Heritage (18 page)

“Hey guys this Is Alex my friend from… anyway drink” I smiled. Yeah explaining where I knew her from would be bringing up to many questions.

After saying hello to all my friends, I felt seriously tired. The elves and the music were giving me a headache.

“So no broken bones then?,” Logan breathed in my ear as I took a sip of coke, causing me to gulp loudly.

“Disappointed” I accused.

“No,  of course not, why would you think that?”

“I don’t know” I sighed taking another sip. Glancing around the club I could see that Alex and Oscar were getting along famously. Poppy was chatting with a random boy but couldn’t seem to take her eyes off of Logan. I could see that it was making him feel uncomfortable.

“I think she likes you” I chuckled.

“Did you know she’s very flexible” He shuddered and took a shot of green liquid. Well the girl works quick I give her that. There she goes trying to make him jealous by making out with a tall ginger guy. She’s like an article out of how to get a guy magazine.

“You could do a lot worse than her”

“I could do a lot better” He smiled.

“What are you doing here Logan” I asked.

“I have no idea, I best go. I’ll find out what I can about you know who and report back”

“Logan” I spluttered walking after him. He picked up speed and shimmered out of the club. I’m hoping nobody saw that. Great I’ve upset him. I wish I could go one day without I don’t know, upsetting someone. My stomach clenched as the room began to spin, my legs gave way as I fell towards the floor. The walls begun to cave in as I collapsed, everything doubled up. The lights danced around my vision, disfiguring everything.  The twisted shapes began to form different images from dancing elves to roaring fires. The music from the club grew louder and louder until my ears couldn’t take it anymore. It’s like the screaming is back and it's getting louder and louder. The ringing and the spinning was piling on top of me.

“Is she ok?” The mumbles of the crowd were muffled by the flames that were dancing around the bar.

“She’s fine, I think she just needs some air” Alex’s voice brought my vision back to reality. The crowd of people began to disburse as Alex pulled me up off the floor. Holding onto the banister of the staircase, we made our way up the stairs and outside into the cool air. Collapsing on a bench across from the club, my lungs filled with the coolness of the fresh air. My head was starting to regain its normal thinking pattern.

“Hey Kiddo how many fingers” Harriet asked holding up two fingers.

“I’m fine, ok guys, just go back inside and have fun. I’m going to go home and rest my head” I replied. My head was reeling from the nights events, and a good rest was just what I needed, or a brain scan.

“Ok, see you on Monday.”

Saying goodbye Poppy and Harriet made their way back into the club. Standing up and brushing off the splinters of wood off my dress. I tried to keep my head from spinning.

“Come on let's go home” Taking Alex’s hand we orbed back home, inside Emeralds kitchen.

“Whoa!” Holding onto the side of the table, I felt my legs begin to buckle again. Orbing was not my strong point when I wasn’t at my full strength. Banging into the unwashed pots on the draining board, I slumped onto a stool around the table.

“What happened?” Alex asked keeping hold of my arm.

“I think I had a sort of premonition”

“But you don’t get them? What did you see?”

“Elves and fire” I breathed laying my head on the table. The coolness of the surface soothed my aching head. Rubbing my temples I lifted it and the black spots dispersed.

“Elves, I told you they were odd creatures” Josh chuckled running in from the hall.

“Alex told me what happened in the woods”

Closing my eyes, the vision played on in my head, the intensity of the fire and the heat. The elves flitting through the trees in their green and pink outfits, growing in size as they moved their screams echoed in my ears.

“I don’t understand” I sighed pushing the palms of my hands against my eyes.

“Maybe this will help” handing me a map Josh took a seat in front of me.

“Were going on a treasure hunt?” I asked.

“No…it’s a map of the castle, Bert gave it to me. We can use it to find your fathers private library. I’ve been thinking…”

“Don’t hurt yourself” Alex interrupted.

“Anyway, I’ve been thinking maybe your father took the book Ruins of our souls after you left that night.  He was the last one in the room, and as he doesn’t want you in the normal library, maybe he took it.”

“It wouldn’t surprise me”

Spreading the map out onto the table, the image of how big the castle is was clear. I’ve lived here how long, and I have never noticed that we have dungeons, maybe I could use that.  Using my finger, I traced the corridors and staircases in search of the private library.

“If it was private would it even be on a map?” Alex asked. That was true, if my father didn’t want anyone to know about it, he certainly wouldn’t put it on a map that others can get hold of, especially me.

“Wait, something my father did when I was younger” I mumbled grasping the map and leaving the kitchen with Alex and Josh behind me. Running down the corridor and up two flights of stairs and down another corridor, we reached my old playroom.

Opening the brightly painted doors, the memories from my childhood lingered in the air. The room was just how I had remembered it. The walls covered in blue bunnies and pink flowers, toys all stacked tidily away, Emerald always kept the room clean even whilst I was playing in it. In the corner stood the tall oak book case I was looking for.

“What are we doing in your playroom?” Josh asked.

These books are seriously battered, sighing I flicked through the children’s books. What was it called something like Ta… no Teray, got it. Taking the sea blue book from the shelf, I took a seat in my grandmother’s rocking chair.

“You know the story of Teray right?” I asked holding up the page with the map of the Carmed sea, where the mermaids live.

“I don’t” Josh piped up. “I’m a boy remember”

“This is the Carmed sea, where the queen mermaid Teray lives” Pointing at the rock in the middle of the map.

“Ok but why are we looking at this?”

“When I was younger my father used this map to find where Teray was. I don’t know why but he said a chant”

If only I could remember what it was, It went something like, I seek something to be found, up in the air or below the ground, show me what I wish to see, show me the way, show it to me. I think that’s the right words, if it doesn’t work I’ll just have to check all these rooms of the castle. That’s fine there are only over three hundred of them, it’s in this book somewhere. Flipping through the pages I found my father’s italic writing scribbled on the back page.

“I seek something to be found, up in the air or below the ground, show me what I wish to see, show me the way, show it to me”  I mumbled.

Taking the map from my pocket I flattened it out on the floor and kneeled beside it.

“I seek something to be found, up in the air or below the ground, show me what I wish to see, show me the way, show it to me” I chanted.

“Nothing happened” Josh whispered standing over me.

“Maybe I’m doing it wrong” I sighed reading the words again.

“Or maybe you need to do something else. Usually when my mother does chants, she has to burn a piece of paper with the name on it” Alex’s words reminded me of the night my father used the chant. He had lit a candle in the middle of the floor when I was having a nap. Taking the candle that was sitting on the fireplace, I sat it on the corner of the map.

“Here” Alex passed me a small piece of paper with the words private library written on it.

“Ok here goes” Shooting a glance at the candle it came alive with fire and burnt the paper that I held over the flame.

“I seek something to be found, up in the air or below the ground, show me what I wish to see, show me the way, show it to me”

A gust of wind flickered the flame and lifted the sides of the map as it began to glow. A new room began to emerge through the brown paper and walls began to move around.

“This is the entrance near Katelyn’s room” Josh pointed out the route to the library, which was the room next to Katelyn’s room.  I’ll have to try and avoid her, great because that’s not going to be hard.

“Wait…there are two rooms, look, there’s one behind this one” Alex traced the outline of the rooms with her index finger. She was right there were two rooms, I had cast a spell for only one though. Tricky things spells, you never know what you are going to get.

“What you guys waiting for, lets go” I smiled jumping up and running for the door. So let’s see we are on the fourth floor of the north tower and the new room is on the third floor of the east tower.

“If we take the east route and down the second flight of stairs, we will end up right outside the library…”

“Elle just one problem” Alex interrupted.

“What?”

“How do you know your father isn’t in there, or Katelyn for that matter. You might be walking into them”

“You know what, I don’t even care” I mumbled. Why should I care if I get caught, maybe if I did then my father could tell me everything I need to know. Putting him on the spot may open up his mind to telling me the truth.

Placing the book back on the bookshelf we left the room and all my old childhood memories, to find the secret library. The corridors seemed to empty for this time of night. Approaching the staircase the wind created whispers through the cracks in the wall. If I wasn’t insane, I’d say that the wind was following me.

Every step I was taking down the spiral staircase, felt one step closer to unravelling secrets that had been kept from me. Hopefully this library could shed some light on the situation.

“Wait,” Alex whispered putting her arm in front of me, making me nearly fall down the remaining stairs.

“What?” I whispered.

“Listen?”

Listening carefully to the empty corridor I heard nothing, apart from our beating hearts and gasping breaths.

“What exactly are we listening for Alex?” Josh spoke, and his voice echoed through the corridor. Before we had time to hit him, the creaking of a wooden door stopped us in our tracks. My father walked out of a room that had appeared from nowhere, followed by Katelyn who was dressed in her grey nightgown that made her look like a nun.

“She’s looking in the library nearly every day now your highness. I fear she may come across something that you do not wish for her to see.” Katelyn spoke as if she was showing actual concern. The only emotion I thought she ever had was hatred. You learn something new every day. My Father took a while before he responded. For a second,  we all stopped breathing, fearing he knew we were there.

“I’ll deal with it,” He sighed as him, and Katelyn made their way down the corridor and out of sight.

“This is ridiculous,” I sighed standing up and heading to the wooden door my father had come from. Giving it a slight push, both doors flew open to a small library. Each wall of the small room was lined with shelves full of old leather bound books. Walking around the room, the books were all oddly named. The one that caught my eye was named Satan’s heaven.

“Found it” Josh called from the silence. “The Ruins of our souls, looks like your father was reading it before he left. Look it’s been left open”

Taking one last glance at the books I walked to Josh, who was standing in the middle of the room in front of a small wooden table and a dim reading lamp.

“Does it say anything about the stones?” I asked leaning over the front of the book. He flicked through the pages, slowly reading the titles. I could feel Alex’s annoyance as she watch her brother slowly reading.

“Josh, can you go a little faster. Oh my days. Move out the way” nagged Alex as she pushed Josh to the side. Josh and I gave each other a raised eyebrow look, as Alex flicked through the book like a whirlwind.

“Alex you’re practically smoking” I mocked as she stopped in the middle of the book.

“Got it, Look, There are four magic element stones” She read “Each of them posses an element. There are four of them...”

“We have water” I interrupted.

“The others are Fire, Earth and Air, they are all made from different stone there is Hematite for Earth. Blue Calcite for Wind, Sunstone for Fire and Blue Aventurine the one we have for Water. The stones alone don’t posses any power but together they create the ability to control a being. They all are contained inside a material that is specially designed to contain their power.” She paused and tensed as she continued to read.

“Many have searched for the stones to use them against others, but no one has been known to have found them all. The location of all four stones is currently unknown” She finished. Closing the book she turned to me and smiled.

“Sounds like a challenge” laughing she began to search the bookcase behind her.