Charlotte Gaspel: Demons and Ghosts

XXIV: Omega

The objective was accomplished. Without the interference of third parties in the way, Charlotte can complete her mission without much trouble. Sure, if only she hadn't given that speech, she might have gotten away with it masterfully, but it didn't turn out to be. One thing that did turn out to be was the detectives' theory, and it was only a matter of time before it all collapsed.

"Are you still awake?" Steven asks when he sees Charlotte reading in the library at two in the morning.

"I can't afford to rest," Charlotte replied, turning the page. "What are you doing up?"

"I have a bad feeling. Do you want to continue with your classes?"

"No. I learn better on my own."

"Yes, but it's never enough just to have the theory. You also need the experience."

"As soon as I'm done with the theory, I'll start with the experience."

"... As you wish."

Steven was about to make himself a coffee in the kitchen, but his anxiety was getting the better of him. He stood in the doorway for a while. With all he had experienced, he couldn't take any more risks.

He searched the shelves for a specific piece of paper, one that was rolled up on a rather old stick; he cut a normal sized piece and put it on the table. Charlotte stopped the reading and watched what Steven was doing in complete silence. He took a container of ink and poured it over the paper, covering a large portion. Then, with the amulet on, he closed his eyes and concentrated on whispering with perfect accuracy the idea he was constructing in his mind as he pressed his fingers into the ink.

Suddenly, he removed his hands from the canvas and then lifted it vertically to let the ink run off the paper. As the sheet was stripped, the dark ink fell on the table, but not all of it, because some of it remained on the paper, forming well-structured and understandable words in French, creating whole paragraphs with such perfect handwriting that it was scary. The fear was not unjustified, because this trick is very famous in the underworld, because it is used to create contracts, and if there is something that demons like, it is to make agreements on paper.

"What are you doing?" asked Charlotte curiously.

"Quiet and pay attention," Steven answered seriously. "This is a contract, but not just any kind of contract; if what is written in these lines is in any way broken by either party, they will be condemned to death. What I have just done is to implement all the conditions of the agreement you are about to sign. Can you see it well?" he asked as he held the sheet of paper in his inked hand in front of Charlotte.

She could read perfectly what was written. Summarizing the fourteen lines of the contract, it read: If in any way, Steven Gideon Ledger is killed by Charlie or Charlotte Gaspel, the person who released him from his sentence in Spoirtown, either by magic or any other intentional means, the latter will be condemned to burn in the depths of hell immediately after the death of Steven Gideon Ledger.

Charlotte was perplexed. Any action that resulted in the death of her tutor intentionally would be her downfall, which meant she would have to bear with him for the rest of her life. It was a direct check. If she refused, Steven has every right to get rid of her, but if she accepts, he won't be able to get the town wizard out of her way ever. At that, Charlotte could only answer one thing.

"Is your middle name Gideon?" she asked with a frown.

"Do you understand or not?" Steven insisted with much more seriousness.

"I understand your concerns. I would do the same if I were you."

"You must sign it in the dotted space."