Chapter 13 - The Problems, the Books and the Riddles
~ONE~
"Edalyn, do you realize that every room in my home have doors for a reason?" Lilith said as her sister flew right through the window of the raven witch's home office. Carraz the white raven give a cawing sound from his perch in Lilith's office.
"Doors are boring." Eda replied as Owlbert came to life and flew to the perch. Lilith's palisman move a little more over to the left, so the little owl can sit with him.
"You could have at least knocked at the window, before coming in."
"It's not like I flew in your bedroom or something. So, I don't get what the problem is." After a pause, Eda added with a sly smile, "Or maybe you and your husband used this desk to other activities from time to time."
Lilith said nothing and gave Eda short glare, but the tips of her pointing ears went slightly pink.
"Well, well, well... I never pegged you for something like this." Eda told her sister with her fanged grin.
The raven witch refrained herself from taking the stack of papers in front of her and whacking her younger sister with it. "Aren't you supposed to be in the Lair right now?"
"The morning meeting in the conference room was short. I gave people a few commands, and rescheduled a council meeting for the evening. Luz and Iniko are helping Bat Queen. And Luz's Dweebus friend begged for let him watches the stand. So, today's my day off."
"You were supposed to take care of the recruits." Lilith reminded her.
"Orion take over my spot in the training, today." Eda replied while pulling her feet up to rest on the desk and leaning her chair back on to two legs, "The new recruits love him."
"It cannot be denied that he has genuine charisma. But you are the leader." Lilith noted with a half reprimanding gaze, "The recruits should meet you."
"They will have ample opportunity for this." Eda said as she waved her hand up in the air. "And then they will by worship the ground I walk on, after meet me. Like every member of Rebellious Coven."
"The Rebellion isn't your fan club." Lilith said and knocked Eda's feet off of her desk.
"I beg to differ, sis." Eda flashed a smile that Lilith knew all too well."And while we're on the subject of Rebellion, got any messages for Rebellious Coven?"
"I gave the most necessary things to Blaze and Thalia. The rest can wait for the next council meeting." Lilith replied and back to her paper work.
"And, did Bonehead mentioned something about The Day of Unity, yesterday?" Eda said it casually.
"Emperor still hasn't explained what is "The Day of Unity ". But he is more and more increasingly desperate for a found new portal to Human Realm." Lilith said, focusing on document, "I still can't believe he fall for the toss you throwed the portal into a crater with corrosive liquid."
"His Majesty is just dumber than a crate of mandrakes." Eda replied jokingly, "That's why he never catch me or get my portal."
"He is still Emperor Belos the most powerful witch in history, don't disrespect him, sister." Lilith told the younger witch in a firm tone, "He is dangerous person."
"I know, Lily. I learned that the hard way when..." the Owl Lady left the sentence unfinished, but her sister knew exactly what she meant. "Switching gears, have Thaddeus found out anything about that's mystery scroll?" Eda asked, trying to not to show this question is the principal reason that she come here.
Lilith put the pen down. "He translate entire text of the scroll, it contains a description with detailed list of ingredients of open a rift to random or selected universe. The final destination depends most on the kind of the last ingredient."
"Okay, so spell open a portal to other universe, sort of, but we already knew that."
"Yes, but he considers that a ancient scroll contains some hidden information. The last sentence in text doesn't fit the full text in the scroll. Perhaps it's a sort of guidelines or riddle. He and Cassandra are trying to decrypt it."
"You tell her anything yet?"
"I am telling her this afternoon. I didn't have time earlier today."
"Just make sure she would be near a couch."
Lilith frowned, a slim eyebrow poised higher than the other. "Edalyn."
Eda flashed a smile. "You know, that girl is sometimes a true drama queen."
"Edalyn." Lilith said again, but a bit louder and worried.
"What?" Eda asked, a little surprise evident in her voice.
"Your hand." Lilith said as she gestured to the molting feathers coming off Eda's hand and arm.
"Oh Biscuits." The witch said as she looked at her arm.
Lilith got up and came up to baroque commode. She came back a few seconds later with a bottle of elixir and held it out to her sister. Eda popped the cork off of the glass bottle and drank it all.
"I know that sometimes when you are in distress, you can be forgetful about taking your elixir. But you'll have to be more careful about this. You can't afford to transform." The raven witch voice snapped immediately into serious older sister mode.
Eda said nothing, her eyes glued to an empty bottle of elixir.
"You take it today." It wasn't a question. The Owl Lady looked at her sister. The younger witch's face says everything.
Lilith's pupils pinpointed. "You curse is getting stronger."
Silence reigned for a glorious minute, "Don't tell Iniko."
"He-"
"He's already worries about my curse a lot." Eda interrupted her, her ears pinned back, "He is trying not to show it, but I know he did. And with the interdimensional switched problem, he doesn't need anything else on his mind."
"You can't keep things from him because you're not want him to worried." Lilith pointed out.
"I just need more elixir. Not big deal." Eda said with a casualness more suited to talking about the results of a Grudgby match, as opposed to dangerous curse that getting stronger.
"Edalyn." The way Lilith said her sister name, she might as well have said, "You can't just treat your curse like Levitation Flu."
"I'm fine. You needn't worry about this."
"Yes, I do. In case you forgot, we are family." Lilith said before laying a hand on her arm. "And I care about you."
"I'm fine." Eda told her again and threw the empty bottle over Lilith's head into the wastepaper basket in the corner, which swallowed it and belched loudly. "I got it under control. And besides, I asked the Bat Queen for something to strengthen elixir."
Lilith opened her mouth as if to respond, then closed it with a thoughtful look, "All right, but If your curse settle down again, you are to tell me about it immediately."
"You sound exactly like our mom." Eda teased.
"I'm serious."
"Me too, mom."
"Titan, give me strength," the older witch mumbled as she sighed.
"I love you too, Lily." Eda said before her pointy ears picked up something, the vibrating inside the desk.
The raven witch opened up the left drawer, and took out the amulet with the symbol of the Emperor's coven on the back.
"I have to take this call." She said simply.
Eda just nodded. "And that's us cue, Owlbert."
Owlbert give a soft chirps to Carraz, before connecting to the staff, in which transforms him into a wooden owl when connected as the staff went to Eda, which she gets on. "I'll see you at the Lair, sis."
"Try not to be late, again." Lilith said before the window was closed again.
She pasted on the head of the Emperor's coven face, putting down the amulet. It then opened itself, showing the face of Emporer's personal attendant.
"Kikimora."
~TWO~
"Are we there yet?" King asked for what seemed like the hundredth time.
Lilith turned her head to glare at him, "You have asked me that several different times in several different ways and my answer is still 'no'."
"Tell me again why I had to quit my nap to come with you?" The little demon whined.
"Because we need everybody to searching library. And I will not leave you alone with Hooty after what happened last time." Eda explained.
King just crossed his arms and looked at the sea 40 feet beneath them. They've been driving for, like, an two hours. And It doesn't look like they'll be going to land any time soon.
Luz wanted cheer him up. But after she sing 99 Bottles of Age-Appropriate Beverage, Eda threatened the Latina will have to swim the rest of the way, if she'll not be quiet for at least half hour. And the witch sound dead serious.
15 minutes later
"Are we there yet?" King asked again.
"No."
10 minutes later
"Are we there yet?" The demon asked.
"NO."
5 minutes later
"Are we there yet?"
"For the last time King. NO!"
"Okay, okay. I'll be quiet." King promised, feeling the cool of the raven witch murder gaze.
They flying in the silence for a few seconds. Then Eda called her sister.
"Yes?"
"Are we there yet?"
The trio laughed when Lilith let out a great annoyed groan.
~ A Time Skip ~
...
...
...
..
.
"We're here."
After left the borders of the archipelago of Boiling Isles and hour of flying over seemingly endless Boiling Sea, Lilith finally pointed to a lone island rising out of the horizon and two sisters told their palismans to bring them down there.
This dark, craggy island appeared to be only made of rock with little to no vegetation. No vegetation appeared at all, except for several forests of a dark, leafless variety of tree and some bushes that grow poisonous berries.
"So where's this secret library you were talking about?" Eda asked without facing her.
"Directly ahead." Lilith pointed to a black stone tower blending in with the dark rocks.
"It's not too big." Eda leaned on her staff, with one fleeting glance. It didn't look like much of a library to her - it didn't even have a door, at least not that he could see, only a pair of window-holes at the very top
"Don't judge a unicorn by its horn, sister." Lilith said, walking closer to dark tower.
"I'm just sa-" Eda suddenly jumps when a wet sensation hits the nape of her neck, and she turned around, whipping her staff out to attack. But the witch saw Luz holding a can of air freshener in one hand, and she glared at the pale woman.
"What was that for?" The Owl Lady asked, pointing at the air freshener.
"It'll cover up our scents so the Librarian can't smell us," The teenager said cleverly as she sprays Lilith and King's bodies.
Eda sniffed herself. "What is that smell?"
Luz looked at the front of the air freshener. "Hawaiian Breeze."
"Ha-what-what?"
"Hawaii is a U.S. state."
"What's U.S.?"
"You should probably table this discussion for later. Librarian work in the west wing of the library at this hour. So, it's safe to come inside." The raven witch said and start taking the stairs. But Eda opted to get inside with Luz and King on her staff instead.
The interior of the library below, ornately decorated with mosaics and relief sculptures, was much more spacious than the narrow tower had suggested, and was surprisingly pristine given that the entire building was buried under the dunes. The cavernous space, shielded from the desert sun, was remarkably cool, and was lit with a dim blue glow that seemed to be coming from crystals mounted on the walls.
Eda landed at the center of a cruciform bridge directly below the tower, then Luz walk to the edge and peered down at the levels upon levels, all filled with shelves, stretching deep into underground gloom. The teenage girl let out a whistle, which echoed in the stillness. There had to be something helpful about the symbol or way to send her back to right universe here somewhere, though it might take them a long time to find it.
When Lilith made it down, Eda saw her sister palisman looking around, nervously. But the pale woman whispered something to the white raven and calms the bird with affectionate scratches on his head.
"This place is amazing," Luz said as she came and stood next to two witches.
"And gigantic." King noticed.
"Then we better get started."
Once they had been undetectable by the power of glyphs, Lilith suggested they split up to cover more ground. She and Eda stayed on the topmost level, where they had come in from the spire, while Luz and King headed down to the level below. Less sunlight made its way down there, but the blue crystals glowed brighter.
Luz wondered what kind of crystals they were and how work, but if the answer to that question was buried somewhere in the library, it wasn't what they were here to look for.
Unfortunately, she wasn't sure exactly what it was they were should looking for.
"Why we coming here?" King asked as she eyed the letter on the ends of the rows of shelves. They were written in a weird language neither Luz and him didn't recognize.
"Well, we don't where we should looking" Luz said, heading down the first row, "So, here's as good a place as any." The teenager was afraid that everything would be written in ancient languages neither of them could read, but to her relief most of the books and scrolls were labeled with recognizable characters.
"Think they have an guide for people lost in other universe or Atlas of the Multiverse?" she asked as she ran her index finger along the shelf at her eye level, still scanning the titles of the books until she came to a section of neatly stacked scrolls.
"Mhm." King replied, too engrossed in reading the old black book written in red ink that look suspiciously like blood. "Did you know that the victim's brain was pulled out through the nasal passages with a special hooked claws of shadow demons?"
"Egyptians did a little of the same thing." Luz said, doubling back to the scrolls. One in particular caught her eye: it was clearly very old paper, with the spirals carved into its decorative green end. Picking it up and gently unrolling it, she found it told the story of the Anurmantic.
"Anurmantic?" She read out loud.
"Bless you?" King replied in confusion.
"This is word from this scroll." Luz explained, pointing at the scroll. "Anurmantic substance that is the essence of clear magic and life itself. In its original form is the energy of creation that is present in all things across the each world. It is always in movement, flowing through everything that lives. The anurmantic field is the connection between our life force and the primal energy of our worlds. Any witch can't manipulate anurmantic directly. They need "the spark", the catalyst that allows for temporary possessed ability to control and manipulate anurmantic."
"I don't understand what it has to do with the symbol?"
"You are right." Luz put the scroll back. "This is not what we're looking for at the moment."
"Do you think we could find information of this symbol?" King asked as pick a book made of bones off the low shelf and start reading.
"Of course we will." She enthusiastically, "But it could take a while," Her eyes shifted through a hundred library shelves. "A long while..."
This section of the library has really numerous books and scroll. After a three hours of reading they didn't even get through the one tenth of books.
"Did you find anything?" Luz asked as she flipped through the another book.
"No." King replied, holding old scroll. A big, old, leather-bound book lay open to his side.
Before she could go see what the little demon was getting himself into, her ears picked up something, weird sound. Like snake crawling all over the stone.
The reasonable part of her brain was telling her not go toward this sound but the rest of her brain and legs were telling her to go. So, she slowly moved through the shadows of the bookcases on the back wall of the dimly lit room.
She just rounded another shelf when a soft baritone voice alerted her to the fact that they were not alone, as she had assumed.
"Sections A to D of this part." The soft baritone was sounded.
Luz peered between two rows of books and saw the owner of the voice, who could only be Librarian himself, in the form of an demon-snake hybrid.
He had a black-grey-violet body with purple patches on his shoulders, within which were snake like eyes, and had four-fingered hands with claws. Each patch had thick dark outlining. On his torso were two three-colorful plates: one resembling the chest, a shorter plate under the chest resembling the stomach. He had a snake-like lower part of the body. He had large horns and had horrible light purple eyes consistent with bat like ears and his noticeably jagged lips reminiscent of sharps fangs - although he had a true set of pointed teeth underneath.
"There you are."
Heading over to the shelves, Librarian pulls a book from the wall, a very specific book made of pure obsidian. He moved around to took second book from other shelf, and it was almost hypnotic the way his tail moved so fluidly and also barely at all.
"Now I just have to send a message the castle." He raised his hand into the air and pointed it in the direction of hallway. Luz saw something silvery dart out of his palm and streak away through the bookcases like a ghostly bird.
Luz was fascinated by the sparks that left after it. They dancing in air near the hybrid man.
"Luz?" King approached her, pulling her back to the present. "What you are looking at?"
"I just saw the-" her gaze drifts away from him and noticed the librarian was gone.
"I don't see anyone."
"I think we should move." Luz meant to just quiet and slowly back away, but she ended up tripping over an ancient suit of armor—that she would have sworn was not there a minute ago.
The sound echoed in the whole room and other parts of library.
King gasped in shock at loud sound as Luz tried to keep herself and the suit of armor from falling over.
"Maybe nobody didn't hear it."
The little demon looks like he's holding in his scream, shrugging when Luz levels a panicking gaze towards him. Then the armor helmet fell out, and just rolling around on the floor. King caught it and then the most unexpected thing happened.
There was a weird sound and Luz barely had time to look at the source before she found her back being slammed into the hard and cold floor under her. The impact forced the air out of her lungs and she could feel the world moving around her as her vision tunneled. She felt a heavy weight on the middle of her chest. It was the armor. And she was lying right across the room.
King want to help her but he didn't have time to take a step towards her.
Suddenly the spiral patterns on floor lighting up, and then, there was a great rustling noise, and a large shadow fell over the little demon. King turned around to saw the librarian.
"I'm glad he can't see me."
"I see you." an calm baritone voice commented.
King once thought the scariest thing he'd ever seen was Eda blowing a gasket at him. But that paled in comparison to seeing the Librarian's gaze honed onto him like an vulture waiting for an animal to die. The fact that he was literally looking down at him made his expression all the more powerful.
"Uhhh...hi? Weh!" King shouted as he ran away.
Running for his life, weaving through the bookcases. Librarian getting closer and closer. King finally spins around and faces his attacker as he comes across a dead end in some large room resembling the planetarium.
The little demon tried to find some escape route, but found himself hoisted in the air by his collar.
"Your skull will be an interesting exponent of the Demonic Wing of the Library." The half-snake was staring at King's head.
"Don't you dare! Do you know who I am?!" King exclaimed as he tired to free himself from the man's grip.
"Intruder." Librarian spoke in a gravelly voice as if he was speaking to a misbehaving child.
"I'm the master of darkness! The king of demons!"
"Then I am going to terminate you not like a intruder but like a honored great king, very quickly and effectively." He told the demon in a growling whisper.
"And I'll kick your ass fast and hard, if you don't put him down." The new voice surprised the half snake creature. Librarian remarked at the Clawthornes sister who was standing only a few meters away.
"Edalyn don't encourage him to fight." Lilith had no stomach for fighting with him unlike Eda.
"So, you are Eda the Owl Lady." His eyes bored into Eda, "I have heard a lot about you."
Eda smirked. "Whatever Belos's told you about me, I guarantee you, I am definitely a lot more worse than that."
"Emperor Belos never mentioned you to me, but your sister did." Librarian paused, turning his head to look at Lilith. A soft sad smile perked up the corners of his mouth." It is, by the way, a pleasure to see you again Miss Lilith. Pity you are intruder this time."
"I'd rather meet you again under different circumstances, keeper of knowledge, too." Lilith finally said after a few moments of silence with honestly in her voice.
He frowned for a moment. "There we are each other's opponent. But I wish you'd still call me Aldo."
Eda turned towards Lilith, "He's your ex, isn't he?"
"I'm aromantic asexual." Aldo said in his trademark calm voice. "But I've become quite fond of Miss Lilith company during her frequent visits. She has spent a lot of time searching the library's resources, looking for information about your curse. She only stopped showing up few years ago. After I told her only Emperor may have the cure, and she should focus more on her job."
"Now that the formalities and this weird chat are out of the way, let King go." Eda ordered, pointing her staff at Aldo.
A shred of mischief gleamed in his eyes. "Or what?"
Eda wasn't about to answer him with words. Actions were much more fun and effective. She tapped glyph and summoned a ball of fire to her hand.
"Edalyn, don't d-" Lilith tried to stop her but it was already too late. The other witch threw a fire ball at Librarian.
The men didn't flinch and stood straight. He just held his free hand out. As if one cue, the fire ball landed straight into his left palm. It tried pushing forward, but Aldo had a strong grip. The fire ball finally stopped spinning, still burning in his hand.
"My turn." Aldo said and snuffed the fire ball out like a candle.
Eda reached for other glyph and Lilith started drawing spell circle yet they didn't even have time to noticed the sound filled the room, starting off as a soft buzz then becoming a loud continuous rumble, as though lightning was about to strike right where the witches were standing.
Aldo's eyes went calm and electric blue.
BANG
They were sent flying by an invisible force. The two witches slammed into the wall behind them so hard that the entire room seemed to shake and reverberate momentarily.
Aldo's face twisted into genuine calm as he approached the sisters.
"I expected a bit more from you." Librarian said, summoning long chain from floor and two glowing handcuffs that clamped down on Eda and Lilith's wrists. He looked at King again, but his eyes were darker this time. "And the thing about you-Ahhh"
Something cold and hard hit him in the back of head like a Chinese throwing star. The pain was very small but this thing surprised librarian well enough to made him forgot to hold onto the demon.
"Ha! Freedom!" King yelled, hitting the ground running.
Aldo turned around and saw the little creature using his claws to scale up a teenage girls purple shirt, and on to her shoulder. The teenager didn't look like a the typical inhabitant of Boiling Isles to him. And then he noticed her ears.
"Human?" Librarian asked with a twinge of shock in his voice.
"Kid get out of here!" Eda yelled before pulled out a pair of bobby-pins and started to fiddle with the lock on the handcuff.
"I will not leave you!" Luz replied, pulling out new glyph. With a fast tap, the page was absorbed forming a bright, glowing ball of water and lightning. Steely resolve glinted in her eyes.
"You can use magic." Aldo looked impressed.
Luz throwed magic ball at him in response, but he just use his large tail to bounced it into the wall. The half-snake flinched as a little shock of static flew up his tail, 'I almost forgot that the wild magic hurts me more than normal spell would.'
Then he picked up a big table and threw it in the girl's direction, who summoned the ice walls to block the attacks for the moment.
Luz jumped out from behind the ice shield with a few glyphs in hand, but Aldo took a deep breathe before fire dark purple cloud at her and King. They started coughing as their lungs were thick with mystery smoke.
Then Latina felt strangely... like she falls into the pool full of ointment. The demon fall off her shoulder. He yelped in fear, "I can't move!"
"Me too."
"One breath of my acid mostly paralyzes a body instantly." Aldo explained, slowly crawled over to them. Eda and Lilith tired to divert his attention from the young human and little demon but he ignored both witches.
Luz's eyes closes and shoulders tense. Her body prepares itself for any physical contact that might be done. To her surprise nothing coming.
The teenage girl opened her eyes and saw Aldo staring at few glyphs on the floor. He took a one piece of paper in his hand and smile.
"Well, you managed to uncovered a long forgotten the method of use magic. And you even modify the glyph." A kinder, more affectionate smile suddenly appeared around his lips, "That is very impressive. What's your name?"
"Luz Cla... I'm Luz."
"Luz, that's a nice name. It means 'Our Lady of Light'." He lean forward, his face frighteningly close to hers, "I see the light in your heart. Not a magic light. Just the light of yourself, you have good soul." He sighed, slithering a two feets back, "It's a pity to kill so an extraordinary human being."
"You don't have to kill us." said Luz, knowing what the answer was going to be.
The smile fell from his face. "It's my duty, and I will not shirk it." Aldo's eyes begin glowing, and his voice was cold, "I promise you, I'll do it quick."
"Wait! I have a proposition!"
Librarian filters through maybe five different emotions before his expression shifts into something more unreadable. If Luz isn't mistaken, something like curiosity flickers through his eyes.
"What do you mean?"
"I heard that you like riddles." She said, remembering how Lilith said this during they travel to library.
"I won't deny that." His eyes went empty like a cobra. And he's still looking at her waiting for her to go expand.
"We can play a riddle game." Luz offered. "If we win, you let me and my friends go."
Aldo gave Luz a narrowed glare. "What if I win the game?"
"You like got a new information to your library, right? I have a knowledge of the human world. And if you win, I'll tell you everything I know... and then you kill us."
Librarian looked from the teenager to King and back. Suddenly Luz and King can movie their limbs again.
Aldo leveled the girl with a glare that sent shivers down her spine, "Deal, young lady." He said as he held out his right hand, wanting to confirm the duel with a shake. Luz take deep breaths and grabbed his big hand.
The man closed his eyes as he drew a magic circle around their hands, causing it to glow.
"The Ever Lasting Oath has been made and sealed." He said with a smile as he broke the handshake, leaving Luz to bring palm to her face and stare at it as the glow slowly faded before she meet his eyes.
"Okay, who's up first?"
"If we'd met under different circumstances, I would say "ladies first." But you and your friends are intruder. Then I'll start." He sat down upon his snake tail, and recited: "I am always will be coming, but I will never come. I never was, am always to be. No one ever saw me, nor ever will, and yet, I am the confidence of all who live and breathe." Aldo went on, "Okay, young girl and tiny demon. I'm feeling gracious today, so three guesses what it is."
"Seven!" King exclaimed without thinking.
"It's not a number." Librarian offered them a half-smile.
"Six!" The little demon changed his answer.
"We're gonna die." Eda grumbled, still trying to get the cuffs off.
"The last try." Aldo said, his blank face was stern and expressionless. "Think hard before you answer me."
King open his mouth again but before he had a chance to blow the last answer Eda yelled at him. "King, just be quiet and leave it to Luz!"
"I'd get the answer right." The demon crossed his arms and turned his head away from Eda to show that he was not liking her decision. But he let Luz to take over the riddle.
The half-snake turned to Luz. "And what is your answer, young lady?"
"Ummmmm...Could you give me the riddle again, please?"
Aldo blinked at her, smiled, and repeated the riddle.
"All the clues add up to a thing that no one saw but everyone who's alive hopes to see?" Luz asked.
Librarian merely smiled a mysterious smile. Luz took that for a "yes." She cast her mind around, and then pacing from side to side of the room, thinking.
A list of possibility was long. To this she have to add the Boiling Isles' logic, and that did not make this riddle easier.
"I'm still waiting for your answer." Aldo said, real peaceful but to the point.
"I'm thinking!" Luz said a little too fast. And it don't took great comfort seeing Aldo's palms started to crackle with magical sparks.
"Think harder!" King said with a bit of panic. "I can't die out here. I had implement a plan to get rid of my rival and grab control of the playground tomorrow."
At this Luz's eyes wide. "King, you're a genius!" The girl exclaimed as she fast picked him up and kissed his forehead.
"I am?" King said with a surprise look. His face sobered, and he added, "I mean of course I'm."
The Latina put him down before look at Aldo and said, "Tomorrow – tomorrow is always in the future."
A collective silence fell about the room. The tension was so thick it was practically choking Luz. The emotion on Aldo's face was beyond unreadable.
"Correctly." Librarian said, as smooth as glass, "Your turn."
Luz and King took a large step back, and dropped their voice to a whisper.
"Did you know any riddles?" Luz asked with a little bit of hope.
"Only the popsicle stick riddles."
"It must be something harder."
"Like where do the missing socks go?"
"That's not a riddle. That's the eternal mystery of the universe. And we don't know the answer."
"I'm still waiting." Aldo tilted his head, crossing his arms behind his back.
"Just a moment."
Luz started panicking inside. She know only the Sphinx's riddle, but she had a hunch he'd know the answer. She started thinking about how to distract Aldo, give King glyph to release Eda and Lilith, and run away. She would get into trouble because the Ever Lasting Oath. But then again, it wouldn't be the first time she broke it.
Options rolled through her mind, each possibility running with several different outcomes, but after a moment, she stopped thinking.
Suddenly she remembered riddle from a fantasy book on the dragon riders. The riddle that seemed to have the most obvious answer for someone from the demonic realm. But actually it is kind of tricky.
"I am thick and thin, short and tall, I can eat a hundred sheep in a row and still be hungry. What am I?" She recited pretty quickly.
"A dragon." Aldo said without a second of hesitation.
"Nope. A woolen rug."
"A woolen rug." Librarian repeated it, his face once again completely blank and devoid of emotion. The tip of his tail twitched.
He then laughed. A long loud laugh that made the whole place shake a bit. He laughed, almost as if this was hysterical.
"Well, Luz the Human, my congratulations. You win." Aldo said after he had regained enough of his breath to speak. With a quick flick of his hand and a grey circle, the books in sight were picked from the ground and placed in the right place, and the restraints on Clawthorne sister turning to dust. "Take your things and leave my library."
"Don't have to tell me twice." said Eda as walked forward.
"Not so fast, the Owl Lady." The tone in his voice was enough for her to stopped and turned back toward him. "Put everything back where you took it before you leave this place."
"I don't know what you're talking about." Eda said that literally the second before some books and scrolls dropped out of her hair.
"Don't look at me like that, any opportunity for steeling is good." the Owl Lady said and smirked at the glare Lilith shot her.
Lilith sighed, massaging the bridge of her nose. "I'm sorry for my sister, Master Aldo."
"She isn't first person who tried to steel something from my library." Aldo picked up on of book from floor. "History of Philosopher's stone: Splendour of the Classic Alchemy." He read the title, "Interesting choice. Are you aware that only two witches was able to create the Philosopher's stone?"
"So I'd be the third." Eda shot back a smirk.
"Confidence is the most beautiful thing you can possess." Aldo's tone and face revealed he was amused with Eda. "But this book stay in my Library. The rest will too."
"Fine." The pale woman kept her eyes to the mess of books and scrolls on the floor, and her body crouched down to pick up the books. Her sister do the same, and then both of them leaving the room. King scurried after the pair.
"Luz the Human wait a moment." Aldo said when Luz also walked towards the door.
The teenager stopped walking and turned around. He wasn't behind her. Somehow, he had just vanished into the darkness. Looking for him, she turned again …
… and found his scaly tail right in front of her eyes.
She jumped up with a 'weh!', looking at librarian, who backed away a little but didn't leave Luz's space all that much.
"I would like to know why you were here." He said, looking at her face and leaning back on the thick tail. Luz didn't see the point of lying to him.
"We were looking up information about this symbol." She said honestly as she handed him the wooden plate with the symbol.
For a moment he looked startled, "It's funny, 'cause you are a second human who showed me that symbol."
"Wait! Have you met human before?" Luz eyes the librarian with confusion, and thinks to herself, 'I thought I was the only one human who had to step into this realm.'
He nodded. "A couple of years ago, Emperor send him here. He was trying to hide his ears, but I found out anyway."
"Why Emperor send him here?"
"It's privileged information." Librarian said and gave her the piece of wood back, "But that man has not found the answers he's looking for. So, he left our world."
"He died?"
"He has abandoned our world for good. Just not the way you think."
Luz looked down. "So, there are no information about this symbol here."
"No, young lady, that's not what I'm saying." The man looking at her with an unreadable expression. "Because the answers lie here. But for you. Well, it would take a lifetime to find them."
"Mr. Aldo, is there a possibility... you could tell me what is this symbol." Luz stared up at Aldo with big, dark, and sad eyes. Her bottom lip quivered ever so slightly. "Please?"
He frowning before nodding.
"It's a trademark of Zaylee the Unforeseeable. She was a very strange wild witch from outside the Boiling Isles. She had a short life, filled with wonder. She was a legend among many generations of witches and demons. Emperor Belos decided to erased her from the history. So all information about Zaylee have been hidden in my Library." Aldo's eyes darted between Luz and the symbol in her hand, "This symbol - it doesn't mean anything. But Zaylee painted it on everything she created."
Luz open her mouth to ask next question but look in his eyes made her realize she only have one question and he has already given the answer. "You don't answer more questions, right."
"You are quite intelligent beyond your years." The man responded , the corner of his mouth turning up in a subtle smile.
"Thanks." Luz braved a smile at him before walked to exit.
She was almost out the doors... and Aldo spoke again.
"A bit of advice for the future... this symbol is important. Keep an eye out for it, Luz the Human. This may help you get back to your universe."
Luz turned around to face him, but he was gone. He had disappeared again. The girl could still feel his presence, nearby, stalking her.
'He is creepy.' She though before went to find others. 'I like him'
Spare comments for the author? I would appreciate It!