Page 45 of Fated to the Demon Lord

I paused when I reached page ten. It bore the name Blood of Fire, and at the top it read: Danger: Spell will kill you if not performed properly. I glanced at the picture near the bottom, and nausea gripped me. They showed images of humans and demons with blood everywhere. I swallowed and quickly turned past page ten.

Flipping a few more pages, I again stopped when I came to a spell called The Enemy's Curse. The blood of one’s enemy was required to cast this spell. I read over the page, and although the passage insisted it was a curse, it wasn’t clear what the curse would actually do.

I read the words of the enchantment. “Curse my enemy. Curse my enemy. Curse him by name. Curse him until he shall do my bidding, and all shall be free.”

My brow drew together at the familiarity of it. This was a poem which my mother had passed down to me, complete with hand signs. How did she know a hedge-witch spell? Was it a coincidence? There was more to it. Symbols that needed to be drawn in the earth. I sat back and made my hand signs and then checked the book. Gods, if I carved signs into the dirt, it would make the exact same images from the book.

I flipped to the next page, afraid that it might show another thing that my mother had shown me, but no, the following spell wasn’t familiar. With shaking hands, I skipped past that section.

I turned the pages in the plant section, searching for foliage I didn’t recognize.

A knock came. “I have food for you, miss.”

I slid the book aside and walked up to the door. “You can leave it outside,” I called.

“As you like.”

I waited for a full minute after I heard his feet scurrying away, and then opened the door and grabbed the plate of food and drink. Setting the provisions on the floor of my room, I quickly shut and locked the door.

I carried my plate and a small glass of water to the table. The cuisine featured animal flesh, with a significant portion being insufficiently cooked. Blood oozed from some poor dead creature that had been served to me. As if to redeem itself, someone threw on a few steamed vegetables as an afterthought.

But I couldn’t eat. Reading had calmed me some, but my stomach remained a mass of nerves from Vaelor leaving.

I walked back and settled onto the bed, picking up my book again. After a brief hesitation, I curiously flipped to the third section of the book. If I remembered correctly, this section contained spells that lead to a demon’s destruction. What kind of tools did a hedge witch use to defeat a demon?

I flipped the page.

A drawing caught my attention… and I stared.

The depiction showed a tall, horned demon, likely an Inferna imp. His body intertwined with a human woman. The pair was unclothed. And the looks on their faces, gods, it looked as though they were enjoying it. Sigils and plants encircled them. The title on this page read Spell of His Enhancement.

Beneath the image, a picture of the identical male stood with a rather small appendage. To the right of that one, another drawing of the same male appeared, possessing a rather lengthy cock.

I blinked several times as if the picture might change. This was strange.

I turned the page.

The next one proved equally salacious. It was a circular image with runes carved into the dirt. An abaddon demon that appeared a little too much like Vaelor lay in the center, wings splayed flat behind him, with red runes painted all over his body. His arms and legs were tied to four different trees, and a human woman sat upon him. Red runes also adorned her naked form, her head tipped to the sky, pure ecstasy on her expression.

I couldn’t take my eyes off the drawing. What in the hell? I flipped to the beginning of the section and double-checked the title.

Spells to Unravel a Demon.

I turned back to the sexual pictures. Heat filled my face, making my cheeks flush red. These were not spells to defeat a demon, as I had assumed. I turned the page only to find another sexual coupling. This spell had something to do with curses. But the positions… Gods, gods.

I snapped the book shut and set it aside. The hedge witch book contained a wider variety of spells than I had first assumed.

Perhaps it was time to read something else.

“Denara.”

My eyes snapped open. I’d fallen asleep while reading. Something warm clung to my legs. That was right; I wore pants. Morning light seeped in through the window, and a low mist clung to the floor. Vaelor stood over me, watching me with his glowing gaze. He still wore the same shirt and trousers from the day before.

Warmth flooded my chest. “You came back.”

“I told you I’d return. You didn’t believe me?”

“I wasn’t certain,” I said softly.