“What can we do?” Medusa asked.
“Well, I was hoping that the two of you might be able to help her find herself again. Once you do, then I think that I can rip the demon out.”
“Rip it?” Medusa asked.
“We have to destroy it.”
“I don’t think you can destroy one of those,” Styx said. “Contain it, maybe.”
I nodded to the sugar bowl that Callie had made. “Well, then, that’s what we’re going to do.”
“I’ll be right back,” Medusa said. She slipped out of the door, then returned a moment later carrying a speaker and Callie’s bass. When she plugged it in, she started strumming.
Styx tapped drumsticks on the wall, pounding out a rhythmic beat.
I carried the bass over to Callie and set it in front of her.
She looked at me. “What do you want me to do with this?”
“I want you to play,” I said.
The others continued to play, but Callie regarded me uneasily.
“Come on,” I said.
“You don’t have to do this, Leo.”
I looked at Medusa. “Play the beginning on a loop. Let me see if I can’t talk some sense into her.”
I turned my attention back to Callie, and she grabbed my hand, trying to press it up against her chest. I resisted. “You hate the idea of being owned, remember?”
“That’s not a problem anymore. I’m ready to be yours now. Why are you doing this to me?”
“This isn’t you,” I said.
She shook her head, grinning at me. “It’s definitely me, Leo. Why would it be anything but me?”
I looked to the handcuffs. “You might keep cuffs like that in your bedroom, but I know you don’t like being tied down. You make your art and music for yourself. For your pleasure, not anyone else’s.” I looked at the painting of the church. “Remember when you were there and trying to impress me?”
She smiled at me. “I remember. It was beautiful.”
“I don’t think so. It was like you were in your own personal hell. Do you really want to be beholden to someone like that for the rest of your life?”
The music cycled again, and Medusa and Styx continued their song. It was hard and fast, and I kept waiting for Callie to join in, but she didn’t.
“That’s exactly what I want,” she said.
I didn’t know what to do. Lilah stood off to the side, watching me with a dawning look of horror on her face. She and Mumbles had been joking about this, playing it up, but I think she was finally starting to realize just how dangerous this desire demon was.
This wasn’t Callie.
That thought stayed in my head, reminding me that I needed to do whatever I could to help Callie find her way free. I didn’t know what that was going to take, only that I had to help her come out of it. Somehow. It involved her finding some sense of self, some way for her to get free of what was taking place in her mind.
“You wanted to help your coven,” I tried. “That’s why you stopped selling love spells. You knew if you kept doing that, all you would do would be drawing attention to the coven in a way that was dangerous. I know that’s not what you want.”
“I want to be with you,” she said.
“You want to be free.”
I looked at Medusa, who had concern plastered on the visible part of her face. I couldn’t see her eyes—though each time I looked at Medusa, I couldn’t help but feel as if I wanted to see her eyes—but the way her lips pressed together in a tight line told me all that I needed to know about her concern for Callie. These witches understood the complications of love spells, and they saw just what it was that was happening to their leader.
“You aren’t like this. This isn’t you.”
Callie pulled me toward her and kissed me. For a moment, I let myself kiss her back. It was hard to resist, knowing that this was Callie, knowing that she was somebody that I had an attraction to and a connection with, but then I pulled back.
“It can be me,” she said.
I had to try something different. “Then maybe that’s what it should be. Let me tell you about the life we can have together,” I said. I glanced over to Lilah and Mumbles before looking behind me at the other two witches. “We wouldn’t have to stay in this warehouse. Or even in my apartment.” I turned back to Callie. “We could move out into the suburbs. Maybe find a place along the lake. A cabin, even. We could go up there on weekends.”
“That would be lovely,” Callie said.
“I’m sure we would have a homeowners’ association. I don’t know much about them, but I hear they aren’t too much trouble. Maybe two or three kids.”
“Just two or three? I’m happy to have as many kids as you want, Leo. Any child I have with you is going to be beautiful. Probably powerful, too.”
I squeezed my eyes shut and shook my head. “You won’t be able to paint or make music anymore, unfortunately. You’ll need to take the kids to school. To soccer. Piano. Maybe they can even get into hockey. I mean, we’re in Minnesota, after all. You do like hockey, don’t you?”
“I like whatever you like,” Callie said.
Her continued refrain gave me strength. It was easier for me to push back when she kept saying that.
“She sounds like the woman in that Eddie Murphy movie,” Mumbles muttered. “The one where he comes to America to find a wife.”
I shot him a hard look. “You can’t interrupt.”
“That’s what she sounds like,” he pouted.
“Maybe you can get involved in the PTA,” I continued. “You know, with the kids that we’ll have running around, they’re going to need a strong influence at the school. On second thought, I don’t even know if we should send them to school. You could homeschool them.”
“That would be wonderful,” Callie replied.
“Of course, I’m going to expect home-cooked meals and foot rubs every night.” I held up my foot, wiggling it. “Maybe I’ll even take up golf…”
The two other witches suddenly crescendoed their music, and as I mentioned golf, something within Callie seemed to shift.
“You don’t like that idea?” I asked. “I think golf could be a great sport. Pretty relaxing, if you ask me. I might even have a few beers on the golf course while you’re putting the kids to bed. When I get home, that’s when you can get to these little tootsies.”
She pulled on the handcuffs, thrashing. I was coming closer. All I needed was to continue pressing at this, and I knew that I could make the necessary progress. If I could disrupt her connection just enough that I could separate what she was trying to do, the way that she was holding on to the demon, then I could scoop into it and pull it free.
“Does she really not like golf?” I asked Medusa.
As they continued strumming, Callie grabbed the bass with her free hand, and she ran her hand up and down the neck.
“You know you wouldn’t be able to come with me, though,” I told her. “The country club I would attend wouldn’t allow women to be members. They’re far better off at home—”
Callie suddenly thrashed, and she grabbed her own chest with her free hand. A burst of magic flashed, and she ripped the demon free, throwing across the room.