The acolyte looked up at the lectern and the heavy, gilded tome that rested upon it. Inside were the incantations and secret formulae to summon and command the most puissant beings known to exist.
The book contained unstoppable power that their order could use to reshape the world, both figuratively and literally. But such power remained locked away in a book that could only be opened and read by their leader.
She vowed that one day she would wield that power.
Decades later, the abbess laid her aged hand upon the grimoire and finally understood why it should remain shut.

“Illuminated Manuscript, Bible (part), Blind-stamped binding, Walters Manuscript W.805, Upper board outside” by Walters Art Museum Illuminated Manuscripts is marked with CC0 1.0.

Everyday Drabbles © 2025 by Hugh J. O’Donnell is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0