[ WP ] Two magicians compete to see who is capable of the most complicated spell .

After Todd pulled out a rabbit from his hat I just had to show him that I would be able to conjure up something much bigger. So, I went to a small magic shop a couple hours away from my house. We lived in a small town so the closest anything really was was about 50 or so miles out. 
 
 *Magicka*, the shop was called. The opening entrance was in an ally way next to a bunch of other tiny shops that sold spices and the like. The shop's sign dangled right above the door creaking back and forth. The M in *Magicka* was faded out. Must be an old shop, I thought. I parked my old beat up jeep across the street and breathed in deep. Something about this place did n't sit well with me. The closer I got the more uncomfortable I got. Todd stayed behind and lit a cigarette. 
 
 `` I'll meet up inside in a sec.'' Todd said. 
 
 I walked in not knowing what to expect. The first thing I noticed standing tall in the middle of the old shop was a book in a thick glass case on a wooden stand. It did n't look like any kind of book I'd ever seen. I stepped closer, my shoes clacking against the hard wooded floor. My eyes widened. It looked like the book had stitches holding the damned thing together with different shades of brown and dry red paint? 
 
 `` Can I help you?'' Frozen in my tracks I looked up from the book to see an frail old man crippling his way towards my aid. `` Can I help you?'' He said again. 
 
 `` Y-yes.'' I cleared my throat. `` What is that?'' I pointed to the book. 
 
 `` Not for sale! Can I interest you in one of our advanced magic kits? I can tell you're not new at this.'' 
 
 He was definitely right. Todd and I have been into magic for years. Our parents think we're too old for it. `` What are a bunch of 20 somethings doing with their lives dealing with kid stuff.'' They would say. The answer to that is simple. We both just loved magic. Seeing how far magic can actually go. 
 
 `` I'm just going to look around for a bit.'' I really was n't. I do n't know why but I really wanted that book. I could hear it calling my name. 
 
 The frail man shrugged his shoulders and went in the back. I could n't control myself; I had to have that book. I cautiously lifted the glass case and touched the book but I quickly moved my hand back. It felt like skin. I raised my palm and my fingers were red. Red? Is this blood? I collected my thoughts and without a second though more I grabbed the book and ran. What was I thinking? Why did I want this book so badly? Whatever it was, I knew that I would be able to beat a little spell like pulling a stupid rabbit out of a hat. 
 
 `` Todd, start the damn car!'' Running towards the car I could see Todd was a bit confused until he saw what was in my hand. He knew I had stole something, but with his track record he did n't really care. He put out his cigarette and we sped off. I did n't look back, I knew what I had done. 
 
 We made it back to his place and sprinted down to his basement. That was our usual hang out place. His Man Cave as he liked to call it. Pushing everything off his table I slammed the book down. I had Todd turn off the lights and light some candles. You can never be to safe as someone might have been following us. 
 
 I finally got courage to open the book after what seemed like forever. I knew right away what it was. The skin book was in a different language. It looked like roman symbols. But what did I know? I was about to make the biggest mistake of my life. I turned to a random page while Todd sat on his couch and lit another cigarette. I had no clue what I was doing. *Altras* was the title of the page. It looked like a symbols scribbled everywhere. The candles flickered and all I could hear was Todd sucking in his cigarette and puffing out smoke. Dead silence. 
 
 `` *Altras se du kire nu me dos*'' What did I just read? I thought. The candles blew out to the whistle of the wind. 
 
 `` What's happening?!'' Todd stopped in motion, cigarette butt in hand. 
 
 It was completely dark, I felt like I was suffocating. Like the darkness was swallowing me. `` Todd?!'' I could hear him screaming in the abyss. It sounded like whispers in a different language coming from Todd's direction. Like several different people whispering at once. It got louder and louder until I heard bones cracking and Todd gargling as he was trying to let out more screams. Everything stopped once again. Utter silence. One after the other the candles lit back up. I looked up and saw my best friend Todd laying on the couch, or rather, what was left of him. I've never seen so much blood in my life. 
 
 I did it. I summoned *Altrus* and killed my best friend. But hey, at least I beat him. I'm the best magician around now.
