''Bobbie Lorelei Kemp', sluggish as if drawn from a stupor, Madama Nora drew her glasses from to the point of her nose to stare at me. I sat up, curling my fingers together. The silence swept across the class. 'Bobbie Lorelei Kemp , do you recall the Latin word for 'incantation'?' Her right brow lifted.

'Yes, Madama Nora.' I stood as I said this. ' The Latin word for 'incantation' is 'Incantare' which means, 'to utter an incantation'.' I sat, drawing my eyes to the center of my desk.

'And when , Miss Kemp, does one require an incantation?' Lifting her glasses back to the bridge of her nose, I hear the grimoire shut and the chair scrap across the floor.

Again I stand, ' An incantation takes place during a ritual, Madama Nora, it is either a hymn or prayer which can be used to invoke or praise a deity.' Again I sit. And this pattern continues for the duration of the class. She asks, I stand, I respond, and I sit.

At the stroke of midnight when the final toll of the bell had struck , in unison the class lifted to its feet. Madama Nora, forever at her own pace stands. ' What do we say girls?'

' Praise be to Satan.'

The School of Unfortunate Delinquents, sat in the woods of Despair a quiet desolate village which to its east was bordered by the Gaed Sea and to its west the Ebid Forest. Despair was a quiet unassuming town, which harbored the creatures of Satan. Witches, demons, gargoyles, vampires and warlocks alike , and there between it all was the School of Unfortunate Delinquents.

It did, of course, require tact to keep our existence hidden from the mundane. All it took was a simple incantation and, boom; there you have it.

My family, the Kemps, lived deep and far into the Ebid. Our home covered in a veil of normalcy. Wild flowers grew in Aunt Aleeza's gardens, Uncle Ermont's pet dog Feeble slept by the porch and Aunt Gradi's pet goat Beezlebub , an old docile thing sat submerged in the grass that grew just behind.

But of course, this was just a veil. The wild flowers that grew in Aunt Aleeza's gardens were in fact Whispering Weeds; spiteful little things that caught unto to your secrets and shared them with the next stranger who would come about. Uncle Ermonts pet dog Feeble was in fact a Hell Hound and Aunti Gradi's pet goat Beezlebub was the polluted soul of an ageing demon.

I made my way past the Decaying Dead Brothers: a trio who at the tender age of seven had been slaughtered in his Unholinesses name, Satan, to forever do as he commands. A fitting death. Then past the River of Dread, across the Trolls Bridge and finally into the Ebid Forest.

'Hellish Eve, Bobbie.' Emerging from the Ebid came a tall figure, gaunt and frail as if he hadn't eaten millennia

I nod my head shortly, " Hellish Eve, Six." He came by my side, matching my pace his skeletal frame brushing against my arm. Six, was the Ebid's tormentor, an eternal beast that roamed the Ebid warding off the mundane from venturing too deep. He roamed as far as the Vengeful Valley, to the Siren's Lake, in every corner where a mundane would step Six was there to take their breath.

Those of us however who are touched by His 'Unholy Sin's where exempt from his accursed talents. So one could only believe the shock I had endured when approaching the Arbor Mala, there ahead of me stood a man. Six and I, stood in silent surprise, as we watched as he caressed the rough bark of the Arbor Mala, without hesitation or precaution as if it were not a portal to the abyss.

He, the man, noticed us and turned slowly, he took in Six first, slowly and lethargically, as if the sight of a tormentor was not new to him, then to me. The air about him was strange and twisted, simultaneously within focus yet without. I could not gather what Unholy creature he was or ought to be.

'What beast are you?" I thought it only polite to ask, Six in the same manner bowed his head as if to try and decipher the man's existence. He was not a mundane, that in the least was obvious.

"Are you the keeper of the Arbor Mala? " He queried.

'No, I am not.' Technically, it was not a lie. Witches, cannot lie. It was decreed in the Dark Book. I wasn't the keeper of the Arbor Mala, but Aunt Aleeza certainly was.

"But you know who is.' He retorted. He came toward me then. Once he had stepped out of the shadow of the Arbor Mala and into the dim light of the moon. I could see that across his face was a scar , a disfigurement. An etching a flesh and tissue that molded into a odd design cutting across his left eye, welding it shut, to the top of his lip. The flesh was tainted with a red hue; as if he were burnt this mark stretched the length of the scar to cover the left ear.

'I do know who you speak of.' I agreed.

'Then you know where they are.' I shook my head at this in disagreement. Technically, at this given moment I did not know where Aunt Aleeza was. But I knew she could be found. There was a silence; the man seized this opportunity to inspect our surroundings. A realization came across him. 'Where are you going?'

'My home.' I responded.

'You live in the Ebid Forest, near the Arbor Mala?' I nodded. 'Then you must live in proximity to the keeper of the Arbor Mala.' I nodded again. Aunt Aleeza, slept two doors from mine. " I am in need of the Keepers assistance, would you do me a kindness? And take me to the Keeper?'

'What are you intentions with the Keeper?" He smiled slightly, the scarred tissue barely lifting.

'Come now, didn't your mother teach you that is common courtesy to aid a stranger in need.' I shook my head; my mother's spirit was called to bid His doing in the depths of Hell. "Here, come little witch. If you tell me the whereabouts of the Keeper, I will give you this.", He lifted a small silver bell, shaking his hand lightly the bell tolled a small chime. "This is very rare; I only give my Conjurement to close acquaintances. Here, take this. ' I move forward to take the damned object. Before, I grasp the object in my palm he wraps a hand around my wrist. "But hear this, once you take this. You will be indebted to me, as I will be to you. You take me to the Keeper, and you will have sole ownership of my Conjurement for a decade."

I stopped myself from scoffing, Witches lived for an eternity. A decade was hardly worth the trouble. He knew this, and I knew this. I peaked at him again; there was a desperation that was barely contained. Whatever, he required from Aunt Aleeza was worth being indebted for a decade. Further, a Conjurement was a powerful object. He was offering me ownership to his body and soul. For a decade.

I smile, but only a little.

Taking the Conjurement, and placing it into my pocket I walk ahead. 'Come creature, Aunt Aleeza will be tending to her Whispering Weeds.'

We don't talk to each other as he follows me through the Ebid, he behind I and behind him, Six. Finally, when we come to a break in the woods, the Manor sit atop the Cemetery. Six, makes a low grunt calling my attention. I turn to him. 'Hellish Eve, Bobbie.' He says, gliding back into the clutches of the Ebid.

'Hellish Eve, Six.' I turn to the stranger. ' Come.' I say to him. ' Aunt Aleeza will be in the garden. ' He nods slowly. I do not wait for him to respond, but continue my path.

When we turn about the house, we find Aunt Aleeza, knee deep in mud coaxing the Whispering Weeds. Sensing us she turns. " Bobbie! You've brought a guest.'

"Yes, Ma'am. I found him by the Arbor Mala.' She lifts her brows slightly.

'Well, set him a seat inside. I shall be with you shortly. ' I nod at her instruction.

'Come creature, Aunt Aleeza shall see you in the parlour.' I do not wait for him to respond but I do expect him to follow.

We do not wait long, and when we do Aunt Aleeza sends me away, I close the door behind me. But not before, catching the eye of the unknown creature-man. For a moment, I think to ask again what he is. But a spell is cast, and the door is sealed. I grip, the Conjurement tightly in my hand.

'I wonder,' I say to no one in particular , ' If I rang this bell, would you break this doors spell?' I do not let my curiosity get the better of me instead I leave it be. Seeking the comfort of my room, I strip then clothe myself and settle by the window.

I sense the creature before I felt it crawl up my thigh , a slow coaxing movement, almost as if being caressed. The black viper came to rest by the pit of my stomach. I stroke it, slowly, I stare at him smiling slowly . 'Slither, I need your help. If I may, could I borrow your body for a while?'

The viper lifted its body, to meet at my height; I take this as an agreement. A Mens Capitat, when done correctly was a simple procedure. Both bodies need to be in close proximity of each other, candles lit around the intend occupant and all one needs to say is.

'Unum Oculum Animis Alii'

Serpents are not difficult creatures to occupy, and are often unrecognized by magic.. Truly a perfect pet, Aunt Aleeza's spell was ineffective as I slid through the grate and settled by the ageing bookcase.

'…aren't you a spectacle? I haven't seen your kind in …almost a millennia. I had assumed that the Demons had rid you all by now…yet here you are. At the Arbor Mala, no doubt..' Aunt Aleeza, sat across from the stranger. Her words were sharp but he sat unflinching as if he had heard this before.

'Is it true the Arbor Mala, is a direct line to His Unholiness?' The stranger deflects the unspoken question. 'I have business with him.'

'Business,,,,with Satan? And what business is this?' Aunt Aleeza, strikes a match and lights her cigarette.

' A personal matter…you of all people can understand how…important discretion can be in matter with his Unholiness.' Aunt Aleeza, sucks in a deep breath, and releases a puff of air cloaking her face. ' All I simply need is a meeting with the Him, that it's. I am….collecting a debt. '

'Collecting.. a debt….from Satan.' Aunt Aleeza, retires her cigarette leaning forward in her seat. 'What you're saying is dangerous. It could almost be classified as blasphemous. To assume our Unholy father would have a debt, to some as…vile as you is, for lack of a better word, ludicrous. And so you assume that I would allow you to use the Arbor Mala, on some crusade against the Dark Lord?'

The stranger stands. ' I can assume this means, there won't be a deal?'

'Not now, not ever.' Aunt Aleeza , responds.

'I will see you in due time.' As he says, this he turns to leave. But stops to stare in my direction. I follow him with my eyes as he breaks the spell on the door, and exits.

He barely shuts the door before Aunt Aleeza grips me by the neck, lifting me. 'Return to your body this instant.'

It isn't until I have returned to my human body that I realize that the stranger had broken the spell set on the parlor door.