The Unnamed (Unna)

The Summoning

“T-two?” The man stumbled a few steps back, wide eyes staring at the women in the room. The spell circle still gave off a faint glow. Two demons. That was not supposed to happen.

“Why have I been summoned?” The tallest took a step forward.

“I-I am Denton Foss,” He straightened, squaring his small shoulders. “It was me who summoned you. The reason is revenge. State your names and let this pact be formed.” He knew the rites. He’d read them over and over, every night while his wife was asleep. He could still do this.

“My name is Streya, and upon this name I swear that I will give you, Denton Foss, revenge. In exchange, I will have your soul. Now let this pact be sealed.”

“Streya. With this name I bind you, so you will do me no harm, for as long as this pact exists and after, until my dying breath.” The demon held out her hand, but Denton made no move to shake it.

He was watching the other figure. The one that shouldn’t be there. She had her back turned to him to examine the circle he had drawn in chalk, but from under her hood, he could clearly see two curved horns. If he completed the pact now, the summoning circle would inactivate, leaving her free to do as she pleased.

“You. Demon.” His voice still trembled slightly. “State your name and let this pact be formed.”

Her cape swirled and took down a stack of papers on his desk when she turned.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” she said, staring down at him, eyes barely visible beneath a lace-cloth blindfold. “I’m afraid I cannot do that.”

He gaped. “That’s impossible. You have to! The circle– the magic–”

He’d done his research. Upon summoning, demons could not leave the spell circle until the contract was formed. The circle forced them to reveal their name, and with this name, the summoner could bind them, so the demon couldn’t harm him, or anyone around him if he so wished. That’s what the books said. That’s what he’d seen with his own eyes, twice before. He knew how this was done.

The demon lifted an eyebrow, mocking. “I am from the order of The Unnamed. We are not like other demons. Our names are long forgotten. We are not bound by your rules.” She smiled.

“Truth is, this summoning has nothing to do with me. I merely hiked along.” She made a dismissive wave with her hand, like swatting a fly. “In fact,” she paused, her smile broadening, as if she just realized something, “Your circle can’t contain me.”

A hand shot out and grabbed her by the arm, stopping her before she could make a move.

“For fuck’s sake, Unna, I let you come along because you were so curious, but if you kill him before I can reap his soul, I’m gonna be seriously pissed off.”

“Unna of The Unnamed.” It was a stretch, but he was running out of options. “With this name, I bind you.”

Streya looked up in surprise. The Unnamed laughed. She shook off the hand on her arm.

“If you think that you can chain me with a stupid nickname, then—”

The room twisted and went black.

He was outside somewhere. The sun seemed to have set some time ago. A little girl was sitting on the ground, plucking at the grass and throwing it at the boy next to her.

“What did you forget today?” Her eyes were covered with lace. Two horns curled around her head.

“I… forgot what I ate for breakfast.” The boy answered.

She turned up her nose at that. “That’s basic. I do that every day. Can’t you be more creative? The teacher will be mad if you say that. Today, I forgot my favorite type of food!”

“Wow, that’s smart!” He stared at her in awe. “Favorites… that’s so useless to know. Can I use your idea?”

“Sure, just—”

Denton was sitting in a classroom.

“—Yes but what about summoning?” The girl was older now.

“We are not like other demons,” the teacher answered. “Unnamed can’t be summoned, and we can’t make pacts or deals with humans. They can’t call on us, can’t bind us, none of that nonsense. It would be a crime to fill your heads and waste your time with something as useless as summoning.”

She was running, gripping her hood tightly. It covered most of her face now.

“Not this,” she whispered under her breath. “Not him, they can’t.”

She stopped in a big room, silently locking the door. The walls were lined with staffs. Denton could practically hear the magic buzzing here.

She knew the pattern well. There was no hesitancy. “They can’t make me forget.” The chalk never stopped. “Not this.”

He recognized the circle. Teleportation magic. The door in front of her burst open, but she was distracted. Something on the walls–

“Hey, you, isn’t there anything I can call you?” The light was blinding after the dark. He was in a small apartment. A demon was lounging on the couch – Streya. “‘Hey, you’ is so confusing.”

The woman looked up from her books, the slightest hint of annoyance visible on her face. “I told you, names are useless. It’s the first thing we forget. ‘Hey, you’ works just fine.”

“But it’s so boring! You know what? I’ll call you Unna!”

“Whate—”

The Unnamed was lying on his floor, staring up at him in disgust. “What did you just do?”

“I… I bound you.” He was still reeling himself.

“Well look at that,” Streya said. “You can’t even lift a finger anymore!”

“Impossible,” The other demon spat.

“Unna of the Unnamed. Streya. You will help me get revenge. In exchange, you can have my soul when I die. But you will do me no harm before then. Now let this pact be sealed.”

Streya grinned. “Agreed.”

The unnamed sneered. “I’ll find out what trickery you used. I’ll find out and then I’ll kill you.”

But they both knew there was no trickery. And they both knew that was impossible. Unless…

“They lied to you.”

“The Unnamed have no use for lies.”

“Then they were wrong.”

She glared.

“Why are you even so upset?” Denton asked. “Didn’t you run a—“

“Shut up,” she ground out. “Fine. I agree. If only to find out how.”

The circle faded.

The pact was made.