Chapter 20

Laurel’s alarm went off. 5:00 A.M. She snuck out into the hall and toward Summer’s bedroom. The doorframe was marred by dozens of glyphs carved by knife. They weren’t important. She entered.

Matisse wasn’t there. The mattress was missing from her bed. The hardwood floor around Summer’s bed was, like the door, ruined by carvings. The bed knobs were all carefully adorned with bloody thumbprints. There was a ritual candle made from animal fat burning on the bedstand. Laurel snuffed the candle and dismantled the one spell that was a nuisance to her.

She pulled the covers from Summer, positioned her face-up, and straddled her middle. Her position pulled tight on Summer’s T-shirt, stretching it across her braless chest so that, even unaroused, her nipples showed prominently. Laurel leaned forward and combed Summer’s hair with her fingers. With Laurel still in her pajamas, an observer might think they were about to witness a scene from lesbian porn.

“Maxie told us about these things called ‘night hags’. That’s where I got the idea for this,” Laurel explained. After she was sure Summer was awake, she got up and got to work.

She started with an aversion ward on the door. Other students would subconsciously find excuses to avoid the room. Then she began dragging and pushing on Summer’s limp body to position her: face-down on the bed with her legs hanging over the side and her ass sticking out. She put pillows under Summer’s hips and head, guessing at what would make her most comfortable. Then she pulled Summer’s panties down and left them hanging on one ankle.

It took a couple trips in and out of the room to bring Laurel’s supplies in, and then she had to shift some furniture around to make room. After burning some wood shavings, she commented, “Don’t you just love the smell of sandalwood?”

After preparing layers of spells, Laurel began her invocation, chanting just loudly enough for Summer to hear and understand. Briefly there was a nauseating flash and unearthly thump, and then a brand new hellhound stood in the center of Laurel’s circle. She cast two more spells to bind it and give it purpose.

Laurel watched for a while as the demon dog, freed from the circle, explored its surroundings. Some of that time was spent investigating Laurel, the closet, and the door. Mostly, though, the creature was curious about the naked human girl offering her ass to it. It sniffed at her pussy, breathing loudly and touching her butt cheek with its cold wet nose. It jumped up on the bed and sniffed her breath, face to face, and then dug its nose briefly into her armpit, before jumping down again.

Laurel bid the creature to sit, and then she sat on the bed next to Summer. She took hold of Summer’s wrist, checking her pulse. It was beating faster than Laurel could count. Laurel lay on the bed next to her face to face, even though Summer’s eyes were closed.

“Look, I really don’t want to be cruel. I don’t - I hate this! I just don’t know what else to do to make you leave me alone,” she explained. “So you need to leave. If you’re here tomorrow morning, you will be raped for hours by a hellhound, and it will probably impregnate you. Okay?”

Laurel’s breath became uneven - emotional. “Why ... why did you have to do this?” She whined. “I’m sorry that I made a fuss about your haruspicy! I tried to apologize! You just...” She took a deep breath. “Well, if there’s anything I could have done to keep it from coming to this, I’m really sorry I didn’t do it.”

She sat up on the bed. “Anyway, I’m going to let you go. So please just go away, okay?” She sat quietly for a time, and then banished the beast and left the room.

At 10:20 A.M., the doorbell rang and a man in a chauffeur’s uniform asked for Summer. Nobody had seen Summer all morning, so Maxie went to check her bedroom. Summer emerged from her room carrying her suitcase. She was dressed but un-showered: her hair and skin looked as if she’d spent hours at a gym. She walked swiftly, stumbling once, keeping her head down.

“You’re leaving?” Michael asked.

“Summer, what’s going on?” Toria questioned. Summer didn’t reply.

Everyone was quiet as Summer’s limo drove her away from the ranch. Maxie was the first to speak. “You know what? Party tonight! Theo, I need your car to go buy a keg. 7:00 at the lake? Wear your swimsuits!”