Walking With Witches // Book One of 'The Hunteress' series

Chapter Five: Practical Demon Summoning

Madame Moors regarded her closet, brows creased and mouth set in a grim line, she selected a robe of red silk and golden bangles.
Sounds echoed from the old houses basement as Persephone walked down the creaking old steps.
"My great lady," she said into the large mirror on the wall, " It is almost time."
A female voice answered, with words husky from overused vocal chords; "Soon then?"
Persephone then replied, her voice was trembling as though she was frightened by what lay on the other side of the glass; "Yes," she stopped "quite soon my lady."
The 'Great Lady' purred back with a silver- tounged note "Lovely."
The Great Lady appeared in the looking glass. She was beautiful in the way no one human ever is.
Long red waves of hair poured down the back of her dress of  dark blue silk.
Her green eyes filled with her anger, even the full length mirror could not capture her in all her glory.
"And what of the girls." she asked with honey sweetness.
"I will deal with them, my lady." Madame Moors vowed, fear lacing every syllable.
"And how go your efforts to summon me?" The lady pondered.
" 'Tis difficult, my lady." Persephone said "but we shall be successful."
"You shall, or it shall be your head that rolls in the dust of my home." The sweetness was gone from the lady's tone.
"Of course my lady." she whimpered.

Liza's dreams had been awful. The hellish dimension she had been trusted into had felt so, so real and so, so horrible.
Liza had realized after, when she was sitting and sweating in Sam's car/bedroom, that she and Sam had just become the victims of a pretty nasty hex.
Well that was unpleasant she thought, a grim smile gracing her features.
She combed her hair out with her fingers, trying ( and failing.) to smooth out her skirt and blouse.
Shit, we have school don't we?!
Sam woke to the taste of her own blood in her mouth. She probed the inside of her cheek with her tongue, she must have bitten it during her nightmare.
Sam shuddered remembering the horrors she had been forced to relive.
"Someone cursed us, you know." Liza said sullenly, " I saw an image of Hell." she grimaced,            " What horrors were you forced to endure, Sammy darling?"
"My Mother." Sam rumbled like a thunderstorm, " I saw her death."
Liza shivered. " Persephone was probably trying to get to us."
Samantha smiled "She didn't succeed."
Sam hurriedly put on fresh clothes and delicately applied pink lipstick to her small mouth.
Liza took a purse out and began to do her make up; puckering and slathering on a few coats of orange-red balm.
Samantha turned the keys to the Mustang and the old car jolted forward.
Off to school we go Samantha thought grimly.

The sisters of Elmswood were frantically dashing around the manor house.
Collecting information and ingredients from the multiple libraries and storage rooms.
Atropa belladonna, star anise, and fresh wolfs-bane all deposited in front of the looking glass in the basement.
Madame Moors was chanting and drawing symbols in a neat circle on the cold, stone floor.
The sisters were attempting to summon a very powerful demoness called 'The Great Lady' , ' The Beautiful One.' or 'The Mistress.'  was thought to be terribly strong and clever.
Not a type of Incubi or Succubi, but rather something else entirely. Something older and more cunning.
The girls entered the school on Monday looking like Death, (and not in a good way!)
Samantha gave Liza a look of equal parts god help us and yay! School is better than your coven killing us all!
Sam's first class of the day was Math. She sighed as she scribbled equations into her workbook.
Liza had Art first. She used the paint to draw sygils of happiness, luck, and protection on her purse.
Morning classes flew by fast, and Samantha was relieved when the break bell rang.
Liza's high-heeled boots clopped across the floor to the Chem lab, there was something that she needed to try.
She plucked packets full of herbs for concealment, masking , and safety out of her purse and spread them out over one of the lab tables.
She pulled a small book out of her bag, this better work! She flipped through the tome incredibly easily, as if she knew exactly what she was looking for.
Liza came to a chapter that read simply demonologie she blew dust off the page and began to pour over it.
Sam's break was taken up by going out to her Mustang and getting  all of her anti-demon tools out and polishing them to a high shine. The tools were several ceremonial daggers, a bottle of black cursing salt, and many different types of hunters guides.
Liza rifled through her thick stack of grimores marking pages in a strange pattern only she seemed to see.

Madame Persephone's chanting grew louder and louder to the point where it became less of a chant and more of a rhythmic cry. The sisters were whisper-chanting along side her.
They pooled wine the colour of blood in ritual bowls, and surmounted bright blue candles on tall, indigo candlesticks. The wicks burned an unflickering red.
'The lady shall come' the room seemed to promise as the women's chants reached a crescendo.