[ WP ] An evil sorcerer botches their ritual and gets possessed by an angel .

A mousy, herbal odor stank up the room. I looked down to find chopped hemlock flowers on a wooden, cutting board, and a fresh slit in my scaly palm. *Damn it! When will this nonsense stop? * The wizards had been going mental over a new immortality spell that flooded the dark wizarding network. 
 
 What they didn ’ t know was that a genie granted the spell to Lucius Grimjoy as a third wish, and we struggled for three weeks to get Kaliel out of that rusty corpse Grimjoy called a body. The ritual granted certain immortality, if you didn ’ t mind sharing your body with an angel, of course. *Stupid genies! * 
 
 Newspaper covered the windows, and a black beaded curtain hung in the doorframe on the other side of which a gagged murmur sounded. I pulled the beads to the side and stepped through, denting my back slightly to avoid the pain coming from the center of it. 
 
 As far as generic, dark wizard nests went, this one lived up to the standard. I even thought I saw a black cat casually rest on the windowsill just as I arrived. The bugger must have moved when he noticed a change of scent. 
 
 The murmur grew louder as I stepped into the dark room. My eyes had yet to adjust to the darkness, but I heard the scrape of a chair against a wooden floor, and a throaty squeal. 
 
 “ Oh, relax. I ’ m not him. ” That certainly didn ’ t help. The chair scraped again with a loud screech, and again once she saw me draw closer. I always thought humans would welcome death to get away from their humdrum lives, but my time as an angel of death certainly proved otherwise. Despite their problems and illnesses, they clung on till the very last second, and even begged and pleaded afterwards. 
 
 The silhouette of a chair stood out a little darker than the floor once my eyes adjusted and I made way to the woman unenthusiastically, to say the least. 
 
 I tapped my finger against the sock that was stuffed into her mouth. A moldy, sour reek came from its direction. I turned my lips up in disgust, and shook my head. 
 
 “ I ’ ll take this out of your mouth if you behave. Are you going to behave? ” 
 
 The shadowy head bobbled, sniffing. *Bad idea. * Her neck extended, and her head bent over forward, turning the sniff into a contagious gag. I braced my hand over my mouth, and clenched my teeth, keeping back whatever this disgusting thing had eaten. From the stories angels shared, their menu consisted of fresh organs to keep themselves from aging—and I did not want to experience that on the way in, never mind out. 
 
 With a quick pull, and a satisfying crispy sound of tape pulling away from skin, the sock fell out, and the woman took deep breath. 
 
 “ Don ’ t scream, ” I said, holding out a strong index finger toward her nose. “ Someone will come to help us soon, then we can both get out. ” I wanted to untie her, but whatever damage this monster caused had to be inspected, if not erased entirely, and I was not convinced that she would stay here very long if I set her free. Hell had better smelling places. 
 
 I grabbed the back of her chair and swung it back to pull her into the other room. She screamed, she high-pitched sound knocking against my eardrums. 
 
 “ Let me go, you bastard! ” 
 
 “ I ’ m just pulling you into the next room where there ’ s light. I want to see what he ’ s done to you before I let you go. ” 
 
 “ You mean what YOU did, you psychopath. ” 
 
 The little room the tape allowed between her back and her chair let her rock against it in her struggle. The chair nearly slipped from my hand before I sat her down upright. 
 
 “ Fine then, stay in the dark. ” 
 
 “ Just let me go, ” she gave a raw throaty scream. 
 
 “ Not until I see the damage. ” I took a step back, and leaned against the doorframe, crossing my legs and then my arms over the bulge of my stomach. *Disgusting creature! * My hands felt oily to the touch, and so did my thinning hair. Claylike balls crawled between my toes, and made them curl up, pressing the dirt even closer to my skin. 
 
 “ Alright, fine, ” she said, and let her head fall against the backrest. 
 
 With a loud scrapping noise, I pulled her to the kitchen, and inspected her from head to toe. Other than having dark, oily finger prints on her cheeks, she seemed unharmed. 
 
 “ Did he hurt you anywhere? ” 
 
 She narrowed her eyes, giving me a suspicious look, and shook her head before looking away. I saw a glint of tears form in her eyes and went to fetch a knife from the table. Blood had dried on the blade, and I rubbed it against my leg. 
 
 Her eyes passed the blade, and closed, dropping a single tear from both sockets. 
 
 “ Alright, I ’ m going to cut you loose. No funny business. ” 
 
 She shook her head once, and clenched her teeth, bracing herself for whatever came next. The blade slashed through the tape, giving off a ripe scratching noise. She pulled her free arm away, and lifted her shoulder in a stretch. 
 
 “ I don ’ t know what kind of crap this is that you ’ re pulling here, buddy, but you need some serious fucking help, ” she said once all the tape had been cut and she could stand. “ Can you—can you please put that knife down? ” 
 
 I did as she requested, and made my way straight to the basin to wash my hands, while she stood motionless, inspecting her surroundings. I sensed the rising beat of her heart, and watched her out of the corner of my eye while the cold water poured over my fingers, and slid past the oil. 
 
 “ You don ’ t have to plot, ” I said. “ You ’ re free to leave. ” 
 
 When I turned, the knife was in her hand, and her back faced the door. She took two careful steps backward, and placed her palm on the handle. “ Take one step, ” she warned, a deep dent forming between her brows as she frowned. 
 
 Before she could open the door, a knock sounded. “ Ah! Good, they ’ re here. ” I wiped my hands dry against my shirt, making them even dirtier in the process. 
 
 Her eyes widened at my statement, and she dashed through the beaded curtain, only to be flung back as the door opened, and a filthy stranger appeared in the doorway. 
 
 She struggled on the ground, panting to regain the breath that had been knocked right out of her. 
 
 The man ’ s dark eyes flicked from her to me. He sniffed, and a wide smile spread across his scabby lips, showing brown teeth. “ You ’ re not Moog, ” he said, his head twitching to the side like that of a curious bird. 
 
 
 ***** 
 
 More stories here, /r/AlinaKG
