White Witch, Black Curse

He fumbled it, and the box smacked noisily into the wall. I didn't wait to see him glare up at me. Spinning away, I went for the next one. Robbie had gained the attic by the time I turned back around. "Get out of my way," I said, frowning at his tall height, hunched in the low ceiling.

"Rachel."

He wasn't moving, and unless I wanted to take the direct route to the hallway by way of crashing through the ceiling, I was stuck here. "I always knew you were a prick," I said, drawing on years of frustration. "But this is pathetic. You come back here and get her all stirred up and convince her to move out there with you and your new wife. I'm the one who held her together when Dad died, not you. You ran off and left me to cope with her. I was thirteen, Robbie!" I hissed, trying to keep my voice down but failing. "How dare you come out here and take her from me now, just when she's gotten herself together."

Robbie's face was red, and he shifted his thin shoulders. "Shut up."

"No, you shut up," I snapped. "She's happy here. She's got her friends, and this is where all her memories are. Can't you just leave us alone? Like you used to?"

Robbie took the box from me and set it beside him. "I said shut up. She needs to get out of here for every reason you just mentioned. And don't you be so selfish, keeping her here when she finally finds the courage to do it. Do you like seeing her like that?" he said, pointing to the unseen kitchen. "Dressing like an old lady? Talking like her life is over? That's not who she is. I remember her before Dad died, and that old lady isn't her. She's ready to let Dad go. Let her."

Arms crossed over my chest, I exhaled.

"I'm not taking her from you," he said, softer now. "You held her together when Dad died. I was a coward. I was stupid. But if you don't let her go now, then you're the coward."

I didn't like what I was hearing, but figuring he was right, I looked up at him. My face was twisted and ugly, but that's how I felt.

"She wants to be closer to Takata," he said, and I puffed in disgust. Sure, bring him into it. "She wants to be closer to Takata, and Takata can't live in Cincinnati," he said persuasively. "She doesn't have any friends here. Not really. And thanks to you, she can't sell her charms—now that you've been shunned."

Shock washed cold through me, and my expression blanked. "Y-you know about that?"

His eyes dropped from mine, then returned. "I was with her when we found out. They won't sell to her anymore, won't buy. She may as well be shunned herself."

"That's not fair." My stomach was hurting, and I held it.

Turning sideways, Robbie put one hand on his hip, the other on his forehead. "For Christ's sake, Rachel. You've been shunned?"

Embarrassed, I dropped back. "I-I didn't know they would…," I stammered, then realizing he had turned the tables on me, I lifted my chin. "Yes. Because I talk to demons."

Robbie sucked his teeth and looked at my demon-scarred wrist.

"Okay," I admitted. "And maybe make deals with them when I'm forced into it. And I've spent some time in the ever-after. More than most."

"Uh-huh."

"And a demon prison," I added, feeling a twinge of guilt. "But it was a run for Trent Kalamack. He was there, too. No one got mad at him."

"Anything else?" he mocked.

Wincing, I said, "You saw the news, huh?" The agony of my defeat, or in my case, being dragged down the street on my ass by a demon, had been worked into their opening credits.

Robbie's anger vanished in an amused snort. "That must have hurt."

I smiled, but it faded fast. "Not as bad as what you're doing to me does."

He sighed and nudged the box closer to the hole in the floor. "There isn't anything here for her, Rachel."

My pique came back. "There's me."

"Yeah, but thanks to your mess-ups, she can't make a living anymore."

"Damn it, Robbie," I swore. "I didn't want this to happen! If she leaves, I don't have anyone."

He edged to the stairway. "You've got your friends," he said, head down and shoving the box with his foot across the plywood floor to the door.

"Friends you've made abundantly clear you don't approve of."

"So make new ones."

So make new ones, I mocked in my thoughts. Bothered, I went to get the last box of stuffed animals I'd named after dead or dying friends. There were so many of them. My thoughts went to Marshal, then Pierce. How was I going to tell Marshal I'd been shunned? So much for that friendship. I never should have done a power pull with him.

Robbie lifted the second box. "You need to change something."

The scent of dust was thick as I took a breath to protest. "Like what? I try. I try damn hard, but there isn't anyone decent who can survive the crap my life can turn into."

Again Robbie's long face went hard, and he started down the stairs. "That is an excuse. You've been shunned, and you're hurting Mom. This goes deeper than who your friends are. On second thought, maybe that's all there is to it."