Page 27 of The Book Reader
Hey Ari. How could I forget you?
Hi. Lol, how are you?
Gaelan
Doing well, how are you?
His words have silly little butterflies traipsing giddily around my stomach. My smile grows as I reply.
I just found your card and well… How is life treating you?
I hit send and place my phone down, but it pings straight away with a new message.
Gaelan
Life is better now that I’ve finally heard from you. Have dinner with me?
A thrill runs through me, and I bite my lip in excitement. I decide not to say precisely what I’m thinking—no need to scare him off by sounding too eager just yet. Right?
I would love to have dinner with you. I’m free this weekend?
I hit send and then stare at my phone waiting for another message to come through. After a few minutes had passed without a response, I placed it on the cushion next to me and picked up the file on top of the stack. On the front, in some kind of gold glitter pen, is a drawing of the same dragon that’s on my necklace., Its gold eyes stare at me.
Inside the folder, the first sheet of paper is a list. I read it out loud.
“Mind daemons, Snake daemons, Empath daemons, Seeker daemons, The King of the Underworld, Sorcerer daemons.”
The list goes on and on. I flick to the king of the underworld page. There is a symbol featuring two swords, crossed over at the hilt, with what appears to be a crown and horns. The picture is hand-drawn, and its rendering isn’t apparent.
“Tate?” I begin to read.
Tate is the ruler and king of the underworld. After killing his entire family and the devil, he took the throne for himself. Those who refuse to bow to him and live by his rule are sentenced to death. He is not married, but he has many children.
The words stop after that.He killed the devil? What kind of daemon is powerful enough to kill the devil himself?
A cold, terrified shudder skips down my spine. I pray he never comes into the club.
I flip through the pages until I find a section on snake demons.
Snake daemons live in packs. At birth, they are paired with a snake that will be their life companion. All snake daemons have purple eyes and snake-like features on their faces.
“Well, they sound scary,” I whisper. I flip through the following pages, pausing again when I see the dragon from my necklace illustrated on a page.“Sorcerer daemons,”I read aloud, running my hands over the dragon. The surface is textured under my fingers from the marks the pen has made.
Sorcerer daemons are the second most powerful race of daemons to have lived in the Underworld. It is said that even the devil himself feared them. These daemons exist solely to nurture one true power—a power which is bound to one soul. This soul has the power to destroy it all.
The Book Reader.
The only one who can read the Book of Power.
“The Magistera.” Meaning one of unlimited power and ruler of them all.
There are no pictures on this page. He’d said I was the book’s only reader. Is this what he meant?
I read the last part.
While powerful when separated, the soul and its book are said to be unstoppable when united.
When activated, anyone in the presence of such power can feel it like a beacon.
