I shook my head. “It wasn’t you, Glimmer.” I nodded to Callie. “Just like this isn’t her.”
Circe was there, watching me, and I wondered if the others saw her or whether Circe restricted her appearance just to me. Neither was the most appealing option.
“You and now Callie have been influenced by what’s called a desire demon. It makes you do something you wouldn’t normally do,” I explained.
Glimmer’s flush deepened. “I’m still sorry.”
“Are you going to be able to get home safely?”
She nodded and slipped out of the room, tugging the door closed behind her.
I could only imagine what she must be thinking, but right now, I had more immediate matters to attend to.
Callie was still pressing up against me, stroking my chest. She gripped the fabric of my shirt and pulled it close to her, trying to kiss me. Every so often, she managed to lock lips with me, and then she would bite.
Circe laughed the whole time.
“We need to hold her back,” I said, pushing Callie off of me as I looked at Lilah and Mumbles.
I slipped past Callie, but she came up behind me. “You want to hold me, do you?”
“Come on, Callie.”
“If you wanted to tie me up, all you had to do was ask. I mean, I have handcuffs in my drawer there,” she said, pointing to the nightstand.
I pulled open the drawer, and sure enough, she did have handcuffs there.
Mumbles started to laugh. “Are you sure you want to take the demon out of her?”
“Maybe we should leave them alone,” Lilah said.
“Would the two of you stop?” I snapped. I was beginning to think that I should’ve left them back at the apartment. It was bad enough having Glimmer pulling this on me, and now having Callie do it?
I took Callie by the wrist and held on to the handcuffs.
“What do you want to do with me?” she purred.
“I think the two of us should…” I started, and then slipped one wrist into a cuff. While she was distracted, I linked the other cuff to her metal headboard. “I’m really sorry.”
She pulled on the handcuffs, and disappointment clouded her face as I backed away. Without having Callie crawling all over me, I had a chance to think.
“What’s your problem with this idea?” Circe asked, striding over to Callie. I still couldn’t tell if Callie could see her, or if it was only me. “The two of you have a history, don’t you?”
“It’s an objection to Callie. It’s about free will, which she doesn’t have right now.”
Circe chuckled. “While I do believe free will exists, I disagree that most people want it. Most think it’s easier to have order without it.”
“I don’t.”
“No? I really think you should allow Callie to keep the demon. She would be all yours then. It’s not like she would ever cave in and give herself up to you otherwise. Don’t you want to own her?” Circe looked at the paintings along the wall, then paused at the sculptures. “All of this inspiration. Imagine what you could do with it.”
I had no interest in the kind of a relationship where somebody would be beholden to me, enslaved so that they couldn’t even think their own thoughts or do what they wanted. And more than that, I wasn’t at all interested in enslaving Callie. She deserved more. Better.
I looked at Lilah and Mumbles. “Any ideas?”
“Now that she’s held there, can’t you just peel it out of her?” Lilah asked.
I hadn’t tried that yet. Maybe I should.
I started toward Callie, and she shifted on the bed as if getting herself ready for me. Taking a seat next to her, I held her free hand, then placed my other on her chest and probed for the desire demon. I could feel it within her, but something resisted me. As I tried to wrap my power around the desire demon, I could feel Callie straining, using something to fight my attempt.
She shifted on the bed, sliding her hips around, and watched me. “Leo, what are you trying to do?”
“I’m trying to help you,” I said. “I just need to take this out of you.”
“I’d rather have you put something in me,” she replied, leaning forward and trying to kiss me again.
Lilah laughed, and Mumbles coughed. “This is getting a little bit too X-rated for me,” he muttered.
“Really?” I retorted. “You’re the guy one who’s always looking for a chance to take a peek at unsuspecting women. This is getting too adult for you?”
“Should we leave?” Lilah asked.
Callie looked at them. “You should leave,” she said. “I need some time with Leo.”
Circe grinned. “I could offer my help, though of course, you know what that entails.”
“Unfortunately, I do,” I said.
I needed to try this without using her help. I thought I could do it—all it would take would be for me to try a few different things. Besides, wasn’t I attached to Morgana and Pan now? I had access to different kinds of power, and with it, I was certain that I could figure out some way to peel away the demon.
I focused.
I needed to use a particular type of magic, one that would allow me to hold on to the desire demon. Then I had to peel it out and place it inside of the sugar bowl that Callie had given me. That combination wasn’t impossible. But as I probed, I could feel resistance. It was almost like the desire demon burrowed deeper into Callie each time I attempted to get inside.
Callie was resisting me.
I got to my feet. This wasn’t going to work.
“I sense that you’re having some trouble,” Circe said.
I glared at her. “You know damn well I’m having some trouble.”
“Well, then, perhaps I could offer you a little solution.”
“What?” I asked suspiciously.
“My bed is cold, my curves are wrought. Throw me out when you need me, bring me in when you do not. What am I?”
Mumbles grunted. “Probably a robo-girlfriend.”
“It sounds like an unhealthy relationship,” Lilah said.
At least that answered the question of whether they were aware of Circe.
“An anchor,” I said.
Circe smiled at me. “Very good. One of these days, I’m going to find a riddle that stumps you.”
“Probably,” I said.
Unfortunately, as much as I might try to avoid Circe and her machinations, I was starting to think that maybe I couldn’t. It was becoming clear to me that my attempts at staying away from the fairies were failing. Regardless of what I might want to do, they continued to force themselves upon me.
“What does it mean that we need an anchor?” Lilah asked.
Circe watched me, a hint of amusement in her eyes, and then she simply vanished.
I looked at Callie. “I think…I think it means we’re going to need help.”
“What kind of help?”
“The kind that will hold her in place.”
I hurried out into the main part of the warehouse, where I spotted the witch who had guided us back to Callie’s room. “Can you help me find Medusa and Styx?”
She turned from where she was stirring a cauldron. She had a certain rhythm to it, fast in one direction, and then slow. The more that she stirred, the more the cauldron bubbled. I could feel something coming from it, an energy that I couldn’t quite explain, and the smell was sickly sweet and not the least bit pungent.