Broken Spell
(Author's Note: The character's are original, and the spells are in Latin. Please review. lol if i ever figure out how to sort this into chapters, i will.)
A girl, around 17, whose eyes were like glistening crimson rubies and her hair which was as black as night, stood with a look of displeasure written across her face as she watched the results of her spells hit her prisoners. They were in Hell, and she was ordered by her father, the Devil, to execute the souls who had tried to escape. She also thought of this as another way to practice training. Even if she could captivate any soul simply by looking at them, she wanted to practice spells, simply for the fun of it. Her name was Madelyn.
"Artavi vinculum!" Madelyn chanted as the chains around the prisoner's hands and feet were tightened. A look of triumph spread across her face now. At least that went better than that burning spell I tried… she thought as she recalled the previous spell that had failed to work. At least it didn't backfire.
Only people from Heaven or Hell could use spells. Lost souls wandering the Earth aimlessly in search of their kingdom or prison were not qualified. Why? Because for whatever reasons they have for staying on Earth—whether it could be vengeance or regret—it didn't matter. Until they found their place, they could not learn to use spells.
The prisoners faces were either an expression of loss of all hope or a pleading look of sorrow. Either way it didn't matter to Madelyn. Her order was to execute the prisoners; nothing more, nothing less.
She let out a heavy sigh, as if bored with toying around with them. The last words the prisoners heard were "Devoro aput ardor." as their bodies with swallowed with flames.
Madelyn slammed the chamber door shut behind her and headed upstairs to her room—until her father appeared halfway up.
"What took you so long!" The Devil roared with little to no patience.
"I-I was just doing as you said. I took care of the prisoners." Madelyn replied shakily as she tried to hide her trembles.
"Don't lie to me! I heard you! You were practicing spells without my command! I only ordered you to turn those wretched Earth-walkers into Hell spirits of fire, not to practice making them all nice and comfortable for the demon fire —
"I-I'm sorry—I-It won't happen again."
"…just…just don't let me catch you disobeying me or I swear there will be trouble. Do you understand?" He seemed to have regained his stability for the moment.
"…yes sir." Madelyn mumbled as she walked quickly past her father, into her room, closing the door rather loudly behind her.
I hate him! He shouldn't treat me like that! I am his daughter after all! If Mother was still here…
Her thoughts seemed to stop at a dead halt as those last few words echoed in her head again and again, If Mother was still here…
Her mother had committed suicide about 5 years after Madelyn was born. Her parents argued bitterly about their marriage, because her father's parents had forced a wedding between them, leaving them no say. After Madelyn was born, the arguing only got worse. The mother was found burned to death (one of her own spells directed at herself) and her spirit had moved on to Heaven, leaving the Devil all alone to take out his anger and misery on Madelyn.
Even if she could barely remember her Mother and the arguing, she couldn't help but wonder what it would be like if they were still together today. She had always pictured them being back together. But picturing it never made it real…
Madelyn maneuvered her way through her messy room and collapsed onto her bed, flipping through a book of spells she had found in her closet not too long ago.
Hmmm…let's see…oh, here's a cool one!
The spell she had looked up was a spell that shot lightning out of her fingertips. She faced an empty wall, assuming it was a good target, and murmured the incantation:
"Attonitum tangere."
Only a few weak trickles of lightning shot out; barely making a dent in the wall.
She let out a long sigh and sat back down, At least I tried…I wasn't expecting 100% accuracy anyway…but I was expecting a little more than…this. She decided to try it again. One more try couldn't hurt.
"Attonitum tangere!" She said with a little more force in her voice this time as small, but slightly stronger bolts hit the wall, making a few burn marks in the process.
She smiled now, enjoying the success little by little.
One more try…"Attonitum tangere!" She cried out as a single, but fierce lightning bolt flashed out, hitting the wall with a crack. The light from the flash momentarily blinded her eyes, but with a few blinks, she opened her eyes to see a 3-inch long hole straight through her wall and noticed it had hit a tree outside.
…wow… she thought as she regained her balance. Not only is that spell strong, but it's a good long-range spell too!
A wide smile had now spread across her face, "I can't wait to try this on more prisoners—
Her thoughts halted mid-way as she recalled her father's words:
"…just…just don't let me catch you disobeying me or I swear there will be trouble. Do you understand?"
"I swear there will be trouble…" Madelyn repeated aloud, shuddering at the thought about what "trouble" would mean.
She walked over to her bed, and closed the book. That's enough practice for today…
Her father's words still echoed in her head as she drifted off to sleep.
Madelyn awoke to hear the thunderous sounds of her father's footsteps echoing out the door as he went to work.
She sat up, yawned, and had second thoughts about going back to sleep, but sadly, she has a routine to follow, so she knew that wasn't an option.
Her job everyday was to get rid of prisoners if necessary, because sometimes there are no prisoners while sometimes there are more.
After finishing her breakfast, she headed downstairs to the chamber room to check. Sure enough, there was one prisoner there.
Only one, huh? Well, at least I'll get a chance to try out that spell.
The prisoner's eyes shot wide open when Madelyn entered.
He looked almost petrified.
Also, there was another rule that Madelyn had made up herself—with her father's permission of course; was to ask the prisoners if they had any last statements before they were turned into fire demons. Most of the time it was the shrieking of, "Please! Please spare me!" or, "Just go ahead and do it…I have nothing left."
Madelyn snapped her fire-red eyes onto the prisoner, who, by that time, had stopped shaking.
"Do have any last words?" Madelyn said with a great amount of impatience in her tone, wanting to try out that new spell and nothing else.
The prisoner lifted his head up from the shackles and looked her right in the eyes, "You…you practice spells, don't you?"
Madelyn wasn't expecting that for a last statement, "…why do you ask?"
"…because there's something about you...you look like the kind of person who practices the arts of spells."
"Looks can be deceiving!" Madelyn snapped as a quick response, not wanting to let this spirit know anything about her spell-work.
The spirit merely gave her a mysterious smile, "…lie all you want…but here, take this." he said as he took a piece of paper out of his pocket, "You might find this to be worthwhile."
Madelyn walked over, snatched the paper from his hand and placed it into one of her pockets. Madelyn still had many questions in mind for the mysterious prisoner, but the first question that popped out was,
"What's your name?"
"My name is Anthony. Anthony Stellae." Anthony responded quietly, wondering why she wanted to know his name.
Madelyn then did something she thought she would never do in her life. She closed her eyes and murmured the spell,
"Solvere…"
The chains suddenly fell to the floor with a clang. Anthony was free. He took a few steps toward her, "Thank you."
Madelyn nodded in silent response. Turning around to walk out, she suddenly had one more thing in mind she wanted to ask. Turning around again, she noticed he had vanished.
She closed the door quietly behind her and realized it was around noon; her father would be home late. And she was glad she hadn't run into him as she rocketed upstairs into her room, and she had hoped he wouldn't figure out about Anthony's escape…because if he did: trouble.
She suddenly remembered the paper he had given her. She took the crumpled wad of paper out of her pocket and started reading:
This spell is my most powerful weapon in my arsenal of spells. It is the spell of revival. I have spent years trying to master it, but sadly, my time is up. So whoever is reading this now, please perfect this spell, for me. Here is the spell:
Revocavi anima nam vester propria voluntas
Put it to good use.
—Anthony Stellae
The note ended, leaving Madelyn filled with too many thoughts at once. Should she try practicing the spell? If so, what should she try it on? Should she just throw away the paper and never look back?
She laid down on her bed and reread the note over and over again, thinking of his words and then thinking of her father's words.
Madelyn jumped suddenly when she heard a door slam from downstairs, followed by pounding footsteps inside.
From all the way upstairs she heard her father shriek
"MADELYN! GET DOWN HERE THIS INSTANT!"
She knew his rage would mean only one thing; trouble.
Madelyn walked slowly down the stairs, inching closer and closer to her enraged father.
The first words her father spat at her were, "YOU…YOU LET THAT WRECTHED EARTH –WALKER ESCAPE! HOW DARE YOU DISOBEY YOUR COMMANDS! I TOLD YOU THAT—
"…there will be trouble…" Madelyn finished her father's sentence, cringing at the volume in his voice.
The Devil took large, shaking breaths. "…yes…I did say that, didn't I? Well then, are you prepared to suffer for your consequences?"
Madelyn knew the words 'suffer' and 'trouble' meant something bad. She assumed it was a spell. When she was younger, he used to cast mild spells on her as a form of discipline—and still does today; the only she thing she didn't know was the intensity of the spell. She merely nodded in response. She couldn't run, nor talk back, but closed her eyes and waited. She knew she had to pay the price for her actions.
The Devil began murmuring a long stream of incantation commands, "Mittere puellae in triste somnium!"
Madelyn's eyes went from ruby-red to coal-black. She was running around in circles, lost in a frantic hallucination.
In the hallucination, thousands of shadows followed her as she ran, chasing after her, calling her name, Madelyn…join us…be one of us…
She seemed to be running in a never-ending circle of darkness, with the shadows gaining on her; she stood to face them and screamed,
"ATTONITUM TANGERE!"
Five tremendous lightning bolts streaked out of her fingertips and seemed to strike the shadows, illuminating the emptiness around her, feeling the heat rapidly spreading throughout her veins. The shadows were gone.
The illusion faded. Madelyn had assumed she had knocked herself out of it, but she let out a scream as her eyes turned back to their normal ruby-red color…
She had struck her father.
Madelyn stood, frozen in shock and disbelief. She ran over to where her father's body, which was sprawled out on the ground.
"Father!" she cried out, "A-Are you ok?"
No response.
Madelyn tried shaking him in hopes of awakening him. But no; his body felt like someone had dipped in an icy lake. His eyes were shut tight and Madelyn knew they weren't going to open anytime soon; he was dead.
She released her grasp and felt nothing but sorrow. Even though her father had been cruel to her; he was her father after all, so there was something like an invisible bond between them; a bond she had never realized was there until now.
Madelyn then saw something like smoke rising from her father's body. Was it his spirit? She didn't know, but whatever that smoke was, it just kept floating up and up and up and didn't fade until it reached the Earth's surface. He was an Earth-walker now; something he was always hated is what he became. The body, however, faded to ashes beneath her feet.
She wanted to believe it was just a dream—just another part of the hallucination, but it wasn't. It was real, and the only thing Madelyn could do at that moment was walk away and cry in remorse, leaving the pile of ashes behind her.
When she reached her room; her safe haven from the world around her, she slammed the door behind her and threw herself onto her bed and continued to cry. She got up suddenly when she realized she was laying on Anthony's note. She read the spell silently to herself once more,
Revocavi anima nam vester propria voluntas
"What a long spell…" Madelyn said aloud as she counted up the number of words in the phrase; 6. A spells' difficulty often depends on how many words are in the spell:
1-2 words= easy
3-4 words= medium
5-6 words= hard
7+ words= really hard
So the spell wasn't what Madelyn would call easy. The spell basically translated to: Revive human remains for your own desire.
She had thoughts about reviving her father, but he wasn't exactly human. He was actually a living demon. So Madelyn assumed the spell wouldn't work on him; which was a disappointment—but he wasn't the first person she had in mind.
Her thoughts first flickered to Anthony. He was human. But she had absolutely no idea where he disappeared to after she freed him. He could either be roaming around in Hell (she doubted that because the guards around here would've spotted him for sure) or on Earth. Heaven didn't seem like a possibility because he was sent to Hell for a reason, most likely a terrible sin.
She decided to find Anthony, but in order to that; she would have to go to Earth. Death isn't the only way to get sent to Earth; that was just in her father's case. There was actually a portal in the center of Hell, but it has been locked with steel bars when the Devil realized that too many souls were leaving rather than staying. The only way to open the portal (and get past the bars) was with a key.
The only problem is; the Devil hid the key in a place where nobody knew, not even Madelyn. So out of all the places to hide a key…where would he hide it?
There first place she decided to check was his room. Even though he rarely ever goes in there, it was a good place to start.
The door creaked open as Madelyn stepped in, shivering as a brisk, chilly wind swept through her night-black hair. For a minute, she feared her father's spirit was lurking behind her.
No…it can't be…no way…
She rummaged through the room, which looked as though Hurricane Katrina swept through it about 5 times.
How am I ever supposed to find a key in a room like this? Even my room is neater than his!
She started searching under the bed, under desks, behind the curtains, but there was nothing. No key.
She turned to start looking through the bureau, when she noticed a picture of her parents when they were getting married. The Devil wore a frown on his face when the picture was taken, as if he was already despising the marriage before it began.
Madelyn closed her eyes to prevent any more tears from falling as she shoved the picture onto the floor. She heard a cracking sound as the picture fell.
She decided the key wasn't here. It must be somewhere else. She turned to face the room one last time before closing the door—then she stopped and took a few steps forward towards the broken photo. She flipped over the picture and gasped—
Underneath the picture was…the key.
"I found it! I found it!" Madelyn exclaimed with joy as she picked up the key around the small fragments of glass, being careful not to cut her fingers. The only thought that crossed her mind was;
Why would he hide it here?
She had an answer; an unsure answer, but it was an answer. Maybe he really did care about his wife. Maybe. 'Maybe' doesn't mean absolutely.
Madelyn slipped the key into her pocket and ran outside to the center of Hell. It was surrounded by guards; Hell demons in search of any wandering spirits. They wouldn't dare attack Madelyn, but they would probably advise her to stay away.
She approached the center, which is actually a long, winding hill up to the surface. Two guards with swords of fire halted her.
"And where do you think you're going, little girl?" One of them hissed in a snake-like tone, "Shouldn't you be off killing more members of your family?"
Madelyn gasped and took a step back, How did they know! Even if that stunned her, she had three plans in mind. Might as well try Plan A; lie
"N-No…I was just heading up to…make sure the bars are tight enough. We wouldn't want any loose spirits heading back to Earth now would we?" (She was never a good liar)
The second guard frowned and said, "If no spirit has escaped in over 500 years, then why would the bars be loose now?"
Madelyn gulped and decided on either plan B; captivate or Plan C; force.
Her captivating spells only worked on mortals though. What basically happens is that her eyes turn a deep pink color and her tone is as sweet as chocolate. She even pouts and bats her eyelashes to increase any chance of success. Most of the time it worked, but only on mortals/ human spirits. So she would have to go with Plan C; force.
"Ok, Ok, sorry to bother you both." Madelyn said as she took a few steps backward until she was with in 10 feet of them and screamed, "ATTONITUM TANGERE!"
Just like before, 5 dazzling bolts of lightning rocketed out of her fingertips. The guards raised their swords to block but they snapped right in half!
The swords seemed to decrease the full brunt of the spell and left them on the ground, paralyzed as Madelyn bolted past them, running up the hill to the bars. She stopped and slammed the key in the lock, panting heavily, she watched as the locks clicked open. As she climbed out and looked around at all the wandering spirits around her, she realized,
I'm on Earth…
Earth seemed like such an odd place to her. Mortals and spirits living alongside each other. It just seemed absurd to her.
And even if she was on Earth, there were millions of spirits wandering around. It would be a miracle if she found Anthony in this mess!
The first (or second) thing she wondered was where in the world she was. She looked over at a sign that said;
Welcome to Tewksbury, MA
I'm in Massachusetts? Out of all places, I end up here!
Madelyn closed her eyes and tried to think
If I was Anthony…where would I be…?
Of course, this thought didn't help her at all, but she wanted to give it a shot anyways.
She glanced at the sign once more. Out of all places for the portal to lead to…it leads to a small suburb town named Tewksbury. Unbelievable.
"Well where should I start looking?" Madelyn questioned aloud as she turned to see where she was. She was standing near a middle school. She read the words on the building;
John W. Wynn Middle School
She turned around counterclockwise, checking to see if Anthony was behind her; he wasn't. She shrugged and decided to take a look inside. She wasn't gonna inspect the place top-to-bottom in search of Anthony. A middle school seemed like a highly unlikely place for him to be.
It was nighttime so the doors were locked, but Madelyn learned how to pick locks since she was 8, so she got in without making a sound. Once inside, she looked at all the colorful posters and notices tacked up on the walls. It seemed so much brighter than her middle school…more livelier.
She headed up the stairs to the eighth grade corridor where rows upon rows of bright yellow lockers awaited her. She walked forwards; her footsteps echoing down the long hallway as she walked. She stopped suddenly and looked a picture on one of the lockers;
It was a picture of the Turkey Trot taken way back in 1999. There were a bunch of students huddled together holding up a banner saying: Turkey Trot Winners; team 8C
It wasn't the event that caught her interest; it was the person in the picture….it was Anthony.
But he looked younger, around 13-14 when the picture was taken. But somehow, Madelyn could recognize him, even if he was an adult now.
"That was such a long time ago…" A deep sighing voice whispered behind Madelyn.
She jumped a mile and spun around to find the person she helped escape.
"A-Anthony! What are you doing here?" Madelyn said in an inquisitive/ ecstatic tone.
He shrugged, "Just reminiscing…why do you look so excited to se me?"
Madelyn took a deep breath and gave a long explanation, "I accidentally killed my father with a lightning spell—he put a hallucination on me…I didn't know what I was aiming at—but then I remembered your note and…well…I knew I probably couldn't revive my father…he's not exactly human; so to speak, so…I thought..."
She felt her voice trail off
"—that you could revive me instead?" Anthony finished for her. She nodded and a smile crossed his face. "You're too good Madelyn—
"How'd you know my name?" Madelyn interrupted.
He shrugged again, "I heard rumors about you from other sprits who managed to escape—before the bars were placed and everything—"Madelyn The Spell-caster, some of them called you. And then when I met you, I realized those rumors were true."
Anthony continued without waiting for a response, "So did you practice that spell?"
Madelyn shook her head, "It looked too advanced, and I never really got the time to practice…"
Anthony nodded, understanding, "Well would you like to practice now?"
She nodded, "Only if you don't mind being the guinea-pig." (Person who gets experimented on 1st)
Anthony grinned, "Not at all."
Madelyn took out the crumpled note from her pocket and started reading the words aloud, "Revocavi anima nam vester propria voluntas."
For a second or two, a glowing light circled around Anthony. At least she knew it was working.
"Try it again." he said, "Sometimes a spell works when you add a little more force to your voice."
Madelyn nodded, recalling the loudness of her voice when the lightning spell hit, and the intensity of it.
She tried again, this time adding a little more force "Revocavi anima nam vester propria voluntas!"
The glowing circle of light seemed to rotate around his feet for about 5 or so seconds, then it faded again, but at least it lasted a little longer.
"Try once more. I know it's hard but try one more time."
Madelyn nodded and screamed as loud as her voice could go, "REVOCAVI ANIMA NAM VESTER PROPRIA VOLUNTAS!
This time, the circle of light was thinker and brighter as it swirled around Anthony's body, blinding Madelyn by the brightness. She closed her eyes and crossed her fingers for good luck.
When she opened her eyes again, she saw him…alive.
His hair was a dark brownish-black color and his eyes were the same. His was tall, skinny and pale-faced, as if he hadn't seen the light of day in years.
"You did it…" Anthony said with a smile. "I could never thank you enough…"
"It was nothing, really." She replied ans asked the question that had been buzzing in the back of her head since the time they met, "If you don't mind me asking, how did you die in the first place?"
Anthony's cheerful expression turned grim as he explained, "…I was hit by a drunk driver on my way home from the grocery store. Sad thing is, is that I was only 23—but I'm alive again and that's all that matters." He said quickly, trying to look on the bright side as his grin returned.
Madelyn nodded and refrained from asking anything else.
Anthony started walking towards the door, "Follow me. I want to show you something."
She turned and followed him out the door, walking all the way down to a small cemetery.
"This is where I was buried." He said as he pointed to his gravestone…which was starting to fade away.
"For some reason…" Anthony said with a confused look on his face, "When you brought me back to life, my gravestone, the coffin, and the flowers are all disappearing into thin air."
Madelyn had an answer, "It's because now that your soul is in your body, there is no need for these things, so they vanish…almost as if it never happened."
He nodded, "Sounds good enough for me."
Madelyn watched the remains of the grave fade as she questioned, "So what are you going to do now?"
Anthony's face had a deep look of concentration to it, "I guess I'll go visit my parents. They'll be overjoyed to see me."
"I bet they will." Madelyn agreed, and then thought about her father, roaming around the Earth, a long way away from her, not missing her in the least…
Anthony nodded and thanked Madelyn one last time before walking away, "Thank you Madelyn. Thank you so much."
Madelyn shouted back, "You're welcome!" and then turned away and looked at the spot in the ground where his grave once laid. She suddenly remembered she had left the gateway open back in Hell (she still had the key with her)—but it didn't matter. From now on, souls were free to travel in and out of Hell as they wished.
Never again will those pour souls be forced to spend eternity in Hell. Never again would those pour souls have to suffer under the Devil…
"Never again will I ever execute another prisoner for as long I live." Madelyn said aloud to herself as she walked out of the cemetery, dropping the key to the ground as she walked away.
The End
Epilogue…
When Anthony came back, his parents and all of his family members were overjoyed, crying tears of joy that their loved one has returned. Just about as soon as he came back, stories appeared on the news about his revival, newspaper journalists would beg him for interviews, and probably everyone in the world wondered, How did he do it?
But all he said was "I had help from a friend."
Of course, he gave the full story to his parents, expecting them to think it was ludicrous for him to meet a spell-caster from Hell who helped him, but surprisingly, they did believe him, and they promised to keep it a secret from the press too.
The drunk driver, whose name was not released in the papers, was still in jail for many years to come, even if Anthony's body was returned; that did not lift his charges of manslaughter and being under the influence of alcohol however.
Every day after all this, he walked by the cemetery, up to his empty spot where his casket once laid and whispered, "Thank you Madelyn."
Meanwhile, Madelyn had taken the Devil's place on the throne, so to speak, and watched silently out her window as spirits of all shapes and sizes flooded out of the portal onto Earth. One day, she would join them too, but for now, her home was here.
She smiled as she looked at the photograph of her parents on her bureau.