Drip.
Drip.
Drip drip.
The sound of a leaking tap punctuated the fog lingering in Eddie’s mind and she slowly blinked herself awake. The room was dark now, lit only by the orange streetlight coming in through her blinds. Her shoulder ached badly.
Eddie tried to recall what had happened, pieces of memory surfacing to the forefront of her mind slowly and then diving away again. Daisy’s lifeless body, the funeral in the rain, using magic to revive her - except it hadn’t worked, so she asked the book for help…and then there were flames, unfamiliar dark ones that burned through her blood on the floor…
She sat up quickly, staring at the place she had placed a pentagram hours earlier.
She hadn’t imagined it.
Sitting in the centre was a large figure, hidden by shadows.
His head was bowed and he rested his elbows on his knees, absentmindedly picking his nails with the dagger he had brandished at her earlier. Light glinted off the blade as he turned it, revealing an intricate handle made from carved bone. Eddie watched in silence, flexing her fingers and toes to wake herself up further and reconnect with her body before she would inevitably have to deal with the consequences of this spell. She needed to come up with a plan.
Unfortunately he seemed to notice her movement and the man’s head raised slowly as he studied her from across the room. Even in the low light Eddie could tell he was painfully beautiful, with high cheekbones and thick dark hair falling across blue eyes that seemed to give off a faint light.
“You’re awake.”
His low voice broke the silence. She tried to answer but her mouth was too dry and her reply came out in a croak.
“Um, yeah.” She cleared her throat. “Sorry to be rude, but who are you?”
He didn’t respond other than to glare at her which unnerved Eddie further.
She got to her feet, dusting off her pyjama shorts, before being hit with another wave of dizziness. Groaning, she grabbed hold of the kitchen counter and bent over, trying to get her head between her knees so she wouldn’t faint again.
“Do you have any food?”
Couldn’t he see she was clearly dealing with something here? The second thing he had said to her and it was to point out her poor hosting skills. This stranger was really starting to get on her nerves.
Flinging an arm out she waved a hand around the counter top until she found the fruit bowl, then grabbed a banana and threw it in the direction of his voice. A second later she heard the distinct sounds of the fruit bouncing off him and landing on the floor. Even through her queasiness she was impressed at her aim. Not a bad throw.
“I meant for you.” He grit out. “You need to replenish your energy after you used it all summoning me here. Eating will speed up your healing.”
Oh, right.
Eddie righted herself, grabbed an apple and bit into it. Flavour exploded in her mouth. She had never tasted anything so sweet and delicious, its juices burst outwards and trickled down her chin as she devoured it. By the time she had finished, the sickness had cleared and she felt almost back to normal. She wiped her face and hands then grabbed some crisps from the cupboard for good measure, pouring them into a bowl.
She flicked on the lights and turned to face the stranger, who was no longer sitting. He stood tall, larger than life. He was far too alien for this small room with her collection of romance books lining the shelves, brightly coloured scatter cushions and under-watered houseplants. She needed to make some headway with him so she could get back to the task at hand. She would not be beaten by a minor setback. Despite his unblinking stare, she tried a friendly approach.
“Thanks, I didn’t know what was wrong with me. Do you think that’s why I passed out?”
“Obviously. Not overextending your magical capabilities is pretty basic, I would have thought it’s the first thing you’re taught, no? You could have ended up in a coma or died attempting a spell like this. It was stupid to even try it.”
“I’ve had an unusual introduction to magic.” She muttered, picking at the crisps. She preferred him when he was silently ignoring her. Being lectured by a haughty know-it-all brought back the all to familiar feelings of inadequacy she’d had when she was dating Josh. He used to point out her flaws too and remind her patronisingly that she was lucky to have him to save her from herself. If she was stupid, it was only for putting up with him for so long. “So who are you?” She asked, moving closer until she was stood only a couple of feet from him.
“Like you don’t already know.” He was back to glaring at her.
“I don’t, that’s why I asked.”
“I highly doubt that, witch.” He said the last word with such vehemence that she actually flinched. “You spelled my name in runes around this ring and used my blood for the ritual. Not to mention the pentagram -” he gestured to the five-pointed star at his feet, ”- which is used to summon demons. Do not forget that I lived with a witch for half a century so I know all about the rules for your kind of magic. Release me. As you well know summoning and trapping a demon was outlawed in the peace treaty between our peoples.” He finished his speech and stood waiting.
“I can’t.”
Faster than she had time to register, he drove the dagger towards her eye. The blade flashed with reflected light as it made its way through the air with the full force of his fury behind it. She realised his intention too late, watching in horror as the dagger gathered momentum, knowing there was no way she could react fast enough to move out of it’s deadly path.
Then… it stopped.
The dagger was caught in an invisible barrier. He roared with frustration, pushing against the hilt with both hands, but it didn’t budge. She glanced down, seeing the black salt circle directly underneath the weapon. Interesting.
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Eddie did not want him to see how much he had spooked her. Despite her racing pulse, she squared her shoulders and looked up at him as he towered over her, chest heaving.
“Well even if I knew how to, I’m definitely not letting you out now.”
Expecting more violence, she was surprised when his shoulders slumped and he leaned against the barrier. He slipped the dagger into an inside pocket of his leather jacket and rubbed a hand down his face.
“I can’t believe this is happening again.”
Why did she suddenly feel sorry for him? A little voice of reason whispered in her head that if she’d been whisked away from her home and confined to a small circle, she’d probably have the same reaction. Eddie looked towards the spellbook open on the floor near the pentagram and decided to apologise. It was her fault he was here after all.
“Look, I really am sorry, summoning you was a mistake. I’m new to this, I only found out magic existed yesterday. You’re actually the only other person I’ve met who knows about it.”
He didn’t respond, but he had followed her gaze and his focus was fixed on the book. A crease had formed between his brows. Edina swapped her crisps for the spellbook and carried on.
“I was given this yesterday, my friend bought it for me at a car boot sale. I tried out a few spells and then I asked it to help me bring someone back. It listens to me you see, but it must have misunderstood. It gave me the wrong spell.” She looked down at the page she had so desperately followed hours earlier, her hope fading fast. Daisy could be gone forever now and she had just wasted her evening on a wild goose chase. This was not going to plan at all. Tears burned in her eyes and she blinked rapidly trying to get them to clear.
“Bring someone back how exactly? Were you trying to open a portal?”
“Back from the dead.” She sighed. “I didn’t even get to say goodbye to her.”
“You’ve been a witch all of two days and you thought you’d dip your toe in the necromancy pool? Most wait until they’ve at least mastered the basics before they try to play God.”
Her head snapped up at his haughty tone.
Fuck him, and fuck this.
“Look arsehole, I don’t want you here. I didn’t know it was you I was summoning and trust me, if I had known, I wouldn’t have done it. I really don’t need you making me feel worse than I already do.”
For a second time that night, he surprised her.
“You’re right, that was rude of me and I apologise." He looked her over. "I’m amazed you managed to bring me here with such little experience. Only an incredibly powerful witch could summon the Prince of Demons.”
“Thank you.” She replied automatically, then the rest of his words caught up with her. “Wait, did you say the Prince of Demons?”
He nodded solemnly, back to contemplating the book in her hands. “That is the official title, although most people call me Nero.” When she didn't say anything he glanced up at her shocked expression and actually winked at her. Eddie’s mouth popped open and he laughed. Her face heated.
“My name’s Edina, Edina Pendle. But most people call me Eddie.”
“Nice to meet you Edina.”
Her heart was racing again, but not out of fear. He was handsome before but when he wasn’t trying to kill her, he was heartbreakingly beautiful. When all this was over she was going to have a good long word with herself about appropriate crushes.
“Help me out here. Explain how you didn’t know who you were summoning when you had to read through the spell in order to execute it?”
“Because, I don’t speak whatever language that is.” She waved at the open pages.
“So you just said a bunch of words with no idea what they meant in the vague hope it would bring your friend back from the dead?”
She groaned, when he put it like that, it sounded so absurd. “That sounds about right.” He watched her, eyebrow raised. “I was worried if I thought too hard about this, I’d talk myself out of it. It never occurred to me that the spell would be for something like this. I mean, why would anyone create a spell that summoned and trapped the Prince of Demons if it’s outlawed, it doesn’t make any sense!”
“Why indeed. Although it would make more sense if you knew the previous owner of that book.”
She stared at him in shock. “You knew the witch this belongs to?”
“Unfortunately.” He eyed the book unhappily. His clipped tone conveyed that he did not want to speak anymore on this subject. “At any rate the book belongs to you now. Only you can open it.”
She asked him something that had been bothering her ever since she first realised how special it was. “Do you she will come looking for it?”
“To be honest, I’m not sure how you came to have it in the first place. Cassi-” He cut himself off, clearing his throat, “She does not let things go easily.”
He scrutinised her then, electric blue eyes sweeping over her as if she was a puzzle to be solved. A crease formed between his eyebrows as he stared. Eddie felt very self-conscious in her pyjama shorts, hot-dog top and fluffy slippers. She crossed her arms over herself and tried not to fidget.
“What?”
After some deliberation, he nodded to himself and at last he spoke.
“Alright witch. Perhaps we can come to an agreement. I will help you, in exchange for something you can give me. I want to make it clear that I cannot bring anyone back from the dead. Only one being can do that and He is busy ruling over the Otherworld.”
She nodded, waiting.
“I can bring you to visit your friend’s soul in the Otherworld. You can spend some time with her, say goodbye and then I’ll bring you back. In exchange I ask that you give me the spell that summoned me here and bound me to you. Rip it from the book.”
“You want the spell? Why? You can’t summon yourself.”
He looked at her like she was an idiot. “So that no one else can use it.”
“Oh, yes, of course.” His offer seemed like the best she was going to get. There was no way she would be attempting any more revival spells after this. At least she would be able to see Daisy one last time. “Okay then. Deal.”
She held out her hand, crossing the boundary line of the spell.
He sighed. “Do you want to think about it? I am talking about taking you to the Otherworld. To the demon realm of another plane of existence. Witches are hated there and if anyone finds out what you are, your life will be in danger. It is not without risk.”
“Nope. I’m good. Let’s go.”
“Witch-”
“Eddie.”
“Fine, Eddie, do you usually blindly rush into everything without a single thought about the consequences?”
“Knowing the risks won’t make me change my mind.”
He sighed, resigned, and rubbed the bridge of his nose between his finger and thumb. “In that case, we have a deal.” He took her outstretched palm and shook it once before letting go quickly. “Get ready to leave. Do you have anything of hers? We’ll need it to find her soul.”
She wasn’t sure if he was going to change his mind, so she grabbed the faded collar from the table, stuffing it into a rucksack along with the spellbook. Then ran to the hallway to put on her denim jacket. She wasn’t sure if it would be hot or cold in the Otherworld but judging by the attire worn by the Demon it wasn’t too dissimilar from here. She grabbed some walking socks from the drawer in the hallway and shoved her feet into the closest pair of boots, which happened to be a pair of tasselled cowboy boots she’d worn to a line dancing night with Pippa. Clattering back into the living room she swung the backpack over her shoulder, barely missing the monstera plant. She used one last spell to place Daisy back in her grave, then shut the door behind her and locked it.
“Ready.”
“You’ll need to break the spell holding me here, I can’t portal us out whilst trapped.”
“Oh right, how do I do that?”
He waved a large hand at the floor, the corner of his mouth twitching into the hint of a teasing smile. “Just make a gap in the salt circle. No need for anymore spellwork tonight.”
She nudged the salt with her foot, breaking the continuous line and he stepped forwards so they were now so close she could feel the heat radiating off him. She looked up and they stood for a moment, watching each other. Offering his elbow, he broke the silence first.
“Let’s go.”
As soon as she took it, dark flames spread from their position across the floor to the French doors, curling up and around the lintel until they were completely obscured with black flickering shadows. He reached through them turning the handle and pushed the door open, to reveal a dark void. There was no light, no sound, no wind from the world beyond.
Eddie could hear her heartbeat in her ears. A slither of doubt worked its way in, reminding her that she had only just met this man and he had already tried to kill her. Did she really trust him? Before she could voice these thoughts though, he tugged her forward through the portal.
“This way, witch. Take a deep breath.”