The Darkness Summons

Sybil sets herself free and then destroyed what trapped her. 300-word flash.

The Darkness Summons

“Your help is needed once more,” said a familiar voice from out of the darkness.
Sibyl turned from the fire and boldly said: “This is the last time.”
A spark shot out toward her. She dodged and it landed harmlessly in the fire.
“You signed a blood oath,” the voice said heatedly.
Sibyl picked up a fragment of parchment off the mantel and said: “This oath? I absolve myself of it!” She tossed it onto the blaze behind her. She turned her head to watch it burn to ash.
A scream of rage rang out. Claws grasped her shoulders. Sybil muttered something. The claws released her and disappeared. But she knew the malevolent being who had used her for years was not gone.
She drooped with sudden exhaustion. But she knew she didn’t dare sleep. The creature always used sleep as a pathway to her soul. It didn’t matter where she lived, it always seemed to find her.
“Time to rid this world of that malignancy! Although I am free of it, it will only attach itself to someone else with dreams of glory and no means to attain them.”
She unearthed her great-grandmother’s spell book from under the hearthstone. Carrying it to the table, she set it down. It fell open automatically. Going back to the fire, she lit a spill and came back to light the candle she kept on the table. She read the spell that had been revealed to her aloud, then blew out the candle. Sibyl threw the used candle into the fire. It melted quickly, but she knew she wasn’t done. Scooping up the hot wax as it cooled, she carried it out to the nearby crossroads. Burying it deep with the spoon that carried it, she cursed the ground thrice.