Charlotte Gaspel: Demons and Ghosts

IX: Exit

The rain was falling in decreasing amounts.

The family was waiting behind a door in a damp alley. It was not a very comfortable situation, partially because of their wet hair, but mainly because it was only a matter of time before the place where they were standing would be considered a crime scene.

Luckily, Steven opened the door and let them enter his appartment before they died of pneumonia.

They didn't beat around the bush. The situation didn't call for a cup of coffee, so Steven prepared to cast the most dangerous spell he'd ever attempted in his life: Geographical relocation, a somewhat advanced technique for amateur wizards like Steven, but not impossible. All they had to do was stand still inside a circle drawn on the floor. At advanced levels the circle is unnecessary, but if it's your first time casting the spell, a space reference is always useful. Of course, the family will have to pay a price for such an advantage, as black magic is not used for good, but rather the opposite; however, a few tricks can be done to use it for good, as in this specific situation. The idea is to make the family appear in a safer place, a nice place not too far from there called Spoirtown, but with the condition that they will have to feel every atom of their body burning because of the change of location.

Charlie didn't know much about what was about to happen, but he didn't say a word, he just knew that his parents were excited and sure of what they were doing, so he just stared around the place.

Steven took out a particularly interesting book from his suitcase, mainly because it had written on its cover: "Black Magic for Beginners". He opened the book and went to an advanced page, looked at it for a relatively long moment and decided to rip it out; he put the book back in his suitcase and put the page on a table.

"Place your bodies inside the circle," Steven said. "This is the moment of truth. It was nice to meet you."

The process had begun. Steven began to recite verses from his sheet that read: Egredere de vita mea, exi de conspectu meo.

He raised his left arm while holding the leaf in his right hand. The family hugged each other in fear and anxiety as they watched the pink and red tapestry of the walls slowly distort. Steven could only concentrate and shout the words egredere de vita mea, exi de conspectu meo over and over again. Lights flickered, tremors could be felt, everything seemed to be destroyed in the eyes of the family until Steven shouted the phrase one last time and that claustrophobic appartment was transformed into the ruins of an abandoned bridge support in Spoirtown.

Steven opened his eyes and was surprised to see that the spell had worked, as he was the only person left in the room.

The family tried to celebrate, but they felt too much pain in their skin to exclaim anything but moans of anguish and despair. Eight seconds later they embraced each other in tears because they had finally escaped hell, death and their old problems, which suited them just fine, because they needed space for the new ones.

...

The next day, Charlie was suffering from nausea and a great pain in his stomach.