Retaliation

A man was sitting alone in a penthouse suite. There was an old leather-bound book in his lap. He was wrapped in a blanket, there were cheap bracelets all over his arms, he was wearing more than six belts. All of these items he had enchanted using magic from another plane of existence. They each served a purpose, all together making him invincible. He could have replaced them with high-quality items, but he appreciated the humor. Him, king of two continents, appeared everywhere wrapped in an old blanket. He even considered enchanting a colander and putting it on his head.

But not that night. Sitting on his throne-couch alone, he was looking outside, over Las Vegas, onto the bright horizon where the sun was about to rise. He was restless.

He opened the book to where he had a Walgreens bookmark. The page contained arcane writing and the image of a ghastly ghoul drawn in human blood. The creature was twisted in an otherworldly dance. There was a circular symbol in the corner of the page. The man got up and beheld the same symbol on the floor. He made sure all the lines were correct and not a dot missing. When he was sure he had not made any mistakes, he uttered the incantation.

Drawing the power from the hour before sunrise, the spells opened an invisible rift and let an intruder seep in. The intruder phased into a familiar mindset and materialized into a dancing quasi-human figure. There was a smile on his face to counterbalance his summoner’s mood. He twisted and turned, dancing to the music of the spheres.

”You conjure me to seek knowledge,” he sang. It was not a question, for the creature was not capable of asking questions. It knew.

”I do,” replied the man. “Tell me, is it time to strike upon Europe? Are my plans safe?”

The dance became wild, but the creature took care not to step outside the symbol drawn on the floor. “I see things from my prison,” he sang, “Things that make me happy and things that make me sad. I look upon your world, and I am bored. And then I begin to see your exploits and I become intrigued. You have made quite an impression. Your army is strong and it is ironic. It shakes the order. There have been many like you before, but none with the same plan. None with the same intent. You have ruffled many a feather."

"Answer me, creature."

"I am answering, in my own way. The King of Heaven does not want you there. He has already started rallying his minions. They will not go down lightly."

"Will I succeed?"

"The forces are balanced,” sang the prophet, “And I cannot tell you which one will succeed, so says the old contract. But strike now, and you will soon find out.”

The creature began to fade, seeping back out and reality began to heal the wound it had created. The room became as still as a thousand-year-old crypt and then it was flooded with golden light from the rising sun. The man turned his back on the empty symbol and bowed his head. The adversary he was about to face had no match among kings and generals.

The man smiled. He loved challenges.

Posted by: Paweł Kowaluk