A Non-Witch's Grimoire of Love and Fireflies

Part 5

Ametrine saw it seconds after Tierney did. Her best friend was frozen in the doorway, one hand still on the knob.

At first glance the book was nothing special. It laid on something like a lectern, covers shut tight to hide its secrets from the world. It was fancy, sure, with its bright, almost poisonous red leather cover, and its gilded lettering and bindings, but it was still just a book. But looking past that, she could see the aura that hovered over and around it, magic strong enough for her, a non-witch to see.

“Stay here,” Tierney whispered as she stepped forward. Ametrine reached for her in a panic, but dropped her arm flat by her side.

“Be careful.”

Tierney didn’t respond, her eyes and ears only for the book. Ametrine tensed as she approached it, her bowstring stretching out a little as she aimed at the Scarlet Grimoire.

And then she opened it, and a spark rose through Tierney’s body. Ametrine watched in amazement as her hair floated up in the air. Tierney looked up from the Grimoire for a brief moment to touch her hair wondrously, before the book sucked her back in. She felt her way through each page carefully, eyes moving to take in the ancient witchcraft before her, whispering the words to spells and tracing the beautifully drawn images. She flicked through it faster and faster, hungry for more knowledge. Too fast, eventually, her eyes barely skimming the pages. Her skin was starting to glow, her veins lighting up with pure magic.

Ametrine stepped nearer, not taking her eyes off the book. If it hurt Tierney, if it hurt her best friend, then she was going to destroy it. Plain and simple as that.

Tierney stopped short suddenly, and Ametrine realised she had reached the end. Blank pages sat glaringly white before her, yet she didn’t move.

“Are you okay?” she called out apprehensively. Tierney didn’t look away from the book, both hands gripping the edges of it tight.

“Stay there,” Tierney said, her voice breathless.

“How do you feel?”

“Amazing. Wonderful. Powerful.” Tierney stopped again, panting. “I’m going to write in it.”

“Wait-are you sure?” Ametrine asked. “Your spells are practically part of you.”

“And now I’m going to be part of this,” Tierney said. She looked back at Ametrine, eyes glowing. “Isn’t it incredible?”

“It’s something, all right,” Ametrine said warily, her arrow still trained on the Scarlet Grimoire. Tierney pulled her own grimoire out of her bag to open it beside the bigger one, and her quill out of her floating hair to write with. She poised momentarily with the tip on the blank page, ready to give back some of the knowledge she’d taken.

And then something seemed to suck at her, and with an abrupt start, she began scribbling down a spell in the book, copying it out of her own grimoire. She turned the page, and another spell went down, in messy, jerky handwriting. And then another, and another. Tierney’s body was stiff, her hand moving on it’s own.

“Are you sure you want to leave that many?” Ametrine asked.

“That’s...what it wants,” Tierney winced, the movement big enough that Ametrine could see it even with her back facing her.

“Stop it!” Ametrine said, worry lacing her voice, but there was no response save for the fevered scribbling of ink on paper. Tierney’s hand was moving at breakneck speed, and as Ametrine watched in horror, her middle finger cracked and sagged, almost gluing itself to the quill. Tierney screamed, clutching her hand, but the pages still turned and the ink kept flowing. The Scarlet Grimoire took it all in.