“Heresy?”

  The word lingered on the tip of Tucker’s tongue, leaving a vile taste as his stomach churned. There were only a few cases that would be considered heretical. The main ones being communing with a demon and the other was directly tampering with souls. But they weren’t performing a dissection of souls. They were only using it to snuff out where Pyron was hiding.

  Unless… what they needed to do was far more dire than what he expected.

  “That’s correct,” Alex said. “What we’re about to do is something that the Souldom frowns upon.”

  Tucker stared at his mentor. “And that is…”

  “We’re summoning a demon.”

  Silence engulfed the room. The magic lanterns that lined the stone walls flickered on their wooden pedestals. The shadows surrounding their bodies seemed to latch onto their figures. Yet, in the office where the three stood, not a single trace of fear surfaced as the wooden door slammed closed behind them.

  Tucker glanced at the sealed doorway, watching runes flare across the walls from one side to another. “Is there really no other option?”

  “Afraid not,” Alex replied in a stern voice. “We’ve done it before, and the last we spoke, it was civil.”

  “If you call that civil, then I would be terrified to see what you would consider uncivil,” Charles said, bringing a sealed crimson chest onto the table. “Truthfully, I would by all means prefer not having to do this again, but I don’t suppose there’s much of a choice. We’ll have to be quick before Bishop Mary discovers what we’re doing.”

  “Mary’s here?” Tucker asked.

  “Along with her paladins and that other priest whose name I can’t remember for the life of me.” Charles shrugged his shoulders before brushing the dust off the chest. “Hand me that wooden crate with the rocks behind you, Tucker, my boy.”

  Tucker extended his hand towards the crate, sending out a thread of wind essence that wrapped around the frame. He slowly raised the object and guided the gentle breeze to Charles before setting the box down.

  “Ah, wonderful!” Charles reached for the pale stones and carefully set them on the table. “Now, this will be a simple array. We won’t have much time, but once Alex sets up his domain and the effects begin, we can start the ritual.”

  “Are we going to be sacrificing something?” Tucker asked.

  “It’ll be more along the lines of an offering,” Alex corrected.

  “But wouldn’t the other watchmen be suspicious of a domain suddenly appearing here? Some of them would definitely notice.”

  “That shouldn’t be a concern; many recognize my aura, and as long as it isn’t up for too long, there shouldn’t be a problem.”

  Tucker stared at Alex and Charles, who began their preparations. The idea itself was insane, and part of him didn’t like it at all. They were spirit contractors. The natural enemy of demons, and their current track record wasn’t favourable in the slightest.

  But if this was their only way of tracking down Pyron, then so be it.

  “What do you need me to do?” he asked.

  “Glad you asked.” Alex helped arrange the stones. “You’re the extra manpower in case the demon goes rogue.”

  “…Shouldn’t we include Ray?”

  “He’s on babysitting duty in case we fail,” Charles pointed out. “Someone needs to buy time for Adira and the others to escape.”

  “Wouldn’t it be a good idea to involve the guys from the Souldom?” Tucker asked.

  “If they knew what we were doing, we would get burned at the stake,” Alex replied.

  Tucker thought about it for a moment before nodding. “Fair point.”

  “Well, that’s enough chatter.” Alex examined the pieces of pale stone laid out on the table. It was like assembling a puzzle as the black lines drawn on the surface connected with one another.

  Tucker stared at the incoherent letters overlapping each other. They formed a hexagonal outline, with each angle converging to the center as they connected with one another. It wasn’t something that Tucker had ever seen before, but the faint light emitting from the surface bled into the surrounding darkness as if it were corrupting it.

  The very notion of what they were doing was sacrilegious, like they were inviting evil into their very home. Charles had placed the arm within the center, removing the cloth that preserved the flesh. The scent of smoke filled Tucker’s nostrils. Charred flesh drifted in the breeze as the ground shifted from the stone tiles to a field of ashen grass.

  Around them were wooden structures that had fallen apart like a rotting beast with its ribcages split open. Yet, as Tucker scanned the surroundings, he noticed the grey stone table had made its way into the domain along with the other materials Charles had prepared. It was only now that he realized what kind of feat Alex had accomplished.

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  His mentor had brought external, lifeless objects into his domain that weren’t attached to any individual. The reason weapons and equipment followed those who entered was because of the lingering aura that radiated from the soul. However, that wasn’t the case for the stone table or the pale stones.

  “That should do for now,” Alex said. “Once we summon the Candlewick Demon, stay on your guard and no matter what you do… don’t make physical contact with it.”

  “What happens if it makes contact with you?” Tucker asked.

  “It’ll try to drag your soul to hell as it leaves,” Charles answered with a shudder. “We’ve had that hiccup happen before, and quite frankly, I would prefer if it didn’t happen again.”

  “Is that what you meant by it went rogue?”

  “Correct, now let’s begin.” Alex gestured at Charles to begin.

  Tucker watched as Charles stood in front of the hexagonal outline with overlapping letters. The scholar placed the arm upright in the center. Each fragmented stone with the black lines snapped together with a sharp click. Like bones rupturing in half, one after another. All that remained was a tablet in place of the pale stones. The arm locked in place, held together by a force that couldn’t be seen with the naked eye.

  And then, Tucker heard it.

  A soft whisper that didn’t belong in their realm.

  A voice that spoke in a language they couldn’t comprehend.

  “It’s here…” Alex muttered.

  “Already?” Tucker’s eyes shifted around the domain.

  They were in a wide open area with ruined buildings forming a circle around their location. The ash fell like snow, blanketing the terrain. Yet not a soul besides theirs came into sight.

  That was when a shudder crept through their spines. The sensation was unlike any other. It didn’t instill fear or a murderous killing intent that sought to rip out their hearts. Instead, it was one filled with curiosity. An undying presence seeking its next victim to quench its thirst for entertainment. Tucker scanned the domain once more, hand falling to the hilt of his blade.

  “Don’t pull out your sword,” Alex advised. “We don’t want to give it a reason to fight.”

  A reason to fight?

  It would be a lie to say the thought didn’t cross Tucker’s mind. They had fought every demon that had crossed their paths but now they were summoning one for a discussion. He followed Alex’s and Charles’ gaze to the arm perched in the middle of the black outline. The hand twitched, just long enough for him to notice. A pool of darkness formed above the tablet, breaking apart the empty air as fragments of the sky cracked like planes of glass.

  Something was slowly crawling through. A pale hand reached out from the abyss, clenching onto the severed arm that was anchored in their world. Its body seemed to have been poured rather than born. Molded from layers of opal translucent wax that sagged and rippled with each movement. The demon pulled its form towards the table, hunching over unevenly as scorching red chains bound it to the portal.

  The sizzling wax bubbled. Beneath the glossy surface, something shifted. Tucker stared in disgust. It was as if bones, fingers, and faces were all trapped mid-scream. Like the demon had swallowed others just to preserve its body. Where its arms should have ended, more hands grew. Fingers fused into wrists, wrists into palms. The branching limbs overlapped in grotesque clusters that barely made a humanoid shape.

  What was even worse than that was the head. The creature’s skull hardly had solidified features, only the suggestion of a face where the eye sockets should have been. No visible mouth, nose, or neck. Just hands that dug into the skull to hold it in place.

  With no mouth, Tucker didn’t have the slightest idea of how the demon intended to speak. But soon a stone board with the entire alphabet spread out along the surface descended from the abyss. The vibrant golden color of the characters entered the Candlewick Demon’s hands. Then, a small triangular wooden object with bloody claw marks fell as well, with a hollow circle in the center.

  The golden-lettered spirit board slid over the demon’s head, snapping the planchette violently to the surface. A scratching sound scraped across the stone surface as it dragged from symbol to symbol, marking each letter as molten characters drifted into the air.

  [I am Kandula, the Dripping Silence. Why hast thou summoned me?]

  “It’s been a while, Kandula,” Alex said. “I have come with a request.”

  The scraping sound continued.

  [Ah… Salamander, I see thou hast summoned me once more… For what purpose should I grant thee my attention?]

  “I’m looking for someone. The one whose arm you’re firmly grasping.”

  A twisted chuckle bubbled from the demon as wax slid down its jaw.

  [And what compels thee to believe that I would aid thee after what hast transpired?]

  “You don’t have much of a choice, Kandula.” Alex stared at the demon as the liquid splattered softly on the floor. “After we accomplished your task, you were bound by the contract to fulfill three of our requests.”

  Kandula peered over the stone tablet, its empty eye sockets raking across every inch of Alex’s body. Yet, for some reason, its gaze then shifted to Tucker with vast curiosity.

  Alex stepped forth, placing himself between them. “You're dealing with me.”

  But as the mentor blocked the demon’s vision. The hands gripping Kandula’s skull twisted, turning its gaze to where the wooden door should have been. Only for Charles to immediately block its path.

  “Don’t even think of escaping, you vile fiend,” Charles snarled.

  Yet as they surrounded the demon, the chains rustled, releasing a metallic clank that echoed in the domain. The wax sizzled uncontrollably, bubbling as splashes of opalescent liquid dripped onto the floor with a sharp hiss. Its head was in clear visible view, and soon the empty eye sockets focused on the unfolded map of the Empire laid out nearby.

  The searing liquid stretched thin as jagged teeth made of ivory bones tore free with a quiet rip. Each breath it made caused its chest to slump inward before budging again. Tucker narrowed his eyes as rivulets of wax crawled across the stone and towards the map. But soon his gaze returned to Kandula.

  The demon was smiling.

  The wooden planchette moved once more. A scratching sound filled the room as it dragged from one letter to another.

  [Thou truly art fools to have not realized what thou hast done. Thy favours are now forfeit.]

  Alex frowned. “We’ve only made one request.”

  [Nay, thou hast not. One shall be to find thy prey. Another shall be to keep what thou hast stolen a secret from the fiends within the gloom. And the last…]

  The scraping paused for a heartbeat before slowly coming to life.

  […shall be my mercy as a warden for crossing boundaries that should have never been ventured.]

  The chains groaned as if calling for Kandula’s return. Flames surged along the metal surface, broiling the demon alive before devouring the severed arm. With nothing to anchor Kandula to the world, the strands of metal lifted the body back into the air.

  The planchette swiped from one symbol to another.

  [May fortune be in thy favor, thou wretched bastards.]

  And with that, Kandula was pulled into the splintering abyss, leaving behind droplets of wax that dried on the stone table.

  Merry Christmas fellas!

  I changed the cover for the festive season.

  It's been a bit over a year since I started writing, and it's been pretty good so far.

  Funny enough, New Year's also perfectly lines up with Spiritbound's release schedule!

  Together we can form our new resolutions :)

  120 Ratings Goal - Bonus Chapter (Owed Chapters -> 0)

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