Chapter 16

           “Bloome!” Lifea screamed as the elven boy’s figure tumbled among the stuffed shelves. Acacia ran after his blurred figure, trying to corner whatever kept leaping onto him. “Claris! Get between those two shelves! We can corner it!” Annice shouted, probably getting the same idea as Acacia.

            Claris dashed for the two shelves titled “History” and “Aliens”. Annice and Acacia both ran for the other ends of the shelves, realising a second too late that they were running towards each other from opposite directions before they crashed.

            “Ow,” Acacia rubbed her forehead where Annice had smashed into her. Even worse, Bloome had tripped over their entangled legs and fell with a “oof”.  The creature reared up, and Acacia saw that it was a giant brown spider, with eight spindly legs, six eyes and a few strands of black hair on its back.

         “Calm down, Dubious,” a voice commanded from behind the giant spider. The spider back down and bowed its head. A tall, robed man stepped out from behind him, scoffing at Acacia Annice and Bloome’s pile.

            Lifea dropped to one knee. “I didn’t recognise Dubious.” The man sniffed an waved his hand dismissively. “Dubious will forget,” he inclined his head toward the giant spider. “That’s Dubious?” Claris clarified, helping Acacia up.

            “Yes, and you and your friends are very fortunate that I decided to grant you special permission to enter the library. Elvina’s time was during the Magic War, and she was most distrustful.” The Magic War was the two-year long war that had destroyed three cities and four tribes.

            Acacia guessed that the man was Aelfric. Aelfric smoothed his slick, black hair and checked his reflection on the shiny surface of a book.

           “Well, don’t tell me I gave you that special permission for you to stand there and gape!” Aelfric snapped. Everyone rushed for a book while Aelfric stormed away, muttering to himself. Acacia studied the title of the book she’d grabbed.

            It was about the aliens from another solar system, Cloudstorm. Must as well read it. The aliens had no knowledge of Dyia, and they didn’t have magic or abilities. In fact, they just went around their daily lives, unaware that the thing they called fantasy was real.

            Their solar system had eight planets, plus a giant fire ball which they called a ‘sun’. Dyia was made of two solar systems, each with four planets. Skysun had a warm, red moon. Moostar had a cool, blue ‘sun’.

            Lifea and Annice had both picked history books, one about life before life had a name, and the Magic War. Lifea summed up that Gaia, the most powerful being in the universe had a little sister, Dyia.

            Gaia created Cloudstorm, and Dyia created Moonstar and Skysun. Gaia gave life to all three solar systems, but Dyia refused to give magic to Cloudstorm—she’d already given magic to her solar systems—so Gaia banished her. In the other universe, Dyia secretly made eight being completely from magic, representing the elements.

            She cursed them to be spies, disguised them as guardians and sent them to Gaia’s universe to spy. Unfortunately, the spies thought they were actual guardians, and split up to protect Cloudstorm, Moonstar and Skysun.

            They roam all three solar systems undercover with their unimaginable power. A millennia later, Gaia allowed Dyia back into her universe, and their rule lasts until today. No one knows the Guardians’ identities, but they’re immortal, so Gaia thinks they won’t be able to keep the secret any longer.

            Even with all the new knowledge, there was almost nothing about Scalers, or shadows, or the shadows’ leader, the Shadowness. “Ugh! This is the last book I’m reading!” Claris slumped on the mahogany table.

            “Wow, you made it through four books. Good job,” Annice said, laying the sarcasm on thick. She was midway through a stack of yellowing scrolls, and Bloome was somewhere among the identical shelves. Lifea was just picking books out and placing them on the table while the others read.

            “This is hopeless.” Acacia threw up her arms. There was really nothing about anything they’d come for. “If it helps, you are welcome to search the other thirteen floors,” Lifea huffed, heaving a heavy book onto the table.

            Acacia glared at the elven girl. “Well, since we both don’t want to do this, how about just send us back to Moonstar with a Solark and we’re all good?”

            “Don’t you want to find out why you didn’t die?” Annice remarked, with her most innocent ‘I didn’t say that’ face. Acacia sighed loudly. But she did want to find out why. “Let’s try to make it quick. The faster we read, the faster we’ll get back home.”

            “Speak for yourself,” Claris got up, “you guys are so reading, and I’ll scour the shelves upstairs. See you.” She raced to the spiral stairs. Now it was Lifea’s turn to sigh. “Guess it’s up to us now.”

            Acacia flipped open a book titled ‘TELEPORTALS’. Lifea’s theory was correct, and teleportals couldn’t allow people to teleport from one solar system, but Solarks allowed people to. And the most recent update was that animals couldn’t create both portals.

            Which brought them back to the question—how did Gullen teleport them from Moonstar to Skysun? Even more questions and lesser answers. So much for a productive trip to Elvina’s Royal Library. “I know I sound like Claris, but this is the most boring thing I’ve ever seen.” The statement came from everyone at the table, with varying degrees of boredom.

            Lifea slammed her cover closed. Then she picked up a scroll to read. Aelfric’s pet spider, Dubious came by every ten minutes, picking out a book or scroll. And Claris had been gone upstairs for at least an hour, which was pretty short, considering the upper floors were slightly bigger than downstairs.

            “I found something,” Bloome whispered into Acacia’s ear. “Why are we whispering?” Acacia asked quietly. “Just meet me at the garden at the back of Lifea’s palace.” And he went back to searching.

            After a few more hours, everyone was walking down the intricate path to the spring. “That was unhelpful,” Annice grumbled. “I mean, there wasn’t even one thing about animals teleporting or anything else. Just a bunch of history books and nothing.”

            “I know,” Acacia sighed. Claris kicked the sole of her shoe. “Does that mean we can go home now? Y’know, at least back to school,” she said. Lifea glared intensely at her. “Of course. And Acacia can go too. All of you can.”

            “I thought you said we could only go back when we found out why the poison didn’t affect me,” Acacia noted. Lifea huffed. “I take that back. You’re all going back—tonight.” Bloome stared at Lifea like he was seeing her for the first time. “I have something to tell Acacia. They can stay at your palace for the time being, right?”

            “Fine,” Lifea growled. She grumpily chanted the spell to get them to Sunhilde and stomped towards her palace. What was she so angry about? Their unproductive day? Once they reached the palace, Lifea ran off on an ‘errand’.

            One of the maids showed Acacia, Annice and Claris to their bedrooms. The canopy beds and wispy window curtains and smooth carpet was meant to be tranquilising, but Acacia could feel the nerves in her stomach. What had Bloome found out that was so important it had to be kept a secret?

            Claris strode into the room after Acacia. “So . . . what’s up with you and Bloome?” She demanded. “He wanted me to meet him at the garden because he found something that apparently needs to be a secret,” Acacia explained.

            “No, I mean, seriously,” Claris raises her eyebrows.

            “What?”

            “You do know he just asked you out, right?”

            “He didn’t.”

            “How did you not miss that?” Claris teased. “I mean, he gets all dreamy-eyed when he talks to you.” When Acacia gave her a ‘did I miss something?’ face, she adds, “And he wanted you to meet privately. That’s the deal.”

            “No! You got it wrong,” Acacia argued. Though that could be his motive. “I’m just ten, there’s no way I can do that kind of thing yet.”

            “Right-o.” Claris flashes a mischievous grin. “Well, better dress up for elfy-boy. Can’t let him see you in that.” She points at Acacia’s dress. “If he’s really doing that, he’ll be sorry,” she muttered. Claris went out to let her change into something simpler—a black shirt, a shimmering skirt, and leggings.

            Acacia lay down on her canopy bed until the bustling in the hallway got quieter and slipped out of bed. The black low-boots she chose had heels, and Acacia hoped the constant clacks wouldn’t draw too much attention.

            Just when she thought she was clear, a rope holding a jar of honey swung towards her face. “What the—” Acacia ducked as the jar flew over her head, and into someone’s face.