Voodoo Priest: Chapter 2 - Gathering

by Piper

nosex

After a somewhat awkward separation from Elizabeth, since they now had to treat each other as competitors, Daniel made his way to his discarded backpack, kicking angrily at stones that dared to lie in his path. After three years as an acolyte, he still had no clear idea of how anyone was supposed to actually win this competition. Hell, he did not even know how to compete in the competition.

“Quilimeres,” Daniel called to the empty forest. There was a pause and the noise of the woods seemed to dip, as if the trees themselves were awaiting a response. Then a patch of sunlight directly in front of Daniel began to warp and grow, swirling with foreign colors. With a soft popping sound, the demon appeared and sketched a simple bow in the direction of Daniel.

Quilimeres, who Daniel called Quil outside of official summons, was the first demon that Daniel had ever summoned. He was classified as a companion imp, a subclass of imp commonly used by voodoo acolytes because little energy is required to tether them to this world. Imps are the lowest form of demon life that is typically summoned from the Abyss; anything weaker is not usually worth the effort to summon. Stronger demons require more effort to summon and more magic to sustain their presence in this world. Voodoo practitioners can circumvent some of these demands of magic by “suspending” their demons. A suspended demon is held along the border between this world and the Abyss. In this state, demons may be summoned quickly, as Daniel did by calling Quil's true name, but they do not tax nearly as much magic as they would if fully present in this world. Companion imps are so weak that even acolytes do not usually experience any strain, but Miss M demands that all demons be suspended during her lessons.

Quil was a typical specimen for a companion imp. He was only six inches tall, but nearly as broad, giving him a squat appearance. He had a humanoid shape, although in place of skin he was covered in thin yellow scales which lengthened into sharp protrusions along his spine and skull. Like most imps, Quil's hands and feet closely resembled a human's, although his fingertips ended in dark stubby claws which allowed him to cling to a variety of surfaces. Rather unusually for an imp, Quil did not have a tail, which imps normally can use with the dexterity of a third arm.

“Hello, Master.” After completing his bow to acknowledge Daniel's summons, Quil rose off of the ground and flew to his customary place above Daniel's right shoulder. Weaker demons, which includes all imps and most ghouls, are able to take on ethereal properties allowing them to fly, pass though solid objects, and even turn invisible in this world. Demons of a higher order resort to other methods of concealing their presence.

“Did you hear everything?” Daniel asked as the demon faded from view. Miss M insisted that her acolytes take extra precautions with their demons, so even in this secluded area, when most adults are at work, Quil was instructed to remain invisible.

“Most everything, Master,” the imp whispered into Daniel's ear. Suspended demons retained a connection to their masters which would be lost if they were dismissed back to the Abyss. While between worlds, demons have a limited access to the perceptions of their masters which is heightened when the master experiences a strong emotion. Daniel's anticipation for the competition had dilated their connection so that Quil would have heard and seen nearly everything that had transpired. “It was not as helpful as we had hoped.”

“That's an understatement,” Daniel muttered darkly. He sighed. “Any new ideas about what I should do to win?”

“It is difficult to say, Master,” the demon said cautiously. Companion imps are relatively agreeable with the forced servitude that voodoo practitioners impose on them, so they are rarely punished. More powerful demons have a tendency to rebel and need a firmer hand. Still, masters have been known to inflict pain on their companion imps for offering poor advice. “In a competition to become a voodoo priest, you must surely demonstrate a mastery of voodoo magic, which is the power of summoning and binding. It stands to reason that you must use both to defeat the other acolyte.”

“But that doesn't tell me how I actually 'defeat' her,” Daniel complained. “What does that even mean? A fight between our demons?”

“No, no, Master,” Quil said hastily, having a sudden unpleasant vision of himself fighting against one of Elizabeth's demons. “I do not think it is that crude. That would only prove who can summon the most powerful demon. There is more to voodoo magic than raw power. Cunning and mastery of the art must be a part of this test.”

“That's true.” Daniel felt a little better. Although he would never admit it, Elizabeth was probably a tiny bit more powerful than he was. In terms of knowledge and cunning, however, Daniel thought that he had a greater portion. After all, he had been preparing for this since he had learned of the competition years ago. He had never seen Elizabeth at the old house outside of their lessons, looking over the books that Miss M left behind as optional reading to complement their lessons. There was no way that she was as prepared as he was. Daniel backtracked to his school and then walked the remainder of the distance to his house in silence, mulling over different possibilities.

Robby was already home, watching TV. Daniel mumbled a greeting to his brother and went upstairs to his room. Robby, or Robert as Miss M would insist he be called, was 11 and if he had any talent for voodoo magic, he would have been recruited by Miss M as Becca was. When she had identified the four original acolytes, Miss M had gone to each of their homes and used her magic to ensure that there would be no interference by the families with regard to the acolytes' studies. It must have been at that time that she realized that Elizabeth's sister had the potential for voodoo magic as well. Daniel shrugged, he did not need his brother to help him and it suited Daniel that both his parents and his brother did not mention his long absences after school.

Miss M's influence over his family may not include a disregard of events in his own house, though, and Daniel was sure that he would need the freedom to cast complex spells in the coming days. It was time to add a more powerful demon to his arsenal. Quil had numerous useful talents, but nothing to help keep Daniel's family in check, and Quil was too weak to combat any strong demons that Elizabeth sent Daniel's way. Just because Daniel thought that there should be more to the competition than a demon fight was no guarantee that Elizabeth had reached the same conclusion.

Daniel locked the door to his room and saw Quil silently reappear on the floor. Daniel retrieved a bag of salt from his closet and, with a yardstick as a guide, outlined a pentagon on the floor. He poured more salt out to connect each corner of the pentagon to every other, forming a star in its center. Technically, any material could be used to draw the pentagram, but salt naturally hampered demon magic, which was useful when binding powerful demons. Quil, making sure to circumvent the salt, went into the back of Daniel's closet and pulled free Daniel's grimoire.

Grimoires are books of magic written by voodoo priests. Acolytes gain experience by writing their own grimoires during their training. After three years, Daniel's grimoire was nearly filled with rituals copied from other books and new spells that he struggled to invent. More importantly for today's purpose, the initial pages contained information on demons whose names Daniel had come across in his studies. Beside each name were notes on the demon's classification, temperament, history, and power level. This last attribute was arguably the most important. If Daniel summoned a demon that was strong enough to overwhelm his own magic, he would end up possessed by the creature and probably driven insane. This was the first taboo that Mia had mentioned earlier, something that Daniel had never seen and certainly never wanted to experience.

Quil presented the grimoire to Daniel, who accepted it with a nod. He skimmed the list of names, marking some with a pencil if he thought they were possibilities. He could choose to summon several lesser demons or one powerful one. If he had a few demons they could carry out different orders, but they may not be able to survive an encounter with an enemy demon. In the end, Daniel decided to summon the most powerful demon he could, although he would maintain his binding with Quil in case he needed multiple servants. This decision narrowed the list considerably. Most of the names on the list were from Daniel's first year as an acolyte, when the strongest demon he had summoned was a ghoul, and even then he had help. Ghouls are stronger than imps but still relatively low in the demon hierarchy. After developing his magic for three years, Daniel would have little difficulty in maintaining three or four ghouls in this world, and could keep several more suspended.

For a powerful demon, Daniel needed to look into the next rank above ghouls: djinn. Djinn are powerful demons that divide into nearly one hundred subclasses with varying degrees of power. That additional power makes djinn difficult to control, however, and many arrogant acolytes have lost their lives attempting to summon a djinni before they were ready. Daniel knew that he was strong enough now to bind up to a mid-level djinni into his service. He would need to keep it suspended often, though, or else it would drain too much of his magic, which could kill him.

There were only three djinn on Daniel's list that fell into his range of power. The first was a golem, an elemental djinni that was strong both physically and magically. Unfortunately, its past service indicated that it was not particularly intelligent and at least one former master had lost her life as the result of its ineptitude. The second option was a cambion, which voodoo priests avoid as a rule because cambions are particularly devious djinn that make every effort to find loopholes in commands and undermine their masters. That left Asariel, the succubus. Succubi, female djinn of seduction, are understandably popular with male voodoo priests. Although they are usually treated dismissively or even derisively due to their nature, succubi are fairly powerful djinn with a range of abilities. Asariel had proven to be a clever and moderately loyal servant based on Daniel's research. Additionally, her persuasion magic would allow Daniel to exercise more control over his family until the competition was over.

With his decision made, Daniel snapped his grimoire closed and passed it to Quil, who returned it to the closet. Daniel stood and faced the pentagram he had etched in salt. He made a series of well-practiced gestures and felt his magic dip noticeably. An initial summons always required a significant amount of magic, because one was reaching into the Abyss, but Daniel had never felt his power deplete this much. He had never summoned a demon as powerful as Asariel, but the basic principles of summoning were all the same. The more important part was having enough magic to control the demon one summoned.

“Asariel,” Daniel called, keeping his voice level. Say the name once to wake the demon in the Abyss. Say it twice to call it to this world. Daniel repeated, firmly, “Asariel.”

On the floor, the grains of salt began to glow with a sickly green light. The light grew brighter and a column of white smoke swirled into existence within the confines of the pentagram. The pentagram served as a barrier to demonic magic. It would prevent Daniel from falling victim to Asariel's magic, whether it was destructive or seductive. Once she was properly bound, of course, she would not be allowed to harm Daniel outside of the pentagram either.

The smoke began to coalesce into something vaguely human. Say the name a third time to bind the demon to this world. Bracing himself, Daniel said clearly for the final time, “Asariel.”

The effect was instantaneous. The tendrils of white smoke whipped into a frenzy before dissolving a moment later into the form of a blonde woman. She was naked except for a black silk veil which seemed to float around her body, covering her without providing much in the way of modesty. Despite the temptation of flesh, Daniel noticed none of it. His gaze was locked onto Asariel's eyes, which were a shade of black so deep that they appeared to be a complete absence of anything. They pulled at him as if they were magnets, urging Daniel to fall into the depths of darkness with her. It was too much. She was too strong. Who was Daniel to think that he could command this beautiful creature? It would be so much easier to give in. So easy...

Daniel shuddered, feeling a sudden pain from his ankle. It was Quil, who was urgently digging his tiny claws into Daniel's leg. Daniel was still disoriented, but he could focus now that he had broken eye contact with the succubus. He made a gesture, redoubling the magic infused with the pentagram on the floor and wincing at the sudden decrease in his magical strength. Immediately, Daniel felt a palpable force disappear from the room. He cursed himself for not investing more magic in the pentagram from the start. Without Quil, who was charged with ensuring his master's safety, Daniel might have stepped over the lines of the salt pentagram or just stood staring at Asariel stupidly until his magic gave out. Either way would have had lethal consequences when dealing with a creature as strong as this.

Now that his wards were reinforced, Daniel looked back at Asariel. The succubus was still beautiful, but no longer in the unnatural way that demanded obedience. Daniel crossed his arms, adopting a stern look as if the succubus was nothing more than a disobedient child.

“That's enough, Asariel,” Daniel said. His voice cracked on the last syllable.

“Do you not like this form?” the djinni asked, coyly. With a movement designed to arouse, Asariel placed a hand across her ample breasts, which were barely covered by the veil still hovering around her. Suddenly, she began shrinking, the veil shifting to keep some semblance of modesty. In a few seconds, Asariel had assumed the form of a teenage girl around Daniel's age, although she had more cleavage than any 13-year-old had a right to. In a voice dripping with lust, she asked, “Is this better?”

Daniel had to swallow before speaking. Somehow it was harder to deal with a naked girl than a naked woman, although they were equally beautiful. “I have summoned you to bind you into my service, Asariel.”

The demon blushed. Her black veil, which Daniel knew she had full control over, slipped briefly, revealing her pert nipples. In a low voice she said, “Will you be gentle with me? I'm still a virgin.”

Daniel coughed. Remembering his studies, he rallied. He made an arcane gesture and funneled magic through it towards Asariel. The djinni shrieked as small arcs of lightning danced across her bare skin. She sank to one knee, losing control over the veil, which dissolved into black smoke. She looked up at Daniel and said defiantly, “Oh, so you're into that stuff, huh?”

Daniel raised his hand again, threateningly. Asariel jumped to her feet, ignoring her nakedness, and said hastily, “Don't! I'm sorry.”

“Let's try this again,” Daniel said, lowering his hand. “And this time, remember who is in the pentagram.”

“Right,” the succubus put a hand on her hip, resorting to keeping him off balance with her naked form. “Command away, O Master.”

“Actually, I'll be keeping you on retainer for now,” Daniel said through clenched teeth. His magic was running low after the initial summons. He needed to suspend the djinni so that he could recuperate before the competition began.

“Getting tired?” Asariel grinned, crossing her arms under her breasts. “You're still an acolyte, right?”

Daniel did not bother to answer. With deft movements he sketched his personal sigil in the air and suffused it with magic so that the glowing shape hung between him and the demon. Every voodoo practitioner had to develop a sigil which was used to uniquely identify the caster to a demon. “Asariel, I bind you to me. You will obey my orders and protect me from harm. You will not use your magic on me without my permission. You will not act against me and you will not conspire against me.”

The sigil had grown brighter as Daniel spoke until it was painful to look at directly. With a flick of his wrist, Daniel sent the symbol flying towards Asariel. It grew in size until it was impossible to avoid within the confines of the pentagram. The succubus grimaced as the binding magic enveloped her, but made no sound. Daniel had made no flaws in the casting, so there was no way for a summoned demon to resist the magic.

The light faded, leaving Asariel outwardly unchanged. However, she was now forced to the instructions that he had imbued in his sigil, so she was no longer a threat. The green light of the pentagram faded as Daniel severed the warding magic, which was unnecessary now that Asariel was properly bound into his service.

Asariel stepped forward, away from the salt which was a constant drain on her magic. She grinned at Daniel and said, “Well, I guess you were strong enough to handle me. I have to admit I'm surprised; I haven't had a master as young as you for quite a while.”

“I guess I'm just special.” Daniel was too exhausted to accept the complement gracefully. Now that Asariel was bound she did not require as much magic to sustain her presence, but Daniel needed to suspend her so that he could recover his magic before tonight. He made the gesture of dismissal. Daniel's magic began pulling Asariel into the space between worlds. The succubus faded from view, although not before making an obscene gesture in a parody of Daniel's arcane one.

Daniel made the same dismissal gesture, this time focusing on Quil who similarly vanished. Both demons were still linked to Daniel, and therefore still draining a portion of his strength, but now his magic would recover faster than they could use it up. Too exhausted to even clean up the pentagram, Daniel collapsed onto his bed and surrendered to darkness.

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