The Last of the Firedrakes (27 page)

“Erien, I need your help,” I said, shutting the door behind me.

Erien was lying on his bed reading. I pulled up a chair and told him everything that had happened.

“I’ve never heard of the Book of Abraxas,” said Erien, “but if it is a grimoire, then it must be one of the forbidden texts. You won’t find anything about it in the school library.”

“But isn’t there some way to find out about this book and what it does?” I asked, leaning forward. “Erien, if Morgana and Lucian are behind this, then we have to find out why she needs the book.”

Erien nodded. “There is a way. But we should tell grandfather about it first,” he said. “If this has to do with dark magic, then we shouldn’t get involved. We could get expelled from school.”

“But Uncle Gabriel is in some faraway kingdom,” I insisted. “We are not doing anything wrong. When he’s back, we can tell him what we’ve found out.”

“Anything that has to do with black magic is wrong,” Erien said.

“Please, Erien,” I begged, “you know how important this is to me. Morgana ruined my life. I need to know what she’s planning to do next. The only way I am going to survive is if I stay one step ahead of her at all times.”

Erien sat up in his bed and rubbed his palms over his face. “All right, Aurora,” he said finally. “I understand why you want to do this. I will help you, but remember I can’t make any promises. The forbidden texts were lost or destroyed centuries ago. We still may not find anything.”

“I couldn’t find anything in any of the books I looked at,” I said.

Erien shook his head. “You won’t find anything in the ordinary books, “ he said. He came closer and lowered his voice. “But there is a secret library that lies underneath the school. Most people think it is a myth, but I’ve seen it, and the professors know it exists, but only the Mastermage of Evolon holds the key.”

My eyes widened. “A secret library. But how do we get in?”

“Leave that to me,” said Erien, pulling on his black leather boots and cloak. “Meet me outside the academy library tonight after dinner.”

I nodded. “I’ll be there. Thank you, Erien.”

“You don’t need to thank me, Aurora. We’re family,” Erien said, coming over and giving me a big hug.

I hugged him back. It was so nice to finally be part of a family that accepted me for who I was.

That night, Vivienne and I sneaked out of our room after everyone had gone to sleep and met Erien outside the library.

“I said, ‘come alone,’” Erien whispered when he saw Vivienne.

“We can trust her,” I said. “She knows who I really am.”

Erien’s eyes widened. “You told her?”

I nodded. “I live with her, and she became suspicious.”

“I hope you didn’t tell her everything,” he said so only I could hear.

I shook my head. Even Vivienne might not take too kindly to living with a fae-mage.

“Good,” said Erien, ending the topic. “Come on. We only have a few hours.” He opened the library door with a key he had with him.

“Where did you get that?” Vivienne asked.

“I help the mastermage with research,” said Erien. “He has a key that can open any door in the academy, and I just happen to know where he keeps it.”

Vivienne looked impressed.

The library was dark and eerie at this time of night. Muted moonlight threw shadows on the walls and floor that seemed to move according to the whims of the cloudy sky. Bookshelves stretched into darkness on both sides of me, and an unnerving silence seemed to settle like a thick shroud over the vast structure.

Erien’s hand lit up, pushing back the shadows. We had been taught how to do this in class. I concentrated my magic into the palm of my hand, slowly pushing some of it outward and rolling it between my fingers. A ball of white light swirled, lighting up the aisle in front of me. Vivienne still hadn’t managed to master this concept, and her light kept flickering and going out. Finally she gave up and stuck close to me.

We wound our way through the countless aisles to the far end of the library. Erien shifted a section of the bookshelf, and it opened inwards like a door, revealing a hidden stone staircase that led downwards, spiraling into darkness.

“Follow me, “ said Erien, holding his hand out in front of him.

Vivienne took my hand, and the two of us navigated our way behind Erien. A few hundred feet down, we came to an old wooden door. Erien used the master key, and it opened, the creak of the wood echoing through the silent library.

We stepped inside, and I held out my hand. The ball of light in my palm cast an eerie glow over the cavernous room. I looked around. We were standing at the top of a massive grand staircase that descended into a huge room that seemed to have no end. Row upon row of books lined the shelves, stretching two stories high all the way to the beautiful vaulted ceiling. The musty smell of leather and dusty books permeated the still air as I walked down the staircase, following Erien.

This looked like an impossible task. The secret library was huge. How would we ever find the right book?

“Do you think the Grimoire of Abraxas could be here?” Vivienne asked.

“No, I don’t think so,” said Erien. “The Book of Abraxas sounds like a forbidden text, and the mastermage would never allow a dark grimoire in the school. It’s too dangerous; anything could go wrong if used without the correct knowledge. But we may be able to find out more about it in some of the other, older books.”

“How do you know so much about all this?” Vivienne asked Erien, lighting a candle.

“I’m going to be a historian,” said Erien, puffing out his chest a little. “The mastermage said that I could even be a professor someday.”

Vivienne laughed. “But you’re a noble. You can’t become a teacher.”

“Professor Tanko is a noble,” Erien argued.

“He’s the only one,” Vivienne insisted. “In any case, Professor Tanko is just a baron with limited holdings. You are presently the Earl of Everdale, and after your grandfather, you will be the next Duke of Silverthorne.”

“I could do both,” Erien said, taking a few books off the shelves and putting them on a nearby wooden table.

“Not if you’re on the royal council,” Vivienne said, crossing her arms.

“You seem to know a lot about the way the kingdom is run,” said Erien.

Vivienne shrugged, picking up a book. “Father tells me stuff,” she said. “I listen.”

For hours, we searched through all sorts of books, from ancient symbols and languages to the genealogy of kings, but there was nothing that even mentioned the name Abraxas.

“We should go back,” said Vivienne finally. “It’s going to be dawn soon, and people will start coming into the library.”

Erien nodded and started putting books back onto the shelves. “I agree.”

“No, just a few minutes please,” I said, desperately wishing I would find something.

The sound of a door closing echoed through the secret library. All three of us froze in our tracks. Someone was coming, and there was nowhere to hide. I looked over to the stairs leading down into the vast room. A ball of light was moving steadily towards us hovering in the hand of a shadowy figure in mage robes. As he came toward us, the light illuminated his face.

Professor Dekela!

“What is the meaning of this intrusion?” said the mastermage, raising his hands and sending sparks flying into the air, lighting the candles on the chandelier that hung from the high ceiling. The room lit up. “Erien, you know better than to be down here. I expected more from you, and I showed you this library because I thought you were more responsible than the rest. The books here are not meant to be read by students. You know that perfectly well.”

“I know, Professor. I’m so sorry,” said Erien, hurriedly putting back the remaining books on all the wrong shelves. “It’s not what you think.”

Vivienne just stood there, staring at the professor, and looked like she was about to burst into tears.

“It’s my fault,” I blurted out. I didn’t want Erien and Vivienne to get kicked out of school because of me. “Professor, this has to do with Morgana and the Book of Abraxas.”

The old professor did not look surprised. He assessed Erien and Vivienne for a second and turned to me. “Explain.”

I told him everything that Damien said about the key. I didn’t tell him about my night visit to the city with the Blackwaters though. I only said that I overheard them talking in the library. I didn’t need to get myself into more trouble than I was in already. The old professor listened carefully and didn’t interrupt until I finished my story.

“This time the Blackwaters have gone too far,” the mastermage said. “The Book of Abraxas must never be opened.”

“Why?” I asked, my eyes going wide. This sounded serious. What was Morgana up to now?

“It is only because of who you are that I am telling you this,” said Professor Dekela. “And it seems that you obviously trust your cousin and your roommate here, so I will allow them to hear what I have to say, since I think you will probably tell them everything anyway.”

Embarrassed I looked down. He was right, of course.

He looked at Vivienne. “I won’t say this again, Ms. Foxmoor. I hope you know that whatever we talk about here must never leave this room.”

Vivienne nodded fervently.

“The Grimoire of Abraxas,” said Professor Dekela, turning back to me, “also known as
The Book of Power
, is considered to be the most dangerous and mysterious manuscript of all time. It contains magic thought to be long forgotten, magic that existed before the age of the first kings, even before the fae came to this world. Many believe it to be only a legend, but the Grimoire of Abraxas does exist. It was locked with four magical keys, which were hidden in remote locations all over Avalonia to prevent it from ever being opened. The key that was stolen is one of them.”

He took out an old, worn leather-bound book from one of the shelves and opened it on the table in front of us. “Is this what the key looked like?” he asked pointing to the page.

I looked at the diagram drawn in the book—four triangles, all of them fitting together to form a larger one. “This is it,” I said. “Damien had one of these triangular keys.”

“Why it is so dangerous?” Erien said, moving Vivienne out of the way to get a better look at the page.

“The Grimoire of Abraxas, gives the one who opens it the knowledge to control demons,” said the professor, closing the book.

“Demons!” I repeated. “Are you serious?”

Professor Dekela nodded solemnly and continued. “And not just any demon, but the Book of Abraxas contains the secret to controlling the most powerful of all demon lords ever to have lived—Dragath.”

“Is that even possible?” I asked, horrified. “Uncle Gabriel said that Dragath has been gone for thousands of years, trapped in a magical prison.”

“That is what the legends say,” answered Professor Dekela.

“But, if Dragath is gone,” Vivienne said, looking pale, “how can Morgana control him with the book?”

“I don’t know,” said the old professor, shaking his head. “Maybe she doesn’t intend to control Dragath himself. But there are other demons and demonic beings that exist in other worlds that are connected to ours, and the Drakaar can summon them. If Morgana manages to open the book, she will possess the knowledge to control the demons and make them do her bidding. That will be the end of our world as we know it. Demon magic is much more powerful than the magic of the mages or even the fae. A mage who can control demons can rule the world.”

“Do you think that Morgana already has the book?” I asked. “Or do you think the Blackwaters are doing this on their own?”

Professor Dekela shook his head. “The book is safe for now,” he said as we put everything away and climbed the steep staircase to the school library. “But I don’t think that the Blackwaters would pursue magic this powerful on their own. The only ones who would be able to wield this sort of dark magic are Lucian and Morgana.”

“But how do you know the book is safe, Professor? Morgana or Lucian might already have it if they are looking for the keys,” I asked following the professor.

“There is something else you must know,” he said, halting at the top of the stairs and turning around to face me. “Remember, I told you that there are four keys.”

I nodded.

“When the book was locked, the keys were given for safe keeping to four magical families. The locations of the four keys and the Book of Abraxas have been passed down through generations. The Silverthorne family and my own have been guardians of the book for centuries now.”

My eyes went wide at this piece of information. “Erien is a Silverthorne, and he didn’t know about the book,” I said, glancing at Erien, who looked just as surprised as I was.

“He would have found out eventually,” said Professor Dekela, “it was because of you that he learned about it sooner than he was supposed to.”

“Oh!” was all I could say.

“That is how I know that the Grimoire of Abraxas is safely hidden and so are the other three keys,” continued Professor Dekela. “I only just got word that one of the Guardians has disappeared. Now I know why. I will inform your granduncle about this new development,” said the professor, opening the secret door that led back to the school library. “This is very serious, Aurora. If Morgana wants the book, it is only a matter of time before she finds what she is looking for.”

“I know,” I said. “We can’t let her succeed in her plans. We have to get that key back from Damien.”

“That may not be so easy,” said the professor. “The Duke of Blackwater came to visit his children today. They must have given it to him already. I will have his house searched, but we will have to be careful. Accusing the duke of theft may not be the right move just now. We need to find out more before we can bring him in front of the Mage Guild.”

I nodded. I was glad the mastermage had it under control and it was one less thing to worry about. As it was, I’d had so much on my plate, and there were not enough hours in the day to learn everything I needed to defend myself against Morgana. Things had become too complicated. It was one thing trying to stay away from Morgana and trying to learn how to use my powers. But dark magic and demons were a bit more than I could handle at the moment. I hoped Uncle Gabriel would come back soon. He would know what to do.