A Promised Prophecy

Chapter Sixty

I started with the books on the shelves behind me since they were the closest. The wonderful thing about Celeste was that she was incredibly organized and this extended to the books she'd kept in the Vault as well. I was thankful that James maintained that same structure even in Celeste's absence. In front of me were books on poisons in alphabetical order. Not what I was looking for, so I moved on with the limited time I had.

After looking through every shelf I could find, I started to worry that this was a type of magic Celeste hadn't studied and never intended to. Then I remembered that Celeste also kept books within the cabinet near the beds, behind lock and key. Considering it, it made sense that I should've looked there first. Of course, the book that I'm looking for wouldn't be readily available to any witch who entered this room. Still, I didn't have the key so the thought to look in a forbidden cabinet wasn't the first to jump to mind.

I went to the locked cabinet anyway. It was a beautiful stained-glass cabinet, with minimal wood that held the lock in place. I tried to open it, hoping it was already unlocked. It didn't open. I pushed my face up to the glass in front of me, hoping to get a better view of what books might be inside. Some of the glass was frosted, making it hard to see through. But other parts of the glass were perfectly opaque. Staring right at me were a few different books that hinted at dark magic. I continued to scan until I saw the section I wanted: books on magical absorption, expropriation, shadow binding, and draining and domination.

Those were the exact type of books I'd wanted to read and most likely considered restricted. I knew Celeste well enough to know that, while the stained-glass cabinet was beautiful, it wouldn't be as easy to break as it looked, especially with forbidden, or at least restricted, books inside. She'd placed some sort of magic on this cabinet that would only be removed upon the use of a key. Being strapped for time and unsure of what my next steps were, I didn't have time to search for a key, one that very well might be with James.

What would happen to me if I broke it?

The spells ranged from simple to complex and I had to try and consider just what Celeste might've planned for when placing protective magic. On the simple side of things, it could be an alarm ward, simply alerting others nearby that I've broken the cabinet but not actually harming me in anyway. A more immediate concern would be a type of binding spell that could immobilize me for breaking the glass. Without the ability to escape, this only mild spell could put me in serious trouble. There were far worse protective spells Celeste could've placed but I was already convinced I couldn't break the glass.

The sound of more intense than usual waves poured into the Vault. I turned at the sudden increase and saw what looked to be king Cetus's whale form and a member of the Lizari staring at me under water.

"We must go, tiny human."