Sinister Spells

By Kaveel Lilmohun

After the tragic death of her best friend Karthik, Swara is ready to start life afresh. A different college in a different town, with different friends. A new boy enters Swara’s life and one afternoon offers to take her back to her home city in Mountview, but strange things start to happen....

Shortly after Swara’s arrival Mrs. Bose, Karthik’s mum, calls Swara and tells her about a book that can change her life forever. Mrs. Bose wants Swara to have this book, but just like everything in life, it comes with a price.

Mrs. Bose needs Swara to help bring her son back to life and all it takes is a ritual where blood needs to be spilt....

Swara caves and agrees. How bad could it be to have her best friend back? The greatest gift one can give a mum is her son to complete an incomplete family, even if her son is dead....

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kaveel Lilmohun
• Release date: Aug 5, 2020
• ISBN: 9781005526214

Kaveel Lilmohun

Kaveel Lilmohun is an author who writes books for a cross target audience of young and new adults.He writes books in the horror and thriller genre under the series name Lilmohorror and Lilmothriller with his debut book being Sinister Spells.He is also an English Teacher for non native speakers working for an organisation as well as a freelancer.He has worked with a variety of learners around the globe and has a degree in BCom Human Resources Management and a three year Diploma in Public Relations. Other qualifications include several TEFL and Tesol certification. He has also completed writing courses and keeps adding new ones of interest to his list.Born in a small city in Pietermaritzburg , South Africa , he still resides there with his family , dogs and pet bird.When Kaveel isn't Writing or teaching he spends his time watching movies and listening to music , spending time with family and friends, reading and making new friends from around the world. He plans to travel, see the world and meet his global friends someday soon!

Book preview

PART 1

Prologue

Karthik Bose increased his pace, heading home with the book in his hand. It was a dark and windy night; his expression grew tense as he thought about what he had to do. He had to destroy the book; it was the only way to prevent the evil from landing up in the hands of an innocent soul. The streetlights seemed to dim as he trotted along the pavement. His trainers tapped against the hard stone.

He tightened his grip on the book and glanced at the watch on his right hand.

Five to three! he exclaimed, realising he had only five minutes left to perform the ritual.

As he approached his driveway, he increased his pace again from a steady trot to a fast jog.

He headed towards his porch and glanced around at the surrounding street poles.

Oh no, he muttered, noticing the streetlights starting to flicker. He reached into his pocket, fidgeting for the cut metal pieces that were his keys. Moving towards the doorway, he grabbed the metal knob and inserted the front-door key.

Inside the house, the air felt warm against his skin. The hair on the back of his neck stood up. He couldn’t shake the feeling… the feeling that somebody was watching him. He rushed in and shut the door hard behind him. He dropped to the floor wearily and breathed rapidly.

He glanced at the grandfather clock and took note of the time. The tick-tock of the swinging pendulum filled the silent room. Two minutes left, he mumbled. He carefully placed the book on the floor and headed into the kitchen.

Black! he exclaimed, digging into the cabinet for a pack of candles. I need the black pack, he thought, remembering carefully that he had to create a circle of protection before he could begin the ritual.

A flash of lightning interrupted his chain of thought. He spotted the candles at the back of the cabinet and quickly reached in, pulling them out and hurrying towards the front door.

He took off his shoes, placed the candles on the floor and advanced towards his altar. He went into the prayer room, grabbing a pack of matches. He pondered whether to say a quick prayer. He shot a glance at the lamp, shut his eyes and hurried out.

He entered the lounge and began lighting the candles, placing each one on the floor, creating a circle of protection. As he dropped hot wax from a melting candle on the wooden floor, he started to think about his family. They were a good hundred kilometres away from Mountview on a weekend getaway.

It was the beginning of the summer break; colleges were closed, schools were out and his siblings had emotionally blackmailed their parents into having a weekend away. He began to wish that he had gone with them.

Karthik was a very athletic, outdoor sort of guy; at least that’s how his best friend, Swara, described him. I hardly ever get to hang out with you during the winter but when it’s the summer vacation, you and I spend practically every minute of the day at the lake or scraping up petrol money to get to the beach, he remembered her saying, her eyes lighting up as she flashed him an excited smile.

A stream of lightning brought him back to the reality that was before him. He reached up and felt for the light switch on the wall. A wave of calmness washed over him. He then plopped down onto the wooden floor and flipped the pages to the middle of the book.

Another flash of lightning spread across the sky, this time striking a pecan tree on the opposite side of the road. The sound of thunder that accompanied it was followed by a crackling sound, and Karthik looked out the window to see big chunks of branches fall onto the road. The leaves and branches burnt, emitting dark clouds of smoke. Raindrops sprayed, showering the parched ground.

The clock struck three. It is time, Karthik thought, as he reached under the carpet, pulling out the black knife. He ran his fingers along the carvings on the knife, which he assumed had been used for pagan and other sorts of rituals and sacrifice.

The shopkeeper had said: It is a knife that can kill all evil.

And all good perhaps, Karthik thought.

He then cautiously clutched the knife handle between the palms of his hands and raised it high above his head; he began mumbling the foreign words he had found in the middle of the book, Kez izek si gi ya.

The lights above him started to flicker and Karthik felt fear coursing like icy waters through the warm blood in his veins. Goosebumps began to appear on his hands, running all the way up to his shoulders as he thought back to the shopkeeper’s cautioning words, that the evil would leave no stone unturned to stop him from accomplishing this task.

Karthik continued to chant and the fear in his voice continued to rise as he did so. The wind outside howled, as it sent huge raindrops crashing onto the window panes.

Bolts of white light spread across the city of Mountview, blustering sound into Karthik’s already shaken eardrums.

Karthik tried to drown out the noise and continued chanting, Kez izek si gi ya. The light bulbs above flickered rapidly and one burst. The turbulence of shattering glass startled Karthik and he gasped, dropping the knife. He quickly reached for it and raised it between the palms of his hands once again.

Two more light bulbs on the crystal chandelier shattered and the ceiling creakingly flaked. Karthik glanced up in horror at the chandelier as it rocked loosely above his head.

An abrupt gust of wind blew the front door wide open, slamming it against the wall and bringing in a whirl-wind mini-tornado. NO! NO! NOOOO, Karthik wailed as the tornado sucked him in. His eyes widened and his jaw dropped as he lost his sense of balance, swirling above the sinister book.

The knife slipped out of his hands, unaffected by the strong swirl of the wind, and landed on the floor with the silver sharp side facing up. Karthik’s face turned ashen. He struggled to keep his eyes open.

Karthik slowly realised what was about to happen. NOOOOO, he wailed as the force of the wind subsided and he felt himself falling.

Falling down.

Right towards the blade of the knife.

It made a sickening splattering sound as it pierced his throat and stuck out of the back of his neck. Karthik let out a faint cry. Blood poured out of his throat. His eyelids drew towards each other burdened with weight.

His body grew lighter, the crimson liquid spilling out and spreading across the floor.

A few moments of his life flashed before his eyes as he thought of his parents, his high school graduation and Swara cautioning him about taking the book. If only he had heeded her cries. He wanted to plead for help, but the knife had made its mark, taking away his speech.

His body became limper by the second and his eyes rolled up into his eye sockets, in time to see the shadow of the crystal chandelier as it came down hard on top of him. Glass shattered, garnished in the thick crimson liquid and spread in different directions all over the floor. The chandelier pierced his body, shutting off his vision completely.

01

Class is out, Swara Malhotra’s lecturer announced, breaking her chain of thought. Swara closed her journalism textbook and popped it into her backpack. She glanced at the sun setting outside the window and reached for her shoulders, massaging her aching muscles. She caught her reflection staring back at her from the glass panes.

Swara had dark black curly hair that fell all the way down to her lower back. Her hairline formed a widow’s peak and her face was oval in shape. Her almond-shaped hazel-brown eyes were complemented by her sophisticated thin eyebrows. She had a button nose and full lips.

She wore a grey jersey and light blue faded jeans with black trainers.

Hey, Emelia Grey called out from behind Swara as she passed by the campus canteen.

Swara spun around and a warm smile spread across her face. Emelia’s round bottle-green eyes returned the smile. She wore her brunette hair in a relaxed fishtail that stopped at her shoulder blades. She had an M-shaped hairline with a high forehead and a diamond-shaped face. She had an upturned nose and cupid bow lips.

Hi, how are you doing? Swara replied.

Emelia buttoned up her green bomber jacket and pulled the bottoms over her baby blue jeans. Pretty bored; I am thinking of changing my major, said Emelia, gazing off into the distance.

Emelia was one of the students from Swara’s English class. Swara had met Emelia back in orientation week, and the two of them pretty much hit it off. Emelia was daring, fast thinking, a bit superstitious but highly sociable – unlike Swara, who was a bit more conservative, traditional and thought things out more thoroughly before acting. Both girls were pretty attractive, although Swara’s style was a little more mellow and Emelia had a better fashion sense. At least that is what their other classmates said about them.

Come on. I swear, you don’t seem like one of those types who would give up studying such an adventurous subject, Swara pointed out.

Adventurous? In what sort of way? Emelia asked, rolling her eyes sarcastically.

Well, okay, Swara said, covering her mouth as she yawned, Class may be a bit boring now but when we move over to the practicals, I am sure it will be a lot more exciting. She paused and then added, There will be a lot of new stories to discover and write, not to mention TV time.

TV time? Emelia replied. Had I wanted TV time, I would have left this journalism course and dived into a drama degree, she joked. Imagine me, one of the new daughters-in-law in some mother-in-law and daughter-in-law serial or better yet some rich actress in an A-grade Bollywood movie.

Why just Bollywood? You could even star in Hollywood movies, Swara commented. They both burst out laughing. This is actually the first time I am laughing in months, Swara thought to herself. Well, considering everything that happened last summer… I have every right to feel this way.

A penny for your thoughts, Emelia interrupted, her voice fading into the surroundings.

No. Nothing. Well, actually I am glad that I am far from home, Swara mentioned, lowering her gaze.

Emelia stared at her. Because of Karthik? she asked and then saw the hurt expression on Swara’s face. Well, I for one think it was a very brave decision to start at a new college. A fresh place, new friends, and another chapter of life.

Swara smiled half-heartedly. She hadn’t known Emelia that long and although she seemed like a wonderful and genuine person, Swara wasn’t ready to have a soppy and emotional conversation with her.

A raindrop fell on Swara’s nose. She wiped it off quickly with the sleeve of her grey jersey. Wow, look at that. There go my hopes for a good sunny weekend, Emelia muttered, shaking her head.

Karthik loved the sun, Swara mentioned, immediately pressing her teeth against her tongue.

Did he? Emelia asked. "I am surprised you guys didn’t have some sort of 1980s love story situation going on behind

Reviews for Sinister Spells

[Kivanc Kilic · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I am not a native English Speaker and am learning English since 5 years. I liked this book because I like scary novels.

The English wasn't too difficult and I learnt some new words while reading this.

Will there be a part 2?

I like all the main characters and will like to see what will happen further.