We Work with the Book

Will woke with a start and cracked his skull open on a solid mass above him.

"Arrrrggghhhh! What the bloody hell are you doing, boy?" It yelled. The fairy demon, Angelo, was hovering, clutching his head in pain.

"I could say the same to you. What the hell were you doing flying there?"

"I told you I've been watching you for a while. Well, part of the reason is that I find you very interesting. So I was watching you. I thought I could find the answers to some of my questions."

"What questions could you possibly have that can be answered by watching me sleep?"

"What's your thought process? How do you seem so effortless? How do you move your body differently to others? What makes you wake up? Why do you need to sleep? All of these are fascinating to me." Will was taken aback.

"Wait, you don't understand humans at all, do you? But you want to. You're the most adorable creature to ever call itself a demon!"

"Please stop. It's bad enough that my family cast me out for taking an interest in mortals, without you making fun of me for it."

"Sorry, I won't make fun of you. Actually, I really like to hear that, it makes me think we can get along."

"As much as I would love to have what you call a 'friend', you have to remember that I'm still your demon servant. I'm bound by force to serve you and I would kill you in service to my family if that wasn't the case"

"The first step to friendship is wanting a friend. We can work on the not killing each other step, but in the meantime, let's just be partners, huh?" The demon nodded and showed his sharp teeth again.

Will got up and read his new book, looking for a spell to use. Angelo hovered over his shoulder and read with him.

"Don't bother with those wimpy spells. You'll be needing to fight sooner than this book expects. I recommend the fire spells on this page."

"I'll need an open area to try those, I don't want to destroy something precious. Maybe protective spells for now - where are they?"

The demon pointed a sharp-clawed finger at the book and the pages flipped backwards. It stopped at a page titled 'Simple Ward'. Will noted the procedure, especially that it did not require any incantation, and move to the centre of his dorm room to try it. He felt his energy gather as he focused, and he pushed it out through his hand. He felt it follow his will and shape into a disc shield, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing there.

"Your magic will remain as your old magic was as long as you fail to use the Grimoire to cast the spell. The thing that gives Magus spells physical form is their connection to the demon servant. Your world's laws do not allow for a physical substance to be created from nothing, but we're from a different world, and we still abide by the laws of that world. Try casting the ward again, but put your intention into the Grimoire." He did as he was told. He picked up his Grimoire, stepped back to the centre of the room, and repeated the process. He drew his energy back into his palm, pictured the disc shield once again, then imagined the image being sucked into the Grimoire, and finally pushed the energy out into the air. Particles materialised and shaped into a transparent disc in front of him.

The demon laughed and poked the shield with one claw.

"Good, you managed to use my influence to cast the spell, but..." The shield shattered and the particles scattered. "It's so weak without my power added to it. Next time try drawing energy from the Grimoire too."

They practiced casting this defensive spell for several hours, until Will was able to generate a shield strong enough to block one of Angelo's attacks on instinct. Will suddenly had a thought.

"I'm going to need to go to class at some point. I understand why you need to stay with me, but couldn't you hide somewhere? I don't need people freaking out, especially not in a place given the name 'Divinity Faculty'."

"Relax. The only reason you can see me is because the binding spell gave you the Sight. In fact, there is a high chance you will see other impossible beings around the city, but no chance that an ordinary being will see me."

"Oh, right. You were following me for a while before I was able to see you."

"Exactly."

Angelo followed him happily into class and flew around the room, taking notes on the opinions of various students. He was particularly interested in those who had a disdain for the Christian viewpoint yet were well-versed in its teachings. At the end of the class he flew back to Will.

"These are intelligent people here, master. They all have a well-constructed worldview, and they all know exactly what and why they want to believe. It's fascinating."

"That's the first time you've called me 'master', but please don't. We're partners, so I want you to call me by name." Will whispered.

"Which is?"

"William Hughes, Will for short."