Akarnae

by Lynette Noni

  Nineteen

  Alex was breathing heavily and shaking all over, but that didn’t matter because standing before her was a full suit of armour, complete with helmet, and no longer rusting. It was gleaming, in fact. But more importantly, it was bowing to her.

  When it rose from its bow it kept one gauntleted arm crossed in a formal salute. “How doth thee, fair lady?”

  Alex gaped at it. Or rather, at him.

  “What be thy title?” the armour asked.

  “Err… My name is Alex.”

  He tilted his helmeted head as if confused. “Be not thy title somewhat… masculine?”

  She stared at it. Him. Whatever. “My full name is Alexandra, if that makes a difference?”

  “Salutations, Lady Alexandra,” he said. “My gratitude I bestow upon thee, for ending a much grievous curse.”

  “You’re… welcome?”

  “Sir Camden be my name,” he said, bowing again. “I shalt forever be in thy debt, and as such I shalt serve and protect thee always.”

  Alex just continued to gape at him as her heartbeat began to stabilise.

  “How doth a fine maiden such as thyself cometh to be thus situated?” he asked. “These here dungeons appear unseemly for a lady. Perchance thou might consent upon a knightly escort from such unsavoury quarters?”

  Translation: I’ll lead you out. Alex was all for that, as long as he wasn’t about to go ballistic on her again.

  “Just to clarify,” she said hesitantly, “you’re not going to chop me up into little pieces, are you?”

  “The lady need not fear Sir Camden,” he said. “I be a Protector Knight of the Highest Order. To induce harm on one such as thyself, I would truly hath to lose my head!”

  “Yeah, that sounds about right,” Alex mumbled. But in the end, she figured there was nothing for it. “I really should find my friends,” she told him. “Will you help me?”

  “A quest!” he cried, joyous. “A noble quest to find thy loyal retainers! Fear not, fair lady, for together we shalt uncover the mysteries of thy kinsmen’s whereabouts.”

  He reached down to pick up the sword she’d dropped and secured it into the empty scabbard at his waist. Then he offered her one of his gauntleted arms and, after glancing at it warily, she accepted his steadying grip.

  Sir Camden started to lead her down the corridor but after a few steps he paused in front of one of the many doors lining the hallway. When he opened it, Alex couldn’t keep from gasping. Spanning out farther than her eyes could see was a vast, grassy wasteland. If Jordan and Bear were in there, there was no way she would ever find them.

  But that wouldn’t stop her from trying.

  When Alex moved to step through the door, Sir Camden closed it in front of her.

  “Hey!” she cried.

  “Thou kinsmen not be through there,” he told her. “And there be naught point in wasting time on useless folly. We shalt continue onwards, fair lady.”

  He started walking down the corridor again, stopping in front of the next door. This one opened to a tropical rainforest, and it was so real that Alex could actually feel the humidity in the air as it blended with the cool draught in the stone hallway.

  When she moved towards it, the knight blocked her path again, so she asked, “How do you know they’re not in there? Or in the last one, for that matter?”

  “I hath been in this here Library for many millennia,” he said. “In such time, I hath discovered many secrets buried within. Thou wouldst do well to favour this knight’s judgement on the matter, lest thou wander off at will and perish.”

  He seemed to know what he was talking about, so she decided to follow his lead. That, and she didn’t want to perish.

  They continued up the corridor opening doors as they went. Some opened to what Alex considered normal library rooms—the type with actual books. But more often than not they opened to incredible sights: a desert, a swampland, a rocky mountainside, a beach at sunset. There was even an underwater city through one of the doors, and Alex was relieved to discover that a protective barrier kept the corridor from flooding.

  Unfortunately, that particular barrier wasn’t included with one of the other doors that opened to a monsoonal rainstorm. The water felt like daggers from the force of the wind blowing through the doorway, and within seconds Alex and Sir Camden were drenched. The knight grumbled about rusting, but he was kind enough to wait while Alex rung out her dripping clothes.

  Her favourite door by far was the one that led to outer space. Just like the underwater door, there was some kind of barrier that kept atmospheric levels balanced so they didn’t float off or lose oxygen. And the view was simply spectacular. Alex could have gazed upon the twinkling stars and distant planets for hours, but Sir Camden pulled her away.

  “Can’t we have another quick look?” she begged.

  He just continued to pull her further down the corridor and said, “When questing, one must be fully committed to one’s task, lest one become distracted and conquered.”

  She actually found the words to be very wise so she let him pull her away without further argument. And she got her own back when the next door opened to an ancient-looking weapons cache that had everything in it. There were swords and shields, bows and arrows, and crossbows with bolts already drawn to fire. Spears, scythes, maces—even jousting poles.

  Sir Camden was enraptured by the armoury and it was Alex who had the pleasure of closing the door in his face while throwing her own interpretation of his words back at him: “Someone wisely told me that when you’re on a mission, you have to be fully committed to your task, otherwise you can get distracted and fail.”

  He bowed slightly to her. “True words, fair lady, true words.”

  After a few more doors—including a particularly unpleasant one that opened to a blizzard and left Alex covered in snow and shivering from the cold—she couldn’t hold back her questions.

  “What’s the deal with this Library?” she asked. “Libraries are supposed to be filled with books. I know this one is… special… but what’s with all these random doors?”

  “A question I shalt use to answer thee,” Sir Camden replied. “Perchance two noble knights were to engage in a duel of swordsmanship in order to win the affections of a fair maiden. One such knight hath lived life by his sword. He hath fought in many a battle and won many a challenge. The other knight hath a scholar’s reputability. His esteemed intellectual knowledge of swordplay hath titled him a swords master of the highest order, however, he hath little practice with a blade, but for a few basic manoeuvres. Who doth thou believe would win the duel and capture the fair maiden’s heart?”

  “I feel like I’m stuck in the Middle Ages,” Alex murmured. Then she said, louder, “The man with the experience would win. The other guy might know what to do in theory, but he wouldn’t have the practical knowledge or experience needed to win the fight.”

  “Thou art correct, Lady Alexandra,” Sir Camden said. “And so true it be with this here Library. Literature may increase one’s depth of knowledge, but not all knowledge be found in literature. Only with practical experience can one truly learn and thus be considered knowledgeable.”

  Wow. He’d surprised her by actually answering her question—and making sense despite his out-dated speech.

  It was interesting. But it wasn’t as much of a surprise as it might have been had she not already experienced the hopscotch room and the tower above the clouds. Not to mention, how she’d fallen from that tower and through those clouds and then opened a previously non-existent door and… well, pretty much every adventure that she’d had in the Library truly was an actual experience. She had to admit they had all been kind of exhilarating. In a horror-movie kind of way.

  “Perchance thy loyal retainers art where thou last gazed upon them?” Sir Camden asked.

  “Huh?”

  Alex hadn’t realised that they’d reached the end of the corridor. There were no more doors to enter, no more incredible and unbelie
vable sights to witness—just a dead end with a solid stone wall. But that should have been impossible, because when she’d run away from the headless suit of armour, she’d started at the bottom of a staircase and sprinted straight down the only corridor.

  The place was a labyrinth.

  As if that wasn’t enough, for the second time that day all the torches extinguished, leaving them surrounded by darkness.

  “Not again,” Alex groaned.

  Just like the last time, the light came back quickly. And just like the last time, she was shocked by what was in front of her.

  “That was weird,” Bear said. “It was like a blackout, but… not.”

  Alex couldn’t believe it. Both her friends were standing at the bottom of the staircase, right where she’d last seen them. She glanced behind her and, sure enough, the room was once again closed off with a solid stone wall. There was no sign of the corridor beyond.

  “There must have been some kind of draught or something that blew out the torches. But they seem okay now,” Jordan said, before glancing over at Alex and doing a double-take. “Whoa! Check out the wicked-cool suit of armour behind you!”

  Alex gaped at him. Was that seriously all he had to say?

  “I could’ve sworn that wasn’t there a moment ago,” Bear said. “But it is pretty cool. And in great condition.”

  Bear walked towards Sir Camden and reached out a hand to lift his visor, but the knight moved faster and locked his gauntleted hand around her friend’s flesh.

  “Aghh!” Bear tried unsuccessfully to jerk his arm back. “What the—”

  “One doth not disturb a knight’s armour without consequence, young sir. Even if one be the fair Lady Alexandra’s loyal kinsman. Doth the young lord challenge Sir Camden to a duel in the most noble of contests?”

  Bear stared at the knight with wide eyes and a pale face. “Err—huh?”

  “He wants to know if you’re challenging him to a swordfight,” Alex translated.

  Bear looked at her, then back to Sir Camden, taking in the lethal sword belted to the knight’s waist. He finally looked back to his own arm which was still trapped in a vice-like grip. “Uh—no, thank you,” he said. “I’m kind of attached to my limbs.”

  Jordan chuckled quietly. “No pun intended.”

  “As thou wish,” Sir Camden said, releasing Bear’s arm. “Perchance another opportunity shalt avail itself to us at a more agreeable time.”

  “Not likely,” Bear mumbled under his breath as he massaged his wrist. Alex could already see bruises forming on his skin.

  “Doth these gentlemen be thy loyal kinsmen, Lady Alexandra?” Sir Camden asked.

  “Yes, these are my friends,” Alex answered.

  “Very good,” he replied. “Another quest hath come to a victorious end. I fare thee well, loyal retainers, and I leave the lady under thy protection.”

  He saluted formally to Jordan and Bear and they mimicked the gesture back to him, albeit awkwardly. The knight seemed satisfied by their attempt and turned to Alex.

  “I bid thee farewell, my lady,” Sir Camden said, bowing again and raising her hand to where his mouth would be if not for the armour. “Whenever thou hath need of my knightly services, thy need only call for me, and I shalt come to thine aide.”

  “Thank you for all your help, Sir Camden,” she said, gently pulling her hand from his metallic grasp.

  “Until next we meet, Lady Alexandra,” he said cheerily, turning around and walking straight through the solid stone wall.

  Jordan sucked in a surprised breath. “How did he do that?”

  Without waiting for an answer, he walked over to the wall, pressing against it. It didn’t budge under his weight, and when he vanished Alex guessed he was attempting to use his transcendence gift. A second later he reappeared, apparently unsuccessful.

  “I can’t get through,” he said. “It must be warded like our dorms.”

  “Where did he come from in the first place?” Bear asked, joining Jordan at the wall. “It was like he just appeared out of nowhere!”

  Alex waited in silence while they continued exclaiming their shock over the knight’s appearance and disappearance.

  “I don’t think we’re going to get anywhere this way,” Jordan finally said. “Let’s head back upstairs and see if we can find a secret level somewhere else.”

  “I agree,” said Bear. “There’s sure to be heaps of places to find, especially since the Library likes you or whatever, Alex.”

  “Are you serious?” she finally snapped. “Don’t you have any questions for me? Like, ‘Are you all right?’, ‘Where have you been?’ or even, ‘What’s with the deranged knight who tried to kill you but has now declared himself your protector?’ ”

  They looked at her like she was crazy.

  “Err… Are you all right?” Jordan asked.

  “Let’s see,” she started, her exasperation obvious. “I’ve just spent hours searching aimlessly for you both, since I had no idea where you were or if you were okay. And that’s not even mentioning the years I’ve had taken off my life from fear of decapitation by an enchanted, headless suit of armour hell-bent on killing me. Which, by the way, was a super fun experience.” Her sarcasm may have been a little overdone, but it was totally justifiable in her opinion.

  “So to answer your question: no, I’m not all right.” She ended her rant. “And quit staring at me like that.”

  “Maybe you should start at the beginning,” Jordan said tentatively.

  She crossed her arms. “Oh, so now you want to hear about it, huh?”

  “Alex,” Bear said, walking over to her and placing a calming hand on her shoulder. “We didn’t mean to seem rude, but you have to understand that, as far as we’re aware, you’ve been with us ever since we walked down those stairs a few minutes ago.”

  “You thought I was with you? Why would you…” Alex took in his troubled expression and frowned. “Did you say a few minutes ago?”

  He nodded. She looked over at Jordan who seemed just as confused by her outburst as Bear.

  “We only just walked down the stairs,” Jordan said. “When the lights went out, it was dark for about three seconds before we could see again. And your knight friend was with us then, Sir Can-Opener or whatever his name was.”

  “Sir Camden,” she said absentmindedly.

  “Last week when you fell down the black square, more time passed for you than for us,” Bear pointed out. “Maybe the same thing happened again here?”

  “There must be some kind of distorted space–time continuum when you actually enter the inner Library areas,” Jordan mused. “That would come in handy in so many ways.”

  Alex shook her head in baffled amazement. “Once again, I feel like I’ve entered a sci-fi movie. And that’s ignoring the fact that I’m from another world. This is insane. But there’s no other explanation.”

  She looked at her friends and felt immediately guilty. “I’m sorry for snapping at you both. I was just worried, and then annoyed, and then confused. Not a good combination.”

  Bear squeezed her shoulder and smiled his acceptance of her apology.

  “No sweat, babe,” Jordan said with a wink.

  She narrowed her gaze. “Don’t call me that.” He smirked despite her warning tone, so she added, “Or I’ll tell Sir Camden that you called him a can-opener and challenged him to a duel.”

  His smirk dropped right off his face. “Fine,” he mumbled, ignoring Bear’s laughter. “But we want the entire story. Don’t leave anything out.”

  The three of them sat at the bottom of the staircase while she told them everything that had happened.

  When she was finished, Jordan asked, “Do you think you’ll ever see him again? Sir Can—er—Camden?”

  “Why? Are you worried I’ll tattle on you?” she asked.

  “I reckon I could take him,” Jordan said, flexing his arm muscles.

  Bear and Alex burst out laughing and, after mock-scowling at them, Jordan joi
ned in.

  “Seriously, though,” Bear said, “he seemed pretty adamant that you’d meet again.”

  “After I gave him back his head—and how weird does that sound?—he said he would be forever in my service. I just have to call and he’ll come, apparently.”

  “Stalker alert,” Jordan said with a chuckle.

  “I’m sorry we weren’t there when you needed us,” Bear said, “but it sounds like you did more than okay on your own.”

  “Yeah,” Jordan agreed. “Still, I wish we could’ve come. I would’ve loved to have seen those doorways. Maybe the Library will let us go with you on the next adventure?”

  “I hope so,” Alex said. She felt proud of what she’d accomplished on her own, but she would have had more fun with Bear and Jordan by her side.

  Her stomach chose that moment to interrupt their conversation by grumbling at an embarrassingly loud pitch.

  “Hungry?” Bear said.

  Alex snorted. “What gave me away?”

  “Come on,” Jordan said, pulling her to her feet. “I think you’ve had enough excitement for the day. Let’s go get you some food.”

  No argument here, Alex thought, and she followed her friends back up the stairs.

  Twenty

  The next week of classes crawled by so slowly that it was officially dubbed the ‘Never-ending Week’. When Friday finally rolled around, Alex’s first three subjects dragged on forever, but when the gong sounded at the end of Chemistry, she could practically see the light at the end of the tunnel. All she had to do was get through one more class and she’d be on holidays for the next two weeks.

  “I can’t believe Fitzy’s still going on about how great your fireball was,” Jordan said with a laugh as they left their Chemistry room and started down the corridor.

  “I know!” Alex said, remembering how she’d accidentally blown up half the lab earlier that week. “It wasn’t even that impressive—it may have looked big, but it didn’t damage much. No staying power.”

  “Says the girl who walked around for three hours without any eyebrows,” Jordan murmured.