Lane still wasn't sure she agreed with him. She did not demean herself, but she was also not the sort that was prone to narcissism guide her. She heard his words as her mind flipped through the memories that Adella had, and she wondered if this was really all that different from him dragging her away to do research on her. Lane knew he was joking, but what had been charming and almost enchanting the night before, started to cause her to worry now. Adding in the fact that Lane know had several other memories of him to draw from, Adella's memories, and things became a whole lot more complex rather quickly. She knew now why Adella had left James, and it was not simply because she fell for another man. Yes, in the end, she had chosen Lane's grandfather, but that was a choice due partially to the poor match that Adella and James had made.<br/><br/>He had been emotionally distant, which Lane could have already guessed at. He seemed the type to keep those around him at arm's length, far enough away that they never got to see his more vulnerable side. Adella, on the other hand, had be brash and power hungry. It had started out as a love for learning, but as she got older, it turned to something much more dark and nefarious. She wanted control, she wanted the immortality that he had and she wanted it with minimal effort. Lane followed him and settled into the chair, her mind trying to continue to search the memories she had received, while still trying to listen to him. "So this potion had the intended effect. You get all of Adella's knowledge without having to hold a seance or find a more experienced witch. You got everything you wanted, with that little cup of tea."<br/><br/>That was the rub, wasn't it? He spoke of not demeaning herself, but what he asked her to do in nearly the same breath? Sacrifice a bit of herself to help him. Lane took a breath and pressed her eyes closed, searching for the memories that might lead her to do the task that was needed. He wanted the demon gone. This was a test to see if she could manage to accomplish that.<br/><br/>Lane did notice one big difference between her and Adella. Adella did not have a lot of natural talent. She had to rely on spells that gained their power from outside sources and relics imbued with power. Lane had always had a natural talent, she could act as a conduit for the power around her without much concentration. She still felt a bit tricked by the way he had gone about it, but she was eager to test out this knowledge. Lane was fairly sure there were also pages missing from the book, since she had memories of pages being written that she had never seen before. Adella had dabbled in darkness and left a lasting effect that would change the lives of generations after her.<br/><br/>"Step back. Stay to the side of the room." Lane instructed as she pushed to her feet.<br/><br/>There were spells that took more preparation and timing, but Lane was in a hurry, she felt a need to prove herself. Walking back into the kitchen, she grabbed the container of salt, and brought it back into the room where James was. She opened the spout and began to pour the salt in a design with a 5-pointed star. The trick about magic was not in the ingredients or the stuff that went into a spell. Crosses scared away all sorts of evil things because people believed they would, not because of the cross itself.<br/><br/>She focused her will and the room seemed to become suddenly heavy and slow. In the middle of the room, there seemed to be a tear in thin air. Light glimmered through before the tear cracked open entirely. Lane had used her sudden rush of power to do as he said, conjure a demon and allow it to cross from its plain into hers. Its skin was red and dark, and it looked as if it had been the victim of a torturous fire. It snarled and looked around the room, and then looked to Lane. For a moment, she thought it might offer her a deal, but instead it lunged at her full force.<br/><br/>"Prohibere!" She shouted. The demon came to a stop in mid-air, apparently unhindered by the salt barrier she had attempted to create around him.<br/><br/>Lane kept her gaze on the demon and began to chant. "Ego destruam separet. Ego destruam separet. Ego destruamseparet. Ego destruamseparet." What started as a low hum, quickly built to full on shouting. The room again felt heavy and it seemed as if wind whipped around the room, bidden by Lane's will. One minute the demon hung in the air and the next he was consumed by a bright, white light, until he disappeared completely.<br/><br/>Lane pressed her eyes closed and had to lean against the chair to get her balance again. The problem with bypassing preparation and spell work to go straight for the jugular was that these sorts of spells were all the more taxing on her. She had pulled from her own well to complete it, mostly as a matter of pride.<br/><br/>"How did I do? You can still leave to take care of business, if you'd like. Door's that way." She gestured to the front of the house. Lane was not sure if it was because of her memories of Adella, or the way he had behaved this morning, but she was not feeling in the magnanimous mood she had the day before. The stakes were higher now, and maybe that was the reason for it. Giving him the book was one thing, helping him vanquish a centuries old demon using the memories of her dark witch grandmother, was quite another.