Hexed by Michael Alan Nelson Read Free Book Online Page B

cushions were arranged in a circle.
    â€œThe girls would hang out here while one of them would go in the other room by herself.”
    â€œWhere the mirror is?”
    â€œYeah.”
    Lucifer made her way to the other side of the room toward an open doorway. The door that used to cover the doorway was now resting on a couple of milk crates, serving as a makeshift table. Melted wax from at least a dozen candles caked most of its surface, several cigarette butts sticking up from the mess like insects trapped in amber.
    When Lucifer stepped into the room, she felt a noticeable drop in temperature. There wasn’t any direct sunlight coming in, so it made sense. Still . . .
    The rock that Lucifer had thrown through the window was lying in the center of the room, small bits of glass trailing between it and the window. Other than the rock and the broken glass, this room was completely bare except for an old vanity and mirror in the center of the room. The white paint of the vanity had peeled and cracked to reveal the wood underneath.
    Surprisingly, the room itself appeared to have weathered the years far better than the rest of the house.
    â€œSo, how long have you been doing this kind of thing?” David asked.
    â€œLonger than I haven’t.”
    â€œWhat made you decide to become a thief then?”
    Lucifer gave him a sideways glance. “The brochure said I’d get to do a lot of traveling.” She stepped over to the vanity. She could see bits of yellow and blue paint underneath the peeling white paint, but she couldn’t find any symbols etched or drawn anywhere. “Come here and give me a hand with this.”
    David walked over and grabbed one end of the vanity while Lucifer held onto the other end. “No, seriously,” David said. “Thief is a rather odd occupation.”
    Lucifer grunted as she slid her side of the vanity away from the wall. “It’s more . . . hhnff . . . popular than you think.”
    â€œYeah, but you’re a girl.”
    Lucifer gingerly ran her hand behind the mirror as she examined the back of the vanity. “Your powers of observation are truly a wonder to behold.”
    â€œI didn’t mean it like that. I just meant that you’re a bit young to be a professional thief. How old are you anyway?”
    Lucifer stopped to think for moment before she said, “I don’t know.”
    â€œHow can you not know?” David leaned against the vanity and said, “Oh god, are you going to tell me you’re a vampire?”
    She looked up from her inspection and stared at him. She shook her head and said, “Abestado,” before opening the drawers in the vanity to look inside.
    â€œAbestado? What’s that?”
    â€œIt means ‘idiot’ in Portuguese.” She pulled one of the drawers completely out of the vanity and tipped it over to see the underside. Still no symbols.
    â€œWell, I just thought that if you didn’t know your age it might be because you’re too old to remember. You know. Like a vampire.”
    â€œThere are a million ordinary reasons why someone might not know how old they are, but your first instinct is to go with vampire?”
    â€œYou were the one that brought up the supernatural.” He was smirking, and the corner of his mouth was doing that curling thing again. She thought his mouth would be almost handsome if such stupid things would stop coming out of it. “So how come you don’t know how old you are?” he asked.
    â€œI don’t remember my birthday.”
    â€œEverybody remembers their birthday.”
    â€œI’m not everybody.” She said it a bit harsher than she meant to. “Pull those drawers out for me, please.”
    â€œHow come?”
    â€œI want to see if there are any symbols underneath.”
    He handed one of the drawers to her as he said, “I meant how come you don’t remember your