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Though, if I were to be honest, a part of me believes the wrong people have already been exposed.
I step around Vera and walk up to the shelf of books, setting my gas can down at my feet as my eyes fall on a large book, laying down in the center, almost as if it’s surrounded by a shrine.
“Holy shit, check this out,” I gasp.
I can hear them shuffling as they come closer, glancing over my shoulder.
Bending down, I blow against the cover to remove some dust. It’s a huge book, with the pages gray and thick, stuffed between the covers.
“The Grand Grimoire,” Blaire says, her head tilted to the side as she reads the spine. “What does that mean?”
I freeze as she says the name, feeling the darkness the moment my fingers touch the book. I turn it over quickly to double-check the name. My eyes widen when I realize that Blaire is right, this is the book.
Why is this here?
“What is it?” Vera asks quietly.
“It’s bad…” I whisper.
Ancient historic symbols that I’ve never seen surround a half antelope, half human, who sits with his legs crossed. He holds a dagger of sorts in his hand, the markings in his eyes scratched and jagged.
“Well, what does it mean?” Vera asks as I open the cover. The spine creaks, tight with age, as I fold it open, my fingers trailing over the letters on the front page. It’s not in English, and no one will understand what these words mean, but I understand French. Just as I understand Hebrew, and Latin, and many other languages.
“It looks old as dirt,” Piper mumbles.
She’s right. It is old as dirt. This isn’t a copy of the book, this is one of the originals, written for the original dark souls. Nothing good will come of this. Just me holding it is terrible, and I’m sure my mother will be able to tell the moment I get home what happened and will want to cleanse every inch of my skin.
“It is old. This book… there are a few books that are banned from my home. This is one of them,” I say with a sigh, turning to the second page. I wince at the malevolence of the scrawled image in the center. A demon sits with his legs crossed, like he’s staring directly at me. Large horns stick from his head, his limbs bone dried. It’s freaking me out, my fingers gripping the book beginning to shake. “This book is evil. It talks about evoking dark spirits, but also giving yourself to Satan himself. This book holds so much power. It’s death. That’s what it is…fucking death.”
A shiver racks my spine, and I can’t handle it anymore. I refuse to spend another moment breathing in its energy. I slap the cover closed, tossing it back on the shelf.
“Why the fuck would it be in here?” Blaire asks, taking a step away until her back hits the wall, her eyes widening. She can’t take her eyes off the book.
“It’s here because this place is fucking hell. Which is exactly why we’re burning it to the ground,” Vera growls.
The temperature in the room drops degrees by the second, to the point that I can see my breath in the room.
Piper notices the same. “Let’s go. This place is giving me the creeps.” She shines her light on the stairs, and we all nod as we back away from the book.
Bang.
I let out a scream, and we jump, almost falling into each other as we turn toward the sound. Glancing over my shoulder, I see the grimoire I was holding is now laying on the ground, with the cover flipped open and a page staring directly at us.
“Did that just open by itself?” Blaire asks, completely jarred.
I move around Vera, my steps slow and light as I tiptoe up to it. Crouching down, I glance at the page.
“I don’t think you should go any closer,” Vera whispers to me, and suddenly, the temperature drops even further, almost to icy temps. I can see my breath as I speak.
“Car ce qui est bien ne l’est pas, et toutes les mauvaises demeures vous rempliront jusqu’à ce que vous vous noyiez en enfer,” I whisper, my words slow and calculated, each letter swirling around my neck and choking me.
For what is good is not good, and all evil abodes will fill you until you drown in hell.
“I don’t know what this means.” It is one thing to understand the words, but what does this mean to me in this moment? Who is it that opened the book to this page, for me to read these words?
The only thing I understand is that this is not something to be taken lightly. However these words are supposed to be interpreted is one thing, but I know how they make me feel, and I know how the combination of words comes together in a sentence, and it's not something to be messed with.
Suddenly, the light on Piper’s phone goes out, encasing us in darkness once again. Vera lets out a screech, all of them stepping back until I can hear them crash against the shelves. “What happened? Turn the light on, Piper!”
