“This time the Blackwaters have gone too far,” the mastermage said. “The Book of Abraxas must never be opened.”
“Why?” I asked, my eyes going wide. What was Morgana up to now?
“It is only because of who you are that I am telling you this,” said Professor Dekela. “And it seems that you obviously trust your cousin and your roommate, so I will allow them to hear what I have to say, since I think you will probably tell them everything anyway.”
Embarrassed, I looked down. He was right, of course.
He looked at Vivienne. “I won’t say this again, Ms. Foxmoor. I hope you know that whatever we talk about here must never leave this room.”
Vivienne nodded fervently.
“The Book of Abraxas,” said Professor Dekela, turning back to me, “is considered to be the most dangerous and mysterious manuscript of all time. It contains magic thought to be long forgotten, magic that existed before the age of the first kings, even before Auraken Firedrake ruled this world. Many believe it to be only a legend, but the book does exist. It was locked with four magical keys, which were hidden in remote locations all over Avalonia to prevent it from ever being opened. The key that was stolen is one of them.”
He took out an old, worn, leather-bound book from one of the shelves and opened it on the table in front of us. “Is this what the key looked like?” He pointed to the page.
I looked at the diagram drawn in the book—four triangles, all of them fitting together to form a larger one. “This is it,” I said. “Damien had one of these triangular keys.”
Erien moved Vivienne out of the way to get a better look at the page. “Why it is so dangerous?”
“The Book of Abraxas gives the one who opens it the knowledge to control demons.” The professor closed the book.
An icy chill scuttled down my spine. “Demons!”
Professor Dekela nodded solemnly and continued. “And not just any demon. The Book of Abraxas contains the secret to controlling the most powerful of all demon lords ever—Dragath.”
“Is that even possible?” I asked, horrified. “Uncle Gabriel said that Dragath has been gone for thousands of years, trapped in a magical prison.”
“That is what the legends say,” answered Professor Dekela.
“But if Dragath is gone,” Vivienne said, looking pale, “how can Morgana control him with the book?”
“I don’t know.” The old professor shook his head. “Maybe she doesn’t intend to control Dragath himself. But there are other demons and demonic beings that exist in other worlds that are connected to ours, and the Drakaar can summon them. If Morgana manages to open the book, she will possess the knowledge to control the demons and make them do her bidding. That will be the end of our world as we know it. Demon magic is much more powerful than the magic of the mages or even the fae. A mage who can control demons can rule the world.”
“Do you think that Morgana already has the book? Or do you think the Blackwaters are doing this on their own?”
Professor Dekela shook his head. “The book is safe for now,” he said as we put everything away and climbed the steep staircase to the school library. “But I don’t think that the Blackwaters would pursue magic this powerful on their own. The only ones who would be able to wield this sort of dark magic are Lucian and Morgana.”
“But how do you know the book is safe, Professor? Morgana or Lucian might already have it if they are looking for the keys.”
“There is something else you must know,” he said, halting at the top of the stairs and turning around to face me. “Remember, I told you that there are four keys.”
I nodded.
“When the book was locked, the keys were given to four magical families for safe keeping. The locations of the four keys and the Book of Abraxas have been passed down through generations. The Silverthorne family and my own have been guardians of the book for centuries now.”
My eyes went wide at this piece of information. “Erien is a Silverthorne, and he didn’t know about the book.” I glanced at Erien, who looked as surprised as I was.
“He would have found out eventually,” said Professor Dekela. “It was because of you that he learned about it sooner than he was supposed to.”
“Oh!”
“That is how I know that the Book of Abraxas is safely hidden, and so are the other three keys,” continued Professor Dekela. “I just got word that one of the guardians has disappeared. Now I know why. I will inform your granduncle about this new development.” The professor opened the secret door that led back to the school library. “This is very serious, Aurora. If Morgana wants the book, it is only a matter of time before she finds what she is looking for.”
“I know,” I agreed. “We can’t let her succeed in her plans. We have to get that key back from Damien.”
“That may not be so easy.” The professor’s lips were a thin line. “The Duke of Blackwater came to visit his children today. They must have given it to him already. I will have his house searched, but we have to be careful. Accusing the duke of theft may not be the right move just now. We need to find out more before we can bring him in front of the Mage Guild.”
I nodded. I was glad the mastermage had it under control and it was one less thing to worry about. As it was, I had so much on my plate, and there were not enough hours in the day to learn everything I needed to defend myself against Morgana.
Things had become too complicated.
