True Love Lost Forever: A Dark Tale of Fantasy

  Chapter Five

  Desperate Hope

  On Aideen's twenty fourth birthday, on acquiring some money, Logan went looking for a book store. It had become a ritual of his. He remembered it being a cold, snowy day as he walked along the city streets. On the edge of the old section, hidden at the entrance of a dark alley, he found an aged building. A sign hung above a door that said, 'The Rustic Old Book Shop', and a light shined through a large window that displayed a variety of books. Cautiously, Logan opened the door and it swung a bell that announced his entrance. Quickly, he reached up and stopped the ringing. Logan hated the sound of bells.

  The tall, shelves that lined the walls weren't large enough to contain all the books, hundreds were stacked high from floor to ceiling. That familiar old, musty smell permeated the building. Logan quickly browsed the titles as he made his way through the maze, none were of any interest to him. In between the piles, Logan saw a door in the back, partly open. A short, middle aged man, carrying a stack of books, pushed his way through. His grey, shoulder length hair stuck out wildly and a round, pair of glasses hung down on his nose. Logan watched him make his way around all the books. He looked tired as if he just had a long day. Logan found himself facing the short, portly man. The proprietor was startled when he looked up. Logan knew, he would have been quite the sight. He hadn't cleaned himself for a while and his clothes were soiled and dirty. He brought his left hand up to scratch his beard, thinking he probably didn't smell too good either.

  As if appearances didn't matter to the man, he set down the load of books and looked into Logan's eyes with a smile on his lips, “Hello, I didn't hear you come in. I was just about to close- but no matter- can I help you find something?”

  “Yes,” Logan replied. “I'm looking for old and rare books.”

  “Well,” the Librarian stated as he led Logan through the labyrinth. “My old book section is over here.”

  The shelves in a small alcove were lined with different types of texts, hard bound and soft. Some had leather covers. Logan scanned the titles, there were books on every subject and all looked very old and in varying conditions.

  “I have some rare books in the back, if you'd care to see them?” The merchant asked.

  “Yes, please.” Logan looked at him and nodded his head.

  Logan searched the titles, seeking for something he could use. There were classics of every sort but none peaked his interest. Nothing on the shelves, was what he was searching for. Logan remembered starting to feel disappointed, when proprietor returned with two wooden crates in his arms. They looked heavy but the little man handled them with ease.

  Setting the crates on the floor he said, “These are all very, rare. Mostly single volumes I don't know what to do with. Some are in different languages I can't read. Take a look, if you like any you can have it.” He smiled and left Logan to his hunt.

  Kneeling down, Logan began a close inspection of the books. Some were very, old theological commentaries, describing one god or another- Logan had no use for those. Gently putting them aside, he dug deeper into the boxes. At the bottom of the second crate, a book caught his attention. Smaller than the rest Logan pulled it out from under the others, it felt soft to his touch. Bound in thick, black leather it was slightly bigger than his out stretched hand. Red metal, cast in delicate spirals, protected the corners and a thick, short strap was wrapped around the front edge of the text block. A small latch in the shape of two, over-lapping circles was bound to the leather, preventing it from being opened. A crimson, sun symbol emblazoned the front- four large arrows and four smaller ones, radiating outward from a single point cut through concentric circles. In the outer band four triangles, set within circles, were arranged on the varying degrees of the compass and one on the bottom. The arrows and triangles touched point to point. An ancient form of written magic were contained within the trigons that Logan recognized from his study in the occult. It took him a moment but the words eventually, translated in his mind. 'The Deleth Ruwach Grimoire: The Gate to Lost Spirits'. Logan couldn't believe his luck. He knew a grimoire was a book on magic and had read extensively about them, like Transcendental Magic by Eliphas Levis and The Book of the Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage, but had never come across any. Inspecting the lock, he tried to open it, but couldn't. He could see scratches where others had tried but without success. Logan remembered thinking at that moment, he had found a long lost book of magic. Taking it, Logan went to find the shop owner.

  The man was sitting behind a counter, writing in a ledger. Logan could hardly see him behind all the papers. “I'll take this one,” he said.

  “Aah, yes, that one. Beautiful isn't it.” The Proprietor said. “I've had it for a couple of years now. Never could open it or read the symbols.”

  “How much?” Logan asked digging in his pockets for money.

  “Take it, its yours.” The old man smiled at Logan.

  “Really, thank you.” Expressing his gratitude, Logan turned to leave.

  “Have a good night,” Logan heard the man say as he closed the door, the bell ringing behind him.

  ***