The Book of Grim

Hey! Get back!

Ugh!

-Isabel! -Stay back.

Grim magic? Uh, okay, okay. Uh, what did I read about this?

Valentina?

It's okay. I got you, River.

Don't worry, River. I'll think of something.

Valentina?

You got us out of the canyon, so we'll get you out of this.

Time to bring the heat, Cinder.

Yes! Nailed it.

Okay, judgy. Just because we messed with the grim magic earlier

doesn't mean I can't savor this now.

Nice job, Valentina. Ha!

Are you okay?

Whoa! Valentina, I can't believe you just ran in there like that

without any thought or a workable plan or input from anyone else.

Don't make a big deal out of it or anything.

It's much worse than we thought, Ms. Primrose.

I could never have imagined Ravenzella could leave so much grim magic behind.

It's a threat to the entire island.

That settles it.

Everyone, return to campus at once, and stay there until further notice.

I can't believe this. Unicorn riders don't sit around waiting for further notice.

My dad definitely didn't.

I guess unicorn riders in training have different rules.

Like, "No, Ava. Your unicorn can't sleep in the bed with you. She won't fit."

Don't tell me who fits where.

I don't know about you, but when I saw all that grim magic…

Ms. Primrose is just trying to keep us safe.

But the sooner we get rid of the grim magic, the sooner we are safe.

Excellent point. But the fear is still there.

I mean, we're at the academy to protect the island.

We can't protect anything hiding in here with Mr. Glitterhooves.

-No offense, Ava. -None taken.

But what are we supposed to do?

We don't know anything about grim magic except that it's majorly creepy.

Well, there is a book in the library that could help us.

Or make us more afraid. Or both. Yeah, probably both.

W… what kind of book?

It's called The Gathering Book, and it's totally amazing.

And kind of restricted. But if we use it, we could learn more about grim magic

and maybe how to defeat it.

Then this slumber party's officially over. Let's go.

But we're not supposed to leave.

Oh, Ms. Primrose told us specifically to stay on campus.

The library is on campus, so no rules broken.

Uh, running into danger? Not my speed. But research? I'm so there.

Mm.

-Oh! -Uh--

The library is technically closed right now,

but luckily Mr. Tansy's a really heavy sleeper.

The books are too loud.

Yeah, he won't be a problem.

Filbin, uh, Rory, uh, watch out for the ducklings.

The coast is clear.

I'm no library expert, but there are a lot of books in here.

Centuries' worth, to be precise.

It'll take forever to find the one we need.

Or a few seconds if you know what you're looking for, which I do.

Meet The Gathering Book.

All books are magical, but this one is special.

It can gather all the information the library has on any subject.

You just place your hand firmly on the cover and say, "Grim magic."

Wow. He is a heavy sleeper.

No way!

That is so awesome!

Okay. Grab it and let's go.

Go? We're not supposed to take advanced magic books out of the library.

And The Gathering Book?

Way advanced. We shouldn't even be using it without supervision.

Technically, we're not taking it, Layla.

We're borrowing it. That's what libraries are for, right?

Again, excellent point.

But again, the fear is still there.

It'll be fine.

Besides, we both know the perfect reading spot.

This is way better than my unicorn night-light.

Yep. Wildstar's the best.

Okay. Let's see. As we know, "Grim magic can take many forms,

from single menacing swaths to giant shadow monsters."

"And the only known being who can control it is Ravenzella,

the Queen of Grimoria."

It might be kinda mean to say this,

but I'm so glad you and Wildstar turned her to stone, Sophia.

- -

What else does it say, Layla?

"There are other dangerous grim magic creatures that exist,

like grimlins."

Yeah. No, thank you.

"And raterpillars." Part rat, part caterpillar?

That could be kinda cute.

Oh, no. I was wrong.

- -Whoa! What is that?

A Grimorian ice dragon.

Looks like he has ice magic just like you, Glacier.

- -Uh, not quite.

The dragon's icy breath is so cold

it can turn whatever it touches into a frozen oblivion.

What's "a frozen oblivion" even mean?

No idea. But I do know that I don't wanna meet any of these things.

You okay, Soph?

Uh, I… I thought I heard something.

Oh my gosh.

We've been up all night.

Oh, Mr. Tansy will flip if he finds out we took this book.

He'll ban me from the library for life.

Now you make an excellent point. Let's ride.

Oh!

Uh, yeah. Give me that waffle, uh, Leviora.

- -

Ava, hug quieter.

Sorry. I just love her so much.

Thank you, Gathering Book. You were everything I dreamed of.

Did you just kiss the book?

Uh, no?

Uh, Layla? Is The Gathering Book supposed to glow like that?

Uh, maybe that's how it un-gathers?

-Grim magic! -How did it get in the book?

- -

No, no, no! I knew we shouldn't have taken it out of the library.

Maybe they're actually nice?

- -

No! Get away from me!

No! Stop!

This is all my fault.

Okay. We just need to read more books to find out what to do when books go bad.

We'll deal with it, just like the unicorn riders who came before us.

Yeah. We're all in this together.

I'm sorry, Gathering Book.

This wasn't your fault. But you can still save the day.

Layla! Quit smooching the book and come on!

Ugh, morning is so… morning.

Valentina, how do you already look so perky?

My morning routine has 14 steps. And they start the night before.

Step one--

- -Really, Isabel?

Your jealousy is not only sad, but also way petty.

Wasn't me. I'm just enjoying the aftermath.

- - Oh no!

- No, no, no, no! - Hey!

- -

Ew! That ugly little… whatever it is totally ruined my style.

I don't know. I don't hate this look for ya.

- -

- -Has anyone seen a grimlin?

- -Never mind. Found it.

Grimlin?

Yeah, long story.

You get the grimlin. I've got the research.

The Gathering Book says that even though grimlins are small, they're quite vicious.

-So you might wanna step back. -Puh-lease.

I'm a Furi. I'm not afraid of some--

- -

Whoa! Don't like the sound of Valentina's voice, huh? Relatable.

Oh, it says here that grimlins hate loud noises.

Loud, huh?

I hate to ruin such a pretty chandelier, but let's make some noise, Leaf.