“I made the necessary gestures and vocalizations Stell required of me. It felt weird. Mostly because my Baptist upbringing suddenly kicked in, saying any magic you didn't see in the old Lord of the Rings was completely taboo, and even that was only liked by people like my parents. I relaxed when the process began to feel like a scientific formula I was performing with my body, instead of forming a pact with Hell that exchanged my soul for dark power.”