Chapter 3: Erin

A stream of sunlight danced behind my closed lids. I groaned and sat up on my too-hard, too-narrow couch, glancing around the room in a daze. An intact salt circle and a plate, with dried blood caked in the middle, remained in the corner of my living room, bringing back the events of last night. The shadow being that turned into a hotter version of one of Megan’s exes, Megan wishing for twenty-four hours in another world, who knows where, and then her leaving with the only source of information I had to get her back. Well, aside from the few pages I had ripped out now lying on my coffee table next to burger wrappers from last night that I never threw away.

I clasped my phone from inside my purse by the couch, dialing Megan’s contact listed as ‘Best Bitch Ever’ on my phone—her doing, not mine.

I heard the vibrations before peering at the floor by the salt circle. Megan’s phone screen illuminated, showing my contact info. I hung up and sank my head into my hands. Whether last night was a dream, Megan’s phone and purse were here with the damning salt circle and blood as evidence. If she didn’t return tonight, I’ll do another summoning ritual alone.

That’s if it works.

The pages I grabbed didn’t include the instructions for the ritual but lists of rules and laws for The Higher Realms. I took a law and business class back in college (not that I could remember much from that class), but it was of absolutely no help here with the text, including different languages and verbiage applying to multiple dimensions that made up The Higher Realms. Would I even be able to repeat the summoning again, to even get that far to negotiate? I shook my head. Megan would return tonight safe and sound. I had to believe that. Otherwise, I didn’t know what I’d do.

Twenty-four hours later, Megan was still missing. I had wasted my Sunday rereading the torn pages for any clues, pacing around my tiny apartment, and checking social media on the wild chance Megan was playing some kind of prank or had gone home without her purse and phone—very unlikely, but I still hoped. It was more plausible than some damn creature showing up in a plume of smoke.

Finding myself on my floor once more, I evened out the salt circle and replaced the plate of dried blood with a fresh one, my index finger pulsing. I fumbled my way through the words I had spoken with Megan just last night, and when nothing happened, both with the light off and on, I knew I hadn’t gotten the words right. I probably wasn’t anywhere close.

Tears gathered in my eyes and my lip wobbled. I still wanted to believe this whole thing was a dream, but that wasn’t fair to Megan, to just clock out on all of this. Because there’s no way she would have agreed to stay, not without saying goodbye to me and her mom. Not when she had such a perfect life here. Something must have gone wrong.