Drawn to the Sea

Chapter 19: Hell

Douglass

I clutched the note in my hand, to tightly that my fingers ripped the thick paper. I set it back on the table, an icy calm settling over me. The first time it happened, I didn't know what to do. I knew where he'd taken Alen, the healer, but I didn't know how to get there. It ended up taking me weeks to find the spell I needed to open a portal and get to him. By that time, Alen had been through so much that killing him would've been mercy.  That's exactly what Max did, after many, many hours of making me watch when he did to him.

This time, though, I already knew what spell I needed. I stalked over to my bookshelf, grabbing the book I needed immediately, and flipping it open to the page I'd marked all those years ago. I gathered what I needed for the spell, then grabbed my wand. I strapped my knife to my belt, then shoved on my old travel boots for when I went on land.

Then, I began the spell.

I arranged sea-salt in a pentagram, then drew the symbols I needed around the outer edge of the circle. I chanted a line of spell words in the old language, and the salt started to glow blue.

I stood up, watching as the center of the star opened and a demon materialized. He looked at the pentagram, then at me. "Why do you summon me, mortal?"

"Not a mortal, dickhead."

"You cannot fathom the power I hold."

"Actually, I can." I stared him down, then slowly moved my foot forward and broke the circle.

He grinned with his sharp teeth. "Apparently not, if you just freed me."

I bared my teeth right back. "Come and get me."

He lunged, growling. I dodged, sending him slamming into the dining table. He grunted, getting up out of the now broken table's splintered surface. He tried to lunge, but I lunged first. Using all of the strength I had, I drove the sharp tip of my wand through his wrist and into the wall, keeping him pinned.

He howled with pain, trying to yank his wrist free. I raised my knife and pointed it at his throat. "Keep moving and I blow your head off."

He stopped, glaring at me angrily. I popped the lid off of a vail, then brought it to his wrist. It collected the blood quickly. I drew it away when it was full, yanking my wand out of his wall. He tried to move his wrist, but it stayed pinned to the wall. I rolled my eyes as he tried again, stepping back to where I'd drawn the pentagram.

"I used a spell, dumbass. You can't move unless I let you."

He shouted. "Hey! Free me!"

I stared at him blankly. "No."

"You summoned me. I did nothing to you!"

I put the salt back in its place, re-finishing the pentagram. "I don't care. One of your kind pissed me off. So I'm using you to get to him. Now shut up before I burn your tongue off."

He clamped his mouth shut.

I stepped into the middle of the pentagram, then raised the vail of black blood. I recited the incantation I'd memorized from the last time, then smashed the vail against the floor. The salt absorbed the blood, then glowed and a portal opened in front of me.

I took a deep breath, then stepped through the portal. When I emerged on the other side, my glamour had faded off, leaving my scales and scars visible--you could hide nothing in hell. It was one of the few places where true forms were the only forms you could wear.

Even if it wasn't, I would've taken it off. The irregular temperatures went from searing hot to blistering cold within seconds of each other, which meant humans had a hard time adjusting. My scales kept my body temperature regulated.