Death in a Paradox

The Seventh Chapter

This chapter is for Natalie, who is my best friend. Happy early birthday!

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The Seventh Chapter

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Augustus

"I am so stupid," I muttered.

"Of course not," Annabella replied sarcastically. "You're a genius with an IQ of 146 that regularly attends Mensa meetings."

"Please don't be sarcastic right now. You are freaking strong and that hurt," I complained. I didn't really care that I sounded like a girl.

"You are a fifteen year old strong guy! A little needle injected into your thigh so fast while you are struggling to breath should not hurt that much!"

"Well it does! You realize you're the strongest girl in your year? That hurt!"

"Just shut up! At least the ivory is gone. If you now want to ditch because Meredith is no longer someone you care about, then out," she yelled menacingly. I kind of froze. I hadn't given Meredith much thought in the few hours I had been awake and not controlled by those dumb oneiroi.

Then I thought about what Annabella felt. Meredith wasn't a person she was forced to be friends with because of some ivory. Meredith was one of Annabella's closest friends, actually probably her closest friend. It was with Meredith that Annabella would sing songs with on the top of her lungs in the middle of the hallways. It was with Meredith that Annabella pranked Mister Hurbly with in Novice year. It was with Meredith that Annabella would experiment random theories and serums. Annabella and Meredith, Meredith and Annabella. That's how they were known, whether it was for wasting the most time in Greek and Roman History or pulling off the Redman stunt last year. Annabella isn't here right now because she was possessed. Annabella was here because her best friend, probably the first person in her age group that showed her compassion because despite Meredith's fiery attitude and pranking history, she's got a huge heart and a caretaker personality.

So I decided to stay, because Meredith Alexandria Walker is someone who needs to and deserves to be rescued (and she's cute.)

"I'm staying," I told her, and she heard the finalizing tone in my voice. She glared at me and finally looked away, letting out a breath I didn't know she was holding.

"So," I clapped my hands, attempting to break the awkward tension, "where have you been?"

"Scandinavian Society Center, Magical Union Center, Seer Union Center, Crystal Skull Palace, Doreen Necromancy Academy Krakow Campus, you name it, I've been there. Crystal Skull Palace is so hiding something but I don't care about that now. Doreen's Krakow Campus was relatively close to the creepiest place I've ever been to, and I'm pretty sure it's related to Meredith's disappearance. Magic barely works there."

"I'm betting ten pomrees you skipped Hell's Garden and the International Sorcerer Museum," I smirked. Annabella whipped her head to face me.

"I'm broke, just copy off of my on the next major test."

- - -

Hell's Garden is probably one of the strangest places ever.

It's not really Hell, or even the Underworld. It's just a botanical garden with crazy plants that want to kill you. Now, the reason I mentioned a horrifying pet project of the Necromancy Society is because of the strange things that have happened there.

People have mysteriously disappeared and reappeared there. A girl once claimed a dog nursed her back to health after a killer plant tripped her and separated her from her parents. There's even a myth that someone left a strange box there. Whoever finds the box will be rewarded with riches.

Annabella wants to find that box.

 "What information do you have on the box?" Annabella asked me.

"It's called Ambage, which is Latin for riddle. It was left there by German astronomer Eugen Kunze in the early eighteen hundreds. He said that the mistress left a message for him in the stars and told him to place it there. When the time would come, a blue eyed girl would retrieve it and open it. Sounds like someone you know?" I chuckled. She smiled. "No, definitely no. I just happen to know no blue eyed girls searching for a box left in that garden," she played along.

"You go get the food. No hazelnuts, please."

- - -

"Why did you buy a hazelnut cake?" I yelled at her.

"It looked really tasty and I knew you wouldn't take it from me," she smirked. "Shut up and pack, we can't fly so we have to jump dimensions, and you know how hard that is."

"I don't want to jump dimensions! It makes me sick!" I complained. I really hated jumping dimensions. It consisted of melting into a shadow and traveling at roughly the speed of light in the dimension of ghosts. It is easy to be tracked there because entering and exiting both take about three seconds, which is enough time to send out a signal to the person your tracking and for them to enter and chase after you.

"Wait, how are we-" She cut me off. "Got it covered, Maxwelby. You didn't see my newest invention, did you?"

"Nope," I muttered. "This isn't going to end in me needing medical attention, is it?"

"I already tried it on Suesen and Landager, so no. Let me present to you my best creation so far." I raised my eyebrows. "You made a time traveling device, that's kind of hard to live up to," I told her as she rummaged through her bag.

"Shadow bracelets!" she exclaimed, showing me something that looked like a black friendship bracelet with a clear, slightly cloudy jewel in the middle. "They automatically connect you with the ghost dimension, so no pesky entering and leaving. They also boost your magic and healing takes less time. These are completely safe and easy to make. They're also invincible, so you'll only need one. They shield you from whoever you don't want to know your location. I'm also thinking of adding something that allows your friends to contact you or even get you to where they are. Yes, I'm a genius, I know."

"Genius," I said, star struck. My mouth fell open. What she said the shadow bracelet could do was slightly unbelievable.

"Yeah, I know. Make sure you have everything because I want to leave before it's sunset there." She tossed me a shadow bracelet and I put it on. The cloudy clear jewel glowed orange and I looked up at Annabella in confusion.

"That's the color of your magic. As you can see," she pushed her sleeves up and showed me hers, "they are all unique. Mine happens to be blue, same color of my eyes. It's harder to notice, but they also pulse a little bit, and that's just your heartbeat."

"That is so cool," I smiled. "How do you even make all of this stuff?"

"I think of what this world needs and what would be useful. I'm thinking of starting a R & D lab at the Necromancy Society, they kind of need it. My dorm is kind of too small."

"Where do you even sleep?"

"Meredith's."

"I figured."

"Last supply check - water, food, cake just for me, my knife, your sword, your bow and arrow, my books, clothes, and money," Annabella read off a list.

"Check, check, I hate you, can we just go already?"

I later realized that Annabella would joke around with me and be sarcastic. She's always so cold, but suddenly, she's warmer and actually jokes around, or at least complains.

“Fine.”

Jumping dimensions wasn’t as cold and scary with the shadow bracelets.