Total pages in book: 30
Estimated words: 26781 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 134(@200wpm)___ 107(@250wpm)___ 89(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 26781 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 134(@200wpm)___ 107(@250wpm)___ 89(@300wpm)
But not the spell I was looking for. With every page I turned, I came up empty handed. Nearly an hour passed before Captain Mullins whispered, “Good lord.” I rushed to his side, noting his once again pale face as he passed the tome into my hands. “I think I found what you’re looking for.”
Milan joined me on the other side, and the three of us read the words together:
Build your powers, dark and deep,
Raise lost kin from their eternal sleep,
Control the Earth with sharpened skill,
Never be stopped, never killed,
Command all at your fingertips,
Knees bow down with one word from your lips,
Fortune and power, yours for the taking,
Gather these for history making:
Heart of the just,
Eye of the all seeing,
Mind of the manipulator,
Soul of the grieving,
Consume the four and speak the rhyme,
Something starts to shift inside,
Your power grows, your needs ignite,
Embrace the darkness, there’s no more light:
Power of Bael, come over me,
My eyes are yours through which to see,
My hands are yours to command,
Together, we will rule the land.
My heart raced while my eyes scanned the words over and over. I instantly remembered why this book was here in the first place, as it should never see the light of day.
This particular spell would open a portal which would allow a demon to take over a mage’s body; to instill them with their powers, which would be greater than anything found on Earth. The mage would be indestructible. Mages were naturally immortal, but they could be killed…unless they had this type of dark protection.
It would also grant the mage with the power of necromancy - raising people from the dead. For good reason, such powers were forbidden. But even worse, the mage would have the power to control those risen people…along with potentially everyone else. They could literally start a new world order, and once the actions were complete and the spell placed into action, I doubted there was a damn thing anyone could do about it. The light was powerful, but the darkness had no limits to its evil.
“This should have been destroyed,” Mullins insisted, echoing the thoughts I’d had so long ago.
“I tried,” I explained, closing the book and flipping it upside down to reveal the back cover. A large scorch mark marred the smooth leather where I’d tried, and failed, to burn it. Not only was the book filled with dark magic, it was protected by it as well. “Securing it here was the only option.”
“But if the book is here,” Milan began, “How does someone know the spell? How are they following it?”
There were only two options I could think of. “Either they know of the book’s existence, and tracked it down here,” meaning the perpetrator was an elder or had connections to one, “Or the spell has been passed down through a family by word of mouth.
“But I doubt that is the case,” I continued. “I remember how I came across this book.” Seeing it again brought back a flood of memories. “Centuries ago, there was a mage who lived outside of a small village. The people who lived nearby were terrified of him. They saw strange things happen around his home, and claimed that he had killed many of his neighbors. They even accused him of cannibalism.”
“One night, they attacked him. He was able to ward off and kill over a dozen men with his magic, but he was eventually overpowered and slain. When I first heard the villagers’ claims, I thought they were just rubbish born from prejudice and panic. But as I was going through his belongings to pass down to his family, I found the book, and knew that their fear was justified. He must have been in the middle of completing this spell.”
“I also learned that the man had no family to pass things to, even though I would obviously never give anyone the book. After I failed to destroy it, I stored it here with the rest, and informed the other elders about my discovery.”
Captain Mullins scrubbed his hand over his face. "So, you're telling me that we are probably dealing with an already skilled elder, seeking even more power that is dark and dangerous?" When I reluctantly nodded, he slammed his fist against the shelf and yelled, "Dammit!"
The three of us fell into silence for a long moment until the Captain spoke again, "There's a psychopath out there killing people and eating their body parts to partner with a demon so that they can become all powerful. And yet somehow the only thing I'm not understanding is how the fuck someone eats a soul."
Before I could answer, a quiet "Micah," caught my attention, and I turned to find Milan clutching his stomach. I didn't even have time to ask him if he was alright before he lurched forward and vomited on the ground.