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The Iron Bells

Page 32

by Jeanette Battista


  ****

  I slowly return to consciousness, feeling heavy and strange. I don't open my eyes for the time being, trying simply to figure out where I am. I am lying down on a cold surface, my body contorted uncomfortably. Nothing seems to be hurting, although I recall great pain before passing out. But I'm not in pain now. I just feel empty, wrung out, and a little bit wrong, but in a way I can't put my finger on.

  "I think she's waking up." It's Dham's voice and it is very close to me.

  I crack open an eye warily and remember where I am. The pentacle room. Dham's face is there, blocking my view of the ceiling, but I remember now. I'd been trying to break the binding laid on Trick keeping him inside Pat's body. I try to sit up and my body protests, every muscle cramping. I squeeze my eyes shut, gritting my teeth as I wait for the pain to pass.

  "Are you okay?" Dham's voice is close to my ear.

  "Of course she's not okay!" Trick's anger is palpable even from where I am on the floor. "She's a complete incompetent! She's an imbecile, an utter lackwit!" His diatribe becomes more esoteric and I'm assuming more unpleasant since he's now speaking in a language I don't understand.

  Dham helps me sit up and I look around. "You left the circle?" I put a hand to my head, surprised to find a bandage on it.

  "You collapsed. After screaming bloody murder, I might add." He leans close, looking at my face intently. "I couldn't not come."

  "How long was I out?" I have no idea how much time has been lost. It could have been only a few minutes or it could have been hours for all I know.

  "Ten minutes at most." He casts a glance at Trick, still trapped within the pentacles. "He started shouting as soon as those symbols lit up and didn't stop until--well, he still hasn't stopped." Trick had moved on to a completely different language to presumably berate me in. "Was that supposed to happen?"

  I shake my head. "I don't know. I'm guessing from his reaction," I point at the demon cursing in the chair, "probably not."

  "You took quite a risk. I told you not to leave the protection of the circle." I want to be angry with Dham, but find that I can't be. I'm glad he's here with me.

  "He was still contained, so I figured it was safe." He looks away. "Besides, you needed the help."

  I don't say anything for a few moments, playing with the bandage on my hand. I want to see how bad the cut is, but it can wait until later. I have bigger problems. I take a deep breath and shout at Trick, "Can you shut up for a minute?"

  He stops mid-yell and cocks his head. "Oh, she deigns to speak to me. How lucky am I?"

  I roll my eyes and manage to get to my feet with Dham's help. "So I'm going to assume that the ritual didn't work."

  "My word, what blinding insight you possess. You're a veritable prodigy with your grasp of the OBVIOUS." His upper lip lifts in an impressive sneer.

  "Alright, alright," I say, holding up my hand to my head. "No need to be bitchy. We'll figure this out."

  "Do you have any idea what you've done?" He looks away, disgust on his face. "Of course you don't, because you don't have the brains the Maker gave a bloody gnat!"

  "Well then explain it to me!" I burst out, losing patience with being insulted. My head feels like it's about to fall off of my neck. "I've never cast a circle before, let alone tried to perform a half-written ritual, so fill me in on what went wrong before I make you eat a rosary, you spoiled git."

  He grimaces, but meets my eyes. "Very well." He takes a deep breath, obviously trying to control his anger.

  "You're still bound in there?"

  "Correct." He almost manages not to spit the word out like an accusation. Almost.

  "Well, I wasn't sure the ritual would work. It's not exactly a huge surprise, alth--" Trick's mocking laughter cuts off my words.

  "What's he laughing about?" Dham looks back and forth between the two of us like he's watching a tennis match. "Hey, you! What's so hilarious?"

  Trick smiles darkly at me. "Yes, it's not surprising that the ritual failed, especially considering the woefully inept conjurer attempting it. Sad, really."

  "Get on with it," Dham growls.

  "Easy, tiger, I'm coming to it." Trick flexes his arms against the ropes binding him to the chair. He looks straight at me. "You didn't unbind me, that much is true."

  "So why are you so upset?" I didn't understand his reaction. This was a long shot at best.

  "Did you not feel anything before you lost consciousness?" His voice is curious now, testing.

  I look down at my feet, running through the final moments that I remember. There was a burning pain in my chest, as if something was being siphoned out of me. "I did." I look up at him, finding an unpleasant smile on the familiar face. "It felt like something was being pulled out of me."

  "I felt the same," Trick states. "Unfortunately, I understood what that feeling meant." He sighs. "Not only did you fail to free me, you managed to do something that should have been so far beyond you as the stars are beyond a common ant. I'm now bound to you. As you are to me."

  He stops to glare at me. "It's been a long time since I've been duped so thoroughly by a human. You really got me. You have a naturally affinity for spellwork that I haven't seen in quite some time.

  "You're my master now."

  I gawp at him. I can see that Dham is doing the same. Trick's mouth pulls up in what approximates a grin, but it's painful to look at. "What do you wish of me, master?"

 

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