Story: The Summoning

This is something I came up with for the subreddit /r/HFY but I figured i might as well post it here too. 

The Summoning.

 The full moon shone brightly in a cloudless, midnight sky. It’s silvery light poured down through a carefully placed aperture in the roof and illuminated the chamber near bright as day.

 It shone on the stone flags, etched with ancient runes. It shone on the intricate geometric shapes painstakingly painted on the stones in rare oils and…other liquids. It shone on the young woman sprawled on a stone table just outside of the shapes and runes, making her soft white skin so much more pale that she seemed like a bright goddess. A goddess in a torn silk shift and bound in unsightly hempen ropes. And the moon light fell most strongly on the man stood under the very centre of the gap in the roof, directly under the waterfall of silvery light. 

The wizard Parrek, Sorceror of the 8th and highest rank, Councillor and terror of Kings, was a tall man, pale and severe of face, so thin he was barely more than a skeleton and it was the way his flesh sat meagrely upon the bones of his face that had given him his by-name. Parrek The Ghastly. 

Now Parrek raised his long, skeletal arms, the sleeves of his satin robes sliding away like water. In his left hand was a staff of ebony crowned by the skull of a being not of this world; in his right a gem of glowing emerald, large as an elephant’s heart. He had been chanting since the sun fell below the horizon but now he was coming to the final verses and his harsh, rasping tones rose to a shout as he threw his summons out into the void. 

At the centre of the magical circle something stirred the air. Ripples of colour formed and faded and formed again all the stronger. 

The air began to rip apart as a window was created. It grew wider and Parrek saw that beyond it was a realm of smoke and roaring flames. The air filled with the scents of sulphur and foulness and the stench caused the maiden on the table to cough and stir. Her eyes opened. She saw the impossible thing at the centre of the circle and her eyes widened with horror. Yet her screams were muffled by the roaring of flames and the half-yard of silk wrapped around her lower face. Some wizards enjoyed the screams of women but Parrek preferred to work without a headache.

 Parrek allowed himself a nod of satisfaction. The conjuration as good. All was good. 

Something floated beyond the window now. A dark, amorphous shape that was vague but for one giant, shining yellow eye.

 Parrek raised his staff higher and cried. “By the ancient ritual of Mal-Kiir I summon you to this world to work your powers for my needs”

 The thing beyond the window in the air spoke and its voice was the sound of wet entrails sliding across blood-slick stones, the sound of flies buzzing around a dying dog, the sound of a dozen foul things at once and yet separate.  

“NO” 

Parrek stared at the being, jaw agape. Then he remembered his rank of 8th Circle of Sorcery and he gritted his teeth . He spoke the words of summoning once again 

“By the ancient ritual of Mal-Kiir I…” 

“NO!” the being cut him off, louder this time. “I said No” 

Parrek resisted the urge to dig a long-nailed finger into his right ear and wiggle it about. He hurriedly glanced about the chamber. The moon was still shining brightly, the runes and markings were correct, he was *sure* the words were correct. This was unfathomable. He cleared his throat and asked “I have performed the ritual as it is laid down. All is correct. Is there an enchantment keeping you from our world? “ 

The beings eye – of which it only seemed to have one – rolled a little “I don’t want to.” 

“What do you mean ‘You don’t want to?’ You’re a demon, you are always seeking to come to this plane and cause evil.” Parrek demanded, too cross to pick his words with care. 

“Well I don’t want to. Visiting your poxy world is not all it’s cracked up to be.” 

Parrek waved a skeletal arm in the direction of the young woman on the table who was now trying to sit up but at the same time avoid falling out of her ragged nightgown. “I have a here a beautiful maiden of the noblest lineage for you to dine upon. Do her flesh and spirit not tempt you?”

 The demonic eye flickered and came to rest upon the maiden. “Boring. Maidens have no flavour and she’s a little too fatty for my taste.” 

There was a thrashing from the table. The woman’s eyes bulged in rage as she tried to break free again. Even through the gag Parrek was sure he could hear her screaming something that sounded a lot like “ Uuu MmUuuvvuurrrFkkkker” 

If anything she didn’t seem to be frightened anymore. 

“So why don’t you want to obey my summons - exactly?”

 There was a sense of the amorphous being fidgeting and when it spoke again it sounded almost …sullen.

 “Your realm is too bloody dangerous.”

 “You what?” Parrek almost threw back his head and laughed before he remembered that chickenshit thought it might be, this was still a being of power. 

“Too bloody dangerous, I said” and the voice rose again in a rage. “Every time I come over it goes horribly wrong. If it isn’t a bloody white wizard interfering then it’s some barely-sentient, Northern ape with a sword forged from a comet and I end up getting hurt. Your entire realm is full of violent headbangers” 

A tendril pushed through the window between words. Dead white flesh rippling with sharp hooks flailed about for a moment before pulling back.  

“Do you have any idea how long it takes to grow a tentacle back? Centuries! Centuries, I tell you.” 

Parrek glanced up at his skylight. The moonlight was already fading as the shining orb overhead drifted past on it’s eternal circuit. Soon it would no longer shine through the aperture and the books had been very clear about moonlight being vital. 

Of course the books had said nothing about a demon throwing a hissy fit. 

“Oh alright. Piss off then. I’ll just wait another month and get one of your infernal brethren to do my bidding.” 

A deep, raspjng chuckle came through the portal. “Good luck with that, pal, the word is out and your plane of naked monkeys is off the travel list.” 

The tentacle popped through once again, made what was almost certainly a rude gesture and slipped back just before the window slammed shut with a boom that rattled Parrek’s teeth. 

Just then there was a cough from behind him, and this was a problem because Parrek’s tower was supposed to be sealed. 

The wizard’s shoulders slumped and he turned around. A barbarian was standing there scratching his head. In one hand was a sword made of something that glowed with a sapphire sheen. Of course. 

The barbarian gave him a shrug and a small smile “You’re not having a good day, are you, wizard?” and for a moment Parrek considered blasting him with arcane fire. 

But it been a long night and he was so very, very tired. He jerked a thumb over his shoulder “There’s the girl. Her virtue is intact, or at least I didn’t do anything to it. Take her and go away.”

 Once she was cut free the maiden tried to stab him with a piece of whale bone and the barbarian confiscated the giant green gem but otherwise, the next ten minutes could have gone worse.

 When they had finally gone, Parrek the Ghastly, Sorceror Of The 8th rank, councillor and Terror of Kings sat on the stone table and had a bit of a cry.