From behind me, the silence was broken by the doctor’s voice. “The Obsidian Crown is not just made of obsidian. Every particle of that crown was imbued with a gravitational force far greater than normal. In Xana, we call this an Oblivion Stone. The crown has seven of such stones. It is said that it is so powerful it can fold time and space with a single shard. Many kings and queens have tried to get the crown but without the proper magical transition, they seem to, well, die. It’s like getting a new technology; you need the instructions and you need the password to use it.
“You might not appreciate how dangerous the knights are. They are fanatical magis of the highest order. They are not after material things like money or political power. They want pure and sheer power. Anyone who can command time and space can command anything. They can rule both Xana and the Terran world. They can rule all the realms.”
“Who would want such a power? Why would they want that?” Hailey asked.
Dr. McGrath said, “Why do people seek power? Sometimes they do it for revenge, for love, for sheer obsession and greed. I don’t know but history is replete with people who become addicted to power. Who knows, maybe the Knights are working for someone who wants to rule both worlds.”
“More hocus-pocus! I don’t believe it!” Blaise said and he pulled Taylor closer to him. He winced when she touched his still healing shoulder. “All I want to know is who is trying to kill us? How do we find out who they are? And how do we kill them first?”
“Who cares? Knights or not, the effect is the same. You were burned just a few minutes ago, and let’s not forget that Kieran is dead. Whoever they are, they are the enemy!” the doctor said.
Everyone got quiet thinking through what she said. I don’t think everyone agreed she was correct, but no one was going to volunteer to prove her wrong when we just attacked by three fireball-throwing mages.
Doctor McGrath said, “It’s time to go back. Remember what we discussed. When you go back, you must not have any visible signs of what just happened or what you now know. We can not risk upsetting the dominant reality.”
We all nodded but I seriously doubted that anyone understood what she meant.
I looked around the room. I wanted to remember as much of it as possible. The strong smell of Sampaguita and camia, the thickness of the carpet, the coziness of the fire. The shimmers were still there, the colors more vibrant here than in our reality. I wondered if it the colors, the intensity, had any significance at all. .Maybe there was a magical connection. A few days ago, I would have chucked this experience under the “Abigail Going Crazy” column but now, I could easily to put it under “Investigate Further”. And maybe I have not gone too far off the deep end as I previously thought.
The bottom line is that I can’t share any knowledge of the crown with anyone yet, until I am sure. So many secrets. I stood to prepare to go back in time.
CHAPTER 11
The Rescue Mission
“Stand back as I give the incantation to open a portal to the Black Rose,” the doctor said as she hobbled over to the second fireplace Like before, the fire turned green.
“Go now. Don’t forget. You will need to get back to the library. If you are thinking, you can just skip out as soon as you get there, I’m telling you now, it’s a very bad idea, there will be two of you running around and it’s a situation that even the magic of your world, as imperceptible as it is, will not allow. Both timelines must merge or both will disintegrate and you won’t even have a body to bury, quite literally. You understand?”
“We got it,” we all replied. I grimaced inwardly and hurried along with the others.
“And you must choose the past as the dominant timeline so you go back to before Kieran dies!” she shouted as we were all getting ready in front of the fireplace.
“We got it!” we repeated.
We entered the green fire and were immediately sucked into the tunnel with the River of Time. The second trip was just as alien as the one before. The major difference was I was no longer afraid of crashing into the blobs. After some undetermined time, one of the green blobs ahead opened up and I saw natural sunlight pouring through. I assumed that was our portal and I stepped through it. I walked straight out of the fireplace, far more mundane than the one I just came from.
Hailey, who stepped out first, mouthed, “Welcome to the Black Rose Bookstore and Antiquary.”
We stepped out of the fire one by one and took a look around. We saw a staircase going upstairs. It was cordoned off with a sign that said “Third floor. Members Only.” I assumed we were walking up to the second floor.
Some people turned their heads to see what was going on with the fireplace but no one seemed alarmed or curious that four teenagers emerged from the fireplace at all. What was more surprising to me was that I was accosted by the myriad of colors shimmering from a number of people on the floor. I’d never seen so many people with halos. They seemed to notice us with some curiosity, but the ones with no halos didn’t even look.
“Hello,” I said meekly and some nodded their response. Despite the kaleidoscope of colors clouding my vision, I tried to act as natural as possible. Hailey pulled me over and we headed down to the first floor.
There were a lot more people on the first floor but only a few with shimmers. Those that had them gave us nonchalant looks and continued on with what they were doing. But the people without the shimmers became suddenly aware of the bedraggled teens in their midst. They were polite but they were very curious about our appearance based on the disapproving stares we were getting. I pulled on my sweater and tried to straighten my skirt. I had not expected this level of scrutiny since we only got cursory glances from the second floor customers. I elbowed Hailey to do the same, who passed the word on. But our attempt to look presentable was no use. We looked like we came from a fight and Blaise still had a bloodied and torn shirt.
“Oh what a fight! Sorry, darling, I just had to show that Kieran who’s boss around here!” Blaise said in a loud jovial voice.
“I told you not to get into any more fights! But I’m glad you won!” Taylor followed up, picking up on Blaise’s fib.
“Buy me a snack then?” he said and that gave us a way to get out of the crowd and outside the store.
As soon as everyone was outside, I said, “Everyone check if you have anything we can use here, cell phones, cash, credit cards—”
“Listen, we don’t know who these Knights are. They could be anyone. We better not say anything to anybody,” Hailey said as we rummaged through our pockets. Unfortunately, I was the only one with a backpack and a phone.
“I will call for Uber to pick us up. It should be here in a few minutes,” I said while checking for a signal. “We should probably stay somewhere indoors. We shouldn’t be seen out here.”
“I agree. It’s going to be tough explaining what we are doing in an antique store much less, in an antique store in another city while we are supposed to be in detention,” Hailey said.
I nodded but in my mind, I could hear the warning from Detective Dewitt: “Don’t leave the school”. I brushed it away and I made the request for pickup and then followed the group back inside.
Now that we had a solution for getting to the library, I was able to focus on observing my surroundings more. The antique store was in a very old Victorian house. There were three stories: the first floor had all collectibles of different kinds, from old hair brushes, to old milk cans, furniture, kitchen utensils, and the like.
The second floor was dedicated to all the collectible books, posters, paintings and sculptures. Along the walls were a collection of esoteric reading on witchcraft, magic, and other supernatural subjects. The books were kept in cordoned off areas whereas the supplies and tools were kept in glass shelves. I even saw a case with different kind of wands, ranging from simple branches that looked like twigs or branches to the more elaborate, gem-encrusted ones
.
The stairs to the upper third floor was barricaded with a red cord that we saw earlier.
“I’m going to take a quick look upstairs,” Hailey decided.
“No, you’re not,” Taylor hissed. “We are on a mission and I don’t want us to get caught and die because you decided this is a good time to display your utter disregard for authority.”
“Well if you guys are not coming, I’m going alone,” Hailey hissed back.
“No, we are not going!” Taylor said as she looked at me for support.
I shrugged. “Not my call.”
“Fine, you guys can get us from the coffee shop on the first floor when you’re done sightseeing! C’mon, Blaise.” Taylor swished her thick hair against our faces as she stormed away.
But before I could say anything to Hailey, she was already beyond the cordoned area. I thought I better make sure that Hailey got back downstairs for the Uber so I followed her upstairs.
I nearly hit Hailey head on as she suddenly stopped. She gave a low whistle when her head went past the final step of the staircase and she could see into the top floor. I stepped aside and joined her in gawking at the dark and gloomy room. I noticed a pungent smell coming from a cauldron with a green fire lit under it. I nodded towards it to point it out to Hailey. I thought it best to be quiet because there might be someone using the cauldron. When no one showed up, we stepped on the next step.
Creeaak echoed in the room as I stepped on a loose board. I gasped and clapped my hand over my mouth. Hailey frowned at me.
I mouthed, “I’m sorry.”
Hailey shook her head and put her index finger over her lips. We stared at each other like frightened statues. We listened and waited, expecting someone to blast through the darkness and attack us.
We continued to the top landing and looked around. Along the walls were hundreds of books of every size and color but all of them faded with age. I let my hand trace a line across the spines of each book as I walked past them. I ran my fingers over the thick and supple leather, which I thought was curious given their apparent age. I pulled one book down and opened it. I couldn’t make out the words so I got closer to the light of the green fire and squinted hard. I realized that despite the beautiful calligraphy, the words were not recognizable to me. Although the symbols, felt familiar even though I consciously knew I could never have seen them before.
I beckoned Hailey over and showed her the book. Hailey then pulled another book and opened it. She shook her head, indicating she didn’t understand any of it either. We put the books back and continued on to the next bookcases. This one had jars of scary looking dead things, like frogs, insects, and petrified plants but neatly encased in glass jars covered in intricately designed lids all silver in color.
“Eww,” mouthed Hailey. She smiled and moved on to the next section. This area didn’t have any bookcases but it had two huge gilded frames about a foot taller than Hailey. “Whoa!” she said in awe.
“What is it?” I followed her and stopped in amazement.
Inside the first frame was a set of huge butterfly wings of blue and black color. Next to it was another set of wings all in white, so white, it glistened. Wow, that must be some butterfly, I thought. We were both stunned at how beautiful the wings were that we stared at it for a long while.
I couldn’t shake the feeling that as almost all of the things in the here are both gorgeous and sublime yet there’s a certain sadness to each I cannot explain.
My phone vibrated. “Hey, Uber’s downstairs. We have to go.”
Hailey was still staring at the huge wings but nodded and followed me.
We retraced our steps back to the staircase. But as we left that floor, I couldn’t shake the feeling we were being watched.
Once we arrived at the school, we decided that the best place to find Kieran was by the Triangle. Blaise remembered that Kieran was the last one to arrive at detention. So we ducked behind the bushes to hide from our past-selves. Within a few moments, we saw my past-self walking towards the building, taking my time, enjoying the garden.
“C’mon, go!” I urged my past-self. Even Taylor giggled at that.
Then we saw Hailey’s past-self walk by. A few minutes later, Taylor and Blaise’s counterparts also entered the library as they did originally.
I turned to our present selves and said, “Listen, Blaise, Taylor, it might be better if Kieran doesn’t see you guys. It might spook him and not go with us. Remember to make sure that you do not converge before we are all in the room. You don’t want to get sucked into the wrong timeline,” I reminded everyone.
“You’re right. We will meet you right in front of the library. There’s a bathroom to the right as soon as you go through the building door. I don’t mean the library doors, the building’s front doors,” Blaise answered.
“Okay, okay, we know,” Hailey said.
After Blaise and Taylor left, I looked at Hailey and said, “Hailey, we need to make sure our timing is perfect.”
“I understand. Don’t worry.”
“I have to. Wait, there he is,” I said as I saw Kieran enter the courtyard. He was half-running to the library, looking at his watch while trying to keep his books from falling.
I went round the bushes and ended up behind him. “Hey, Kieran! Are you going to detention now?” I said nonchalantly.
Surprised, Kieran stopped and looked at me. He blinked a couple of times and said, “Yeah, I am. Are you also...?”
“Yes, yes I am. You want to walk with me then?”
“Sure!”
I pulled my phone and looked at the time. It was 4:15. The attack happened at 5:00. We had forty-five minutes to get to the library. If we are still out here when Knights attack, then everyone would die. Not just Kieran. I couldn’t take any chances but I had to still remain calm or I might spook Kieran.
“Oh hey, Hailey. You want to walk with us? Kieran and I are in detention at the Solomon Triangle Library.”
“Yeah, sure. I’ll walk with you,” she said awkwardly.
Kieran looked at both of us and seemed skeptical of our true purpose but nevertheless said, “Thank you for walking with me. It’s really not safe here.”
Looking at him, he seemed so small and helpless. I felt so bad for him especially having witnessed the original timeline when Blaise was bullying the past-Kieran.
“Don’t worry, Kieran, you can hang out with us. We will protect you from that brut, Blaise,” Hailey said with a little cough when she realized she shouldn’t have said anything about Blaise.
Kieran was startled by the comment and dropped his books. He started to pick them up while stuttering “Is...is he...Blaise going to be in detention with us?”
I looked at Hailey sharpish and bobbed my head sideways to tell her to help Kieran with his books. I pointed at the time face of my phone and mouthed, “We’re running out of time.” Hailey understood and started picking up Kieran’s books.
“Don’t worry about it. He bullies everyone but we will sit with you. Just hurry, you are already quite late. And we don’t want to be late for detention. C’mon let’s go,” she urged Kieran.
“Yes, yes you’re right!” he said and loped along next to us while we tried to make sure he didn’t drop his books again.
We entered the building and from the bathroom, Taylor said, “Now!”
Blaise tackled Kieran into the bathroom and Taylor put her hand over his mouth and shushed him to silence. Kieran was wriggling and fighting to get out of Blaise’s strong arms. I followed Hailey in.
“Don’t worry, Kieran. I promise you we are doing this for your protection. Just trust us. Just a few more minutes,” Taylor said as she struggled with Kieran to keep him quiet.
“How could you? I trusted you! Traitor!” Kieran squirmed and tried to scream under Taylor’s gag.
I looked at Taylor and Hail
ey. “You guys need to get in there first and converge. Blaise and Kieran can’t yet because they might accidentally meet themselves in the hallway.”
Taylor and Hailey snuck into the library but they couldn’t risk a convergence with their past-selves in front of everyone so they hid behind the bookcases but they put a book to prop the door open.
I looked at my phone again. “Four forty. Just a few more minutes. After a while I looked again. “Four fifty five. Get ready.”
We saw Professor Andrews rush out of the library, phone against one ear and arm wrapped around the stash of papers in a dead run.
After a few minutes, we heard past-Blaise’s voice, “You coward!”
Then we heard the library door slam.
In a few seconds, we heard past-Blaise walking down the hallway. Present-Blaise said, “Let me see.”
“No, we can’t take the chance. You stay there, I will look,” I said as I stuck my head out. “Past-Blaise just went past us. Oooh ohh!”
“What happened?” present-Blaise asked.
“They’re here. The hooded men, they just got here! Get ready, Blaise. You know what to do, right?”
“Yes.” On that answer, I said, “I’m going now. You guys follow.” Blaise nodded. I opened the door and sprinted into the darkness, guided only by the light under the library door. I needed to be quick but quiet. I couldn’t alarm our past-selves in the room. I slowed myself down when I got close to the door and crept inside.
I slipped in just in time. I looked around to see everyone’s past-self. The doctor was leaning on the table with the black box. Then the first attack started and it was chaos. Our past selves were in a panic state: Hailey pulling Kieran’s body and Taylor running towards the door to open it.
I shouted, “Now! Now! Now!”
The Obsidian Crown of the Lost Dominion Page 9