Page 58 of Sinistram
“Have my back,” Travis said. “If something goes haywire, call Aricella. With the wards, whatever happens should be contained inside the space, but if I get hurt, I might not be able to shut it down.”
“I’ve got you,” Brent promised.
Brent took a seat outside the warded space and cradled a fresh cup of coffee in his hands as he watched Travis don spelled gloves and remove the book from the protective container.
“It’s old,” Travis narrated. “Leather binding, I don’t want to know what kind of skin.”
“Ew.”
Travis shrugged. “We’ve both heard the stories.” While many people dismissed the legends as being spread by those against any kind of supernatural power, the rumors remained that dark grimoires were often wrapped in covers made of human skin.
He carefully opened the thick book, murmuring a protection spell as he did so. Nothing happened, but he looked at the yellowed pages and fine script and hoped that the ink wasn’t mixed with blood.
“Anything?” Brent asked.
“Good penmanship,” Travis quipped. “The book is really old. I’m going to need to go slow so I don’t damage anything.”
“Can you pick up anything with your other senses?”
“I’ve clamped down on getting any sort of reading on the energy until I know what we’re dealing with,” Travis said.
“Good idea.”
Despite his precautions, Travis could feel the tingle of magic as he handled the book, even through the spelled gloves. Some of the text was in Latin and some in English, but the archaic script made for slow reading, and Travis needed to make sure he fully understood the text.
“The volume is called the Precepts,” he said after a long silence. “It’s a study of how the magic of vampirism works. The author holds that the fundamental magic underlying vampires, werewolves, and shifters is very old, going back to the formation of the world and possibly the universe.”
“Okay, interesting but not a revelation,” Brent said.
“The book is essentially forensic magic,” Travis added. “The author wanted to know why vampires could live on blood and no other nourishment. It’s quite a long treatise. That’s the foundation. From there, he looks at how the ancient magic creates immortality and the other vampire traits like super speed and strength.”
“I’m sure it’s fascinating, but why did Sinistram’s high command think they needed to hide it?”
“I haven’t gotten through everything, but from what I see, there are spells and rituals to break a vampire’s magic,” Travis replied.
“Turn them back to mortal?” Brent raised an eyebrow.
“Yes and no. They would still be vampires.” Travis tried to synthesize what he had read. “The spells don’t affect the vampirism, but they do attack their immortality by draining the magic that sustains them and gives them special abilities.”
“I can’t imagine that would go over well.”
“Probably not.” Travis stared at the book as if it were a serpent. “And I’m certain that vampires in the Sinistram would have magic.”
“If you can remove a vampire’s immortality, couldn’t you do the same to any other immortal?”
“There doesn’t appear to be anything here that deals with the others, only vampires. Maybe only if the immortality was acquired, not natural. Like it wouldn’t kill a demigod, but it would affect someone who started off human. There could be multiple reasons the book was hidden,” Travis said.
“If all that is possible, why haven’t we heard of people doing it?” Brent asked.
“Magic always comes with a cost,” Travis replied. “There are the risks of using power for the caster and anyone who isn’t the target, and then there’s the price to be paid for using tainted magic.”
“What kind of cost?” Brent’s voice had gone flat, worry clear in his eyes. “Drain your life force? Forfeit your own magic? Corrupt your soul? Have you dragged to Hell by demons?”
“I’m just reading that part,” Travis admitted. While he feared that the penalty might indeed be that high, he hoped he could find a second way.
“You’re researching on the Dark Web and considering spells from forbidden texts,” Brent pointed out. “There are good reasons those sources are disavowed.”
“You were in the Army,” Travis replied. “You’re familiar with the escalation of force. At the upper end, when the threatis severe, the options are limited and come with significant downsides.”
