“What should we do now?” Sarah asked.
“Ask the numbered guys,” Jill answered, pointing to One and Two.
The bodyguards approached. Number Two chattered into his headset and Number One greeted Sarah and Jon with a bow. He shot a curious glare at the woodworm just as Three and Four appeared on the scene.
“You safe,” One grunted, an eye still on the worm.
“Yes,” Sarah replied. “You got what you wanted, I take it.”
“Yes. Confirmed. Special two.”
“Us, I suppose.”
“Aye,” One said, reaching down and hefting Jon on his shoulder with one strong sweep. “Special.”
“How did you know a worm would be there?” Sarah asked.
“Follow thrill seekers. Always find.”
“Where’s Liam and Seth?” Jon asked. “I want to show them how cool this guy is.”
“Coming soon,” One grunted in reply, setting Jon back down.
Liam swooped in from around a corner, arms outstretched to greet them. “It is absolutely wonderful to see you two! We had our suspicions but this—this is incredible!”
One nodded. “Soon is now.”
“I see that,” Sarah said with a smile. “The games were just a test then?”
“The seers predicted two special ones. Worm Talkers,” Liam said. “We had to know if it was you two before they did.”
“Awesome!” Jon exclaimed.
Sarah shook her head. “I don’t understand. Who seeks us?”
“It’ll become clear soon enough,” Liam said. He caught sight of the woodworm for the first time as it peeked out from behind Jon. Liam took a step back and unsheathed his sword from his side. “You’re sure you have control of that beast?”
“Yes, he’s our friend!” Jon shouted, standing between them. “He won’t hurt anyone. He flickered back with us.”
Liam leaned in closer to inspect the worm. “Remarkable. Woodworms are ferocious beasts that travel through holes of their own creation. They aren't bound by the enchantment. Well, no matter. We need to lead you both to a safe place.”
“How about home?” Sarah asked, heading for the staircase. “Grandma and Grandpa must be worried sick by now. Come on, Jon. We need to talk to Mom too.”
Jon tugged on the worm and they followed together.
“They’re here in TwoSpells,” Liam called after her. “Your grandparents. Your mother. They’re here in the library.”
Sarah stopped short. “What do you mean? Here? Why?”
Liam waved a hand toward the rear of the library. “Your grandparents are in my personal quarters. And your mom is in our lab doing what she does best, medicine. The Shadow Beings would have used them against you—as bait, perhaps to lure you wherever they wanted.”
“I want to see them,” Sarah demanded. “Right now!”
“Yeah! Can we see them now?” Jon asked.
“Of course,” Liam answered.
“Can he come?” Jon asked, a hand still at the woodworm’s side.
“Of course you can bring it.”
Jon smiled and led his new friend forward. “It has a name you know.”
“And what might that be?” Liam asked.
“I’m not sure how it’s pronounced in his language,” Jon replied. “But it sounds like Boose.”
Sarah turned to ask Jack and Jill to come along too, but they were nowhere to be seen.
“Their job is finished. They’ve been returned to their own reality,” Liam said before Sarah could even ask. “I’m sure they would have loved to give a proper goodbye, but there isn’t time. Come on.”
Liam led them toward his quarters, passing inquisitive patrons who whispered and ogled them. “How do you communicate with him?”
“It’s hard to describe,” Jon replied. “Like a whisper without moving your lips.”
“When he speaks it sounds like I’m reading feelings to myself—you know, in my head,” Sarah added.
“Interesting,” Liam said with a bit of a spring in his step. “Telepathy. Not what I was expecting.”
They passed through a maze of passageways, tunnels, and stairways that led deeper and deeper down into the library. They finally reached a wide set of vault doors. Ghoulish warriors lined the hall, weapons at the ready. They were slick, scaly green serpents with thick arms that hung nearly to the floor. Their heads were misshapen and their eyes deep and dark. One grimaced at Sarah as she passed by, presenting a set of sharp tusks.
“Orcan,” Liam said, waving them back against the walls of the hall. “A warring clan built for one thing: battle. They protect my quarters.”
Sarah tried not to make direct eye contact as they passed between them. The creatures made her nervous. Jon attempted to get a high five from one of them, but it didn’t seem to understand. He swatted the empty air as it grunted. As Boose squirmed by, they pressed themselves against the walls of the hallway nervously.
“Tough guys, aren’t they?” Jon whispered to Liam.
“Very,” Liam whispered. “Perfect watch dogs. The fiercest warriors the kingdom could employ. Not the brightest, though.”
“Why are they afraid of Boose?” Jon asked.
“A few centuries ago, the strongest clan of Orcan in the universe, the Emerald Reapers, attempted to domesticate the Woodworm,” Liam said, smirking. “It didn't turn out well for the clan.”
“Awesome battle I’ll bet!” Jon beamed.
“All I can say is—generations later and the Orcan haven't forgotten who the boss is,” Liam said, nodding at the cowering Orcan. He tugged open the twin doors and they strode in.
Grandma and Grandpa shuffled out from a large living area to greet them.
“About bloody time ya’ got here!” Grandpa exclaimed. “We was worried silly.”
Grandma hugged them both, teary eyed. She caught a glimpse of Boose and leapt back in fright.
“It’s all right, Grandma,” Sarah said, wrapping an arm around Boose as he cowered behind her, panting. “He’s a friend.”
“Are ya’ sure, child? I’ve heard tales of these beasts!” Grandma said.
“I’m sure, Grandma,” Sarah replied, giving Boose a pat on the head. “It’s our gift. We can communicate with each other. They’re not as bad as everyone thinks.”
“If ya’ say so, lass,” Grandma said, stepping back out from behind Liam tentatively. “I'm sorry ya’ both have been dragged into our predicament. It’s our fight. Not yours.”
“Cassie, it’s destiny. You can’t help that,” Liam interjected. “TwoSpells may be doomed without them.”
“Are we going to fight?” Jon asked, slashing at the air with an invisible sword.
“Afraid not,” Liam replied. “We can’t have you two out there in a danger like that. We’ll need your help with something bigger—better—more important. And first, we need that book back.”
Sarah looked to Grandpa and Grandma, her face flushing. “We hid it in Clyde’s room.”
Liam glared at Sarah as he paced the room. He rubbed his chin. “Why there?”
“We thought he was a spy,” Jon replied.
“And when your golems came to question Grandma and Grandpa, we thought it was Clyde who turned us in for having it,” Sarah added.
“Right under our noses,” Liam said, shaking his head. “Clever. Now, let’s get something to eat. Tomorrow, we’ll discuss the plan.”
The next morning, they were gathered around Liam’s dining table enjoying a big breakfast. Boose sat nearby, begging for scraps from Jon, who thought he was being sly as he slipped slices of sausage to the worm.
“Fine huntin’ dog ya’ got here,” Grandpa said, giving Boose a scratch along what might have been his chin.
“He’s not a dog, Grandpa,” Jon corrected him.
“Aye. Smart, though,” Grandpa said. He pinched off a piece of toast and tossed it to Boose. “May not be able to talk to him, but he certainly understands the language of food.”
Grandpa tossed a b
all into the sitting room and signaled for Boose to fetch it. He immediately retrieved it, returning for his treat.
“Good boy,” Sarah cheered.
Grandma entered the room sleepy-eyed and dragging her feet behind her walker. Boose glanced sideways with one of his swiveling eyes, the other still trained on the treat.
“What’s goin’ on in here?” Grandma asked.
“Grandpa taught Boose to do tricks,” Jon said, signaling Boose to lay down. He tossed him another treat. “See? He’s brilliant.”
Liam entered the dining area with Seth behind him. “We have a long day ahead of us. Eat as much as you like.”
“Are ya’ sure we can’t be of use to ya’?” Grandpa asked.
“Your safety here is more than enough,” Seth replied, steadying himself against the table as he leaned toward a slice of toast. “These creatures—the ones after our beloved library—they want nothing more than to enslave us all. They’ll stop at nothing until they’ve drained us of the one precious resource that can be found nowhere else.”
“Us?” Sarah asked.
“Feelings—the basis for the enchantment that fuels TwoSpells. They burrow into your subconscious and consume all of your positive thoughts and emotions,” Liam answered. “These Shadow Beings can mask themselves well. They rely on our bodies as hosts. They are—essentially—the most terrifying parasites our universe has ever seen.”
“Then we’ll just have to win!” Sarah said.
“It won’t be so easy, Sarah,” Seth said. “Our father is already in the process of reengineering the Shadow Beings into his warped image of perfection—a super race.”
The kitchen went silent except for Boose’s panting. Liam signaled to the kids. “Let’s go. No need to dwell on these things that may or may not happen. We know what we have to do.”
“Don’t let anythin’ harm me grandbabes,” Grandma said firmly. “Or ya’ might find somethin’ worse to fear than a few magical tricks.”
CHAPTER 31
THE NEXT FEW WEEKS WERE SPENT with Liam and Seth mapping the library and learning the ins and outs of how TwoSpells functioned. They were taught the placement of the departments, memorizing their layouts and hiding places. Every secret door and hidden stairwell was revealed to them in hopes it might help in the coming battle.
Jack and Jill made a few appearances, helping to teach them the proper way to flicker from story to story and how to orient themselves better when returning to TwoSpells. Sarah learned that books could be used as weapons by drawing objects and creatures from their pages or used to capture someone, sending them to the world between their bindings.
Each night, Sarah and Jon returned to Liam’s living quarters, mentally and physically exhausted. Grandpa and Grandma spent these evenings sharing more tales about their youth and how they spent their days at TwoSpells.
One evening, Liam laid a small leather pouch on the dining table as they ate. “I brought two very special gifts with me tonight,” he said.
Everyone gathered around to watch as the bag was slowly opened. Liam tilted it on its end and two beautiful amulets slid out onto the table. They were set with smooth, marbled stones, polished to a fine finish and sparkling in the dim light of the kitchen lamp.
“They’re beautiful,” Sarah said, lifting one up by the fine leather cord. She pinched the golden ivy clasp and held it to her neck. “What are they for?”
“Buttress talismans,” Liam said. “My brother and I received these as young children. They protect the wearer from a very particular type of magic. We’ll save that talk for another day, but for now, feel free to wear them.”
Sarah slipped the talisman around her neck. It glowed softly against her chest. “Thank you.”
Jon held his up high in the air as if he were channeling power from the heavens. “Yeah! Thanks, Liam! I can already feel the butt-rest power!”
Liam grinned at Jon’s remark.
“There’s an interesting tale behind these amulets,” Liam added. “It involves a battle that raged between worlds—with Earth caught in the middle, of course. Not unlike where we stand presently. I hope that they fulfill their purpose.”
“Why aren’t you and Seth wearing them?” Sarah asked.
“Ultimately, the two of you are much more important to TwoSpells than we are,” Liam replied. And with that, he left.
The following morning, Liam and Seth arrived looking deathly serious. They called Sarah and her grandmother into the dining area and set a leather satchel on the table.
“Where is everyone?” Liam asked.
“Grandpa took Jon to go grab some things he needed from the house,” Sarah replied. “They said they’d only be gone for a few hours.”
“Useless golems,” Liam muttered, shaking his head. “I thought I told everyone to stay put.”
Grandma shuffled closer, touching the satchel. A soft glow emanated from her palm. “Is that what I think it be, lad?”
Sarah was confused. “What it is?”
“Open it up,” Grandma demanded. “Ya’ can’t keep us in suspense.”
Liam turned the satchel up and the special TwoSpells text tumbled out, flipping open.
“It’s back!” Sarah exclaimed. “Isn’t that a good thing?”
“Yes and no,” Seth replied. “Clyde claimed to have found it under his bed, as expected, and claimed he had no idea how it got there. He admitted to hiding it in a root cellar some time back.”
“What’s wrong with that? That sounds legit to me,” Sarah said.
“The problem,” Liam began. “Is that he spoke to our father out of fear of being held responsible. He struck some kind of deal and was promised something very special for its return. Thankfully, we intercepted him before he could make the trade.”
Seth shook his head. “Promised him his children back. Can you believe it? A bald-faced lie. The poor man was so easily swayed.”
“How he came upon the book in the first place is the real mystery,” Liam explained. “He claims he saw it dumped into the wishing well on your farm. Nothing more than that. Sheer curiosity drove him to investigate.”
“Did he say who dumped it there?” Grandma asked.
Liam turned back to the book and ran his hand along the leather binding. “I shouldn’t say.”
Grandma placed a hand on his. “Ya’ need to speak up, lad.”
“Your daughter,” he said, his gaze settling on Sarah.
Sarah gasped. “What’s my mom got to do with this?”
“I don’t know yet,” Liam replied. “But I’m going to find out.”
“What can we do to help?” Grandma asked.
Liam frowned. “We’re working on a plan. My father already knows we have this book. It’s only a matter of time before he sends for it. And Jeremy Sermack—”
“What about Sermack?” Grandpa asked. “He’s here? He’s in our world?”
“I’m afraid so, but the good news is I have a very special prison for the two of them being built as we speak,” Liam replied, examining his watch.
“They’re too bloody powerful!” Grandma bellowed. “There’s no way.”
Seth waved a hand across the table and a spectral hologram appeared, floating just above the surface. It was a building of some kind, but Sarah couldn’t understand the intricate design. “An anti-magic chamber. The vacuity sphere, we call it,” Seth said.
“A what?” Sarah asked.
“Once they flicker into the book, we’ll secure the area in our world where they entered. The location is tied to them, you see, and they’ll re-enter our world at that exact location. But the key here is that the enchantment needs a physical object or platform to adhere to—something tangible in our world. Like a GPS, it locks onto coordinates. In this case, we’ll be moving the slab of stone floor that the enchantment committed the portal to into the prison itself, so when they return, they’ll end up inside,” Liam explained.
“We should be ready by tomorrow,” Seth added. “That should be plenty o
f time to prepare.”
The front doors burst open and several bodyguards piled in.
“Cato. Jeremy,” Number One grunted. “Near TwoSpells.”
Without a word, Liam and Seth swept up the book and fled the room.
Sarah and Grandma spent the next few hours sitting in the living quarters trying to work out what to do. Jon and Grandpa hadn’t returned yet and they were starting to wonder if something had happened to them.
“Do you think—” Sarah began, but was interrupted by a loud knock outside the front doors.
Liam and Seth barged in, looking unhappy. Liam held his hands up. “I’m sorry. We haven’t located them yet. But we’ve evacuated the library and our Seventh Sense teams are scanning the archives for recent activity. If they flickered somewhere, one of them would have had to use their library card and we can track that. But they might’ve hopscotched through a series of books to avoid detection. Maybe we’ll get lucky.”
Sarah sank into her seat. “They could be anywhere by now.”
“We’ll find them,” Liam assured her again. “I prom—wait, what’s that?”
Liam pressed the device in his ear and smiled. He turned to Seth. “It’s done. The trap is sprung.”
“Just like that!” Seth cheered. “I knew they couldn’t resist.”
“What about my brother and grandpa?” Sarah asked.
“They’ll turn up,” Liam said. He held a hand out to her. “Come on, we’re leaving. I need you.”
“For what?”
“Let Boose know that we need him to follow us. Oh, and tell him to bring along as many woodworm friends of his as he can,” Liam replied.
Just before leaving, Liam paused to eye his old scepter leaning against the wall by the door. He snatched it up, swapping it with Grandpa’s old walking stick, and turned to Grandma. “Hope the old man won’t mind me borrowing this back. He’ll catch me later.”
CHAPTER 32
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