Her eyes bored into the markings drawn on the ground before her, the dark red contrasting the polished white tiles. Checking every line, she smiled as she finished the last rune. The woman stood and admired her work, perfection gained from practice. It was almost an exact replica of the one within the book.
She repeats the words, excitement bubbling in her chest. She reaches for the knife next to her and slices her palm, chanting in a language long forgotten. Blood fills her palm and she lets it drip all around the circle
Giggling, the woman turns to the dead animal next to her, still bleeding from the wound in its neck. As the light from the pentagram behind her fill the room, she takes the knife and slices into the chest of the dead goat. Reaching into its chest, she rips apart its ribcage, finally reaching the goat's heart. She sets it gently into the middle of the pentagram. After careful consideration, she sliced again into the stomach of the animal and reaches for its remaining organs.
After all, He would be hungry.
As the candles flickered and extinguished, the floor within the pentagram blurs, a portal between the living world and the Other. With a resounding CRACK, a shadowy claw materializes. It drags itself out from the portal with its crooked arms, long nails scraping against the wooden floor. The misshapen form was trapped so long as the circle remains intact. As the creature took in his surroundings, its fogged eyes met with the woman. She immediately averts her eyes to the floor, maintaining respect, even though her curiosity and excitement begged her to look at Him, after all her painstaking attempts finally worked.
She smiles and gathers the goats innards, happily telling the creature to eat. Ignoring the mess that it would leave, she slides the organs into the circle.
It skids into the circle and stops in front of the creature's snapping jaws.
Her face splits into a grin as she watches the creature tear into her offerings. He was finally here. She thinks of how her sadness and years of loneliness would finally dissipate as she can finally spend time with Him.
Him, who she would keep, and love, and care for... until he loved her, forever and ever.
The woman fails to notice her mistake, too caught up in her foolish fantasies.
However, the demon does.
Shaking its head after the last bit of meat was gone, He steps out of the circle and grins at her, baring his sharp, bloodied maw.
Her smile drops and her eyes widen in horror as He stoops in front of her, still grinning like the cheshire cat. She drops the book on the floor with a loud thud and steps back. As the candles rekindle once more, the flames grow, higher and higher until the demon's fogged eyes become piercing from their reflection. With his claws reaching for her, the thing finally spoke
"Oh, how stupid humans are..."
