Page 186
Story: Bespelled
The Book of the Damned.
I look at Luca with dawning horror. “You’re summoning demons.”
CHAPTER 50
Holy Goddess.Demons.
Those ravaged bodies out in the woods were the work of demons.
That’s my fate and Memnon’s unless I can escape this fucking spell circle.
Memnon!I call out to him, more desperate than ever.Wake up!I nearly weep out the command.
But the other end of the bond stays placid. The sorcerer is still asleep.
My mind races. I have minutes until midnight to figure out some sort of game plan.
Unfortunately, I don’t know much about demons. They’ve always been slotted in with the dark magic shit that witches aren’t supposed to trifle with. Not reading about them has probably fucked me over.
“Why are you summoning demons?” I ask.
Luca tilts his head. “We’re not simply summoning them,” the sorcerer admits. “We’rebindingthem.”
“Binding them?” I echo. Even as I say it, the Fortunas’ entire industry becomes clear, and my blood runs cold.
They’re in the business of trafficking supernaturals. I assumed that was limited to those of us who were of this realm, but it’s clearly not. They’re moving demons too.
My eyes touch briefly on the somewhat anxious-looking scholar. That…that must be Luca’s client, the one who is buying this demon’s bond.
“If this is about binding demons,” I say slowly, returning my attention to Luca, “then what do you need me for?”
“Demons are different from mortals,” Luca replies, backing up. “They need to feed once they come here if they wish to remain.” His eyes skate over my form. “Theylikethe young ones in particular. Something about their innocence and vitality makes them taste richer, sweeter. We use that to get the demons to bond.”
I vividly recall the body of Charlotte Evensen. It had been badly mutilated, and all her organs had been removed…
No,eaten.
Nausea rolls through me.
I glance down at the cut on my own chest, the bloody wound making much more sense now. Like throwing bleeding bait overboard in hopes it will lure in a shark.
I force my rising terror down.
Focus.
I’m not going to die tonight. Not like this.
On impulse, I reach for my heels and remove them, tossing one then the other aside so I can be light on my feet. I try not to grimace as the chill from the floor seeps into my skin.
Next, I turn to the walls of my prison. Spell circles like this one, which has been activated in blood, are notoriously hard for anyone but the spellcaster to undo.
However, at the end of the day, a spell circle is nothing more than a really strong ward. Wards themselves are essentiallygiant tapestries, and like tapestries, they can be unraveled if one knows where to pull.
I look for the telltale magical signature, but if it’s there, it’s just as translucent as the rest of the circle’s walls.
Luca glances down at a fancy gold watch on his wrist. “It’s about time we begin.” he says to the older man. “Are you ready, Jacques?”
“Yes,” Jacques replies, his eyes alight with excitement.
Table of Contents
- Page 1
- Page 2
- Page 3
- Page 4
- Page 5
- Page 6
- Page 7
- Page 8
- Page 9
- Page 10
- Page 11
- Page 12
- Page 13
- Page 14
- Page 15
- Page 16
- Page 17
- Page 18
- Page 19
- Page 20
- Page 21
- Page 22
- Page 23
- Page 24
- Page 25
- Page 26
- Page 27
- Page 28
- Page 29
- Page 30
- Page 31
- Page 32
- Page 33
- Page 34
- Page 35
- Page 36
- Page 37
- Page 38
- Page 39
- Page 40
- Page 41
- Page 42
- Page 43
- Page 44
- Page 45
- Page 46
- Page 47
- Page 48
- Page 49
- Page 50
- Page 51
- Page 52
- Page 53
- Page 54
- Page 55
- Page 56
- Page 57
- Page 58
- Page 59
- Page 60
- Page 61
- Page 62
- Page 63
- Page 64
- Page 65
- Page 66
- Page 67
- Page 68
- Page 69
- Page 70
- Page 71
- Page 72
- Page 73
- Page 74
- Page 75
- Page 76
- Page 77
- Page 78
- Page 79
- Page 80
- Page 81
- Page 82
- Page 83
- Page 84
- Page 85
- Page 86
- Page 87
- Page 88
- Page 89
- Page 90
- Page 91
- Page 92
- Page 93
- Page 94
- Page 95
- Page 96
- Page 97
- Page 98
- Page 99
- Page 100
- Page 101
- Page 102
- Page 103
- Page 104
- Page 105
- Page 106
- Page 107
- Page 108
- Page 109
- Page 110
- Page 111
- Page 112
- Page 113
- Page 114
- Page 115
- Page 116
- Page 117
- Page 118
- Page 119
- Page 120
- Page 121
- Page 122
- Page 123
- Page 124
- Page 125
- Page 126
- Page 127
- Page 128
- Page 129
- Page 130
- Page 131
- Page 132
- Page 133
- Page 134
- Page 135
- Page 136
- Page 137
- Page 138
- Page 139
- Page 140
- Page 141
- Page 142
- Page 143
- Page 144
- Page 145
- Page 146
- Page 147
- Page 148
- Page 149
- Page 150
- Page 151
- Page 152
- Page 153
- Page 154
- Page 155
- Page 156
- Page 157
- Page 158
- Page 159
- Page 160
- Page 161
- Page 162
- Page 163
- Page 164
- Page 165
- Page 166
- Page 167
- Page 168
- Page 169
- Page 170
- Page 171
- Page 172
- Page 173
- Page 174
- Page 175
- Page 176
- Page 177
- Page 178
- Page 179
- Page 180
- Page 181
- Page 182
- Page 183
- Page 184
- Page 185
- Page 186 (Reading here)
- Page 187
- Page 188
- Page 189
- Page 190
- Page 191
- Page 192
- Page 193
- Page 194
- Page 195
- Page 196
- Page 197
- Page 198
- Page 199
- Page 200
- Page 201