Unbinding the Demon

Unbound

Suffocating thick black fog furiously swirled around our embracing forms. It felt like we were falling in every direction all at once, while the disorienting portal whirled us across the threshold between worlds. Even amongst what seemed like tenebrous primordial chaos, my wary eyes stay fixated on Azathoth's infected chest. 

The poison was visibly advancing, weaving beneath his pale flesh like harrowing threads of death. His eyes were squeezed tightly shut with a look of anguish distorting his face. I knew that this must have been excruciatingly painful for him... and that it was all my fault. 

My spirit was torn asunder with guilt, and I was drowning in apprehension. I placed my forehead against his chest and squeezed my arms around his torso even tighter. 

"I'm so sorry." My weak voice despondently whispered, as the burden of this calamitous situation slowly crushed my heart.

His arms further tightened their hold on me, as our hair furiously whipped around us. "Buttercup..." He practically choked out his little nickname for me. "I want you to know that no matter what happens, I do not regret protecting you." Soft warm lips tenderly pressed against the top of my head, making me want to cry even further.

The oppressive fog abruptly dissipated without a trace, and we ungracefully crash landed in a crumpled up heap of tangled limbs on the living room floor. My wildly disheveled head popped up and I peeked around, feeling extremely disoriented from having just been unceremoniously thrown out of The Abyss. 

The now full moon poured it's crepuscular beams in through the large windows, bathing the entire room in it's pale lunar glow. The fireplace had gone out, leaving behind a few crispy chard logs, and all the tattered books and loose pages were still littered about the floor. Everything was deathly silent and still, making the place feel strangely eerie.  

My bewildered gaze shifted to meet Azathoth's anxious golden orbs, and an unspoken urgency instantly crashed over both of us. We frantically scrambled up to our feet and began running around like a couple of cracked out lunatics, completely ruining the peaceful stillness of the room, and leaving both the teloch axe and book on the floor.

"WHAT DO WE NEED!?  WHAT DO WE NEED!? WHAT DO WE NEED!?" I hysterically rushed around trying to think of everything that we needed for the spell. I flicked on the light, then recoiled from how blindingly bright it was and quickly shut it back off. "Agh! What the fuck!" 

Why did I think that was a good idea after spending two whole days in eternal fucking darkness!?  

Azathoth furiously ripped off the drawer to one of the end tables. "WE NEED SOMETHING TO DRAW MY SIGIL WITH, A KNIFE, AND PROBABLY A LIGHT SOURCE!" He desperately rummaged around in the dethatched drawer, aggressively pulling out a pad of sticky notes and a pencil. 

I dashed across the room towards one of the bookshelves where my favorite evergreen scented jar candle rested. Belzar appeared with a puff of black mist, but I was freaking out too much to really register his presence. 

"There's no time to explain, just take the axe into the shadows.... No! I need to be unbound immediately!"  I heard Azathoth hectically blurt out, followed by a concerned sounding yip and whimper. 

I frenetically swiped the candle from the dark oak shelf, then hysterically fumbled my hand upon it's smooth cool surface to find the tulip decorated lighter that usually lived next to it. In my haste, I carelessly knocked over a few knickknacks and thingamabobs. Some of them fell and clanked onto the floor, before I was finally able to grab the damn lighter.  

"I've got a light source!" I yelled as I whipped around, triumphantly holding the candle and lighter up.

Azathoth suddenly appeared in a puff of black smoke, eyes crazed and hair wildly disheveled. "And I've got the knife!" He maniacally proclaimed while holding up a chefs knife. The blade glinted in the moonlight, as he grinned like a deranged psychotic murderer. "Let's go!"