Chapter 8

Back home, I was lying in bed thinking about the strange incident that occurred at the end of our date. 

I had to take Mason to the hospital as he complained about a burning sensation in his right arm. I thought he had a low threshold for pain until the nurse rolled up his sleeve, revealing a big, fresh burn mark. The doctor kept asking him how he got a second-degree burn, but he swore it wasn’t there before his fall on the street. 

It was bizarre. “Someone pushed me. My arm is burning.” His words spun in my head. Who pushed him? There was no one around. There wasn’t even a bush or tree around us for a person to hide.

Mason went home, concluding he must have lost his balance and fell, but what about the mark? How could he have burnt himself with just a fall on concrete?

Elaine’s warning was the only rational explanation for it. It must be a disturbance that I, as the summoner, was facing.

I had already sent a text to Elaine explaining the whole incident. She and Mike must have been fed up with me by now. I felt awful for disturbing their peace. Compensation for her troubles and payment for future help was in order. It wasn’t fair to get it all for free. People have been paying witches for centuries. Be it white or black magic.

My phone rang. The caller was Becky.

“So, now I need to ask Elaine about what’s going on with my best friend?” Becky began.

“I thought I told you about spending the weekend at Mom’s over text,” I said.

“Was it an invisible one? Because I SURE AS HELL CAN’T SEE IT!” shouted Becky. 

I checked our text conversation to find that it was true. Under heavy stress, my brain was already forgetting things.

“I am so sorry, Becky. With everything that’s been going on, I am so out of sorts,” I said.

“I understand,” Becky spoke with a relaxed voice. “The purpose of my call was to comfort you after yelling a little.”

I straightened my back on my bed, facing the ceiling. “Thanks, Becky. You are a great friend.”

“Soooo…” Becky smacked her lips. “Elaine told me that your first time with an Incubus was hard. You could barely speak to her over the phone that night. Did he hurt you?”

“No, he didn’t hurt me,” I said. Describing that night was difficult. I was ashamed of admitting I enjoyed every bit until my legs started cramping. Any sexual experience I had in the past could not compare.

“It was okay, I guess. The long hours exhausted me, though,” I said.

“Bummer, it would have been easier if the sex was as good as Elaine claimed it to be. Her fiance must be awful in bed for her to find sex with an Incubus so damn good,” said Becky.

I pursed my lips. “Um. There is one more thing. Since Mia and Mom are doing okay now, I hung out with someone from high school. Mason had requested my mom to tell me to call him a few days ago. When he and I finally met, he asked me out, and it happened.”

“Whoa, that’s huge. Mason Rivera was the hottest guy in school with a brain,” said Becky.

“I didn’t know it was possible, but he has gotten even hotter. I couldn’t stop staring at his smoking body the entire time,” I said.

Becky squeaked in excitement. “Give me all the details. I want to know.”

“We first had dinner at my place, then headed out to watch a movie and kissed on the way home. He had a miserable fall while we were kissing,” I said.

“You’re damn right he fell. Girl, your awesomeness blew his mind and carried him away. He must be smitten with you to have lost his balance,” said Becky.

“Uh, no..” Something warm touched my neck. It felt like someone breathed on me.

I rubbed my neck to see what it was. “Becky, wait. Something weird just happened. I think I felt something.”

“Mason’s body must be torturing you. Gosh, you’re still feeling it when he is not there,” said Becky.

“His body is nice, but that’s not what I am talking about…”

Something tugged at my blanket. It moved at least a few inches off me.

I sat up and crawled backward on my bed. The lights were on, and there was no one there but me.

“Hello, Cass! Are you okay?” Becky’s loud voice came out of the phone.

“Yes, yes. I am exhausted. I will call you back later. Love you, bye,” I said and cut off the call.

The day was getting creepier and creepier. 

My phone buzzed, and I was relieved to see it was Elaine.

Elaine’s text:

If there is no rational explanation, it could be a disturbance caused by your summoned entity. We must hold the seance as early as possible, and it must be at the place of the summoning. May I drop by your apartment on Monday evening if you're free?

I agreed with her suggestion and thanked her ten times more. 

My already disturbed mind needed rest, so I went to Mom’s room to sleep.

The next morning, my brother Derrick arrived on time. 

As a medical professional, he believed only in the physical. He had put us all in therapy for months in the past year, as he believed what Mia and Mom were going through was all tied to the trauma of Dad’s passing. I wondered what made him change his mind to come there. I never had a chance to ask him about his new views.

“Look, who is here to help our mother execute her revenge plan? Has science passed voodoo to be a real thing?” I taunted upon seeing him.

Derrick adjusted his spectacles on his handsome but heavily scarred face. That’s what you get when you have cystic acne as a teenager and still refuse to take care of your skin. He was a person who believed in the beauty of the mind, and it showed.

“I never rejected the existence of it. All I said was that I wasn’t sure if that was the case for our family. Don’t you think it’s a little unfair to go after an aunt you have never known because your grieving mother believes her to be the murderer of your late father? Grief can really mess up an individual’s brain,” He said.

“Oh, I never thought it like that,” I said.

“I know. That’s why I am the brain of the family,” said Derrick, sneering at me.

“Shut up!” I threatened him with my empty coffee mug. “I didn’t believe it until I saw some inexplicable incidents.”

Derrick and I shared a laugh. He was such an ass who believed himself to be smarter than anyone else. Although, he was right almost every time.

Mom appeared at the bottom of the stairs with two bags. “Let’s go. Let’s go.”

“Mom, how much stuff do we need? I thought we were only going there to talk to some people,” I said.

“I am taking some valuables we can give them as bribes,” answered Mom. “Now hurry!”

After loading Mom’s SUV, we began our journey.

It was going to be a long drive, so we agreed to take turns behind the wheel. I took the first turn, and Mom sat next to me.

“What was the name of the town we’re going to? I forgot,” I asked Mom, five minutes into driving.

She didn’t answer, so I turned my neck to look at her, and that’s when she collapsed. 

“Mom!” I screamed, shaking her.

She was still breathing but had become completely unresponsive. We rushed her to the nearest hospital.

Mia and I sat in the waiting room, praying to God while the doctors examined her. We were still in shock. It all happened so suddenly. We comforted ourselves by saying that it could be low blood sugar.

Derrick came to see us after talking to the doctors. Judging by the look on his face, he didn’t come bearing good news. I was not ready for what he told me.

“Mom’s body has become completely unresponsive. There is no sign of a stroke or any other problem, but they are still running tests on her. She is going to have to stay in the hospital,” he said.

“What!” Mia and I said simultaneously. 

“Don’t panic. There is nothing visibly wrong with her. She could have fainted from stress. Can one of you grab some clothes and other necessities from her house?” He asked.

Mia was on the edge of tears, so I volunteered for the task.

I left for Mom’s house after comforting my sister a little. 

Thank God Mom didn’t have a stroke or a brain aneurysm. It must have been stress. Her emotional state was too erratic.

I went straight to Mom’s room to grab something. What should be in a hospital bag? I opened her cupboard to grab some clothes and stood back in horror. There were drops of blood all over her clothes, and a menacing doll with needles stuck into it was sitting on top of a pile.