Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

               “I am going to actually murder Suzie,” Mae said as she threw the door to her room open. Nola, who was half-asleep on Mia’s bed, using one of her textbooks as a pillow, only cracked open her eyes.

               “That’s fun,” Nola told her sister, “Why’s that? Did she sit in front of you in class again, so you didn’t focus, and there’s a test in a few days that you’re gonna fail? Or did she just tell you that you looked really pretty and walk away with a smile while you blocked the hall and caused me to be late for class and get detention?”

               “What? No? Did you see that?” Mae asked, voice high and face red. Nola laughed, and Mae sighed, staring up at their white ceiling. “Fine. Yes. Everything about Suzie is messing me up.”

               “C’mon, nothing is worse than when Milo tried to help and ended up setting your hair on fire in front of the entire school,” Nola said with what she hoped was an encouraging smile, pushing herself to a sitting position. “Ow. Note to self, never use textbooks as pillows. Like, ever.”

               Mae giggled slightly, walking over to join Nola on their sister’s bed. “It’s just…” she started, taking a few deep breaths, “So you know how we had that mandatory ‘Don’t summon demons or you’ll die’ speech that the school gives us every few months because someone summoned a demon to cheat on a test and died?”

               “Yup,” Nola said, yawning, “I have mine tomorrow. Who died this time? My bet is on one of the seniors, with all the stress they’re under and everything."

               “They didn’t say,” Mae said, “Anyway, who died isn’t important. I don’t remember what they were saying because Suzie was sitting beside me and I was trying real hard to pretend I didn’t notice her and that I wasn’t blushing and that her hand was on my armrest and I could totally put my hand on hers without it being awkward, and when they were taking questions, or asking them, they called on me, and I was super confused so I just…recited a line from one of Casey’s demonology textbooks I stole to mess with them?”

               “Oh no,” Nola said, trying to hold back her grin, “I know the ones you take. What happened?”

               “…It was the one about summoning,” Mae said, “I told the entire assembly how to summon demons, and the principal asked to see me afterwards, and then I had to sit in his office for an hour because he thought I was into demon summoning or something like that.”

               “So other than embarrassing yourself in front of Suzie, which you do on a weekly basis, I might add, what’s so bad about that?” Nola asked, leaning against Mia’s fluffy pink pillow. “I don’t see why any of this is Murder Suzie material, which, let’s be honest here, is code for ‘I’m repressing my feelings because I can’t deal with them.’”

               “I also have a huge test tomorrow in math and I dropped my notes in the mud two weeks ago and haven’t even asked to look at yours yet. I don’t want to study, I want to mope and make bad decisions.” Mae groaned and brought her hands to her face, rubbing her eyes, “I think it’s all the little things building up.”

               “Yeah, so do I,” Nola said, sitting up to rub her sister’s back. “Look, why don’t you just…I dunno. Study?”

               “I can’t study, you know that!” Mae said, “Stupid younger me. Never learning to study.” She rolled so her face was pressing into the sheets, Nola watching her with a frown. “Leave me to die,” Mae muttered into the blankets.

               “Mae, you’re really good at complaining, but not good about doing something to fix your problems,” Nola said. She leaned over Mae to grab her textbook, and then jabbed Mae in the side with it. Mae groaned and rolled over, staring up at the ceiling and Nola’s face.

               “What?” Mae asked. Nola huffed.

               “You are going to stop moping, and do something to fix your problems,” Nola said, pushing herself off the bed. She tossed the textbook aside, which landed on the floor with a loud thud. Mae winced as she turned to face Nola.

               Nola offered Mae a soft smile. “Look, Mae. You’re my sister, and I love you, and want you to not fail in class. I can’t help you with Suzie, or anything like that, so…sorry, but I can help you with the studying and notes part. We both know reading notes doesn’t help you, or taking them, or using flashcards, or typing them, or anything like that. What we need is the Mae Way. How does Mae study?”

               “She doesn’t?” Mae said with a shrug. Nola sighed, closing her eyes for a few moments to stop herself from yelling at her sister. She was trying to make things better, not worse.

               She let out a deep breath and opened her eyes. “Mae can study,” Nola said, “We just don’t know what works for you. Think. How does Mae study?”

               “She…” Mae hummed under her breath, biting her tongue, but not enough to draw blood, “She…gets help?”

               “Help!” Nola said with a wide smile, “Yeah! That’s something! Who’s gonna help you study?”

               “…Casey’s demonology textbooks!” Mae cheered, pushing herself up and jumping a few times on the bed in celebration.

               “Yeah! Casey’s demonology…wait, what did you just say?” Nola asked, freezing before she could join Mae in celebratory jumping. Her sister grinned, leaping off the bed.

               “Everyone at school dies because they summon demons to not fail tests and stuff, but we actually have a sibling with all the textbooks on how to do it correctly!” Mae explained, bouncing on the balls of her feet, “If we’re smart, we can trade Milo for the knowledge to pass the test!”

               Nola grabbed Mae’s wrist before her sister could dart out of the room. “We are not trading Milo!” she said, “He’s annoying and the worst brother we have, but we can’t joke around about demons like this! Do you know how many people died because someone was stupid with demons?”

               “Uh…a lot?” Mae offered. Nola nodded.

               “Yes! A lot! Like, millions of people a lot! You aren’t going to summon a demon, but if you were, you can’t be that dumb about it, Mae!”

               “Oh please,” Mae said, yanking her arm out of Nola’s grasp, “I’m not actually offering Milo. I was joking. And you can be with me to watch. Not Casey, though, they’d make us over-prepare and we’d end up having to rehearse summoning a demon.” Mae shuddered, “Ugh, that’d be horrible. Like when Mom forced us to participate in the 7^th grade play so she could live vicariously through us.”

               “That was awful,” Nola said, thoughtful, before huffing and shaking her head. “But not the point! Mae, you can’t be serious!” Nola said, following her sister out into the hallway, “These are demons we’re talking about. You can’t just expect everything to go well! Casey over-prepares because if they didn’t, they could die, or cause the deaths of other people.” Nola sighed and rubbed her temples, “Look, let’s go back to my idea of figuring out how Mae studies. With help! You said that!”

               “I meant help in the ‘summon a demon’ way, not the ‘have my sister help me study and make me feel worse about myself’ way,” Mae said. She stopped in front of Casey’s door, which was shut, and reached for the knob.

               “I…make you feel worse?” Nola asked. She swallowed and watched her sister, eyes wide and unblinking. Mae froze, hand on the door knob. She turned to face Nola, shaking her head.

               “No no no! Nola, you’re just way smarter than me! And that kinda…I dunno. I feel stupid when you make me study with you. It’s not you or anything, okay? I don’t hate you, or something like that, I just…hate myself? For not being as smart?” Mae groaned, pressing her face into her hands, “This is going terribly,” she muttered, “Can we pretend I never said any of that?”

               “I make you hate yourself.” Nola took a step back, eyes watering, “You’d rather summon a demon than study with me because I make you hate yourself.”

               “Nola, no, it’s not like that!” Mae said. She reached out to grab Nola’s hands, but the girl took a few more steps back, blinking and staring at her feet. “Look, Nola, c’mon, you know I—”

               Before Mae could say anything else, however, the door next to Casey’s was thrown open by Milo. It slammed against the wall, and Mae flinched, jumping back a little, her back hitting the door knob. She cursed and rubbed her back.

               “Oh, sorry, Mae,” Milo said, “Didn’t know you were out here. Hey, why is Nola crying? Were you two fighting?”

               “Did you not hear us?” Nola asked, “And I’m not crying. I’m allergic to you.”

               “Yeah, sure,” Milo said with a snort, “And no, actually. I had headphones on. What are you two fighting about? Usually Nola isn’t the one crying…Mae?”

               “I told her that studying with her makes me feel bad about myself,” Mae said, “Look, Milo, can you go? Your help never goes well.”

               “First, I’ve only ever been helpful. Remember last year? Second, man, Mae, this is why you leave when Nola starts talking about studying. Third, Nola, Mae doesn’t hate you. You’re just better at school than her. And me, but I’ve already accepted the fact that I’m not going to college.” Milo shrugged. “At least, that’s what I think,” he finished, offering Nola a smile. She frowned.

               “Mae would rather summon a demon than let me help her study,” Nola said, “Mae would rather face a demon, the manifestation of chaos and evil, than let me help her! Because I make her hate herself? And she never thought to tell me this before? Like it’s okay to not tell her own sister?” Nola squeezed her eyes shut, “I’m just…I don’t want to be the cause of Mae’s problems,” she sniffed, blinking back tears.

               “Mae wants to summon a demon?” Milo asked, turning to Mae, “Is that true?”

               “I mean, nothing else has worked,” Mae told him, “But hold that thought, okay? I still need to make Nola feel better.”

               “Yeah, yeah, I know. Can’t leave arguments between a quintuplet hanging. That’d be awkward. When you’re summoning the demon, come get me! I’ll either be stealing Mia’s ice cream or passed out on the couch.” Milo left with a grin and a wave, disappearing down the stairs. Mae watched until he left, and then turned her attention back to Nola.

               “Nola, look at me,” Mae said. Nola sniffed, but looked up to meet Mae’s eyes. Mae smiled. “Nola, you aren’t the cause of all my problems, okay? You try to help me, and I really appreciate that, but studying with you, or just studying in general doesn’t work for me, and it’s time we both accept that and try something else. Casey has the books we need, you can help me pick the demon, and you’ll be with me every step of the way, I promise.”

               Mae took one of Nola’s hands as she finished, squeezing it. Nola smiled, slightly, wiping her eyes with her free hand.

               “But you said I make you hate yourself,” Nola said. Mae closed her eyes and let out a deep sigh.

               “I didn’t mean it,” she finally said, “I’m not good with words. Now, do you want to summon a demon with me, or do you want me to keep failing because studying doesn’t work for me?”

               Nola was quiet for a long time, just blinking, and swallowing, and staring at Mae. Mae kept holding her hand, a simple touch that meant, I don’t hate you, I’m here, we can do this together.

               Nola squeezed Mae’s hand back. “…you won’t get yourself killed?” she asked. Mae nodded. Nola sighed, and said, “Okay. I—okay. Studying doesn’t work. I’ll help you summon a demon, but only a minor one. And we’re not doing it in our room.”

               Mae laughed, letting go of Nola’s hand, and instead wrapping her sister up in a hug. “That’s what I like to hear, you being happy! Or, not happy yet, but not sad and crying! Now, c’mon, we have to pick a demon!” Mae let Nola go, leaving her sister swaying on her feet.

               “You hug really…aggressively,” Nola said, small smile on her face. Mae grinned back, and opened the door to Casey’s room. Like she had thought, mainly because Casey never came out to see what was going on, their older sibling wasn’t in their room.

               Mae went straight for the bookshelf, pulling books out at random and tossing them aside when it was just another bad romance novel or murder mystery or whatever books Casey bought for cheap. Nola followed her in, sitting in Casey’s spinning desk chair. The desk was covered with books and loose paper, so Nola spun around one time before digging around on the desk.

               After a few minutes of searching, Mae groaned and banged her head against the bookshelf. The glass figures on top of it rattled.

               “Where are the books?” Mae demanded, glaring at the bookshelf like it had stolen the last pancake from under her nose, “Why aren’t they just...here! Readable! There should be a sign!”

               “It’s demons,” Nola said, pushing a stack of notebook paper dangerously close to the edge of the desk and knocking a pencil stand down with her elbow. “It’s gonna take more than a few minutes.”

               “It shouldn’t,” Mae said with a pout. Nola giggled and bent down to grab the pencil she had knocked over. “No, really!” Mae continued, pulling more books off the bookshelf, “It’s like, everyone says not to summon demons, because it’s so easy for things to go wrong, and it’s like cheating, you know? Instead of doing stuff yourself, you summon another being to do it for you. It should be easy! All you have to do is give the demon something! Why can’t Casey just leave their books on display, or something?”

               “Probably because of you,” Nola pointed out, “You and Milo both.”

               “Yeah, but still. Make it easier for me, please?” Mae shoved the book she was holding back into the shelf, and sighed. “I’m gonna look on their laptop,” Mae said, crossing the room to where Nola was. She attempted to squeeze herself onto the chair, but Nola pushed her away.

               “Get your own,” Nola said, stretching out in the chair so Mae couldn’t fit, “This is my spinning chair. Anyway, Casey’s laptop isn’t here. It’s just books and papers and like nine drafts of an essay.”

               “Fine,” Mae huffed, “Do you know where Casey’s laptop is?”

               “On their bed?” Nola offered, shrugging. Mae went off to search Casey’s bed, and Nola pushed herself back up and resumed searching the desk. She found an empty carton of ice cream, but nothing about demons. She did find a sketch of what might be a demon, because Nola was pretty sure there was a demon out there with nine legs and three noses, but it was equally possible that it was just a cat. A poorly drawn cat, but a cat nonetheless.

               “Found it!” Mae called, holding Casey’s laptop over her head. Casey’s laptop was sleek and black and more expensive than everything Nola and Mae owned combined.

               “Okay, what are you doing with it?” Nola asked, tossing a tissue box to the floor.

               “Uh, google?” Mae said, scoffing, “What did you expect me to use it for, to look up where Casey’s demonology books were?”

               “No,” Nola said, “But I don’t think you can just…google demons. That’s dangerous, and banned.”

               “Can’t be too hard if kids at our school do it,” Mae said with a shrug, “Besides, there’s tons of creepy internet forums out there. A few of them gotta be dedicated to demons.”

               “Have fun finding them,” Nola said. The two returned to silence as Nola pushed papers around and Mae tapped keys. After a few more minutes of finding nothing but classwork and random notes, Nola decided Casey’s desk was a useless, unorganized mess, and went to join Mae on their sibling’s bed.

               Mae didn’t acknowledge her as Nola climbed on the bed, sitting beside her sister and looking down at the laptop. Nola couldn’t read the screen, from her angle, but whatever it was, Mae was engrossed, humming and muttering to herself as she scrolled past what Nola assumed were blog posts of some kind.

               “Did you find anything yet?” Nola asked. Mae sighed and shook her head.

               “Just a lot of weird roleplaying sites,” she said, pushing the laptop into Nola’s lap, “Like, look at this. It’s…creepy.”

               “Says the person who wrote fanfiction based off those old books about Alcor and Mizar when we had to read them in class,” Nola said, laughing at Mae’s expression, “C’mon, you have to admit those were hilarious.”

               “I was 12!” Mae said, grabbing the laptop with a huff, “Besides, Milo and Myra helped!”

               “Milo asked you to insert him in the story as the other love interest, and Myra was bribed to help you. By me.”

               “You bribed Myra to help me write my fanfictions?” Mae asked, “What did you give?”

               “I think it was desert for a few weeks, or something like that,” Nola said, “I did it because I wanted her to tell me what happened. I was too scared to read it. I don’t think I ever have, actually…”

               “Nola, you’re missing out on a legend,” Mae said, laughing, “I gave the Mizar those weird antlers you have that only Mia can see! You’d be proud of it.” Mae smiled and wiped her eyes, “Ahh, memories. Anyway, I’m getting back to looking for demons to summon. You go…do whatever you were doing. Watching me?”

               “There wasn’t anything on Casey’s desk,” Nola said, “What else was I supposed to do?”

               “I dunno,” Mae said with a shrug, “Can you see if anyone knows where Casey keeps their demon textbooks?”

               “Yeah, sure,” Nola said, sliding off Casey’s bed, “Good luck!”

               “You too,” Mae said. Nola waved as she left, shutting the door behind her. Now to find one of her siblings.

               Not knowing where anyone was, she decided to go downstairs. The stairs weren’t far from Casey’s room; Nola only had to pass one other door, Milo’s, until she was at the stairs. They were carpeted, which was great when your feet were cold, but less great when you tripped carrying your bowl of cereal up because Mia felt like leaving her shoes on the stairs.

               Once Nola was downstairs and in the living room, she found Mia and Milo. The two of them were sitting on the couch, each holding half an ice cream carton, watching something on the TV that was loud and colorful.

               “Uh…why are you both holding half an ice cream carton?” Nola asked, stepping closer to the couch. Mia startled, dropping her spoon in her lap. Milo muted the TV and waved at Nola.

               “God, Nola, don’t do that!” Mia said, picking up the spoon and wiping flecks of ice cream from her skirt, “I was trying to enjoy my ice cream and watch…whatever Milo put on.”

               “Sorry,” Nola said, “But why do you each have half an ice cream carton?”

               “We cut it in half,” Milo said.

               “He was trying to steal my ice cream,” Mia further explained, “So we compromised and cut the carton in half so we could share it.”

               “Oh,” Nola said, tilting her head in confusion, “Why didn’t you just get two bowls?”

               Mia blinked. She looked down at the carton in her hand. Looked over at the cupboards in the kitchen. Looked over at Milo, who was staring down at his carton like it held all the secrets of the universe.

               “Huh,” Mia said, “That would’ve been smart.”

               “Yeah…” Milo trailed off, shaking his head, “Well, whatever. Eating ice cream out of a bowl is for people who have their lives put together! Neither of us have our lives put together! Hooray for getting three F’s on your report card!”

               “Milo, that’s not good,” Nola said. Milo shrugged.

               “I know,” he said, “I laugh so I don’t have to acknowledge the fact that I might not graduate.”

               “ANYWAY,” Mia said, kicking Milo in the knee with her foot, “Nola. Did you want ice cream or something? I could cut my carton in half again.”

               “Uh…no,” Nola said, “I actually need to ask you something, but first, why not cut Milo’s carton in half? He’s more annoying than you.”

               “Milo needs this,” Mia said, “He’s suffering.” On his end of the couch, Milo offered a grin and two thumbs-up. “What did you want to ask?”

               “Mae is summoning a demon to help her study, or something like that, and we need to know where Casey’s demonology textbooks are. Do you have any idea where those could be?”

               “Whoa, whoa, wait,” Mia said, putting her ice cream on the table beside her to emphasize how serious she was, “You’re helping Mae summon a demon. You. And she isn’t bribing you? Blackmailing you?”

               “Do you really think Mae would blackmail me?” Nola asked. Mia hummed and nodded.

               “Good point. But why are you helping her? Any of the rest of us, yeah, we’re dumb enough to summon a demon, but you’re the smart one! The one who will definitely go to college! The favorite of parents and teachers alike!

               “You guys aren’t dumb,” Nola said, frowning, “Do you guys think you’re dumb? Mae said I make her hate herself when I help her study…do the rest of you think that too?”

               “Not at all!” Milo called, “Like I said, I know I’m not good at school, and I embrace that fact because the only other alternative is realizing how fucked my future is, and I’m too young to worry about that right now!”

               “Hey, Nola, come here, okay? Sit on the couch with us,” Mia said, scooting over to give her sister room. Nola sighed and went to join her siblings on the couch, plopping down between them and shoving at Milo’s legs to get him to move.

               “Milo, move your stupidly long legs,” Nola said, scowling at him.

               “Shit, sorry,” Milo said, pulling his legs closer, “Do you want to watch TV with us, then? I’m not really paying attention so I don’t know why you’re sitting now.”

               “Neither do I,” Nola said, “Mia?”

               “Uh…” her sister flushed red, “I was going to tell you something inspirational about how we don’t hate you for being the favorite but…I forgot what I was going to say. Just…uh…know this: none of us hate you.”

               “That really makes me feel better about myself,” Nola muttered, drawing her knees up to her chin and wrapping her arms around them, “Thanks for letting me know that. I’m so glad you all love me so much you never thought to tell me that I make you feel awful when I try to help. And I’m not the favorite! Why would you even say that? I thought…I thought you were the favorite, Mia! You’re the only one who can actually interact with people on a daily basis!”

               “Aww, thanks, Nola!” Mia said with a grin, but then, once she realized what else Nola had said, that grin dropped away. “But. Uh…” she glanced around the room, eyes settling on her half ice cream carton on the side table, “Hey! Nola, have some ice cream!”

               Nola blinked as Mia shoved the carton of ice cream at her, but she took it. If Mia didn’t want to talk, then Nola wouldn’t be the one to bring it up. She didn’t want a repeat of what happened with Mae.

               The carton was cold, but not the type of cold that numbs your fingers. It was half-empty and the handle of the spoon was sticky with melted ice cream, but Nola ate some anyway. She couldn’t tell the flavor. It was a weird mix between watermelon toothpaste and sugar cookies.

               “This is…interesting?” Nola said, “It’s really bad.”

               “I know, right?” Milo said, shoveling another spoonful into his mouth, “It’s like toothpaste. I hate it so much.”

               “Why are you eating it, then?” Nola asked, passing the ice cream back to Mia. Her sister took it and began eating, at a much slower pace than Milo.

               “You know those days where you really want to eat cheddar cheese, even though you really don’t like cheddar cheese?” Milo asked, “It’s like that. I hate it, yet I’m oddly intrigued and can’t stop putting it in my mouth. It’s as if my body knows how terrible it is, and this is how it shows that—craving gross foods.”

               “O…kay. That makes sense. Kinda,” Nola said, standing up, “Anyway. If neither of you know where Casey keeps their textbooks, I should go ask Myra. Do you know where she is?”

               “No idea,” Milo said, “I haven’t seen her since last night. Did she ever wake up?”

               “Yeah, she was up when I got up,” Mia said, “I think she said she was going over to some friend’s house. You know that girl she hangs out with, who has the super cool blue and purple hair? I think it’s that girl.”

               “Great,” Nola groaned, “And I bet she knows, too. The universe just likes making things hard for me.”

               “Hey, in the universe’s defense, you are trying to summon a demon,” Mia pointed out, “That shouldn’t be easy. Besides, you can just call her. My phone’s charging in the kitchen.”

               “Mine’s under the couch,” Milo said, “You can’t use it, but you could get it for me? Please? I’m pretty sure I’ve missed like…ten calls from Mom and Dad, and I’m realizing I don’t want to have a conversation about my failures face-to-face.”

               “Speaking of Mom and Dad, have they already left?” Nola asked. Milo nodded.

               “Yup. Went to pick up Grandma from the airport…two hours ago? Maybe three?” he looked over at Mia for help.

               “It was closer to two,” she said, “Milo threw his phone under the couch because he slipped his report card in Mom’s purse before they left. We’re pretty sure they’ve found it by now.”

               “Right. Thanks, Mia,” Milo said, “Anyway. Nola. My most favorite sister in the world. Please get my phone? I’ll give you…” he reached into his jean pockets and pulled out a folded slip of paper, “…this detention slip I got four days ago for…” he scanned it, “…disrupting the class? Yeah, that’s what it says.”

               Nola giggled. “I’ll do it for free,” she said, getting down on hands and knees to reach under the couch. She felt around for a moment, coughing as she stirred up dust, until she found the cool screen of Milo’s phone and pulled it out. She pushed herself to her feet and handed it to Milo, who thanked her, checked the screen, and proceeded to throw it at Mia.

               “Pretend to be me?” he asked. Mia laughed and tossed the phone back to him.

               “Ha, not at all!” she said, “Your report card, your talk with Mom and Dad about how you need to try harder and be more like Nola! I already dealt with that last week, when we got our report cards, like you should’ve.”

               “Yeah, yeah,” Milo said, unlocking his phone and tapping Mom’s contact, “If they kill me, I’m giving Mae my room.”

               “I’ll tell her!” Mia said. She turned to Nola, “You can go call Myra, now. This’ll take a while.”

               “Okay,” Nola said, walking to the kitchen. Two of the three overhead lights were on, with the third one flickering every eleven seconds. Mia’s phone was on the counter beside the sink, plugged into the wall with Mia’s bright pink off-brand phone charger that glowed in the dark.

               Nola unplugged the phone, picked it up, and opened it. Mia’s lock screen was of Milo tripping over his own shoelaces. Nola stifled a giggle and tapped in the password—their birthday. She found Myra’s contact and pressed the call button, holding the phone to her ear while she waited for Myra to answer.

               Myra answered after a minute. “Mia? What is it? Did Milo die for real this time and you want me to help plan the funeral?”

               Nola smiled, “It’s Nola,” she said, “Not Mia.”

               “Oh! Hi, Nola!” Myra said, voice crackling over the line, “Did you need something?”

               “Yeah, do you know where Casey keeps their demonology textbooks? Mae’s summoning a demon to help her study and we need to know where they are.”

               “Did you check under their bed?” Myra suggested, “If not there, then I think they might be somewhere in their closet. I once found Casey hiding them in the bathroom closet, so looking there would also be a good idea.”

               “Okay, that’s really helpful!” Nola said, grinning, “Thanks, Myra, you’re the only one who seems to know things about Casey’s textbooks.”

               “Oh, you know,” Myra said, “Being small and quiet has its advantages. Before I go, one more thing. If you summon a demon without me there, I will personally set your backpack on fire. And laugh as you have to explain what happened to all your homework. Okay?”

               “We weren’t gonna do it without you, don’t worry!” Nola said with a laugh, “Thanks so much. Have fun at your friend’s house!”

               “Have fun looking for those textbooks,” Myra said, “Bye!”

               Myra hung up, and Nola locked the phone, putting it back on the counter. Now that she knew where the demonology textbooks might be, she should go back to Mae before she broke Casey’s laptop.

               Nola left the kitchen and made her way back to the stairs, calling a goodbye as she passed Mia and Milo. Mia offered her a grin and a wave, but Milo didn’t seem to hear her, talking into the phone. Nola was curious how mad Mom and Dad were at him, but she didn’t want to pry. Milo would tell her if he wanted, and if not her, he’d tell Mae, and Mae would tell her if she pressed hard enough.

               It took a few minutes to make it back to Casey’s room. Nola pushed the door open and stepped inside, closing it behind her. Mae was still on the bed, but she was lying on her back, laptop on her chest. Nola wasn’t sure if Mae could see the screen, but her hand was on the trackpad and she was scrolling though, so she must be getting something.

               “Hey, Mae,” Nola said, crossing the room to sit on the bed. Casey’s floor was littered with balled-up sheets of paper and the books Mae had tossed there earlier.

               Mae looked over at Nola, sitting up and pushing the laptop onto the bed. “Hi! Did you find out where the textbooks were? You better have, because you left me alone for a really long time and I’ve found nothing useful, but I know a lot about the ship wars happening in the Alcor fandom. Why do so many people obsess over a demon, anyway? Like, I’d get it if they wanted to use the demon to get something, like money or the ability to study, but they aren’t doing that and it confuses me.”

               Nola shrugged. “I don’t know any more about it than you do,” she said, “But don’t worry about it. Myra told me where Casey might hide their textbooks, so you won’t have to google anything else.”

               “Great!” Mae said, hopping out of bed, “Where are they? In a secret safe? Hidden in the ceiling?”

               “Uh…no. Try under the bed, or in the closet. Maybe the bathroom closet, but that should be a last resort.”

               “Under the bed, I got that one!” Mae said, dropping to the floor and shoving her head under the bed. Nola stood up and walked around her sister on the way to the closet.

               “Can you see anything?” Nola called as she opened the closet. Most of the clothes were in a pile on the floor, and Nola had to admit, this would be a good place to hide textbooks from your younger siblings.

               “I can see a dead spider!” Mae said, voice muffled. “Ooh, unopened package of cheese! Milo would love this!”

               Nola snorted as she knelt down and began to dig though the clothes. “Milo only likes that really expensive cheese Dad bought once on accident,” she said.

               “Yeah, but he’d still eat this,” Mae said. She was quiet for a moment, before asking, “Did you find anything yet? I don’t think they’re under the bed.”

               “No, I—wait!” Nola threw a jacket to the side and revealed a pile of textbooks, all of them about demonology. “I found them! They were under a bunch of clothes!”

               “Well, bring them over here!” Mae said. As Nola grabbed the books, she heard a loud thump and Mae’s yelp of pain. “Ow…” her sister muttered. Nola re-entered the room to see Mae sitting on the floor, rubbing the side of her head.

               “You okay?” Nola asked, setting the textbooks on the bed. Mae nodded, huffing as she got to her feet and began looking through the textbooks.

               “I just hit my head getting out,” she said, “Uh…demon this, demon that…aha! Demon summoning! This should have a list, right?”

               “I don’t read Casey’s textbooks,” Nola said, pushing the textbooks off the bed to make room for her to sit. Mae laughed and plopped down next to her, opening the book so it was in both their laps.

               “It’s okay, I found a list, anyway,” Mae said, turning to a page closer to the front of the book. ‘SAFE DEMONS TO SUMMON (UNDER SUPERVISION FROM A PROFESSOR ONLY)’ the page read in thick, black font. Underneath, in a smaller, less thick, but still as black font, it read, ‘Review the Safety Precautions in the beginning of this book before attempting a summons.’

               “So…there’s not that many demons on this list,” Nola said after they flipped through the four pages that made up the Safe Summons list. Mae sighed and flipped back to the first page.

               “You’d think there’d be more safe demons in the world,” she said. She tilted her head and pointed at one of the information blurbs, which was a huge block of text under the demon’s name. Nola didn’t bother trying to read it. “Hey, Nola, what about this one?”

               “What does it say?” Nola asked.

               “It’s some knowledge demon named…” Mae squinted at the text, “Uh, Marshmallow? Okay, that can’t be right. Nola, are you reading the same thing I am?”

               Nola looked at the bolded name of the demon blurb Mae was pointing at. ‘Marshmallow.’ Huh. “Yeah, that’s its name. I guess that’s good? A demon named Marshmallow can’t be scary.”

               “Maybe marshmallow is demon for ‘I want to eat your face and soul,’” Mae said, “But whatever. Anyway, it’s a knowledge demon that trades knowledge for magical items.”

               “We don’t have any magical items,” Nola pointed out, “And I don’t think you could trick a demon like that. They can probably smell if it’s magical.”

               Mae snorted, “Are you forgetting? You have those weird antlers that Mia claims are growing out of your hair! Don’t they grow, like, almonds or something? I’m sure that’s good enough for a magical item, because you can’t tell me that’s not magical.”

               Nola touched the top of her head. The antlers Mia claimed she had…well, she didn’t think her sister was lying to her. Sometimes, if she concentrated, she could almost feel them, a heavy weight that swayed in the wind and reached for the sun. But to give one of her almonds to a demon?

               “I can do all the talking,” Mae said, “You just have to give me the stuff. Or, I guess have Mia do it, since she’s the only one can see them.” Mae smiled, marking the page they were on by grabbing a balled-up sheet of paper on the floor and stuffing it inside. She stood up, shutting the book, and grinned. “So! Are you in, or are you in?”

               Nola sighed. This was a very stupid idea. “I’m in,” she said, the not-entirely-there branches atop her head quivering with excitement. Or fear. It was probably fear. Wait, could almond trees feel fear? Or was it because they were hers, and they were feeling her fear? Why was she thinking about this?

               “Great!” Mae said, grabbing Nola’s hand with her free hand and dragging her out of the room and to the stairs, “Let’s find Mia and Milo and Myra, tell them the good news, and summon a demon so I don’t fail math!”

               “Yay,” Nola said, weakly. Mae elbowed her in the side as they descended the stairs.

               “C’mon, at least fake excitement! How many kids have summoned a demon before?”

               “A lot,” Nola said, “Most of them died.”

               Mae laughed. “That’s because they weren’t summoning demons named Marshmallow! What could go wrong with a demon named Marshmallow?”

               Lots of things, Nola thought, stopping on the stair she was at, starting with the fact that you jinxed us by saying, ‘what could go wrong.’

               But Mae was already at the couch, talking to Mia and Milo in a loud, happy voice, textbook open before her, and Nola couldn’t hold back her smile.

               “Nola, hurry up!” Mae called from the living room, bouncing on the balls of her feet, “Mia’s gonna call Myra to get her to come home, and then we can get started!”

               “Coming!” Nola answered, rushing down the last few steps of the stairs and joining her siblings in the living room. The couch was already full, Milo pressed in the corner, holding his phone out behind him so Mia, who had left her spot on the other side of the couch, couldn’t reach it. Mae was where Mia had been, textbook beside her, giggling as she watched Mia try to climb over Milo, only for him to push her off with his free hand and send her tumbling to the ground.

               Nola joined her siblings on the couch, squeezing in beside Mae, and watched Mia and Milo with a smile. We won’t be doing it alone, she thought, and that reassured her. A hypocritical voice added, it’s a demon named Marshmallow. Mae’s right, how bad could it be?

               But Nola was too busy laughing and smiling to bother thinking about it. Right now, she was warm and Mae was pressing her feet into Nola’s back. That had to stop.

               Demon summoning could come later. Right now, it was Nola and her siblings—yelling, giggling, and happy.

Chapter Text

               It turned out that a lot could go wrong when summoning demons named Marshmallow. A lot, despite the fact that they hadn’t even finished the summoning circle yet.

               “No, the squiggly line symbol goes on the right of the monkey, not the left!” Mia yelled, trying to wrestle the pink sidewalk chalk out of Mae’s hands, “And why is it a monkey? It’s supposed to look more like if a pancake had a tail!”

               “Who drew this circle?” Myra asked, blinking down at it, “It’s really uneven.”

               “You did,” Nola said, sitting on Milo’s desk chair, spinning herself lazily.

               “Huh.” Myra stared at her hands. “I’m bad at drawing circles.”

               “Who cares about the circle? I care about the fact that we only have an hour until Mom and Dad get back, maybe less, and this has to be done by then!” Mae said, shoving Mia off her and into Milo’s bed, “Let me draw everything!”

               “Mae, you can’t draw,” Milo pointed out, “You failed art in 7th grade.” Milo was holding the blue sidewalk chalk, which had been broken into half, and then fourths, and then three of the four pieces had been lost—one after Mae had thrown it at the wall, one when Mia had threatened to eat it but dropped it and it rolled under the bed, and the third when Myra accidentally stepped on it. Milo added another line to the symbol he was drawing, which was a vague shape that resembled the head of a goat next to three egg-like ovals.

               “I can too draw!” Mae said, “Look, I’ll draw your stupid goat eggs, and you can go find candles.”

               “Haha, no,” Milo said, connecting the three eggs together with a line through them, “Besides, I just finished. You can go find the candles.”

               “I’m not getting the candles,” Mae said, huffing. She dropped to her knees beside the final empty area on the summoning circle, where the blob shape was supposed to go.

               “Fine,” Milo said, “But I’m not getting them either.” He turned to look at Mia, who was pacing around the circle, feet scuffing up the already faint chalk lines.

               “Why are you looking at me?” Mia asked, “I’m not getting the candles, I don’t even know where they are!”

               “Someone has to,” Milo pointed out, pushing himself to a standing position. He clambered onto his bed, laying back with a sigh. “Do any of you know where they are?” he asked. Myra shrugged, and Nola, grabbing the edge of the desk to stop spinning, nodded slightly.

               “Uh, I think I do?” Nola said, “Do they need to be any scent, or just whatever?”

               “I don’t think it matters,” Mia said, at the same time Mae said, “It depends on what the demon likes.”

               “I’ll just…” Nola said, standing up and walking to the door, “…get whatever, then. Is this the last thing we need?”

               “Should be,” Myra said, “Thanks, Nola.”

               “Yeah, no problem,” Nola said. She turned the doorknob and practically fell out of the room, slamming the door behind her. She promised, and she wasn’t about to break that promise and leave her siblings to die, but Milo’s room had been so loud, and fighting over the color of the chalk? Really?

               At least that one had only lasted a few minutes.

               Nola found the candles in the bathroom cupboard, like she thought. They never really bought candles, since Mom hated the smell and Dad tended to forget to put them out, but they had a few that were given as gifts. Nola pulled out all eleven of the candles and began to sort through them, trying to find the best scents to summon a demon with. How many candles did you need, anyway?

               Nola added that question to her mental, ‘Things We Should’ve Googled,’ list, and decided to pick four, so they could evenly spread them around the circle. None of the candles seemed that great; if Nola could she would’ve stuck with something that was either unscented or with little scent.

               Still, they had to have something, so Nola chose the candles that weren’t as bad as the rest. Island Waterfall, Line-Dried Cotton, Dreamy Summer Nights, and Guava Coconut Fusion were the candles she settled with, so after putting the rest back in the cupboard, she scooped up the four she picked and made her way back to Milo’s room.

               Nola pushed the door open with her foot, hesitant to what she would find. Instead of the chaos like before, however, the summoning circle had been completed, the chalk discarded on the ground. Mae and Myra were reading over the summoning textbook, with Mia and Milo sprawled out on his bed.

               “Did you get the candles?” Mia asked, rolling over so she was facing Nola. Nola nodded and put the candles on Milo’s desk.

               “I got four. I was thinking we could put them at each…corner? Circles don’t really have corners, but you know. Where a corner would be if they had one.”

               “No, I get it,” Mia said. She didn’t move to get the candles, instead poking Milo in the side. “Hey. Milo. Set up the candles.”

               “No,” he said, “I’m sleeping.”

               “You’re talking right now,” Myra pointed out, not moving her gaze from the summing textbook. Beside her, Mae huffed and flipped the page.

               “I’m sleep talking,” Milo countered, rolling over so his face was in his pillow, “I’m just so good at it what I say matches up with what you guys are talking about.”

               “Do it, please?” Mia asked, grabbing Milo’s arm and tugging it. He sighed and sat up, rubbing his eyes.

               “Fine, I’ll do it. Where are they?”

               “Your desk,” Nola said, sitting back down in the desk chair. It was a bright shade of neon green that hurt to look at for more than a few seconds. She was pretty sure Milo only bought it to make people mad.

               Milo groaned as he got out of his bed and made his way over to the desk. He continued to groan as he grabbed the candles and almost dropped two of them when he tripped over the edge of his rug, stumbling into the wall as he tried to regain his balance. 

               “Wow,” Milo said. He stopped his exaggerated groaning to stare at the four candles in his hands, “I just saw my life flash before my eyes.”

               “Was it a good life?” Mia asked. Milo shook his head.

               “No. It was mostly Mom and Dad yelling at me for not being the best son ever and the five of us bickering over really stupid things.” Milo shifted the candles in his arms, and then looked over at Nola, “Hey, remember when you refused to talk to me for a week straight because I drank the rest of your chocolate milkshake that one time when we were like six?”

               “No,” Nola said, “What, do you?”

               “Yeah,” Milo said, “It was a really good milkshake.”

               “Shouldn’t you be setting up the candles?” Myra said, looking up from the textbook. “While I’m all for reminiscing about dumb fights we had when we were six, we should do that after we summon the demon. You know, before Mom and Dad get home? And ground all of us for the rest of our lives?”

               “Good point,” Milo said, “But can someone help me? I don’t want to break the candles and be stuck with even worse scents.”

               “I’ll help,” Mae said, tossing the textbook aside and almost hitting Mia, who jolted back just in time. She stood up and ran over to Milo, almost crashing into him as she grabbed two of the candles from his arms. Together, the two of them set the candles around the summoning circle.

               “Does this look even?” Mae asked.

               “Sorta,” Myra said, shrugging, “I’m sure it’s good enough.”

               Mae grabbed the lighter they had stolen from the kitchen drawer, and passed it to Milo, who clicked it open and started to light the candles. When he finished, he stood and backed away from the circle, closing the lighter and tossing it in the general direction of the door.

               “That was anticlimactic,” he said, “So, how do we summon this Marshmallow guy, anyway? Is there a chant we have to say, or…?”

               “It’s basically a chant,” Mae said, joining Mia and Myra on the bed, “But before we start…if something goes really bad, you guys promise not to leave me to die? Or tell Mom and Dad?”

               “I’m pretty sure if something goes that wrong, Mom and Dad will already know because our gruesome deaths will be in the news,” Milo pointed out. Mae flinched, and Milo shot her a grin, “But hey, don’t worry! Nothing’ll go wrong, and if it does, I promise to throw Mia at the demon and hide with you under the bed!”

               “Why am I the one getting thrown at the demon?” Mia asked.

               “You’re the oldest,” Milo said, “You’ve lived the longest life out of all of us.”

               “I’m literally less than 20 minutes older than all of you,” Mia said, holding back her grin, “But thanks, Milo. Good to know you trust me to stop a demon with my bare hands.”

               “I trust you to keep the demon distracted long enough for me to escape,” Milo said. “You’d punch it, like this!” He attempted to mime punching a demon, but it looked more like he had just tripped over something and was trying to steady himself with one hand. Mae giggled, and Milo continued, much more serious, “And then you’d die, but in the time between the demon getting punched and your death, the rest of us four would’ve escaped.”               

               “Hey, I’d at least punch it twice,” Mia complained, rolling over to lay on her stomach.

               “It’s a demon,” Myra pointed out, “I don’t think you’d even punch it once. Milo gives you too much credit.”

               “I give Mia the exact amount of credit she deserves, which is barely any,” Milo said, “But anyway. What were we talking about? Us not dying?”

               “And not telling Mom and Dad anything,” Mae added.

               “Right, yeah,” Milo said, “I agree. Now, who’s saying the chant?”

               “It’s in Latin,” Mae said. She grabbed the textbook from where it had fallen, and flipped it open to the page about Marshmallow they had dog-eared. “Myra, didn’t you take Latin?”

               “Technically,” Myra said.

               “What does that mean?” Nola asked, shifting in Milo’s chair so she could see the bed better, “You showed up for class, didn’t you?”

               “Well, yeah,” Myra said, looking down, “I showed up. We didn’t actually…I can’t speak Latin. I didn’t pay attention during that part. I mean, I didn’t pay attention for the entire class, but especially the speaking parts.”

               “Myra!” Mae said, glaring at her sister, “I was counting on you! I don’t know anybody else who took Latin!”

               “I can try?” Myra offered with a shrug, reaching across the bed to drag the textbook closer to her, “It won’t be perfect.”

               “The demon is named Marshmallow, I don’t think it cares about perfection,” Milo said shoving Mia aside so he could sit on the bed. Mia let out a playful huff and tried to push her brother off the bed, but there was no real force behind the action, so Milo didn’t budge. He stuck his tongue out at her, and she grinned back.

               “Guys, focus,” Nola called, watching Myra as she grabbed the book and made her way to the edge of the summoning circle. The chalk was smudged and it looked like a group of birds had drawn it. “We’re about to summon a demon, and you two want to goof around?”

               “Hey,” Mia said, her hand over Milo’s mouth, where he was trying to splutter out a response, “Myra’s summoning the demon. Not us.” She then yelped and jerked her hand away from Milo’s mouth, shaking it. “What the hell, Milo? You bit me!”

               “Well, you didn’t do anything when I licked your hand, so,” he shrugged, “Next step up. Anyway, Mia’s right. Only Myra has to focus.”

               “And she’s finding it very hard to focus with you two being annoying right behind her, thanks,” Myra said, scowling, “Look, I get that you two aren’t taking this seriously, but we are about to summon a demon right now. There is a very real possibility that something could go horribly wrong and we all die, and if I die because my stupid siblings couldn’t just stop for one second, I’m killing the both of you.”

               “Won’t we already be dead?” Mia pointed out. Myra let out a harsh laugh, and Mia said, “Okay, fine, I get it. Neither of us will talk. Shutting up now.” She elbowed Milo in the side.

               “Absolutely!” he said with a solemn nod, “We’ll be good.”

               “I’ll hold you to that,” Myra said. She looked over at Mae, “Anything you want to say?”

               “Uh…thank you?” Mae said. Myra smiled, and turned to Nola.

               “Yeah, thanks. Also, I’m gonna go move to the bed, so I’m not alone over here when the demon comes.” Nola stood up and pushed the chair in towards the desk, quickly making her way to the bed and taking care not to step on any part of their circle. She squeezed herself between Mae and Mia.

               “Hey, sisters,” Milo whispered, leaning over Mia as Myra began to read the summoning chant. For someone who claimed to not speak Latin, she didn’t fumble over the words, and spoke with confidence. Whether she was pronouncing them right, well, Nola wouldn’t know.

               “Yeah?” Mae whispered back, “What is it?”

               “What if the demon is named Marshmallow so dumb kids like us think it’s safe to summon, but it’s actually super evil,” Milo said. Mae’s eyes widened, Nola blinked, and Mia huffed.

               “Oh please,” Mia said, as wind from the center of the summoning circle began to tug at Myra’s hair and the pages of the textbook. The candlelight danced and cast shadows around the room, most of which appeared to have eyes, and Nola could hear a faint static rumble in her ears. “It was in Casey’s textbook. It can’t be more dangerous than a ladybug.”

               “The demons in textbooks are still really dangerous,” Nola pointed out, “they’re just a bit less dangerous. Like, they’d kill you, but not as quickly as the others.”

               “Have you ever summoned a demon before?” Mia asked. When Nola shook her head, she continued, “Exactly! How do you know the danger scale of demons?”

               “I’m pretty sure the lowest number on the danger scale is a 350,” Milo said, “Or a 500. Or a really big number.”

               “Those are big numbers, though,” Mae said.

               “Bigger numbers.”

               “Oh, okay.” Mae went back to picking at a loose thread on Milo’s bedspread.

               “Anyway!” Mia said, rather loudly. She got the attention of both Nola and Milo, who looked over at her, and Mae just hummed under her breath to show she heard. “Forget this danger scale stuff. I’m saying that there are non-dangerous demons. Like that one demon who gives you homework answers for ice cream. Why didn’t we just summon that one?”

               “There’s a demon that does that?” Mae asked, perking up, “That sounds safe! Why wasn’t it in Casey’s textbook?”

               “It probably didn’t make a deal with the textbook people to be put in,” Mia said with a shrug, “Back to my—”

               Mae cut her off, “Does the demon have to agree to be in the textbook?”

               “Yeah, they’re sentient like us,” Milo said, “You need permission.”

               “Huh,” Mae said, “I didn’t know that.”

               “Guys, please shut up!” Mia said, elbowing Milo in the gut. He shut up. “Stop getting off-topic! I’m talking about the non-dangerous homework ice-cream demon, and you guys keep being dumb!”

               “Wait,” Nola said. Mia huffed and glared at her, but Nola shook her head. “No, it’s about what you were saying,” she said, “What’s the name of the homework ice-cream demon?”

               “Uh, Alcor?” Mia said, shrugging, “I dunno. My friend told me about it. Apparently, his great aunt did it.”

               “We had to study Alcor,” Milo commented, “That was a boring unit. Remember that project we had to do? That essay on the transcendence and Alcor and the different theories on how they were related? I’m pretty sure I just turned in Myra’s…” Milo trailed off, muttering under his breath. His sisters ignored him.

               “Isn’t Alcor the same demon that destroyed one of the states on the west coast?” Mae asked, “I’m pretty sure you have the wrong demon, Mia.”

               “No, Alcor is the homework ice-cream demon,” Mia said, “I’m pretty sure that’s what my friend said, and I trust him.”

               “Wait, which friend is this?” Mae asked.

               “Brian,” Mia said, and before Mae could continue her question, added, “Brian M. Not the other one.”

               “Oh,” Mae blinked, “Huh. I guess they’re the same demon? But that doesn’t make sense…why would a demon who can destroy an entire state and kill millions also help kids with homework? Doesn’t that sound really wrong?”

               “And you expect demons to make sense?” Milo asked.

               “If you four are done talking, then I’d like to tell you the demon was summoned. There’s something appearing in the summoning circle. Not that you care, because you spent the whole time talking while I was risking my life, but you know. That’s fine. Keep talking.”

               “Myra!” Milo yelled, “I knew there was someone missing!”

               “Wow,” Myra said, narrowing her eyes, “I’m so glad you remembered me. Who was summoning the demon. Which is probably that weird black sludge taking shape in the summoning circle. And the reason Mae is shivering.”

               “Aww, I missed you!” Milo said, hopping off the bed and throwing his arms around Myra. She struggled to get free, but eventually gave up and lay limp in Milo’s grip.

               “I think we should pay attention to the demon,” Nola said. Her eyes were fixed on the summoning circle, where, like Myra had said, there was something that looked like black sludge. The candlelight had dimmed, as though something was absorbing it, and the black sludge was growing, gathering together in the center of the circle.

               “We shouldn’t have used sidewalk chalk,” Mae said.

               “Gee, you think?” Myra asked. Mae glared at her.

               “In Mae’s defense, we’re a bunch of kids,” Milo said, shrugging, “It’s not like we can go buy professional summoning equipment.”

               “Our oldest sibling is studying to be a demonologist,” Myra said.

               “They sure are, but what’s your point—oh. Ohhhh. We could’ve done way better with this. Why are none of us smart?” Milo narrowed his eyes at the demon still forming in the summoning circle, “If it leaves, I say we all throw something at it. What are the holiest objects in this room?”

               “Nothing,” Mia said with a laugh, “Everything in your room is unholy.”

               “Hey, guys, demon,” Nola said, pointing at the summoning circle, “Why does it have so many eyes?”

               “That’s why it’s called Marshmallow!” Mae said, “It looks like a burnt marshmallow with way too many eyes!”

               “What’s the normal number of eyes for a burnt marshmallow to have?” Myra asked.

                “I’d say three, but any more than that and I’d be pretty confused,” Milo said, and then turned to the demon. It was watching the five of them with…amusement? It was watching them the same way a cat might watch the prey it had pinned under its paw try to escape. The demon itself was inky black, as though there was a hole in the world where it should be, and the eyes covering every inch of its form were in a multitude of colors.

               “Hello!” the demon said, and its voice was the feeling of spiders crawling up your legs, “I notice there’s five of you, and only about…two seem to be paying attention.”

               Mae’s grip on Nola’s hand tightened. “Hello…” Mae said, “Uh…” she turned to Nola, eyes wide with fear.       

               “Mae, this was your idea,” Nola said, but Mae only whimpered and buried her head in her sister’s shoulder. “Fine, fine, I’ll do it,” Nola said with a sigh, but she couldn’t stop the small smile that formed when Mae mumbled gratitude into the folds of her clothes.

               “Hi,” Nola managed to get out. Looking at the demon caused her head to throb, as the many eyes blinked and caused its form to shift and shudder. Was the demon doing that on purpose? Nola wouldn’t put it past the demon.

               “Wow, Nola, for saying you’d take over, you’re doing very bad,” Milo said.

               “Sorry for being scared!” Nola said with a scowl, “You think you could do better?”

               “I do,” Milo said, and then turned to the demon. “Hey, demon. Marshmallow. Is that really your name? Because if so, I’m sorry. Not even hell-things like you deserve a name that bad.”

               “I have another name,” the demon said, and the voice seemed to echo around the room, “It’s,” at this point, the demon broke off into a series of inhuman howls and shrieks. Nola covered her ears, and Mae tried to burrow deeper into her sister’s arms, while Milo only blinked.

               “I see why you’re just called Marshmallow,” he said.

               “Thanks, Milo,” Myra said, “Now my left ear feels fuzzy.”

               “No problem!” Milo said, and then, to the demon, “So, can you help us? Or, my sister, Mae, the one trying to hide? She wants to trade something in exchange for all the test answers, like, crammed into her head or something. I forgot that part.”

               “What do you have to trade?” the demon asked, and Mae flinched, and Nola bit back her yelp of pain as her sister dug her nails into the palm of her hand. On the bed beside her, Mia growled under her breath and glared at the demon.

               “I have…” Mae’s voice was small, muffled by Nola’s clothes, and she didn’t look at the demon, “I have one of the weird almonds that grows on Nola’s antlers that Mia claims she has? I mean…Mia has to get one, but if she can, can you give me all the answers to the math test on…soon?”

               “It’s tomorrow,” Myra said.

               “Okay. That test. The math test tomorrow. I want to give you an almond from Nola’s weird antlers, and you give me the answers to the math test so I don’t fail math.” Mae stopped, and then added, still talking into Nola’s shoulder, “Wait, Myra, how did you know the test was tomorrow?”

               “We have the same math class?” Myra said, “We sit next to each other?”

               “Oh. Sorry,” Mae said, “I forgot. I’ll hug you after the demon goes away.”

               “It’s fine,” Myra said, “Just make the deal and get this over with.”

               “Okay,” Mae said, but she didn’t move. Nola poked her. Mae huffed and looked over at the demon, still gripping Nola’s hand.

               The demon had fashioned a hand out of sludge and eyes. The fingers were too pointy, the palm not thick enough, and everything about it screamed off.

               “I don’t wanna,” Mae mumbled as she let go of Nola and pushed herself off the bed. Myra, who was leaning against the bed, gave her a reassuring smile as she passed, but Mae could only offer a grimace.

               “Okay,” Mae said, “I can do this. Okay.” She reached a trembling hand out to the demon, the demon blinked eyes that were sepia and violet and turquoise, and just as they were about to shake, the demon jerked back, hand falling into a puddle of black sludge as it slammed against the opposite end of their summoning circle.

               “This was a test, wasn’t it!” the demon spat, and Mae fell backwards, tripping over her feet as she scrambled towards the bed, “But not today, Dreambender! I’m not making a deal with the girl! You five can tell the Dreambender to back off, and that I don’t have a death wish, is that clear?”

               The demon disappeared in a pop of displaced air. Beside Myra, Mae rubbed the back of her head, eyes trained on the place the demon once was.

               “What happened?” she asked, “Did I do something wrong?”

               “The Dreambender…” Myra said, biting her lip, “It thought we knew the Dreambender. That’s Alcor, right? You haven’t summoned Alcor before, have you?”

               “No!” Mae said, “Never! I’d get help from at least one of you if I did, and you all know I can’t keep secrets! I swear this is the first demon I’ve ever summoned!”

               “Don’t worry, I believe you!” Myra said, pushing herself up as she began pacing around the room. Mae clambered up on the bed, and collapsed beside Mia, blinking tears out of her eyes.

               “I’m sorry,” Mae said, sniffling, “I’m sorry. I was stupid and dumb and now I messed everything up and I don’t even know what went wrong.”

               “Mae, you’re not stupid or dumb,” Nola said, but Mae only scoffed.

               “Yeah, try telling that to everyone else,” she said, “They sure believe it.”

               “I don’t think you’re dumb!” Milo said, glaring at his sister, “You know that!”

               “I’m not talking about you guys!” Mae yelled, “I’m talking about everyone else! There’s more people I know beside you four, okay? And even though they’re usually nice I’m pretty sure they just act like that! Even our own parents do it! They just…think I don’t understand things. I understand things. Just not in the way they want me to.”

               “…I say we deal with our issues later,” Myra said. Mae bristled, but she continued on, “No, Mae. I get that you’re upset, and mad, and feel like you’re being ignored by the rest of us, and there’ll be a time to talk about that, but not now. The demon we summoned left because it though we knew Alcor. None of us know Alcor, but you know what we do know? How to summon a demon. Let’s summon Alcor, figure out why the demon was scared of Mae, and go from there.”

               “I guess,” Mae muttered, wiping her eyes with Milo’s bedsheets, “But I’m not talking. That was really scary and bad.”

               “We don’t expect you to,” Myra said, “You can cling to someone, and we’ll do the talking.”

               “I don’t cling,” Mae said, but she managed a watery smile.

               “Not to interrupt, but aren’t Mom and Dad supposed to get back now?” Mia asked, pointing at the red numbers of the clock, “We should probably clean this up, and summon Alcor after dinner.”

               “But then we’ll have to go to bed,” Myra said, “We can’t just sneak back into Milo’s room. The four of us aren’t exactly great at sneaking.”

               “No, but Milo can come into our room. He’s only one person.”

               “I’m up to do that,” Milo said, “I also call not cleaning up. I want to get down first to get the best food and not have to sit in the baby chair.”

               “Milo, didn’t you give Mom and Dad your report card before they left? Your failing report card?” Mia asked, sitting up on her brother’s bed. Milo paled.

               “I’m so dead,” he muttered.