Mind Over Mind

	[b]Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock…. Bong! Bong! Bong! Bong! Bong! Bong! Bong! Bong! Bong! Bong! Bong! Bong![/b]
	“Are you sure this is going to work, Walter?” Giving an unamused glare, Rico looked at the overlayed sigils. Pentagram met hexagram covering circles within squares bisected by triangles. Furniture had been shoved into the corner of the living room unceremoniously stacked together atop a sofa to make room for several planks of wood that had been hastily screwed together. Ten feet of space had been covered by the ritual patterns.
	“Worst case scenario, you’ll have a cool art piece you can sell at the next con.” Claws clicked on the hardwood floor as his Border Collie roommate joined the irritable husky. Keeping his perpetual poker face going, he held a tattered, stained leather book in his right paw and a wine glass full of bourbon in the other. Refusing to make eye contact, he strolled over to the east end of the room, never letting his eyes leave the pages.
	“YOU’LL be paying for the damn plywood and chalk yourself if this thing doesn’t work.” Reaching for the hem of his shirt, Rico began to pull it off. Fluffy, white underbelly and black back exposed to the air. His daily exercises showed prominently, as he crossed his arms in a huff, biceps and pecs surging with strength beneath the coats of fur.
	“Sure, sure. Now, strip and sit in the center of the pattern. The empty spot…” Sitting himself, Walter crossed his legs and began tracing circles on the edge of the wooden altar. Taking another sip, the lanky, shorter male put his glass aside, now resting his head in the free paw. Chanting under his breath, he made sure he turned to the next page.
	Rolling his eyes, Rico groaned while yanking his slacks off, exposing his fuzzy orbs and sheathe. Standing on his claws, he walked slowly to the center, careful not to disturb the chalk. “Remind me why I’m doing this again?” Despite his tough attitude, the hackles of his fur rose as he crossed numerous shapes to the center.
	Snorting, Walter smirked as he exclaimed, “That bet you lost…and those favors you owe…plus that time you bailed on me, and I had to run twenty miles home.” Licking his chops, he knew exactly how condescending he was being, but he didn’t care.
	“Alright! Alright! Fine. Just make it fast. Cricket season starts tomorrow and I need to be up early to catch British air.” Lacking in grace, he dropped onto the ground. A large thud sounded in the air as his beefy butt hit the wood.
	Pulling a pocket watch from his pants, Walter held it up the chain and glanced at the time. Five past midnight. Plenty of time left. “Don’t worry. You won’t even notice the time fly.”
	Rolling his eyes again, Rico began snapping his fingers. He didn’t bother to hide his impatient, scornful expression.
	[i]“You won’t be thinking much at all with that kind of behavior”[/i], Walter thought. Raising a paw to the air, Walter began to read the next block of text. Several warnings and disclaimers were written in the margins, but he didn’t care. “Close your eyes. Empty your mind.”
	Another annoyed grunt from Rico showed his displeasure but obey he did. The air grew eerie and heavy. Pitch black night seemed to creep into the room, flowing akin to water. Disconcerting creaks came from the wood. Groans that seemed to travel inward. Walter heard Rico’s breathing intensify, but he could see the husky made no attempt to leave.
	Licking his dry mouth, Walter breathed in deeply and began to recite what was on the pages. “Kolesh Je’tal. Mevsh Unal. Brepo Vese. Sedc Lo’vash.” Smell hit his nostrils. The smell of incineration. Tail slowly wagging, Walter read on, “Grdo Keti. Mevsh Bntl. Mo’vo Vese. Es Uncorpa Rico!”
	Smoke rose from the chalk triangles. Fumes rolled around Rico as he breathed them in deeply. Walter watched the hackles drop. His breathing steadied. Slumping over, his eyelids fluttered open…but there was nothing behind them. Vacant, white sclera were the only things visible, red arteries tracing through them. Mouth agape, Rico began huffing more fumes, each breath appearing to relax him more.
	“Ricooo~ You there?” Walter chimed, turning to a bookmarked page covered in circles.
	“Uuuuuuh…” was all Rico mustered. Catatonic, at best.
	Quietly laughing to himself, Walter placed a paw on the plywood as he began his next verse. “Kolesh Je’tal. Mevsh Unal. Swov Cmep. Mevsh Bntl.” Multiple small chants chained together. The air grew heavier by the second. Darkness creeped into the room more. Dark circles creeped around the room more. Dark eyes appeared in Rico’s eyes. The circles of the plywood began to ignite. Black smoke drifting inwards. All of it slowly pushing into the husky’s maw, nose, and ears. “Mevsh Unal. Grdo Cmep. Kolesh Frlk. Se ho Rico!”
	Gasping, sucking breathing could be heard through the haze. Peering closely, Walter could see Rico stand up. It looked different though. Shaped like Rico, but bigger.
	As the haze cleared, Rico seemed to tower over Walter significantly. Musculature doubled, he could barely cross his arms around his pecs anymore. If the collie focused, he could swear that Rico had a third eye on his forehead.
	A voice deeper than any he heard sounded in Walter’s head. [i]“Mortal. Why have I been invoked? State your purpose.”[/i]
	Swallowing, the collie clenched his fist. Looking the figure in the eye he exclaimed, “A test!”
	[i]“A test of what? State your demands.”[/i]
	Holding the tattered book up, Walter pointed at the page with a pentagram. “Knowledge. I would see how knowledgeable you are. While I can recite the words on text, I’m unable to translate or understand the incantations. I need your knowledge here.”
	[i]“Trivial.”[/i] Raising his paw, the being pointed at Walter…who suddenly developed a headache. Mind throbbing with new symbols, runes, letters, and numbers suddenly piecing themselves together in his brain, he clutched at his head. Claws digging into his scalp, he shuddered and spit, groaning loudly. Shaking his head, things begin to slot into place.
	[i]“It is done. Has your test been completed?”[/i]
	Blinking rapidly, Walter flipped through the book. Summoning circle rites. Exorcism methods. Proper demon negotiation. Vessel maintenance and compatibility. Everything was legible! Turning to the page of the book, he stared at an arousing diagram for him. The sketch showed two canines standing beside each other, arms and legs out in identical fashion. A star was drawn in the one on the left. Beneath that diagram showed another where the star was in the rightmost canine with arrows showing the movement of the star. ‘Vessel Transference Process’ was writ on the top.
	“Many, many thanks!” Walter shouted, beaming. Scanning the page ad nauseum, he was memorizing the rites and dissecting the instructions. It described all the parameters necessary, detailing how to safely move a spirit from one vessel to another. Slamming his paw down on the plywood, he flipped to the front of the book. “There will be time to complete the ritual I desire at a later time. There is one I need to finish now!”
	Scoffing, the being stared, disdain echoing in Walter’s head. [i]“Pathetic…”[/i]
	“Kolesh Je’tal! Kovesh Bntl! Ongr Knpo! Swov Cmep!” The being rolled his third eye. Walter saw this and persisted. He didn’t care. “Mevsh Scn’tal! Hylm Vo’rek! Cmep Je’tal! Se ho Rico!” Smoke swirled silently once more. The pentagram had dissipated into gas. Pouring into Rico’s body in every location possible, Walter could see him thrash. Ethereal third eye rolled back into his head along with the corporeal ones. Convulsions wracked the beefy husky as parts of him began to contort. Claws grew longer, ears grew to a sharp tip, the tail became fluffier, fangs grew longer, and muscles grew bigger. With a howl, the beast twisted his head around to stare at Walter. Smoldering, fiery red eyes focused on the collie. The three lights grew closer in the smoke until he stopped by the square.
	Walter stared back, intimidated. The beast’s glare was intense. His breath put fire to shame. All the muscle rippling through the extra-large layers of fur. The blep was adorable… “Huh?” Walter let slip. The beast began to squat, the altered, demonic husky was looking at him with puppy eyes.
	Bestial, guttural base filled Walter’s mind as he heard, [i]“Salutations! It’s a pleasure to meet you!”[/i]
	“…Uh, good.” An incredulous expression crossed Walter’s face as he responded. This was the demon he summoned in his roommate’s body? The face of fear and chaos wanted to know if he was well?
	[i]“Wonderful! Is there anything I can do for you?”[/i] There was a distinct swishing cutting through the air. The beast was wagging. Hard.
	“S-Stand in the center again for this last ritual.” Voice cracking, he turned to the back of the book, trying to recover his composure while the beast retreated to the center. Walter felt a pang of guilt in his chest as he opened to the transfer rite. Waving his free hand in a hourglass-shaped loop, he began his chanting. “Kolesh Je’tal! Ongr Knpo! Swov Cmep! Mevsh Hvlm!” Before reading the last line, Walter leaped into the hexagram himself. “Re’vsh Go’lk! Desp Ik’ro! Bntl Hvyk! Ho se Walter!”
	Walter. The last word. His name. Everything went black. A distant thud could be heard hitting the plywood. He didn’t care. Walter was about to get exactly what he wanted. Existence blinked for Walter. All three of his eyes were incredibly bleary.
	“Hmmm?” he grumbled. Everything seemed smaller. Focusing, he could see a crumbled body in front of him. Gasping, he roared, “Yeeeeeesss” and punched some plaster off the ceiling. Flakes fell onto his fur and fell back, startling himself. Crawling on his borrowed knees, he went over and held up the vacant Border Collie. Even holding the smaller dog at a distance, he could hear the heartbeat. Heat could be felt in the fur and the soft sounds of breathing could be heard. It was as though Walter was asleep. Shuffling over to the displaced couch, he lay his old body down on it. He’ll go back eventually. Eventually.
	“Carefully squeezing through the doorframe, he climbed up the stairs to his room. Disorganized, a bit musky, and definitely needed a new paintjob, but it worked well for him. Turning on his computer, he reached down and started making circular motions in his sheathe with a claw. It was time to figure out what this demonized husky could do!