Page 32 of The Teddy Bear's Prize

Clicking on the folder, I bite my bottom lip and start scrolling through the photos. There’s at least two clear images showing the circle that Erika identified as part of the summoning ritual.

I reach for my phone and shoot her a quick text to make sure she’s awake. She responds almost immediately and I pull up a video chat.

The tears start the moment I start to explain to her what happened. She stares at me bare faced, her blonde hair piled on top of her head with her brows drawn in sympathy. Her hand goes to her chest while I recount my last moments with Tobias.

“Will you help me?” I ask, my mouth is dry and I feel like I just ran a mile.

“Just to be clear, you’re asking me to help you summon a demon,”

A shadow passes behind her, and I frantically wave my hand, “Wait, is Paolo home?” I ask, my voice low. There’s a burning pang in my chest realizing that I might have just outed my best friend as a witch.

Erika laughs, “Oh, don’t worry, he knows.”

“He knows Tobias is a demon?”

Through the connection, I can hear Paolo’s surprise, he pops into frame, leaning over Erika’s shoulder.

“He does now,” she chuckles and turns to her partner, whispering something under her breath that her mic doesn’t pick up. He smiles and kisses her forehead, then walks away. When she turns back to me, she fixes me with a stare, “I’m going to tell you the truth, babe, this is completely out of my depth. You will be stumbling through the ritual without the text to guide you.”

It hits me like a punch to the gut. Of course, my best friend can’t just up and summon my demon boyfriend.

“But,” she pauses, “that doesn’t mean we can’t create a new ritual.”

“Will that work?”

She shrugs, “It should. Most of those summoning spells are archaic and useless unless you want to wade through the Latin. Their only purpose is to stroke the ego of the witch who wrote them. Magic has progressed in the last hundred years, much like the rest of the world. The top scholars have confirmed it’s all about intention, and not the spell itself.”

I let out a sigh, “Great, when can you come over?”

Erika shakes her head, “This one is on you. Whatever spell you choose will draw on your connection to call him to you. Just be aware of the price if you make a deal with him.”

Well, that sounds ominous.

After Erika and I exchange goodbyes, I gather up afew supplies and pad into the kitchen, since it’s the only spot in the house large enough to summon a demon. Or at least that’s what logic tells me.

Using my favorite kohl pencil liner, I get onto my hands and knees and begin plotting out the design, based on the original summoning circle. I start by working on the main four points at the center, then slowly expand out with every ring. Thirty minutes and half of an eyeliner pencil later and I’m finished.

The whole thing looks vaguely satanic, so it might work.

Now, I just need a spell. Is it supposed to rhyme? It feels like a summoning spell should at least be a little poetic. Too bad I don’t have a poetic bone in my body.

Instead, I settle for the only summoning spell I know by heart. It shouldn’t matter if what Erika said about intention was true.

“Tobias.” I say, holding onto the way he looks, his smile. “Tobias.” I pause, then repeat one last time. “Tobias.”

It feels stupid the moment I try it, but it worked for Beetlejuice.

The lights flicker overhead and when I look back at the circle, shadows begin to gather around the outer ring, twisting and building until they nearly reach the ceiling before forming a familiar dark silhouette.

When they fade, Tobias is standing there in the demonic flesh, dressed in a dark red button down with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and black pants and boots.

Fuck, and I had him in jeans and a t-shirt. It almost feels like a travesty.

“Mia?” He asks, his eyes going wide. “How did you summon me?” He reaches for me, the air rippling as his fingertips graze the barrier ofthe circle.

Right, he’s still bound.

“I believe this is where we make a deal.” I fold my arms against my chest.

---