Page 82 of The Magic of Destiny
“I'm looking for a spell book. I think I may have made a terrible mistake, and I'm trying to verify that before I admit to something heinous,” Gran muttered, rifling madly through a box.
“What?” I asked, shocked. “What would you ever do that could be classified as heinous?”
Her fingers blurred as she flipped through a stack of papers. “Well, there was that incident with Denim Dan and Leather Larry. The two materials didn't mesh so well and—”
I held up my hand, shaking my head. “No. Nope. Let's get back on track.”
She threw her head back dramatically and looked up at the ceiling. “Can the stars please explain to me why my prudish granddaughter is the one who gets blessed with a harem? By the moon, it's not even a small harem! Six? Six men and she won't let me speak of my sordid past?!”
“Well, that's a little dramatic.” I laughed, still shaking my head. “Now tell me, what did you maybe do that you shouldn't have?”
“Ah, right. Well, Rick isn't sure how or why he got turned into a fox, but he’s assuming it was Asrael, since Asrael was using him for those other things, like we discussed the other day…” Gran pointed to a box, and I pulled it over so we could look through it.
“Okaaaay,” I said slowly.
“IthinkImayhaveturnedhimintoafox.”
Her outburst made me pause in shock. “I'm sorry, did you just say you think you may have turned him into a FOX?! GRAN!” I shouted, and she pulled the collar of her shirt up, hiding her face.
“I knooooow, it's so terrible. But Saige, I was so pissed and I never expected it to actually work! Now I have to be sure because Rick is still clearly obsessed with me, and I've been making him work for it, but oh gods, if I'm the one who cursed him? We're doomed,” she said, with a flourish of her hands.
“You are not doomed. Gods, you are on a roll today. Okay, do you remember any of the words of the spell?” I asked, thinking maybe I could google it like the modern day witch I was.
Gran looked around thoughtfully for a moment, before snapping her fingers. “Oh! I remember using some of his hair and the words ‘I curse you to be a fox’.” She bit her lip and glanced at me.
“Gran! Why are you even bothering looking? You did curse him!”
“I'm hopeful that I'm remembering it wrong. Now, let's continue looking. What's going on with you anyway?” she asked inquisitively.
I pondered how to tell Gran that she had another granddaughter—one who would be here soon. Deciding it’d be best to just rip the bandaid off, I kneeled down and took her hand. “Hunter found the girl. I have a sister.”
Gran stiffened, as though she’d been slapped. My poor grandma had been through so much thanks to Laurie’s selfishness, and here was another serious betrayal to add to that long list of offenses. “So it's true?” she whispered, shaking her head. “I just can't believe your mother.”
I couldn't either, but I couldn't even think about that bitch without feeling homicidal, so I ignored it. “It's true. I hope she agrees to come here. Hunter said she’s been in foster care,” I told Gran, who visibly shook with rage at that news. There was no excuse for her to not have been raised here with Gran and I—she would have had a loving family here. “I'm excited to meet her,” I confessed. I'd always wondered what it would've been like to have had a sibling growing up.
“You have the biggest heart of anyone, child. Just... remember that we don't know this girl. We don't know how she's lived her life, nor the influences she's had. I hope to the stars that she had positive role models while in foster care, but that may not be the case. And we know Laurie was involved to some extent, so we may have our work cut out for us.”
I considered her words. She made good points, but I hoped that it would be simpler than that.Though honestly, nothing seems to be turning out simple for us right now.
“If she does decide to stay for a while, she can stay here in my house. You have your hands full over there, and I'd like to get to know her,” Gran offered, as she opened a new box.
“Speaking of having my hands full…” I took a breath. I'd always wondered what it would be like when I told Gran I was pregnant. It hadn’t gone over well with her own daughter, but then I suppose those circumstances were very different from mine. Gran looked up from the box, her blue eyes twinkling. We smiled slowly at each other and she squealed, speeding over to me.
“I knew it! Oh my stars,” she gushed, pressing her hands to my belly. “When do I get to meet the little cherub?”
I grinned and covered her hand with mine. “Cherubs, Gran. Two.”
She inhaled sharply, a look of pure joy on her face. “They're girls. They're going to be forces of nature, sweet girl. I can sense it.”
“Yes, they're girls. Bram's and Sloane's.”
“Oh, they're going to be gorgeous little angels! We'll have to prepare a nursery!”
“Yeah, and fairly quick too. I've only got a few months to prepare,” I added, and she looked up at me, horrified.
“A few months?!” she exclaimed, as though I'd just told her I committed a great crime.
“Demons and dragons mature faster is what I was told.”
