“Okay, I will admit it Thalion,” Lilly smiled as they entered a room holding more books than she had ever seen. There were shelves overflowing with bound volumes and table after table stacked full of them. Even the floor of the large room in which she stood boasted piles of more books. “You were right. It didn’t take long.”

“I tried to tell you.”

“Yes, well, my track record with supernaturals is a little rough, so forgive me if my first thought was to think that you were full of crap.”

“I’m going to try and not be offended by that,” Cyn told her.

Lilly smiled at the Fae as she walked around the room, looking at the shelves of books and papers stacked haphazardly in every corner. From the outside, the building looked like a home from a fairytale. The inside, however, resembled a huge study, containing scattered tables and several different seating areas containing plush couches. A huge fireplace stood on the north wall, boasting a crackling fire that cast a warm glow throughout the room.

“Why does the outside of this place look like a regular house?” Lilly asked.

“Keeps anyone who doesn’t belong here, out.” Thalion explained. “Not that we have many visitors, but it’s always better to be safe. There’s a lot of information contained in these tomes, most of which, many other races would not want to be public knowledge.”

“In other words,” Cypher cut in, “if they found out this place even existed they would burn it to the ground.”

“Huh,” Lilly nodded, “alright then.”

“What are we looking for?” Cyn asked.

Thalion walked slowly around the room, his eyes roaming over the books. “It’s a brown, leather book. The only distinguishing mark on it is the word Nushtonia.”

Lilly looked over at Thalion. The word was not English and frankly not any language she had ever heard. “What language is that and what does it mean?”

“It’s the language of the underworld,” Cypher answered.

“They have their own language?” Lilly’s brow wrinkled as she looked at Cypher doubtfully.

“Yes, and it is wise not to use it,” Cyn shot Thalion a warning look.

“They have no power here,” he told her.

“Word travels faster and farther than you know. You have spent far too much time separated, cut off from everything going on.”

“Haven’t we already been over this?” Thalion asked.

“Maybe, but that doesn’t mean you don’t need to hear it again.”

Lilly held her hand out for a high five from Cyn, who simply looked at it. Lilly rolled her eyes, picked up Cyn's hand, and slapped it against hers.

“So what does this n word mean?” Lilly, asked again.

Cyn let out a slow breath before finally answering. “It’s hard to translate into the human tongue, but basically it means open this and the world as you know it, is over.”

“All that from one little word?” Lilly asked.

Cyn shrugged. “I said it was hard to translate.”

“So if the word on the outside is demon language, than is it safe to say that this book was written by demons?” Lilly asked.

“That is correct,” Thalion, told her as he continued to scan the vast library.

“How did you come across a book scribed by the demons?” Cypher asked.

“That is an interesting story,” Thalion said evasively, “and perhaps should be told at a better time.”

“When exactly would be a better time, considering we need to do the exact opposite of what the title tells us not to?” Lilly asked, dryly.

Thalion looked over his shoulder at her. “Fair enough. Make yourself useful and help look for the book while I tell you the tale.”

Lilly, Cyn, and Cypher began going through shelves and stacks of books as Thalion began the story.

“A very long time ago…”

“How long exactly?” Lilly asked

Thalion’s lips tightened, as he narrowed his eyes at Lilly. “If you want me to tell the story you are going to have to listen, and if you are talking, you cannot be listening.”

Lilly held her hands up. “Proceed,” she muttered.

“It was so long ago that the Warlock King was not even a thought in the wind,” Thalion continued. “The human world was very young and the disobedient children of God had just fallen, creating the underworld. Your God because of their desire to be like God forsook them. They craved and desired, the one thing that they should have never wanted, and that was to be as great as their creator. During this time of peace, the supernaturals traveled freely between the realms. We all knew of the fallen, the angels that had become demons, and knew that they were never to be released from the hell in which they had been cast. Their evil was beyond anything that we had ever known. The leader of them, Lucifer, had declared war on the human children of God and desired more than anything to take their souls, to drag them to the hell he and his were stuck in for all eternity. All of the supernatural races were warned by an angel of God to never allow the demons from the underworld to escape their own realm. The veil was sealed by the angel and hidden from all.

Unfortunately, evil always seems to find more evil. All evil things are drawn to each other, seeking out those who would help them in their cause. Though the veil to the underworld was hidden, the evil beyond it was great and as more and more lost souls were cast there after their death, and so the evil grew. It began to permeate the air around the Veil such that other beings could detect it. There was no one who knew how to open it, but that didn’t stop them from trying.

As the sons of men began to allow evil into their hearts, and as they began to stray farther from their God, they began seeking out other ways to fill that void inside them. They began to worship other beings, or objects. They sought out meaning for their lives in ways that caused darkness to creep into their hearts. God desired men to have free will and he would not force their loyalty to him. Sin was corrupting the world and Lucifer was allowed some control in the human realm. That sin gave Lucifer just the opening he needed to whisper lies into the ears of those who would listen. He pointed them in the direction divinity and sorcery where they learned how to contact the dead. They thought that they were contacting loved ones who had passed on, but in reality they were drawing the demon spirits to them and giving them power, so much power that the demons began to be able to manipulate the actions of men and women still living.