Donovan Castle Chronicles: Volume 1

CHAPTER 7: Sasha

CHAPTER 7

SASHA FISCHER–GILLIS

*Day 2

*Spring (April 29)

*Early afternoon

*In this: Sasha, Selene, Nesaia

Selene opens the double glass door and holds one open for us to enter. After entering, Selene follows us into the room about the castle.

This room is one of my favorites because it not only holds special books, but is also decorated to look like the Theological Library in Strahov Monastery in Prague.

The room has a gorgeous white ceiling carved intricately with plaster. Not only that, but it has frescos embedded within as well. Bookshelves line the walls and center of the room, residing atop hardwood flooring.

I lead them over to the significant books and documents about the castle's heritage. I point out the books about Donovan Castle in the far-left corner. I prance over and pick up an old book from the shelf that says, "The History of Donovan Castle." It's a leather-bound book with a picture of the castle when it was built, sketched on the cover along with the title and engraved carvings along the edge.

I bounce back to Selene and Nesaia. "Here, try this one! It is about the history of the castle and its founder!" I feel giddy and happy due to our adventure and mystery. A smile pulls at my lips and stretches ear to ear.

Nesaia opens the old book and a piece of paper floats to the ground.

I bend down to fetch it as Nesaia flips to the handwritten table of contents. Looking over it, she finds the page with the history of the castle written in cursive.

Before I can read the paper in my hand, Nesaia reads aloud, grasping my attention.

"Donovan Castle was built from 1747 to 1750. The land is ample and fertile, allowing produce to grow and thrive. The castle is built in the center of sixty-four thousand acres. Ponds wind around the land near the castle. At the end of the property is a large cliff leading to the ocean.

"Karev Donovan built the castle to have a place to live with his wife, Lady Heather Donovan. Lady Heather Donovan's husband, Karev Donovan, was a noble man who one day went hunting with his loyal steed.

"While in the woods, a wolf attacked and killed him. The uninjured, blood-covered horse was able to escape and alert the maids and workmen of the castle.

"A search party was sent forth, yielding no results as to the location of Mr. Donovan's body. This event left Lady Heather a widow. With their fortune, Karev had incorporated their billions into the castle, creating a magnificent structure of stone and glass."

"Wow, so this castle has been here since before Dragon's Hollow became a town and Angels City became a city!" Nesaia marvels.

"There it is! See right there!" I point to the page Nesaia read from. "It says the fortune was incorporated into the castle, so does that mean the fortune was spent on the castle?"

"No, I believe it means he built the fortune within the castle; as in hidden in the castle when it was built. We need to locate the fortune before the man's team arrives!" Selene says with urgency.

Selene's eyes widen. "Wait! Why wait so long to search for the treasure? If the treasure has been in the castle since it was finished in 1750, then why hasn't anybody found it or heard about it before now?"

"Maybe there have been people who have sought it out before, but never looked in the right place?" says Nesaia.

"That would make sense," I say, nodding.

"Well, Mason and I have been here since 1760 and have never heard of this treasure aside from this. You would think we would have received a letter mentioning it when we bought the castle," Selene says with a puzzled look on her face. "When we received this book, only Mason had skimmed it before putting it in the library. Enough to know where to place it."

"We have little time to spare, so we must find it quickly." Nesaia disappears in an evaporated poof. She reappears a moment later with a pair of spectacles. "These should allow Sasha to see through things, a sort of X-Ray vision. I know Selene already has X-Ray vision, but with two of us seeing through things and two of us who can go through things, we will be able to find the fortune much faster!" She hands them over to me.

Putting them on, I notice they are larger than my head, causing them to fall down my nose. I push them up on the bridge of my nose. "Perfect! These are spectacular spectacles! I can see through you both! Well, more than usual for you, Nesaia."

I look around the room and see the inner bindings of the sofa, the table, the desk, and chair. I look down at my legs. "Oh, my coral, that is fascinating! Human leg bones!"

"Come on, Sasha, we are wasting time. Let's go." Nesaia pulls on my wrist and yanks me toward the door.

I stumble over my feet and fall into the bookcase. To catch my bearings, I throw my hands out and hit a picture frame on the wall. In the process, I drop the piece of paper I've been holding.

The frame tilts, and the bookcase on the left swings back, opening to a long dark passage. We all have expressions of shock and awe. That moment we look at the bookcase and back at each other.

Selene murmurs, "I am beginning to wonder how much I actually do not know about my castle."

I grab the piece of paper, stick it in my pocket and scramble to my feet. For the time being, I put the X-Ray spectacles on top of my head, that way, I can see where I'm going.

Selene is the first to go in. She grabs a torch off the wall and flicks her fingers. Her digits ignite like a lighter. She holds her index finger to the torch and lights it up. It bursts into flames and burns a bright orange color, swirling around the tip in a fiery blaze.

"Come on ladies, what are you waiting for? We have a treasure to discover!" She waves us forward and hurries on.

I speak up while adjusting the glasses in my hair, "But, we don't know where that leads."

"That's the fun of an adventure, isn't it?" Selene points out. She stops in her tracks, waiting for us to follow.

I shrug after Nesaia and I exchange a look.

She stares back at us before turning on her heels. "Come on, ladies."