It was dark. The darkness of the night wrapped around me, like a light sheet on a cool day. A chill breeze wafted over me, goosebumps rising on the exposed skin of my arms and legs. The silence was broken only by leaves crunching beneath my feet, glass bottles colliding in my leather bag and the distant howl of dogs who had been awoken when I escaped and were now too agitated to just... shut up. Everything was too loud. Any bush rustling to my side or twig snapping above me was the enemy. I couldn't afford to be caught, not now.
Because I was to be executed tomorrow for witchcraft.
Me? Practising witchcraft? It was laughable at best. Yet my thirst for knowledge and curiosity had led me to books of spells and potions. Spirits and demons. Miraculous feats of strength. Of course, I wasn't going to try any spells or potions out. As much as magic intrigued me, as much as I wanted to know whether it would work or not, I knew I couldn't. After all, I had been to the burnings of countless other young women just like me, some guilty, others innocent.
Yet that didn't stop whoever saw me reading the books from dobbing me in to the authorities. it didn't stop me being dragged out from my house, half by my hair and half by my neck, and thrown into a dingy old cell. It didn't stop the chill of the uneven stone bricks from seeping into my bones as I wept.
Escaping that cell had been easier than expected. As old as it was, the bars were only rusty enough to scrape my hands when I tugged at them. However, the guard on duty was stupid enough to fall asleep right in front of the bars, the keys tantalisingly close. I had waited, waited for the man's breathing to steady and for his head to roll forward. Then, as quietly and slowly as I could, I had taken the keys and escaped.
I knew as I did there was no going back. So, I decided that if I was to be seen guilty of witchcraft, I might as well commit the crime. Adding stealing onto my list of misdeeds, I had collected the things necessary to summon a demon. 3 blood red candles courtesy of Josef the candlemaker. A bag of salt from the merchant passing through. Red ink and parchment from the old librarian Favian. Various glass vials and bottles of food, water and other substances.
And finally, the red coat of Lord Governal.
My skirt tangled around my legs, low branches and twigs snagging at the loose cloth. The coat was tucked under my arm. Until the ritual was completed, I would not let it be torn.I heard a loud shout carry across the wind, even more dogs howling now. I cursed underneath my breath.
Skidding to a stop, I hurriedly made a triangle out of salt, and set up the candles at each point. As quickly as I could, I drew the sigil on the parchment, biting my lip until the metallic taste of blood filled my mouth. I gripped a stick I had found at the foot of a redwood tree. It wasn't a wand, but it would have to do. Placing the parchment in the triangle, I used the remaining salt to create a circle and stood in it, gripping the wand tightly. The candles flickered in the breeze, casting dancing shadows on the surrounding trees. Holding my wand in my mouth, I slipped the red coat on.
I found hear alarms from the village from where I was, dogs barking madly. Calming my nerves, I pointed the wand towards the sigil and spoke loudly and clearly.
"Ayer avage aloren Asmoday aken. Ayer avage aloren Asmoday aken. Ayer avage aloren Asmoday aken."
Ignoring the various other noises disturbing the otherwise quiet night, I repeated the chant again and again.
" Ayer avage aloren Asmoday aken. Ayer avage aloren Asmoday aken. Ayer avage aloren Asmoday aken."
One of the candles almost flicked out, prompting me to chant a little quicker.
" Ayer avage aloren Asmoday aken. Ayer avage aloren Asmoday aken. Ayer avage aloren Asmoday aken."
The barking seemed to be getting louder, but unfortunately for the other people, it was already too late though, the flames dancing higher.
"Ayer avage alone Asmoday aken!" I finished chanting, the night seeming to instantly fall quiet.And then the magic triangle filled with smoke that billowed outwards and settled on the ground. In the triangle, the smoke was rolling off a man.
His features were feminine, his oval face fitted with round lips and almond-shaped gold eyes. Dark brown hair fell just over his eyes and moved with the breeze. He was tall and I had to crane my neck to look up at him.
"So." His voice was rich and smooth, disturbing the silence once again. "Let me guess. You want me to save you from death."
"I- uh..." I fumbled for my words, before regaining my edge. "I want to start a life away from here were I am protected. I want to use witchcraft without being arrested or killed."
"And what makes you think I can do that?" he raised an eyebrow, looking a little amused. "I'm Asmodeus, the demon of lust. Most people in your situation call on anyone but me."
I grew flustered. "You can grant invincibility. It's not that far to stretch it to safety."
"You know. You're probably the smartest person who'd ever summoned me." He grinned, his canines pointed. "Not that it means much, because nobody summons me."
The barking and yelling started back up again, a lot closer now. I didn't break and turn, continuing to look at Asmodeus and point my wand at him.
"Well," I tried to keep the panic from leaking into my voice, but it was painfully obvious I was tense, "am I wrong?"
"Nope. I have one request in return," he held up a finger. He had hands like a pianist, something I unintentionally took notice of, "let me travel with you."
That caught be off guard, my mouth parting a little. "Travel with me?"
"Yes, that's my condition." Asmodeus took notice of my indecisiveness, quickly providing more reasoning. "You're the first person to summon me in maybe two hundred years. I want to get out a little. Besides."
The dogs broke through the tree line, a couple guards following behind them. "You don't have the time to over analyse my condition."
"Fine!" I didn't look behind me, to where I knew the enemy was.
"Stop her!" A guard roared, lunging towards me.
"I accept your term!"
Asmodeus grinned, disappearing from the triangle before reappearing behind me. I turned, my hair whipping around my face.
The guard who was amount to impale me had been thrown back into a tree, his sword soon following and impaling him. The dogs around us barked like mad, nipping at my ankles.The other guards hesitated before charging towards us but soon met similar fates when Asmodeus flicked his hand. Now only surrounded by the barking dogs, Asmodeus bent down and started to pat them. One by one, their anger turned to excitement and they all crowded around the demon to get pat.
I stared at him dumbfounded. "How-"
"-was I able to get out of the triangle?" he smirked at me. "When doing rituals, you should take your time and make sure the salt's connected. Not all demons are as nice as me."
I felt my face flush again. "Well I was a little preoccupied with you know, not getting caught."
Asmodeus raised an eyebrow before turning his attention to the parchment. "You should pick that up."
"Oh- yeah..." I hurriedly scrambled down, carefully rolling up the parchment and slipping it into my leather bag.
Asmodeus whistled, and the dogs turned and bounded back towards the village. He held out his hand to me, a small grin on his face. "Let's travel."
"Yeah." I nodded, hesitating slightly before taking his hand. "Sounds good."
