Page 19 of White Charms and Dark Secrets

“Imperium cutis ardeat!” I scream, hurling a curse I’ve only ever read about and pushing my magic into the vampire holding me. The release of his grip is instantaneous, and I fall to the floor, unable to catch myself in time. A horrific howl of pain rings out into the cave.

I turn, and bear witness to the burning vampire. His skin bubbles as blue flames engulf his body. I feel eyes staring daggers into me, and I spin to look at everyone else. A combination of shock and fury paint their expressions, apart from the scarred, dark-haired vampire. He smiles like a cat that’s got the cream.Shit.

I swallow my nerves as I pull myself to my feet.Bluff. For all they know you're a crazy-powerful witch. Hell, for a second, I felt crazy powerful too.

“Get out of my way or I’ll burn you too!” I yell at the vampire standing in front of me. He spares a glance at the vampire that now lies on the ground, still aflame and screaming, before stepping aside. I pause only long enough to snatch up my backpack, before sprinting for the exit to this part of the cave. I need to find somewhere quieter to hole up, and then I’ll come up with a plan for escape.

As I back out of the cave, I glimpse the other two I’d come in with, seeing that vampire teeth already pierce their flesh. Guilt batters my chest as I force myself to look away and run. In truth, I don’t think I could fight all of the vampires in there, and while they may be willing to letmeslip away, I can tell they wouldn’t be happy to sacrifice all the fresh, new blood.

I run until my legs ache, taking numerous twists and turns in an effort to put as much distance between me and them as I can. When I find myself somewhere I think far enough away, I stop, my breathing haggard. I crouch down in a dark corner, leaning my back against the wall so I can keep an eye out for anyone that may come across me. My body hurts worse than I ever remember it hurting before, and I’m sure I’ll be covered in nasty bruises in a few hours.

Now that I’m alone, I close my eyes, picturing my living room as I move my hands in the motion of the sigil to conjure a portal.“Segmentum aperire conscidisti in mundo. Ite ad locum creare hunc locum,”I recite, pulling as hard as I can on my magic. A blue light shimmers, but doesn’t stabilise in front of me, shattering only seconds later.

I try again, with the same results, before leaning back with a huff and crossing my arms over my stomach. Of course they blocked portals. They would have thought of something like that. I can’t believe I let myself think for even a second it could be so easy.

I can’t believe I’m really trapped here. How did this happen?

There was a time, a scant month ago, when I thought a demon stuck in a helpless cat’s body and being suspected of murder were the worst feasible things that could happen to me. Look at me now, proving that you can always sink deeper into shit.

I snort.

Solas would get a laugh out of seeing me trapped here, I’m sure.

An unexpected thought suddenly strikes me.Could I summon him and make him a deal for a way out of here? Would that even be possible?

I feel eyes watching me again and look around. The glint of fangs show from the man across the section of caves I’m in. A shiver runs down my back, and I pull a protective circle up around myself. The magical barrier shimmers in the darkness.

He looks at me in curiosity a moment, before moving on to find an easier snack. I let out a breath I didn’t realise I was holding. I’d never really feared vampires prior to the night of my attack, secure in the knowledge that the pacts holding the races together demand their compliance. But now, now I recognise that some vampires just don’t care, and in The Tomb, I bet there are a lot of those vampires down here.

Shit. I’ll try anything to get myself out of this hell.

Even if it does mean making another damn deal with a demon.

Eleven

Blackmail & Deceit

Shit. I can’t believe it’s come to me summoning a demon to ask him to break me out of prison. I hold onto the hope that Aunt Silvia was right about Solas not killing me, because I don’t exactly have the damn equipment necessary to hold him. Hell, I don’t haveanything needed for a normal summoning.

I have one thing working to my advantage. Because we share a connection from a previous favour owed, I can request his presence without the formal ritual. Which is good, because I sure as hell don’t know summoning spells by heart.

I debate cutting my hand on a jagged rock to draw a blood circle, something strong enough to hold him, at least for a little while. However, with all the evil that has sharp teeth down here, I don’t think bleeding is a good idea.

I’m more scared of them than I amof him. Which is beyond ridiculous as pretty much every race considers demons to be the deadliest creatures. A title that those fucked up assholes seem to love.

At least if any bystanders get hurt by me summoning Solas, they’ll all be criminals anyway. No innocents reside in a place like this. I doubt anyone else has bad enough luck to be here while innocent.

After discovering a secluded section of the series of spelled caverns, I take a few deep, calming breaths as I try to centre myself. Somehow, I’m both praying for it to work and for it to not work, due to my uncertainty of Solas’ willingness to murder me.

I bite the bullet and decide to spit the words out before I can talk myself into chickening out of this. “Solas, I summon you,” I whisper. My eyes dart around the space, looking for any sign of the demon in question. When nothing happens, I try again. “Solas, I summon you,” I call a little louder, struggling to shove a little conviction into it. I wait in silence for a few minutes, before sighing.Maybe he can’t hear me? Maybe the magic of The Tomb cuts off our connection?

“Solas, I swear to the fucking goddess you better not be ignoring me,” I mutter. I look around again, still no signs of him.Shit, maybe he really can’t hear me.

A sinking feeling grows in my gut as I slump against the wall in defeat. I could be trapped here forever just because of a fucking case of mistaken identity. I put my head in my hands as I fight back the urge to cry.

“Solas, I summon you. I need your help. Please.” One last ditch effort. I don’t even bother looking up, sinking into hopelessness. Shivering from the cold, I try to blink back tears of frustration.

The smell of brimstone tickles my nose. I suck in a deep breath, the familiar scent both terrifying and relieving me.

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