A Journey To The Clouds, Escape From Cloud Castle - Book Two - ✓

Chapter Ten

Alright, stop the sappy talk. Less chatter, more work!" Lily demands, clapping her hands. Ally lets go of my hand and begins to inspect the walls of the tower. I grunt as I begin to do the same. I remove the dusty books on the shelves, inspecting the insides of them.

After just a few minutes of checking the walls for secret doors or keys, I find myself in a locked gaze with Ally. I tip my head to the side, and she beckons me to come over by her.

She silently points to a loose floorboard. I jerk it up and gasp when I see what is underneath. It's the book that Lily gave us before we had started the quest. Ally gently picks it up and opens the cover. The pages are a yellowish color and appear to be vintage; which it is. The pages are also brittle, the fragile binding of the old book collapsing every page you turn. I think this is the first time Ally has ever opened the book. She tenderly flips through it; coming to a halt on page twenty-five. Her eyes scan the page, eyes widening every second she gazes at it. Then, a golden wind sprouts from the book and swirls around Ally's waist, coming to a halt in her jeans pocket. She puts her hand in her pocket and pulls something out of it.

Two rings emerge in Ally's palm. One is a light, crystal blue color. Bright blue curvy lines fill the main design, creating a wind effect. The other ring is a darker blue color, appearing to represent the rustling sea. I tip my head in confusion. What could this mean?

Everything then starts to click. Me and Ally got rings representing nature and fire a little while back; little had we known they told us our powers. Maybe these could be two rings for two other different powers? Maybe two separate individuals? Could this mean that me and Ally aren't the only ones to go on this quest? I feel my spine shiver at the thought.

"What did the paper say?" I ask in a cold whisper. Ally slowly puts the book in my palm open to the page number. After a few moments of deep breathing, I cautiously look down at it to read it.

Now the Crew of Doom has been around for at least a century. They were founded when the giants and cyclops teamed up and took control over the people in their once peaceful cities. The newly founded group fed the people a potion that turned them into giants and cyclops so they were able to have a bigger, stronger, and more fearful army. This group is the most dreadful crew in the entire Fantasy World. They have their hearts set on taking the Fantasy World and the Real World for themselves so they can be the rules once and for all.

I only read the first paragraph when I push the book back into Ally's arms. I couldn't take it anymore. Why tell us the history of the Crew of Doom? Why tell us information we already know? But these thoughts lead me back to the rings. Who else is coming with us? We, or at least I, know the power of the others. It's just a matter of finding out who.

I can assume that Ally has these same thoughts. She paces the floor as she snaps her fingers multiple times. I'm about to ask why when the door unlocks and snaps open. Lily turns around and beckons us toward her. We walk outside of the door and look around. Lily is already making her way down the hall. I scramble after her with Ally on my heels. We walk for a few minutes until Lily stops abruptly in front of a striped wooden door.

"There is something here. I can feel it." She says. Her voice is light and full of mystery. She looks at me as if I knew what to do.

"Well?"

"Well... what?"

"Open the door. You can do it."

I hesitantly step towards the door and attempt to push it open. It doesn't work so I step back a little bit, lift my foot up, aim, and kick. Surprisingly, I bust down the door. Ally walks up and stands beside me. She then peers inside.

"Look at this place." She says in awe.

"Yeah. look at all these weapons." I say, pointing at a wall of swords and other weapons. Sheets of crystal white paper lie on the floor. Only a few feet of the stone ground shows.

Lily walks into the room and a wave of nervousness crosses her face. I can tell she doesn't like this place.

"Let's get out of here as soon as possible." She says.

"Yeah but-" I start but stop suddenly at the sound of Ally's high-pitched scream.