"This is dumb" I muttered as I looked up at the full moon.
It had to be tonight, that's what the seller said. On a night with the full moon when the stars are aligned perfectly with my astrological signs. I wondered if I should back out and just go to bed. I shook my head, what's the worst that could happen? I'll do the spell and it won't work, then I'll go to bed.
I knew it was silly to buy a love spell online, but I was desperate. To be specific, it was an attraction spell, meant to make me desirable to anyone nearby. It has been ages since I've been laid, and I suppose the horny side of my brain decided to ask the spirits for help. How ridiculous.
I organized the space as I chastised myself. The dried rose petals go next to the parsley, dirt from a grave, chicken feet and smashed pearls. All surrounding a bowl in the middle. I sat with my legs crossed at the bottom, examining the work. This better cast, or else I disturbed someone's grave for nothing, and isn't that a crime? I brushed off the feeling quickly.
My hands shook slightly as I picked up the paper which had the spell written on it. Apparently, it was tailored to me. I had to say a few things in Latin, add the ingredients to a bowl, and chant as I lit the bowl on fire. Seems simple enough.
I began the process, feeling the chill of the room through my t-shirt. My eyes scanned quickly across the page, focusing on getting the pronunciation right. Once that was through I moved onto the elements.
"I don't even believe in anything, why am I doing this?" I grumbled, placing all the items in the bowl. I took extra care, I didn't need a ghost of a person and a chicken to haunt me.
Soon a heavy blanket of tension fell over the room. It felt as if something was waiting, lurking. I cursed my brain for tricking me. There's nothing here, I told myself. It was like I was trying to convince myself...
I listened to the darkness, listening for any sound. I'm unsure what was even supposed to happen at this point. Was it to take effect immediately? Was I supposed to see something? I sighed, deciding to give up.
"How dumb to even expect this to work." I grumbled, reaching for the bowl of miscellaneous objects.
As my hand reached the rim, a strong gust of wind blew through the room, extinguishing all the candles. My breath caught in my throat, stilling my body. It was just the wind, no need for panic. My eyes struggled to adjust to the darkness.
In an instant all the candles lit again. I squinted my eyes and covered them with my arm, letting my eyes adjust to the light a little bit at a time. When my eyes stopped hurting I lowered my arm.
My sight landed on a man in front of me and I yelped, scotting back a little bit. How did someone come into my house? Did he blow out my candles to freak me out?
"What are you doing here, get out!" I screamed, picking up the candle holder next to me and throwing it at him. He coolly avoided the object, his hands remaining behind his back.
"You called me." His smooth voice told me. It sounded like he was in my head, caressing my brain and soothing my thoughts. I shook my head to get rid of him.
"I most certainly did not! You are trespassing and I won't hesitate to call the police." I quickly stood on my feet and turned away from the stranger and bolted towards the door. When I was close to freedom the door suddenly closed in front of me, causing my body to slam into it. A small groan left me as I felt the pain from the collision.
Against my will, my body rose up into the air and flew backwards before making a quick stop in the middle of the room. I screamed as I was turned around and made to kneel on the floor, where a force then made me stop screaming.
I could feel beads of sweat falling down my forehead as I slowly raised my eyes to meet his. His body towered over me and the smell of his cologne hit me. It was smoky, like a campfire, and held a masculine musk. Who was he?
"I am Aerathe" he said, as if reading my mind. I felt scared and humiliated kneeling on the floor in front of him. What was this power he was using?
"What are you?" I managed to say, despite the heavy feeling in my chest. I could feel the pressure holding me down.
The stranger, Aerathe, took a knee in front of me, his eyes raking my body. He seemed to study the ways my palms were forcibly resting on my knees and my back was arched. I could feel my lip quiver. His hand came up to my chin, resting his thumb on my chin as he cradled my face.
"I am Aerathe, Prince of Hell. I am here because you called me." His eyes moved to quickly scan the floor around us without moving his head, "However I don't think you meant to call me, witch."
"No, no I'm not a witch, I swear." I defended myself, "I was just messing around, please."
I'm not sure what I was pleading for. My life? To be let go? Whatever it was, I was really trying.
He let go of me and stood to his full height. The pressure that was on me let go and I felt like I could finally breathe. It made me fall down on my backside, but I tried taking this time to scoot backwards away from him. I only moved a few times before hitting a hard, invisible wall.
"There's nowhere to go until we finish our deal, witch." He laughed slightly, relaxing his posture as he looked around. "Interesting setup you have here." He kicked the items around.
"It was for a love spell." I tried to defend, trying to move out of his reach.
"A love spell? How pathetic." He shook his head.
"I know, it was dumb, please just leave."
"Leave? Don't you want it to work?"
Did I want it to work? It would be nice, but not necessary. I'll just get back on the apps, or make the first move at a bar.
