Ava had one hell of a day. Same could be said for me, but at least I wasn’t on edge from sun up til sun down. From the moment she left my side, Ava had been fabricating a tale of lies. The members of her church asked her questions, and stacked another layer of questions on top of those questions to try and catch her slipping up. Unfortunately, the sweet nun from the infirmary couldn’t keep up with the interrogating, and she was caught in a lie. From there, the dominoes began to fall, and Father Redfield and Father Wavers realized that Mother Fitzgerald was working for the enemy.

She grabbed the sacred Enochian spell book and ran. There was no way they were going to teach her a damn thing if they suspected she was working for demons. I was a tad bit nervous with the spell book being in my apartment because there could be a big chance that it was being tracked somehow. I doubt they’d leave a book like that laying around without insurance. But desperate times called for desperate measures. She knew how important that extraction spell was to me for Sasha, so she took that risk.

“I tried memorizing it or writing it down,” she whispered, huddled over the hot cup of tea I made her as she sat on the living room couch. “But, it was too much to consider in short notice.”

“You did great, Ava. Don’t worry about it. I owe you the biggest favor for doing this.”

“I just… need you to guarantee my safety from that church,” she whimpered, holding back her tears.

“I will. I’m sorry I couldn’t pick up your phone call sooner. I was in the middle of catching Persallus.”

“It’s okay. I figured you were really busy.”

“I added Lumi’s contact info on your phone, so something like this won’t happen again.”

“Speaking of your girls, where are they?”

“Tying up Persallus somewhere safe.”

“Then, I better get to reciting this spell.”

“You can read Enochian?”

“A little. The alphabet isn’t exactly a secret.” She smiled. “I guess someone in heaven decided it was a good idea to share it online.”

I got another buzz, and noticed it was Lumi sending me a text. “Odell Street, the old Riverside Manor Apartment complex,” I read to myself before looking up to Ava. “They have Persallus. It’s time to extract her from Sasha.”

“Do you have a big mason jar?”

“I do, currently filled with about a half cup of cornflakes. I can dump it out.”

“We’ll need it to contain Persallus.”

“And Ash, I’m assuming.”

“Ash?”

“Long story. Let’s just say there might be two demons inside Sasha right now.”

“From what I understood, you wanted to trap this demon, right? That spell is a requirement for harvesting demonic souls for the darkness. There’s a spell that eradicates demonic spirits in here, in the incident that an angel is low on power and needs an immediate execution. We take it a step further by vanquishing them permanently. The only requirement is someone pure of heart.”

“Honestly, that’s better than our original plan. But, you don’t seem too sure you can do it.”

She sulked. “Well, I’m not exactly sure how pure I am for lusting over a demon. Or for, well, stealing this book. At least with the trap spell, anyone from the Holy Order can do it.”

“I believe in you, Ava. Besides, you’re all we have right now.”

She nodded. “I will try my very best, Isaac.”

When we reached the apartment complex, the front door was unlocked. I ushered Ava in, noticing Trista waiting by the side steps.

“Hey, you made it,” she beamed, addressing Ava. “For a second there, I thought you were a goner.”

“Hi Trista!”

“Where’s Persallus?” I asked her.

“In the basement. Come on. I’ll show you.”

Trista lead us down the rickety steps past the cobwebs and down the dusty railing to a desolate sub floor fit for a torture dungeon. In the middle of it was Sasha’s body curled up in the fetal position. Her hands were chained behind her, the links bolted to the cement floor. It was dark, the light bulb blown out, but I could still make out her silhouette from the moonlight teaming through the narrow slit windows.

She seemed out of it, her shallow panting and the weak expression on her face telling me that she wasn’t going anywhere.

“Sugar bun!” Lumi chirped, walking in from the east corner of the basement. Ruby followed her, making me wonder where Wren was.

“She’s out back, playing look out,” Trista said, realizing I was looking around for her.

“I should be out there, too,” Ruby said, her eyes on the book in Ava’s arms. “Looks like our priestess has something that doesn’t belong to her.”

“She’s borrowing it.”

“Oh Isaac!” Lumi cried, tackling me with a hug. “You got me all worried! Your bloodlust is low!”

I smiled, brushing Lumi’s bangs away from her eyes. “I’m fine.”

“I’ll be out front if you need me,” Ruby said, volunteering to cover the perimeter. “As always, call me if you need me, sexy.”

“Be careful, Ruby,” I said as she walked up the steps, blowing me a kiss.

“Try not to miss me.”

“Um, I found it,” Ava said, cracking the book open in the middle. “It’s a few lines, but we might have a problem…”

“What is it?” Trista asked.

“The bottom bit of the page is torn.”

Trista scrunched her face. “So you can’t recite the full spell…”

“Wait, we can’t just leave Sasha here! Is there a close alternative?” I asked.

“From what I can tell in the index, there is one. It says there’s an adverse effect, but the ink is smudged. I can’t read what it is.”

“Shit, we can’t win…” I grunted.

“Well, I think this is better than anything.”

Trista scratched her chin. “What about the adverse effect? Is it pertaining to the vessel?”

“I believe so.”

I narrowed my eyes on Ava. “It’s a book for angels, right? Casting out demons? If there’s an adverse effect, it can’t be that bad.”

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

“But Isaac—”

“I say we still do it.”

“Isaac, whatever happens to Sasha will be on your head,” Trista said.

“What other choice do we have?” Lumi emphasized. “I agree with sugar bun. The other alternative is keeping her chained.”

I turned to Lumi. “No, the alternative is trapping them.”

“I thought that’s what we were doing?”

“No, Ava found a spell that could eradicate them for good.”

“Oh, if that’s the case, then let’s hold out for—”

“No,” I said, cutting Trista off. “This spell will ensure without a doubt that Sasha will be safe.”

“That’s assuming she’ll come out of this all right. I know you’re desperate Isaac, but you might not like what you get.”

“I asked Ava for a trap spell. That way Persallus can’t find Sasha. However, Persallus would still be alive. Now we have a bigger problem—Ash might be inside her. We weren’t banking on that but Ava found something better than a trap spell to solve both problems. I don’t think passing this up is an option.”

“You heard sugar bun, Ava!” Lumi beamed. “Let’s do it!”

Trista looked over to Sasha conflicted. I placed my hand on her shoulder and she looked up to me.

“Have faith, Trista. I’m sure whatever effects there are won’t be detrimental to Sasha. Adverse means unfavorable. It doesn’t necessarily mean deadly.”

“I should have absorbed you…” Persallus croaked, the crowd turning their heads down to her. “But I was afraid my body couldn’t take it. You are of royal blood after all. You could have killed me from the inside out.”

“It’s too late for regrets,” I taunted her.

“Don’t worry, I left you a parting gift. I’ve made my mark on you, and even though I’m done, I will never be forgotten.”

“What the heck does that mean?!” Lumi retorted. “I swear, if you did something to my sugar bun, I’ll—”

“She’s just trying to spook me,” I said. “She knows her time is up, and the thought of leaving me at peace scares the shit out of her. With you gone, Sasha will be safe. And so will my mom. You did me a favor by gobbling up your boyfriend.”

“Boyfriend?” Lumi recited, raising a brow up.

“Without the Bonnie and Clyde duo, my mom will finally be able to live again.”

“Any last words, psycho?” Trista taunted.

Persallus smiled weakly. “You’ll see in nine months…”

Nine months?

What the hell was that supposed to mean?

“Place the jar on the floor, Isaac,” Ava instructed. “I need to prep it for containment.”

I did as she said and then everyone took a step back.

“Pa la, ca sugo ma taga es nu go,” Ava continued to recite. She read the same line over and over again with one hand stretched out over the large mason jar until it started to radiate a glowing gold light. “It is ready.”

“I’m gonna take another couple steps back, you know, just in case this spell has a wide trajectory,” Trista jested.

Ava smiled. “Don’t worry. It only affects demons containing a vessel.” She recited the spell, Persallus taking her impending death easily. She had that same weak smile on her face as her labored breaths continued to emit soft wheezing noises through her chapped lips. Her eyes were glued on me the entire time, until her body locked up, her mouth opening wide at the end of Ava’s spell.

Her body stretched out like a plank board, her scream like a banshee calling out into the looming void. The forced extraction spell expelled black mixed smoke from her mouth and into the open Mason jar. Just like Ash, she was thrashing around like she was experiencing a violent seizure. Lumi hid behind me as we all watched the jar fill up—one a pitch black smoke, and the other a reddish dark gray. Ava sealed the jar up immediately, leaving Sasha unconscious, but breathing.

I felt the biggest burden lift off my fucking shoulders just now…

“Huh, so Ash really is in there as well,” Trista observed as she leaned over and inspected the enchanted container. “I’m guessing the darker one is Ash. A demon of fate has a different shade to its spiritual form.”

“Holy cow, I can’t believe it…” Lumi muttered to herself. “We did it… WHOO!! We did it!”

“Too early to celebrate, we still need to vanquish these demons,” Trista said, but when I looked over to Ava, she seemed tapped out.

“Hey, Ava, you all right?”

“Yeah, I’m… just a little light headed. That spell took a lot out of me. It was meant for one extraction, not two.”

“The Enochian spell book is meant to be used by angels who have celestial angelic power,” Trista said, staring at Ava. “You aren’t an angel, which means that not only did you need to be pure, but you also needed your life force to compensate, am I right?”

“What?!” I shook.

“It’s okay, Isaac. I wanted to help. This is nothing compared to fighting the darkness.”

“If it ever comes to that!”

“It’s a very small percentage. My years weren’t shorted by much at all. It’s just that now, I need a supplement for the power.”

“Then use me,” I volunteered.

“Master!” Lumi cried. “You’re already at 20%!”

“I’ll feed later. I need to do this. For my mom, and for Sasha.”

“I doubt he’d need much.” Ava positioned herself behind me as I stood behind the jar. “The spell is doing most of the heavy lifting. I need you to pick up the jar and channel as much heat as you can safely for at least five seconds. At a distance I will connect my essence to yours, using you as the medium for energy. The flames will concentrate inside, terminating the demons once and for all.”

“Oh god, another panic attack,” Lumi whimpered. “My sugar bun is going to be a battery for an angelic spell untested for demons!”

“The battery doesn’t need to be pure, just the caster,” Ava reassured her.

“Okay, Ava. I trust you. Just… be careful with our boyfriend.”

“Don’t worry, I will. Once this is over, we can properly celebrate with cinnamon buns, Trista’s favorite.”

Trista scoffed. “I’m touched that you remembered.”

“All right. Here we go.”

I was the source, Ava was the executor. My flames circled me, and Ava began to recite another spell from the angel book. After I amped up my flames, they began to reroute into the jar, like Ava said. The compressed flames looked like a light show from inside, Ash and Persallus tousling inside, trying to evade it. Too bad for them there was nowhere to run. Ava’s chanting grew louder and more vigorous, and at her final syllable, I witnessed both spirits dissipate in my hands.

The jar… it was now empty.

The room grew silent in disbelief. Even I was speechless. Ash’s contract was finally over, and Sasha was finally free. I was about to say something to Ava until my spiritual guidance popped up, asking me to adopt… traits?

Samael, Underworld Prince of Darkness

Specialties: Flame Magic

Pact Score: 10

Domain Members: Lumi, Ruby, Wren, Trista, Ava

House of Samael Buffs: 9% power boost within close proximity

House of Samael Stronghold: Bottom 5%

Bloodlust Bar: 20/100

Specialty Add-Ons:

Ash: vanish, shape shift, telekinesis

Persallus: essence absorption, phantom pooling, malady

Pick One For Each Demon

My girls hadn’t told me about this. When I killed a demon, was I able to loot their specials?

“Isaac, what’s wrong? Looks like you’re staring into the void or something,” Trista said.

“I’m being asked which perks I want, between Ash and Persallus…”

“Huh?”

“That’s new. You weren’t able to do that before,” Lumi said.

“I know Ash’s, but Persallus has phantom pooling, essence absorption and malady. I’m guessing malady was what she used on my mom.”

“With malady, she can taint even demons living in humans,” Trista said. “Seems like whenever you kill a demon, your spiritual guidance gives you an opportunity to take a specialty.”

“Which ones will you pick?” Ava asked, intrigued.

“Vanish for Ash. It was annoying to maneuver around it when I’d fought him before. And I’ll go with essence absorption for Persallus.”

“Bad idea,” Trista was quick to counter. “While essence absorption sounds like the obvious choice, it comes with a serious drawback. The demons you absorb will forever be contained inside of you. Wanna know what it’s like hearing hundreds of voices in your head? You’re already dealing with the ghost of the first Samael, best not add more problems on your wagon.”

“Shit, that does sound like a nightmare. I’ll pass.” I didn’t hear Perallus complaining. Then again, she was a seasoned demon, unlike me. “I’ll snatch phantom pooling then.”

“That’s the ability to move through walls,” Trista said.

“I could see that as being useful.” I solidified my selection before the screen closed up. Two more specialties in my arsenal. I wasn’t sure if this was a permanent or selective feature, but I wasn’t complaining. Kill demons, get perks. That was something I could get behind.

“Mmm,” Sasha groaned, finally stirring awake.

I rushed over to her and broke the chains free from her wrists, and then picked her up in my arms. “Sasha? Hey, hey, hang in there,” I soothed her, brushing the wet stray hairs from her face. When she opened her eyes, she looked drained, almost like she didn’t recognize me. “Hey, are you alright? How do you feel?”

“Where… am I?”

“Don’t worry, you’re somewhere safe now.” I smiled. “We got rid of her, Sasha. That bitch is finally gone.”

She twisted her face, pausing for a brief second before she asked me a daunting question, “Who are you?”