The Obsidian Crown, page 9
“Hey, Taylor, maybe you need to take it down a notch,” Hailey said.
“Well, whose side are you on?” Taylor fired back.
“I’m on my side! As far as I’m concerned, between you threatening everyone with a lawsuit every five minutes, your severely clichéd bully jock boyfriend, and that quack-quack Doctor over there, Monty there, is probably the least dangerous. I’m just sayin’,” Hailey said. Taylor hmphed and stomped back to her seat. She sat down with her arms crossed in front of her.
“I don’t know anything about the box. But if it will help, I can tell you what I remember,” I blurted out before thinking. That seemed to break the ice.
They all looked at me in amazement. I guess because I had never wanted to share anything with anyone of them before now. I uncrossed my fingers, which I now realized had been painfully constricting the flow of blood through my hands. I didn’t know where to start, so I started when I arrived from my Fourth of July party at Grayson’s. I stopped to take some air and continued to the time we got on the plane and how I vowed to myself that I would find out what happened to my parents.
Taylor said, “I’m so sorry, Abi; I just couldn’t believe what you’ve been through. I apologize if I was harsh. I didn’t know.”
The Doctor cut in, “But there’s nothing new there, Abigail.”
“Yes, that’s right, Doctor. There is nothing new to tell because I don’t remember anything new!” I threw back at her sharply.
I turned around and walked back closer to the fire, where I was hoping no one could see my face, hoping that it won’t betray my thoughts. “Yes, but now I... remember falling asleep in the back seat. Then I was woken by a huge thunder and opened my eyes just in time to see a massive lightning bolt in the sky. The next thing I know, the plane had no power and was on a nosedive. Then there was an explosion. It went very quickly. The next thing I recall, I was already being led into an ambulance, and they were trying to take the box from me.”
I couldn’t tell them about the three hooded figures that entered the plane. I was just waking up, and in the intermittent beam of the lightning, I saw them strangling my parents and putting hoods over their lolling heads. I couldn’t bring myself to tell them about how I was rescued by the same men who might have murdered my mother and father.
From behind me, the silence was broken by the Doctor’s voice. “If the Knights of the Crown are involved, then it must involve the Obsidian Crown. Despite the name, it 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 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 magi’s of the highest order. They are not after material things like money or political gain. 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 power? Why would they want that?” Hailey asked.
Doctor 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 it. 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 got burns 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 were 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 cannot 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 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 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, not until I am sure. So many secrets. I stood up and took a deep breath and mentally prepared 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 primary difference was I was no longer afraid of crashing into the blobs. After some undetermined time, one of the green blobs ahead opened, 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 stepped out first, mouthed, “Welcome to the Black Rose Bookstore and Antiquary.”
We stepped out of the fire one by one and looked around. There was a staircase leading up but cordoned off with a sign that said “Third floor. Members Only.” Another one going down. that says “Collectibles and Café.”
Some people turned their heads to see what was going on with the fireplace, but no one seemed alarmed nor curious at all that four teenagers emerged from it. What was more surprising to me was that I was accosted by the myriad of colors shimmering from several people on the floor. I’d never seen so many with halos. They seemed to notice us with some curiosity, but those with no halos didn’t even look.
“Hello,” I said shyly. Some nodded their response. Despite the kaleidoscope of colors clouding my vision, I tried to act as naturally 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 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 made the pickup request, and then followed the group back inside.
Now that we had a solution for getting to the school library, I focused on observing my surroundings more. The antique store was in an ancient Victorian house. There were three stories: the first floor was all collectibles of different kinds, from old hairbrushes 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 readings on witchcraft, magic, and other supernatural subjects. The books were kept in cordoned-off areas, whereas the supplies and tools were kept on glass shelves. I even saw a case with different wands, ranging from superficial branches that looked like twigs to the more elaborate, gem-encrusted ones.
The stairs to the upper third floor were 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 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 entry. I thought I better make sure that Hailey got back downstairs for the taxi, so I followed her upstairs.
I nearly hit Hailey’s 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. A pungent smell was coming from a cauldron with a green fire lit under it. I nodded towards its direction to point it out to Hailey without speaking. 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.
Creak 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, but nothing happened.
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 were faded with age. I let my hand trace a line across the spines of each book as I walked past them. The thick and supple leather felt velvety soft to my fingers, which I thought was curious given their apparent age. I pulled one book 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. The symbols seemed strangely familiar, even though I consciously knew I could never have seen them before.
I beckoned Hailey over and showed her the book. She then pulled another one and opened it. She shook her head, indicating she didn’t understand any of it either. We put them back and continued 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 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 them for a long while.
I couldn’t shake the feeling that almost all the things in here are both gorgeous and sublime yet there’s a certain sadness to each that 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 downstairs. 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. 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.
“Oh C’mon, go!” I quietly urged my past self to move on. Even Taylor giggled at that.
Then we saw Hailey’s past self walk by. A few minutes later, Taylor’s 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 the two of you. 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,” Taylor 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 around 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 the Knights attack, then everyone would die. Not just Kieran. I couldn’t take any chances, but I had to 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, Blai--ahem,” Hailey said trailing off to a 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 sharply 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.
