Page 131 of The Book Reader
“My lord,” Mark says, his posh accent booming across the room.
I smirk at Gaelan and then turn my head to smile at Mark; out of his eyesight, I move my hand to cup Gaelan’s cock through his pants, my smile growing when he growls low in my head.
“Hello Mark,” I say. He bows slightly.
“Ari, how are you?” he asks.
Gaelan still isn’t talking, his head buried in my neck, and I squeeze him tighter. “I’m good,” I grin, trying to hide the wobble of pleasure in my voice.
“Did you bring it?” Gaelan asks, his voice muffled by my shoulder as he peppers it with kisses.
Mark places an ancient-looking black book on the desk and steps back. “Yes, my lord, the oldest grimoire I could find. Second only to the Reader’s book itself,” he says, sounding a little awed.
I frown and look down at it. It’s bound in some kind of animal skin; the edges are ripped and jagged, as if the blade had been dull. There are bones and a pentagram in gold on the front,along with other symbols that I don’t immediately recognize. I reach out, and at my touch, the gold flashes, a tingle of power shooting up my arm like electricity. The familiar feeling of home settles over me, making me smile. “Itfeelsold,” I say, flipping the first page open. “And powerful.” The inside is made of the same kind of animal skin, almost yellow in color. The ink looks red; I worry about my lower lip, hoping it’s not blood. Gaelan moves back from me and leans over to look.
“Does it have the prophecy in it?” He asks Mark.
“What prophecy?” I ask, my eyes flicking between both.
“There was a prophecy made a long time ago, a seer as old as the gods and the devil spoke of a great power.” Gaelan runs his hand over the pages of the book, almost like he is remembering something, a light smile on his lips. “In your first life, we were so sure that this was talking about you. But it didn’t match. There were parts of it that just didn’t fit, until now. I think this is what you were always destined to become, Arianna. This life is the one she spoke about, I’m sure of it.” He looks at me. “Everything you have been through in each life has been leading up to this one. To the power you are becoming now.” Gaelan says as Mark flips to the second page. The words stare up at me, the dull red ink a stark contrast against the pale paper.
The prophecy speaks of a power so great that neither the gods above nor those below knew what to do. Its essence, its most distilled form, is the purest of souls
There is one who will come to read the book
Not born in heaven or hell
She will be a lady among lords.
A soul too pure for heaven.
An entity to rule the shadows
Two paths the Book shall offer
One of darkness and one of light
She is the voice of the great Book of Power
A gift that is hers to wield alone
Born again as she was before
Her soul, a continuum.
Her one true love holds her balance.
A love that has gone through the midst of time,
In her is the beginning and the end.
She alone has the power to save them all.
I reread the passage,trying to make sense of the words. I look up at Gaelan and Mark, who are both studying me. “So, I was made? By the great powers?” I shake my head in disbelief as a nervous laugh shoots out of my mouth. “This type of stuff isn’t real. It’s like one of those made-for-TV movies.” I’m not sure who I’m trying to convince, but Gaelan reaches forward and turns the page again. My eyes go wide at the daemon looking back at me, with her white skin covered in gold markings, a drawing of a book to her left, a gold glow emanating from its open pages. She stands in front of what looks like a throne, a throng of daemons bowing down to her. She appears to be, in all senses, Lexus. I read the inscription under the drawing.
When dark and light collide, she will be the one to separate, conquer, and rule. She is balance.
The drawing can only be Lexus, the likeness so substantial that I’m having trouble holding onto my doubt.
