ELEVEN

Cole spent the next few days scrutinizing the book. Shalson had told him it was a book of ancient spells. Even a cursory inspection showed that was not the case. Malevant hadn't mentioned what the book was. Cole, in characteristic mercenary fashion, had appeared uninterested in what it truly was.

But he had been right about one thing. The book was a map, of sorts. If he could decipher it, it would give him directions to someone or something. And if Malevant was interested in the book that meant whatever it led to was very powerful. Perhaps something the Source could use in his fight against the forces of good.

Deciphering the book proved to be quite the challenge. The relevant pieces of the directions had been broken up and rearranged in the book. But there didn't seem to be any particular pattern to them. No way to decipher how the various pieces were to be reassembled.

Finally Cole happened upon a key component in the book. He nearly missed it and it could easily be overlooked by anyone who didn't know what to look for. But he finally realized that the decorative symbols on the top right corner of each pager were subtly different. They appeared to be nearly identical with only very minor differences in each.

Cole patiently copied each of the symbols onto separate sheets of paper. It took him a while but eventually he had arranged them in the right order. Having accomplished this he knew instantly where to look and how to arrange the various pieces of the directions.

It took several more days to arrange the pieces properly. But once he had he was quite pleased with himself. The pieces were all written in Latin to further disguise their true meaning. Luckily for Cole Latin was one of the subjects his mother had insisted upon him learning. It was a simple matter to translate the text and uncover just why this book was so important.

Cole spent the next couple of nights working on the translation. He had to maintain his cover as a student at the university and still perform the chores around the house for Strauss, so the work went slowly. Eventually the translation was complete and Cole sat looking at it. What he read left him speechless.

The directions appeared to lead to the secret lair of someone named Kir' TakLi. Cole was very familiar with that name. Most demons were. Kir' Takli was reportedly an ancient alchemist that had lived several centuries ago. The reports of his accomplishments were legendary.

Supposedly, Kir' Takli had discovered a way to create potions and elixirs that would work on anyone. A general vanquishing potion that didn't need to be tailored to a specific creature. Elixirs that would extend human life to incredible spans. It was reported that Kir' Takli himself, although human, had lived more than six hundred years.

But his greatest accomplishment was the Temporal Amulet. This was a device of such power that it actually allowed a creature to move through time. To travel as far back in time as they wished. With an amulet like this any creature could return to the past and alter things so that they had a different outcome.

While it was generally accepted that one could not change the past, this amulet somehow allowed the user to accomplish exactly that. To alter even major historical events so they had a different outcome. Its magic was purportedly so powerful that nothing, and no one, could resist it. The amulet had simply vanished after Kir' Takli's death and no one had ever seen it again. It was rumored that he had hidden it before his death but had left cryptic directions to its location.

And Cole was holding those directions. No wonder Malevant was so bent on having this book. With that amulet he or any other demon could return to the past and alter history. Rewrite what had happened so the outcome was more in favor of the underworld.

And, Cole realized, it could be very useful to any demon. Even him. With that amulet he could return to the past. He could alter things so that he all ready belonged to the Brotherhood. More than that. He could alter things so that he was the Source himself. With his knowledge of what was going to happen it would be a simple matter to return to a critical time and change the outcome. Change it so that he, not the current Source, became ruler of the underworld.

Cole picked up the book and looked at it. It would be so easy. A trip back through time and everything he wanted was his for the taking. No muss, no fuss, no bother. All he had to do was follow the directions in the book and get the amulet.

But he had spent the last three years, in fact his entire life, trying to prove something. The words that Baldasor had said to him when he was ten still rang in his ears. You'll never be a true demon because your father was a pathetic human. Those words had cut Cole to the quick.

He was only half demon and everyone knew it. It meant he had to be twice as good just to be considered equal with everyone else. He had never shirked his duty or taken the easy way out. He had always faced his responsibility head on and strove to show everyone, Baldasor included, that he was as good a demon as they were. Better even.

If he used the amulet it would prove they were right. That he wasn't a true demon. He had as much to prove to himself as he had to everyone else. He had vowed that one day other demons would respect him. And he had worked hard to attain that goal.

And there was the Brotherhood to consider. Most demons were never even asked to join them. That he had been asked showed he had what it took to be a true demon. The Brotherhood was about honor and loyalty and commitment. To belong to the Brotherhood meant you were one of the elite.

If he were to go back in time and change things, how would that affect the Brotherhood? He had worked too hard the past three years to let anything mess it up now. Going back and changing things would change what the Brotherhood stood for. What he himself was striving for.

He let the book fall to the table. It was so tempting. He could be the ruler of the underworld. Demons would fear him. They would obey him without question. But it would all be based on a lie. They would fear him but they wouldn't respect him. He had to prove he could be as good a demon as any of them. He needed to prove it to them and to himself. The only way to do that was to follow the same rules all demons had to follow. Otherwise it would prove nothing.

He carried the pages with the translation over to the kitchen sink and set them on fire. He dropped them into the sink and watched them burn. Maybe once he proved that he was a true demon he could use the amulet. Becoming a member of the Brotherhood would prove that once and for all. And the only way to do that was to finish the test as it had been laid out to him. As any other demon would have to do.

Cole returned to the table and began to carefully coat each page of the book with the Dark Lighter poison Angelique had given him.