Skulls and Bones

Chapter nineteen

The heat of the sun burned against my closed eyelids and I groaned as I woke up from my slumber. I covered my face with the warm blanket and tried to keep the sun away. But I was already awake and I sighed as I pulled it off completely. The conversation with Cornelius felt like a dream but I knew it really happened. I was afraid for the future of us all but I had to be strong. I could do it, I could save everyone.

My head whipped to the balcony as I realized what exactly woke me up. Rolling out of bed, I ran to the doors and opened them. I could feel the heat of the sun on my skin and a warm breeze blew past, brushing my hair to the side. I couldn't see the sun like I couldn't see the stars or moon but it was strangely bright outside. The Bones were looking up at the sky, standing still as if entranced. Some of the Skulls were among them equally confused. No one was attacking each other, just wondering what the hell was going on.

I was wondering also. This had to be the work of Gabriel. It was a sign of some sort and my stomach felt uneasy as I thought of what this meant.

The knock on my door was urgent and without thinking I ran and opened it. Zain was standing there with a worried expression. It looked as if he just rolled out of bed and came here immediately. His clothes and hair was a mess and his blue eyes were wild as he looked behind me to my lit up room from the sun.

"I was hoping you were awake already," he said in a rush. "This is the first time it's every been sunny in the Underworld."

"It was Gabriel," I told him but he didn't seem surprised. We both knew what this meant. "He's coming. Soon."

"Then we have to get you to the library," he said and grabbed my hand. "We can't waste anymore time. We don't know how much we have left."

*

The library was grand with shelves as high as the ceiling. Many different colored books lined these old, wooden shelves in perfect formation. A couple of soft, brown armchairs faced each other in a circle with a black table in between them. It was the first room that wasn't black and red. There wasn't a desk for a librarian like I was expecting from when Zain would tell me stories of the library but I guessed Skulls didn't need them. This was their home, they could take what they pleased. Hopefully they didn't take the blue book.

"How are we suppose to find it?" I asked Zain as I looked hopelessly at the large room. There were books on the tables and some in the chairs as well as the shelves. "We don't have a title and there are so many."

"We just look at all the blue ones with bookmarks," he replied with a shrug. "It shouldn't be that hard."

"This is impossible," I said and I could feel my body starting to panic. We didn't have much time. "Gabriel is coming and there are too many books. He's gonna find me-"

Zain suddenly filled my vision. His hands rested on my cheeks, forcing me to look in his blue eyes. "No he's not," he said soothingly. "We're going to find that book and learn the ritual to stop him, to stop all of this. Don't give up before you even try, that's not the Amy I know. I'll make sure Gabriel doesn't get to you. I'll be here always, protecting you. As long as I'm around, you're safe."

He removed his hands and put them around me. I welcomed the hug and buried my face in his chest. I could always rely on Zain and I knew he would always be here for me. He never gave up on me and he wasn't going to start now. I trusted my life in his hands, I loved him that much. He was the greatest friend anyone could ask for.

"Okay," I said pulling away and giving him a small smile. "Let's start looking."

And so we did. It was so much more harder than I thought it would be. Sure we had a specific color to look for but there were so many blue books and even at the pace we were going, it would take hours to find it. Zain took one side of the library while I took another. He would call out once in a while to make sure I was okay. While I would tell him that I was, I was deeply afraid.