Chapter 20

             Acacia groaned through her pounding headache, wishing that the stone floor was softer. Apparently, she had only blacked out for a minute or two, according to Claris, who was helping her up. She felt so tired, that her body was literally drooping.

            “Is everyone okay?” She found the energy to ask. Claris nodded. “Yeah, we’re fine. Though that thing you did with the water was awesome. It was like the water was transporting.”

            “It did?” Acacia’s memory of her destroying the shadows’ army and the Scaler was all in a blur, mostly because there was an unseen force controlling her body when it happened. Maybe it was her ‘undetectable’ ability.

            Most of Sunhilde was in ruins in front of Acacia, with the added mess of gooey black puddles amongst the wood and plaster left of the houses. Lifea and Annice ran over to them. After quick hugs and assurances, they surveyed the damage of Acacia’s water tornado.

            “I think I know what your mystery ability is!” Annice exclaimed, clapping her hands. “It’s the Magiability Merger. The ability can merge two abilities together. It also explains why the poison didn’t affect you, because it your Merger Magiability merged the poison with your normal blood.”

            Lifea huffed. “You guys wrecked half my town, and still celebrate about discovering an ability? And you”—she pointed at Acacia—“first, you make go have a secret date with my boyfriend, then refuse to go back home even though you begged for it before. And you made me look bad in front of my people because you’re more powerful than me?”

            “I didn’t date Bloome, I don’t even like, like him. And he asked us to stay, and since you want us to leave so much, how about I just go now?” Acacia shot back. “And you set those honey-jar traps in the garden and hallway, didn’t you? So I wouldn’t meet Bloome.” Lifea was silent. Her eventual reply was to go and check on the townspeople.

            Acacia helped the cleaning elves remove the shadows’ remains and clear the water from village. Annice pulled out survivors with tail, using the harder sting to lift sodden boards. Claris, Lifea and Bloome reset the water fountain and led elves to the medic tent.

            It took nearly the entire day, but Sunhilde was cleaned and shiny once everyone was done. “I need to borrow you for a second,” Lifea hissed as she pulled Acacia aside. She dragged Acacia to behind her palace, near the courtyard.

            Another elf, one of the maids, was waiting. “This is Siri, she’s an Aurafier. She can sense your aura,” Lifea grumbled, marching beside the maid. Siri gave Acacia a shy smile and put her arms forward, moving them around in wave-like movements. Lifea glared. Why did she want Siri to take an aura reading of Acacia anyway?

            Acacia fidgeted.

            And fidgeted.

            And fidgeted.

And fidgeted. Finally, Siri swung her arms back to her side. “Each aura has three parts. Your abilities, your personality and emotions, and your potential for the future. Usually, magipeople’s strongest part of your aura is the abilities. However, your aura entire has been . . . muted by something. I can detect your aura, but I can’t completely . . . decipher it.”

Lifea looked so incredibly smug, Acacia wanted to punch her. But her smirk dropped when Siri raised her arms up again and frowned. “Strange. Have you used a Solark these past few days? There are traces of Solark remnants on you.”

“Solark remnants?” Lifea looked as confused as Acacia.

“After you emerge from a Solark, some part of it remains on you, like a remnant. It affects any aura reading, but yours has been incredibly recent. I ask again, have you used a Solark recently?” Siri scrunched her brow.

“No—but I have a theory that when a Scaler named Gullen dropped me into the sea, he used a Solark to get there,” Acacia replied. She still wasn’t sure how—animals weren’t supposed to be able to create or use Solarks and teleportals. Siri nodded.  

“I’m guessing you want to find out how he did that?” she smiled. “Yeah,” Acacia said carefully. Siri was nice—no argument about that—but after the bull, Gullen, shadow, and Scaler attacks, she was paranoid. “Solark remnants can be used to recreate a Solark. It usually leads to the place that was accessed before,” the maid explained.

“But . . . won’t I just get to the Hillary Hills? Again?” Acacia wondered. Though if she recreated the Solark, she could get home. And wasn’t that what Lifea wanted?

“No, I mean the place the Solark was made to lead to before,” Siri tried. Acacia’s eyes widened along with Lifea’s. If they did use the Solark remnants to follow Gullen, he might lead them to the shadows’ queen. The Shadowness that everyone was so afraid of. In their previous library searches, it was rumoured that the only thing the Shadowness was afraid of was the eight Guardians.

Unfortunately, no one knew who the Guardians were. They could be anywhere, disguised to fit in with the surroundings. “So, do you want to use the remnants?” Siri asked politely. Lifea snorted. “Uh, yeah. But no one else can come along. Especially not Bloome. Not your friends either.” She tilted her chin up at Acacia.

“Why not?”

“That big of a group would make it hard to sneak around.”

Siri sighed and waved her arms in specific movements, and Acacia felt antsy as a whole lot of somethings tickled her skin. Like sand. When the tickles stopped, Siri frowned even harder, and the remnants twisted together to create a Solark.

The Solark was simple. Starry galaxy sky, with silver electricity fizzing around the edges. “We’re going now? Don’t we need to prepare or something?” Acacia shivered. The Solark sure was cold. And not just that. They were going to go charging into a den of shadows, without preparation and planning? Lifea glared at her and stepped into the Solark. Okay . . . .

“I guess we’re going now,” Acacia mumbled as she slipped into the Solark.

                                                                zvzvzvzvzv

            “Aren’t there supposed to be guards patrolling?” Acacia whispered. The castle they’d arrived in was quiet and empty. An ominous but thin violet fog coated the air, the same colour as the arched window frames they saw in every hall, and the walls and ceiling. Only the carpet wasn’t violet.

            It looked a little like what the aliens from Gaia’s solar system called ‘Egyptian’. There were cobwebs in every corner, and all surfaces were old and dusty. Like the castle had been abandoned. Pillars were bent and cracked, and purple vines snaked across everything.

            There wasn’t a whisper of life.

            Even then, Lifea had still made them crouch down for stealth. “Maybe we should go,” Acacia suggested when a cold breeze blew past them, sending goosebumps up her skin. “There’s nothing here anyway.” Lifea agreed. They retraced their footsteps backwards, but there was no Solark there. Instead, there was a podium holding a giant purple book.

            The hall didn’t look familiar too. The windows were splintered and there were gaping holes in them. The vines weren’t so collective, and the arches were gone. Acacia spun around as Lifea approached the book carefully. It was half Acacia’s size, and the title was written in smooth, golden. It read, ‘BOOK OF PLANS’. Another howl of wind blasted the elf and magiperson.

            “Do you know where we are?” Acacia shuddered fearfully. Lifea shook her head. They tried jumping out of the windows, but even with the huge holes, there was a bubble-like force keeping them in, rebounding their jumps and kicks.

            The girls were trapped.