I stood before the bookcase, heart hammering in my chest. The orb dimmed to a soft glow and floated off to the side, bathing the area around me with just enough light to see.
I froze, looking to my left, then slowly to my right.
I knew this place.
I remembered this place.
Aisle Six.
I reached a trembling hand to the bookcase. To where I knew the book would be.
Because it had been there before.
“You founds eet, Beeg,” Stupid whispered behind me, “You founds the Most Forbideen Mageek Section!”
I spun with a yelp to see Stupid stepping through a small, crackling, neon-purple portal — smiling brightly at me and wiping her nose… as if she had just sneezed out an eldritch portal.
Or a small god. Which, frankly, was starting to seem plausible.
It followed with a grunt shortly after, straightening his coat as the portal fizzled out behind him.
“Stupid,” I wheezed, “Did you just sneeze a portal up here?”
“Yeth?” She answered, tilting her head slightly.
“I… I didn’t realize you could choose where your portals opened to,” I mumbled, turning back to the bookcase.
“Of course I cans!” She giggled. “It just like when Beeg sneezes, you looks where you wants to sneeze, and you sneeze!” She exclaimed, as if that made any sense at all.
I guess… it made sense in its own way.
I reached back for the book and slowly pulled it from the shelf, its weight settling comfortably into my arms. Both It and Stupid sidled up, straining to see.
So I knelt, holding the book in my hands — It on my left, Stupid on my right, and cracked the spine.
Wind rustled and dust spiraled from the pages. We watched as the letters shimmered slightly, arranging themselves to their proper place.
____
“This… this can’t be happening,” I mumbled in stupefaction as the letters settled.
“This is eet, Beeg,” Stupid breathed, leaning over my shoulder and peering greedily at the book.
Even It had dropped all pretense of aloofness, staring with avid interest — their heads combined, almost entirely blocking my view.
“You found it, Beeg,” It monotoned, somehow injecting excitement into his tone. “I didn’t even know if it existed, and you found it,” he croaked, reading the title and tracing its letters lovingly.
“It, we eez going to learn! We will be so powerfulz!” Stupid shivered in excitement.
“I can’t believe it is here. This is destiny. This is why Beeg came to us,” It mumbled back, grasping the book with trembling hands.
I knelt there, my lips cold and hands numb, as I stared at the words before me.
The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
Encyclopedic Compendium of Forbidden Workings
Volume C - Cleaning
As Discovered and Understood
By GrandWarlock Merl
I exhaled a strangled gasp.
____
“Is… is this a joke?” I struggledto keep the sob from my voice.
It and Stupid broke away from the book to look at me.
“There is no such thing as cleaning magic. I… I…”
I slumped.
“I wanted Sigils.”
I looked at It, but he preempted my question.
“The Library showed you here, Beeg. This is meant for you,” he said, holding my gaze. “If you try to go elsewhere, it will not allow it.”
As if to affirm his statement, the platform creaked quietly. Creaked like the Store did before it ate a thief.
“It… this is a joke, right?” I beseeched.
He looked at me. Like, really looked at me.
“Why are you so opposed to this, Beeg?” He said, then paused.
“Let me re-word that,” he sighed in his monotone. “Why do you think the Store is always filthy. Why the Library is covered in dust?” His monotone somehow evolving to carry a force behind it.
He didn’t wait for me to answer, jabbing a finger into my chest.
“Because these Brothers kill anyone who disrespects them,” he said flatly, holding my gaze. “And saying they are dirty is a very high form of disrespect, Beeg.”
He looked at me.
“And yet, they both allow you, Beeg. The Store allows you to clean it every single day.”
He punctuated each word with another jab of his finger.
Stupid reached up and patted my cheek. “Yeth, because Beeg is awesome,” she beamed. “Beeg eez special!”
I looked at them both, then back at the book.
“But… I wanted something else.”
It just scoffed while Stupid looked at me like I was an abused puppy. Which only made it worse.
“Well, let’s check the book out, and then you can ask Vaarg if it bothers you that much,” It said with an eye roll.
He turned back to the book, muttering angrily to himself. Angrily, as in not a monotone.
“Gets an unknown and little understood magic and sits here complaining,” he kicked the bookshelf, before stooping down to scoop up the book.
“Of all the ungrateful things,” he continued, fuming as he hoisted the book onto his back. “Does he have any idea how many would kill to do what he does? To wield some measure of power over these ancient creatures?”
He stomped a foot in frustration.
I grimaced awkwardly.
“Did you know, Beeg,” he turned to look at me, raising his voice from his muttering, “Did you know that a book of this power chooses who may read it? It will only reveal its contents to one with whom it feels kinship? To anyone else, it would have remained either gibberish or completely blank.”
He looked at me and I saw something in his gaze I had missed before.
Hurt.
Longing.
He… had wanted the book to choose him.
And I had behaved like a spoiled child.
“I,” I began, but It turned to bellow into the void.
“I, Itzemus Puro, am removing this book. I promise by this badge,” he puffed out his chest so the light from the orb caught his name-tag, “that it shall be both kept safe and returned in similar condition.”
The Library billowed a gale, threatening to throw us from our feet. It and I both crouched down, while Stupid giggled happily, her arms thrust out like an airplane.
The bookshelf behind us plummeted into the darkness of the void, leaving only us, the orb, the platform… and the dust that didn’t seem to move.
Then all fell silent.
“Stupid,” It grunted, “Take us home.”
Stupid squealed happily and face planted into a pile of dust.
When she surfaced, I could see the sneeze building.
