Livi's always had severe anxiety, ever since she was a little girl. She's tried pills and therapy, but her lifestyle always stayed the same -- she'd go to her university, sit in the back row and never raise her hand. She'd email her teachers beforehand, of course, and it went something like this:
Dear Professor _______,
Before the first day of your course, I want to run something important by you. While I'm eager to start your class and am looking forward to it, I must disclose that I won't be participating vocally in the classroom. I am diagnosed with GAD (Generalized Anxiety Disorder) and Panic Disorder and speaking out loud in front of people gives me a tremendous amount of stress. So, could you tell me what the percentage is for the participation grade? I promise to be communicative via emails and after class with any questions.
Best,
Olivia Jones
That's why on her twentieth birthday, when she blew out her candles, she had one wish. Was it to be able to make offline friends, speak up in class or find that perfect medication? No, because there was a more dominant fantasy for Livi, something that took up her mind at night and when she'd daydream on the treadmill.
Getting laid.
~~~
The library had always been a safe haven for Livi, so when an old book shop opened downtown, she applied and received the minimum wage job. Sure, talking to customers made her heart speed up, but she grew a bit more comfortable after the first week of working there.
Mr. Alcaraz is in his seventies and ties his long white hair into a low-hanging ponytail. He always thinks before he speaks, and when he does, it's slowly and softly.
"Livi, will you come here for a moment?"
Livi stops sweeping and comes into Alcaraz's tiny office. "Hi," she says awkwardly.
Alcaraz looks at her thoughtfully for a few moments. "I'd like to give you something," he finally says. He picks up a large book off his desk and hands it over to her. It's black leather with faded gold lettering on the cover that reads "DAEMONONICON OFFICIALIS". Livi opens it to find it filled with yellow pages full of Latin and detailed drawings of creatures that made her eyes widen. "The author is very imaginative," she observes.
"I talked to my late wife using that book."
Livi stops looking to peer up at Alcaraz. His glasses are low on his nose and his blue eyes are looking at her with a serious expression. "I'm going to be with her soon," he says. "I have brain cancer."
"I'm so sorry." Livi doesn't know what else to say. She wonders briefly if Alcaraz is pulling an uncharacteristic prank.
"I don't have any next of kin, so I want you to have this. And I know what you're thinking -- it's rather unbelievable, but I assure you I'm telling the truth. I should probably burn the thing, erase it from this reality completely, but it's so powerful, Livi. Do you believe in the End of Days?"
"Uhhhhhh."
She expects him to go on, but he stops when he sees her hesitance. His face falls into something sadder. "Could you at least hold onto it for me? I believe it'll be useful someday, maybe tomorrow, maybe in a thousand years, but one day, it'll be essential for the human race to have."
"Can't you give this to a colleague?" she blurts out.
Alcaraz shakes his head. "I need someone young who can hold onto it for another half a century. You're responsible, Livi, and I trust you."
Livi feels like she's in a dream. "Are you -- Does this -- Does this book summon
demons?
" she squeaks.
"Yes, but you need to promise me you won't be like me and use it."
Livi's heart is beating
fast
. Should she call in tomorrow and quit over the phone?
"I promise," she says. "But I -- I'm going to need the rest of the, the day off to find, y'know, a place for it."
A pause. Then, "I recommend purchasing a storage unit immediately and hiding it there."
"Right..." Livi grabs her shoulder bag from the hook in the corner of the office and slides the book inside. It fits perfectly.
"If you could also update me frequently on the whereabouts of the book, I'd appreciate it. If you have a new hiding place, for example."
"Of course. Well, I'll, uh, see ya tomorrow!" And with that, Livi spins on her heel and departs.
~~~
Livi spends the following night panning the grimoire. She took Latin in high school, but she excelled at it and even took it on as a minor in college. It's hard to get through, but she ends up translating it as a late-night activity. Not only that, but she keeps her job; she has too much pity in her heart for Alcaraz, who has only ever been good to her (even if he is a bit nuts).
It's during one of these late nights that Livi stumbles upon Cassia Illa Femina. It's a drawing of a beautiful naked woman with goat horns, a scepter and a long tail.
It's been months of recreational translating for Livi, so she decodes the passage with relative ease:
This demoness specializes in the deflowering of virgins. In exchange for sex,
Cassia permanently sterilizes her prey, feeding off of their fertility. She is one of the very few demons that claim they were once human, as she says she
transformed after death from a powerful witch into a wicked she-devil. In order to summon, blood must be dripped onto her summoning circle and the following chant must be read.
She looks over to her cat, Smores. "Well, there's only one way to check, right?"
He stretches in response.
Livi finds the necessary chalk deep in her basement and returns to her little room upstairs. She draws the symbols on the hardwood floor in white, then goes into her brother's room to get his switchblade. She feels a little nauseous doing the whole thing, paranoid that it might actually work but she tells herself she's being ridiculous. She's not about to lose her V-Card to a literal demon -- nothing would happen and her curiosity would officially be sated.
Ready or not, she presses the knife's sharp tip to her pointer finger and slices it. She squeezes its sides to encourage blood flow and watches as the blood falls into the circle. Then, she reads the chant. Nothing happens for a minute, and Livi feels like an idiot. Of course Alcaraz was crazy, and maybe she was too for even
considering
the possibility!
She's getting up to grab a towel to wipe off the chalk when a high-pitched, muffled laugh disturbs the silence. Something akin to the sound of lightning striking a hill fills the room and when she turns around, there she is. Cassia. She stands at about six feet tall, her light grey horns poking out of wave after wave of long, pitch black hair. Her pupils stand out against white irises, and they look Livi up and down.
"English, is it?"
Livi's hands go numb, the familiar feeling of a panic attack creeping up in her chest. "Uh huh."
"Are you ready?"
No!!!
she wants to scream. "Do you mind if I, uh, go to the bathroom first?"
"Be my guest. We have nothing but time."
