[Book of Eros] Chaper 6: The Book of Eros. (Patreon)

The book was small enough to fit inside someone’s pocket. It reminded him of those small bibles some churches would give away sometimes. It had a white cover with nothing written on it.

“I can see that you’re uneasy, dear. Not about your new life here, but about the power I mentioned before,” she said.

Slowly, he nodded. His muscles were tense, and his crossed legs would move involuntarily.

“To be honest, I still don’t believe this. But… I want to. I need this to be true,” he said, grimacing.

“I understand,” she said solemnly. “That hunger. I felt it too, in my youth. It only left me once I’d become old. A blessed relief, really. But I remember how it felt, and I know you and Angela are suffering right now.”

Leonardo gritted his teeth. “It’s stupid. It’s not like we’ll die or anything. But…”

“It’s distracting,” she said. “It’s irritating. It’s almost enough to cloud one’s judgment. It burns deep inside. It’s like desperately trying to scratch an itch from a limb that’s not there anymore.”

She hit the nail in the head, Leonardo thought. That was exactly it.

“This book, Mr. Leonardo, is the Book of Eros,” she said, looking at it on the table. “It’s a magic item my father and contemporaries spent their lives developing, and I put it together using their research.”

“A magic item?” She probably didn’t need her supposed abilities to read his skepticism.

“The occult is real. No doctor can pinpoint the cause of either our Gifts or our Curse. We know the cause was an ancient ritual, and using that as a base, my father and his friends created this book.”

Mrs. Wister took a deep breath.

“Are you familiar with the concept of geas, Mr. Leonardo?”

“Ah? No, not at all.” He shook his head.

“It’s a type of magic or curse usually associated with the Celts. It’s a way to grant power to heroes who follow strict conditions. There’s the famous example of the hero Cú Chulainn, who was granted great power so long as he never ate dog meat or refused food offered to him by a woman.”

“You’re saying that’s what the curse is based on?”

“Close, but not quite. It shares similar roots, but the effects are less about following conditions and more about imposing them. The gift our ancestors were given is absolute, and so is what was taken from them. We have inherited both,” she explains. “My father followed that logic, studied the rituals and several types of magic, many of which were false and no more than rumors. Eventually, he was able to lay the foundation so that I could finish what he started.”

“What does it do?”

“It has the potential to both restore people’s sexual sensations and get rid of the curse forever.” Mrs. Wisler said confidently, firmly. “Before his passing, my father asked me to complete it and give it to someone I could trust, hopefully someone from within the clan. He said I’d know who to trust when I saw them, and he was right.”

Leonardo pursed his lips. His body was tense. He knew Mrs. Wisler could read him, yet he still had some troubles being completely open.

“You feel pressured?”

“I don’t know. I want to say yes to whatever this is, but I’m no one special. I just want to…” he swallowed his last words.

“You’re wrong,” Mrs. Wisler smiled kindly. “There’s no one in this world who isn’t special. Supernatural gift or not, everyone is unique.” What she said clicked with him. It reminded him of something his dad used to say. “I know instinctively that you’re the right person, but I won’t explain further. You’ll soon prove it with your actions.”

Leonardo took a deep, deep breath before looking at Mrs. Wisler with resolute eyes.

“What do I have to do?”

“First, you should take the book. The moment you do, it’ll connect with you, and you will become its owner.”

“That easy?” The moment the book was in his hands, a hot, uncomfortable sensation traveled from his chest, to his stomach and finally to his crotch. Leonardo gritted his teeth, bracing himself, before the sensation abruptly disappeared. He looked down at the book in his hand, and its cover started switching colors, from black to purple to red and pink and back to black until it settled on white again.

“What was that?” he asked, more than a little concerned.

Mrs. Wisler nodded. “I never felt what you did. It shows I couldn’t connect with it. What the book just did was attuning itself to you, making you its owner.”

Leonardo swallowed, and hesitantly opened the book, flipping through the pages. There was one page written in English with something like instructions, and right after, a plethora of strange writings, symbols and circles followed.

“The book does four very important things,” Mrs. Wisler said, lifting four fingers. “First, it transforms sexual frustration into a sort of aphrodisiac sent. It’s subtle, but it becomes stronger the more pent-up you are.”

Leonardo suddenly flinched, and he couldn’t stop the heat rushing to his face.

“Come on, dear. There’s no use being shy now. I need to explain this to you, and you can’t hide the fact that you want to experience the feeling, yourself. The sooner you understand that, the quicker we’ll make progress.” She chuckled. “If it helps, think of me as your confidant. It’s not like you can hide anything from me anyway, even if you wanted to. I’ve lived longer than you, seen a lot more. Let me try to help you out however I can.”

He sighed. “Alright. It’s just… well, embarrassing to talk so openly about this.”

“I suppose it is.” she admitted with a wry smile. “I apologize. The topic of sex was merely a matter of research in my family. Once we got old and the desire for it vanished, speaking of it like an academic topic became easier.”

“I understand.” Leonardo mirrored the old lady’s smile. “Please, continue.”

“Second, the book accumulates sexual energy. Performing sexual acts will generate sexual energy, which will naturally flow from your partner, to you and into the book. But that is only a way to fuel its two main functions. The first of which is to grant powerful Gifts as you fulfill specific conditions.”

“Oh. That’s what you meant before? When you said this magic followed the logic of geas?”

“Correct,” she nodded. “Open the book to the fourth page. There, you’ll find the details of the first Gift, which is key to starting this whole thing.”