Katabasis

by R.F. Kuang

Peter trudged into her circle, which was very rude. One should always ask before entering another magician’s pentagram.

(To be honest she had never gotten round to trying Proust, but Cambridge had made her the kind of person who wanted to have read Proust, and she figured Hell was a good place to start.)

What Alice needed most then was a nice long holiday, and then perhaps institutionalization at some remote facility near the sea.

The trick of magick is to defy, trouble, or, at the very least, dislodge belief. Magick succeeds by casting confusion and doubt. Magick taunts physics and makes her cry.

All the ghost stories were wrong; hauntings were so rarely malicious. The dead only wanted to feel included.

This was the key to flourishing in graduate school. You could do anything if you were delusional.

“Go on,” said Lord Yama. “Be careful you do not look back.” “Really?” asked Alice. “I’m only joking,” said Lord Yama. “Look however much you want. Go on.”