10 Minute Tales

Jul 18 - Prolonged Channeling

She awoke in silence, eyes blinking gently as she returned to the world of the waking. A flash of the previous night overcame her and she sighed. It had been a total failure. The sigil was still on the floor, glowing a subtle red hue as the last of its power hung uselessly within it. She grunted and scowled at it, kicking at it weakly as she got dressed. She had done enough, surely! She had sacrificed the entity properly - she hadn't cared much for the cat anyway - and she saw the blood vanish. The summon was right! She walked over to the tome, now wearing simple jeans and a tee, and threw it open. The weight of the cover bounced gently against the table it rested on, the sound of aged paper filling the air as she skipped through the various chapters.

"Hm..." she sighed, tracing the page. "Channel the energy through there... powers these two runes... portal chamber there...?" she turned to look at the sigil she had drawn, then back to the sample sigil. It seemed to be okay, maybe a little shaky but the important points were in place. She frowned as she leaned over the sigil again, a hand tentatively resting between the curves of the sigil as she inspected it. ... wait, that bit there didn't quite seem right. "Oh, for all that's holy..." she groaned as she brushed the carpet with her free hand, realigning the errant shard of the sigil. As soon as the lines connected, the dull glow of energy flashed to a brilliant crimson, dazzling her and forcing her back. Her stance had her fall onto the sigil. She screamed in horror; the one thing she had learned was to never touch an active sigil, but here she was reclining on one! She could feel its eldritch touch crawl over her body, grasping greedily at her soul. She couldn't move! Her panic mounted as the glow enveloped her body...

She awoke with a gasp, sitting upright all at once. She looked herself over, the memory of that nightmare still grabbing her full attention. No scars of horrific power marred her body, no terrible whispers clouded her mind. Three full minutes of panicked inspection helped her relax as she dared to stand again. The sigil was gone now, as though it had never existed. She shook her head as she looked out of the window. Everything seemed normal, and yet... she rubbed her eye, then the window. Something seemed a little off. She grunted as she got dressed again, heading through to the bathroom. She grabbed her toothbrush and got to work, muttering through the pasty mixture.

"Some kinda stupid dream..." she huffed, holding her hair behind her head with one hand and spitting into the sink. A hint of blood followed the paste out; she grinned sarcastically as she washed the brush of any trace, the sink right behind. "Stupid gums."

"I wouldn't blame them." A voice echoed in her head. She cried out and looked around, confused.

"Who's there?" she demanded, clenching her fists. If she needed to defend herself, she could use the basic magics she had to her name... however, the voice didn't reply and she was alone again. She frowned and returned to the sink, reaching for the cabinet above the sink. She froze when she saw herself; small stubs of horns had formed just beneath her fringe. She was no longer human...!