Forever grateful to Armith-Greenleaf.

Summary: Lilith was just trying to summon a ghost to pay someone back for harassing her. She didn't expect to summon the second Prince of Hell instead! And what's worse, he refuses to leave her side!

Chapter one

I groan as I hear the sound of something breaking and toss the bedcovers aside. Just my luck. He probably broke another of my vases to a million pieces!

I ignore the state of my bed hair and hurry to the sitting room. Asmodeus turns his head to me with a little smile, red eyes glinting. The evidence of of his crime lies before him on my carpet. Bits of porcelain are spread at his feet. He steps back as I kneel down to pick up the shards. Now I'd have to hoover again and I hoovered just yesterday!

“Can you stop touching everything all the time?” I hiss.

He tilts his head to the right with a stare.

Does he ever stop staring?

“I'm just curious. You humans have a lot of odd things around you”

Great, just great! I have the second Prince of Hell stuck to my side like glue. Why do I have a Prince of Hell in my apartment?

Because I did a big mistake.

Possibly the biggest I ever made.

And it all happened just because I decided to summon up a ghost to haunt someone I don't like.

-

I sniff the lovely scent of herb tea and try to calm down my frayed nerves. Today they have been stretched as far as they go. I'm really at my limit. The herb tea makes me sigh. There is nothing like a good cup of tea when you feel terrible.

I empty the cup and place it in the sink. The dishes will have to be done later, I skipped doing them yesterday.

My thoughts keep wandering to today's events. I'll admit I can be a bit of a bitch sometimes...But Carla is beyond that. She almost had be exploding in her face. Of course she had to gloat like some idiot because I failed a test she did not. But no, she couldn't stop there, she had to make copies of my test and put them all over the building!

God, why did she have to pick me as her rival?

She acts like the phoniest and sweetest girl with everyone but me.

I'm still mad. You bet I am. I'd very much like to get my hands on her neck and snap it. Ah, what a lovely image...God knows she deserves something just like that.

Maybe I...

I move to my bookshelf and pause before pulling out a book. It looks just like any old book, black leather with golden letters. It's not just any book though.

It's a spell book.

I ponder upon whether I should curse her or do something even meaner while sitting on the couch with the book in my lap. My childhood friend Ana gave it to me when I was ten, back when I was obsessed with spirits, spells and likewise. At that time me and her were constantly trying to dig deeper into the mysteries of the mystic and secret. I learned a thing or two, such as to place small curses on people.

I guess it's a Scorpio's trait to put your soul into something you are interested in.

Of course it made things easier for us that Ana's a medium. She would summon a ghost, sometimes with my help and other times alone, and let me talk to it. Her grandmother is also a medium, and since I've known Ana for the better part of my life I've been involved with the mystic for quite a few years. Though, my powers seem to be limited in most areas.

It's funny how most people think of the mystic as superstitious when so many things happening around the world have supplied us with evidence. But humans fear what they can't understand or control. I think that's the charm of the mystic- it's beyond human control.

I turn the pages, searching for a spell fitting for punishing dearest Carla. Something nasty will do. Maybe something with a short effect.

Letters in black ink form words in Latin, English and Celtic. I know nothing about the origin of these spells, but I'm not stupid enough to use a spell I can't understand. I have never breathed a word of any spell not written in English. Ana's grandmother warned me against it. One of her students in training had tried to impress her and used a Latin spell. The outcome had been disastrous. If I remember the story correctly the student suffered severe injuries because he summoned a demon by mistake.

Not to treat spells with respect is foolish.

To most people they are nothing but words...But to those who know their value they are both useful and to be feared.

Okay, it's stupid to want to cast a spell on someone just because they piss you off...I won't do anything -too- serious. Maybe temporarily have a ghost haunt her. Just for a couple of days. Yeah, that sounds neat.

Searching the section of spirit spells I come across just what I need. A temporary binding spell. Of course I'll have to bind it to Carla's flat and for that I need her address. It's not a problem, I memorized it months ago in case I'd ever need it.

The ingredients used for this spell are thankfully not rare.

One white candle, one black candle, a red silk cloth and crystal powder.

Candles is something I have loads of, in all colours. I need to use as little electricity during the winter as possible because of my lousy salary. My pay leaves me just a little money to spend how I wish after the bills are paid. It's nothing I can't live with. It sucks, but that's how life as a student and assistant librarian is. At least I get to read the books I want to.

I measure the distance needed between the candles on the floor, marking it with chalk before placing the candles at each end of the line. The silk cloth goes exactly in the middle of the candles in the shape of a circle.

Crystal powder isn't something you'll find in every home. You'll find it in mine though. Ana gave me two bottles for Christmas last year, one with onyx powder and one with amethyst.

The powder goes in a star-shape around the cloth, accurately ten centimeters outside the circle.

I sit down two feet from the star with the book in my lap after checking everything to make sure it's perfect. Ana has used this spell before so the words aren't completely unfamiliar to me. I grimace as I read it through. Whoever wrote this spell book was a really bad poet. But as long as they have the right effect it doesn't matter.

I press my fingertips together and straighten my back, my hands held up in front of my face.

“I call upon thee,

thou wandering spirit

for thy form to appear

before me here

I call upon thee,

thou lost soul

by the power

of the star”

The sweat is prickling on my forehead as I repeat the two verses twice, readying myself for the finishing words. They seem to be in a language I know nothing about. For spirit spells it's always the finishing line that does the trick. I pour all my will into the words as I speak again.

“Anwaka

Sowake

anbara

By!”

Satisfaction fills me as the powder gains a weak, purple glow. I repeat the last words once more, watching the glow grow stronger by every second. It's working. The glow pulsates, just like a heart. My own heart is pounding beneath my ribcage.

Something starts taking form in front of me. It slowly becomes human and after half a minute I am staring at a boy who looks like he's barely sixteen years old. Perfect.

Two blood red eyes stare at me curiously as I place the book on the floor and stand up on shaky feet. When I look at him I get the feeling that something isn't quite right. I just can't pin point exactly what. I smile up at the lost looking face.

He is a very pretty boy and there's no blood or visible damage to his body so he can't have died by a serious injury. An illness maybe?

He is wearing blue jeans and a plain, white sweater with a turtleneck. His hair is blonde, almost white and a bit curly near the ears and neck. Just below his left eye he has a mark that looks like a black triangle. A tattoo?

“I have a request, spirit”

He looks even more confused.

“Spirit...? Me?”

Isn't he aware of his own death? There are spirits who continue believing that they are human even several years after their death. Poor thing...I feel a tad bit sorry for him as I nod.

“You. You are a ghost after all and I need you to haunt someone for a couple of days”

He looks possibly shocked for a moment, eyes wide and mouth slightly agape, before laughing out loud. The sound of his laughter sends chills down my spine. My eyes widen as he steps outside the star-shape I made.

Something is very off here.

Spirits cannot move from their summoning spot until the summoner allows them to. Had I done something wrong? No way, I did everything by the book.

He walks around my sitting room, his face showing nothing but curiosity and delight. I clear my throat as he is about to touch the television. He withdraws his hand and look at me with those disturbing, red eyes.

“You're not like any of the other spirits I saw”

He chuckles.

“You are very much mistaken, human. I am no mere spirit”

“You're not?”

It is then I notice the something that's missing.

He isn't transparent.

Meaning: what he says is true.

It is common knowledge that spirits have transparent bodies, no substance. I swallow, feeling very bad about the whole deal. What the hell is he if not a spirit? What kind of creature have I summoned to my flat instead of the spirit that was supposed to have come? What has me confused is the fact that he is very much substantial, this boy. Damn it, if not for those eyes he would like like any teenager.

“Ah, forgive me...I am confusing you. What is your name, human girl?”

“Uh, Lilith”

“Lovely. Spirit of the night it is”

He knew the meaning of my name just by hearing it?

He takes a step forward and bow at me.

“My name is Asmodeus Aurelius Partus Proterius”

The hell? Were his parents obsessed with names ending with -us-?

“I also go by the title of 2nd Prince of Hell”

I stare.

“You come from Hell?!?” I ask in absolute horror(not to mention a small voice).

He smiles.

“I live in Hell, yes”

Dear God, what have I gotten myself into?

I faint.