We Share the Book
Will and Angelo exited the lecture hall and headed for the library. One part of the vow was to teach others and form a group, so Will wanted to recruit James because he'd always been the first to know anything cool. If the other Order members were there too, that just meant more allies, which Angelo wasn't going to turn down.
As he was about to push through the glass doors, he thought he saw a strange creature pursued by a man in the reflection, but when he turned to look, they were gone.
"Never mind." Shrugging, he opened the doors and walked through. Angelo grinned with his teeth once more.
"Hey guys! Is James here?" Will called to the group of Order members sitting around a table in the centre. An older man from Singapore answered.
"Yeah, he was ranting about something you found in the religion and spirituality section, so he went to have a look there. Why?"
"I need to talk to him about that. I'll come back and share it with you guys too, but you know how he needs to be the first to know." David Goh, the president of the Order, nodded and Will hurried towards the religion and spirituality section. James was there, meticulously scanning the bookshelves. Will creeped up behind him, and before he could tap him on the shoulder, Angelo did it for him. James spun around and dropped into a guard. Will's hand that had just been about to contact James' shoulder instead landed on his face. James smiled and placed his own hand on Wills face, leaning in.
"I never knew you felt the same way." He whispered dramatically. Will saw where this was going and placed his Grimoire between their faces.
"Hey, don't make out with my Grimoire, it might stop me from casting spells." James stepped back and smiled at him.
"So you did it. I'm so proud of you. There was a hideout mentioned on page 176. Do you have the book with you? Can you find it?" Will pulled off his backpack and rummaged around for his copy of 'Magic and Sorcery for the Novice Guild Member'. Once he'd found page 176, he gasped.
"This is the Guild's hideout! They have all sorts of Grimoires and magical items. Hold on, it's unlocked with a spell. I think I can do this one." The two friends hurried excitedly to the location specified, and Will started the spell. It was a simple case of pushing energy from the demon servant into the bookcase, and Will got the impression that the way would open up if it simply sensed a large amount of power. Sure enough, two of the bookcases parted, revealing a stairway going down.
"James, you go and check it out. See if you can get your hands on a Grimoire before I bring the whole Order down here." James disappeared down the stairs without so much as a nod. Will tutted and walked back to the table.
"Everyone, follow me. We've uncovered a secret the Scholar's Guild left for us." He shouted over the noise and turned to walk back to the hideout, Grimoire still in hand. The entrance had closed behind James, so he placed his hand on the bookcase once more and sent a wave of Angelo's energy into it. The other Order members gasped and sighed in awe as the entrance was once again revealed.
"James? You found one?" Will's voice echoed around the huge structure. It had the aesthetic of a gothic church if it was inside a habitable cave. A few seconds passed.
"James?" David had a trembling hesitance in his voice. Another few seconds passed.
"Don't move anywhere. I'll be there by the time you hear this." Came James' reply. The group turned in the direction of the voice, and James dropped down with a soft tap behind them, causing several to jump out of their skin.
"The layout of this place carries sound in a controlled manner. It's designed both as a defence tactic and an ancient communication method. Anyway, yes. I found a Grimoire. More than that, I found the Guild's Grimoire storage. They're separated by rank and they all have the name of their original owners engraved on the shelf underneath. I read that changing one's Grimoire was dangerous, but it seems most Guild members did it when they were promoted." He smiled. "Apparently the owner of mine, Lilith, was quite the hottie. I would have liked to have met her." Angelo whispered something in Will's ear, who laughed a little.
"They're not the names of Guild members. Those are the names of the demon clans the Grimoires are linked to. The one you chose will summon a succubus from the most powerful clan. The demon will kill its magus if their link is broken, and no-one has ever had enough power to form more than one link at a time."
"So where's your demon then, if every Grimoire summons one?" James challenged him. Will told Angelo to go and mess with James. The fairy demon flew over and pulled on the boy's hood. James looked around and reset his jacket casually. Angelo became upset and yanked James into the air. Finally he seemed shocked and Angelo guffawed with joy.
"He can't ever leave my side because he's sworn to protect me, but non-magi can't see him." Angelo whispered in his ear again. "Actually that's not strictly true. There are 'impossible creatures' other than Magi that can see them, but 'ordinary creatures' can't." They all seemed rather perturbed by the knowledge that there was a demon flying above their heads that they couldn't see. Then James sliced through the tension with:
"That's so cool! You have a personal demon servant sworn to protect you! And if I bind this Grimoire to myself, I'll get my own personal sex demon!"
"James, you do know succubi drain the life energy of the men they sleep with, right? If you made a contract with one, it'd be just as likely to refuse you as to kill you."
"If it's so dangerous, why would it refuse me?"
Because if you get hurt, the Grimoire gets damaged, and if the Grimoire is damaged, both of you get hurt. If the demon kills you, it dies."
"Ah... I forgot about that. Oh well, having something pretty to look at is still a score in my book."
"Right. Now we've dealt with that, I need to tell you all, if you choose to make a contract with any of these Grimoires, you will be entering yourself in a war which I still know nothing about. I have no choice in this matter, but you do. I only ask that those who would choose to fight alongside me should my life ever be in danger, do so now. " James instantly stepped forward to join him, followed by a bold young man with cropped blonde hair. A couple of the other younger students followed him, then David shuffled his way into the mix and all the rich kids backed him up. There were five senior Order members that hung back to chat amongst themselves. Out of them, one put himself forward to represent them and another joined him of his own volition. The other three explained that they would support their representative if he got in trouble but would otherwise not participate. Will nodded his reassurance to them and turned to the group that had joined him.
"I was not expecting an army, but you have all impressed me! We shall be the ones to inherit the legacy of the Scholar's Guild! Each of you find yourselves a Grimoire and bind it to you using the spell detailed on this page. Come to me for advice. We start training immediately!"