4 Chapter 3

Even on the way home after lunch, Nikko still couldn't wrap his head around it. Nor could he wipe away the smile. There was a good chance that not only was the guy of his dreams also gay but that he'd just asked him out! For the sixth time in an hour, Nikko had to pinch himself. Nope, not dreaming. He was going to the dance with Carji. Probably. Elis had told him to wait before assuming, since if it was true then Carji would probably say something blunter about it within the next few days, but that it was more than likely a thing.

That also meant that Nikko would have to come clean publicly about it. As long as he thought about being with Carji, though, the idea of people knowing didn't bother him all that much. It actually made him feel a little proud, and he started to understand how Elis must feel all the time. It also made him a little envious he'd never felt like this sooner, but not much. The whole walk home, only interrupted by a slight stop by the store for a few dinner supplies, it was all he could think about. Going to the dance with Carji. What would he wear? Would they do matching costumes? That would probably trash the idea of zombies, but then again Carji had that more laid back air that suggested maybe he'd be all for it. Nikko found himself daydreaming about how the conversation would go, to the point he got lost multiple times. It took him hours to finally get home, and when he checked the time it told him school had been out for about forty minutes.

Finally deciding that if he thought any more about blond and honey eyed men talking about which scar they want on their chest, Nikko pushed his mind to focus on dropping his bag on his bed and getting into a good shower. The warm water relaxed him, and he let his mind run blank, just enjoying the feeling of the smooth droplets falling in a river down his back. He stayed like that until his legs felt numb, then finally got towelled off and changed.

After a quick stir-fry, he lazed about a little, enjoying some mindless cable that drowned out thoughts of the day until late evening. With the moon just rising, he trecked upstairs for bed. The sight of his sideways bag made him recall the strange book for the first time since that morning, and he plopped down on the bed to fish it out for another look, flicking on his bedside lamp as he did so.

The cover still reminded him of old wood, and now that he held it out, he realized that the background, gem, and lock all made the book look like some kind of old door. The book was pretty big, bigger than a textbook, but weirdly light. He tossed it up and down a few times, then puzzled over the rest of the cover.

He hadn't noticed them before, as they'd looked so faded in the daylight, but now the various symbols over the cover were brightly scrawled in silver ink, except for those closest to the gem. A black circle hugged the base of it where it met the book, and small black lines like lightning shot out from it. He counted twelve, one in each cardinal direction with one on either side, all going in a circle. Another black circle sat close to the gem, arching around it just before the bend in each mark, and a final circle encompassed the entire design. The whole thing took up the bottom two-thirds of the book.

Above this, a sort of flag stretched from the lightning-piece beyond the outer circle in silver ink. It started off in a weird tree-like shape, the top of the tree meeting a pair of curly threes back to back, but when he turned his head he realized that it looked more like an arrow with the threes hugging its stem. The top of the arrow was also the bottom of the 'flag', which looked like a square that had been split into a set of irregular triangles, and then the bottom was pulled out. It left the arrow shape below it, with the top left being an irregular triangle and the right being a smaller triangle. Inside the larger triangle, three dots sat near the top, each with a single line extending outwards like some sort of ray. The edge of the triangle seemed to cut the ray to the farthest right off. Inside the smaller triangle, a sweet pod or string beans or something was etched in more silver ink.

The symbol in the top left of the book was simple, just a seven-pointed star, but the one in the top right was more complex. It was two tiny circles set on top of each other, the top one looking like it had a set of horns. A Christian cross extended from the bottom circle, the horizontal line encompassed by a rectangle. At the bottom of the cross, a slight arch like a crescent moon was outlined, and below that a crude cave drawing of a key.

And of course, the back was completely blank. There was no title along the spine, which looked like it was made of tiny scales, and the lock was just a strange keyhole set inside a sort of doorknob back panel. He searched around the bathroom and returned with a bobby pin, trying to see if he could pick the lock like a spy in a movie, but the moment he put the pin in there was a crunch, and the whole pin was yanked from his fingers. Bewildered, he peered at the hole carefully as if there might be something alive in there.

More pins were tried, and even a screwdriver. The screwdriver came out with the entire end just... Gone. Flat, as if it had been cut off with a futuristic laser. Now Nikko wanted to know even more what was inside, but he was getting tired and the book wasn't really going anywhere, so he decided to call it a night. Putting the radio on to something smooth and relaxing, he slipped into bed.

What felt like a minute later, Nikko was wide awake. It took him a minute to realize the reason he was awake was the silence. He always slept to music, but now it was silent. A look at the clock and he realized the power must have gone out because there were no numbers to greet him. He sighed, closing his eyes again, but this time there wasn't silence. A soft tinkle, once, then again. It was almost musical without changing its note.

A bell.

He blinked sharply, remembering the bell in the book and tried to see it, but the room was too dark. Carefully feeling his way to the window, he flicked open the blinds and turned back.

The book was glowing. He had to rub his eyes a few times before he accepted that it wasn't just the fuzz of sleep screwing with him. The silver ink on the book was soaking in the moonlight and reflecting it, creating a beautiful soft shine. Slowly, Nikko made his way over and stifled a gasp of awe. The moonstone had also taken in the light, and its glow was so beautiful it ached. The black lines stood out even stronger, looking like binding shadows. Like some sort of cage for the poor gem. Nikko found himself running his finger over the black bands with a strange pang of sympathy he chopped up to his sleepy status when he felt a bump. The inked lines he'd thought were painted on were actually glued on, and he managed to slip his nail underneath them. He gave a little experimental tug, and they snapped. He had to blink sharply, not just because they broke, but because the speck inside the stone was larger now. And it was moving.