~ Rhian ~

"Ashley, Noooo! ", I cried in a loud voice.

I was yanked backwards by Gemini and Yolanda, but couldn't take my eyes off the green eyed monster who dug his claws deep into Ashley's chest. A mixture of blood and sweat flushed down my weakened face as I was pulled out of the library.

As Yolanda let go of me, I threw myself on the ground, clutching my knees with both hands while I continued sobbing. Meanwhile, Gemini ran back into the library and somehow managed to push the huge wooden bookshelf, causing it to crash onto the ground with indistinct thud sounds coming from the hundreds of books which it housed.

I unburied my head from the small gap in-between my knees, flinging a gaze at him. He stared at me while panting heavily, and I could see nothing but pain and broken hope in his deep blue eyes.

Yolanda arose from beside me, turning to him with teary eyes.

"Ashley's really gone".  She sighed.

"Yeah, and we're all gonna die", he responded in a chilly tone.

I gulped before looking away from them; I could feel my heart thump faster and a dozen tight knots began forming in my stomach.

"So, how are we gonna--", Yolanda couldn't finish before the worst happened.

Blood splattered from her headless body onto Gemini's face, dripping from the tips of his curly hair.

"YOLANDA!"

"Nooo!"
I screamed in fury as I watched Gemini abruptly get hurled in the air by an invisible force.

"Please, let him go...don't kill him, please", I begged.

Cold shivers of fear zipped down my spine while the invisible force revealed itself as the dark, green-eyed monster. I could see the life drown out of Gemini's eyes while he stared at me, unable to struggle anymore.

"G--get...the...sc--scroll", he managed to stutter before his eyes turned black.

The monster's guttural growl made my heart skip more than two beats, causing me to almost lose my breath.

"He is the vessel I will use to spread my darkness throughout the world", it growled.

My eyes spread wide open as I watched it burst into thick dark fumes, plunging itself deep into Gemini's body.

I forged backwards immediately Gemini fell to the ground with a loud gasp and laid unconscious.

Crunching sounds soon filled the atmosphere as Gemini began twisting himself in several weird directions until he was back in his feet. I gulped, unable to move an inch because I was frozen in fear.

His eyes soon assumed the same green tint as the monster. Strange arcane symbols began appearing upon what used to be his handsome face, which was now bathed in blood.

He screamed in extreme pain from the way his fingers were being stretched into long, sharp claws.

I covered my face with both hands to protect myself from the black fumes which he suddenly burst into. Standing in the midst of the chaotic fumes which swirled around me, I felt intoxicated by its horrid stench, causing me to experience a sudden blackout.

*********

EARLIER THAT DAY:

Knock! Knock ! Knock!

"Come in"

The middle-aged lady who sat behind a black wooden table swivelled her chair forward before adjusting the vintage glasses she was wearing. She neatly piled  up the few books which were  strewn all over the table, and raised her gaze to meet the promising young man who was standing in front of her.

He had short black hair, neatly shaved beards and wore a dull brown jacket which looked a bit old fashioned. He shifted his gaze from her, allowing it to travel around and catch a glimpse of the library until it became fixed upon the multiple, brown book shelves.

The lady's confused voice yanked him back to his senses, causing him to force a smile on his face as he turned to her again.

"Do you have a problem, young man?", the lady asked, wearing a slight frown.

"Hello, Mrs. Noel... I'm Dan Ivers "

"We need to talk...but can I have a seat first?"

She gestured her hand towards the red chair beside him, prompting him to get seated. She flinched backwards as he reached into the left pocket of his jacket and took out a neatly folded piece of paper, handing it over to her.

An even more confused look crawled upon her face while she hesitantly took the paper, staring blankly at it.

"What's this?", She asked.

"It's called the volumen maleficum... which when roughly translated from latin to English, means the hexing scroll", he responded.

She relaxed on her chair with folded arms while staring at the blank paper.

"This doesn't explain why you're here", she spat.

"I found this in one of the books which my daughter borrowed from this library a few days ago...and from what it looks like, you're the one in charge here".

He folded his arms and shot a blank stare at her in anticipation of what she was gonna say next.

"Who's your daughter?"

"Her name's Miley, and  she's lately been obsessed with fantasy books... especially the ones from this particular library"

She forced a smile and shifted her gaze towards him;

"Oh, she's the sweet kid who always buys me chocolates whenever she comes by"

"I'm sorry, I think this must've gotten mixed up in the particular book she borrowed last week...it's probably from an ancient history book or another fantasy book".

She placed it upon a red book which was part of the neat pile of books on her table.

"I --I thi--"

"You know, we have a lot of them here...wanna check them out?" she interrupted him.

Pinching the bridge of his nose, he heaved a sigh;

"You don't understand, do you?", he frowned.

She looked puzzled.

"Understand what exactly?"

He leaned closer and whispered:
"This  is real ancient sorcery... it's meant to unleash a demon from hell"

The look on her face spelt nothing but fear and it became worse when he unfolded the piece of paper, revealing a crescent moon sigil and three other symbols which were vividly etched upon it in black ink.

She gulped.

"I know these symbols...they're ancient latin symbols which directly translate to, Azaroth...Metrios and --"

"Shut up...don't say it. Don't say the last name or we might unleash it", he cut in, leaving her dumbfounded.

He could see fear in her eyes, knowing too well that she might've not been the one to put the piece of paper in the book which was lent to his daughter.

He leaned closer again;

"Now, I'm gonna keep my mouth zipped as long as you promise me that you'll get rid of that hellish scroll", he whispered.

Unable to speak because of how shocked she was, she nodded in positive response to his request.

"Have a good day ma'am ". 

He beamed again like nothing had happened, before leaving the store.

She exhaled deeply and picked up the piece of paper, holding it firmly in a bid to shred it at once.

However, she felt a sharp cut on her index finger, causing her to let go of it while droplets of her blood fell upon its other blank side.

"Ouch! ", She exclaimed.

As the blood spread out upon the other blank side of the white paper, she began to make out the few words which appeared on it. Her eyes widened in awe, soon after the whole words formed a single line of sentence which was inked in red:

"The demon book"

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