“No, that’s not it…”
Damien rubbed at his eyes and set the quill against the parchment again, letting the ink bleed onto the parchment. Candlelight flickered over the large tome he had sitting out and the page he’d been doing… well. Whatever it was he was doing. Odd symbols covered the page, and a second book about elemental magic sat next to the page, wax dripping on the pages. A strange glass was resting on the elemental book, more symbols popping up on the glass.
“Maybe…”
Damien drew a new sigil on the paper, then gasped, dropping the quill and hitting the ink-pot in his scramble to steady himself. Something called to him, filling his ears and making his head ache like someone had dropped an anvil on it. His vision blurred-
Then all at once it was gone.
He stared at the paper, grinning. Another research finished, another-
The lightbulb switched on.
“Dude, you alright?” Damien’s apartment mate asked. “You suddenly yelled-”
“I’m fine,” Damien interrupted, looking down at his ink-stained shirt. “Just a headache.”
“You’re getting those more often… you sure you’re alright? You forgot to eat again.”
Damien looked at his roommate, sighing.
“I’ll be fine. I’m sure of it.”
Liar, the little voice that told him secrets hissed. Damien ignored it. His roommate stared at him for a second, then looked away.
“There’s chicken nuggets when you’re hungry. Don’t stay up all night again.”
“Yeah. I won’t. I’m sure.”
Behind Damien, the ink continued to flow, staining the carpet a deep purple. Neither person noticed as something started to move in the ink.
*****
