Cinnamon // Sally Face

S e v e n

"Mom, what exactly is it that you're trying to summon?" Violet asked, grimacing as her mother started lighting candles. 

"The Red-Eyed Demon," she replied, giving a nonchalant shrug. 

"Doesn't that thing kill people?"

"Not necessarily."

"That doesn't make summoning a demon safe, you know."

The woman chuckled, pulling the curtains closed and allowing the candles to light the room with an orange hue. "I would never summon anything that could hurt us."

Violet sighed and headed toward her bedroom, careful not to trip over any boxes. The house was already beginning to smell of scented wax. She couldn't stand them. They gave her such a headache. 

Suddenly, her phone buzzed in her pocket. 

Messages

Sal: 1:42 PM
i'm at Larry's. wanna come hang out?

Violet: 1:43 PM
I don't have a key card to the basement, though.

Sal: 1:43 PM
if you had a key card, would you say yes?

Violet: 1:44 PM
I don't see why not.

Sal: 1:44 PM
i'll be right up :)

End of Conversation

Violet looked at her mother. There was no doubt in her mind that she'd be too encased in her ritual to notice that her daughter wasn't home. For once, she was grateful for that. 

With ease, the teen girl was able to slip out of the front door without acknowledgment, silently closing it behind her. She leaned her back against the wall and sighed as a small smile tugged at the corners of her lips. 

That was when the lights flickered. Violet perked up, feeling chills crawl up her spine. A strange buzzing filled her ears, causing her heart rate to quicken. As her eyes wildly scanned the hallway, she spotted a dark figure standing several feet from her. It appeared to be a shadowy silhouette of a person with no feature but a pair of blood-red eyes. 

It was the Red-Eyed Demon. 

The buzzing grew louder. The lights flickered again. She could feel her heart pounding through her fingertips. Still, Violet didn't move a muscle. She feared that one wrong step would cause serious destruction. No...she knew it.

The apparition was motionless. It did nothing more than glower at the girl, despite the chaotic flickering of the lights. It's beaming red gaze conveyed nothing but evil. Violet felt herself begin to tremble uncontrollably, nausea overtaking her senses. At this point, she wasn't sure whether to let herself faint or try to escape. Neither option seemed to have a good ending.

Then, just as quickly as it appeared, the demon was gone. The buzzing was gone, leaving Violet's ears ringing. It hurt her eyes to have to adjust to normal lighting. She couldn't look away from where the shadow had stood. It was just...gone. It was like nothing ever happened, but her thundering heart and shaky palms proved otherwise. 

A series of questions flooded her head. Where did the demon go? What happened to her? Was she already dead? By now, she had long forgotten that Sal was on his way from the basement to fetch her. She didn't even noticed when he appeared at her side.

"Vi, are you alright?"

She jumped, her head snapping in his direction. "I-I, uh...I—yeah."

"You're shaking," he said, placing a hand on her shoulder.