The Demon Diaries are a series of paranormal comedy stories.
A HINT OF MAGIC - Prequel
Dora Carridine is fed up with her life as a preacher's daughter and sets out to explore the darker side of life instead. If she can find some magic in the world...
Dora trudged into the church with her father and mother following her every move. She glanced back to try to explain. However, one look at her father's expression, and the words dried up in her mouth. His face was set in stone, and her mother refused meet her eyes.
They marched her up to her room, following her into it without saying a word. Both stood at the doorway with folded arms, scowling at her.
"Look, I know I messed up—" Dora began as she put the book she was holding onto her bed and sat down next to it.
"Witchcraft, crime and hacking!" Her father shouted.
"It wasn't real witchcraft, and I didn't know about the crime and hacking at the time." She tried to explain.
"Did you at least learn something from all of this?" Her mother narrowed her eyes.
"Belief is bullshit?" Dora guessed the answer.
Her mother and father both shook their heads.
"Nice boys suck?" She tried again.
Her father scowled, and her mother tutted at her.
Dora shrugged. "I got nothing."
"Oh you have something from all of this. You're grounded for a year, and you'll be having confession every Sunday from now on. You're not to call your friends or leave this room unless I say you can. There will be no internet, and no contact with anyone. You will go to school, come home and work. That is your life from now on. Do you understand me?" Her father bellowed.
She nodded and peered at her feet as they left the room. She'd got off pretty easy considering what she had done, even if it was unwittingly. Loanda had been arrested for embezzling from Howard's firm, and Howard had been released from custody. All charges against Dora had been dropped. The judge had classed her as an impressionable minor, who had mixed with the wrong people. Jamie had been given the ultimate punishment. He'd been sent to live with his father, Howard.
Veronica had divorced Jerry and bought the magic store with her divorce settlement. However, she'd banned Dora from the store and forced all the witches there to become Earth-loving naturists. Every dark and deadly element of the store had been destroyed. Now it stocked organic soap and recycled notebooks.
Dora it seemed was going to be punished by her parents for eternity, and she still hadn't found anything to believe in. It was all for nothing.
She lay back on the bed and spread out her arms, feeling disappointed in everything. Her left hand brushed over the wooden bound book on the bed, tracing the strange symbols carved into it.
She sat up and stared at the book. It was encased in ancient wood, which was so old it had a green tint to it. The pages inside felt like cloth, rather than paper. She flipped it open and peered inside. The book was filled with spells written in archaic English. Sketches of hellish faces and demons decorated each page. She frowned and read some of the spells in the book. She had never seen anything like it before.
She closed the book and stared at the cover. There were no words, just symbols engraved on it. The green cover glowed. She blinked, and the glow was gone, but she was certain she had seen it. She picked up the book and hugged it to her chest. It felt magical. Even though it went against everything she knew, she believed this book had magic in it. What if this was what I was looking for all along?
Yeah, and witches are real. A sarcastic voice in the back of her mind said. She sighed and dropped the book onto the bed. She wasn't going to fall for another illusion—she wasn't. She glanced down at the book. It had fallen open on a page titled: 'Speak to a Demon'. Her eyes flicked over the words on the page. It only involved lighting candles, shedding two drops of blood in a bowl and saying a short verse. What the hell, right? It's not as if anything is going to happen.
She grabbed a candle and a bowl of potpourri off her nightstand. She tipped the potpourri into the trashcan. She placed them on the carpet and sat cross-legged in front of it with the grimoire at her side. She slid out her knife and pricked the end of her thumb, dropping two drops of her blood into the bowl. Next, she pressed on her thumb to stop it bleeding. Okay, let's try this.
"Demon of the darkest heart, I call upon your voice. If thy accepts my blood, then speak in tongues that I shall hear. Tell me secrets of old. Join with me and link our worlds. Show me the secrets of the dark." She read the spell aloud and waited. Her heart hammered, and the world seemed to blur around her for a moment. There was an eerie silence in the room, but she could hear voices screaming inside her head. Something washed over her, filling her body with power—something dark.
After a few moments, the voices faded, and the feeling evaporated. She stared at the bowl intensely, but nothing happened. Fuck!
"Dora, get down here and do the dishes, now!" She heard her dad calling up the stairs. She shook her head and stood up, turning towards the door. She stomped out of the room, leaving the book behind. It felt like magic.I must have done something wrong. She smiled as she left the room, feeling certain that the book contained magic. I just have to learn how to use it.
"Dora, don't make me give you confession early!" Her father threatened.
And when I do, he's going to regret it.
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As Dora left the room, the sigils of the book lit up and glowed green. Green smoke exuded from the book and filled the room, swirling around and tainting the air.
