<p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">This is Drabbletober, the podcast of tiny fiction.</p><p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Hello, and welcome to Drabbletober. This is an occasional bonus episode, for the first of July, 2026, and I'm Elizabeth Guilt.</p><p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Your one-hundred word story for the day is: The Rules Are There For A Reason</p><p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">---</p><p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">There was a tearing noise and there I was again. Slap-bang in the middle of some little scrote's chalk circle. </p><p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">It's always teenagers. They find an old book, think it'd be funny...</p><p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">No-one expects it to work. They're so surprised; they muff the binding and I head home, trailing sulphurous clouds.</p><p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">This guy was different. Older. He offered a deal:</p><p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Free reign across earth to (I quote) "show those weaklings who's in charge" - so long as I let him live to witness it.</p><p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">I accepted, stepped through the circle, and tore his head off.</p><p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">There's a reason you bind demons.</p><p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">---</p><p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Remember everyone: it's always a bad idea to read the Latin out loud.</p><p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">But if you must, at least make sure you do it properly.</p><p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">---</p><p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Take care, everyone, and I'll see you again sometime.</p><p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"></p><p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">https://www.elizabethguilt.com/drabbletober/s2-jul1-bonus</p>