Raising The Devil

"Sooo..."

"So, if we invite the Devil to come join us, walk the earth etcetera, God can't stop him."  Tim looked around triumphantly.  "If we want the Devil to be here, it's because, of our own free will, we invited him.  And because it was our decision, God can not interfere."

"You'd have to be careful though," mulled Dave.  "You'd have to place restrictions.  Magical circle and so forth.  Something that in our minds prevents the Devil from running amok."

"Assuming you could get him in the first place," said Erica.

"Well..."

"I mean for starters he doesn't exist.  But what Devil would want to stand in the middle of a circle all night?  He wouldn't bother to come."

"That's probably why all those virgins got sacrificed," Tim yawned.  "Give him a pure soul to take back."

"In a doggy bag," Dave laughed.  The others grinned.

"Anyway," Erica continued, "how would you call him.  The churches don't exactly allow instructions on how to raise the Devil to be loose do they?  All those ancient spells and so on.  The books are all locked away."

"Maybe you don't need them," Tim suggested.  "Maybe you just invite the Devil.  If you offer enough of an incentive, up he'll come.  I mean, spells were usually just some human language right?  Latin or some obscure dialect.  But still a human language.  Now," he continued, warming to the subject, "The Devil was, after all, an angel.  So therefore he can understand any human language, living or dead.  So speak in English or whatever, and it won't matter."  He finished his drink.  "Nope, it's all in the incentive.  What he gets in return for showing up."  He looked around.  "Refills?"

"Cheers," said Dave, handing over his glass.  Erica shook her head.

Tim, after a couple of false starts, managed to get to his feet.  He staggered into the kitchen and filled each glass with the appropriate alcohol.  He took them back and handed Dave's glass over.

"What would you offer the Devil?" Erica asked.  She'd been thinking hard while Tim was getting the drinks.

"Brendon," Dave grinned, causing them all to laugh.  At that Brendon raised himself from his semi-comatose state. 

"What was that about me?"

"Nothing," Dave said.  "Go back to sleep."

"Okay," he said, and drifted off.

"I wonder if he'd accept mice," Tim mused.

"Mice?" asked Erica.  "Where'd you get mice at this time of night."

"He's got some in his room," Dave said.  "The question is are they innocent?  What with Tim's tastes and all."

Tim gave him a dirty look.  "Not that it matters.  We don't have anything to make a circle with."

"How about paint?" Erica asked.  "I have some in my car."

"Why do you have paint in your car?" asked Dave.

Erica shrugged.  "I've been taking lessons.  I'll go and get it."  She turned onto her side so she could use her hands to push against the couch.  "Gooah", she groaned, pushing herself up.  She stood for a moment, wobbling a little.  "Right.  Now where the fuck are my keys?"  This caused her to laugh.

"On the table," Tim said.

"Good.  Right.  Got them."  Erica picked up the keys, stepped through the open sliding door, and headed out to the car.

"What words should we use?" Tim asked.  The acceptance that they would try to raise the Devil had slipped in without being noticed.

"Let me think on it," Dave replied.  He sat, sipping his drink, until Erica returned.

"Where d'you want it boys," she said in a deep voice she used when trying to intone sexiness.

"On the patio.  Paint it on the concrete," Tim said.

"Right."  Deciding it would be easier than bending over, Erica knelt.  After a few goes she managed to pry the lid off the paint tin.  It took several minutes to paint what turned out to be a rather un-circular circle.  Dave decided it didn't matter, as long as the incantation made it clear the line was a barrier beyond which the Devil could not cross.  Meanwhile, Tim had gone and retrieved his pet mice.