Eventually, Tino gave up and got one of the kitchen knives to cut his hand and draw the summoning circle with Angie's help.
Once that was done and he wrapped his hand with a rag, it was time for them to chant for the summoning ritual to begin.
In the book that Angie had read a copious number of times, there were many different chants to choose from that connected with different creatures.
She chose the simplest chant as this was their first time attempting a summoning ritual.
"It says here that we can summon a being called a demon with this chant and if we please them enough, they can even do something for us in return."
"A demon," Tino asked questioning her decision, "Where have I heard that name?"
"You probably read it in the same book I did, idiot. Just get ready to start the chant and maybe we'll get an actual response. Trust me, Mom's gonna be proud of us for being full-fledged witches!"
"Well, I already spilled the blood," Tino sighed and readied himself to begin the chant.
Angie fell suit and they began chanting a demon summoning ritual.
When the first words escaped their mouths, the temperature of the room seemed to drop, and the atmosphere changed from that of a quaint house in the forest to a portal to hell.
---
Suddenly, Edmond jolted awake.
The covers of the bed were taken up with him which startled the sleeping Evangeline next to him.
"What's wrong, honey?"
After turning his head, seemingly searching for something, Edmond calmed down and answered, "It's nothing. I thought I heard someone calling me is all."
He gave her a gentle peck and pulled the covers over themselves, "Sorry for the scare. Let's get back to sleep, shall we?"
Evangeline gave a yawn and snuggled back under the sheets having no qualms with the notion.
---
As Tino and Angie finished chanting, they were noticeably upset.
"Nothing happened at all!"
Angie was furious and began rereading the book on summoning for the thousandth time.
'I could've sworn I felt a connection to something though,' Tino inwardly thought, 'Maybe that was just a placebo effect.'
While Angie was busy finding out what went wrong with the ritual, Tino got lost in the thought of the connection he felt between him and the unfamiliar presence.
'I must have felt something. But why does Angie seem to not feel the same way?'
"Are you sure you didn't feel that?"
Without turning her head, Angie spoke, "Feel what? Are you sure you're feeling okay?"
"I don't know," Tino rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, "I think maybe there was something we did wrong with the ritual."
"No duh. Do you see a demon anywhere?"
"That's not what I meant. Gah! I need some fresh air."
As Tino went to unlock the front door and go for a walk, someone was just about to unlock the door themselves.
"Oh no! Mom's back! Angie! Hide the summoning circle!"
Tino's yell managed to snap Angie out of her focus to which she threw a spare sheet over the floor.
The summoning circle was not that large.
Thus, the cover was not that conspicuous and seemed to be made from a simple mess from the twins' playing.
Angie pretended to be asleep so as to further hide the blood-stained blanket while Tino watched as the door opened.
"Oh? Tino! Perfect timing! Come help me carry this inside," Estoria said while carrying bags of groceries.
"What happened to your hand? And where is your sister?"
After lifting up one bag in his arms, Tino responded, "She's inside. We were playing, so we made a little mess, and, in the process, I accidentally cut my hand is all."
Estoria sized up Tino and saw his eyes stare directly into hers without moving, "If you say so. I'll look after you after I start cooking. Go get your sister so she can help me."
"Okay, Mom."
After Tino left, Estoria seemed to mutter to herself, "He's seen something."
Upon seeing Angie faking being asleep, Tino lightly kicked her, "Get up. Mom wants you to help her in the kitchen."
Angie slapped his foot away from herself, "Don't put your stinky foot near me! Just clean up this mess. I'll handle Mom."
"Alright."
The rest of the day went by uneventful as the family had dinner and cleaned up for bed.
"Do you feel like trying again? Maybe we can use another chant next time," Tino asked while in bed.
For a while, Angie did not respond and Tino thought she might have already gone to sleep.
However, after an excruciatingly long period of time she finally spoke softly, "I'm not cut out to be a witch."
Not knowing how to respond, Tino kept quiet while letting the statement sit in his mind as he lay in darkness.
He could not help but reassure her after hearing soft sobs resound throughout their bedroom, "You aren't gonna become a witch just because you've summoned some stupid demon. We just have to try until it works."
He heard the sobbing die down a little as Angie turned herself to face him.
She wiped her face with her shirt and asked weakly, "Did you really feel something when we finished the ritual?"
Tino was reminded of the immense depth he felt once the chanting ceased before the summoning circle.
He had not realized it, but the connection he made was only for an instance.
Whatever connection there was, he had not had enough time to realize what it actually meant in terms of a summoning.
"I already told you I did. So, don't cry about it. I'm sure we can do it right next time. We'll both be witches that can summon anything!"
Angie sniffled and agreed.
"We don't even know what a demon is. Why are we so invested in them?"
"Hehe. When you get bored, anything new becomes interesting. We aren't even half as old as we were before, yet we've been stuck in this house all this time."
"We mustn't go outside though. You know Mom doesn't mean for us to stay put without reason."
"I know. I know. But don't you sometimes think there's something out there for us? Once we grow up and become fully-fledged witches that can protect ourselves let's go on an adventure."
"Okay. I'll do my best to be a better witch by starting with summoning a demon this time."
"I wonder why Mom hasn't practiced summoning and other witchcraft. Does she just not care about it?"
"Who knows? Maybe she just had to focus on what makes the best money because of us?"
That very moment, the two of them silently decided that they would one day make it up to their mother.