The Man In The Midnight Blue Suit

Chapter Nine

I stride through seemingly endless corridors, all the same white walls and wooden floors. A maze of irregular placed doors leading to rooms that are mostly bare, unused. It all leads to the centre. The glass staircase. Above us, the top floor, the secrets. Beyond these white walls and wooden floors, everything is kept hidden, unwilling to be seen in plain sight.

I turn a corner and the dark oak library doors come into sight. Instead of accepting the unanswered, I'm searching for an explanation. I lean my head to the side, looking at the oversized doors. They are a formidable height, embossed with bronze embellishments. The guards to a safe haven.

I wonder... Could I? I wasn't sure I wanted to. I don't know what I'm even trying to control. It could go wrong, worse than whatever I did to push Lucian's perfect expectations. But I longed to try, to test the boundaries of this ability I have. The only way to find out was to try.

I close my eyes, shutting out the light. Take a deep breath. I clear my mind of questions and quieten my unrelenting thoughts. My body relaxes, still, controlled. I open my eyes. Focus on the giant doors. Focus harder than I ever have before. My head starts to ache. I keep my focus. I refuse to black out and let this power overtake me. It is mine to wield. The ache worsens. I keep my focus. Slowly, ever so slowly, the heavy wood moves. Only an inch, but it moves. I push harder, never moving. My head throbs with pain. It's like a sledgehammer, smashing my head from inside out. I keep focusing, pushing, trying to get past the limit of natural law. The doors give an ear-splitting creak. They thrust open. I let go of the focus, and the ache fades away.

Sitting in the centre of the library, surrounded by open books and scattered pages, is Jonathan. Exactly where I knew he would be. But not in these exact circumstances, I must admit.

His curly blonde hair is tangled. His head is bent over a crumpled page, his body rigid. He was so focused that he did not immediately look up as the doors opened. His reaction was delayed, put second to whatever his mind was doing. Slowly, as if he was weighted down by some invisible force, he looks up at me. His eyes are foggy, traced with dark lines.

"Casey," Jonathan says, with such dull surprise that for a moment I just stare at his tired form.

"Jonathan," I reply, trying to keep my voice steady. I know that I need to be patient with my brother, or else he'll push me away from him. That can't happen. Whether I like it or not, Jonathan is my only chance. I step forward, gazing over the organized mess surrounding Jonathan. I can't get within a metre of him. On all sides, he is surrounded by books and pages and scrolls that look like they belong in the Stone Age. There are tattered books with covers falling off, pages nearly torn to shreds. There are piles of papers only bound with a matted piece of string. One book has dark burn marks bordering words that link together as they flow across the paper. Single sheets of paper have only scribblings on them, hastily written notes. But the scrolls are what really shake me. They are old, so old that the yellowed paper withers away from the light. Some look so fragile that I'm afraid to touch them, in case they crumble beneath my fingers. Handwritten words loop across the ancient scrolls. Markings twist along the sides, all foreign to me.

"What is all this?" I ask.
Jonathan hesitates. "It's just research. Nothing too important." He stands up and picks his way through the scattered sea of words. "You saw Lucian this morning?"
I nod. I don't believe for one second that all this is 'just research'. Jonathan is up to something. He has been this entire time. Like everything else he hasn't told me, I intend to find out what it is. Silence echoes through the library. I look up at Jonathan's tired face. How long has he been here?

I glance back at the open doors. The doors. I opened the doors. Without touching them. Whatever logic I have left goes into overdrive trying to explain it. But I think I understand now. I lock my eyes with Jonathan's. He knows the magnitude of what has happened.