Jon and Karyn dashed up the stairs to Zoe's room. Reaching the door, Karyn would brook no nonsense, and kicked it open, startling Jon almost more than the earlier noise had.
They saw Jon's elfin little sister on the floor, crying, clutching the stone. She was there in her nightshirt, and had evidently decided to put a red streak in her hair at some point during the night. Heath was standing over her, looking shocked.
"I brought him over to help unhex the stone," Zoe wailed, "but he...he tried to steal it!"
"That's not true! You've got to believe me, guys! She turned into a demon!"
"I thought you were my friend, Heath," Zoe said, still sobbing, "why are you lying to my brother? Do you want him to think I'm crazy?"
"Heath," Karyn said with a growl, "I think you should leave."
"But I didn't do anything!"
"Heath," Jon said, trying to defuse the situation, "I can't pick sides here. I just know you can't stay. It's Zoe's room, you should respect that."
Heath was about to speak again, but a baleful glance from Karyn silenced him. He made his way down the stairs, Jon following to see him off. As Heath left, he whispered to Jon.
"Be careful with Zoe, man. She's not what she seems."
Jon was careful not to roll his eyes until Heath was out of sight, but still dismissed this as just a misunderstanding.
Zoe smiled after her brother and Karyn had left the room. It was so simple, so easy to trick them. Her new attitude about it frightened her a little, but somehow being wicked felt delightful...
Karyn and Jon decided to just watch a DVD movie to finish out the night, and found themselves spooning roughly halfway through. Karyn fell asleep in Jon's arms. Jon stayed awake through the end of the movie, and a little afterwards, thinking about Karyn's offer. Eventually he fell asleep too. They slept well, as they really had to if they were going to deal with the hard decision that lay ahead.
