by N. C. Reed
*****
“Hi, dad,” Chip said when Charles walked into the house. “You’re home early.”
“Slow day,” Chuck said absently. “Where’s your mom?” he asked.
“Out back doing something,” Chip shrugged, returning to his homework.
“Thanks, buddy,” Chuck nodded, slipping outside. He saw his wife of eighteen years, Stacey, looking out at the darkening sky to the east, arms wrapped around herself.
“Hey, babe,” he said gently, so as not to startle her. She almost jumped, turning to see him, relief passing over her face.
“Charles,” she almost whispered, hugging him. “Did you feel. . . .?”
“I sure did,” he told her, hugging her tightly in return for a second. “Do you think the others. . . .?”
“No,” Stacey shook her head firmly. “They’d never try without you, and the four of them aren’t strong enough for something like that, anyway.”
“I’m not sure any of us are,” Chuck admitted. “There was real power behind that spell light, Stace. It was stronger than anything I’ve ever felt.”
“Me too,” she agreed. “I. . . .” Whatever else she had been about to say was cut off by the screeching of brakes toward the front of their house. Hand in hand, the two walked around front to see the Thomas’ getting out of their truck.
“Hey you two,” Chuck said in way of greeting.
“Chuck, did you feel that?” Albert said without preamble.
“I’d say everyone in Creasy’s Hollow felt it, Al,” Chuck nodded. Before either could say anything else, Belinda Johnson screeched to a halt in front of their house in her husband’s truck.
“Guys! Guys did you. . . .”
“Keep it down,” Valina cautioned. “And yes, of course we did.” Belinda had always been a little high-strung, and something like this would have her approaching panic mode if they weren’t careful.
“What in the world was it?” Belinda asked breathlessly.
“We don’t know,” Chuck admitted. “All I know is that it was very, very powerful. Honestly, at this point, I’m more interested in who did it. Well, I’m at least as interested,” he corrected. “Not knowing what it was is troubling.”
“Troubling?” Valina eyebrow’s shot up. “Chuck, your understatement is showing.” The others enjoyed a good laugh at that, albeit a nervous one. They needed it. Before anymore discussion started, Kat arrived, pulling into the drive a bit more sedately than the others.
“Well, looks like the gang’s all here,” she snorted, getting out of her car. “I take it we all experienced the same thing?”
“The whole town experienced it, I’m sure,” Albert replied, nodding.
“I had maybe eight customers, plus Susie and Damian. All of them felt it. Saw it.” Kat’s face showed concern. “That was some strong stuff, guys. Someone’s playing in our back yard, and they’re pretty powerful.”
“Agreed,” Chuck nodded. “As I see it, the first thing we have to do, if we can, is figure out what kind of spell that was. We need to know what happened, or what’s going to happen, as a result of all that. I’m almost positive it was a sacrifice of some kind, but what kind I don’t know.”
“Sacrifice?” the others managed to say in unison.
“Yep,” Chuck nodded. “I don’t know what, or who to or for, but there’s almost nothing else that would produce a wave like that with a blue tinge. I don’t know of anyone else anywhere near us,” he added. “Have any of you heard anything at all about a different group in our area?”
Heads shook in the negative all around the huddle. The small group of practitioners, always careful to avoid the word ‘coven’, had thought they were the only active practicing occultists in their area of the state, let alone the Hollow. It was obvious to Chuck that all were worried.
“Whoever they were,” Albert said into the silence, “I’d say they’re a lot more powerful than we are.”
“I have to agree,” Chuck nodded grimly. “We’ve never practiced a spell or ritual that produced that kind of power.”
“What does that tell us?” Kat asked. “How does it help us?”
“For the moment, it doesn’t, not really,” Stacey shook her head. “Without knowing who they are, or where they might be, our options are pretty limited.”
“Is there any chance they’re. . .well, aggressive?” Belinda asked, looking around as if someone even now might be watching them. “Could they know about us? Be a threat to us?”
“Let’s don’t jump to conclusions, now,” Chuck held up his hands in a placating manner. “Until we actually know something, we don’t know anything. Agreed?”
“No,” Valina shook her head. “We know for sure someone else is practicing, and you already said they’re stronger than we are. So we know that, don’t we?”
“I didn’t say they were stronger than us,” Chuck replied carefully. “I said we’d never done anything that produced that kind of power.”
“I said they were more powerful than us, and you agreed,” Albert pointed out.
“Okay, I did say that,” Chuck admitted. “But let’s don’t automatically assume that whoever did this is aggressive toward us, or even know who we are. For all we know, they’re just passing through the area.”
“Or they’ve been here all along, and we never noticed,” Valina retorted. “I don’t think you’re taking this seriously enough, Chuck.”
“What do you expect him to do?” Stacey asked. “You know as much as we do!”
“Chuck is the leader,” Belinda shot back. “It’s his job to know!”
“Look, this isn’t getting us anywhere,” Chuck himself held up a hand before the argument could develop further. “All we know, for sure, is that someone worked a spell of some kind. One I’m fairly certain was a sacrificial spell, though I can’t say I know that for sure, or what kind it was. What I’m worried about is whether or not it was a summoning.”
“You mean. . . ?” Albert’s eyes widened.
“That’s exactly what I mean,” Chuck nodded. “I can’t imagine anyone actually doing a spell like that. They’re stupidly dangerous. Even the best ones. The simplest summoning can open a door you just don’t want to open. One that’s hard to get closed again, too.”
“We’ve never done anything like that, have we?” Kat asked hesitantly.
“Not even close,” Chuck shook his head. “Remember, we started this as an alternative healing method, and then began using it for good fortune in business. Everything we’ve done has been passive. Positive. Completely so,” he added for emphasis.
“Well, someone must have decided to open that particular box,” Belinda piped up again. “What do we do now?”
“I don’t know that we can do anything,” Chuck admitted. “We don’t know who did it, or where. I can’t even be sure what kind of spell it was, like I said. I think it was a sacrificial one, but . . . that covers a lot of ground, guys. I need to study on this,” he added, frowning. “Maybe there’s something I can find, a description that matches what we saw, that will tell us what we’re dealing with. Other than that, all we can do is stay alert.”
The others weren’t happy with that, but everyone had to admit Chuck had a point. It wasn’t like they were experts in any sense of the word. Even calling them ‘hobby occultists’ would be stretching it. Deciding to wait and see what Chuck could find out, Belinda, Alvin, and Valina headed home, leaving Chuck and Stacey in their yard alone.
“Do you really think it was a summoning?” Stacey asked, once it was just the two of them.
“I’m almost certain of it,” Chuck admitted grimly. “But what did they summon?”
Chapter Three
Monusuol took in his surroundings with a jaundiced eye. He had felt the pull of the summoning from deep within the other plane. Unable to resist the summons, he had been swept along to this realm against his will. To call him unhappy would have been an understatement.
Seeing that his summoners were nowhere in evidence simply added
fuel to his already burning ire. Finding himself the recipient of the body of a dead canine served only to enrage him further.
Monusuol sniffed the air around him, testing it for anything familiar. The smell of salt was almost overpowering to him, and he could see the grains of the hated element on the ground all around him. His rage was on the verge of boiling over when he realized that the circle of salt trapping him was, in fact, incomplete. Someone, or something, had broken the circle that was meant to contain him.
A slow, predatory smile spread it’s way across the creature’s face. While he didn’t know who it was that had possessed the temerity to summon him from his home, they had, in fact, done him a huge favor. With the containment of his trap broken, Monusuol was free to walk the Earth once more, as he had been millennia ago.
Free, and answerable to no one.
The creature laughed aloud at this discovery, though no mortal human would have recognized the sound as one of humor. It more closely resembled the combination of large gears grinding together and the sound made by steam under pressure leaking from a ruptured pipe.
Testing his freedom, Monusuol lifted one cloven hoof and took a cautious step across the salty barrier. His foot landed safely on the outside of the broken circle with no pain inflicted upon him and no resistance. The horrible sound of his laughter rang louder this time, and dogs across the Hollow began to bark and howl in response.
Monusuol roared in return, the thrill of freedom giving strength to his defiance. He was free! The feeling was heady, almost intoxicating after so long in darkness and despair. With an evil joy permeating his very being, the monster set off in search of mischief and mayhem. There was so much he had missed in his time of confinement.
It was time to make up for that.
*****
“Did you hear that?” Donny asked his sister, as the two of them were finishing their homework.
“Hear what?” Donna asked, looking up.
“That. . .noise,” Donny tried to think of a good description. “It sounded like some kind of howl. Or something,” he added, frowning.
“Probably your stomach,” Donna rolled her eyes. Her brother would be hungry a half hour after supper. And desert.
“No it wasn’t.”
“Shut up and leave me alone,” Donna grumbled. “I have to get this done.”
“I’m telling you I heard something!” Donny insisted.
“You’re gonna be hearing bells if you don’t leave me alone!” Donna shot back. “Shut up!”
Growling under his breath, Donny got to his feet. He knew he had heard something strange. Going to the back door, he slipped on his shoes.
“You’ll get in trouble if you go out without doing your homework, dork,” Donna warned.
“Not unless you tell, snitch,” Donny shot back. “You wanted me to leave you alone, I’m leaving you alone.” With that he stepped outside, leaving a fuming sister behind.
“Jerk,” she muttered, returning to her homework.
*****
Chip had been taking the trash out when he heard the roaring. He wasn’t sure just what it was he was hearing, but he knew that it made the hair on his arm stand up. That and sent shivers down his spine.
“What the. . . .?” he wondered, looking out into the night. He couldn’t see anything, but he could hear what had to be every dog in the neighborhood barking and growling. The sound made him think of poor Waldo. Chip sighed, shaking his head. He had been so sure that the book he’d found would give Waldo back to them.
The roar, or whatever, sounded again, forcing all thoughts of Waldo from Chip’s mind. Whatever was making that noise sounded. . .angry. Angry and mean. And big.
Replacing the trash can lid, Chip decided to go back inside. He didn’t know what was making that sound, but he was pretty sure he didn’t want to meet it.
*****
Monusuol stalked the darkness of Creasy’s Hollow, content for the moment to simply enjoy his new found freedom. Much had changed in the time he had been banished from this realm. Strange lights burned without flame, and large metal beasts with glowing eyes roamed the land. Beasts the like of which he had never encountered. He would need to be cautious, at least until he knew more about them.
The smells of this realm were almost overwhelming as well. Some he could identify, others he could not. A few seemed familiar, as if some ingredient within the smell was known to him, but not in this state. Another mystery he would need to solve.
There were many strange new sounds as well, including the roar of the beasts with the glowing eyes. Some were quiet, almost as if trying to avoid detection. Others, however, were loud, roaring their defiance to others of their kind he supposed. A few were huge, and Monusuol was reluctant to draw their attention. He was not sure that he could defeat these largest of the strange beasts, and thought it better not to challenge one unless there was no choice.
Monusuol found himself walking along a hard surface that blended almost perfectly with the darkness save for brightly colored lines along it’s middle and sides. He had noted that most of the strange beasts traveled these surfaces, and decided that doing so himself might not be a good idea. With that thought, he moved off the hardened area onto the bare ground.
There were structures all along the sides of this marked surface, many showing the same strange lights that burned without any sign of fire. These lights were a source of puzzlement to him. He had seen stones glow in such a manner, but they were rare, and almost always lay in the possession of strong sorcerers, or worse still, knights who spent their lives dedicated to keeping Monusuol and his brethren from roaming the world at will, as was their right.
These structures. Could they be dwelling places of the humans? If so they were much changed from the last time he had walked the Earth. Where were the castles, the rock walls, the trenches and moats? Obstacles to his kind, placed there to protect the weak skinned humans from Monusuol and his kindred. Had the humans advanced to the point that they no longer needed such protection?
Were the strange beasts with the glowing eyes that seemed to patrol this particular settlement some new form of human wizardry meant to prevent attacks by beings such as he? Were they, even now, seeking him out with their glowing eyes and growling sounds?
The creature was confused. He needed time to think, to study his surroundings. There was much to be learned here, and he needed to be cautious. He was strong, of that there was no doubt. But he had been gone from this realm for a very long time. Would his strength still be superior in this new, unfamiliar surrounding?
He did not know, and what he didn’t know was dangerous. Monusuol had learned that the hard way. With great caution he eased his way back into the darkness, then made his way into the woods around the strange human settlement. He needed a safe place from which to watch, learn, and plan. The last time he had rushed head-long into an altercation with humans, he had been banished from the earth for a very long time.
He was determined not to make that mistake again.
*****
Chuck Douglas sat in his study, reviewing texts, trying to decipher what might have happened earlier in the day. He had already confirmed that the blue energy wave was indeed a sign of a successful summoning. That didn’t tell him what, or who, had been summoned, but it did confirm his worse fear. The spell had been successful.
He hoped that whoever had worked the spell had taken the proper precautions. Summoning was, as he’d told the others, dangerous in the extreme. Only the most skilled, or insane, practitioners used them. Binding a creature from another dimension to your will was a way to get things done, to get information, to accomplish any number of things.
Doing it wrong was an invitation to disaster. A disaster that usually began with the death of the summoner, and went downhill from there. Essentially, a summons that didn’t have all the necessary precautions in place left the summoned beast a free entity, able to roam at will and do as it pleased.
Just the thought of such a monster
loosed on a small town like Creasy’s Hollow made Chuck shiver. Creatures like that wreaked havoc for fun. Destruction, death, and mayhem came naturally to them as breathing. It was ingrained in their very nature, and there was no changing that.
He set the book he’d been reading aside, rubbing his eyes. He was tired, and his eyes burned from three hours of almost continuous reading. And while he had confirmed his earlier guess, he was no closer to finding out exactly what had happened. He had leaned back in his chair when he heard Chip come inside. His son came to the door of the study, and knocked lightly.
“Dad, I think something is wrong,” Chip said hesitantly.
“What do you mean, son?” Chuck asked, not really paying attention as he searched for another book.
“I heard something really weird outside just now,” Chip told him. Chuck stopped what he was doing, giving Chip his undivided attention.
“Weird how?” he asked, frowning.
“It was like a howl, or something,” Chip told him. “But it was wrong. It wasn’t a dog, I know that for sure. It was too deep for that. It almost sounded like when someone grinds gears on a straight shift transmission. It was loud, too,” he added.
“You just heard it? Just now, I mean?” Chuck asked, suddenly very interested.
“Yeah, when I was taking out the trash,” Chip nodded. “I know monsters don’t exist, but. . .it really sounded like some kind of monster howling. Or growling. Maybe a combination of the two. I can’t really describe it.”
“I’ll take a listen,” Chuck promised. “Probably was someone grinding gears,” he tried to laugh it off.
“I don’t think so, but maybe,” Chip looked dubious. “Anyway, I’m done with my chores, and already got my homework. I’m gonna play for a bit, and then go to bed. Okay?”
“Sure son, go ahead,” Chuck nodded. “Have fun.” He watched his son depart, then headed outside. Slipping his shoes on at the door, he stepped out into the night, listening. Dogs all over the neighborhood were howling and barking, causing quite a ruckus. There could be any reason for that, of course, but it was still unusual. A dog or two barking here and there was one thing. This sounded like every dog in Creasy’s Hollow was up in arms about something.
