An Inexact Pact

A putrid scent of flesh and bones encompassed my mind first, then as my consciousness wavered, I caught glimpses of a circle carved with blood and a robed figure pleading for my survival. With every movement, the room creaked, and the figure called out to me in a quiet voice, clearly distraught. “There are two other demons,” it said in a trembling voice. “I want you to bring them here,” and when they finished speaking, the candles within the room lit themselves on fire. A pact with a summoner had been made. I reached my scaly arm towards the floor to support myself as the summoner stepped back. The wind from the extrusion of my wings blew out the candles at the perimeter of the circle. With another force and more wind, I flew into the air and was blinded by the moonlight reflected off by the shattered rose window.

“That’s where one of the demons fell from,” they said. “And I lost the other one in the library below.” I approached the window to fly below, but the incredible speed of the wind dissuaded me. So, I took to the stairs. The summoner followed, and we found ourselves in a corridor. “Bring them, then our pact will be complete. I shall banish them,” they said and ran off behind a door.

It had begun raining when I made it to the front gate, and on its other side a creature was screaming in agony. The demon had broken its limbs from the fall. Using my magic, I teleported the demon into the castle. Slowly but surely I teleported it closer to my target. I panicked as I heard footsteps approaching, and I hastily teleported the demon away. I saw the summoner peeking from behind a door and quickly shut it as we caught eyes. I continued to avoid the summoner’s path as I teleported the demon closer to the circle.

Next, I made my way to the opposite end of the castle, and searched through the library for the remaining demon. It was floating through the bookshelves, completely ignoring its surroundings, until I bumped into a shelf and a few books fell to the floor. The ghostly demon had a peculiar interest in the noise and I was unable to teleport the demon, so I used the books instead. By teleporting them into the air, they clashed with the floor. Like a bat, the demon followed the noise out of the library with each drop. That’s when my anxiety peaked again, as I saw the summoner at the opposite end of the hall. They turned around and ran away but with each step the castle creaked and the demon was intrigued. I teleported a vase into the air, it broke on the floor and the demon was distracted. After another handful of encounters, we made it to the circle and I felt myself disappearing. The pact had been completed. The summoner revealed themself, but the two demons were quicker.