Free The Day After Judgement by James Blish

obviously pure, and that would have to do.
    The ablution was every bit as cold as he had expected it to be, and even colder was the process of air-drying himself; but
     he endured it stoically, for he had to get rid of what remained of the ointment, and moreover he knew that to put on damp
     clothes would be almost as dangerous. While he waited, his teeth chattering, faint traces of light began to appear through
     the trees from the east.
    In answer, massive grey rectangular shapes began to sketch themselves against the darkness downstream, and before long he
     was able to see that to the west – which was the way the stream was momentarily running – the aisle it cut through the trees
     opened out on to a substantial farm. As if in confirmation of help to come, a cock crowed in the distance, a traditionl ending
     for a night of magic.
    But as the dawn continued to brighten, he saw that there would be no help for him here. Under the angle of the roof of the
     large barn nearest to him a circular diagram had been painted, like a formalized flower with an eye in it.
    As Jack Ginsberg had taken the pains to find out long before he and his boss had even met the magician, Ware had been born
     and raised in the States and was still a citizen. As his name showed, his background was Methodist, but nevertheless he knew
     a hex sign when he saw one. And it gave him an idea.
    He was not a witch, and he certainly had had no intention of laying a curse on this prosperous-looking farm ten seconds ago,
     but the opportunity to gather new data should not be missed.
    Reaching into his shin pocket, he turned the ruby around so that the seal and characters on it faced outward. In a low voice,
     he said, T HOMATOS . B ENESSER , F LEANTER .’
    Under proper circumstances these words of the
Comte deGabalis
encompassed the operator with thirty-three several Intelligences, but since the circumstances were not proper, Ware was not
     surprised when nothing happened. For one thing, his lustration had been imperfect; for another, he was using the wrong talisman
     – the infernal spirits of the ceremony were not devils but salamanders or fire elements. Nevertheless he now added: ‘L ITAN , I SER , O SNAS. ’
    A morning breeze sprang up, and a leaflike whispering ran around him, which might or might not have been the voices of many
     beings, individually saying, ‘N ANTHER , N ANTHER R N ANTHER , N ANTHER …’ Touching the talisman, Ware said. ‘G ITAU , H URANDOS , R IDAS , T ALIMOL .’ and then, pointing to the barn, ‘U USUR , I TAR. ’
    The result should have been a highly localized but destructive earthquake, but there was not even a minor tremor, though he
     was pretty sure that he really heard the responsive voices of the fire spirits. The spell simply would not work under the
     eye of the hex sign – one more piece of evidence that the powers of evil were still under some kind of restraint. That was
     good to know, but in a way, too, Ware was quite disappointed; for had he gotten his earthquake, the further words S OUTRAM , U BARSINENS would have compelled the intelligences to carry him across the rest of his journey. He uttered them anyhow, but without result.
    Neither in the
Comte de Gabalis
or its very late successor.
The Black Pullet,
did this ritual offer any word of dismissal, but nevertheless for safety’s sake he now added; ‘R ABIAM. ’ Had this worked, he would have found himself carried home again, where at least he could have started over again with more
     ointment and another broomstick; but it did not. There was no recourse now but to seek out the farmhouse and try to persuade
     the farmer to give him something to eat and drive him to the nearest railhead. It was too bad that the man could not be told
     that he had just been protected by Ware from a demonic onslaught but unfortunately the Amish did not believe that there was
     any such thing as white magic – and in the ultimate analysis they were quite right not to