A Little Merlot, A Little Magic

The recipe called for two glasses of Merlot (poured from a cursed silver chalice, obviously), a few careful drops of rabbit tears, three-hundred-year-old alabaster dust, and the usual sacrifice to make it pop—a small confession whispered into the abyss, forever owned by the powers that be. Tying her heavy hair back, Gem leaned over the muddled berry-like stew and breathed from her guts.

"Ugh, this is a hassle. I confess, I don't really give a shit if this works, but apparently, it's the only way she'll ever see me again so—Wake.Them.Up."

Shoulders down, head up, she gave a giant wooden spoon a firm twist through the brew, dropped a few strands of hair into the mix, and repeated once more, "Wake. Them. Up. You heard me!"

Mixing with manic vigor now, a bystander at her kitchen window would perhaps think she was electrified, she seemed to glow. Though really, up close it was clear that she was merely drenched in sweat from effort. How mortal.

Gem rubbed the frayed sleeve of her powder blue shirt along her brow, leaving a faint, damp trail of smeared foundation along the wrist.

"Well, that's going to be lovely to clean." The potion crackled, sparks flying, narrowly missing the bushels of hair that had escaped her ponytail. "I wonder if this will come out in the laundry or—" A great boom interrupted her musing.

"Worm. Your incessant nagging has been noted. What do you want now?" A faceless voice filled her kitchen, so deeply cold and tinged with ice that frost began to crawl and creep along her cabinets.

Finally. It was here. With exhaustion, she stopped stirring and fell into a chair with less grace than she'd have liked, given the current company.

"It's about time. I'm going to get carpal tunnel someday and when I do you'll be hearing from me."

"WORM! Get. To. The. Point." Exasperation cut through, melting the icicles ever so slightly.

"I am. What's a little watercooler talk amongst colleagues? Anyway, fine. His name was Fred. He was very beloved. I didn't realize...well...here's the thing. I accidentally poofed him. Seeing as it wasn't his fault at all, I thought we'd do his owner a favor and just, whip him back up."

"Excuse me? From the ancient caves of Beelzebub, drenched in the blood of human and demon, built to withstand the fires of hell and all magicks that may be thrust upon it—I am your dark overlord, your master of evil, the source of all your power, and you have awakened me and drawn me to this flat, miserable, suffocating space to...what? Bring back a...bring back a...—"

"Yes. You can say it. A rabbit. A very well-loved rabbit. He was worshipped really. You have to respect that."

A shard of ice hanging precariously from the countertop crackled.

"Well, this can't be that much of a surprise. I did use the nice Merlot. I knew you weren't going to like this. But there's a lot at stake. It's not just about Fred. The thing is, I'm in love. Her name is Penny and she's been helping me design the invitations for the Blood Moon bake sale the last few weeks. She doesn't know about all of— " Gem gestured wildly around, accidentally shaking a few sparks off of her fingertips.

"We had just landed on the final designs. I actually have a photo on my phone if you're interested..."

The kitchen seemed to shiver with silence.

"Okay, you'll have to wait for it to come in the mail then. Anyway, I was about to ask her for dinner when the incident happened."

"This is exhausting. That's the last time I tell you anything about myself."

"What? You love an earthy red, I think that's fabulous. Now, are you going to help me fix this?"

"Possibly. Even though assisting you vaguely disgusts me. Out of the smallest of curiosities, how did you end up obliterating your girlfriend's little rodent?" For an omnipresent, evil force of nature, Its tone had become a little softer, woolier, lazier. Spending too much time earth-side did that to a demon.

It was a fair question—she hadn't made a pet disappear in at least two centuries. Gem ran her hands distractedly through her mane, now bursting at the seams of the style she had tried to pull together. Whenever she gave into her magic, it seemed like her body rebelled against itself, unraveling in any way it could find. Bloody noses, curly eyebrows, more ear wax, she'd need a shower after this.

"I made a mistake."

"Obviously."

"I thought...I mean, you remember how it was during the old days? Rabbits were always spy familiars. I thought he was doing some groundwork for a couple of old enemies. His eyes, they were just so blank, you know? A little too empty if you ask me. I thought it was an act. But, it turns out, that was just his face. Now I know! I was about to ask her to dinner when he hopped into the room—Penny is so cute, she lets him roam around the house—and I panicked!"

"I have no words."

"That's fair. So, will you do it?"

"Anything to end this conversation."

The room filled with a prickly, acidic darkness. The kind of pitch-black that moves and swells in shapes and shadows before the eyes. Nothing creaked, nothing breathed, even the airwaves themselves nervously danced in place, not daring to flow. And then, a small sniffle cut through all that nothingness.

"Fred," Gem breathed with relief.

The dark sucked into itself with a flash, then all was normal. The lights were on, the refrigerator gasped, and a car loudly knocked over a garbage can outside.

Fred, in all his furry, lumpy glory lay contently on the kitchen tile, chewing on a carrot, creating little dribbles of orange mush that Gem knew would sink into the grout forever.

"Well, take your revenge as you see fit, Fred. Sorry about the misunderstanding."

He stared at her. His eyes like little dull marbles. She grimaced and pulled her phone out of her back pocket. Quickly, she snapped a photo of Fred and began tapping wildly.

Hours later, Gem found herself at the steps of Penny's craftsmen home, holding large baskets in both hands. Penny resided in a pastel masterpiece, aglow with the softest shades of mint, lavender, and raspberry that Gem had ever seen. The first time she had stood at the front door, it had felt like she was coming home. That was a brand of magic she'd never understand.

She knocked and waited, resisting the urge to cast a time travel spell—the anticipation of Penny's reaction was making her feel physically ill. At last, Penny opened the door, slowly. Poking her purple-red head around the frame, she reached her arm out.

"Hand me the rabbit."

"Look, Penny, I'm so sorry, I can explain, but honestly it doesn't really make sense. Strange things just happen to me when I get nervous."

Gem delicately lifted Fred from the basket and gently handed him to Penny, who swiftly shut the door in Gem's face.

Heaviness packed upon Gem’s heart like snow. She picked a bouquet of marigolds from the picnic basket and with tenderness, placed them in front the door. Before she could even turn to walk away, the door creaked open again, ever so slightly.

"What do you mean, nervous?"

Gem resisted the urge to beam, and maybe cast a few fireworks into the sky.

"Could I tell over dinner? I remembered that you had mentioned how much you love risotto and I just harvested the most lovely spring peas so I thought we could go to a park nearby and—"Gem lifted up the picnic basket and gave a hopeful smile.

There was a long pause then Penny opened the door just a bit wider.

"Well...one picnic can't hurt. I'll go grab my jacket and a bottle of wine. You like Merlot, right?"

Gem smiled, showing all of her teeth and vines began to wrap and blossom around the side of the house.

"I think a glass of Merlot would be magical."