The wind picked up as they stepped out of the car. The mall wasn't nearly as crowded as it should've been, but that was because the fair had started today, and nearly every one was there, enjoying themselves.

"Good, I hate crowds anyway." And with that, he headed into the mall with Josh and Ange following close behind.

Into the maze of hallways and corridors they plunged, with Chase leading the way confidently, and checking behind him every so often to make sure that they still followed him. When he turned the last corner, he had to stop and wait for his friends to catch up and they walked in together.

Josh and Ange continued past where Chase stopped and almost walked into the small Chinese owner who glared at them with a fury of a thousand suns. "You take shoes off!" he bellowed in a voice surprisingly loud for a man his size.

"Oops, sorry, forgot to tell you guys," Chase said as he walked up behind them newly barefooted, "the owner, Mr. Ochinu, is really traditionally oriented so you have to take off your shoes before you can go inside. He's really into that Feng Shui craze that's going around the States, and shoes obstruct your aura. I thought you guys might notice that due to the beads hanging on the door, the dim lighting, and the pebble floor." Turning to Mr. Ochinu, he bowed and said, "A thousand pardons. You will have to forgive their ignorance, they didn't know."

"Ah, of course, of course." Turning to the startled couple, he said, "Once you take shoes off, you are welcome in Bookstore Of Ancients. Make selves at home." And with that, he turned and went back behind his counter and settled into a meditation position as ethereal music began to play over the speaker system.

"Holy crap," Ange muttered to Josh, "this is one out of the way, weird assed place."

"I know," Chase said from several feet away, " That's why I know where it is, and I actually seem at home here. But if you need old books, this is the place to go. You won't find anything like these at Hastings. This is the original copy, for cheap prices too."

"Whatever," Josh told him, "now where's the ancient book section?"

"What section?" Chase asked looking up from a pile of books he had started going through.

"The section that has all the old books. The reason why we're here." Said Ange, getting aggravated.

"That's what makes this place so weird," Chase said, finished going through the pile, "there are no sections. It's only books upon books upon books upon shelves"

"What!" exclaimed Ange, "You mean we have to dig through piles of books we've never even heard of and expect the book we need to just fall into our laps?"

"Noooo." Said Chase, "this place is special, all you have to do is want it. Know what you want, and start looking. You'll find it before you even know you started looking. Have fun!" And he turned around and headed towards the back of the store as if guided.

"Well," Josh finally said, "I guess we'd better start wanting it." And with that, they both dove into piles of books that lay at their feet.

"I feel sorry for just leaving them hangin' like that, but something feels wrong here." Chase told himself as he scanned the shelves for the source of the wrongness. He almost passed it, but the feeling he got shifted to his back when he walked by it. It was only a book, but it was different from all the others. The letters on the cover were different than any of the ones Mr. Ochinu had showed him when he became his apprentice. But more than that, it glowed. When Chase reached out and took it off the shelf, the glow vanished, but the book pulsed with a slow, steady heartbeat. Slowly, Chase opened the books cover and leafed through the pages. There were the same letters as on the cover, but there were latter entries, and those were written in a language he knew, thanks to Mr. Ochinu. It was called the Language of the Ancients, but before he could even read the first few words, a blazing white light began to spill from the letters.

"ARRRRGGGGHHHHHH!" he cried before he fell unconscious. As he lay there unaware of everything, the world around him began to change…

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ooh, creepy. What's happening to the world? I haven't thought that up yet, so you'll just have to wait and see. Review please.