The Spellbound State of the Universe

Chapter 3

The question hung in the air like a test or a challenge or a dare.

Did she believe in magic?

And were 'yes' or 'no' the only possible answers?

Sheera made her best guess and finally formed a response. "I suppose everyone would like to believe in magic." Her response was so ambiguous she would've made a fine politician. "But who can really say one way or another?"

"Wrong," said Madam Quillfern, as Luke and Arjun now stood ominously on guard on either side of her. "You definitely believe in a certain kind of magic if you're walking around with that glow."

Sheera studied her arms and hands but saw nothing. "You're really gonna have to explain this whole 'glow' thing..."

"First let us ensure you believe," declared Madam Quillfern, waving her bejeweled hand over the book's cover. Almost immediately the symbols began to glow.

Sheera gasped. "What the...what if someone sees what you're doing?!" She glanced around the bar but they were still the only patrons. She focused her eyes and studied the strange glow. "Is there some sort of battery behind it? Like the way those birthday cards sing when you open them?"

Madam Quillfern raised an eyebrow. "Do you believe that there's a battery?"

Sheera couldn't peel her eyes off the symbols. "I guess not; but then how is it..."

If this wasn't some elaborate trick, the alternative explanation was more than she could wrap her head around.

Madam Quillfern leaned over the table. "Do you know what's in this book, Sheera?"

Sheera bit her lip. "Hmm...I mean the way it looks, you would think it was full of..." She laughed. "But how could that...I mean is that even a thing in real life?"

"Say what it is," said Madam Quillfern firmly.

Sheera inhaled sharply. "Is it a book of...spells?"

"Precisely!" Madam Quillfern applauded and then snapped her fingers to no one in particular. "A round of pints for the table!"

Just a few moments later a waiter appeared out of nowhere with a tray of beers. He didn't seem to notice the glowing book cover at all.

Sheera waited for him to walk away before she spoke. "What kind of spells?" she whispered, afraid to know and yet dying of anticipation all at once.

"Before we get to that...you'll need a little history lesson."

In the following minutes or hour that ensued—she had no idea—Sheera felt as though she'd been transported into another world. Madam Quillfern's words had a hypnotizing effect, which made the story of the spell book's origin a captivating tale.

As Madam Quillfern laid out the chronology of the book, Sheera learned that it dated back to the Old Kingdom of Ancient Egypt, when healers discovered a connection between the universe and human souls, allowing them to reach beyond themselves to uncover a collection of spells. A few of the spells had positive effects, but most had increasingly dangerous results. Every spell was attached to a strange clause, which was that none of them would work until enough living souls were disillusioned, complacent or hopeless. There was also no way to destroy the book, and if anyone tried to burn the papyrus scrolls contained within, they would be cursed to suffer a painful end.

As the book had no immediate use—and hopefully never would—the healers stored it in an isolated place, sharing the mythology with only their descendants.