Soul Contract

As if pulled under a spell, Arthur started to move towards the counter. There was a hollowness in the young man's eyes like his consciousness wasn't really all there.

Arthur stepped towards the counter, possessed as he was. As he took the first step, the young female voice continued, "Thou who wieldiest the Wand of Double Power, I summon thee."

That should have been a giant red flag but it didn't seem to register in Arthur's mind. Instead, all he heard was the voice calling after him, saying, "Come, dear, come closer to the counter."

As Arthur took another step, the voice changed to the booming voice of the man. "Yes, you are doing the right thing. Be a man, and become the son that your parents have always envisioned you to be. Take this offering, accept our help and we will give you the tools you need to make your dream come true."

At the same time, the voice that Arthur didn't hear was chanting, "Thou who bearest in thy left hand of the Rose and Cross of Life and Light, I summon thee."

As Arthur moved forward, he realized the voices seemed to fall in tempo with his footsteps. For some reasons, he felt like something sinister was at work even though there was no evidence to suggest that… other than the mysterious atmosphere and voices that seemed to fall from the sky.

"Arthur, we cannot wait for you to come home. My father and I are so very proud of you." That was his mother's voice saying that and even though Arthur knew it was most likely a figment of his imagination, he couldn't help but feel warmed by it.

"Behold! I am Yesterday, Today and Brother of Tomorrow! I am born again and again and again." This was the incantation that echoed throughout the store even though Arthur could not hear it.

As Arthur stepped closer to the counter, he saw enveloped within the weak candlelight was an open book. The pages looked yellowish and they were curiously blank. However, that was not the most curious feature about it.

Arthur realized whenever he took a step, the book would also flip a page. Arthur suspected it served a purpose, but what kind of purpose, Arthur couldn't tell for sure.

"I travel upon high! I tread upon the firmament of Nu! I raise a flashing flame with the lightning of Mine Eye!" The incantation continued and it seemed to be reaching for a crescendo as the multiple voices came together to chant the invocation lines now. However, Arthur was still oblivious to the power that was gathering around him. All he could hear was the sweet and kind words from his parents.

Like minor interruption breaking through the radio broadcast, as Arthur stepped closer towards the open book, underneath his parents' voice, he could start to hear something else. However, it was so soft and hidden in the background that Arthur couldn't really tell what it was or what it was trying to say.

"Oh God of many names, with truth resting on thy lips. We have summoned thee as a loyal servant hath been found. Come forth and Bind him to thy name.

"The Sun is thy Father. The mother is the Moon! Come forth, I say, Come forth thou."

When Arthur got close enough, he could see the pages were not empty as he thought. Instead they were filled with faded scribbles that he couldn't recognize. The ink used was so pale, almost as pale as the moon and that was the reason why he had the impression that the pages were empty.

Out of curiosity, Arthur reached out towards the pages. He wanted to find out the nature of ink, he had not seen something so magical before. He wanted to know what kind of ink it was.

As his fingers hovered over the open book, the voices around him suddenly died down. Arthur's heart gripped with horror, thinking he had done something wrong. He looked around but the place hadn't changed. Nothing came out of the shadows to attack him like he expected.

As Arthur turned his attention to the book, the voices returned at once. It was a cacophony of voices and it spoke at the highest volume Arthur had ever heard them in.

"Behold! They are in me and I in You! Mine is the Radiance who keeps watch over the Universe.

"But the knowledge of the place where the Moon nor the Sun fail to shine eludes me. Complete them in my Glory and giving thee the power of my domains, the Divine Hawks, the fountain of Magic and the Sanctuary of Truth!

"Bind thy soul to a God. Serve and all the spirits shall subject unto thee.

"Place thy frame unto my offering. Come forth, I say and aid and guard me in this Work of Art!"

The voices were suddenly so loud and it surprised Arthur. At the same time, he felt like the voices had coagulated into a force, knocking him towards the counter. He clambered to grab hold of a footing lest he collapsed to the floor.

It was just his luck that the thing he found was the open book and he practically stamped his palm on the page. When that happened, the voices stopped and the scribbles on the pages started to glow in a pale light. 'Well, o shit...'

Arthur didn't know what was happening and quickly took his hand back after he steadied himself just in case. He failed to realize when the voice said "place thy frame unto my offering", it was laying down the terms of the contract. If Arthur accepted the term, then he was to lay his frame, or any part of his body, unto the book, which the young man unwittingly did when he collapsed onto it.

The pages started to turn and flutter even though there was no noticeable draft in the room.

The action turned more intense until the book slammed shut.

The cover looked like sandpaper and incredibly fragile like it would break from a light touch. The cover was as yellow as sand and the spine was bound together by what looked like twine. The cover was also blank so Arthur had no idea what kind of literature it was.

However, under Arthur's gaze, the title started to surface. "Book… of Thoth?!" Arthur read it out loud.

The surprise did not end there because seconds after the title appeared, a smaller line underneath it said, "Contract received. Soul bound."