She sat amidst the candles, bathed in warm tones. Her head was bowed, long strands of blonde hair spindling out like a web around her as she chanted.
Her hands held a thick volume of text, and her eyes were fixed upon it as she chanted.
A thrumming began, somewhere in the floorboards below her, vibrating like a drum through the walls. The candle's soft light turned haunting as the plumes of vapor appeared form nowhere. Smoke rose like a whirlwind, cocooning her inside the circle of her spell and obstructing her vision of the world beyond. As the magic peaked, she shouted the last command, tearing her eyes from the pages to the reality before her.
With a whispered hush, everything dispersed, candles flickering as if they were overtaxed from the effort spent. The floor stilled and a beat of silence passed.
The small girl collapsed forward, heaving in and out deep breathes of air as the magic left her body with the remnants of the spell.
"What the hell is this?"
His voice was as smooth as a baby's flesh, and it was the first thing she noticed. Pushing herself back up, the girl looked up to see what she'd done this time.
Before her was a man, a tall man with the pallor of a shut-in. A mop of dark hair rested atop of his abnormally pale face, which was only further emphasized by the dark bags under his eyes. He had chiseled features, lean muscles and wore a form-fitting blazer of the most hideous shade of green she'd ever seen. He was glaring at her with his murky blue eyes, and for the first time that night, a sliver of doubt crept into her over her choice in performing this spell.
He looked pissed.
"I was so close! And now this! Who are you? Some sort of witch?" He raked a hand through his hair in frustration. "No-forget it, I don't care. Just send me back so I can get my dinner and we'll both be on our way as if this never happened."
The girl frowned, mumbling something at him as she scanned the pages of her spell book again.
"This isn't good…where is it…" she thumbed through to the next few pages, checking and double checking the list of ingredients. She picked up a bowl she'd discarded earlier, sniffing the blue powder within. "No I'm sure I did get at least that right, this time…"
"This time?" She shot him an angry glare as he raised an eyebrow. "Look," he took a step forward, holding out his hands when the girl continued to ignore him. "Whoever you are, just do a reversal spell. This must be a mistake, there is no reason why anyone would need to summon me."
"Shut up!" She snapped, her own blue eyes narrowing on his before she went back to reading. "I need to figure out what went wrong first."
He tapped a finger on his chin, pretending to ponder the question as he paced the interior of the circle. "Where to start…" he mocked. "You summoned the wrong creature for whatever tracking, locating or vengeance spell you were trying to perform, this isn't a vengeance spell is it?" He continued without waiting for a response. "Probably because you're too young to be using black magic in the first place and don't even know how to perform the most basic of summoning spells. How old are you, twelve?"
She opened her mouth to reply but he beat her to it. "And then you failed to bind the summoned being to yourself immediately after summoning me, so now I'm just left wondering what the hell I'm doing here. Because I am rather hungry, and if you don't send me back soon so I can feed," he leaned down to her, so close she could feel his breath on her face, "you'll have to do as an appetizer."
She sputtered at him, her face flushing an angry red. "I'll HAVE to do? As an appetizer," she seethed, clenching her teeth in rage. "Excuse me mister arrogant prick, but this," she made a vague gesture to her figure, obscured by the folds of her skirt "is a the whole package."
He blinked at her in surprise. "What?"
"You heard me!" She stood up, slamming the book closed as she did. "Why are vampires always so rude."
"I'll have you know I happen to be known for my charm and wit!" He stood as well, folding his arms over his chest. "And you are hardly worth biting. You look like you wouldn't even feed a fledgling." He gave her slow once over. "And that is being MORE than generous."
"I'm so done with this, I've had enough bullshit tonight." Bending over the girl scooped a handful of the powder, smearing it on her fingers. "Return!" she commanded, leaving a chalky blue ring of fingerprints on his shirt as she pushed him towards the other end of the circle. She blinked at him owlishly when he didn't disappear.
"My shirt!" He pawed at the ruined satin, only worsening the damage. "Oh you're going to pay for that you stupid little Wican bit-"
"And that's another thing!" she interrupted, forgetting the failed return spell. "I'm not a witch!"
"Oh please don't tell me you're some emotionally unstable high school girl trying to become immortal," he moaned, covering his face with his hands. "I don't think I can handle any more of this…"
"No-!"
"What then, a priestess? Don't make me laugh, you're far too young. And a priestess wouldn't botch a simple return spell, you're too weak to be one."
Her face was now a ruddy red from surprised rage. "I am not weak! I summoned you here didn't I? But I'm not after immortality and I'm not a priestess." She huffed out an aggravated breath, puffing her chest out with pride and giving him a superior look. "I'm a necromancer."
Any color his face had before those words drained until he was sheet white.
She opened the book again, flipping the pages distractedly. "Well if a return spell doesn't work, why don't I just teleport you back?"
He was grateful she hadn't noticed his fear. Centuries of practice let him keep a blank face, and allowed him to switch instantly back to his previous demeanor. "Because you'll botch that too?"
She was ignoring him, chanting the latin of the return spell. There was no swell of magic this time, but he could feel it like the pressure of water on his skin. With a barely audible sigh, the wind that had gathered earlier swished through the room as he disappeared.
She panted in the sudden silence, leaning forward on her hands.
After catching her breath again, she went back to her original page. "Maybe I pronounced it wrong," she mumbled, reading back over the summoning spell. "The formula was definitely right this time...yeah I must have missed a word or something."
She took a moment to stare over at a picture frame on a desk behind her. The room was large with vaulted ceilings, but not opulent in any way, filled with childish decorum like stuffed animals and pillows.
"Okay", she said, determination back in her eyes. "Let's try this again."
Her eyes were blurry with exhaustion, but she began chanting the spell with as much focus as she could muster. The distant quivering of the floorboards began again, and a thick milky vapor sealed her and the book her again as she performed the spell. Wind sprung up from nowhere, making the candles flicker dangerously. She could feel the power building up in her bones, an internal pressure waiting to be released. With a hoarse shout she finished the incantation, and the wind and fog instantly died.
"You have GOT to be fucking kidding me."
The same angry man from before stared down at the unconscious necromancer on the floor outside the circle, heaving in labored breaths.
"You're mental," he said, bending down into a crouch. "Summoning me twice in a row, and then using so much magic you PASS OUT." He let a wicked smile curve his lips up. "Very stupid move."
Without her power to hold the circle he was inside, he stepped out easily, and without a moment's hesitation had his fangs bared and ready to sink them into her neck.
As he lent in to deliver the killing strike, an invisible force bowled him backwards into the desk behind him. The vase of flowers atop it shattered as fell to the floor, and the picture toppled over. Picking himself up he let out a string of ugly curses. "Always a cross," he rubbed his head, shaking it twice. "Make the same mistake every time."
Moving back towards the girl collapsed on the floor, he debated just killing her outright. She was still taking shallow breaths, it wouldn't take much. He settled on kicking her in the stomach. "Get up. I need you to transport me back."
She groaned, curling in around the kick. Her eyes opened, glassy and half-lidded. It took her a few moments of blinking owlishly for reality of the situation to return. "Can't," she croaked, looking up at her rude guest.
"What do you mean, 'can't'," he spat, kicking her again. "You summoned me, TWICE! Now undo it!"
"Can't," she repeated, trying to even her breathing and sit up. Her hands were trembling as she tried to push herself up, but her elbows gave out halfway and she feel back to the floor with a thud. "Not enough power."
"You really are pathetic, do you know that?" He watched as she tried to sit up again, and failed. "Two summoning spells and you're spent, unbelievable."
"Five," she mumbled into the floor.
He cocked an eyebrow. "Oh? Dare I ask what you summoned before me?"
She was finally upright again, although it looked like a firm wind would be enough to knock her over again. "Doesn't matter, didn't work."
"Four hapless victims in one night," he tapped his chin. "Are you trying to set a new record for pissing off the supernatural community?"
She glared at him, but it was weak and unfocused. He noticed that her long blonde hair had gone from slightly mussed to hopelessly tangled, knotted from her multiple falls and cosmic wind of the spells.
"You'll send me back if you want to see another dawn," he said. "Who even knows where this dump is, but I have no intention of staying here."
She continued to stare at him with blue fire in her eyes. "You must be deaf. I have NO magic left, its going to take at least another day before I do."
"Well its your funeral," he crossed his arms over his chest. "Because you'll send me back or I'll-"
"You'll kill me, riiiiight." He was unsettled by the unafraid look in this tiny girls eyes as she sat teetering on unconsciousness on the floor. "You need me to get back, and if you kill me you'll have to take the long way."
He scoffed. "News flash, time is on my side. Taking the long way would be an annoyance, but killing you would definitely be worth it."
She broke out into a bark of laughter. "Won't matter either way in two minutes."
His eyes narrowed on her. He said nothing, waiting for her to explain.
When she didn't, he asked, "What's in two minutes?"
She crawled a few feet to her left, pulling on the cord that held her curtains. Instantly he realized what would happen in two minutes when he saw the twilit horizon.
"You bitch," he said.
"I didn't plan this, honest," she said, leaning back against the wall. "I didn't even want you here in the first place."
"This is just great, killed by the incompetence of a child!" He threw his hands into the air.
She frowned, guilt gnawing at her even as she tried to squash it. He was already dead, and an asshole, and why should she feel guilty if he died? But she did. "I didn't mean to kill you," she mumbled.
His eyes were already flicking about the apartment, accessing his options. "That door," he pointed to a doo against the wall. "Is it a closet or a pantry?"
"Closet," she said, eyebrows knitting.
"It'll do," he was already moving towards it, yanking cleaning supplies and coats out and throwing them on the floor.
"What do you think you're doing!" In a burst of renewed vigor, she rushed forward and grabbed his arm, trying to stop him from throwing another of her coats onto the floor. He shook her off with ease.
The blue hue outside was almost white, lines of light starting to move across the floor.
"Surviving," he muttered, stepping into the closet and slamming the door. With the two remaining coats in the closet, he covered himself as best he could. There was no lock on the door, he'd be at the sun's mercy if she opened it.
She glared at the door, torn between pulling it open and leaving him to roast or walking away from this entire mess. Her conscience won out.
"I need a drink," she mumbled, stumbling away from the closet towards her bedroom with a sigh.
AN: Yeaaa...I can't help myself. I have a predisposition towards vampfic.