Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 99201 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 496(@200wpm)___ 397(@250wpm)___ 331(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 99201 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 496(@200wpm)___ 397(@250wpm)___ 331(@300wpm)
“Hello?” I call out. Even though I already know there’s no one here but me. Because this bookstore is the exact same bookstore that lives back in Savage Falls. The door shushes closed behind me, creating a small draft that unsettles dust and makes it dance in the stray beams of sunlight coming through moth-eaten holes in the curtains.
Over there is the divan that Callistina was sleeping on that morning she got mad at me and then walked into the fog to die. This is when I remember her nightmare about the destruction of Vinca and how much it disturbed her.
How could I have forgotten?
Well, I am not too hard on myself. We have been through a lot the past few days. And there are a lot of moving parts happening at the same time right now.
We found a hallway and some keys that opened doors. Which brought us to the Glory Road in the time of Glory Rome.
My home town. The birthplace of me. God of gods.
I’ve got the former Queen of Vinca trying her best to be a slave. I’ve got a fucking wingless pegásius drawing all kinds of attention to us and who the hell knows where he came from. And, of course, the whole ‘us’ thing. The relationship between Callistina and I, which seems to be taking unexpected turns at every corner.
So naturally, it’s understandable that I might forget a detail or two in the course of all the happenings. But that was an important detail. Callistina is having glimmers. Is she seeing things that happened? Or is she seeing things that will happen? Is she an oracle too? Or is she just a door traveler and that nightmare was a precursor to the adventure we’re currently on?
Either way, it’s all very prophetic.
These words are still echoing through my head when I see it, the whole thing kinda glowing as if to draw attention to itself. But this attention-seeking was unnecessary. There is no way in cursed hell that I would miss this book.
I walk across the dusty bookstore and pluck it right off the shelf and then run my fingertips over the leather cover that has been embossed with the image of a lion’s head. He wears a crown, the crown of the King of Beasts. Royal beasts, in particular. The expression isn’t human, but mimics one well. It is a look of sternness. Of wisdom. Of justice, I think.
I open it up and right away, there is a recipe for a potion. The list of ingredients makes my stomach turn, but I force myself to see it. To read it.
When I turn the page, there is a feather stuck in the binding.
Eight inches long and the color of gold.
I should close the book and put it back, but it’s too late for that.
It’s… much too late for that.
Because this book is called How to Set it Right.
I glance down at the book and read the writing on the page with the feather.
“A god in time, a lioness.
To there and back you make your mess.
I see you now, I see you then,
I see you everywhere you’ve been.
I’m watching too, to see your choice.
Waiting for your lost rejoice.
It won’t be what you think, my friend.
Your love will die at the end.
So take the girl and take the trip.
Take the wings, give them a clip.
Take the bone, saw it clean
The blood you make is the blood you glean.
The power then is yours to keep.
But beware, my god, it does not come cheap.”
I read the whole thing again, just staring at each word. This is a message from Pressia. And it’s a nasty one, too. Then I scan over to the right side of the page and I find a recipe half-hidden underneath the feather.
Is this a dare? Is she giving me a spell to ruin her?
Or will it ruin me?
That’s what she’s implying. That I lose, no matter what.
I tear her spell out of the book, crumple it up, and throw it into the shadows. Then I close the book with a little too much intention and make dust fly up into the air. I want to put it back on the shelf, but I don’t. Because what choice do I have? I mean, it’s so obvious that this thing with Pressia is gonna play out whether I want it to or not.
So. Challenge accepted, you little fucking witch.
You might have all those pretty words on your side, but I’ve got magic too.
Let the best speller win, I guess.
I leave the bookstore and go looking for Callistina.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN - CALLISTINA
It’s not that Eros is getting on my nerves. At least, not the way he used to before we started this journey. It’s just… he’s not excited about the city and I am. I want to explore and I want to do that without his constant bitterness and cynicism.