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."By the Seal ofBasdathea, answer all my demands and perform all that I desire.Come peaceably,visibly, and without delay."The dark walls of the stone cellar blurred, swirling into a confusing mass, andSimon had the curious feeling of standing in space.He could not see or feel thefloor beneath him but he knew this was a trick of the spirit.It wanted him toflounder about, and hopefully blunder out of the circle where it could destroy him.Simon felt a cold touch of steel on his palm and looked down, seeing a steelsigil with the Second Pentacle of Saturn carved into it.Father Bain must havepressed it into his hand so he'd have some protection against the spirit he'dsuccessfully conjured.A fierce pain stabbed in Simon's abdomen and he knew he must give Flauroshis commands quicklybefore he collapsed on the floor."What would you have of me?" Simon saw nothing but the pitch-black aroundhim, and the voice was a whisper that blew a cold wind on the back of Simon'sneck.He clutched the pentagram and turned himself carefully, ordering themischievous spirit to stay in front of him.When the spirit again changed position,Simon felt a piece of parchment put into his right hand, along with a feather quilland a steel box.Quickly, he scrawled the name Flauros and dropped it into the box.The boxwas filled with sulfur and Simon shut it quickly, making the spirit wail in dismay.Simon didn't even have to hold the box over fire before the spirit moved in frontof him, frightened by the thought of being cast into the lake of fire if Simon wereto burn the box.Simon gagged, but with a supreme effort kept from vomiting.He felt sweatrunning down his body freely and wanted more than anything to pitch himself intoa river to cool his flaming body.He did not know how much longer he couldremain on his feet.Simon spoke quickly, though he was careful of his wording so the deviousspirit could not deviate from his orders."Hear me, Flauros, and hasten to obey.Iorder you to consume in your flames the body of Payton, Baron Baldevar.Do sowithout delay."It seemed that the spirit departed but Simon knew this was an old trick ofdaemons.They would pretend to leave so a magician would not do the License toDepart and then be fair game once he stepped outside the circle.Simon collapsed to the floor, his body convulsing and a vile black substancepouring from his mouth."The License to Depart, son!" he vaguely heard Father Bain scream.Oh, God he couldn't.He couldn't control his flailing limbs and it was gettingso difficult to think.Sleep, he thought.I want to sleepA harsh slap obscured the cloud around his head."The License to Depart oryour soul is forfeit and your father will live!"It was the mention of his father that gave Simon the strength to rise to his kneesand speak between bouts of retching.Quickly, he spat out the License to Depart."By the virtue of Adonai, depart ye unto your abode and retreat, be there peacebetween me and you, but be ye ever ready to come when ye shall be cited andcalled; may the blessing of God, as far as ye are capable of receiving it, be uponyou, provided ye be obedient and prompt to come unto us."With that, Simon collapsed in a fresh round of seizures and felt a dim sense ofsurprise when he realized the person screaming in agony and begging for deathwas himself.CHAPTER EIGHT+ ^ ;Las VegasJuly 20, 1998Giving an ostentatious yawn, Simon stopped speaking and stretched out on thecheckered picnic blanket they'd brought, staring up at the full moon with anexpression that showed he was well aware of Meghann's consternation at theincomplete tale."So what happened after you fainted?" she finally asked impatiently andswatted his arm in annoyance."Did your spell work or did you have to use earthlymeans like your sword to kill your father?"Simon raised himself up on one elbow."My sword? Have you forgotten thequarrel we had in the great hall? Why do you think I resorted to magick in the firstplace? The slightest hint that my father had been murdered and all suspicion wouldhave fallen on me.Now, if you want to know what happened, hand over that slabof cake in your hands.""But it's the last piece," Meghann said, looking down at the heavenly chocolatefudge cake with regret.She gave a poignant sigh, firmly dismissing the inner voicethat had the nerve to claim her actions bordered on flirtation."Would you reallystarve your own child?""Madam, you have had a side of ribs, three pieces of chicken, one pastramisandwich on rye, and demolished half that cake by yourself.You are in no dangerof malnutrition so you may spare me the sight of those limpid, appealing eyes.Hand it over or I'm silent as the grave.""I wish you were in your grave," Meghann muttered but she shoved the paperplate at him and Simon resumed his tale."All of what I say next was told to me by others, Meghann.For the next fourdays, I was oblivious to the world around me.After I collapsed, Father Baincompleted the ceremony and put the room to rights while I lay feverish and ravingat his feet.There was no question of him taking me back to the manor house afierce blizzard had settled over the area while we conducted our ritual.Somehow,Father Bain dragged me up the stairs and laid me on the stone floor, spending therest of the night pouring snow and ice over my body in an attempt to bring downthe fever."At first light, he planned to ride into the village and bring Adelaide to thechurch [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]