Barefoot, wearing just his dark apprentice robes, the young Sorcerer slipped from the quiet dormitory and rushed across the commons, to the deserted workshop. He only had a few hours before the sun would lift the darkness and the groundskeeper would wake. Getting caught performing forbidden rituals would mean his certain expulsion from the Magic Guild, but some risks were worth taking.

An hour later, he knelt on the stone floor of the cavernous workshop, his fingers stained blue, white, black, and red, sweat trickling down his face as he meticulously drew the intricate diagram on the floor. He had to hurry. He needed time to perform the ritual and clean up the evidence of his crimes, and scrubbing chalk off of flagstones was no easy task.

Finally, he stood inside the summoner’s circle, the magical barrier that would protect him should the ritual go awry. Candles flickered at the seven astral junctions, herbs burning in small copper bowls, filling their with their fragrant smoke. The Sorcerer took a deep breath. This was it. Now or never.

His heart pounded as he recited the ancient summoning spell. In the center of the diagram, the air shimmered, puckered, and tore, clouds of billowing darkness bursting into his reality, crashing against the magical walls of the circle. The enchantment flickered and sizzled, the smell of burning ozone filling the workshop, but the spell held.

Something appeared within the darkness, a shape, a figure. Two legs, two arms, two horns—a masculine form, lean and tall and muscular. The eyes opened, fiery orbs that burned straight into the Sorcerer’s soul. His recitation faltered. The demon stared at him, a hunger burning in those eyes, a hunger for both flesh and pleasure, for this was not just any demon. This was an Incubus, a legendary creature of pure carnality, and in a few moments, it would belong to the Sorcerer forever.

The door of the workshop burst open, a blast of cold air rushing across the room and snuffing out the candles.

“No!” the Sorcerer shouted as the spell collapsed and the demon vanished. His heart sinking into the pit of his stomach, the Sorcerer turned to face the Guildmaster.


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One moment, Asari was standing inside of a summoning circle, staring at a youthful Sorcerer with striking, pale green eyes, feeling a physical body coalescing around his infernal spirit, and the next he was …