Ritual

Isabella got into the house shivering and locked the door behind her. It was freezing outside, but this made sense since it was mid-February and the previous weeks had been hotter than normal for this time of year. Thankfully Isabella had the house adequately insulated last year, and the temperature inside was bearable. She put her coat on the sofa and opened the kitchen cupboard, determined to make it happen tonight. She grabbed the ingredients and put them in her bag. Dark, private, and quiet, the basement seemed like a suitable choice for her midnight task.

Isabella had always been uncomfortable in the dark, not scared, just a little fidgety. More of a reason now that an unscheduled power cut had enveloped the whole area in pitch black nothingness. Despite that, she decided to focus on what she needed to do rather than what she perceived as an enduring childish fear. She used her phone to light the way down the stairs safely. The steps were slippery. Isabella thought she should have taken her shoes off to avoid stumbling to her witchery career's unfortunate demise. At least I don't have to step on the cold floor, she thought, in an attempt to console herself. Reaching the room at the end of the stairs, she put her bag on the wooden table. The phone's flashlight was not enough to lit the whole room, but a few candles should do the trick. They were part of the ritual either way. She grabbed two of them, halfway remembering she needed more. Five white candles; that is what most summoning depictions she studied included. She had already carved the crimson pentacle on the floor, accompanied by a circle of magick decorative glyphs. A knife placed on a piece of wool was lying at the center of it. Witches called this type of knife Athame, the ceremonial blade.

The first time Isabella laid eyes on a similar knife was a couple of weeks ago, during her search for the most peculiar of individuals, a woman that was rumored to have the power to contact entities of other worlds. After taking a few wrong turns, Isabella reached the woman's cabin and felt intensely double-crossed by her navigation app. The young woman parked her car right outside of the old fence and walked through a rusty, half-broken gate. She eventually reached the black door with the strange symbols. After opening it with just a small push, she walked into a room that looked far bigger than she anticipated looking at it from the outside. Furniture that looked ancient, dusty, and web-covered took most of the space, while behind a pile of books and melted candles, a wrinkled and slightly deformed woman was staring blankly at the floor. Isabella walked to her slowly, trying not to disturb or frighten her. She called her by the name Lachesis, as the locals instructed her. The woman barely blinked at Isabella's presence, but the sound of her given name was as if it activated an inner mechanism. Demonstrating significant discomfort, she eventually managed to stand up and observe her guest before offering her a cup of herbal tea. Isabella accepted out of kindness but barely tasted it. She wasn't eager to trust the woman just yet. After respectfully giving Lachesis a package she had prepared for her, she asked about the ritual as customary. The woman opened the wrapped-up box and took out the honey, milk, and incense Isabella brought her. She put the first two in a bowl, along with two drops of a yellow liquid she kept in a small bottle. Chanting a few unknown words, Isabella saw the ingredients catching fire. After the sparks settled and only smoke lingered, Lachesis put them along with the incense in a thurible. She started walking around Isabella with it, making sure the smoke covered the young woman and, then, asked her three questions.

The first one was the reason Isabella needed the knowledge of performing the ritual. The young woman described her relationship with a man named Tom, which ended badly. She said she loved him deeply, but he cheated on her with her own best friend while she thought he shared similar feelings. Then Lachesis, still burning the incense, asked Isabella if she had prepared herself to pay a hefty price for the ritual. After pausing for a while, the young woman remarked that there was no fee too great for the service if she could match it. Satisfied with the answer, Lachesis stood right in front of Isabella and along with her Athame, she raised the most pressing question of all. Was the young lass sure she could have done nothing to prevent all this? Gulping down her fear Isabella said that it wouldn't matter because no one can change what is destined. Lachesis revealed a set of toothless gum in an attempt that resembled a smile. Then, pulling up her sleeve she used the knife to carve a strange symbol on her shoulder.

As Isabella contemplated on that meeting, she remembered that Lachesis was cryptic about almost everything she told her even then. All but the details of the ritual itself. While Isabella felt quite sure about her decision, she couldn't stop thinking of what the old hag meant with her last words to her. First things first, she told herself. The important thing now was to maintain her focus to avoid fucking up the process. With a sigh, she took off her clothes and folded them, putting them on the table. The young woman untied her long, curly, golden hair, which flicked slightly, then rested on her shoulders. Isabella had refrained from succumbing to earthly desires for more than a month now. That was Lachesis's instruction. Not that Isabella was in any mood to give herself to anyone after what happened with Tom. Even if this was the case, though, she understood the concept of keeping her body as pure as possible. After all, it was an essential rule for any summoning. Well, except high-ranking demonic entities. Maybe she should have planned this differently, after all, she thought. No backing down now, girl, she thought. The bastard will pay.

Isabella searched her bag and took out the sage, sweetgrass, and a matchbox she had retrieved earlier. Using a rubber band, she wrapped the materials together, then lit the herbs up with a match. She moved her hand around herself at first and then at each corner of the room. That was the most effective way to cleanse all negative energy. Now the ritual was safe to begin. Isabella placed the candles symmetrically on the magic circle and lit them. Using the Athame, she cut a spot at the eastern part of the pentagram circle. Now Isabella could go in without risking unclean entities following her. She stood in the middle of the drawing and raised her hands, lowering her head as a sign of respect. The words came to her effortlessly, despite her belief that she would sound weird, even ridiculous.

"Oh, Lilith! Mother of the spawn that crawls the earth, mistress of eternal torture!

Humbly I summon thee today, seeking your blessing. No power, no riches, and earthly human pleasures I require of thee. Vengeance is my only desire."

Isabella closed her eyes and concentrated on her wish. With the Athame in her left hand, she carved a line on her right shoulder. Isabella clenched her teeth while blood drops flowed from the small wound, covering the rest of her arm and dripping to the floor. That part was critical if her deed was to be successful. She could not mess this up. She was craving it to such an extent; she would not allow herself to fail. She felt the atmosphere changing as if something sucked the oxygen out of the room, but this did not slow her down. Three of the candles went out, and the other two followed right after. With her eyes closed, Isabella felt the darkness invading her, searching and taking over her thoughts. Cold shivers ran down her spine; Isabella managed to maintain her focus. Remember why you are here, she faintly whispered. A cold breeze ran over her body. She felt her nipples getting hard. Her thigs moved gently as from a lover's touch. Subtle, almost invisible arms embraced her, and a sweet, flowery scent got into her nostrils. She was there.

"Open your eyes, my child" her voice was soft and crystalline. Isabella could not remember when she last heard such a seducing tone. She was positive that her voice didn't sound like this at all. The first thing she instinctively did when she followed the command was to hold the girl's gaze.

Despite the gloom, the girl was visible, as if she was emitting light of her own. Her sight was intense, captivating; the dark grey of her eyes was almost hypnotic. The two of them were close now. The girl's hands caressed Isabella's body slowly, her breasts softly pushing towards hers. Her lips juicy and wet, half-opened in a silent call of unspeakable lust. Isabella felt wet; she tried to avoid showing it, although her body was taking its course on the matter.

"Daughter of the Mother of All. Do not cause me any harm, I beg thee! They have wronged me, oh, ancient one! I stand here, humbled, asking for your mercy!" Isabella could barely keep her voice from breaking down. She needed to be intrepid, though; her life depended on it.

The girl flicked her pitch-black hair gently. With one hand, she pulled Isabella even closer while the other buried deep between her legs. Her touch was warm but firm. "I am aware little one. Do not worry yourself; I'm here now," she softly said and pushed deeper. Isabella lost herself in a garden of forbidden, impulsive, dark delights.

Tom woke up shaking. Another nightmare, the third this week. If this kept going on, a visit to the doctor was undoubtedly due. Looking at the clock next to his nightstand, he saw it was 4 a.m. In three hours, it would ring to get him up for work. Tom changed sides with a sigh. He sensed something that startled him. For a moment, a feeling that someone was breathing on his face appeared. Instinctively he opened his eyes in fear. A clawed hand covered his mouth, preventing him from screaming. Thin but powerful fingers carved their way into his face, piercing his skin, while a spiked, scaled-covered, black tail shot through his stomach. His mouth filled with blood that dripped between the demon's talons. Tom felt the succubus lustfully licking his face before surrendering himself to the void.

Back to the basement, Isabella got dressed and walked up the stairs. She couldn’t help but wonder if the deed was done. She thought that it wouldn’t be long till she found out since Tom would try to contact her soon, as he frequently used to, and beg for forgiveness. That was until Isabella unleashed a demon to hunt him down of course. For a moment the thought of what she had just done made no sense to her. She remembered the old woman’s words, “The punishment must fit the crime child. If it fails to do so, you will be next in line to be judged.” Was she too harsh? It was too late to worry about that now, she told herself. She took her underwear from the table and wore them, before slipping into her skinny jeans and blouse. Walking to the stairs, a breeze made her shiver, like someone opened a window, which was preposterous since there were no windows down there and the door at the end of the stairs was firmly closed.

“I hope you did not forget me so soon sister, didn’t you?” There it was again, the lewd, sinful voice that made her wet herself with each word. Isabella had no idea how such a thing was possible, but it was apparent by now that it was quite possible. The succubus was standing at her right, having moved between walls, dimensions, eons to stand and make the young woman tremble this night.

“Is it done?” she dared ask.

“It is. And now payment is due.” The demon answered, leaking her lips with her forked tongue.

Isabella didn’t have time to react. The succubus dived forward, her whole body sticking together and creating a mass of black mass that whirled and crawled around Isabella, turning into a monstrous snake-like creature that twisted around her and squeezed her so tight she thought her body would explode. Unable to talk from the intense push on her neck and chest, she horribly witnessed the snake’s mouth opening wide and gulping her whole body down.

After the snake ate the young woman, it turned into smoke and vanished, leaving her body behind intact. When she opened her eyes though, she wasn’t Isabella any more than Matt was a real child.