A Deal With a Demon

A Deal with A Demon



         Garret's face was masked in heavy shadows thrown by the candle on his desk. His eyes, blood shot from lack of sleep, were shifting from the book in front of him to the journal he was writing in. Garret's face was pale and fragile, framed by a mass of dark greasy hair. The journal was filled with manic scribbles and drawings. Pausing to look over what he had just written, he gave a satisfied “humph” and got up to gather supplies off of the shelf across the small room from his desk. Reciting the list out loud as he went, “Chalk, Powered Silver, Wormwood and Lavender” Gathering the objects in his arms he moved to a cleared spot in the floor and began to draw a circle with the chalk, then tracing the inside details with silver and lavender. Moving to another spot in the floor he repeated the circle, this time replacing the Lavender with Wormwood. As Garret returned to his desk, he grabbed a piece of parchment he had written on and reflected on the first time he learned about demons.



         When Garret was growing up he lived with his uncle Lukas. Garret's uncle was a strange man, spending most of his time working in his study. One day Lukas was waiting for Garret on the steps the house when he returned with his art tutor from the apple orchard. Lukas stopped Garret and told him to go up to his study and wait for him there. The heavy wooden door of the study creaked closed behind Garret as he stepped into the large room, gazing dumbfounded at the shear amount of books covering the walls, finding a small door at one end of the study he opened, and was assaulted with many different kinds of smells: parchment, ink, herbs, and many things he was unfamiliar with. A voice behind Garret made him jump.

          “Ah a curious young mind,” Said Lukas, “That's good.”

         “How did you get in here? I didn't even you hear you open the door.”

         “A good question, but one with a complex answer,” his uncle loved talking in riddles, “what if I told you that person you talked to was not me?” replied Lukas

         “Well...” Garret paused confusion in his voice, “I would find it very difficult to believe I'm sure it was you.”

         “Here let me show you,” and with a command muttered under his breath an exact copy of Lukas walked into the study. Astounded, Garret looked at his uncle and asked another question, “Uncle, what is it you study up here?” With a wiry smile he said, “Demons, and a small bit of magic. Never really trust the magic much but the work I'm doing with demons is fail-safe as long as you know your limits and use the right commands.” Walking over to his desk he reached into a bottom drawer and pulled out a tattered leather journal, handing to journal to Garret he said, “I'm not going to live forever and I don't want the work I'm doing here to go to waste after I'm gone, I want you to continue in my footsteps.” Taking the journal from his uncle he said, “Yes, I will continue your work.” And with that Garret took the journal from Lukas and began the journey filling the years following that day.



         Now that Garret was no longer studying under Lukas he was working on a way to prolong human life. Other work done by Garret and his uncle pointed out  that demons will live forever, unaffected by the ravages of time. So Garret thought If bonded the two of them could live forever. Silence filled the room as Garret finished the last word in the incantation to summon the demon. He knew even if he could not see or hear him the demon was present. Tired of waiting Garret barked to the empty space in the room, “I know your here so abandon your disguise and show yourself.” And with that a cloud of sulfur appeared in the circle opposite Garret. Dark yellow eyes were floating in what appeared to be the middle of the cloud. “I told you no more tricks,” a word muttered under his breath, a spell to rip the essence of the demon asunder, caused the demon great pain. Abandoning his smoke screen and taking up his true form. A small imp with pointy horns growing out of the top of his head

         “You really should shield your mind better, if you can, you humans are a weak bunch” taunted the imp, “I can see why you have so rudely summoned me here, and I can tell you it’s never going to work. Just the idea of sharing a body with you makes me ill.” Becoming increasingly aggravated he replied with a bark, “Enough of this, I will do it watch, I will be the first man to ever do it,” Lack of sleep was causing Garret to speak in incoherent fragments. A feeling of intense pain racked Garret as he began binding the imp to himself. Once the pain subsided he stepped out of the circle, hearing the voice on the imp inside his mind he collapsed on the ground with convulsions; the imp was fighting for control. Fear and doubt ran through Garret, fear for what he had done and doubt of his power to restrain the imp long enough to detain the imp. That brief moment of doubt was enough for the imp to gain the upper hand and control the body. Failing to make the mussels in Garret’s leg to move the body he abandoned the idea and launched an assault on Garret’s mind. In another fit as Garret fought for control he squandered what little energy Garret had left, if he wasn’t careful the exhaustion of fighting with the imp would kill him. The imp, knowing Garret was in no condition to resist him pushed his way to the front, gaining control once again. In an attempt to rid his body of the demon he started the process of releasing the demon out of his body. Feeling the drain on his energy as the incantation took effect and the demon left, taking with him the last of his energy, so Garret slumped to the floor, dead. No one ever stumbled upon the combined notes of Lukas and Garret and so their work was left abandoned, never to be picked up again.