Chapter 31 Chapter 31
Being outside in this beautiful weather with the summer sun shining on her face improved Valerie’s mood significantly. Mochi walked a few meters ahead of her, meowing as it chased after a smaller demon with a bird-like body.
Its three eyes creeped Valerie out, so she avoided looking at it and pretended it wasn’t there. The star on her wrist had stopped glowing as soon as she left the house, and now it looked like a regular tattoo, not standing out.
She was relieved to be able to spend some time with her friends. The tension in her apartment had been stifling and hard to endure, so she was glad to be outside now.
Valerie took the next subway train headed to the city, and Mochi sat on her lap, none of the other people noticing the demon. When she reached her destination, they left the train and walked up the stairs to a large, crowded square. She had arrived on Fifth Avenue and spotted her two friends waiting for her.
“Hello, Valerie, long time no see,” Hope said, enveloping her in a hug.
“True, we haven’t met in ages,” Valerie replied, embracing Naomi next. “Do you want to get some ice cream?”
“Sure, sounds good,” Hope smiled, and the three women turned into a busy shopping street, talking animatedly and catching up on everything that had happened in the past week.
Valerie glossed over certain supernatural details but mentioned her new housemate since she assumed they would see him sooner or later.
They sat at a table in an ice cream parlor and ordered ice cream, Valerie enjoying the bubbly atmosphere her friends were surrounded by.
Mochi lingered at her feet, ultimately lying down to sleep for a while. Valerie could have sworn she saw Hope glance at it a few times, and she wondered if she could also see it, considering she had witch blood running through her veins.
“Want to tell us more about this new housemate? That came out of nowhere,” Naomi said curiously, leaning forward in her seat. She twirled a lock of her dark hair around her finger.
“Well, he’s grumpy and not what you would expect of a housemate, I guess.”
“Did you say he?” Hope asked, gaping at her with an open mouth. “Who exactly are you talking about?” The worry in her eyes was not lost on Valerie, who tried her best to ignore it. The sight made her stomach churn.
“It was a spur-of-the-moment decision to let him… uh… move in,” Valerie explained, not giving them any details they didn’t appreciate.
“Does this mysterious guy have a name?” Naomi asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Yeah, it’s Maxwell,” Valerie answered. Hope’s eyes widened. She almost choked on her ice cream and coughed.
“Hope. Don’t eat your ice cream in one go,” Naomi scolded, but Hope didn’t hear her.
“Where did this Maxwell come from all of a sudden?” Hope asked, horror flashing through her eyes.
“I think you already know,” Valerie answered quietly, turning her wrist so that the crest was visible. It was the very same symbol Hope had drawn on the summoning circle, and she recognized it immediately.
“Oh, no,” she breathed. She held her hand over her mouth, unable to tear her eyes away from the mark. “Valerie, why didn’t you say anything sooner? How did this even… I don’t… I’m so sorry.”
Her stuttering didn’t make sense to Naomi, who glanced at her as if she had lost it. Valerie, on the other hand, knew exactly what was going on.
“I never thought this would actually work. I’m not even a real witch yet. I need to reverse it somehow,” she rambled nervously, her voice going quieter and quieter until Valerie barely heard it. “So that’s why my grandma suddenly stopped teaching me.”
“She didn’t tell you the reason?” Valerie asked in disbelief, creasing her forehead.
“No, she only told me I made an unforgivable mistake and that she couldn’t continue teaching me. Now I know why she kept mentioning demons so often lately… she’s been searching spellbooks about bonds, but I had no idea why,” Hope said, gritting her teeth. Valerie read crushing guilt in her gaze. “Please tell me he didn’t hurt you.”
“No, he’s just a little annoying sometimes. You don’t need to worry about him. He may be a demon, but he’s not all bad,” Valerie said, sighing. She didn’t blame her friend for anything that happened. It had been an accident. “I’m not mad at you.”
“But I… I deserve your anger,” Hope mumbled dejectedly. “It looks like my untrained magic went out of control. I didn’t even attempt a bonding spell; it was supposed to be a regular summoning spell.”
“Okay, you two weirdos, what the heck is going on?” Naomi cut in and crossed her arms in front of her chest. She regarded her friends with raised eyebrows, not understanding what they were discussing. “What’s your problem with her housemate, Hope?”
“Oh, umm… we were just… uh…” Hope stuttered, desperately glancing at Valerie, who had to think of a believable excuse quickly.
“We were playing a prank on you,” Valerie said, smiling tensely. She should have come up with something better than that.
“A prank. Do you expect me to believe that?”
“Well, you know how crazy Hope is about demons and stuff, so…” Valerie tried to explain to make it sound more logical. Naomi didn’t seem convinced, but she let it go.
“I’m keeping an eye on you, Hope and Valerie.”
Hope laughed nervously and went back to eating her ice cream, relieved when Naomi went on to talk about a different topic, rambling about one of the most disliked professors in her university.
Valerie sighed, glad that she hadn’t seen through them. Then again, who would believe in witchcraft and demons from one second to the next? She could tell that Hope wasn’t listening to their conversation anymore, and her guilty frown bothered Valerie.
She gestured for Mochi to jump on her lap to cheer her up. The glowing demon gained Hope’s attention when it climbed on the table, sticking its nose into her empty ice cream bowl and licking the remains off. The woman smiled at the sight, petting it in a way that didn’t seem all too suspicious to Naomi.