The weight of Angela's kiss, the lingering taste of forbidden magic, drove Jacob to the sanctuary of the camp's library. He needed answers, needed to understand the power coursing through his veins, the unsettling sensation of possessing another's life force. He never liked reading, unless its comic books, but he had no choice. The air in the library was thick with the scent of aged parchment and the quiet hum of ancient magic. Jacob moved through the towering shelves, his fingers trailing over the spines of leather-bound books, each one a portal to a forgotten world. He scanned dusty tomes of arcane rituals, whispered incantations, and forgotten languages, but found nothing that could explain the terrifying ability he had awakened. He knew he couldn't tell Susan or Alex or the other teachers. The power he wielded was too dangerous, too volatile, too much like the forbidden magic they all sought to understand and control, telling them his secret would also mean exposing his sinister self.
"That wouldn't be a problem." -Sinister Jacob.
He shifted from one dusty tome to another, his frustration growing with each failed search. His fingers brushed against a particularly ornate tome, its leather cover worn and faded, almost invisible against the surrounding shelves. It was tucked behind a shelf of lesser-used texts, hidden from casual view. He pulled it free, the book's weight surprisingly heavy for its size. He looked around to see if anybody was there. No one. He inspected the strange book. Its cover was unadorned, but a faint, shimmering glow emanated from its pages. He opened it, a rush of cold air washing over him, and gasped. The book, unlike any he had encountered before, was not filled with words, but with swirling symbols, intricate patterns that pulsed with a dark energy. The codex was written in a language he didn't understand, but the symbols spoke to him, resonated with the power he now possessed. He suddenly remembered the lessons he took during his Sigilmancy class. Miss Clarabelle told them that during the ancient times, the sorcerers used sigils for communication, after all sigils are actually ancient languages used by the modern sorcerers as weapons, they are the true languages of magic.
He ran his fingers across the pages, the symbols warming beneath his touch. They pulsed with a faint light, and he could feel their meaning, their history, weaving a tapestry of knowledge and power within his mind. How did he do this? Maybe it was because he absorbed Grimm's every essence. He hasn't thought about it until he opened the codex, due to the ancient magic twirling inside him, he could understand sigils much better than before. The codex spoke of a forgotten art, a dark path that had been forbidden for millennia. He felt a shiver down his spine. It was too much for him, so he decided to hide the codex. He decided against learning more about his absorbed abilities, he feared it would lead him to a darker path.
He flexed his index finger and finally a tiny black flame flickered to life at the tip. If it was Sinister Jacob, he could have summoned a great deal as easily as summoning purple flames. He traced the flame across the page, a searing touch that left a trail of scorched parchment. The symbols, as if responding to the dark energy, pulsed brighter, and a deep hum reverberated from the book. He continued, his fingertip moving with newfound confidence, weaving a complex sigil, a seal of binding, across the page. The book pulsated, the symbols vibrating with a fierce energy. Finally, as the last stroke of his fingertip met the parchment, a wave of power surged through him, leaving him breathless. The codex, now sealed with a sigil that pulsed with dark energy, fell silent. The humming ceased, and the symbols dimmed, their potent energy subdued. He felt a sense of relief, a weight lifting from his shoulders. He had managed to bind the knowledge, to contain the secrets it held.
"So now you're as efficient as a Binder." -Sinister Jacob, sneering.
He carefully placed the codex back amongst the shelves, hiding it amongst a forgotten collection of dusty tomes. He knew, though, that the knowledge within was not truly hidden. It was merely dormant, waiting to be awakened. And he, its custodian, was responsible for ensuring that it remained buried, that its secrets stayed locked away from those who could not handle them. But deep down, in his conscious, Sinister Jacob smiled, for he had absorbed the information that Jacob refused to learn, all within fractions of seconds as Jacob flipped the pages. As he left the library, the weight of the codex, both physical and symbolic, remained with him. The knowledge, the power, and the responsibility, all intertwined in a dark, intricate web that he had become entangled in.
"What have you gotten me into this time," he whispered, addressing his dormant sinister side.
He smiled.
He was no longer just a student, a young mage with promise. He was something more, something darker, and the path ahead was shrouded in uncertainty and a terrifying allure.
Some how that felt slightly exciting.
He accidentally bumped into a fellow student. And a camera fell.
"Sorry," Jacob said as he picked up the camera. "It's not broken right?"
"Oh don't worry," said Carl.
"What are you doing here with a camera?"
"Oh nothing, I saw some birds here…different species. And I wanted to take a picture of them so that I can learn more about them."
"Oh, okay. Good luck."
"Thank you," he replied, already on his way. Carl turned to look at Jacob. "I'm glad you got better."
"Thanks," said Jacob and went back to his journey to the boys' dormitory.
But Carl, no he was heading for the gym. Obviously not to lift weights. He overheard Susan and Rubble talk the other day, they wanted to meet each other at the back of the gym…in private. Carl knows how Susan and Rubble are trying their best to hide their past and feelings for each other. They might get into a fight, or insult each other in public, but he knew, he knew that underneath all that insult and fighting, they were still in love with each other. But now, this private meeting will be the last piece of puzzle, because this time it wasn't just pictures. He will record every, single thing and he will do it with expertise.
He knows what was about to happen. All this romance, this longing for each other. He knows what their next move on each other will be. Sure it will be unexpected and unheard of in the history of the camp's history.
He knows that they're planning to end this in a "spectacular" way, as Carl will like to put it.
….and he knows exactly what they meant.