When the salt circle was drawn and the rune-etched stones had been evenly placed, the summoner lit the tallow candle and put the offering on the floor. The animal scent of the tallow hung in the air as she chanted the words of the ritual in the guttural language of the damned.
The flame flickered. The curtains billowed without a breeze. The scent of ash filled the room as a cloud of smoke spiraled into the circle and glowing eyes opened in the vortex. A face of nightmare and shadow coalesced in its depths, great horns spiking from its head, long teeth glinting as it howled.
“Who dares summon Hexambriax, Destroyer of Empires, Breaker of Bones, Lord of the Hungering Void and Master of Death and Shadow? Speak thy name and command!” The frames on the wall shook with its roar. Lightning and thunder cracked outside the window.
The summoner held up her hands. “It’s me! Jessica!”
The demon’s blazing eyes narrowed. Its shadows seemed to shrink. “Jessica?”
Jessica leaned forward on her toes, twiddled the string of her hoody. “I was wondering if… if you wanted to watch a movie or something?”
The demon resolved itself into a more humanoid form, though its teeth were still too long and its horns too sharp. It conjured itself a smartwatch and tapped at the screen. “Friday night. Wow.” It sucked its teeth. “Sad.”
“Shut up. I brought you an offering.” She pointed at the chalice on the floor.
The demon sniffed it curiously. “What’s in here?”
“Rosé.”
It shrugged. “Alright, I’ll stay. But seriously, we can’t keep doing this.”