re not worried about that, are you?”
“A little.”
“Whatever it is, we’ll work it out, okay? I love you. I’m not mad. I’m…a little surprised, but I’m not mad. I told you this was fine, and I meant it.”
“I love you, Molly. So much.”
“I know. Tell me what’s wrong.”
“Alex has…I think he’s got a demon over him.” Onyx felt her lover’s body tense up. “I saw it. Her. I was looking at his aura just before I left and I saw her. I wouldn’t have seen her if I wasn’t using the sight.”
“Holy fuck,” Molly blinked.
“Yeah. I don’t think she knows I spotted her. I bullshitted my way out and pretended not to notice her whispering in my ear and I just hauled ass out of there.”
“What’d it look like?”
Onyx huffed. “Like one of those chicks in a ‘hot secretary’ photo shoot, except a million times better-looking. She had a tail, though. I saw it.”
“They’re supposed to have wings and horns.”
“I know. I didn’t see wings. I think she lost her horns or something. She had scars on her forehead, like the horns were ripped out or something. Not very big, though.”
“Fuck,” Molly murmured again. She grabbed the towel on the supply shelf to throw it over Onyx’s shoulders.
“I’m not too cold. I’m fine. It’s warm in here,” Onyx murmured.
Molly shrugged, still holding her tight. “I didn’t see anything like that in his aura.”
“I didn’t, either. It’s not there. You saw his aura. He’s like a textbook good guy. And it all fits with the way he acts. God, he was so nice to me. Bought lunch, didn’t pressure me about anything. I don’t think he expected to wind up in bed.”
“You think he knows she’s there?”
Onyx nodded. “I’m not a hundred percent on it, but I think he sees her. He told me he just started seeing someone, but it wasn’t monogamous. Explicitly. Didn’t say much more than that. I think he was talking about her.”
“Do you think maybe he’s a Practitioner? Maybe he summoned her or created her? Some ritual or tradition we don’t know?”
“Hell no,” Onyx huffed. “He screams mundane except for that woman.” She paused. “The only unusual thing about him is that he seems like an old soul. It’s in the things he says and his aura. I read his palms, too. I think he’s been here a bunch of times, and I don’t think it’s ever gone well,” Onyx mused sadly. “But everything about him says, ‘stable, moral, kind.’ Everything except for that woman. If it wasn’t for her, I’d say he’s someone a stranger could trust with his life, y’know?”
“And she talked to you?”
“On my way out the door, yeah. She reached out and touched my hand and whispered in my ear. She said, ‘He wants you. He wanted you from the moment he first saw you, and will want you again. You can trust him. You’re safe with Alex.’ Really sexy and soothing, or would’ve been if I wasn’t so freaked out.”
“Did that seem like a spell or something?”
Onyx shrugged. “Something. Her touch felt kind of unnatural. Good, but weird. But…I saw her when Alex got out of bed to get me some water. That freaked me the fuck out, so I went into the bathroom and cast extra wards over myself and got dressed. She only talked to me on my way out, and by then I had my guard up.”
Molly knew Onyx well enough to know that her worries were layered, but one matter had to be addressed before the other. “So you’ve warded and cleansed yourself?”
“As much as I can here. I warded him, too. Just a quick one as I left. Subtle, y’know? He couldn’t have even noticed. It’ll last until sunrise for whatever good it does. But I don’t feel any different. Just mixed up inside. Molly, I’m so sorry.”
“Hey. I’m not mad. You look like you did everything right to me,” she said, gesturing to the ritual circle and their rainwater. “But if we want to be safe, we should try a natural setting, too.” Onyx nodded, and Molly added, “I don’t think anything got done to you.”
“Not anything I can see or feel, but Molly, this seems all wrong to begin with. What if this is all just beyond us? What if-”
“Then we’ll deal, okay?” Molly broke in reassuringly. “We’ll deal. We’re in this together. Look, let’s go down to Golden Gardens tonight and run the ritual again there, alright? Nobody’s gonna be down there, anyway. It’ll be cold for you, and that’s gonna suck, but we’ll have to just tough that out. At least it’s been a little warmer than usual this time of year.” They had dealt with worse. If there was one thing the Practice had taught them both, it was self-discipline.
Onyx silently agreed. She fell quiet, still very worried but also not wanting this moment to end. Molly loved her. It meant everything. But she had to come clean.
“There’s the other thing,” Onyx said finally.
Molly twisted around to get face to face, taking Onyx’s hands and looking at her directly in the eyes. Her voice was firm and assertive as well as reassuring. “I trust you. You would never do anything to hurt me, and I know it. You ready to talk about this now?”
“Yeah. I don’t want to leave it waiting. He’s…he’s so great, Molly,” Onyx admitted. “This wasn’t just casual sex. I don’t think he can do that. Not with me, anyway.”
“Yeah? You gonna leave me for him?”
“No!” Onyx burst. She looked at Molly pleadingly. “I love you. If you say you never want me to see him again I’ll totally-”
“Then we’re good,” Molly assured her. “Look, I’m just…your first half-ass date? Seriously? After it took us how long to get to sleeping together?”
“I know,” Onyx shrugged. “I feel bad about that. Hell, I feel bad about making you wait so long, but…I don’t know. You and I happened before I learned to really see people, and I was freaked out about so many other things back then. But this…we just clicked. It felt right. I don’t feel bad about doing it with him so much as I feel like a jackass for rushing things compared to you.”
Molly shrugged. “Well. Whatever. We’ll deal. So don’t hold anything back. Tell me.”
Her lips quivered. She wasn’t sure how to say this. “It was amazing.”
“Scale of one to ten?”
Onyx hesitated, but finally ventured a movie reference: “His goes up to eleven.”
Molly’s eyebrows arched. “That good, huh? I’ve got a rival?”
“You can both do things the other can’t,” Onyx explained. “But he just…God, we went on and on. He was intense but at the same time he was so nice. I didn’t…I’m not saying I didn’t want to be with you, but I kinda didn’t want to leave, either. If it wasn’t for that woman, I would have stayed longer.”
Molly laughed it off. “Well, ultimately you had my permission, Speedy Gonzalez. If it turns out that all this is okay, I’m fine with you seeing him again.”
“You are? I just…it feels wrong to be so intimate with someone else.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m in love with you!”