Chapter 21: The Search V

I was naïve.

            These eight years of my new lukewarm life that I’ve been living for granted. After finally escaping the life of constant threat, I imagined myself researching the new ways of magic while spending the days of my new friends and family, living happily with them.

             What a fool I am.

             To think I would be too accustomed with my new life, I became blind with unseen danger lurking around. I knew yet I pretended I didn’t see. It might look safer than in the past, but the dangers in this era is a lot deeper than one could fathom, and I never wanted myself to be dragged to that sort of place again.

            Because of that, my sister had to pay the price. The cold wind blew from the broken window in Beth’s room, the bed was turned sideways knocking the table next to it. I stood by her door, clenching my fist tight with my small hand.

            The police had come not long after. The neighborhood woke up from the sound of patrol car surrounding our house. They took pictures of her room and asked us questions of the time of the incident. My father gave his and mother’s testimony when knowing she wasn’t in any condition answering questions. Her eyes and nose were red, and she wouldn’t stop crying. Karen was calm, but she kept turning toward Beth’s room, it’s possibly she’s looking on every corner around the area searching for her.

            They didn’t bother to question me, heck since I’m only almost eight they might be thinking my words won’t mean much for them or they just think I’m being traumatized from this incident. I can’t blame then, ever since we found Beth missing, I had my head hung down while keeping my silent. Even though I had imagined the killer would aim for her, I never thought of it seriously enough that he would go for her here. I kept on mulling over my failure but there’s no way I was only thinking just that.

            I’ve already arranged the rescue plan in my head. There was no blood in her room, meaning she is kidnapped alive. The bodies I couldn’t found at the factory possibly mean the man my needed part of his spoils alive. Knowing the high possibility she’s alive allowed me to calm down.

            “Right, I know it’s late, but please come down to the station for detail questioning, we’ll try our utmost best to find your daughter.” One of the police said this as he escort us outside. We all made it into the nearest station, my mother was holding tightly at my hand as if asking reassurance knowing she still had her daughters with her. I feel bad that I have to let go of this woman’s frail hand, but right now, I can’t hesitate any longer.

            I took a recorder I had from my small backpack I carry, right at the center of the station, I blew a high pitch sound. The next thing that happened, everyone around was on the floor, laid down on the floor, unconscious, including my family. I made an apologetic look toward them then stashing away the recorder.  My action might be a little drastic, but as I said; since I can’t hesitate I’m going all out!

            I dashed back home, I head straight toward the backyard, jumping over the fence. Without trying to waste time, I bit my thumb and hastily but carefully make the same magic circle I use for my previous Search Spell. I put Beth’s favorite hair band she always wear in and utter the same chanting but faster, the same thing happen two nights ago, the circle glowed and started dispersing then came together as a red trail in the sky.

            I would have followed it right away in a flash but who I’m facing isn’t someone I could simply confront. That’s why I prepared all the necessary things along with the knowledge of magic I’ve improved in the past years.

            Just when I was about to leave, I contemplate the spell I’ve been thinking of using all night. For this task, one particular spirit would definitely be able to help me—ugh, his face just gives me shivers—but if it fails, by the time I found her, I might not recovered enough mana to fight and I would only imagined a bad end waiting for me.

            Summoning Magic would need the equal amount of mana of the corresponding spirit own mana. Unlike magicians who need to recuperate the mana they own, spirits are made of mana so they would never ran out of energy so they can not die either.  It’s a different story when they are using a material body in our dimensional plane but let’s explain this some other time.

            Since the one I need to summon is a famous named spirit, his mana of course is considerable, although it’s possible to summon a spirit with more mana than the summoner, that would usually be because of the spirit’s own will. That’s way, even if a spirit is something I desperately need right now, if I fail, all that I had prepared would turn out naught in the end.

            I took a deep breath to clear my mind, recalling my days and the emotion I felt when I tried to summon him for the first time. I reopened the wound on my thumb that was closing and made a different magic circle drawn on the ground.

[I call upon the spirits from the end of shore, with my power, tear open the gate between, with my blood, trace your way to my side, with my words, pledge your service to me. I dub the one who walks within the darkness, named Hod. With my offering in hand, hear my voice and come forth!]

               The magic circle glow once again but dimly, the blood spread around, making a three-diameter hole. After cultivating my mana all these years, the amount of mana I had is on par with the average magicians from my time. That much is still not enough to summon him but I believe—I believe one thing from him that had created the bond between us the very first time.

            The ground shook, and an enormous mana was pouring out from the hole. The birds flew away through the sky, the animals ran in all direction, away from the hole. The full moon shone brightly at him as he emerges from it. His bright red hair glimmers, he had a hawk like nose and he looked like a man in his early 30s, while wearing his silver toga, he stood as if showing off his proud muscle that he had well built at a fine proportion.

            Without opening his eyes, he turned to me the moment he found out there was no one else but me; he had an irritated look before he echoed his thought in my mind. Are you the one who call upon my name?

              I immediately nodded, but before I could say anything, he interrupted my thought once more. Foolish little girl, for you to think you are capable to satisfy me with such immature body, you should call me upon me after 10…no, for you 6 years perhaps.

            A nerve seemed to bulged on my forehead. Yes, one thing I believe that won’t change even after it’s been more than 400 years, I believe his love for woman would not change. When I first summon him, I had heard rumor that the spirit, [Hod] would answer any call as long as it’s a woman. I’ve always hated that part of him, I never thought the day will come where I’m glad he’s a womanizer.

            Hod was about to go back, but I had already cut off my mana and close the portal. Honestly, since he had a large amount of mana, he could still go back with ease.

             [Wind, Bind] 

            After I chanted, the wind coarse around the spirit, halting his movement, good, I’ve got his attention. Such talent for a young girl in this age, I came because of the nostalgic spiritual energy, but it may not be a waste. He said that, but he easily dispels the wind and counter it back at me. The wind binds my hands and legs and forces me up in the air. This scene reminds me of an old movie of a certain masked villain named dark father or something with jedi power that I’ve had watched.

Oh, did I also forgot to mention one of the dangers of summoning spell? is that a named spirit could attack you.

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