I pressed a hand to my mouth.
Although the Demon Symbol was a flat drawing on the cover of a flat book, it wasn't truly a flat two-dimensional line drawing. It was merely a representation of the demon itself.
Or rather, it was the representation of the NATURE of the Demon, drawn as a flat image.
But that demon was no two-dimensional drawing. In fact, it existed on more dimensional planes than I could even visualize or imagine.
Now that I realized what I was looking at, I could see where the smoke curled into a multi-dimensional shape.
There were also areas where the smoke winked in and out of visual range. These areas where the smoke vanished, I was now certain, were the areas where three dimensions became multi-dimensions.
And then I noticed a strange interruption in the flow of what should have been a smooth geometric shape. It was disrupted somewhere at the bottom right corner.
The smoke was not forming into the demon shape correctly because—-
I suddenly laughed.
For a geometric symbol, a missing section would render the symbol to be non-geometric. This demon symbol was missing a very small but important line which would have made the Demon Symbol a perfect geometric shape.
This was the key to unlocking the book. I was certain of it.
I was a disabled mage, but I was still a mage. I didn't have a huge amount of energy to do serious magik, but I did have enough power within me (barely) to complete the geometry.
I took a deep breath and waved a finger over the tiny section of the drawing that was missing that final link.
"Mashangzhurhu."
I mumbled softly to myself and drew in the last line.
Click!
I could hear that small sound coming from the book.
Suddenly, the weight of the book was gone. What was once a heavy tome became a feather-light book in my hand.
I laughed and hugged the book to my body. I had figured it out. I could not wait to tell the guys, especially Simon.
That boy would be happy to birth a cow to just to get the chance to read the contents of this book!
But there was no time to even look at the book. I had used up most of the hour to unlock it and now I was running the risk of being late to the breakfast meeting with the group.
Quickly, I slipped the book into my messenger bag. One last check in the mirror to make sure I looked presentable and I slipped out of the room.
The hallway was dimmed and cool. Left or right? It all looked the same. I chose the left side and made my way down the hallway.
Of course, in my excited state of mind, I had picked the wrong way down the hall and had to run back to where the elevator was.
And then I pushed the wrong button which took me to the wrong floor. All those tiny mistakes ate a few more precious minutes of my little life.
By the time I had managed to reach the correct floor, I ended up having to run for the door and flew through, five minutes after the allotted time had lapsed.
"Sorry, sorry. I'm here." I panted as I saw the group sitting around a large dinning table, waiting for me.
Sleepy-head Princess is here! I heard Connor greet me.
I winked at Connor and then threw a grin at Corwin.
Corwin nodded his greeting at me, his eyes warm and appreciative of my presence.
"Hey Nana!" Simon called out. "Hurry! We're suppose to order breakfast in a few minutes and if you hadn't arrived on time, I was suppose to be in charge of getting your breakfast."
"With my luck, you'll probably end up getting me gruel, or grits or something equally nasty." I laughed.
Simon made a fist and plunged an imaginary knife into his heart. "Ah! You wound me. I had already made the choices here, see?"
He pointed out a picture of a stack of sweet cakes drenched with syrup which, I had to admit, looked really good.
"I guess I'm in good hands then," I said as I sat down in between him and Tarzan.
I opened the book.
I directed my thoughts at Connor as I looked down to arrange my dress.
"What?" Connor croaked out loud as his eyes flew to my face.
Corwin glanced in rapid succession between me and his brother. He stood up, glaring at Connor.
In a sudden move that startled me, he jumped up and pushed his palm into Connor's chest, pushing him up against his chair.
"You!" He snarled at Connor.
And then he looked at me with stricken eyes. "You mind-bonded with him?"
I opened my mouth, struggling to find something innocuous to say to Corwin, but finding nothing that I could come up which would be adequate.
Connor stood up. The chair crashed back behind him with the force of his movement.
Staff servers ambled up behind him and pulled the chair back to its upright position and stood back as if it was just a normal part of their routine.
Connor's blue eyes were sharp and fierce.
"Yeah. She asked, and I accepted. What are you going to do about it?"
Corwin shook with rage. "I took her back to the hotel late last night and saw her to her door. How did you sneak in time to be with her before breakfast?"
"She's her own person. She can meet whomever she wants, whenever she pleases." He leaned in closer to Corwin's face.
"And she can mind-bond with whomever she chooses of her own free will." Connor stood up, staring straight into the eyes of his twin. "It's not up to you who she chooses."
The two stared at each other at length until Connor finally broke the silence.
"Corey, now is not the time. Nana just said she opened the book. Why don't we discuss that, since it is rather important, don't you think?"
For a moment, I thought Corwin was not going to back down. His brows were thunderous and his mouth was fixed in a tight grim line. He looked ready to explode at Connor.
But then tensions began to ease and he sank back into his chair.
I could tell, however, that it was just a delayed truce. He would not leave this matter alone for long.
It was a minor blessing that the door opened at that moment and saved me from having to say anything.