Pact (5 of 6)

Dante had been careless. He'd assumed the girls range of tricks only extended as far as summoning demons and creating a lure. Which is why he was now lying helplessly on the ground. The imp had given him enough information to find the girls before Dante had trapped it inside a matchbox, but had failed to mention they knew how create a circle of entropy. He'd managed to sneak into the room without the girls noticing him, but as soon as he'd crossed the circle, all of his energy had been sucked away. It was taking all of his tricks just to remain conscious. He quietly ran through a list of things he was going to do Alexander when - if - he got himself out.

The coven was clearly inexperienced, but they knew enough. The girls were dressed in robes - all black except for Anna Copeland who was dressed in purple. They stood around a large stone slab in the centre of the room, to which Jenifer Green was tied. A collection of knives, herbs and other dark ritual essentials lay on tables.

In movies, sacrifices were always clean, simple events - the evil cultist stabs the victim, and the demon comes. But as Copeland drove the knife into Jenifer's stomach, there was no flash of light, no earthquake, no dramatic entrances. Instead there was just the cries of a scared young girl in immense pain. Blood was usually the key ingredient, but there wasn't enough blood in a single human to summon something as big as Adramelech. Pain and fear would serve as substitutes, which is why the ritual called for a painful wound that would take hours to die from.

Unfortunately, it seemed Alexander had neglected to mention that part to Copeland.

"Nothing's happening! Why is nothing happening?" Copeland wailed, her eyes like the abyss. "It must need more blood. There's not enough blood!"

"What do you mean...?" one of her companions started to ask, but before she could finish, Copeland had grabbed one of the other knives. The circle of entropy worked both ways - as her companions tried to flee the stabbing frenzy, they were rendered helpless.

As the last girl died, the air started to shimmer and glow, and Copeland began to laugh - nails breaking glass. Then suddenly, her laughter turned to a groan. Jennifer Green had pulled the knife from her stomach and driven it into Copeland's back. With a look of utter surprise, Copeland fell into a crumpled heap. Jennifer dropped to her knees and wrapped her arms around the wound in her stomach. Tears poured down her face.

All Dante could smell was blood and sulfur. He tried to pull himself up, he tired to call out to Jennifer, but it was no use. As his vision started to fade, he heard a voice echoing from the distortion.

"I have been summoned. What is it that you want?"

"I... don't want to die..." the scared girl sobbed