Category: Halloween

I was surrounded by darkness. No sounds. No lights. No temperature. Just a darkness. I was aware I was thinking, which made things a little easier. Although, only slightly.

The darkness began to fade. The sounds began to return. I noticed the sound of running water. I blinked to clear my vision.

Relieved, I was in the Bathroom. Everything was back to how it was. Normality returned!

‘Until next time’ Aplaxa’s voice echoed around me, although this time I wasn’t exactly sure where from.

I may leave it a little while before my next spell… concentrate on my experiments instead…

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And that’s it for another year! Halloween’s all done and dusted. Things will be back to normal from tomorrow. Whatever that is, I hasten to add!

Hope you’ve had a good Hallowe’en!

‘The time is right’ Aplaxa ordered the reversal spell to commence.

I held the scroll aloft, and opened my mouth, about to read aloud the words.

‘Silence!’ Aplaxa held up both of her hands. “The reversal spell must me cast through the power of the mind only. Mind over matters of great importance.’

I’d forgotten that part. Maybe once this is all done, I’ll cast a spell to help to improve my memory.

‘Silence!’ Aplaxa was now inside my mind. ‘Concentrate!’

As I read the words on the scroll, to myself, I was aware that each of the candles lit by themselves one by one. Huge flames emerged from each candle, encasing me inside a cage of fire.

I looked into the Bathroom, and the Universe looked as peaceful as ever, stars twinkling away as though nothing was going on. I noticed a comet up on high. A strong wind whipped itself up around me, although my bars of flame didn’t move. I found it hard to keep my eyes open, as the wind was so strong, and with each blink a tear ran down my cheeks.

‘Concentrate!’ Boomed Aplaxa’s voice inside my head.

I read the words on the scroll once again. They’d altered, but I just concentrated on the words.

I noticed a white object bounce off one of the walls, and through the doorway to the Bathroom. Then I saw another, and another. Suddenly, there was a whole rush of these white ‘blobs’ flying passed me.

‘The Seasonal Spirits are being returned to their domain first’ Aplaxa explained. ‘The spell is underway. Remember to concentrate.’

More of the spirits flew by. Then, as suddenly as they started, their numbers diminished. One or two stragglers ricocheted by, and then after a few seconds of no further activity, the winds died down.

I looked into the Bathroom. The Universe was still there, looking as grand as ever.

‘Concentrate!’ Aplaxa reminded me to focus on the scroll. The words had altered once again, and I concentrated on each and every word. The fire of the bars on my cage were now frozen around me – fire and ice as one.

I felt something wrap around my left leg. Then something else grabbed my right arm. Something else gripped my left hand, and I could see it was some kind of vine. These vines were reaching from inside the Bathroom, grabbing at me, the cage, and Aplaxa.

‘Concentrate!’ Aplaxa said once more ‘This is the crucial part of the reversal spell. Think not of the vines. Think not of the cage. Concentrate on the words on the scroll.’

Another vine grabbed me, this time around my neck.

‘Breathe deeply’ Aplaxa urged, more gentle this time.

I took in a deep breath, just as the vines managed to break free one of the cage’s bars. Then another snapped, and a third. They were dragged into the Bathroom.

The bars were my protection, I realised. Another broke away.

‘Concentrate’ Aplaxa urged.

I looked at the scroll. ‘Let go’ was all it said.

I was now confused. Let go of what? The scroll… or allow myself to be dragged out into the Universe? I then remembered one key instruction: to the letter.

I released the scroll. It hovered before me for a few seconds, before it was pulled into the Bathroom by another vine. Another bar splintered away. Another vine grabbed me, and I realised that I too was then being pulled with some force out into the Universe before me.

Aplaxa was now completely covered by the vines, and just before I lost my footing, I saw her too get pulled through.

Holding her left hand out in front of her, palm upright, Aplaxa focussed on the space just above. She muttered something that sounded gibberish to me, and a tiny storm cloud appeared, complete with bolts of tiny lightning. Torrential rain fell from this tiny cloud, and as Aplaxa lowered her hand, the raindrops started to form a solid shape. Another bolt of lightning then struck this shape, instantly altering its form into a candle. Then, the cloud curled itself down into the wick, similar to the smoke that appears when a candle is blown out – only in reverse. As the cloud disappeared, the candle became increasingly red.

I was impressed, I don’t mind saying.

‘Now you have twelve’ Aplaxa said, handing me the candle.

‘If you can do that,’ I asked, ‘can’t you do something to the Bathroom?’

Aplaxa glared at me. ‘You are one of the original elements that caused the spell to go wrong in the first place. You must cast the reversal spell; you must undo what has been done.

Fear not,’ she went on, after a second or two deliberations, ‘I will be here to assist, should things go wrong. Which, of course, they will not.’

I literally gulped as she said that. Did she know she was talking to me?

‘Confidence.’ She said. I’d forgotten that she could read my mind.

Aplaxa pointed to the scroll, and gestured with her upheld right hand this time the space where I needed to stand to begin the spell.

The instructions said I had to stand within the circle of twelve red candles. I started to place them around me, trying to make the distance between each one the same, and the circle around me as perfect in shape as I could. I had to keep moving them, as the circle wasn’t going to my satisfaction.

‘Enough!’ Aplaxa bellowed. She brought both of her palms together in front of her, muttered something again, and then thrust something from out of them, toward me. A blizzard! A tiny blizzard swirled around me, and the candles. The candles were caught up within this swirling snowstorm, but as the snow settled, the candles also landed around me, in the most perfect circle.

‘Time is of the essence, you know. We have to be done by midnight.’

Please be aware that an additional part iii is available over on Splodge and Splatter, which goes into detail about The Key.

Inside the box was a simple scroll. I opened it, and the High Priestess Aplaxa was correct. It was written in big bold text and very clear. This time, it said I needed to use twelve RED candles, as this was a reversal spell I needed to use some of the original elements that caused it to go wrong in the first place.

As I read aloud the first spell, this time it had to be read inside my mind. It was between me, the box and the scroll and the Universe.

I gathered the candles and found myself instantly in a pickle. A fix on a universal scale, in fact. I only had eleven red candles.

I had a couple of orange candles, and contemplated using one of those instead when my phone rang.

I answered it, even though I never answer calls from unknown sources. I felt compelled to, actually. And it was a good thing that I did, for it was the High Priestess herself.

A green mist emanated from the earpiece of the phone, growing larger and larger until it formed a human figure. And then, within a split second or two, a woman appeared before me. She had white hair, tied back, with a black streak that ran through the centre. She had immaculate make-up, and wore a high-collared black sparkly gown that seemed a little too long for her. The sleeves of the gown also hung loosely over her hands.

‘I had to get through to you urgently.’ The High Priestess told me, ‘Sorry about this intrusion but we have to interfere in this matter. Normally, we leave things up to the clients to resolve, but with the entire Universe being at stake, this cannot be left in the hands of a mere mortal. After discussion with the Elders of the Order of the Eternal Essence we felt it necessary to intervene. Plus, you were thinking of using an orange candle weren’t you?’

I couldn’t lie. Orange had red in it. Aplaxa’s voice sounded in my head as I thought that, ‘But orange is not in the instructions. To the letter means to the letter.’

I felt admonished again.