Fiction
tagged Contemporary Fantasy

Summoning Demons

The chants rose slowly, shaping sounds not part of any human language. The acrid smoke of incense swirled as the air in the closed chamber started to move. Only when the candle flames changed from their natural colour to a dim midnight blue the glow of the diagram drawn on the floor with unsavoury substances became apparent. It brightened, spitting sparks as the chants crescendoed. A flash of light and a thunder strike, then silence, broken by genteel coughing.

A strange figure stood in the summoning circle, short, and with a fringe of hair framing its properly bald head.

"William Aloysius Coltrane."

"Yes?"

"You have been summoned and bound to our service."

"What?" The man in the circle straightened his glasses and peered up at the speaker. His opposite was about nine foot tall. The horns and goat's legs and all seemed to be way too realistic for a mask used in a prank.

"You will serve as our accountant for a year and a day."

A glance at the even more disturbing other figures around the cavernous room decided William against protesting.

"What does the job entail?"

It had to be a dream. He blamed the cheese sandwich.

Comments

Wicked twist, very well played. =)

I like his question-account to the underworld-and reference to the cheese sandwhich.

I love the ending line with the sandwich and you have some great images in the opening.

Hahahaha.

Hilarious that he turned out to be an accountant and that the devil/demon world should actually need one. But as someone who works in finance, you know what? - You're bang on the money :-)

I really liked this, especially as I am into fantasy myself, but I also felt that it held the promise of so much more. It certainly is a good opener to a larger piece.

This got me laughing with the twist. I know a few accountants who would love this.
Adam B @revhappiness

Thank you! But I'm afraid there really isn't more to this at the moment.

Really good, but I feel like it's ramping up for so much more. I really want to see more out of this accountant, I think. Great way to start a piece, too!