The Hidden World of Nitea [2 | The Other Realms Series]

Chapter Eleven

It was ten o'clock at night, just an hour and a half after dinner had finished. Meanwhile, on the third floor, a certain someone was busy emptying and cleaning his bookshelf. A cloth mask covered Eddie's nose and mouth as he got on his knees and dusted the bookcase. Next to him were stacks of novels, from classics and contemporaries to romances and epic fantasies. Louis floated around the room as it waited for Eddie to finish.

"Are you done, Ed?"

"Almost."

"You've been cleaning that for hours now," it groaned. "Hurry up. I want to sleep."

"Sleep?" Eddie laughed. "You're a book. Books don't sleep. Scientifically you're not even alive."

"Whatever," it said, "I'm no ordinary book. When are you going to stop cleaning?"

"Just a few more minutes."

Eddie continued to brush the dust off the shelf. He made sure that every spot, corner, and edge was thoroughly cleaned. Sometimes he would use his cellphone's flashlight to illuminate the dark areas and reveal hidden dust piles for him to remove. Once he was done, he placed his feather duster on the floor and removed his cloth mask. He tossed it. With a wave of his hand, the mask zoomed into the bathroom and landed in the laundry basket. Louis swooped towards the bookshelf in an instant.

"What do you think you're doing?" Eddie said. "We're not done yet."

"Aw, what?" it whined.

"Look, it'll be quick. I won't ask you to do anything else tonight after this."

"Fine."

Louis half-opened itself and enveloped the area in golden light, sending Eddie to the library in a split second. Eddie glanced at his right. The novels that he had stacked on the bedroom floor were now resting on a nearby table. He turned his head as his eyes searched for Louis. It was nowhere to be found. Eddie huffed. He picked up a few novels, carried them in one arm, and walked towards the bookshelves. He put each novel back in its proper place, adjusting their positions so that their spines would be aligned.

He was about to walk back to the table when an idea popped into his mind. Perhaps it would be a good opportunity to practice his telekinesis. But what if there were other people inside? Eddie slinked between shelves as he scanned the library for other people, listening intently for sounds such as talking, breathing, or footsteps. He had covered most of the library when he heard a scratching sound—not the harsh kind, like a knife against wood, but something softer, like a pencil on paper. It was coming from his left. He glided towards that direction and peeked from behind a shelf.

It was Stella. It's just her, Eddie thought, breathing a sigh of relief. He observed her for a while. She was sitting at his favorite table, scribbling something on a notebook. Next to her notebook was an old parchment. Her hazel irises jumped between the parchment and the notebook as she wrote. After watching her for a moment, Eddie returned to the spot where Louis teleported him and lifted the rest of the novels.

The books followed him around the library like a flock of birds. He made slow, swinging movements with his right hand as he guided each volume to its proper spot on the shelf. Sometimes he would rearrange the other books if he felt the need to. First, by genre; second, by author name; third, by title; and if it were part of a series, then by order. He paid extra care to how deep each book was pushed into the rack; everything had to be aligned perfectly. Once he was done with that, he pulled out his phone and navigated to his notes. He had already prepared a list of books he would like to read next. It had only twenty items, which was half the size of his bi-annual reading target. Perhaps he could ask Stella for suggestions.