Riddle Of The Owl - YA Fantasy

Chapter Twenty-Two

The window was open wide, but the room was stiflingly hot. The summer air was heavy and damp, sitting on Alleria like a wet, smothering blanket. She rolled onto her stomach in the giant bed, bunching up her hair on the top of her head to allow the back of her neck to cool.

Mathematical formulae, equations and flow charts flashed before her eyes.

What had she gotten herself into?

The moment she returned from the palace, she had begun pouring over the algorithm. It was not, in fact, a true algorithm anymore, its relation to pure mathematics growing feeble throughout the decades of its existence. It filled the entirety of eight large volumes, five hundred pages each. There were just so many rules and equations, so many notes, explanations, explanation on explanations, exceptions and proofs, so many varying factors that were adding into the mess. Over time, the algorithm had grown fatter and fatter so that understanding it was like balancing a needle on a tower of cards. It would take years just to study it as it was, how did she dare think she was capable of improving it?

She hadn't meant to say those words. What had come over her?

Sighing, she slid off the bed, selecting a white, fluffy towel from the pile of fresh towels on the rack by the wardrobe and padded into the adjacent bathroom to wash up. Alleria's parents were settling into a new apartment and she had been instructed to stay in the Malluri mansion for the remainder of the summer where she'd be under the constant protection of Irene and her people. She didn't know whether this precaution was even necessary anymore. The Church couldn't possibly come after her now that so much attention was directed at her and the emperor himself had interest in her.

But the dingy cell and the stone table crusted with old, dry blood still invaded her mind when she wasn't paying attention. No amount of cognitive abilities could push down the fear that sometimes rushed through her heart. It wasn't that she felt safe here, but here she at least had the presence of mind to find a way to overcome her own fragility.

Alleria emerged out of the bathroom dressed and ready for her day. She was towelling her wet hair half-heartedly. It wouldn't be long until the day's stickiness would make her want to take another shower. After hanging the towel over the half-opened wardrobe door to dry, she looked up and gasped, her heart jumping into her throat.

There was someone standing in the room.

Alleria relaxed. It was just a little girl, albeit one she had never seen before. Perhaps the daughter of one of Mr. Malluri's guests? This was the guest wing, after all. The girl wore a long white sleeveless shift and was standing by the window, her profile to Alleria as she stared outside. She had shoulder-length brown hair and a small, pale face that looked strikingly familiar.

"Hullo miss," Alleria greeted her cheerfully, "I wasn't expecting any visitors. How nice of you —"

The girl turned to look at Alleria and although the morning was terribly hot, a chill crept down her skin.

The girl was Alleria.

She was only ten years old, but she knew she was looking at herself. Alleria looked down at the girl's bare feet, they weren't touching the ground and the music, she should have noticed, was stronger than ever.

A demon. One of the Many?

"You've forsaken him," said her ten-year-old self in her ten-year-old voice. "He loves you, he calls to you, he yearns for you, but you've forsaken him."

"What do you want?" Alleria whispered. "Who are you talking about?"

"You know."

"Where is he?" She was shouting now, her heartbeat drumming in her ears. "Please, tell me how to find him!"