This Isn't Me

Chapter 16

Chapter 16:

I held Ty for a while, until I was positive he was asleep. I gently slipped my arm out from under him, getting up, watching as he shifted, rolling over. I sighed, going to the window and pulling the curtains back, staring into the stormy night, thunder rolling through the distant hills. I closed the curtains and grabbed a robe, rushing from our room as I loosely tied it. There were very few lights still on, but as I made my way around, trying to find my Uncle, I paused, seeing the lights for the archive on. Curious, I started towards the archive, thinking my Uncle was there.

“Hello…?” I softly called, slowly walking in as the door creaked, the sound echoing along with the pattering footsteps of the rain. I glanced around, seeing guards on patrol, but they didn’t seem bothered at all. I continued through the rows of documents.

“… not in spell tomes, not a mage! Not any record in this blasted archive has anything I can use!” A voice bellowed, unrecognizable.

“Calm down-”       

“No! I can’t calm down; it’s nearly been 20 years since she told us of this information- 20 years I’ve been searching for clues! I’ve looked everywhere… And failed.” The voice cracked at the last part.

“It’s going to be ok, we’ll be ready, I promise you everything will be fine.” Uncle assured. “You should rest.”

“It’s dark, I can’t rest, my body is awake while my mind lingers elsewhere.” I shook my head, leaving. What are they looking for? I doubt I was supposed to hear any of that. As I wandered pointlessly through the halls, I saw some guy, a bit older than me. He had red brown hair, skin that seemed just the slightest bit pale in the dark, and the clothes on his back weren’t… the best.

“Hey!” I called, not too loud so I didn’t wake anyone. He glanced over his shoulder, meeting my blocked eyes with his blazing ones, like fire in the dark. He turned and took off running. I tried to keep up with him, but considering he was as fast as I wolf and disappeared from my sight, I gave up rather quickly. “Fuck you too kid.” I muttered, back tracking to the library. I opened the door, closing it behind me as I entered the dusty room. I grabbed a torch off the wall, lighting it with magic and walking around, looking for something to read. My fingers trailed the layers of dust set upon the binds, until stopping upon a book I hadn’t seen before.

History of Gingaria

By: Lancara Smith

Curiously, I took the book, or tried too, the book tilting forward and causing mechanisms to go off. Eventually, a section of bookshelf on the floor pulled itself away, revealing a small tunnel that I could fit through. I instantly dropped to my knees and started crawling through the long tunnel, dragging my torch along with me, though it went out after a minute or so. Once I felt no ceiling above me, I stood, lighting the torch again, revealing an old, crumbling hallway leading down.

Trying not to stumble, I soon found a room with 3 podiums, each with a book placed neatly on top. One podium was blue, like the sky. One was red, like hell. The last was black. I approached the first podium, the blue one.