"So, demons exist? And they just attacked your house? And you're a witch." Diego asks as he paces in front of us. "And Tereso is a witch, too? But different from the evil witch that sent the demons to attack us?"

In the thirty minutes since the attack, Sierra and I cleaned glass from the floor as well as hung all the paintings back on the wall.

Magic is used to replace the window and fix the front door. Archer was helpful with that part. He watches Diego carefully as Sierra and I return to the room. I can't be mad at Diego. He's asking the burning questions they all want to know.

"So, all the el hechizo is real?" Diego asks.

"Do you need a minute?" I ask.

"How are you so calm about all of this? We almost died."

"Not my first scrape with demons. Hell, it's not my first time this week."

"And you didn't know about this?" Diego asks Sierra.

Sierra glances at me. She is either taking this all remarkably well or her memory has returned. She doesn't seem too disoriented by the return of her memories. I guess that's a win.

"It's complicated. What happened to the wards? Didn't a bunch of witches just place wards on this house?" Sierra asks.

"Curious, ain't it? Makes you wonder how effective it was meant to be."

"Those bitches! They screwed us over."

"Yeah, Avarie was right."

"Avarie? You've met Avarie?" Archer asks.

"Wait, is Avarie a witch, too?" Mori asks.

"It's a long story that ends with her pointing her well-manicured finger towards a bunch of broads who are either viciously deceptive or really horrible at warding." Sierra says.

"The White Thorns? You think they're behind this?" Archer asks.

"Maybe. Jury's still out, lover." I say.

"What are we going to do now?" Sierra asks.

Suddenly, nothing feels safe. The supposed wards the White Thorns set up are clearly not their weight in salt. The first thing I need to do is damage control with Sierra and assess the damage. The second thing I need to do is find the witches and show them exactly what a pissed of Parker can do.

Anarch will have to wait.

Sierra wants to talk away from the rest of the group and tell Diego to be on his best behavior. We head to the kitchen and I close the door behind us once we're inside. She waits until my attention is fully on her to speak.

"You really did it."

"I can explain." I say.

"Explain that you took vital memories from us and moved us to possible the most dangerous place in the world?"

"On purpose. That's a whole other discussion."

"Parker, what's going on? Something bad is happening, isn't it?"

I reach out to her and guide her to the kitchen table. I explain how I was determined to erase the trauma I brought upon them. I detail my not-so-veiled threats to Ambrose and our eventual parting. She listens intently as I confess I have been working with the council.

"The same council who wanted to bind your powers? Why?" Sierra asks.

"Penance. After Ambrose viciously murdered the coven and tried to hurt you guys, I knew I had to do something. Aria had the answers. She helped us get set up here."

"And you agreed to work for her and the council."

"I agreed to work with them. And good thing I did. What happened tonight is the tip of the iceberg."

"So, you've been handling this on your own?"

"Yes, and I am exhausted. But I'm in too deep to leave."

"I understand. I'm angry that you wiped my memory and, inadvertently, put us in more danger. But I get why you did it. You thought you owed us a normal life."

"Yes. Exactly!"

"There's one person who isn't going to see it like that."

She is referring to my protective big brother. He will be furious with me and I can't really blame him.

As if on cue, the front door slams and Eric calls out to me. Sierra watches me with fascination as Eric comes stomping in the kitchen with a stack of pizzas. He slams the pizzas on the counter and marches over to us.

"Eric--" Sierra says.

"What did you do, Parker!?" Eric yells.

"I--"

"Why is there a scorch mark on the porch? Oh yeah, and why do I suddenly remember magic exists? Can you tell which one is more jarring?"

"Well--"

"You wiped our minds after we told you that's not what we wanted!"

"To be fair," Sierra interrupts, "we never said no to his offer."

"Stay out of this Sie!" Eric barks. "You erased our memories! You've done a lot of dumb shit but this takes the cake."

"Eric, he already feels terrible." Sierra says.

"Good! He should. We're not done with this but why are all our friends here?" Eric asks.

"Well, learning about magic if they didn't already know." I say.

Eric's eyes fall to my neck. "Your neck. What happened?"

Sierra details the events of the night. Eric looks back-and-forth between us during the story. I can't tell if he's more angry or concerned. He holds his temper until Sierra finishes her story.

"So, demons invaded the house? Why would demons invade our house? And didn't a bunch of wiccans bless this house not long ago?" Eric asks.

"I've been working with the council. It's why the house was so affordable and it was so easy for you to find a job here. If you hadn't noticed, this place has some issues with danger." I say. "I've been looking into the missing people here."

"The Council? The same ones who wanted to strip you of your powers?" Eric asks.

"Things have changed. Listen, the disappearances are due to a demon. It turns out the demon likes me. And as for why the wards are malfunctioning, I was going to go straight to the source and ask."

"I'm sorry. The last supernatural thing I can remember is a murderous vampire. We're on to demons now?"

The two are enraptured by all of the information I have learned about Anarch. I inform them a witch is helping them and share my suspicions with them. Eric questions how I hid working for the council and I tell them about the mirrors and the ignis parchment.

The two are impressed with the depths of my deception.

I agree to tell them everything later before I leave the kitchen. The two follow me as I head towards the front door. Sierra questions where I'm going.

"Oh. I'm going to see a bunch of witches about some wards. It's looking more and more like Avarie isn't wrong. At least one witch in the Coven of Sun and Light and Sweet Nothings is going to get a rude awakening."

"You're not going by yourself." Eric says.

"No," Archer says as he appears at the doorway to the living room, "he's not. I'm going with him."

"Am I supposed to be okay with all of this? I just got my memory back and now you're rushing off to uncertain danger?" Eric asks.

"You mean you're not so upset that you want me to rush into danger?" I ask.

"I'm pissed. You lied to us for months now and you've been handling all of this alone when you didn't have to."

"I wasn't exactly alone. I am relieved you know the truth. That's selfish but it got pretty lonely."

Eric surprises me by pulling me into a tight hug. He hasn't hugged me like this since my hamster died in fifth grade. I savor the hug until Archer clears his throat behind me.

I pull away from him. "I should go."

The two make me promise to be careful as we leave the house. I find the porch is still scorched from the fire I used to attack the demons. Archer leads the way to his BMW.

I'm just relieved that Eric and Sierra are back to normal.