Anagha Baheti

The Boundless Library was a majestic dome by the East Gate. The bricks had been painted green, and delicate tapestries were glued to the arched wooden entrance. We entered the building, and a bald man in grey robes appeared out of nowhere to greet us.

“Welcome to The Boundless Library. My name is Illian. Do you know what you want, or are you looking for recommendations?”

“I am looking for Grimoire of Corayne.”

The librarian’s eyes widened at the mention of the book, but he quickly recovered.

“Of course, sir. Right this way.”

“Wait, really?” In my experience, acquiring an ancient artefact was rarely that easy. “You’re simply going to hand over the book?”

“This is a library, ma’am. Lending books is quite literally our entire job. Now, if you would follow me…”

Illian led us to the front desk. He performed a spell, and the book appeared in the tray before him.

“May I have a name for check-out?”

“Kazar Ibrazun.”

“And how long do you intend to keep the book?”

“About a week.”

“Very well. And what will your collateral be?”

“Collateral?”

“In order to borrow a book from the high-magic section, someone from your party will need to leave behind something of equal magical or emotional importance.”

“Theo, give the man your bow.” Ellyjobell chimed.

“I bound my soul to my bow.” Theodore took a step back. “Without it, I will be useless. Why don’t we leave the nerd behind? He has no magical abilities, or any ability, really, other than Avante’s love. Besides, if war is on the horizon, he will be safer here than on the field.”

Kazar stepped up before I could draw my broadsword. He removed the olive branch crown from his forehead and held it up for the librarian.

“The Shade of Mikael should be a more than fair trade.” Illian nodded. “Take it, but keep it safe, good sir. Its power is too sacred to fall into the wrong hands.”

Kazar accepted the Grimoire of Corayne in exchange for his crown.

“Are you sure about this?” Maxillian placed a hand on Kazar’s shoulder. “Without the Shade, we can’t ask Mikael for guidance. I don’t mind staying here until the crisis is dealt with. Besides, Theo is right. I have no talent or magic. I would only be a hindrance.”

“Theodore. Avante can call me Theo. You must call me Theodore.”

“That is probably the smartest thing I have heard you say, nerd.” Ellyjobell scratched her ear with a finger. “Unfortunately, the brute is not as smart.”

“My deepest apologies, good people, but you are wasting the library’s time. If you have no other use for me, please leave.”

“It’s our last job,” Maxillian whispered as we walked out. “Tomorrow, either we get enough money to go off on our own, or we lose our lives. Either way, bear them for a day. I can take their jabs. You shouldn’t concern yourself. Focus on saving us so we may live a long, happy life.”

After a short nap and dinner, we gathered in Kazar’s room to perform the purification spell. Ghesh and Althea had arrived from Edna an hour ago with the sword and a deep burn along his arm. Ellyjobell was busy healing the wound.

Even without any inkling of magic, I could feel the magic pulsating in the room. The book radiated a soft, warm glow. The sword felt rotten and icy. It was long and thin, but the horrors locked inside made me exhausted just looking at it.

Althea had the highest affinity for magic, so she got the first chance to try the purifying spell. She tried to activate the spell many times, but the book refused her call. When she gave up, Ellyjobell and Theodore gave it a shot, but they, too, failed. Even Ghesh tried his hand. The book wouldn’t answer their calls. Maxillian inched towards the book, but Althea pulled it away.

“Keep your hands away from the Grimoire, you filthy human.”

“Let’s sleep over it.” Kazar put himself between me and Althea. “Tomorrow morning, let’s see what our options are. And if the sword is useless to us, we must plan a defence. We must evacuate the city.”

“It is too late to plan and execute an evacuation,” Theodore replied. “The only way to minimise casualties is to gather the people in fortified buildings and put all the guards and soldiers around them. You should stay in the library with the guards and try to activate the spell using Mikael’s magic. Let’s hope he saves us.”

“Take Maxillian with you,” I added, and he nodded but looked a bit sad.

There was nothing left to say. The gang went downstairs to get drunk, as they did before every big mission. Maxillian and I retired to our room. He didn’t like the taste of alcohol, and the fear of nasty hangovers kept me from drinking the night before missions.

The following morning, we woke to someone aggressively banging on our door. I unsheathed my broadsword and told Maxillian to stay on the bed. I crept to the door and opened it with my sword between the intruder and myself. Kazar fell into the room, panting like he had been running for his life. He ducked under my sword and launched himself towards Maxillian.

“Take this.” Kazar shoved the Grimoire into Maxillian’s hands. “Run to the library. If you can’t, hide it in a safe space.”

Maxillian nodded, and I fastened the cursed sword to my hip and followed Kazar outside. The city was under attack. Ghouls and zombies were pouring in through the broken gates in dozens.

“Gang, box up.” Theodore bellowed.

We got into the formation and began our attack. Althea brought thunder down on our enemies. Beside her, Theodore released three to four arrows at a time. Behind them, Ellyjobell prepared healing and protection spells. Between my broadsword and Ghesh’s Breath of Fire, we tore through our enemies.

I cut my way to the fallen Aasimar and sliced at his torso with the fallen blade. It ran through his body but left no wounds. The fallen Aasimar laughed and closed his fingers around my neck. He picked me up like a ragdoll and squeezed.

I grabbed his wrist and twisted it with all my might, but his grip didn’t budge. Between his grip on my throat and the cursed sword drinking my energy, my vision swam. I closed my eyes and accepted my death.

Then, the cursed sword started to sing with a warm glow. I weakly swung in an arc. I felt it graze against the fallen Aasimar, but I knew it would be a flesh wound. The grip around my throat loosened. I fell to the floor and passed out.

When I came back to my senses, my head was in Maxillian’s lap. His tears fell on my cheeks.

“Did you…” My voice was hoarse, and my lungs burned from the effort.

“Yes.” He wiped his tears on his sleeve. “Yes, I did. I read the Grimoire and visualised the words.”

“I can’t understand how it worked. The nerd has no affiliation to magic.”

“The Grimoire of Corayne has enough magic to power the spell. It answered to Maxillian’s imagination. That is the one thing you lacked, Althea.”

“How do I learn this skill?”

“You read.”