Demon Symbol

I tried to distract his train of thoughts by asking the first question that came into my mind.

"One of three ways?  What are the other two?"

"The mind-bonding that we experienced just now is the second way, where two people seek each other mentally and communicate with thoughts only. 

"This is attempted only after mutual trust and physical connection has been established.  The third, and final method is the soul-bonding, which is aided by the bands that you and my brother share." 

"It is normally done after the physical and mental connections have been established."

I bit my lip.  "I've been doing it backwards all this time, haven't I?"

Connor laughed.  "Physical-bonding is suppose to be the easiest one to attempt, and it took you over half-an-hour of scrunch-faced effort just to grasp the mechanics of heart rhythm." 

He scrunched up his face.  "We haven't even touched breathing sequences, the circulatory system, and synchronizing the nervous and endocrine system yet.  It's going to take awhile…"

"Are you serious?  But why am I having such a hard time with it?" I asked.

"You're not yet comfortable with physical-bonding."  He grinned.  "It's because you are still a virgin and don't have any experience to fall back on." 

He took a deep shuddering breath.  "I can wait, and I will help you through it when the time comes.  Knowing that you are my destined soul mate gives me the courage to wait until you are ready for the us that is the US to begin."

"How do you know that we are destined soul mates, Connor?"  I asked, remembering what Corwin had said only hours before.

"Because we were able to mind-bond.  If you try to mind-bond with humans who are not your destined soul mates, they will be incapable of opening themselves up to you completely and you will find their minds shut off from you." 

"There are ways to invade their minds, but you risk causing them brain damage or psychological harm.  No good comes from forcing into a person's mind, but for a soul mate willing to open up to you, it is one of the deepest ways that a couple can mate."   

Connor sighed with joy.  "Even I did not know how compatible you and I were until we actually mind-bonded.  Once we bonded though, all my doubts and fears vanished."

"I have another question.  How is it am I able to mind-bond with animals?"

"Because they are animals."  He chuckled.  "Their minds are an open book.  They have no defenses against a mage's mind.  And mostly, their brains aren't all that complex and their thought processes are boring and basic." 

"Having said that, the thing that you do with a whole horde of them, in the sky, while flying, is truly amazing.  With effort, I can maybe get one bird to give me the time of day." 

He poked me in the forehead.  "You actually command all of them, you Beast Master you."

"I see," I paused to contemplate on all that he had said. 

Hmmm.  Are we still connected, or do I have to do something special to talk to you in my head?  I asked, out of curiosity.

Connor smiled and kissed my forehead.  You can try saying alah peanut-butter sandwiches and see if I respond with something appropriate. 

"Connor!"  I squealed, as he laughed out loud.

We splashed around awhile longer after that, no longer needing to vocalize our conversation much with the exception of laughter. 

Laughing out loud was so much more fun than laughing in our heads, so that was what we did.  We splashed around and laughed. 

We laughed a lot.

Later that night, after I was comfortable and ensconced in my bed, I tried the mind-meld again, wondering if it would still work through walls.

Connor?

Nothing.  Ah well.  I guess I had to be at least in the same room with him before this mind-bond thing worked.

Alah peanut-butter sandwiches.  I whispered, throwing him a mental kiss.

Ah…woman…Go to sleep already.  I heard the mumblings of a mind that was half-asleep.

I grinned and settled myself into my bed.  It was going to be fun meeting up with Connor in the morning.

🌺🌺🌺

Morning came all too soon, with the chiming of the bell. 

For a moment, my mind was still asleep, consumed within the vivid dream of complete immersion in an ocean of turquoise and blue, with two red-haired blue-eyed mermen frolicking among the waves beside me. 

The dream was so much fun that I did not want to wake up.  But the ringing was insistent.  Reaching out, I picked up the receiver and mumbled into it.

"Yes?"

"Mademoiselle, your presence is requested in private dining room number 3, at the penthouse pavilion.  May I please accept on your behalf the invitation set for 10 am?"  A disembodied voice asked.

I rubbed my bleary eyes, squinting at the clock on the bedside.  8 am.  Ugh.  So early… 

"Yes.  I'll be there."  I said, and hung up. 

I closed my eyes and tried to go back to sleep, but after fifteen minutes of rolling around, I realized it was futile. 

I got up and showered, then threw on the white dress that the twins had bought for me at Helene. 

With another hour to kill before the appointed time, I went to my messenger bag and dug around for the Demons Book. 

So much had happened between the time I laid my eyes on this book and today that I had not had a chance to even look at it. 

Unfortunately, out of sight did not mean out of mind.  There it was, still wrapped in the cloth fabric I had bound around it to keep it safe from harm. 

I took a deep breath and removed the fabric layer. 

It was a thing of beauty.  It was exquisite in binding, a burnished gold and green leather of superior quality, stamped with the gilded Demon symbol on the front face. 

There were touches of burnt umber around the edges.  It had oxidized throughout the years spent on the rafters, adding to its antique charm.

Without the fabric layer, I could feel its unnatural warmth in my hands.  It was as if it created its own energies and generating its own heat. 

I had forgotten how solid and heavy the book felt. 

As I turned it in my hand, looking at it in various angles, I suddenly realized why the book was so dense. 

The cover was partially made of some type of metallic substance that had been fused into the leather binding.  It was probably this metal that was conducting all that heat. 

My eyes were again drawn back to the gilded Demon symbol.  It was at once geometrically perfect and at the same time repulsively bloodcurdling. 

This was after all, that very familiar and much dreaded Demon Symbol we had all been taught in school.  It brought with it a sense of dread that only powerful symbols could exude.

I stared in amazement at the green aura that was swirling and coiling its limbs about the book.

This aura was the reason why the book was sealed.  If I could figure out how to remove that green aura, I was certain I could open the book. 

As I stared at the book, I noticed that the green aura wasn't swirling and coiling in random motion as smoke from a fire might. 

It was following a set pattern and that set pattern was following the lines of the Demon Symbol.

Oh my Goddess!