Bound Book 2

Chapter 14 - Dark Magic

Skylar

I must have fallen asleep. As awareness seeps in I can see red behind my lids, indicating that the sun must be directly overhead. I look to the side opening my eyes as I do. The leaf of a small wildflower comes into view, my eyes following the small stalk up to see a small purple flower on the end. So pretty. I must be in the field by my house, but I don't recall laying down or even falling asleep here.

Sitting up, I look around, confirming that I am indeed where I thought I was, except when I look back at my house it seems different. Like there is no sun shining on it. There is also no sound of wildlife. Usually, you can hear bees and insect noises as they traverse the field.

I get up slowly, my body feeling stiff, almost as if I have been lying here for a long time. Looking down behind me, the shape of my body is indented in the ground, all the little wildflowers and grass I have been lying on have been pushed flat on the ground. I dust myself off as I walk toward my favorite tree.

Something doesn't feel right with this place. Maybe it is a dream. But everything looks and feels so real. I put my hand out, letting the wildflowers graze my palm as I walk. They tickle the skin, just like they would in reality.

As I walk out of the field, my eyes are drawn toward a black cloth wrapped around something lying at the base of the tree. When I get there a breeze blows the fabric folded over the top, the black velvet material falling to the side on the ground. A spine of a book is revealed. A large book with an old leather cover. The marks along the spine where the page folds open are worn, indicating its many years of use.

I sit down in front of the book, my legs crossed as excitement stirs in the pit of my stomach. This book contains the Legend. I was sure of it. I lift the other side of the velvet, dropping it on the floor to expose the entire book. It is big and thick, and from the side, the pages look stained with age, brown, and old. I can smell the musky scent, its mixture of teal and light brown whipping off the pages on the side. I lean over to the side, looking for the book title as the front only has a large symbol on it. One I had not seen before. Etched deeply into the leather.

On the side one word is written, 'Elsabeth'. Perhaps it was her diary or a grimoire?

My hand reaches out, hesitating as I remember what Blaise and Raina had said about the book being sealed by dark magic. Pushing that aside, my hand completes its journey, touching the leather cover delicately before placing my hand firmly on it. Besides the musky scent wrapping itself around my hand I feel nothing. No ill feelings or resistance as described by Raina.

My hand slides to the side, meeting the latch keeping the contents concealed. I lift the book up so it rests on its spine, examining the latch. There is no key, just a little button mechanism. I push it, half expecting it to just plop open, but nothing happens. I push it again, getting the same result.

I lay it back down, disappointment rising. A shadow appears overhead as if a large cloud is blocking the sun. I look up, the sky having turned ominous within seconds, similar to when a large storm threatens. The wind starts picking up, howling around me as it lifts bits of leaves and sand in the air. My name whispered brings my attention to the side, a long swirl of black dancing in the air as it moves towards me. It looks like a piece of black satin material, the edges vanishing into black smoke. I sit still, not feeling afraid as I know this can't be real.

The material moves towards me, the end of it gently touching my face before moving down my neck. The feeling is exquisite, like small kisses being placed on my flesh. I close my eyes and lean my head to the side as the material moves around my body, the feeling of it on every inch of my exposed skin arousing. For a second it feels like a finger is running down my face, and then lightly over my lips which part at the feeling. No sparks accompany this touch, but none are necessary for the feeling it evokes.

The trance I am in has me so wrapped up in the pleasurable feeling that when a voice whispers in my ear, I don't register any shock. The clearly male voice is speaking to me softly, the voice caressing me just like the silk does.

"Skylar, beautiful, gorgeous Skylar. You are so much more than they know, than they appreciate. Soon they will see and when they do, they will leave you, my sweet Skylar. But I will be there, we will be together. You know what you have to do to open the book. The words you need to speak are already in your mind. Just remember..."

With the last word spoken, everything ceases to be, blackness sucking me up like a black hole before I am jolted forward.

Air, I need air. I sit upright clutching my chest as I inhale deeply, my eyes darting around the room in fear. After pulling in some deep breaths, my heart rate slows down, my eyes meeting unearthly green ones. He is concerned, his hand rubbing my back as he looks at me with worry marring his forehead, the frown there terrorizing his beautiful features.

"I'm fine," I say, giving him a small smile as he moves back, my legs swinging off the side of the bed. His bed. In his bedroom. It's huge and my feet don't touch the ground. His scent is wrapped around me from the sheets and his hand.

"What happened Dmitri?" The last thing I remember was agreeing to try and open the book. Dmitri begrudgingly agreed when he saw my resolve was unwavering. I had opened the material, touching the cover of the book, and then nothing. No memory thereafter.

"You passed out. After touching the book. Not for long. You have only been out for about an hour," Dmitri says, holding my hand so that he can assist me off the bed. I start walking towards the door, stopping in my tracks at his next words.

"Where were you, Skylar? What were you dreaming about?" There is hesitation in his voice before he says, "I could feel what you were feeling."

My mind goes back to the dream, the touches and whispered words, and my reaction to them flooding me with embarrassment.

"It was nothing," I say, leaving Dmitri rooted to the spot as I leave the room.

I almost bump into Raina who appeared to be just about to enter the room.

"Ah, Sky, you're awake, thank goodness. How are you feeling?" Raina says, her hands on my upper biceps as she scrutinizes my face.

"I'm fine, really," I say, my tone apparently sufficient enough to assure Raina.

"Blaise also just got back now. Should we have tea and discuss our plan of action? Clearly what we had discussed earlier doesn't appear to be the way." Raina turns around, walking in the direction of the lounge area I was in earlier.

The words whispered in my dream come back to me, bringing with them remembrance.

"I know how to open it," I say, stopping her in her tracks.

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