Page 58 of Drawn into Oblivion

A massive book with a cover like black glass sat inside. The outline of a large, distinctly inhuman hand was pressed into the front. The fingers were too long and spaced strangely. Unlike the headdress’s case, the coal wood box had no lining, not even one made of paper. Instead, there was only bare, unpolished wood and an object that exuded malice like a foul odor.

Why did the empress have this evil thing? And why did Mai feel such an intense need to know what it contained? Why couldn’t she stop herself from reaching for it, even though her hands were shaking?

Oh, but she did know. A part of her knew what she’d find in this book. And even though the answer to the mystery of Vallen and Rosuke would surely haunt her, she also knew she’d not be able to stop herself from looking.

The thick tome was cool to the touch, and she suspected as she hefted it in her hands that its cover was the bulk of its weight. She carried it to the table in the center of the room, above which a large, hanging lantern cast a bright glow. Upon setting it down, she discovered something black smeared on her hands and barely resisted the urge to hastily wipe them on her dress. She looked closer, rubbing the dark grime between her fingers. It looked like soot.

Too impatient to go looking for a way to clean off her hands, she opened the cover. To her surprise, she found she could read the first page even though it was written in Mahou, a language of which she’d known only a tiny fraction before coming to Houfu. The few words she could speak and write had been in a journal her mother had kept, one clearly passed down through the years. Thankfully, a temporary side effect of communing with the Divine One meant reading Mahou was as easy for her as reading Common.

Tome of Bane, A Book of Circles and Invocations

This was a spell book—a demon spell book, no doubt full of terrible, twisted incantations, things meant to torment and torture in the cruelest of ways. Why would she be drawn to such a thing? Where had Shumei found it and why hadn’t she destroyed it? Perhaps she meant to use it against the enemy?

Mai flipped through several pages and found one with some notes in the margins—notes written in Common. She didn’t recognize the handwriting, but it looked much newer than the original spell. Indeed, the page seemed rather worn, as if many hands had touched it. According to the title, it was some sort of gate spell. The extra notes were translations of the requirements, some of which were checked off: an area at least twenty feet in diameter, night of the new moon, coal dust, and powdered sulfur. One requirement still unchecked read “human blood.”

She continued searching the large volume, looking for any other spells with margin notes. The occasional word in Mahou caught her eye. Lethal, madness, unending. She dared not chase any of these alarming words to learn what the spells containing them could do. Near the end of the book, she accidentally went past a pair of pages with extensive notes in the margins and had to flip back to find them again. The title of the first page had her rooted to the spot.

Incantation to Create Incubi.

“No,” she whispered. It couldn’t be. She turned the page, stomach cramping.

Incantation to Remove Incubus Curse.

The notes here were thorough. Each step of the ritual, from drawing the circle to the use of spell components to reciting an invocation, were all translated into Common next to the equivalent line in Mahou. She flipped back to the curse and read the original spell description.

The artificial incubus (also: sex demon, lust eater) drains humans of their energy through intercourse until the human is dead. They must feed off human sexual pleasure at least once a month, and penetration is required. These stipulations ensure the sex demon will fulfill his role and feed directly. Those who do not fulfill their purpose forfeit their souls unto our King, and their bodies shall be used as the Butcher sees fit. Ideal candidates are of immoral character and will take to their role more readily.

Only the most useful powers associated with authentic incubi shall be granted to the sex demon: immortality, enhanced strength and endurance, and greatly enhanced stamina. Otherwise limited magical abilities prevent the sex demon from removing the curse. Thus, the Incantation cuts out the metaphysical organ, which not only reduces the threat any sex demon poses, but also ensures their souls cannot return unto their maker.

She read the details of both curse and cure, her gaze flying fast over the carefully annotated spells. Both rituals required a great deal of study in order to complete the elaborate circles, not to mention sexual acts and a powerful magic-user. The process by which the caster cut out the victim’s magic was truly horrifying—a metaphysical pain second only to evisceration. That anyone could even survive it was—

“Mai.” A deep voice pulled her out of her silent panic. She snapped up straight and turned to the bed.

The high general’s gaze upon her was heavy. Like the empress’s, his stare squeezed her, making it difficult to breathe. But he wasn’t angry. Instead he seemed… Oh, but her mind was a jumble. She hardly knew her own feelings, let alone the feelings of anyone else right now.

“I couldn’t help it. The box, it… I had to know,” she stammered.

“Now that you do, you must have questions.” He sounded kind but tired, as though the topic exhausted him.

She nodded. Shook her head. Tried to gather her thoughts.

“Why did this happen to him—to both of you?” she whispered past the lump in her throat. “The book said ideal candidates are immoral. Is he? And did he kill anyone? Did he—while he was… Divine One have mercy.” Her voice turned breathy as she blinked back a river of tears. “He was a demon much longer than he was human. There must have been so many women. Hundreds.”

She briefly shut her eyes as the long length of Rosuke’s life as a demon added up in her mind. When she opened them again, she met Vallen’s grim gaze.

“You know only a small part of the story. Yes, Rosuke, his brother, and I were rakes. We were…dishonorable men. A woman of the court punished us using that book, and my father executed her for it.”

“H-his brother also?” The sob lodged in her throat traveled a little higher. Her head was pounding. “I didn’t know.”

“Yasuke couldn’t handle what we had become and chose death.”

“He… Then, his soul is—”

“In Oblivion, yes. One of many souls the Damned One has consumed.”

Mai could barely process it all. Even the horrifying news that the soul of Rosuke’s younger brother was trapped in Oblivion was pushed to the back of her mind as new thoughts screamed for her attention.

“I had a dream where Rosuke had red hair. Yours was white. And both of you were—you were together with a woman. Oh gods,” she whimpered. “Y-you were feeding off her.”