Gavin nodded after the slightest of hesitation, which came more from taking a moment to process what was happening rather than any hesitance to trust his father.

“Good,” the alchemist said, “I wouldn’t want you to be scared.  The protection circle will keep the demon from being able to reach you.  You’ll be entirely safe, as long as the salt is not disturbed.  So no matter what you see or hear, you mustn’t touch the salt!” he said sternly.  When he got a nod from his son, he continued.  “You will need to use that athame to shed a bit of blood on the salt of the outer circle, but then you must pull your arm back and not reach past the protection circle again.  The summoning circle is designed to hold a more powerful demon than the one I am calling.  It will not be strong enough to leave of its own volition.  It will only go free when I free it!  So rather than bargaining for a soul, we’ll bargain for the demon’s freedom.  It will have to give me what I want or remain trapped!  Fortunately, it is also not the smartest of demons, being rather bestial in nature.”

Gavin tried to pay attention, but his father did have a tendency to run long with his lectures and explanations.  The boy got the gist of it.  His father needed him to cut himself, and then he had to stay inside the circle, not touch anything, and he’d be safe.

“When do I cut myself?” he asked nervously.  He wasn’t looking forward to it, and kind of just wanted to get it all over with.

“I’ll give you a cue when it’s time,” Lord Lowell said, making a wrapping motion with one hand in demonstration.

“Got it.”

The alchemist went around the circle, making absolutely sure every line was perfect, and not a single speck of salt out of place.  He then poured a mixture of herbs and powders out along the outer edge of the summoning circle, all the way around.

“Time for the summoning ritual,” Lord Lowell said.  “Are you ready, Gavin?”

The boy nodded and took a deep breath to steady himself.  He wanted his father to be proud of him.  So he wanted to show how grown-up he could be, and grown-ups weren’t scared.

Lord Lowell began chanting in a low monotone.  After a few moments, he gestured to Gavin.  The boy took a deep breath to bolster his courage, and dragged the sharp edge of the ritual knife across the flesh of his forearm, barely applying any pressure; the knife was plenty sharp enough to cut anyway.  As soon as blood began to well up in the cut, he thrust his arm out and turned it over, allowing a bit of blood to splash on the black salt of the summoning circle.  Then he quickly turned his arm over and pulled it back.  He wrapped his handkerchief around the cut and held his arm close to his waist.

Heart thudding nervously, the boy watched as his father’s chanting grew louder.  Starting where the blood had touched it, the black salt of the summoning circle began to glow red, spreading quickly through all of it as if the black granules were tiny coals that began burning.  The black salt of the protection circle began turning white, starting at the edge that touched the summoning circle, and seeping inward towards Gavin.

A rumble like thunder rippled through the room.  A ring of black clouds, contained within the summoning circle, began to form at the top of the room.  Miniature red lightning bolts began to shoot down from the ring of clouds to the red-glowing salt.

From behind Gavin, in the direction of the entrance to the repurposed dungeon cell they were in, came a deep growl.  The boy didn’t have time to turn to look behind him.  The source of the growl leapt over his head from behind!  Gavin let out a startled cry that the giant, shadowy wolf beast was able to pass through the protection circle.

His cry alerted his father, who looked up just in time.  Uttering a curse, the alchemist flung himself forward to avoid the shadow wolf leaping onto him.  The Lord stumbled, off-balance by the unexpected movement.  He landed on his hands and knees, his hand scraping through salt.  His eyes widened in fear, and he turned to look at the giant wolf beast as it regrouped and turned to face him again.

Gavin stared, numb with fear, at the sight unfolding before him.  His father’s warnings about the importance of not touching the salt echoed in his head.  And yet, they must’ve done something wrong, for the demonic wolf had attacked before his father touched the salt.  He could see the confusion in his father’s face as the Lord scrambled to his feet and looked around, trying to decide the best course of action.  It was still dangerous to step into the disrupted circle, but he was trapped between it and the back of the cell, with a demonic shadow wolf threatening him.  The boy whimpered in fear as the wolf beast lunged at his father again.

A red mist began rising up from the glowing salt, and the miniature red lightning bolts continued to strike.  Gavin clutched his slashed arm to his chest and watched his father struggle with the wolf beast, trying to keep it from biting him, and not let it push him into the circle where the lightning could hit him.

The red mist spiraled towards the ceiling and began circling above Gavin like hurricane clouds.  Lord Lowell’s struggle with the demon wolf shifted so the man was facing Gavin.  He did a double take and looked at Gavin with horror.

The alchemist shouted something, but Gavin couldn’t hear him over the rumble of thunder, and the sizzling of lightning.  He thought he saw his father’s lips move like he was saying Gavin’s name, but that was all.  The boy looked at his father helplessly, distracted from the danger to himself by how bad his father looked now, covered in deep, bleeding gashes, his fine clothes torn in several places.

Gavin’s eyes widened as the demonic shadow wolf turned and leapt towards him.  The boy shrieked, and stumbled back, falling on his butt.  He curled up into himself and held his arms up in front of his face as the wolf landed straddling him.  As he looked up, he saw the red mist rapidly spiral downwards.  It funneled into the back of the wolf.  The beast let out an unearthly, enraged howl!  Then its head snapped forward, and down towards Gavin.  The boy screamed, completely sure he was going to die.  He squeezed his eyes shut.

He felt something impact his face, and passed out.

Gavin slowly began to return to consciousness at the sound of several unfamiliar men’s voices.  He felt a cool cloth that smelled strongly of pungent medicinal herbs press firmly against his face.  He slowly opened his eyes, and saw a brown-robed cleric leaning over him.  His head rolled to the side to look around.  His whole body ached, but it wasn’t the sharp, stinging pain of cuts or bites.  That pain was present only in his forearm, where he’d cut himself.  His mind was foggy and confused.  The smell of the herbs made him feel dizzy.  The smell seemed a lot stronger than any of the herbal mixtures his father had made.

The boy’s eyes sought out his father.  He saw several other clerics in the room.  Most of the black salt was scattered around the room like dirt.  There were puddles and splatters of something dark on the floor, and some on the walls.  Gavin felt could smell something coppery, that would’ve been overwhelming if the medicinal smell wasn’t so overpowering.

One of the clerics across the room moved to the side to help another one with a large tarp.  And that’s when Gavin saw them.

He saw unruly brown hair and shredded silk and velvet noble clothing.  He saw long, silky black hair and unseeing honey-brown eyes.  His parents lay very, very still.  They lay together in the largest dark puddle in the room.  He saw bits and pieces scattered around the couple that definitely belonged on the inside.

Gavin’s vision blurred.  He blinked, and his vision cleared a little as tears rolled down his little cheeks.  The clerics with the tarp dragged the cloth over his parents, hiding them from sight.  Another cleric approached the one tending him and asked a question, but Gavin didn’t hear it.  The man with the herbal cloth said something back, but Gavin only made out one word: cursed.  The boy saw and heard nothing more, his consciousness fleeing.