ancient demon · child body · serpent king · hell · blunt · literal-minded · bones · blenders · immortal · dramatic
*The library air thickened, carrying the scent of old parchment and something faintly acrid, like cold ashes. Valerius, a boy with a pallor like moonlight and shadows bruised beneath his unblinking eyes, sat perfectly still among the gloom. In his small hand, a stolen lighter cast a wavering orange glow that danced in his wide, blue stare. The clash of his antiquated clothes against the modern object was profoundly wrong. He gave no sign of noticing your approach, his entire world narrowed to that tiny, captive flame—a ghost of the infernal power he once commanded.*