Authors: Alivia Anders
focus. One quick look at the floor showed me standing in the
middle of a chalk-drawn circle surrounded by symbols. Four smal
dishes marked each pole, al filed with different items. The one
directly in front of me sat empty.
"What do you think, Essalie? Cassie thinks it's a perfect
night, don't you?" Chase caled from across the room, hovering
over another pile of candles with a lighter. A second face came into
view next to him, the peak of sequins glimmering against the candle
light.
"Cassie?" I tried to breathe against the sandpaper sensation
in my throat.
"Don't take it personaly, Essalie. We've been doing this
for years." She came to the edge of the circle drawn on the floor.
"I'd chalk it up to bad luck. Normaly we'd just pluck someone
from a bar or shelter and use them, but once Chase found out
what-"
"No." Chase stood in front of her. "You do not tel her."
Cassie narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips. "Fine."
Leaning over just enough, she added. "Let's just say, your blood is
worth its weight in gold."
As they both started to sprinkle salt around the circle, I
wasn't sure what to do. My boyfriend and best friend had both
gone mad in thinking that not only was magic real, but that I would
stick around and play into their little game. Nothing was holding me
into place, not a strip of duct tape or string of rope. I took two
steps to the edge of the circle as fire leapt up the edges, closing me
inside.
"Should have told her she couldn't leave," Cassie said.
"Should have told her she couldn't leave," Cassie said.
"I wanted to see if she'd try," Chase mused, setting down
the last of the salt from his hands and moving over to a smal table
holding multiple volumes. "Remember that girl in the '50s who tried
to leave? Kept saying it was just a dream and burning herself."
"Nothing quite beats the smel of charred flesh and fear.
You think we could bottle it for future memories?" Cassie closed
her eyes and heaved a wistful sigh, opening them back up to
exchange dark smiles.
"You're sick!" I screamed as loud as I could. Fire began to
filter into the circle, wicked yelow flames rising higher as it slowly
inched closer to the hem of my dress. "Someone wil see the
smoke and report it to the fire department!"
Chase roled his eyes skyward then fixed his gaze on me.
One of his eyes didn't return to center. "At which time you'l be
choking on more than your misery and fear." His fingers grasped a
tome from the table into the crook of his arm, his free hand waving
over the cover. The book burst open, pages fluttering left and right
until they settled. He began to chant, repeating the same phrase
over and over. Nausea pressed my stomach like a steamroler to
pavement, bile touching the back of my lips as I crouched down
toward the ground, pleading.
Please don't let me die, not like here, not like this.
Al at once, the sound escaped the room leaving but the
unsettling quiet left for the dead. Every candle in the room blinked
out. Ice began to crystalize any surface, stopping just short of the
flames surrounding me. Something slithered over my shoulder,
passing through the fire with no restraint.
passing through the fire with no restraint.
"Yet again you cal. More time, I presume?" the voice
asked with a slow whisper.
"I propose a trade. An exchange of power," Chase calmly
replied. His eyes flashed a passing of light among the dark. "The
girl for eternal life. No more sacrifices."
"And what," the voice began. "Does this meager bag of
flesh have the others have not?"
"Observe," he said. I heard Chase pul something from a
pocket. Against the faint light from the fire a smal vial filed with
dark liquid shined. With a slip of the hand the vial crashed and
burst apart on the floor, the liquid igniting into bright blue flames
that spiraled and danced every which way.
"
Agreed.
" the voice sounded pleased. "It is done."
The wind in the room shifted, blowing with force against
my face. The fire parted as a tal, slender figure stepped inside.
Color began to bleed into his features, giving him an icy white skin
base and long flowing blonde hair against sharp blue eyes. For a
fickle moment I felt a pul towards him and his human disguise.
"Just breathe, and it'l al be over before you know it," he
tried to soothe. Between his needle-shaped teeth smile and flick of
a forked tongue, I felt al but calm. Long, spindling swirls of smoke
coiled up to my face, lingering just centimeters from my cheek. I
held my breath as the smoke reached further and touched my skin.
Light flashed within the room instantly. Each candle burst
to life with a new flame, changing between red to yelow to blue.
Across the room, Chase's face stared back at me with a
triumphant grin.
triumphant grin.
Fire of the brightest blue flames engulfed the smoke,
blazing the room. Sounds of shattered glass and screams filed my
ears. Chase's face now looked horror-struck, caught in a mask of
shock.
From the fiery smoke a face materialized, tan skin matched
black pearl eyes. Inside the eyes existed a world of fire and
brimstone. Hel.
His mouth spiled open, hundreds of screams filing the
room. I dropped to the floor, covering my ears and screaming for it
al to stop.
Above me the smoke coiled back. It seeped down toward
the ground taking the form of a human dressed in regular street
clothing. Its eyes burned into mine as it watched me against the
shadows.
"You are mine, now, mortal," he said, each word crawling
over my skin and itching my ears. "Why do you not let me touch
you?"
He was kidding, right? Why wasn't I letting the creepy
death-demon thing touch me? I shook from head to toe as I
struggled to speak. "You- you're asking me why I'm n-not drinking
the Kool-Aid?"
The demon looked puzzled. "What is Kool-Aid?"
"Oh for Pete's sake," I heard Chase snap. He pushed past
the podium he stood behind, knocking over books as he went.
Somehow in the few minutes it had taken to cast the spel he had
aged. Salt and pepper hair covered most of his head as age lines
aged. Salt and pepper hair covered most of his head as age lines
on his face deepened, thinning his face to that of a gaunt homeless-
looking man. "Take her! I fucking offered her to you and you play
with her instead?"
The demon stared at me, narrowing his eyes to paper cut-
thin slits. He reached out again for me. The minute his hand came in
contact with my skin blue fire raced up his arm, engulfing him
instantly. He howled, exploding into smoke and dispersing through
the room before returning to human form. Sweat sat on his temples
and cheekbones, an irritated expression crossing his face.
He turned to Chase. "You gave me what I cannot touch.
Fool me once, shame on me."
"If you leave I'l only summon you again," Chase spat,
licking his lips and crossing his arms. "So what happens when I fool
you twice?"
The demon plunged a hand into Chase's chest and
removed his stil-beating heart in a single move. Licking the organ
with his thin forked tongue, a Cheshire grin spread from ear to ear.
"This."
Chase's body colapsed to the floor, but I was stil focused
on the demon. His tongue had wrapped around the heart like a
whip around a pole and swalowed it whole, leaving him time to
suck each finger clean. Giving me a quick glance, he winked.
Cassie screamed. Caught between wanting to hug the
remains of Chase or save her own skin she bolted for the door,
flinging herself out into the halway as blood clung to her skin and
matted in her hair.
The demon continued, unfazed. "Want to see what I do to
The demon continued, unfazed. "Want to see what I do to
those who annoy me?" He didn't wait for my answer. Bending his
body to unnatural angles he got on al fours and tore into the fresh
corpse. Horrified, I was unable to move, watching as each limb
was ripped off, every rib broken, every organ consumed. Blood
spatter hit my face and clothes, and it took everything I had not to
pass out.
When he finished with Chase he sat Indian style on the
floor, hands on his knees. Blood had smeared across most of his
forehead, and a bit of flesh rested on his shoulder. He continued to
watch me as I remained immobilized by my fear. Seconds felt like
lifetimes as he stared back at me until he finaly spoke.
"Don't worry, Essalie. When it's your turn I'l make sure
you're awake for al of it," he whispered. He slowly began to
disperse into thin air until there was nothing left.
Long after he left, I finaly moved. Sirens began to wail in
the background as the sound of screaming picked up again. It
wouldn't be until the police arrived that I'd realize it was me who
was screaming.
T W O
Five months later.
"Looks like you're drawing that Japanese cartoon stuff."
I looked up from my sketchbook on the desk, pencil stil in
mid-stride. Local Belfast hottie footbal runner Leonard 'Leo'
Skripper was leaning over my end of the table. His head was tilted
to the side, looking thoughtful at my sketch.
I took a double take around the room. Kids were slowly
shuffling into the Bio classroom, some stil stuffing breakfast down.
And his girlfriend was missing.
"Is it supposed to be just an eye?" He looked at me.
"Umm, yeah. It's actualy the only part I can realy draw."
"Stil," he said. "It's pretty cool. I'm sure you're not al that
bad at the rest of it."
I fought back a snort. "It's a little odd to start talking to your
neighbor after six weeks of stone cold silence."
"Happened in that vampire book."
I was impressed he even knew what a book was, much
less a popular novel. "That was because he wanted her blood. You
just want me to move seats."
"Actualy I was trying to politely invite you to my house
party I'm having tonight."
I blinked. Part of me wondered if he had actualy just said
I blinked. Part of me wondered if he had actualy just said
that or if I had halucinated it. Turning back to my sketch I focused
on shading the inside of the eye. "Sorry. Not realy the people-
person type."
Out of the corner of my eye I watched him run his hand
through his hair and frown. "We're having this big bonfire in my
new backyard. S'mores and music. You sure?"
He's trying to be nice, and I knew inwardly I should have
accepted his invite and just decided not to show. But my bitter
attitude was spreading like a germ. "I'l pass. Why come into the
contact of alcohol and drunken handsy-horny boys when I can stay
chaste and sober at home?" I turned my gaze to him and gave my
best screw-off smile.
Leo opened his mouth to talk when Mr. Whitley threw
open the classroom door. He carried in a large brown box which
he quickly dropped onto the nearest front table.
"Alright, wake-up, shape-up, let's go. Mark stop texting
and Leo if you keep that mouth open long enough a bird wil make
a nest in it. Or I'l make a nest for it and keep you outside in the
courtyard." He shuffled behind his desk and after a quick role cal
went back to his box.
"As you al know," he began. "This is Bio II. And unlike
most of your teachers here, I aim to actualy teach you something
you wil take with you into the big bad world out there. And today,
we learn anatomy."
I roled my eyes. Anyone who thought a sixteen year old
didn't know what humans had, anatomicaly speaking, was an idiot.
I flipped open my sketchbook and went back to work.
I flipped open my sketchbook and went back to work.
Mr. Whitley continued, "Over here in my pretty little
cardboard box wil be your projects for the day." He rustled inside
the box and puled something out in plastic. The girls in the front
row squealed. "By dissecting a cat we can learn so much more of
what rests inside of the corpse."
My pencil broke.
"When I give you your cat, it's going to come in a bag like
this. You're going to open it at the top, pul out the cat, and using
the tool sets in the back cabinets, you'l slice open the chest cavity
to view al the major organs."
The room began to spin. Flashes of torn flesh and smeared
blood blotted out the classroom and the smel filed my nose.