Page 8 of Grimoire Omens
“Not exactly, but I’ll wager you’re about to tell me,” I muttered in annoyance.
“For one, a summoning is not a love spell. On the contrary, you half-assed a very serious incantation that lacked proper constraints and thus ended up opening a portal to the Infernal Dimension, unleashing who knows how many imps and other demons?—”
Flo interrupted. “Other demons? You mean there might be worse than the mutant bat roaming the city?”
“Much worse. Have you not checked the news?”
Me and Flo both shrugged. “Nope.”
“What happened?” I added.
“Massacre in the park. The homeless who’d taken up residence were found in pieces this morning.”
My eyes widened. “Oh shit. Are you saying that’s my fault?”
“You’re the one who opened the doorway that let the demons in.”
“Can’t I cast another spell to send them back to their hellhole?”
Judging by Cedric’s snort, that would be a no.
Flo waved her hands. “Okay, we get it. We fucked up. How do we fix it?”
“In good news, the rift to the Infernal Dimension is closed. In the bad, it remained open long enough to let an unknown number of foul creatures into our world. As to fixing your mistake, there’s only one thing to do. Kill all the intruders.”
“Hold on, I can’t do that,” I squeaked.
“In that case, I’d suggest quickly making plans for your imminent demise because demons are attracted to those with magic. AKA you.”
“I’m not a witch,” I exclaimed.
“The spell you cast says otherwise.”
Flo waved a hand. “This mutant bat we killed, you’re saying it came here because it knew Charlie can do magic? I’m guessing they don’t like it.”
“On the contrary, they like it too much. They feed on those gifted with the arcane to make themselves stronger. The more power they sense, the more rabid their determination to devour.”
“Good thing I’m weak then.”
“You opened a portal to the Infernal Dimension; you’re hardly weak,” the dry retort.
“But Grams said?—”
“Your grandmother was a foul-tempered woman who knew you’d inherited her gift but refused to tell or teach you about it.”
“In other words, it’s her fault I’m gonna have a bunch of mutant hell creatures gunning for me.” As if I’d accept the blame.
“The fact remains, you’ll need to exterminate them all.”
“You’re talking about me having to turn into some kind of demon assassin. Which is crazy. I practically have a breakdown each time I have to rid the house of a spider.”
“It’s true.” Flo nodded in agreement. “First time she spotted an eight-legged menace she called me and I had to coach her through the whole grabbing a tissue and squishing it. She hyperventilated the whole time.”
“Charlotte seemed to be fine when confronting the imp in the kitchen,” Cedric reminded.
“Because it was life or death. Totally different than hunting out monsters with the express purpose of murder.”
“So you’d rather the demons attack you first to give you the motivation needed to rid the world of them?” Amazing how a cat could manage to look and sound so sarcastic.
