Page 46 of Unbinding the Demon
“Well, you still had me confused!” I said through my laughter.
“Eeeaah!This thing is fucking rubbish!” William exclaimed as he dramatically struck the board with one of his floppy swords.
“Wait! Gwendolyn, didn’t your aunt write about trying to summon a demon or something in that creepy journal of hers?” Amelia asked while inquisitively tapping her chin.
“Well, um, yeah, she kind of did. Why?”
“Well, did that demon have a name? Maybe we could try calling upon it?” She raised a mischievous brow, glancing around at everyone with a grin.
“Oh damn, hell no! We aren’t calling on any motherfucking demons in this house!” Lacey pointed at the board and glared at Amelia with sass.
“Hold on... That might be kind of fun,” William interrupted while standing up. He pulled a joint from his breastplate and then lit it over one of the candles on my dresser. “Plus, you guys said that you don’t even believe in this stuff anyway, so what could it hurt? Come on, Gwenny-love, spill it. What’s its name?” He casually took a drag, then motioned with his hand for me to give him the answer as if he were asking for food. Smoke swirled through the room, filling it with the strong stench of weed.
I glanced down and began picking at my carpet. “Well, I guess you’re right. The name was Azathoth,” I replied with a shrug. “They’re not real, so it doesn’t even matter; nothing will happen.” I looked up at Lacey with a reassuring smile.
“Ugh, seriously, you guys? I don’t have a good feeling about this,” she stated with annoyed nervousness. “What if someone gets possessed and then murders the rest of us?”
“Come on, don’t be such a scaredy-cat! You’ve been calling this thing fake this whole time, and now you suddenly believe?” Amelia teased her while grabbing the board and shaking it.
“Shhh!All right, bitches, here we go.” William sat back down and placed his large hand on the planchette, his joint smoking in the other. The rest of us followed suit with our smaller hands over his. We shifted our gazes around to one another for a second, with the dim candle light flickering over our features. Lacey was uncomfortable, but William and Amelia were smiling. I could only assume by the way I was straining my neck forward that I looked like a nervous goose. “We call upon the dark forces of the demon Azathoth this night. Come, O mighty evil one, and bestow your otherworldly wisdom upon us,” William chanted in an exaggerated spooky voice, trying not to laugh as he did so.
Lightning struck eerily close to the house, and a thunderous boom roared overhead. The bedroom door was flung open with sudden force, causing a few of the candles to blow out. A tall, ominous figure loomed in the darkness of the doorway, with two sharp horns protruding from his head. Terrified screams erupted throughout the room.
“Die!”William frantically threw one of the fake swords at the figure. The flimsy weapon reflected in the warm candlelight as it wobbled through the air... and then it gently bounced off Ashton.
“Jeez, I didn’t think these things would be that scary.” Ashton removed a pair of fake black horns from his head to examine them, and then put them back on with a chuckle.
“Oh my fucking god, Ashton!You scared the living shit out of us!” William said through his hysterical laughter, his face as red as a ripe tomato.
“Yeah, what the heck? Talk about crazy timing! They were literally just trying to summon a demon. No joke!” Lacey exclaimed. Her hand was clutching her chest in fright, even though she was laughing.
“Well, that’s what you guys get for playing with a damn Ouija board. Those things can get you into trouble, you know.” He sat down on the floor next to me, so close that our legs were touching, and put an arm around me.
“See, I told you guys it wouldn’t work,” I said with a giggle.
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that if I were you,” Ashton pointed to his horns with a grin.
“Nice costume, by the way. It’s simple, yet very effective,” Amelia teased.
“Thanks. Gwendolyn had wanted me to go as, and I quote,‘The Illusive Ranchfoot.’It would’ve been just like a Bigfoot costume, only I’d be dispersing ranch salad dressing around the floor through sponges strapped to my feet. But I figured that would get me kicked out of the club, so I went with this instead.” Ashton chuckled while giving me a squeeze, causing me to laugh even more.
“What the fuck, man!? You totally should have gone with that!” William fell over, clutching his stomach and dying of laughter, flashing everyone in the process. “Oh, shit! Oh, shit!” He dropped his joint on the carpet, but his scrambling hands recovered it.
“Leave it to you to think of a costume that would get you guys conveniently kicked out of the club.” Lacey pinned me with a knowing stare. Guilt washed over my face as I continued laughing.
Dang, I’m pretty sure we’re getting hotboxed in here.
Pepper Paws stretched up on my bed and jumped down to greet Ashton. He held his hand out and began petting the little kitty, scratching under the chin just how Pepper Paws liked it. Loud purring vibrated from his tiny body as he jumped onto Ashton’s leg and began to knead. “Are you ready to go?” Ashton asked while stroking my back with one hand and my cat with the other.
“Yeah, I am,” I said as I craned my head up to look into his eyes from beneath my hat. “Are you guys good if we leave?” I asked everyone else.
“Yeah, I think we’re good. We’ll be heading over once Darrell shows up,” Amelia replied. “Plus, I’m going to have a few pre-drinks, ‘cause being in a band goes hand in hand with being dirt broke,” she laughed.
“You know, I think The Roasted Rowan is still hiring a new bartender. Maybe you could apply there?” Lacey suggested.
“Maybe,” Amelia hummed in consideration.
“Alright then, let’s go,” Ashton said as he swooped up Pepper Paws. He carried him back over to the bed and tucked him beneath the purple blanket like a little person. He kissed him on his soft purring head, and then walked over to me and took my hand. “We’ll see you guys there.”
