Summoning Destiny: A Divine Resonance Novelette Read online

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  About the Author

  Summoning Destiny

  A Divine Resonance Novelette

  Noree Cosper

  Summoning Destiny © 2017 Noree Cosper

  All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Warning: the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

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  Contents

  Untitled

  About the Author

  The minute the black-haired hunk in the fitted suit walked into my shop, I knew I was screwed. Not that getting screwed by him would be a bad thing. It probably involved hours of mind bending pleasure. He wasn't here for that, though. If the screaming of my inner demon was telling me anything, he was here about the séance I'd done a couple of nights ago.

  Yup. Screwed.

  I leaned against the doorframe of the curtained room that stood behind the counter and watched as he ambled down the right side of the store. His broad shoulders almost brushed the shelves of the narrow aisle. He stopped in front of a group of crystal figurines made of jade, amethysts, and tiger’s eyes and lifted a moonstone egg with a cold smile. Whoever this guy was, he seemed to hold no love for crystal magic. Charlie, my boss, glanced my direction from her spot behind the cash register, the crow’s feet around her eyes crinkling as she waggled her eyebrows at me.

  “Can I help you with something?” Charlie’s gravelly voice echoed across the room over the soft Druidic chanting she had playing in the background.

  The man set the egg down, straightened up, and walked to the counter. “Yes, I understand you offered the service of a psychic? Card reading and such?”

  “That would be Madam LeStrange, here.” Charlie waved her hand at me.

  His gaze landed on me. Every inch it fell on tingled and a heat grew within me.

  “Careful of this one,” Tyche, my demon, warned again. “He has Opportunity in his favor.”

  “What is that even supposed to mean?” I sent the thought back to her.

  The man tilted his head, his smile growing into a smirk. Had he heard my private conversation? Weird. Demons, like Tyche, couldn’t be seen or heard by your average bear, er, person. Actually, they couldn’t be heard, tasted, felt, or smelled either, unless you happened to be a witch, like me. If the guy noticed something, then he was a warlock.

  My pulse raced. I’d never come across another witch or warlock personally, but one of the books I read had said they tend to be territorial. This was my home turf, though. Should I be the one flashing my claws and hissing at him? Maybe he’d come to kill me. Then again, he’d have so much more knowledge than the few books I managed to find.

  “So, are you still performing readings tonight?” he asked.

  “Sure.” I put on my brightest smile, even though my heart was pounding a million miles a second, and pulled back the curtain. “Step into my parlor.”

  Though I wasn’t sure who was the spider and who was the fly.

  He entered, and I followed. I walked around the small, two-person table with its navy blue starscape pattern. The sweet and woody scent of frankincense drifted through the air from the tiny burner on the wall-mounted shelf. The incense did nothing for visions, but it helped with the atmosphere. I licked my lips and nodded to the folding chair across from me as I sat down. He sat, resting his forearms on the table as he stared at me.

  “So, what would you like?” I asked. “Cards?”

  He raised a brow. “Crystal ball? Tea leaves?”

  “If that is what you want.” I said the words slowly.

  “Come now, we both know that this is all for show,” he said. “Is this your great plan for life?”

  “Actually, it helps pay for college.” I crossed my arms. “If you think I’m a fraud, why are you even here?”

  “On the contrary, Ava, you’re the real deal. The daimon I can feel floating around here proves that.”

  My heart stuttered, but another word played in my head. “Daimon?”

  He laughed. “Don’t tell me, it told you to call it a demon. They love to play tricks like that.”

  I gritted my teeth. “Who are you and what do you want? Obviously, it’s not a reading.”

  He leaned back and pulled out a small black business card from an inner pocket of his sports coat. “I represent an organization that has our mutual interests in mind.”

  “Mutual interests?” I waved my hand around. “I don’t think you’re that interested in readings and witchcraft.”

  He tapped the edge of the card on the table. “You’d think correct. The organization polices True Witchcraft. The one only blood can make you a part of. I have been sent to investigate an incident that took place three days ago. I believe you performed a summoning in front of several humans.”

  I shrugged, trying to look nonchalant, even though beads of sweat had formed on my forehead. “The séance? So? They all thought it was some cheesy fun.”

  He leaned forward and grabbed my wrist. A shivery feeling shot through my arm. “Your fun threatens to reveal us and we can’t have that.”

  “So, you came to get me to join your Mickey Mouse Club?” I asked. “What are you going to do if I don’t? Kill me?”

  “No, nothing of the sort. We prefer not to resort to such crass tactics. However, we have ways to lock your magic,” he said.

  I pulled my wrist from him and stood so suddenly the chair tipped back and hit the ground. “You can’t be serious. Who the hell are you people to think you can dictate what I choose to do?”

  “We are an organization that has existed for centuries,” he said. “We keep our existence quiet so as not to have an uproar like the witch hunts long ago.”

  I waved my hand towards the curtain. “Take a look around. Things have changed since then. People aren’t going to burn us. They want to know.”

  He sighed. “It is dangerous, especially for an untrained witch like yourself. We have other options, such as extending membership into our organization. We offer a wealth of resources, including instruction.”

  “You start with threats and then move to enticement,” I said. “Shouldn’t it be the other way around?”

  “I came to investigate, not to recruit.” He gave the card one final tap, dropped it on the table, and stood up. “I’ll be in touch.”

  He pushed the curtain aside and strolled out. A few minutes later, the tiny bell at the front door jingled. I rubbed my tongue against the roof of my mouth to get rid of the sour taste as I picked the card up.

  Dominic Rizel

  The Hermetic Order

  “Seriously? How lame.” My high-pitched laugh held a hysterical edge.

  Whoever this order was, they knew what I’d done. Were they the ones I’d seen in my vision during the séance, the ones Tyche had warned were dangerous?

  “Careful,” her voice echoed in my head. “He will strike when his Opportunity is greatest.”

  On
my way home that night, I’d catch glimpses of a shadow behind a corner or hear the scrape of a shoe on concrete close to me. Though I didn’t see an actual person, I was being followed. It set my teeth on edge and goosebumps along my arms. I dangled the keys in my hand as I climbed up the steps to my apartment building and glanced behind me.

  Could it be that guy from earlier?

  I shuddered. The sooner I got inside the better. I slipped inside the lobby of my apartment building with its peeling wallpaper and pressed the button to the elevator. My foot made a dull thud against the worn gray carpet as I tapped it. The walls reeked of old cigarettes from years of smokers passing through. The old brownstone had not been well cared for, but the rent on a studio was cheaper than most in Boston. I got by with what I could afford.

  The elevator doors opened with a chime. After a short ride, I stepped out of the hall on my floor and scurried to my door. The stench of death and rot hit me in the face as I opened the door. I gagged and pressed my nose to the crook of my arm as a burning hit my tongue.

  A shadow moved from around the corner of the entryway blocking my living room. A chill raced up my spine.

  Someone was in my apartment.

  “Tyche, what is this?”

  “Danger. The path is moving.”

  I rolled my eyes. As always, a vague answer from the fortune demon. I backed away from my door as the shadow moved into view and the stench grew stronger. The stringy yellow hair hung in clumps around the woman’s gray face. Milky eyes reflected light from the hallway as she shuffled forward. Bits of flesh hung from the rips and tears in her blood-stained dress. My scream clogged in my throat, choking me. What the hell was that thing?

  “A ker,” Tyche supplied. “A spirit of violent death.”

  “A demon.” Great, all my summoning material was farther in my apartment, past that thing.

  A raspy laugh escaped its lips and its fingers spread, revealing long claws. “Your body smells delicious. So does your soul.”

  To hell with that. I didn’t give Tyche a chance to explain. I turned and bolted down the hall towards the emergency stairs. If this wasn’t an emergency, I didn’t know what was.

  The ker gave a gargling screech and bounded out of my room after me. The thumping of her feet drew closer. At this rate, I’d never reach the door in time.

  “Tyche! I need some luck.”

  “This is not part of our original agreement. Would you like to initiate a new contract?” Tyche’s voice echoed in my head.

  She would choose now of all times to do this. My heart pounded to the beat of the ker’s feet. Just a few feet to the door.

  “Fine,” I said. “For some luck, I will sacrifice the memory of eating my first sandwich.”

  With no physical bodies of their own, demons longed for the memories and experiences of humans. Actually, they would be willing to accept almost anything as a sacrifice.

  “Agreed,” Tyche said.

  The floor shuddered with a series of thuds, followed by an angry snarl. The creature had fallen and tripped. A rush of adrenaline shot through me. I pushed my sprint farther to touch the handle of the exit door. I flung it open without stopping and barreled right into the arms of Dominic. His hands came to my shoulders, warm against the ice that seemed to cover my body.

  I half turned around, panting. “There’s something, a ker, behind me.”

  A screech filled the stairwell as the ker rushed through the doorway. Dominic pushed me behind him and pulled out a penlight. The light hit her in the chest, forming a symbol of a triangle with a circle inside. Thirteen sigils surrounded the circle.

  Domninic’s voice deepened into a chant. “Thee I revoke, Bornless one. No place thou have on Earth. Return thee to the Darkness of creation.”

  The creature squirmed, falling to her hands and knees. Her shoulders shook.

  “Thou art Osorronophris: Whom no man hath seen at any time. I am the blood of the Mother. Hear me and obey! Aoth: Aboth: Basum: Isak: Sabaoth: Iao: Hear me and depart!”

  The ker gave one last shudder and the body collapsed onto the floor.

  “Are you all right?” Dominic pocketed his nifty pen and turned to me with narrowed eyes. “Did you call that thing?”

  I shook my head. “Are you crazy? Why the hell would I do that in my own apartment? It was waiting for me when I got home.” I scowled. “Why are you here?”

  “I followed you.” He pressed his lips together as he pulled out his cell phone from his sports jacket.

  “So it was you.” I knew it. My instincts weren’t just screwy.

  He turned his head as someone on the other side of the phone answered. “Yes, I will need a cleanup crew to twenty-four Marlborough Street, third floor emergency stairwell. One body. Yes, I will return to the house in an hour. The girl will be with me.”

  “Hey, I’m not going anywhere with my stalker,” I said.

  He turned back to me as he put his phone in his pocket. “If you did not summon this creature, someone has sent it to kill you. You would be much safer at our Order’s ritual house until we can discern who is after you and why.”

  I crossed my arms. “You could have done it. Just to get me to come with you.”

  He sighed. “If I wanted to scare you, I wouldn’t use something sloppy as a ker. They are really a nuisance to clean up after.”

  “The Opportunist is not your enemy,” Tyche said.

  “I thought you told me to be careful with him.”

  “He is tricky, but the path is moving. If you stay behind, you will fall.”

  “That makes total sense.” I tried not to roll my eyes. “Fine, can I at least grab some clothes and stuff before I get spirited off to your secret clubhouse?”

  He stuffed his hands in his pockets. “You have ten minutes.”

  Dominic hovered at my front door as I scrambled through my apartment, gathering a duffle bag full of things I might need. Clothes, makeup, and my summoning kit. It wasn’t big or ornate, but it did the job. I’d collected a few useful things during my time at the shop, the main reason I’d decided to work there. Charlie wasn’t a total fraud, though she knew nothing about real witches or warlocks.

  When I finished packing, I followed Dominic out of the building. He didn’t say a word, but acted like he was on official business.

  When we stepped outside, a black sedan was waiting for us. I raised a brow at Dominic.

  He approached the sedan and opened the back door for me.

  My teeth pinched my bottom lip then as I paused. I was about to get into the car with a stranger. There were oodles of after school specials warning against this kind of thing. I glanced up at my apartment. This man had saved me from that demon and he had sent for his people to take care of the body. I couldn’t stay home anymore and I needed to figure out why the ker had come after me. Dominic’s resources would be handy for that. I intended to find out what he knew as well.

  I slid inside and he came around to take the seat beside me. I twisted my fingers together, slinging my thumb over the index finger of my other hand in a circular motion. My adrenaline had drained but the flittering in my stomach remained. This guy may have saved me from that dead thing, but he did sort of threaten me earlier.

  “So, where is this clubhouse of yours?” I asked after a while.

  His intense gaze swept over me and heat rushed through my body. “You’ll see soon.”

  Soon turned out to be an hour. We drove through the center of the city, down the interstate and state highways to Barnstable. I rolled down the window and breathed in the salty sea air. Much better than the dead stench that had lingered in my apartment.

  The night had turned the ocean into darkness outside of Dominic’s window. The car drove around a curve towards a secluded beach, and lights from a house rose from a horizon. I gave a soft whistle as the car stopped at the gates. This wasn’t just a house; it was a mansion. After a few words from the driver into a speaker box, the gates opened and we continued to a circular driveway.
>
  The car had barely parked before I scurried out and gaped up at the mansion. It was nothing like I’d ever seen before up close. I’d passed by a few houses off in the distance while driving on occasion, but the gates had blocked any good views. The light surrounding the three story New England style mansion lit up the pale blue paint. A tower shaped like a lighthouse peeked up from the back of the manse.

  Dominic walked around from his side of the car. “Welcome to Rosethorne House.”

  I let out a surprised chuckle. “This is your Order’s clubhouse?”

  “No,” he said in an amused voice. “We have a meeting house in Boston as well several all over the world. This is my father’s New England home.”

  “So, why are we here?”

  “My father wished to speak with you,” he said. “He is the High Warlock.”

  “And so you do as he bids,” I said.

  “Well, I work for him.” He chuckled. “This is the first time I’ve brought a cute girl home the first night I met her.”

  “Was that a joke?” Something fluttered in my stomach, like butterflies. He thought I was cute?

  “On occasion, I have been known to make a joke. You looked like you needed the mood lightened a little.” He waved to the door. “Shall we?”

  I tilted my head and raised my eyebrows. “I’ve come this far already.”

  When we stepped inside, I had to stifle a gasp. The front foyer opened up to a two-story high ceiling with white painted walls. Pale wooden floors gleamed in the overhead light. The spicy, timber scent of sandalwood mixed with the smell of the roses sitting on a glass table in the center of the foyer.

  “Father’s in his study.” Dominic walked to a set of double doors on the left side of the foyer and slid them open, then leaned forward and spoke to the person inside. “Ava Valentine is here.”

  “Bring her in.” A cultured baritone voice came from beyond the doors.

  I gulped and shuffled into the study. The man behind the laptop could have been an older clone of Dominic. He had the same broad shoulders and same black hair, except with white at the temples. Dominic shut the doors behind us and stood with his hand crossed in front of him.