“Such things are normally off-limits to students,” he said curtly.
“Awww c’mon, Shaw,” she whined, pouting her lips and batting her eyelashes.
“You must be careful. That sort of ritual is nothing to be trifled with,” he cautioned.
“I promise I’ll be sooo good,” she said, making a girl scout sign with her right hand.
“Very well. But I didn’t help you. You found it on your own. It’s one of the black books on the third floor of the west wing, behind the glass door.”
She thanked him profusely, and our group momentarily disbanded to gather our afternoon reading materials. I was curious about what Carmilla was looking for, but I didn’t want to be nosy, so I said nothing, sensing that she’d probably tell me if and when she was ready. I could tell Rebecca was having a far harder time staying quiet, but to my surprise, she, too, held back her questions for the moment.
We met back up about twenty minutes later in a study room. Carmilla locked the door behind us and we all plopped down on uncomfortable wooden chairs at matching desks with partitions that separated each of us. It reminded me of the library study rooms back at my own university, but way more baroque.
“Did you find anything?” Carmilla asked us.
“I got what I need. Basic Auramancy. Should do the trick,” Rebecca said, thumbing through the book.
“Why not just ask Dahlia for help?” I suggested.
“Dahlia doesn’t really talk to me,” Rebecca replied. She tied her hair back with a ribbon and thoughtfully chewed on a pencil as she tried to focus her attention entirely on the book in front of her.
“It’s true,” Carmilla whispered. “Her aura makes Dahlia sick. She, like, hates her or something.”
Rebecca clearly heard the whispers. “Brian says Dahlia told her my aura tastes like rotten eggs.”
“Dahlia is quite sensitive to auras. She can’t stand being around, like, half the people in the school,” Carmilla said. “It’s kind of restrictive on our friend group. I was worried she might have that reaction to you, to be honest,” she confessed.
“Did she say anything about my aura?” I asked. “Like, when you were in the bathroom?”
Carmilla giggled. “Wouldn’t you like to know? Let’s just say she might be a little cross with me about what happened earlier if she finds out.”
I was more than a little obsessed with learning more about Dahlia. There was something about her that got me worked up every time she came to mind, and it couldn’t be a coincidence that Uther looked so much like her. Maybe these books had an answer to that, I hoped.
An hour passed quietly and uneventfully, but I was learning rapidly about my familiar, the history of familiars, and even some interesting and lesser-known spells involving them. I learned to trade bodies with my familiar, see through its eyes on command, and use the familiar as a second focus for my own spells. That last bit seemed particularly useful.
And, most notably, at the end of the first hour, I came upon an interesting passage I felt was relevant to my inquiry. While it didn’t necessarily answer the question of Uther’s resemblance to Dahlia directly, it was enough for me to start to assemble some theories. The text read as follows:
The familiar chooses the sorcerer. A familiar is attracted to specific energies in the sorcerer, and its form will often represent a true reflection of a singular aspect of the sorcerer’s soul. Once bonded, the familiar itself is an extension of the sorcerer's soul and cannot become unbonded ever again unless that part of the sorcerer’s soul is damaged or fractured. This is why if the familiar dies, it can usually be resummoned, though there may be a degree of memory loss, and other factors can make the separation permanent. Over time, familiars tend to change in their appearance to reflect changes in their masters. A familiar that remains unchanged for the entire lifespan of its master is rare, though not unheard of.
All of this was good information, but it still didn’t provide any solid answers. I decided to take a break and check in on the girls.
“You gals find what you needed?” I asked.
“Yeah,” Carmilla said flatly. She didn’t look up from her book.
“Basically.” Rebecca sighed and closed the book. “Honestly, it’s a pain in the ass. There are instructions on how to cast Aura Detection spells, but they don’t last long, and they aren’t nearly as strong as what Dahlia does literally all the friggin’ time.”
“Dahlia is so overpowered,” Carmilla agreed as she giggled, her eyes still glued to her book.
“Anyway, I think I have the bare minimum needed for the mission here, but it’s scary to think I have to do it all on my own. I need to find a partner,” she sighed. “Are you any good with divination?” she asked.
“Me?” I asked. I forgot I hadn’t told her yet. “Oh, I’m pretty much exclusively a necromancer,” I said.
Rebecca laughed, “Right, of course.”
Carmilla looked up, “No, Becca, he literally is. That blinding light last night that woke everyone up was him touching the necromancy stone. He has no other Affinity or even Potential with other schools of magic.”
Rebecca perked up, “Holy shit! That’s awesome!”
“Shhh,” Carmilla scolded her. “We’re in a library, remember?”
“We’re in a locked study room, bitch,” Rebecca replied, dramatically rolling her eyes. “But damn, Liam, you just shot up in the coolness scale. That’s crazy!”
Carmilla kept reading, resting her elbows on the table and running her fingers through her hair as she stole looks at me, but she now had a smug look on her face, as if she could take credit for me. I blushed at the sudden attention, but mostly I was flattered that Carmilla seemed so proud of me.
“Anyway, I won’t be very useful on a mission depending on Auramancy,” I shrugged.
“Still, that’s really badass. You’re the only active necromancer at the school right now.”
That was news. I’d heard necromancy was rare, but that was a detail I didn’t know.
“The Headmistress has necromancy as her secondary Affinity,” Carmilla corrected her.
“Still, I mean among the students,” Rebecca clarified. She sat back down, but now she was facing me. “I’m going to be keeping an eye on you.”
“You’ve got a lot of competition for his attention,” Carmilla said, looking up from her book at last. I thought I detected a tiny hint of jealousy and irritation in her voice.
“How’s that?” Rebecca said.
“I’m just saying, I’ve noticed a lot of ladies giving him the googly eyes since he got here,” she said, her eyes returning to the tome. Kind of, at least. Her gaze practically bore holes into the text, and I could tell she wasn’t really reading at the moment.
“Really?” I asked. If that was true, it was about the greatest news I could hear as a red-blooded straight guy at a school full of gorgeous women.
“Yeah,” Carmilla said, avoiding eye contact. “Any girl wanting a shot at you needs to stake her claim fast. That’s all I’m saying.”
Was she referring to herself? Or did she know something she hadn’t told me yet? I was intrigued by this new information, but she could have just been blowing smoke up our asses to discourage Rebecca from making any moves. It seemed to have the opposite effect, though.
“Well, looks like I need to get to know you quickly,” Rebecca laughed impishly.
“I’m an open book,” I said. “Ask away.”
She studied me for a moment, leaning against her palm with her elbow on the desk before she finally said, “Nah. I’ll figure you out the old-fashioned way.”
“Stalking?” Carmilla asked in a high-pitched chortle.
“Aura-reading!” she answered triumphantly, and she pulled a wand out of her bag. “Y’nah Y’nah, Et tui n’gul!” she incanted with an elaborate series of wrist movements as her gemmed dagger flashed and swept through the air. I felt no effects, but Rebecca’s eyes went wide with awe as she looked at both Carmilla and me.
“See anything interesting?” I asked.
“First of all, you reek of lust, Carmilla. So that’s out there,” she said, giving her an accusatory glance.
Carmilla blushed, but I just shrugged and flashed her a grin. “Atta girl.”
“The second thing is that Liam—” but she cut off abruptly as her face fell as she consulted the book.
“What?” I pressed. “What were you going to say?”
“It’s nothing,” she said, looking away. Her eyes were a bit misty all of a sudden.
“What was it?” I insisted. Carmilla put her book down to listen as well.
“Liam, you have been through a lot recently, haven’t you?” she asked.
My heart throbbed, suddenly feeling the pressure of being seen and laid bare unexpectedly, having the pain I left behind find me here. I said nothing.
“You have an intense aura. The most noticeable trait I see in your aura signature looks a lot like what I read under the section for hidden pain and recent trauma.”
I teared up. Being here had been such a nice distraction. I was able to put it all out of my mind and focus on the bizarreness, the weirdness, the newness of this magical place. Maybe it was why I was so willing to delve headfirst into everything without protest. I was trying so hard to escape the memories, and yet here they were, confronting me.
“I’m so sorry,” Rebecca said at the sight of my tears. Carmilla rushed over to me and hugged me wordlessly. “You don’t need to say anything.”
Carmilla cooed softly and stroked my hair as she held me from behind. “—If you don’t want to. If you think it’d help, we will listen.”
“It won’t help. But I’ll tell you anyway,” I said. I took a deep breath and spoke through the tears in an unattractive, snot-filled voice. “Long story short, my whole family was killed in a car accident. I was the only survivor. And I shouldn’t have survived,” I said.
“Don’t say that. You deserved to survive as much as anyone,” Rebecca reassured me, but she didn’t get it.
“No,” I said, wiping tears away. My voice was clearer now. “I mean my side of the car was hit directly in the accident. Everyone else was hit with less force than me, but somehow I’m the only one who survived.”
Carmilla solemnly lowered her head. “That was probably the first manifestation of your powers. They protected you.”
“You’re not alone, Liam,” Rebecca said. “A lot of people here have similar stories. Powers often manifest in these kinds—.”
A shrill scream sounded from outside the study room door. The door flew off its hinges in an eruption of splinters and other debris. The three of us hit the floor, seeking cover under the desks. We looked at each other for a sign that the others knew what was going on, but to little avail. Suddenly the room was dark—the candles had gone out. Only the light beyond the door offered us anything to see now, and for what sights it gave us we certainly didn’t thank it.
Rebecca screamed and her eyes glazed over in horror as she dared to look at what was coming. Something struck her, and she hit the ground with a thud, apparently unconscious. “Rebecca!” I shouted, like a fool, announcing my position. I grabbed my cane and rolled out from behind the table, tapping the ground to summon Uther.
The sight before me was far from what I expected. A goliath of a figure loomed over me, hunched so as not to burst through the ceiling. It had four spider-like legs but a very human-like upper body. Its face was a writhing star of tentacles, and at the center was a single giant yellow eye. These were only the vaguest of impressions, though, as the creature’s skin was oily black. Its torso erupted in a dance of clawed tentacles that protruded from where its gut should be. They reached and groped at me, flailing with fury and purpose, but I batted them away with my cane and dodged out of their path with an agile cartwheel.
Ouch. The landing strained my bad leg, but it was worth it to live a moment longer.
Uther charged directly at the thing, chomping at one of the tentacles, causing it to break from the body with a squirt of inky ichor. Carmilla shot out of cover and fired a few projectile blasts at it, beams of light that seemed to hit the monster like it was being assaulted with a series of baseballs thrown at high speed. The impact was real enough, but it was hard to gauge what sort of damage was inflicted on the eldritch monstrosity, if any.
“Drain Life,” Carmilla shouted to me. “Do you know it?”
I responded with a frantically spoken series of magic words. A stream of visible energy broke away from the creature and was siphoned into the ruby focus at the top of my cane. The creature seemed to shudder in response but ultimately charged me, intending to trample me with its four massive legs. But I was quicker than I looked, and I managed to roll through the legs when they lifted up before they could make their attack.
Attempting to improvise, I held the Drain Life spell I had already activated but cast it again, this time using my familiar as the point of origin and the spell's focus, effectively twin-casting the spell at a single target. The creature roared in agony when Uther joined me, and both of us were desperately absorbing the life force of the monstrosity as much as we could. I felt the soreness in my leg subside as I drained its power, making it my own. No doubt, it was working.
A barrage of white and red projectiles hit the creature from two sides. The white ones were Carmilla’s, and I was relieved now to see Rebecca on one knee firing red energy beams at the creature from the tip of her gemmed dagger.
Reinvigorated by the realization that Rebecca was alright, I dug deep within myself and tried to focus on defeating the monster. Black clouds of soul energy seeped into my cane and Uther’s maw, and the beast was beaten. It collapsed, and its limbs broke to pieces, crumbling to the ground before they ultimately steamed as black smoke in the air, evaporating into nothingness.
“Is everyone okay?” I asked, rushing over to Rebecca and helping her to her feet.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” she said.
“I’m alright,” Carmilla replied, though she was doubled over and catching her breath. “Did Uther cast a spell?” she asked in confusion.
“I cast the spell. He was the focus. It’s in that book I was reading,” I said. “I figured everyone knew how to do that, so I didn’t mention it.”
“Man, the shit in this library…”
Just then, Mr. Shaw came rushing into the room. “Is everyone alright?” he asked frantically. His eyes flitted back and forth between the three of us, and he visibly relaxed when he saw we were all conscious. I wasn’t sure if his concern was for our well-being, or if he got in trouble if anything happened here.
I gave the thumbs-up, and the librarian breathed a sigh of relief. “Ms. Waite will have me flayed for this,” he said. Welp, that answered that question.
“What happened?” I asked. “What was that thing?”
Mr. Shaw shrugged. “I’m not sure, though it’s far from unheard of for monsters to cause trouble in here. The concentration of magic in the library is denser than anywhere else on the entire campus. It’s the one spot where Void Things can break through the veil and find us.”
“Like, sixty percent of student casualties happen here,” Carmilla said.
I winced. “Student casualties? Are there a lot of those?”
“The better question is how many students actually make it to a life beyond Esoterica,” Rebecca said. “I swear these fucking auras will be the death of me.” She held the textbook up that she had been studying and gave it a scowl.
“Maybe we should get out of here for today,” Carmilla suggested. “I booked this study room for three hours, but it’s basically unusable now.”
I surveyed the scene. Crushed furniture, broken glass, and chunks of door littered the room, and the toxic miasma of the monster still stank to high heaven. I managed to get a peek at the title of the book that Carmilla had been reading as it lay on the floor. True Vampirism: A Pathway to Ascendancy for Half-Bloods.
We checked out our books and headed bac
k toward the dorms at last. We hopped in the elevator, and our first stop was the fifth floor, where Rebecca’s room was.
“Well, thanks for the relaxing afternoon at the library, guys,” she said, eliciting chuckles from all of us. And then she turned to me, and to my surprise, planted a kiss on my lips. “I hope that wasn’t too forward,” she said as her cheeks went red. “Consider that me staking a claim.”
“Noted,” I said. I grinned like a fool, and I could feel the heat of blush on my own face. I looked over to Carmilla, but she was playing dumb in the corner, like she didn’t see it happen.
“Let’s get together for another study date sometime,” she whispered suggestively. “My room is 316.”
“Later,” Carmilla said, not looking at her and ignoring the overt flirtation. The elevator doors closed as Rebecca disappeared from view. “Liam, can I get off with you?”
My eyes narrowed as I tried to interpret her words correctly, rather than the way I desperately wanted to. “Yes…?”
“I mean, get off the elevator on your floor, you perv,” she said, rolling her eyes. “I want to talk about something. We can go to your room.”
“Right. Okay.”
When we got into my room, we both sat down on opposite ends of the bed with our legs crossed. I looked at Carmilla patiently, waiting for her to start.
“About your accident,” she said.
My gut stirred as I leaned back against a bedpost. I didn’t guess we’d be discussing this. I wasn’t sure how ready I was to get into it again, but I wasn’t going to stop her before she said her peace.
“It’s just that, I wanted to tell you I know what it’s like to live with guilt and loss.”
I said nothing, but I watched her compassionately. I saw through it now, the façade that she was putting up. I saw the familiar pain in her eyes, the exact same look I saw so many times in the mirror when I was at my lowest points.
“I wasn’t born a vampire,” she said. “I used a ritual I found in the library on my first day to become one. It was super risky, but I was really into vampires,” she explained.
Esoterica 1: Liam's Awakening: A Lovecraftian Fantasy Harem Adventure (Esoterica Chronicles) Page 7