Chapter Eleven

"Remind me again why we're on Earth of all places?" Ryan asked, struggling to keep up with me.

"Because Emma said it's here," I responded, not slowing my pace at all. He finally had to grab my shoulders and physically stop me, spinning me around to face him.

"Are you sure you trust this Emma girl? I mean, we're on Earth. This place hasn't had magic in who knows how long."

"I don't know, but it's all we've got. And I don't know about you, but I'd rather believe there's a chance we might actually be able to do this, than just flounder around the dimension without a clue." I tried to yank myself free of his grip, but he was too strong.

"Whoa there, 'Liss, calm down. The world's not going to end if you don't find it in the next five minutes. We are going to find her, and you're going to get your answers. You need to relax."

I sighed, as he kissed my forehead. "What would I do without you, Ry?"

He cracked a grin. "I don't know." That earned him a playful punch in the arm, and then a kiss 'to make it better.' "Okay. So tell me again how we're supposed to find this mythical library."

"Emma said I'd know it when I felt it." Fat lot of help that was, I couldn't help think bitterly, even though without the blond girl's help, we'd be even farther from finding Isabella than we already were.

According to Emma, there was a secret spell library in London with something called a person-finder, that would let you locate any person in the universe. Of course, she'd neglected to give us any other details than that, which was why Ryan and I had spent the last three hours walking up and down and around every cobblestone street in the city, ducking into any building that looked even remotely like it could be the place. But London was a very big city, and it wasn't exactly like we could ask for directions, so all we had to show for our searching was a big fat nothing.

Ryan frowned. "Maybe… she didn't know what she was talking about," he started hesitantly.

"No," I snapped impatiently. "I refuse to believe that."

"It doesn't mean we have to cut our losses and go home," he was quick to add. "Just… maybe we should go back to a planet that actually has magic. I bet there's a person-finder in some other spell library as well."

But in my gut, I knew there wasn't. Emma was quirky, but she wouldn't have led me this far astray as a practical joke. There was something in London that could help me find Haylee's mom. And I was not about to leave until I found it. "I know you probably think I'm crazy, Ry, but I can feel it. There's something magical in this city. And it's not like we have any other ideas of where to go. I want to stay, and keep searching. And I'm going to whether you're with me or not." My jaw set stubbornly almost of its own volition.

Ryan sighed. "I'm with you, 'Liss." He opened his mouth to say more, then stopped. "What the hell, right? I mean, this is a pretty nice city. And I can think of worse people to be here with than my gorgeous girlfriend." He snuggled me close, sending shivers down my spine.

Unlike the last time I'd come to Earth – when I'd also come to London, I couldn't help but remember – it was slightly warmer, not being the middle of winter and all. Of course for London, that just meant there wasn't any snow; it was still blustery, cold, and gray. Anywhere else might have looked depressing, but not London; there was something about the ancient-looking architecture and winding streets leftover from bygone eras that made even the dreary weather seem intriguing and mysterious.

If I could believe that any city on Earth still has magic, it's London.

"So hey," Ryan said as we started walking again, "what's this about you burying the hatchet with Alexa?" He gave me a skeptical look.

I bit my lip, having forgotten about that completely. While I'd eventually caved and told him about the mentoring sessions, it was nothing but more complaining – about the way she harped on me, made me feel about two feet tall, never tried to help me do what I was supposed to do… He hadn't been there; to him, from the outside, it would seem more than a little questionable that she was suddenly caring about my well-being.

"We had this enormous fight the other day, and Faragonda put us on in-school suspension until we worked out our issues. And… we kind of did." I slid my hand into his, staring into his bright blue eyes. "Did you know… about her mom?"

He looked startled for a moment, then nodded slowly. "I met her not long after it happened. She was so young, but so determined; a real force of nature. Fragile as hell, but you'd never know it unless she let you in far enough to see it, which in those days was very few people." He barked a laugh. "Who am I kidding; still is. I don't think even her own dad knew just how much she was hurting." There was something in his eyes that made my breath catch. "Eventually she mellowed out a bit, but it took a while. I always felt so bad for her, having to go through all that. My family's dysfunctional, but at least we're all still alive."

For the first time, I realized how far back Ryan's relationship with Alexa went, even deeper roots than I'd imagined. And yet he'd still listened to me talk about her like she was the spawn of Satan, never saying a word. He is officially the best boyfriend ever.

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught sight of a familiar storefront, and ground to a halt as something tickled the back of my mind. What are the odds…?

"What is it? Did you find the library?"

I didn't answer him, too busy taking in every detail of the miniscule building. Everything was exactly the same, right down to the swirling, Edwardian-style cursive over the door reading Preserved Memories.

Ryan made a face. "A vintage clothing store? Come on, 'Liss, let's go." He tugged at my arm, but I remained where I was, frozen in place by an unmistakable sensation.

Tingles… like magic.

You'll know it when you feel it.

"Alyssa, what are you doing?" he snapped, knocking my hand away as it reached for the door. "We don't have time for this."

"Yes we do," I insisted, pressing my weight against the knob and turning it quickly, before he had a chance to protest. He huffed, slipping through the door before it closed, the bell overhead jingling to announce our presence.

Inside, everything was exactly as I remembered it, right down to the selection of vintage fashion magazines on the wrought-iron end table. Miriam had been with me last time, I remembered with a pang; she'd turned up her nose at the idea of pre-worn clothes, and plopped right down into that faded orange velvet armchair. My fingers curled up into my palms, as a wave of memories almost painful in their intensity surged up inside of me.

Ryan took a few steps around the ridiculously tiny space, wrinkling his nose at the scent of lavender combined with something slightly musty, like old attics. That was still exactly the way I remembered it too. "Okay, 'Liss, you've had your fun. Now can we please go back to searching for that library?"

He was clearly irritated, although he'd never admit to it, good guy that he was. For a moment, I realized just how exhausted he looked; how tired I should have been. It had been an extremely long day, especially with the time difference between Magix and Earth, and I'd been through even more than Ryan had since waking up this morning. But as impossible as it seemed, I didn't feel even the slightest bit worn out. If anything, it was like I had suddenly gotten a second wind, accessed a fresh store of energy.

It made no sense, which was precisely why I knew that magic had to be involved. And where there was magic in London, there had to be the person-finder.

"Hello?" My heart skipped a beat at the sound of a woman's voice. From behind a thick red velvet curtain at the back of the store, an older woman with short blond hair appeared. "Pardon me, I was on the phone…" She trailed off, looking at me thoughtfully. "Say, you look awfully familiar, young lady. Maybe it's my old age – and I apologize if it is – but have you ever been here before?"

My mouth opened, but no sound came out. It was the same saleswoman that had helped me last time – Marianne, I thought her name was. I would have known her voice anywhere. She'd been so… peculiar, I recalled; lighting up when I said something had 'drawn me in', bringing out that green dress from the back special for me, seeming like she knew more than she reasonably should have… I'd written it all off as old age back then, but now, I wasn't so sure.

"I… yes, I have been here," I said finally, stuttering over some of the words. "You sold me an evening dress for my birthday party, almost a year ago. My name's Alyssa. You remember me?"

"Of course I do, child!" She crossed the distance between us and grabbed my hands in hers, filling my nose with the scent of lavender. "Those eyes of yours are hard to forget." I blushed irrationally. "Forgive me, but I always hoped I'd see you again. There's just something about you that I don't see in most of the people that come in here." There she went again with that cryptic nonsense, but it didn't bother me as much as it clearly bothered Ryan, who was hovering by the doorway, shifting his weight anxiously from side to side.

Marianne's eyes slid past me to rest on him. "And who's this young man? He must be a trooper, to allow himself to be dragged along on a shopping trip." She winked conspiratorily at him, but he didn't loosen up, crossing his arms over his chest impatiently.

Be nice, I mouthed, shooting him a look over my shoulder. He sighed and shook his head. "This is my boyfriend Ryan. And actually, this isn't a shopping trip; we're kind of…" I struggled to find the right words, still unsure how much I could tell this strange woman– "searching for something."

"Oh, but there's always time to take a look around, isn't there? You never know what you might find when you're not looking for it." Then without asking me, she grabbed my hand and started pulling me towards a tiny glass case of jewelry near the cash register. Ryan gave me a pointed look, then rolled his eyes and dropped down into the orange chair.

"We really should be going soon," I said, trying to extricate myself from her surprisingly tight grip. "It was so nice to see you again, this place is lovely, but it's been a long day and I think Ryan's had enough…"

"He's a good boy, that one," she said, as if I hadn't said a word (and said 'good boy' wasn't sitting not even five feet away, pretending he didn't hear us). "A real keeper. Make sure you hold onto him now." Then, without warning, she switched topics, her berry-stained lips curling up into a teasing smile. "Say, whatever happened to that blond friend of yours? The one who didn't like vintage clothes?"

I swallowed hard. "She… transferred to another school," I invented, the lie slipping awkwardly off my tongue. "So I don't see her very much anymore."

"Did you two have a fight?" she asked, ducking behind the case and unlocking one of the sliding glass doors.

"Something like that." Why does she care? I wondered.

Marianne clucked her tongue, reaching into the jewelry case to pull out a red velvet drawer. "I wouldn't give up on her just yet if I were you. Maybe you don't know the whole story. She seemed like a good egg, from what I saw."

I pursed my lips, about to call her out on the blatant impropriety of her trying to give me advice on my life, when she abruptly reached for my wrist, manicured nails on my skin startling me out of my thoughts. I looked down to see her focused on my charm bracelet, which I hadn't even remembered putting on this morning. "That's a beautiful bracelet," she said, lifting my arm up and twisting it slightly to see all the charms.

"It was a birthday present," I offered, happy to be off the subject of Miriam.

"You know what would look absolutely perfect on it? This." She plucked something slim and gold off the velvet draping and, before I could tell her not to, attached it to a free link on the bracelet.

I held my arm up to my eye to examine her new addition. It was a slender gold key, the head of which was studded with a tiny pearl and had small feathered angel wings branching off of it. Very pretty, but… "I'm sorry," I said, reaching to unclasp it. "I'm really not in the market for jewelry right now."

"Nonsense! That charm was made for your bracelet. I couldn't possibly sell it to anyone else now that I've seen it on you. Take it – I insist. It's a gift." She smiled warmly at me, her golden-brown eyes twinkling like she knew something I didn't. Inexplicably, I thought of Emma, whose eyes were the same color, and had looked just like that when she ambushed me in the hallway.

But before I could think too long on that train of thought, Marianne's eyes drifted to the old-fashioned cuckoo clock in the corner and she let out a startled yelp. "Oh my. It's later than I thought." She quickly shoved the velvet tray back into the jewelry case and pulled the door shut, stepping out from behind the counter and heading towards the door. "I know this is terribly unprofessional of me, but would you mind watching the store for me for just one minute? I promised my niece I'd pick up her birthday cake from this bakery around the corner, and they close at seven on Fridays." Before I had time to open my mouth, she was already halfway out the door. "Thank you ever so much!"

I closed my mouth, realizing I couldn't very well say no now, especially not after she'd given me the charm (regardless of the fact that I hadn't exactly wanted it, a gift was still a gift). Ryan, however, had other ideas. The second she closed the door behind her, he looked up at me and said, "Can we please go now? You got what you came here for." He stared almost derisively at the charm on my wrist.

"That's just it, Ry," I said, walking over to perch on the arm of his chair. "I didn't." I ran my fingers almost roughly through my hair a few times, trying to figure out how I could have been so wrong about this place.

It just made no sense. I'd felt the tingles… and Marianne, with her cryptic comments… I wanted to scream. This couldn't be another dead end. It just couldn't. What felt like the beginning of tears stung the corners of my eyes, unbidden.

"Oh, 'Liss," Ryan said, pulling me down onto his lap. His tone was considerably softer, which I figured meant he had seen the tears; even still, I blinked and shut my eyes tightly, trying to force them back. "I'm sorry for snapping at you. I'm just tired." His fingers started tracing little circles on the back of my neck soothingly. "You really thought this might have been it, didn't you?" I nodded, feeling unable to speak for fear of setting off the waterworks. "I think this is a sign that we've done enough for today. Let's check into a hotel somewhere nearby and keep searching tomorrow. We'll both be more clear-headed with some food and a good night's sleep."

Inhaling deeply, I opened my eyes, pleasantly surprised to find the tears had subsided. "That sounds nice," I admitted, sliding one hand up to cup his cheek. "Thank you, Ryan," I said softly, tracing one finger along the line of his jaw. "I really don't know what I'd do without you sometimes."

"You know I'd do anything for you, Alyssa." My eyes slid closed for an entirely different reason as he kissed me, a kiss that started out chaste but quickly grew into something deeper, something that ignited fireworks in my stomach. I was breathless when he finally pulled back, staring at me with a mischievous smile playing across his lips. "So how soon can I get you to that hotel room?"

"Ryan!" I laughed, slapping him playfully on the arm. My heart fluttered in my chest. We'd never actually talked about this, but… Would he expect me to… Did I want to…?

"Let's wait for Marianne to get back," I insisted, hoping I didn't sound as flustered as I felt. "It's the least I can do, since she did give me that charm for free, and sold me my birthday dress last year at an incredible markdown."

"So this is where you got that, eh?" His eyes danced. "Maybe I should've been more appreciative of this place, then." My heart skipped a beat as he leaned in to kiss me again.

There was no denying that I loved kissing Ryan, but… would I be ready if he wanted to go further? And if I wasn't, how did I tell him that without hurting his feelings? I started to wish I'd talked to one of the other girls about this. Lola, for sure, would know how to handle this kind of situation; or even Alexa, with her wonderful advice-giving powers. Although on second thought, maybe I wouldn't want to go to Alexa for this. Way too awkward, considering everything…

I felt a sharp sort of tugging on my wrist, like someone was trying to yank me somewhere. "Um, Ry?" I asked, reluctantly breaking the kiss. "Was that you?"

"Was what me?" he asked, looking as confused as I felt. "What are you talking about?"

"Something was just pulling on my wrist." I looked down, as if expecting to see another person's hand, but there was nothing. For curiosity's sake, I lifted my wrist, wondering if maybe one of the charms had somehow caused that unexpected pain. But everything looked normal.

"That was weird." I shrugged, letting my wrist drop back down onto my lap. "Now, where were we…?"

Out of the corner of my eye, I thought I saw something fluttering, and abruptly I snapped my wrist up to eye level, startling poor Ryan who was leaning in for another kiss. "What the hell?" he exclaimed.

"Shh!" I hissed, pressing my finger against his lips. "Did you see that?"

"See what?" He shifted uncomfortably. "'Liss, you're tired. Whatever you think you saw was probably just your brain playing mind games. Further reason why we should go," he emphasized pointedly.

I sighed, climbing off his lap and straightening my clothes. "Alright, you win. Whoa!" Without warning, I pitched forward, nearly hitting the ground.

"Are you okay?" I heard Ryan ask from behind me, but I tuned him out, focusing on my bracelet. There, as clear as could be, was the key charm Marianne had given me, its wings unmistakably beating back and forth, producing a low, almost impatient sort of humming sound.

I inhaled sharply. "Ry, look at this," I exclaimed, in a higher pitched voice than normal. The key gave another low hum, then yanked me forward again, this time sending me sprawling across the floor almost to the far wall of the store.

"Unbelievable," he said, offering a hand down to help me up. "So you were right all along?"

A wide smile crept across my face. "It looks like I was." Getting to my feet, I stared down at the key. "I'll go where you want me to, but be careful with me, alright?"

As if it actually understood me, the wings started beating slower, and I held my wrist out in front of me, like it was another person I was letting lead me. When it tried to drag me through the velvet curtain, though, I hesitated. "Should we be going back there?" I asked Ryan over my shoulder.

"Do you want to find this thing or not?" He stepped forward and yanked aside the curtain, all but pushing me through. I stumbled slightly, before letting the key continue to lead me.

It kept going for another few feet, guiding me through a mess of dust and old clothes in the back of the store, before it gave a growling sort of whine, then ceased to beat and dangled back down next to its fellow charms. I halted, confused, before I saw the door.

It was entirely out of place in this decidedly modern-looking building – enormous, arched at the top, and made of a solid-looking thick dark wood with an ornate gold handle. The knob had a keyhole in it, and I bit my lip, until I remembered how we'd gotten here in the first place. On a closer examination, the keyhole did look small enough to fit. Taking a chance, I awkwardly (since the charm was still on my wrist) twisted the key into the lock.

When it let out a soft click, I think I stopped breathing.

I hadn't realized it until just then, but I'd kind of had expectations as to what this hidden library would look like – something maybe sort of like the Alfea library, with its dark wood paneling and a real fireplace that actually got used during the winters. Big enough to store lots of important information, but still warm and cozy feeling. But whatever I'd imagined, it was nothing compared to the reality.

I took a few tentative steps forward, craning my neck to take in everything. The room was enormous and circular. A high, domed ceiling made entirely of glass set the entire room awash in the blue-violet light of the outside sky. Strangely enough, although I couldn't see any other light sources, it didn't feel dark or creepy (the light was bright enough to see by, in a cool, sort of eerie way), just quiet and still, like we were the first people to have come in here in a long time.

We were currently on a sort of balcony level, which was lined all the way around with shelves the same pale blue color as the walls, making the dark, leather-bound books on them stand out even more. But from the little I could see of the bottom floor, there were seemingly dozens upon dozens more shelves; several football fields worth, at least. I started to wonder how far underground this place spread, and what kind of magic was used to keep it concealed from all the ordinary people in London (seriously, how could you hide something like this in the back of a tiny little vintage shop?).

"This… is insane," I said finally, taking a few more steps out of the doorway and into the library proper. "That something like this exists, on Earth of all places… I wonder how many people know that it's here? And Marianne – she obviously knows about it, and magic… Are there more like her? More Earth-bound magic users, just in hiding? Why hasn't anyone done anything to help them?"

"As fascinating as all of that is, don't we have more important things to worry about right now?" Ryan was already heading towards the large sweeping staircase. "Come on; I'll bet you anything that the person-finder's down there."

Silently, I followed him down through the maze of shelves to a corner alcove that held a gold podium with something tall and gold spiraling out of the center, like an enormous, twisting piece of DNA. Carefully, I stepped forward and placed my hand on the podium, letting out a soft gasp of surprise when the golden surface warped and mutated to form something like a keyboard, as if what I'd thought was solid metal was liquid water, fluid and pliable. I hesitated, pulling my hand back, but nothing happened.

"Go on, enter her name." Ryan nudged me gently from behind.

Slowly, my fingers trailed across the keys, picking out the letters to write ISABELLA DIGIACOMO, which hung in glowing blue letters above us. When the last letter had been entered, I held my breath, waiting to see what would happen.

At first, there was nothing but silence, and I worried that we'd come all this way only for the damn thing not to work. Then, slowly, the double helix started to twist, the upper part seeming to disappear into the ceiling as more rose from the ground to take its place. As I watched, captivated, one of the links glowed with a faint blue light, and the movement abruptly stopped; then a shimmering blue screen of the same kind of light replaced her name, words scrawling themselves across it as fast as the eye could see.

I stared at the screen without really seeing the words there, too overwhelmed by the fact that it had worked at all. I can't believe this. I really did it…

"Well what do you know?" Ryan's voice came from behind me, startling me out of my thoughts. "She's on Earth."

Author's Note: I've recently had a surge of inspiration and interest in this story (maybe because now it's like my only project), so updates should come in short order from now on. And yes, we are closing in on the end here - like its predecessors, What's Left of Me is set to be fifteen chapters.

So what did y'all think? How many of you ever expected to see Marianne again? (For anyone with a memory problem, she was in What's Past is Prologue, ch. 9.) I can't quite recall if I knew from the second I invented her in that I was going to use her again, but I definitely did write her in WPIP intending for her to be connected with magic somehow, and for that connection to come back in the 3rd book.

I know some of you were probably expecting to see Icy, and I'm sorry to disappoint. She's in the next chapter, I promise! And to Akela Victoire, who expressed concern for Alyssa's safety... well, you'll see what I mean when I say our girl's got nothing to fear there - physically, at least. (I make no promises about mentally or emotionally. *evil laugh*)

Don't forget to hit the Review button on your way out, please!

Lator, gators!

- Authoress