to this text, hazard demons are summoned when there is to be great spiritual testing done among the Creator’s children.”
“Like the story of Job?” Aviur asked, referring to the book in the Creator’s book that humans called the Bible.
“Looks that way,” Nasima confirmed as she continued to skim the pages. “I didn’t realize church leaders could summon demons,” she said quietly as her eyes scanned over the words.
“They can’t.”
She turned at the sound of the new voice. The current pope of the Catholic church stood in the entryway, looking around the room as if it were a long-lost friend.
“Pope Paul Thomas,” Aviur said as he put his own book back on the shelves and walked over to the elderly man. The two embraced, and it was apparent to Nasima that Aviur was fond of the man.
“Fire king,” the pope said, his voice just as warm. “It has been a very long time, my friend.”
“So it has,” Aviur agreed. “And, unfortunately, this is not a social call.”
“What did you mean when you said that leaders in the church can’t summon demons? This text seems to suggest otherwise.” Nasima asked.
Pope Paul Thomas turned to her. His blue eyes were gentle as he spoke. “There are only a few of us who have been trained to summon or cast out demons,” he explained. “The rules for summoning a demon are very strict, and the reason for the summoning must be divinely inspired.”
“You mean the direction must have been given directly from the Creator?” she asked.
“Exactly. Summoning a demon is not something done on a whim. There must be prayer and fasting for weeks beforehand.”
“How many times has this been done before?” Aviur asked.
“If my memory serves me correctly, it has only been done twice," the pope answered. “Neither of those times has been in this century, or the last four, for that matter.”
He walked over to Nasima and gently took the book from her. “And that is not why you are here now.” He put the book back on the shelf in the empty slot and then walked several steps to the right. With a groan, he squatted down to the bottom shelf. “I believe what you are looking for can be found in the pages of this book.”
He held out the book to Nasima and she took it. It was just as heavy as the first one, but the leather binding was deep brown instead of black. Latin script, written in gold, adorned the front cover. “The Devil’s Trap,” Nasima read out loud.
“That is why you have come, correct?” Pope Paul Thomas asked. “Because you have a demon who has decided to turn the world into his playground.”
“His name is Dolion,” Aviur said.
Pope Paul Thomas said a quick prayer before responding. “Remember that names have power. It is why our Lord renamed those who came to him. They were given a new name, one that had meaning over their lives. The demon you speak of is powerful, but his name means deceitful, and the only time deceit has power is if there is no truth to counteract the lies. Dolion, the deceiver, has no power if he stands against the truth.” The man paused and then motioned to the book in Nasima’s hands. “I will leave you to read. Please, let me know if there is anything I can do for you. As it is, I will be praying constantly for your safety and for evil to fail.”
“Thank you,” Nasima told him. “We truly appreciate your help.” She motioned to the book. Who knows how long it would have taken them to find the exact book they’d needed if he had not come and handed it to them?
The air queen watched as Pope Paul Thomas left as quietly as he had arrived. Then she looked down at the book she held in her hands.
“Should we have mentioned that there’d been a witch in his library?” she asked Aviur as she moved toward one of the tables and put down the book that would hopefully hold the secrets to ridding the world of Dolion.
“We’ve taken care of the spell that was left behind,” Aviur said. “We can tell him after the world is no longer on the verge of freezing to death.”
“Good point.” Nasima touched the letters on the cover, brushing her finger across the embossed gold font. A hum of power ran up into her hand. “This book is old and was written by someone powerful.”
“What do you feel?” Aviur asked.
Nasima closed