90 – Triangle

“No I am not going to tell you the details of summoning spells. This is an overview to tell you some bits and pieces you might not know. I am not teaching anyone on how to become a Blood Mage,” Francesca gave a steely glare at the person who has asked until they shrunk back down into their seat, and tried to make themselves as small as possible.

“Anyone else have a question that isn’t idiotic?”

There was a pause in the auditorium, and then a couple of tentative hands.

“You,” Francesca jabbed the chalk at a random girl in the audience.

“How might we recognise a summoning taking place? Are there any distinct feature of the magic used or does it just look like a normal ritual?”

“Now that is a good question. Triangles.”

There was a puzzled silence, and frowns around the audience, as Francesca turned to the board and drew some quick shapes, “So in most casting magic, when you want to draw your paradigm, you use circles and squares. Circles are used for continuation, enclosing and energy, and squares for stability. However, blood magic, especially demonic magic, relies on instability, and thus triangles are drawn. Circles are still used for power though.”

There was rustling, as more than a thousand people scrabbled to take notes. Francesca turned, and crossed her arms again, waiting for the next person to put their hand up.

“You.”

“So, how many triangles are used for a summoning?”

“Again with the details. Details are not your friends here.”

17 – Blood

Red and thick, a drop welled up and rolled don the flesh, dropping off the end of her finger and making a tiny splash on the floor.

Francesca placed the finger to her mouth, adding to her already stained lips as she gently wiped it off.

The pattern on the floor was almost complete, an intricate interlacing of sharp symbols and sweeping shapes. Francesca squeezed out a few more drops, placing each one carefully around the small triangles in the center of the pattern.

Satisfied that it was secure, she stepped back, shaking her arms and spraying droplet everywhere, but outside of the summoning circle she had created.

Clapping her slippery hands together, she began to chant in a low voice, the sounds guttural and harsh from a human tongue, calling down to the depths of Negaril, reaching the specific demon she wanted, then bringing them forth, binding them to her will, instead of the other way round.

The blood circle began to ooze, the lines blurring. A trick, meant to catch out the new, the unprepared, but Francesca was neither of those.

Her stained lips twisted into a malicious smile. This demon was hers, no matter what he threw at her.

6 – Break Away

Francesca screamed and stomped out of the room, slamming the door as hard as she could behind her, shaking the frame.

Every stomp echoed across the stone halls, beating out the path that the fuming teen took to her own room. It only stopped when she threw open to door to her own room, stomped over the carpet and threw herself on her bed and screamed into a pillow.

“That went quicker than it usually does. Tell me, who started screaming first?”

Francesca flopped over onto her back, staring straight up at the ceiling. “What does it matter? He’s being a jerk. An insufferable jerk.”

“He said no then?”

Francesca turned her head to the side and raised her eyebrows at the demon sitting in the armchair. “Really? You need me to spell it out for you?”

“The castle isn’t that bad. Free food, free board, fighting pits, blood rituals. What’s not to like?”

“It’s so boring! There’s nothing here to do. And yes, I’m aware how much you like the fighting pits. But can you honestly tell me that it’s a challenge for you?” She looked at him, and he grinned at her, his spiky black teeth glinting. “Thought not.” She reached over the edge of her bed and started rummaging around underneath.

“So?”

“So what?” The blood was starting to rush to her head as she hung over her bed.

“So what are you going to do?”

“Precisely the opposite of what daddy dearest wants me to do.” She found the strap, and pulled out the bag which she had packed earlier. Clothes, food, and maps. Everything a girl running away from home would need.

“Have you thought this through?”

“Hell no. But bollocks to that, I want out. Clean break, time to get away.” She pulled the backpack onto her back and opened up the window. Dusk was just falling, the light fading from the air. Perfect time to jump ship.

With a word and a gesture, smoke rose up from the floor and another demon appeared, but this one was dog shaped, except for two large wings on it’s back. With a few control phrases she bound it to her will, and then stepped on it’s back.

Zachariah crossed his arms. “And how am I meant to get down?”

“You’re a fucking demon, figure something out. The jump won’t kill you.” Francesca slapped the arse of her temporary mount, and it jumped out the window. The air smelled as sweet as freedom as it whipped her bangs out of her face and she heard a thump behind her, presumably Zachariah following his mistress out into the wide world.

85. Touch

The two blood mages stepped around each other carefully, avoiding the cracks on the floor that they had already made.

Francesca stretched her fingers and refreshed a spell that she held there with a quick mutter.
Narissa did the same, but her mutter wasn’t quiet enough, and Francesca caught a syllable. Oh how predictable she thought, as she freighted a step and then lunged.

The air literally crackled around them as the curses went off. Francesca opened with something obvious, and as expected it was countered.

Both women were light on their feet, and fast. You had to be in duels, otherwise you were dead. They had both fought each other before, but this time was different. This time, they were aiming to hurt each other, it wasn’t just for practice.

Narissa let of a couple of curses which we deflected away, cracking some of the circular seating around the room. The dance of curses and deflections and counter curses was so familiar, Francesca was beginning to enjoy herself.

No. She shut it down. Concentrate. Now is not a time to enjoy it. Save it and gloat later when you win.

Eventually Narissa was worn down to one spell left hanging. She muttered and free cast one spell, which Francesca twirled around and then spotted movement out of the corner of her eye. So that was her plan. She feinted, going in the direction that Narissa thought she would go in, but suddenly turned and leant back at the same time.

She felt and saw the hand, crackling with black lightning, pass just over her chest, and in the snap second of surprise from Narissa, came back up and her own hand connected with Narissa’s chest.

A touch was all it took for her own curse to go off, and Narissa’s soul was hers.

80. Zero

“Yeah, the chances of that happening are zero.”

“Seriously?”

“Seriously.”

Elise put her hands on her hips and looked at Francesca. “Why are the chances of you telling the council where Belraxar is at the moment zero?”

Francesca held up her hand and lifted one finger. “Number one, it moves. I know where it was last, but it’s probably not there anymore.”

“Wait, it moves?” Elise exclaimed.

Francesca held up a second finger. “Two, that would be far too easy if I told you. You’ve been trying to find it for over half a century now. I’m not just going to spoil all that hard work.”

“What do you mean it moves? It’s a castle!”

A third finger joined the hand. “Thirdly, I grew up there. It may be the home of the most powerful necromancers, but I still was born and grew up there. I don’t want to see my home destroyed. Besides, most of my stuff is still there.”

“How does a castle move?”

“Are you still going on about that? Did you even hear points two and three?”

52. See You in Hell

52. See You in Hell (18/3/11)

Francesca’s magically loud voice boomed across the valley. “Attention please, especially to the advancing army. I’ve made a little miscalculation, which is going to have big consequences.”

She was standing at the top of the hill, looking down the valley that they had managed to force the army to take, to give them the tactical advantage. From here she could see all that they had brought, and all that they had summoned. Skeletons, Zombies, even a hoarder here and there. Much more than she had been able to summon, until she had miscalculated that is.

Behind her were the sounds of their own forces. Without looking she erected a hex barrier. It was a shame that they had put so much effort into this, but she couldn’t let any of them get near her. Well, actually. She just didn’t want Elise near her. That girl wouldn’t have let her hear the end of it.

Francesca laced her fingers together, stretching them out in front of her. “Right. I’ve overcast. And now I have approximately 14 minutes before I explode, and take a good portion of the landscape with me. So, let’s what kind of hell I can raise before I see you there.”

She’d always wanted to try this. Crouching down and burying her hand into the ground, she chanted a mantra as she touched all the bones buried beneath the soil. Previous battlegrounds were a marvellous area for blood mages to work in.

The ground rumbled beneath them, and then out of the side of the hill burst a dragon made of bones, followed by another one from the other side of the hill, as a hand thrust itself up from in the middle of pathway, and a construct hauled itself up from the depths. Francesca smiled. Everything would join her in Hell soon.

49. Alive

49. Alive (11/1/11)

Zechariah flexed his muscles. The atmosphere could not have been tense with three of the most powerful demons, the arch-mages and the necromancers in the same room.

Behind him Elise was actually calm, if he was reading her right. That was weird in itself, then she started talking, and he shifted his head slightly to see that she had a slight smile on her face.

“If I’ve understood everything correctly, then most of the plans in this room depend on having a soul as a source of fuel, and since everyone has a claim to it, everyone would be planning to use Francesca’s soul?”

The King of the Demon’s snorted. “So you’ve figured it out, good for you. It’s still not going to stop anyone. You can’t thwart our plans again.”

Elise continued to smile that sweet smile of hers. “Indeed, there is nothing I can do to stop your plans. But I do know that someone else already has.”

King roared at her, “And who on earth could possibly stop us now?”

“Have you ever checked the state of the soul that you plan to use?”

Several people in the room frowned, as they double checked on her words. And they then went pale as they realised what Elise meant. A murmur, exclamations, and roars from the demon went round the room as everyone found out that the soul that they were depending on was not to be found.

Zechariah burst out laughing as he put all the pieces in place. He realised the full meaning behind the soul being missing, as all the pieces fell into place, and he couldn’t stop laughing, much to his King’s displeasure. “Demon Zechariah, what is so funny about the situation?”

“Everything. She’s played you. She’s played everyone.” He let out another burst of laughter. “Oh she is good.”

“She?”

Elise smiled, and then raised her voice very calmly above the din, “Francesca.”

There was a movement behind one of the pillows, as a figure emerged from the shadows and pulled her hood down. There was an immediate silence as Frankie smiled at Elise. “I’m glad somebody worked it out.” She then turned her gaze onto the Lords.

“Do you really think that I wouldn’t have planned for the eventuality of my death? Frankly I’m surprised more people didn’t figure it out sooner. Oh don’t look so surprised O Great King of the Demons. I’ve been alive for quite some time now.”