Free Hexed by Michael Alan Nelson

would do. Paprika was just what she happened to have in her trick bag. But the paprika seemed to frighten Olivia even more than being possessed.
    Quickly, Lucifer stashed the bottle back into her trick bag. “Okay, sorry. I didn’t know. It’s gone now. You’re fine.”
    Olivia was sucking in huge mouthfuls of air. “I . . . I can’t . . . breathe.”
    â€œYou can breathe. None of it got out of the bottle.”
    â€œAre . . . are you sure?”
    â€œI’m positive.” Lucifer stepped in front of Olivia. “Are you allergic to pepper?”
    â€œPepper? No. No, just paprika.” Poor Olivia was breathing heavily, but Lucifer suspected that was from having had a complete freakout rather than an allergic reaction.
    Lucifer turned to Kenna. “Go to the kitchen and get me some pepper.”
    â€œYeah, okay,” Kenna said. “Are you sure her head isn’t going to spin? ’Cause . . . that’d be kinda cool to see.”
    â€œJesus, Kenna!” Olivia shouted.
    Lucifer waved Kenna toward the door. “Go, Kenna. Hurry up.” Lucifer squatted down in front of Olivia, looking her square in the eyes. “Look at me, Olivia. Look. That’s good . . . on the way up to your room, I saw a picture of you on a mountain, holding a pair of skis. How good are you?”
    â€œWhat does that have to do with—”
    â€œHow good?”
    â€œI . . . pretty good. I started skiing the black trails last year.”
    Lucifer smiled and spoke softly, calmly. “The first time you skied a black trail, I bet you were pretty scared. Right?”
    â€œA little.” There was still a waver in Olivia’s voice, but her breathing was becoming less labored.
    â€œBut when you reached the bottom of that black trail, how did it feel?”
    A small, fragile smile spread across Olivia’s face. “Good. Like I could do anything.”
    â€œThat’s right. Very few people can ski the black trails. I know I couldn’t. But you did. You were scared, but you did it. Because you can do anything. And this isn’t any different.”
    Kenna burst into the room holding out a jar of black pepper. “Got it! Did I miss anything?”
    Lucifer motioned her to sit on the bed. “Not a thing.” She went through her trick bag again but frowned when she didn’t find what she was looking for. “Olivia, do you have any stuffed animals?”
    â€œUh . . . yeah. In the corner on the other side of my bed. Why?”
    â€œI need to steal one.” Lucifer walked around the bed and saw about a dozen dolls and stuffed animals neatly arranged in the corner of the room. She bent down and picked up a small, pink bunny with floppy, pointed ears. “Perfect.”
    Without another word, Lucifer grabbed an eyeliner pencil from Olivia’s vanity and used it to draw a small, delicate pattern of curved lines on the foot of the stuffed bunny. When she was satisfied with the design, she placed it on the floor several feet in front of Olivia.
    â€œNow, this is the easy part,” Lucifer said as she pulled her phone from her pocket. “The only thing you have to do, Olivia, is sneeze.”
    â€œSneeze?” Olivia’s voice was almost a whisper. “That’s it?”
    â€œThat’s it.” Lucifer tapped the screen of her phone a few times until she found an image of a sunflower. She held it up to Olivia and said, “Tell me what you see?”
    â€œI see a . . . it’s . . . a . . .” Olivia’s face went slack, her eyes still fixated on the screen of Lucifer’s phone.
    â€œKenna,” Lucifer said softly. “Open the jar of pepper and put some under Olivia’s nose. But no sudden movements, okay?”
    â€œWhat’s happening?”
    â€œA sunflower is a perfect example of the Fibonacci sequence in nature. But the