XelofBloom
patreon
15.0
🕑 Added 2022-05-22 04:58:00 +0000 UTCJustin Mickleton’s leather boots whispered across the flagstones of the kingdom’s premier College of Warlocks. It was deep in the witching hour and not a soul could be found in the College’s time-worn passages. The kingdom of Othuven where the school had been founded was one of the most ancient, but over the years their power had waxed and waned like the ocean tides. Now the kingdom was known only for producing the most powerful arcane casters on the continent of Aiqen. Glancing out one of the slitted windows he observed the current night sky. A heretical red moon floated above the land bathing the kingdom in the first light of its kind in the past eight centuries.
It was a perfect night for Summoning a Demon.
The ancient tome weighed heavily in Justin’s tote bag like an anchor that could drag him into the depths of madness.
It wouldn’t be missed until the weekly check on Saturday.
At this late hour, the library had been protected by only the autonomous runic security measures laid down during the College’s founding. Justin might not be the mightiest sorcerer of legend able to flip mountains and overturn seas, but beating ancient inscriptions without a will behind them wasn’t that far outside his area of expertise.
No one saw me take it, I’m sure. Justin thought as he traversed the hallways quietly. No alarms had sounded, and no one stopped out to halt his progress through the College’s interior. He’d expected more from the lair of the steel-eyed librarian, but nothing. It was almost anti-climatic and far easier than he’d expected.
Making his way up to the western tower he glanced around checking for signs of magical residue. No lessons were held in the west towers. They were a relic from a more prosperous time when the College commanded the full respect of emperors. Justin’s boots echoed in the empty space of the hallways as he climbed several sets of stairs.
His eyes roamed over the doors looking for a specific mark, one which he wasn’t quite sure he’d find.
The door found him, Kind of. He’d gone almost halfway down a corridor before a door popped open behind him and a head filled with the crisp long locks of straight abyss-black hair thrust out into the corridor.
“Are you lost? Can’t you read the sigil?” Charlotte Zienfer said with a decided lack of patience. Her tone was bossy, but that wasn’t anything out of the ordinary for the spoiled second child of a Duke.
“Are you sure about this Zin?” Justin asked.
“Yes, now hurry up,” Charlotte said. She looked down both ends of the corridor before motioning Justin into the room.
“What if we get into trouble,” Justin said. College was a big break for him. He really didn’t want to go back to shoveling horse manure out of the Duke’s stable.
“Boy, it will be fine. If anything happens, daddy will fix it.” Charlotte said, grabbing him by the arm and pulling him into the room.
On the other side of the steel door was a small room with a single bed. Blackened drapes covered the thin window slits. The covers on the bed were the same shade of abyss-black as Charlotte’s hair leading Justin’s thoughts down a singular path. A small sink was placed in the corner, and a basic cabinet accompanied the bed. It was the perfect room for a midnight tryst.
The carefully laid pentagram sparkling in platinum laid out on the floor in the room’s center denoted the true use of the place.
Demon Summoning.
“Where did you find this place?” Justin asked looking askance at the pentagram.
“It’s a spare bedroom for the old Summoners. They used to have visiting lectures at the College.” Charlotte replied. “Remember, the ones Dobren Pells always liked? It fell out of use about a century back when Summoning was outlawed in the kingdom by the current dowager queen. She claimed her hero boytoy found it distasteful. Now, did you get it?”
“Yeah,” Justin said. He reached into his tote pulling out a book that looked like something from the Church’s personal banned list. It was thicker than two closed fists together.
“Wow. It does exist,” Charlotte said her eyes glinting ice river blue in the light. “The List of Evil.”
“Yeah, not really sure how the College had one,” Justin said as they laid the book down on the bed.
“It's one thing for the Church to raid a noble’s private library and quite another to challenge the premier education center for people who can melt buildings with a finger snap,” Charlotte replied.
The book was bound in leather, or at least Justin hoped it was, and not something more exotic. The title looked like it had been seared into the cover with fire.
“You know what this thing can do right?” Charlotte said, looking up over the book. “It’s my ticket to being Duchess. As our pact states, when I ascend you will be placed by my side as my personal butler.”
Justin nodded. He’d had a good long look at what happened to untalented sorcerers once they finished the College’s course. It was either being shipped off to war or turned into barely legal slave labor in the enchanter’s workshop where he would pump mana until he died.
Nope, those things were for the idiots. Justin Mickelton had no plans to labor in obscurity.
The book smelled like burned wood along with another faint scent like melted peaches. It was disconcerting, to say the least.
“Your certain no one saw you take it?” Charlotte asked.
“Positive.”
“Excellent. If I were a lesser noble this is where I’d knife you in the heart and use you for the ritual. But, lucky for you I’m rich enough to buy the ingredients.” Charlotte said with a wink. Justin simply rolled his eyes. Charlotte loved to play up the evil noble stereotype to the hilt.
Justin pulled out a piece of charcoal from his tote bag and began to draw the sigils of summoning according to the book’s diagrams on the stone floor around the pentagram that was inlaid already.
“Are you sure this is safe?” Justin asked. “I mean, we’ve only just started Pell’s lessons in Practical Summoning.”
“I talked to a few professors; they do this all the time for entertainment,” Charlotte said with a sniff.
“The professors summon demons for fun?” Justin said in shock.
“Of course. You know, the ones with a tail, wings, big tits, and a tight little ass.” Charlotte replied. “Most of the rituals are at the same level of calling a bellboy over to deliver dinner.”
“They summon succubus in the College for fun?” Justin asked incredulously.
“Yeah, that’s what happens when you mix shut-in old men with demonic rituals. Duh.” Charlotte said shrugging.
“But aren’t those things dangerous?” Justin asked as he started back on the sigils.
“Nah, only if the proper precautions aren’t taken. The only real danger is a heart attack from over-exertion I’ve been told. When it comes to anything other than bed stuff, they aren’t very strong.” Charlotte said.
“I guess if they are only summoning them to fuck, it makes sense.” There was a twisted logic at work but Justin could see the appeal, he was a guy after all.
“Those professors are all filthy bastards,” Charlotte said with venom.
“Right, how dare they stare at your perfectly proportioned tits and ass in class,” Justin said as he finished the work with the complex ritual sigils.
“Exactly. Glad you understand, future butler.” Charlotte said glancing between the book and the sigils on the ground. The page in question was illustrated with a spidery line that bore a picture of a pointy-eared creature with a bow.
Demonic Wood Elves were considered premier assassins after all. A single shot from one of their mana-infused arrows had ended Empires before. Of course, that had also led to the Church banning the List of Evil from common circulation.
Bunch of prudish old men desperate to keep their tax collection schemes going. Justin thought. They might call it donations but no one mistakes how those that don’t donate always end up worse off in a parish.
“When I’m done, I don’t mind letting you have a go with her,” Charlotte said glancing at him.
“No, no. I’ll pass,” Justin said deftly dodging the trap. He’d seen how Charlotte treated those who she thought had cheated on her. He had no interest in such things happening to him because she decided that Justin had somehow betrayed her by screwing her Summoned assassin.
“Are you sure? The professors said wood elf women have a very flexible level of skill.” Charlotte said.
“Yes, completely sure. I have no interest in placing my family sword in the wrong sheath.” Justin replied firmly. He couldn’t be sure but it felt like Charlotte respected him a tiny bit more after his words.
Probably just the delusions of a tired mind.
“There’s an awful lot of pages in this section,” Justin pointed out as Charlotte flipped through them.
“It’s fine. I’ve got a memory charm for this crap.” Charlotte said casually admitting to having something on her worth a small house.
Justin shook his head.
“Don’t worry,” Charlotte said. She pulled a surgical knife from her sleeve and grabbed a squirming white gerbil from a pocket. “It’ll be fine. Now stand back, I have a Duchy to inherit.”
Justin turned to read the book as Charlotte started the ritual. It seemed like only moments later he heard a popping sound as if a quantity of air had been forcibly displaced. The displaced air caused silver dust to flow across his vision. As the dust cleared he saw a singularly unimpressive sight.
A small pointy-eared, silver eye and haired munchkin stood in the Summoning circle.
Justin sneezed as silver dust wafted across the circle emanating from the child within it. His eyes widened as realization struck like a bolt of lightning. Acting on instinct he leaped to tackle Charlotte to the ground pulling desperately on a fail-safe his parents had spent their entire fortune to acquire.
The world grew hazy and faint as the spatial charm started to take effect.
Justin relaxed glancing back at the thing pretending to be a child. His body froze in horror as an amused expression appeared on the not-child. A soft crack echoed in the room as the wall of reality rebuffed the teleportation charm throwing Justin and Charlotte back into the room.
“My, you’re a bright one.” The silver child said. A dismissive glance at Charlotte gave the full weight of feeling the summoned creature had for her summoner.
“Charlotte, if you have something strong enough to escape you need to do it now,” Justin said moving in front of the future Duchess.
Charlotte was by no means stupid, and a glance at the silver dust floating around caused her eyes to narrow.
Nothing should be crossing the circle. Justin thought bleakly. Unless the thing Summoned is strong enough to breach it, or there is something wrong with the circle itself.
Keeping his eyes on the not-child Justin searched with his peripheral vision before finding a faint crack in the circle’s platinum patterns. It hadn’t been there when he was writing the sigils so it was likely the creature inside the circle was so strong it rocked the foundations when arriving. The feedback had pulsed along with the platinum until a weak point caved under the pressure.
After all, no one had been using these rooms, which meant no maintenance had been done to keep the summoning circle up to current kingdom safety codes. Normally, platinum wouldn’t have an issue like this, but it was clear the creature in the circle was anything but normal.
Charlotte rose before brushing him aside imperiously to stand before the creature and said, “You are standing before Charlotte Abigail Munchester Zienfer, first of her name. You have my leave to be impressed.”
Justin gaped at the complete departure from Charlotte’s normal manners but not for long. He quickly noticed how her greeting placed her left hand behind her back as her right hand gestured theatrically at the not-child. Charlotte’s left hand quickly moved through signs based on Jingu the thieves’ hand-sign language that Justin had taught her for the express purpose of cursing in class.
Fix the circle. If she can bounce you out from escaping, I don’t hold hope my own method will work. Our only chance is to re-seal the circle trapping her inside to negotiate. Good luck, my future butler!
The not-child looked at Charlotte like she was witnessing someone who had lost more marbles than a river bed full of pebbles. “Are you mentally ill? I can probably heal you if you are. My name is Bennie by the way.” Bennie said with a placid expression. She clearly didn’t think either of the two children was going to escape from her demonic clutches.
Justin lowered his eyes thinking quickly before he leaped up and pushed Charlotte at the creature calling herself Bennie. In a fraction of time, the distraction provided he slapped his forefinger onto the cracked portion of the platinum summoning circle. Transmutation was an art that required finesse and materials to work. Justin didn’t have either of the proper options, but he did have access to material that was forbidden by law.
The flesh of a pureblood Warlock, albeit of common descent.
With desperate eyes, both teenagers watched as Justin’s right index melted like wax flowing into the platinum circle in a splash of horror. Due to the magic, his finger was liquidated into silver platinum covering the cracked portion of the circle of summoning. Shock allowed him to cap his severed digit at the same time as the circle sealed preventing any blood from marring the pristine surfaces of the containment sigils.
“Holy Garvin’s left nut, that was intense,” Charlotte said dragging Justin away from the circle to place him on the bed. “Stick around hotshot, you get to watch a real Duke’s daughter negotiate.”
“Oh, joy. I’m just going to collapse here if you don’t mind.” Justin said as darkness crept in on the edge of his vision.
“Yeah, no. Drink this first. I have no interest in watching you die of shock, moron.” Charlotte said forcing an unstoppered green potion bottle between his lips. Moments later the feeling of invincible strength and warm honey pulled Justin back from the edge of unconsciousness. After giving him a once over and being satisfied, Charlotte turned her attention to the creature trapped in the circle.
“Ni Hao, I come in peace,” Bennie said raising her right hand and wiggling the fingers. “Seriously, I do.” The two warlocks stared at each other with incredulous faces before looking back at the small child. She was short for an elf, but the pointed ears left no doubt what she was. It was a point in the demon’s favor that she didn’t attempt to escape the circle after it had been sealed once more.
“Why did you crack the magical circle? That’s not the act of an innocent and peaceful Wood Elf Demon in my book.” Charlotte said. Both of the Warlocks watched as Bennie examined the sigils and circle before turning back to reply, “I’m not a ‘Wood Elf Demon’ to start with, you can use my name as a proper human.”
“What if we don’t? Don’t use your name, that is?” Justin asked as he recovered rapidly from the potion’s effects.
Bennie’s eyes seemed to flash silver for a moment before she said, “Then I won’t be quite as nice as I am now. Respect is earned, not handed out like chocolate treats to inept apprentices.”
“Inept? Last I checked you were the one in the circle.” Charlotte said as the demon’s tone pierced her noble pride. Justin winced as he felt that challenging something that was probably older than the Othuven kingdom wasn’t the wisest choice.
“This little toy?” Bennie said with a saccharine smile. “You should get your money back. It isn’t worth the metal used to inlay it.”
Charlotte sneered and said, “Words mean nothing, only actions.”
Bennie’s eyes flashed again and Justin had the strange feeling that someone else was looking out at the two of them. Someone who wasn’t as kind as the demon they had trapped. He opened his mouth, but the demon’s words cut him off without mercy.
“Little child of a fallen throne, the little princess of a broken house. You have been seen. You have been tested. You have been found, unfit.” Bennie said as something spoke through the demon. Justin froze in fear because, at the end of the day, self-preservation held a higher sway in him than the desire to be a butler to a powerful noble.
Charlotte opened her mouth but nothing came out over the sound of shattering ice that filled the room. The platinum summoning circle shattered like a glass bottle dropped from the upper battlements. As both teenagers looked down at the broken circle the crunch of metal boots sounded upon the metal fragments remaining.
Looking up Justin saw the small child Bennie had been replaced by someone else. His mind struggled to grasp the profound beauty before him that made Charlotte pale into a specter of insignificance. Before he could speak the woman strode past the duke’s daughter as if she was air to squat down at his bedside.
“I don’t deal with nobility, too annoying. Bennie was mine; I sent her first but the passage over seemed to have had some odd effects on her. My name is Eve. You may address me as such, or I will turn your body inside out while keeping you alive.” Eve said cutting a mythical figure with gear that bespoke enchantments more expensive than anything Justin had ever seen in his life all in silver. Silver seemed a rather highly important color to this person from her clothing alone. Just the jewel capping her staff probably cost more than the kingdom’s max output for a decade in Justin's opinion.
Silver eyes stared at him from less than a foot away and Justin knew they were looking at more than just the surface from the way they glowed. It was like the woman, Eve, was looking past the surface of reality into a deeper portion of it.
Justin had the feeling that if he were to do the same, he’d go insane.
“You have potential. I like that. Potential can be entertaining, and entertainment is important. Let’s go with a classic. I’ll give you three.” Eve said finally after she finished her inspection.
“Three what?” Justin couldn’t help but ask the witch.
“Why, three wishes of course. What else would a Demon give you?” Eve said with a diabolic smile.
Comments
Julie
I want a pic of chibi Bennie!
Gregory Hunsicker
I will make a prediction, that the chapter will post at 10:00ish akst :D lol
