Ritual Ink by Holly Evans

Author:Holly Evans [Evans, Holly]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Chaos Fox
Published: 2018-02-10T16:00:00+00:00

26

I closed my eyes and allowed the ink network to flood into my hands. The basic design of what I needed was fixed in my mind. Traditionally, I'd need to place the ink on the familiars' skin to set the spell in place, but I didn't want them to drop dead the moment I was finished. I hoped the network would provide a loophole that meant I could weave the ink without having to place the design on their skin.

The network pressed the image of ink flowing from the bottle onto the familiars as a group; that way, when some of them died, it wouldn't be quite as obvious. It was going to take a lot of energy, and I was beginning to feel the fact I hadn't eaten in a good while. I'd be vulnerable both during the working of the spell and afterwards. I was going to need a miracle to pull this off.

My hands moved over the paper in strong sweeping motions as I allowed the network to run into the ink and form the designs on the crisp white paper. Slowly, the magic built within me and on the paper. It felt like a gentle pressure that wrapped around my hands and tugged on the crown of my head. As the design came together, it looked like a complicated mass of smaller sigils, which was a good way of viewing it. The battery was at the heart. That was where the ink magic was pooling, ready to run through the rest of the spell. Spreading out from there were lines and threads that would act as scaffolding to force the bond to remain open at a much deeper level than usual. Then there were the little stamps that acted as a shut-off point seven days from the moment I inked them on the paper. Finally, the very outer edge was the dam that would slide into place once the timestamps went off. From the outside, it looked like a series of swirls and harsh straight lines. I hoped that no one present knew anything about sigil designs.

Once the design was complete on paper, I picked up the second bottle of ink and smiled as I felt the power rippling through my hands. The ink called to me, the potential that it held intoxicating. I closed my eyes, and the ink network rode me for the briefest moments. The world was brighter, I was stronger… I could be so much more. I pushed it down and focused on the familiars that had been pushed closer to me.

A quick motion of my hand pulled the ink out of the bottle and sent it in narrow ribbons towards the familiars. Each familiar watched the ribbon approach them, some showed fear and visibly paled, others lifted their chins and leaned forward, eager to have it press against their skin. The ink settled onto their throats above the collars that marked them as belonging to whichever witch had claimed them.

Their life essence formed in my mind, bright pulsing magic that both pulled me closer and pushed me away.

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