Fan Fiction ❯ ShadowBaby ❯ Hocus Pocus…Boil and Trouble ( Chapter 5 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Somehow or another Anna had talked Teri into taking her out to the mall. How she did it was beyond her, but she had done it none the less. She ran around in the overly crowded mall and went searching store to store for the items. She had to go to the Bed Bath and Beyond for the candles and incense. Next she had to search through the Old World Colonial stores to buy an old world kettle, that looks closely like a cauldron. Finally she went to the Mystic Treasures store.
When she got home she decided to go back to the shed after her foster parents went to bed. Later that night she snuck out of the hose and made her way carefully into the woods. It seemed a lot harder to get to the shed in the middle of the night then she had thought. When she finally reached it though she sighed with relief. That cauldron was starting to get heavy.
Upon entering the shed she smelled the sweet aroma of dark cider pine. The scent pleased her and tingled her nose and she smiled with delight. Slowly she walked over to the center of the room and began to move around the boxes in a way for her to draw a pentacle. It was a little sloppy but it was the best she could do. She read the spell over and over again to make sure she was doing it right. When she was done drawing the pentacle she arranged the candles around it and placed incense holders toward the center of it. Then she placed two incense sticks inside of them and lit them with her small silver lighter she had stolen from the Old World Colonial store.
When the incense was lit she waved it around the room a little to create the illusion of eerie smoke trails. Then she lit the candles one by one. Next she read the next set of instructions. It read that she had to put a personal belonging into the circle. It gave her some examples, one of which she used. She placed something of little importance to her. It was a silver charm bracelet that her friend Brittany had gotten her for Christmas two years ago.
Anna threw it into the center of the pentacle and scanned over the spell again. It also said that before you began the chant you had to put an item that represented you, like a lock of hair or fingernails. She plucked three strands of hair from her head and dropped them into the circle as well. She sat down and placed the book in front of her. She licked her chapped lips as she began to say the small verse of summoning.
“I command you to come to me,” she chanted, “and light the path for which I am destined to. I command you to come to me and bring me the courage that I need for it. I command you to come to me and lead me down the path of truth. I command you to come to me and open my eyes to the truth. I command you to come to me; my guardian of defense.”
As she chanted the small verse the pentacle began to glow. Anna hadn’t noticed it though and continued on.
“I demand you to show your face,” she chanted, “and lead me down my path. I demand you to appear NOW, my guardian of light!”
The pentacle stopped glowing when her eyes peered down at it. Her heart sank when she saw nothing happened. “Oh well,” she muttered, “it’s not like I expected anything to happen. It was kind of cool to do this though.” Anna closed the book and laid it on the floor. She was about to blow out one of the candles when suddenly a gust of wind busted through the broken window.
It blew rapidly and suddenly all the candles blew out. Anna shivered at the harsh wind. The book’s cover slammed open and the pages inside began to turn rapidly. Anna’s eyes lingered over at the book. She slowly sat in front of the book; her eyes were amused with excitement at it. The harsh wind began to circle around Anna and the pentacle. Then the pages abruptly stopped and it was on another page. Her eyes glanced over the page that was encrypted in an ancient text.
This particular page had many pictures and they looked ghastly. It showed a man engulfed in flames. He had small pointy fangs and piercing eyes. His hair was cut neatly and he had a lean muscular built. Their was dead corpses behind him that were ragged and disheveled. He had short stubby claws with a liquid oozing on one side, it appeared to be blood. Anna was terrified by this site. The man looked evil and diabolical.
The encrypted text began to glow a bright red and soon blood started to ooze out from the words. Anna, in fright and disgust, dropped the book and crawled away from it until her back hit the wall. Her eyes literally bulged a good two inches out of her head as the pentacle began to glow a bright crimson red.
The blood that oozed out from the book and trailed its way back to the pentacle. It formed along the edges and traced everything Anna had drawn. Next a harsh bright orange light engulfed the shed. Anna’s arm threw up and shielded her eyes from the harsh light. She closed her eyes tightly and looked away from the source.
Outside though the spirits were waiting and huddled around the shed, like a moth drawn to a flame. They knew what was happening and what was to come. They welcomed their master with an alluring embrace as the impact of hell collided with the purgatory of earth. The ghostly figures smiled to one another as the next step to their journey came.
Inside the shed though Anna still clenched her eyes shut and whimpered with fright as the light soon went away. Her eyes slowly opened and soon they were drawn to the pentacle. As if it was a perfected dance practiced over and over again, a swoosh of wind circled the pentacle. Then a figure emerged from the pentacle.
He wore elegant old world uniform what appeared to be from the civil war. It was a smoky blue color with yellow fringes on each shoulder. A cloudy yellow sash was loosely hung around his waist. It also had white buttons in a neat row on two sides of uniform shirt. His pants were the mandatory dark smoky blue. They were stained with blood stains and gun powder. His shoes were dirty black boots that were covered in mud.
His arms were covering his face so she couldn’t see what he looked like. The young boys arms and legs were all shackled with musty silver chains. The chains that connected to the shackles dragged down to the floor and merged with the pentacle. His body began to glow. Then chains began to lash out and wrap around him.
Anna stood up in fright and watched with horror at him. He appeared to be sleeping. She took a step toward him. When her foot collided with the wooden floor his eyes suddenly opened and he was awakened. Anna stopped when she noticed his arms moving.
The young boy’s arms slowly swayed away from his face and they quickly reached for the sky. His head hung low, so she still couldn’t see his face. Anna took another step toward him. Slowly he lifted his head. Anna gasped as she recognized him from the book.
The young boy wore a scowl as he looked at Anna. Flames engulfed his hands and feet. Soon the shackles were melted off from him. Anna’s body instantly froze as the young boy lunged for her. Her body slammed into the hard wooden wall behind her. The pain was immense and her whole body felt numb. Shivers ran all through her body and her lips instantly turned blue. Soon gravity took its toll and Anna went crashing toward the floor. The last thing she remembered before she blacked out was glancing up and seeing pale figures hovering above her. They bent down next to her and then it all went blank.
The following morning. Anna groaned as she slouched up. Her elbows propped her up and her head was still dazed. There was a terrible pounding in her head and her body felt stiff and sore. When she sat up she glanced at her surroundings. ‘Wait,’ she thought, ‘this isn’t my room.’ When she realized it was the shed her memories of the night before flooded through her brain. Her eyes began to panic and her heart raced.
“Are you alright miss?” a strange motherly voice asked as she placed her pale hand on Anna’s shoulder.
Anna, in fright, turned around and shrieked, “WHO ARE YOU?!” When she saw her pale like features and how she could see through her she shrieked again, “WHAT ARE YOU?!”
The woman looked amused and laughed, “My name is Andrea Rockefeller, and I’m a spiritual entity.”
Anna nearly fainted.
“Now, now dear,” she said in a concerned voice, “don’t be afraid.”
‘Afraid,’ Anna thought, ‘you’re telling me not to be afraid.’ Anna looked her over. She was a middle aged woman with short blonde hair. The ghostly woman wore an old world nurse outfit; fitted with the cap they use to wear that had the little first aid symbol on it. She was short and slender with a loving smile on her face. She didn’t seem scary, but still she was a ghost.
“I know this is quite a shock to you my dear, but don’t worry my dear I won’t harm ya,” she said as she rubbed her back in a circular motion.
The action sent shivers down Anna’s spine. It felt like a cool summer night’s breeze that chilled you to the bone. The nurse entity saw this and soon stopped.
“Sorry,” Andrea muttered, “I sometimes forget our touch drains the living.”
Anna shivered and huddled for warmth. Andrea was right though. The color from her face drained and she felt tired. Her eyes wanted to close and her mind was telling her to go back to sleep.
“No, no dear,” Andrea warned, “you can’t go back to sleep sweetie.”
“Why not,” Anna yawned as she laid back down on her back.
“You need to gain your strength back dear,” she said as she motioned for the door.
Anna snorted, “I’ll gain it if I sleep.”
Andrea glanced around with a worried look and said, “Trust me dear you won’t be able to sleep in here.”
Anna complained as she stood back up and staggered to the door. Her hand trembled as she reached for the doorknob. When she opened the door she saw a sea of ghostly faces. They all glanced over at her and soon all their attention was focused on her. Anna slowly closed the door and began to freak out.
“WHAT THE HELL!” she screamed as she paced back and forth.
Andrea looked worried and said, “What’s wrong my lord?”
Anna began to hysterically say, “What’s wrong, what’s wrong, there’s a sea of freaking ghost out there and…wait a minute did you just call me lord?”
The nurse entity nodded and said, “Yes, my lord.”
Anna took a step back and, with a high pitched voice, said, “I’m not your lord. I’m just a stupid fifteen year old girl that did a stupid thing last night. I’m nobody’s LORD!”
The nurse shook her head and said, “You are a vessel of my lord; therefore, you are my lord.”
Anna nearly fainted all over again. “What!” she screamed, “Look lady I am nobodies vessel alright.”
Andrea smiled as she motioned for her to look at the window. “See for yourself,” she laughed as she pointed to the window.
Anna scoffed as she walked over to the medium sized glass frame. She glanced in it and screamed out of fright. There staring back at her was the young soldier boy she had seen the night before. He stared back at her with a frown on his face. His frown was replaced with an admirable smirk as he witnessed Anna freak out and say things like that’s not me and what’s going on.
Anna ran back over to where she had dropped the book last night and flipped through the pages until she came across the page showing him. She then demanded Andrea to tell her who the heck he was and what he was doing here.
“It all right there,” Andrea said as she pointed to the ancient text, “read for yourself.”
“I can’t,” Anna said, “it’s not in English!”
Andrea scoffed and said, “You are the vessel of my master and yet you can’t even read a simple line of the deity text. What kind of vessel are you?”
Anna glared at her and demanded she tell her immediately.
“As you wish, my lord.” Andrea said, “His name is John Spelling. He is the son of a grand and powerful demon named Larynx Spelling, and he is also the son of the Goddess of Chaos Eris; I’m sure you have heard of her?”
Anna looked disheveled as she said, “But Eris doesn’t exist.”
“Oh she exists,” Andrea said in a stern voice, “but she’s nothing like what the Romans’ said. She is the watchful guardian over grand judgment when it comes to humans. Some call her the gatekeeper to Hell. Well anyways, John was a powerful person. He was considered a tyrant back in the day. He has lived through most of the world’s history, always playing a small part in it. During the Civil War though a grand psychic named Melissa the VI sealed him away in the deepest pits of hell. There he was imprisoned until you set him free. You have my eternal gratitude for freeing my master.”
Anna’s mouth was hanging loosely from its nesting place and she said in a quiet voice, “Okay, I just freed an all powerful madman from his dominant slumber in hell…wait to go Anna, wait to go.”
Andrea looked at her weird and said, “You should feel honored to be the vessel for my lord. He is very picky about who he hangs out with.”
Anna glared at the book and said, “Read it to me.”
Andrea smiled as she read aloud, “John Spelling, son of Eris, was one of the most powerful demons in his days. He was a ruthless savage that plagued many villages and tore at the very fabric of life. It is said that during one of the battles in the South a powerful psychic, named Melissa, sealed him away in the deepest pits of Hell. For fear of him being awakened and starting havoc once more, Melissa encrypted his seal. Only a child born from a shadow can awaken his dormant slumber.”
Anna seemed dazed by all of this and said, “I wasn’t born from a shadow! My mother gave me up for adoption shortly after I was born. I don’t know any of my real family.”
“You never knew your family?” Andrea questioned, “Then how do you know that your mother or father wasn’t a shadow?”
“How the hell are you born from a shadow? It’s physically impossible.” Anna snorted.
“Not if they can possess a human body or form one themselves. Face it dear,” Andrea said with a smile, “you’re a shadow baby.”
Anna refused to listen to her.
“Don’t try to ignore the facts my dear.” Andrea said, “Did you ever feel different then the rest?”
Anna stared at her and said with a mutter, “Yes.”
“Well facts don’t lie dear,” Andrea said, “face it you’re a shadow baby.”
Anna still refused to believe it. “Then explain what the army of the living dead is doing out there.” she demanded as she pointed at the door.
Andrea laughed, “That’s not the army of the living dead my dear. That is the spiritual advisors and devoted servants of John. You see my dear, John is the king of the damned.”
Anna fell to the floor and her heart literally began to race into her throat. ‘I’m a vessel for the king of the damned.’ she thought.
“Oh for peaks sake,” a male voice said.
Anna looked around the room for the voice. She happen to glance toward the window.
“You’re getting warmer.” the voice said as she got up.
Anna began to slowly walk toward the window.
“Warmer, warmer, warmer, you’re burning up.” the voice laughed as Anna peered out the window. Andrea chuckled with amusement as Anna glanced around outside to find the young boy.
“Boo,” he said as his face merged through the wall.
Anna let out a loud scream as she stumbled back and scurried away from him. He too was a ghost and fazed the rest of his body through the wall.
“You’re a bit scrawny to be my vessel.” he stated as he examined her.
Anna was still in shock and finally managed to calm her rapid breathing.
“Not enough muscle,” he said as he circled her, “to skinny too. What are you anorexic?”
Anna took offense to this and stuttered, “No, I’m just naturally skinny.”
He continued to exam her. “Stand up.” he commanded. Anna did as he said and he examined her further. “Hmm,” he said as he circled her three more times, “I’d give this body a C minus.”
Anna felt like she was going to cry. She knew she wasn’t the prettiest person in the world, but did he have to rub it in? “I’m sorry I’m not your vision of perfection, but not everyone is so perfect.” Anna sniffled as she lowered her head. Andrea was about to place her hand on her, but remembered what happened last time.
John scowled and snapped, “You’re pitiful too, what kind of vessel are you? You’re to weak, you have a low self-esteem, and you’re a pitiful coward. Didn’t you read my requirements before you summoned me?”
Anna glared at the ground and muttered, “I didn’t mean to summon you.”
John glared at her and yelled, “Then why did you?!”
Anna had tears streaming down her face and said, “I was summoning my guardian spirit, jackass.” That last part she muttered to herself.
John heard it though and he snarled, “What did you call me?”
Tears dripped off of her nose and fell to the floor.
“You’re a pitiful excuse for a vessel, Andrea I command you to explain this abomination of disobedience.”
Andrea was about to speak up but Anna beat her to it. “I didn’t ask for you to use me as a vessel. I was trying to summon my guardian. I’ve never even done a spell before; it was a fluke. I’m not your so called shadow baby you have been waiting for. So just go back into your precious book and leave me alone. I won’t tell anyone just please leave me be. I have enough problems as it is. I don’t want any more weight put on my shoulders.”
John glared at her and said, “If you expect me to go back to being imprisoned in hell you can forget it. I’ve been imprisoned for what seems like a century. If it means for me being stuck with a pitiful person like you until I find a new host, then so be it.”
Anna fell to her knees and cried, “Please leave me alone. I already have enough people that yell at me and tell me I’m worthless; I don’t need another one.” Tears continued to stream down her face. She wiped her nose with her sleeve and sniffled.
Andrea’s eyes softened and she said, “Please master, she is but a child. She has endured much, I can grant you that. She may not be physically strong, but she is mentally strong. She is a worthy host for you; whether you believe it or not. This young child is the shadow baby you have been waiting for. I can feel it your majesty.”
John grunted with annoyance and said, “Fine, she’ll do…for now. I take your word for it Andrea, but mark my words if she isn’t as you say, then I demand a new host.”
“But my liege,” stuttered, “do you know how hard it is to find another host that is psychologically able to withstand you? She is by far the only one in this whole country that is able to be a proper host without you draining them into a coma.”
Anna’s ears perked up and she stuttered, “Coma, he can cause people to go into comas?”
Andrea hesitantly nodded and said, “It puts a strain on a human body when he inhabits it. Your psychic wall is strong though, so he can’t do that to you. He can’t even hurt you for fear of hurting himself.”
John growled, “Shut up Andrea, if you tell her everything I’ll have no control over her.” Andrea apologized and bowed.
Anna wiped away her tears and said, “So basically I’m in charge, huh? Well that explains why he didn’t slam me into a wall again for calling him a jackass.” John growled and glared at her. Andrea knew where this was going and chuckled to herself.
“All those ghosts out there belong to you, don’t they?” Anna asked as she wiped the last of her tears away.
John smirked and said, “Them, that’s nothing. You should see my army of the living dead. They are far more dangerous then them.”
Anna glanced at the door and asked, “So are all ghosts your followers?”
John frowned and asked, “Don’t you know anything of me?”
Anna shook her head and said, “No, up until now I didn’t even believe in ghosts.”
Andrea looked shocked, but she put on a sweet smile and said, “My dear, John controls all of the dead, spirits and corpses alike.”
Anna nodded with reassurance and asked John, “What do you plan to do now?”
John looked at her as if she had just asked the stupidest question in the world. “That’s simple peasant,” he said as his eyes glanced over at the door, “I’m here to reclaim my throne. I plan to avenge my death by Melissa, reclaim my body, and do what I do best.”
“What is that,” Anna hesitantly asked.
“Killing,” he said with a devious smile.
Anna gasped with fright. ‘Killings,’ she thought. She found herself scooting away from him. Her eyes showed fear and her heart began to beat rapidly.
John licked his lips as he said, “I can feel your fear. It’s delectable and refreshing.”
Anna stopped scooting away and thought, ‘Wait a minute, he can’t hurt me. Why am I afraid?’ Her boldness soon came back, even though her heart was still aflutter with fear. “Listen bub,” she threatened in a shaky voice, “I am your vessel right? So that means right now I’m all that you’ve got. So you have to do as I say or I’ll send you back from whence you came.”
John smirked half heartily as he complied, “Yes oh deviant master, I am yours to command.” A laugh cascaded off of his pale red white lips. Anna looked disheveled as she demanded for him to stop laughing at her.
“Stop it,” she demanded, “stop it I say. Now tell all those frightening people outside to go away. They frighten me to no end. I keep thinking they’ll attack me as soon as I turn my back.”
John shook his head and muttered, “Pathetic girl.” He disappeared outside and reappeared a second later. “There,” he stated, “I told them that you didn’t want to see them. They went back underground to their graves. I hope your happy, they looked so disappointed.”
Anna sighed with relief as she opened the door and exited. Her relieved face was soon turned to fright again as hundreds of entities surrounded her to get a good look at her. Her frighten look turned to rage as she glared at John as he fazed through the wall and said, “Oh and by the way…Gotcha!”
She wanted to punch him right then and there. Her hand went swinging toward his face. Where it should have collided it met air. The small hand went right through him and her hand grew cold. She retreated her hand both shock and anger ran through her mind. She huffed like a spoiled toddler would and placed her hands on her hips.
John simply shrugged and asked, “What did you expect? Did you really think you could have hit me?”
Anna looked cross as she stared at him. Her eyes drifted back towards the sea of many faces as they examined her further.
“Much to skinny,” a voice said.
“Not a lot of physical strength either.” another voice said.
“I sense great spiritual power,” a high pitched female voice said.
“Me too,” another female voice said , this one sounded elegant.
“I concur,” a gruff male voice said.
“Aye,” and male Irish voice interjected.
Anna glanced over many faces before John cleared his throat and said, “Alright you lazy free loaders.”
Everyone’s gaze turned to him. Many of the female voices shrieked out of fandom. You can tell John was pretty popular with the ladies. ‘Player,’ Anna thought as Andrea joined in on the party.
“As you are well aware,” he said in a stern voice, “I have been imprisoned for well over a hundred years.”
Some voices in the back began to chatter about Melissa and how the hated her for what she had done.
“But,” he said as he pointed a finger toward the sky, “the day of judgment has finally come. This young girl that stands beside me is my new vessel.” He pointed toward Anna and smiled inwardly.
Many onlookers sighed and awed at Anna. Some cheered her on for bringing their master back.
“I will reside in her until my body is recovered, or I find a male demon of great apportions for me to reside in. If you have an concerns that interject with the astral plane or with communication with your ancestors I request you some and see Andrea at once. She will then inform me and I will do everything in my power to assist you. Never, and I mean never report to me personally. The consequences will be dire.”
A loud cheer echoed off of the sea of faces and they began to cheer John’s name. John smiled at his minions and bowed out of respect.
“Now that I have given my ceremonial reawakening speech I will retire into my new vessel. I implore you fellow deities to retire as well. My new vessel has had a troublesome day and needs to regain her strength for our journey to enlightenment.” he chuckled as he glanced over at Anna in the corner of his eyes, “No one is to bother her unless it is of her will. Now be gone you mangy spokes of damned souls.”
They all bowed their heads in admiration and disappeared into the earth below. Anna was still trying to process everything he just said. ‘Wait, she thought, ‘did he say journey to enlightenment?’ John chuckled to himself and fazed stepped toward her. Anna shivered with the sudden chock of his presence entwining with hers. John felt her tension and scoffed to himself, ‘Some psychological power she has.’
Anna wobbled a bit as she tried to steady herself. “What just happened?” she asked.
“My lord has just merged with you for the second time today,” Andrea said as she walked up to her and smiled, “don’t worry you get used to it.”
Anna growled as she heard insane laughing inside her head. It continued laughing. Anna felt like strangling him to death and then she heard a tsk, tsk. She could easily picture him shaking his finger at her with that victories smile of him. It made her want to puke.
As she was escorted back to her house she heard a loud booming voice screaming about how there was no food on the table. It was a loud shrill voice and soon it was shouting, “Anna, Anna, Anna get your lazy ass back here. I’m hungry!”
Andrea frowned and asked Anna, “And who might I ask is that charming lady that is yelling for you?”
“Oh her,” Anna sighed as her head hung low, “she’s my foster mother.”
The walked side by side toward the old looking house. There was crashing sounds as she walked into the vicinity. Teri noticed Anna and shouted, “Where the seven hells have you been?!”
“I was having an,” she said with a pause, “an enlightening experience.” A smile graced her lips as Teri shouted at the top of her lungs, “Well what are you doing smiling like that? I’m hungry, fix me my BREAKFAST!”