Page 21 of Fixing the Grumpy Pumpkin King
Here we go again. Locke went back to the cobwebs. “Because I’m bad at magic?”
“Because you were trying the wrong type of magic. Your power is summoning.”
Locke paused. Looked over his shoulder. “Summoning.”
“Yes.”
“Like... what you do?”
“Precisely. It’s why you were able to summon me so easily.”
“It was my Grandma’s grimoire that I took the words from and used in the play.”
“And it worked. Because summoning is your natural affinity.”
Locke finally finished setting up Jason inside of the closet and turned fully to face him. “Jack, I’ve screwed up every single magical thing you’ve tried to teach me for two weeks. I just want to finish this haunted house and go home and watch a movie or something. I don’t want to mess anything else up.”
“You won’t mess this up. I’m certain now.”
“You were certain about the fire thing and I almost burned the shop down.”
“This is different. Trust me.”
Locke sighed. That was the problem, wasn’t it? He did trust Jack. Despite everything, despite the chaos, despite the fact that Jack was a literal harvest deity who’d turned his apartment into an autumn forest and his life into something unrecognizable.
He trusted him.
“Fine. What do you want me to summon? With my luck I might end up summoning a freaking demon.”
“A familiar. A spiritual companion, like my three. Well, not like them, you haven’t nearly the power for it. But something similar.”
“Gee, thanks.”
“I meant it as reassurance. You’ll summon something appropriate to your current skill level. Likely a minor spirit. Possibly a ghost.”
“A ghost.” Of course. Why not? His life was already weird enough.
“Nothing to worry about. Just trust me and follow my instructions.”
Famous last words.
Ten minutes later, Locke was standing in the middle of the Briar House’s dusty living room, eyes closed, trying to “feel the veil between worlds” or whatever mystical nonsense Jack was coaching him through.
“Focus on your intention. Reach out with your mind.”
“I am focusing.”
“You’re thinking about me naked.”
Locke’s eyes flew open, his face immediately burning. “No I wasn’t!”
Jack’s carved mouth curved into something that looked suspiciously smug. “Locke. Clear your mind. Feel the veil between worlds. It’s especially thin here so it should be easy to tap into it and draw from it. The Loam is a world of magic and it can be yours if you’re greedy enough to take it.”
“You sound like a devil in my ear.”
“I know, but it’s what you need. You’re a kind man, Locke so I know the concept is foreign to you. But try again with that thought in mind. Think of what you want and make it yours.”
Locke closed his eyes again. Tried to focus. Tried to reach out with his mind, whatever that meant. All he could feel was frustration and the growing certainty that this was going to be another failure.
