Under His Control (BXB)

Chapter 3 - Summoming

Storm's POV
"Damn it!" I screamed in frustration, throwing the spell book in my hand at the wall, where it joined the first in an untidy heap on the floor by the bin.

There's only one more book left before I have to raid my brother's, or maybe even father's collection. Why isn't the spell I need here, I've been looking for hours!

My brothers had tried to come in and comfort me, but I locked my door, shutting them out. Though I knew that if they really wanted to they could break in, no matter how many charms I placed on the door. I'm just glad they respected my privacy and personal space at the moment. Because if they saw what I was doing, they'd stop me and tell father. I'd be grounded for weeks.

Of course I know what I'm doing is dangerous, but I want to see grandma one last time and I know mother will too. We never even got to say goodbye!

I flicked through the final book, until finally, my eyes rested on the right page. After so long searching, the sight felt like a huge relief.

'Summoning ghosts and demons'

The instructions were written underneath, and seemed pretty straight forward. I could do this, even at my level of magic.

I'm not a complete beginner, but I'm not at the level my father is, either. I need a lot more practice and training for that to happen anytime soon. That's why my father only gave me three spell books, ones with less harmful and easier to perform spells.

So god knows why he gave me a book with a powerful spell like this in, but I'm glad I have it is all I'm going to say. I quickly memorised the spell so I could focus on my energy rather than reading the words.

I didn't need anything except my voice and some of my blood for the ritual, so I grabbed my pocket knife from the bedside table before I began. We all carry pocket knives just in case our magic somehow fails us and we need a backup. Though father hopes that day will never come.

When I was ready, I sat myself down on the floor, closed my eyes and began to chant. As I chanted, the temperature in the room seemed to drop and continue getting colder and colder as time went on. I could feel the strain the spell was putting on my body, but I couldn't stop now. Because this spell requires a lot more energy than I anticipated, stopping now would get me killed for sure.

A wind picked up around me, though I knew I'd closed all the windows. When I felt a strange energy in the room I pressed the blade into the palm of my hand like the spell had instructed while I continued my chant, letting the blood drip and fall to the floor.

Goosebumps pricked my flesh but I didn't stop. I didn't even stop when a felt a hand in my shoulder, nor did I stop when I felt breath fan across my face.

I only stopped when I had finished chanting the spell, and only then did I open my eyes.

Inches away from my face was a strange man. Not grandma June, a man. He was on one knee in front of me, smiling. Though it wasn't a friendly smile. He also seemed extraordinarily solid for a ghost...

I noticed he had extremely dark hair that hung in his face, covering everything from his nose upwards. Though I did see a single red iris peering through a gap in his hair, though I may have imagined it. Power and authority radiated off him in waves.

"Um... You're not grandma June, why are you here?" I asked timidly, unsure of what kind of ghost I'd summoned. Damn it, how had this happened? I clearly pictured grandma's face through the whole thing, and I'd followed the instructions perfectly! Didn't I?

"You summoned me, young warlock" he said simply, taking his hand off my shoulder and standing up straight, making me feel even smaller. He looked around my room, seemingly bored.

"What's your name?" I asked, unsure of how to proceed. I wish father was here right now... Why did I do this alone, he could have helped me!

Who am I kidding, he would have told me it was a bad idea and taken my spell books away. Though maybe he would have been right... I had summoned the wrong ghost, after all...

"My name is Rico Ierzemoni" he told me as he stalked towards me, crouching down to get to my level.

"M-my name is S-" I began, but he cut me off.

"Storm Harris. Yes, I know. I've heard a lot about you from The Beyond. Thank you for summoning me into your world, by the way" he smirked at me, so close now I could feel his breath on my face.

"How do you know about me?" I asked him, trying to keep my voice from shaking. But my attempts failed as he obviously noticed my discomfort.

"I know everything there is to know about all the supernaturals. It gets awfully boring down there, but now you've invited me here, I can go back and forth as it pleases me" he grinned, revealing a set of sharp, long teeth.

Oh crap! I should have realised sooner! The red eye I though I saw, the power rolling off him in waves...

This is no ghost. This is a greater demon.