I have a basic idea for this chapter, so let's see what I can do with it. Also, how much more interesting will this chapter be knowing that Moyra is in love with Kellach, and he has no clue? If you read all the books with that in mind, it makes them slightly more interesting.

CHAPTER 12

Kellach was greatly worried about his brother. He had seemed fine the day before, how did he get sick so suddenly? He had a feeling Driskoll hadn't told him everything, but he didn't want to press the issue.

He was also starting to grow worried about the beast of shadows. They hadn't made any progress on who had summoned the beast, or what their plans were. Zendric as well had not contacted him recently. He wanted to get back to his lessons, but he didn't know whether he should ask or not. He sighed to himself as he went downstairs.

When Kellach entered the kitchen, he was quite surprised to see Alexandra sitting at the table, feet up, and sipping something from a mug. He heard Moyra, who had come down the stairs with him, hiss silently at the sight of the girl. Kellach sighed and walked over to Alexandra, ignoring Moyra who turned her back to them.

"Alexandra, you've got stop breaking into our house," he told her in a quiet voice.

"I wouldn't have to break in if you would just leave the door unlocked," she pointed out smugly. She took another sip from the mug.

Kellach sighed and sat down next to her, gently pushing her feet off the table. Before he could speak, he heard Moyra go out to the other room.

"What are you drinking?" he wondered.

"Oh, just a potion I whipped up at home," Alexandra replied.

"Potion?"

"Yes," she answered, "My parents are potion makers. They spend all their time making their precious potions, that they barely pay attention to Serilynne and me." She sighed and put the mug down. "So, when they're not looking, I usually make my own potions and test them by drinking them myself."

"Isn't that a little dangerous?" Kellach questioned, "What if you made something lethal?"

Alexandra shrugged. "Maybe," she said, "But what's life without a little excitement? Don't you agree, Kellach?" She offered the mug to him. "Want some?"

"No, thank you," he murmured.

"I've actually made a few potions that my parents haven't discovered yet," she continued, taking another gulp, "And I don't plan to tell them about it. Let them figure it out on their own."

"Like what?" Kellach asked.

"Well, I made one that numbs the arms and legs so that they're so weak you can't even move," she explained. She chuckled at the memory. "Boy, what a heck of a time it was testing that one out!"

"What does that one do?" Kellach wondered.

Shrugging, Alexandra took another big gulp. "I have no idea," she replied.

Kellach looked at her, concerned. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"So far," she said, "I don't think the ingredients I used are toxic. But then again, one poison my parents make is made from two totally normal plants, so who can say?"

She tipped back the mug, finishing it off, then put the mug down on the table. Kellach stared at her in amazement.

"How do you feel?" he asked her.

"Fine," she answered, "It just tasted of strawberries and apples. Even if it didn't do anything, at least I made a tasty drink!"

"I don't think I could drink anything if I didn't know what it was first," Kellach told her earnestly, "You're either brave or mad."

Alexandra chuckled. "Why thank you, Kellach," she said, "That's so nice of you to say!" She gently nudged him. "So, what are you planning on doing today?"

Kellach sighed heavily. "I don't know," he responded, "Driskoll's not feeling well, and we haven't made any more progress on the beast of shadows. I was thinking of going to ask Zendric to resume my studies. It's been almost a week and a half."

"Are you sure you can handle all of that?" Alexandra wondered, "Chasing down that beast and taking your lessons? And… if you don't object to it, I would still want you to teach me." She blushed slightly.

"I've dealt with much more in the past," Kellach said, "I think I can handle it."

Alexandra snickered. "If you say so," she teased. "Anyway, can I go with you to see Zendric? I would like to show him how well I'm coming along."

"Are you sure?" Kellach asked her, "You don't want to practice a little more?"

"We can practice now," she pointed out. She gently took his hands and pulled him to his feet. Then she pulled him closer, so that they were almost touching.

Kellach quietly shuddered. "Er, okay," he muttered.

For the next half hour or so, Kellach worked with Alexandra, showing her how to conjure a flame. When she couldn't get the hand gestures right, Kellach gently guided her with his own hands. Alexandra gasped in surprise when a tiny flame appeared before her.

"Look! I did it!" she exclaimed.

"Good job," Kellach said, smiling warmly.

The girl sneered. "Zendric said I would never be able to do it," she said bitterly, "Well, I sure showed him!"

Kellach didn't say anything. While he knew that Zendric wasn't always the friendliest wizard, he knew this better than anyone, he also couldn't see him being as cruel as Alexandra claimed he was being. But he didn't want to say anything to upset her.

At that moment, Moyra came into the room, and Kellach could tell she was trying hard not to glare at Alexandra. Kellach didn't really understand why Moyra didn't like her, but he was also too afraid to ask. Moyra walked over and sat down next to Kellach, folding her arms, and gently leaning against him.

"I think we should head to the library today," she murmured to him, "There might be something about the beast there."

It had strangely never occurred to Kellach that they might be able to find something about the beast of shadows in the library. He had been so distracted by everything else that was happening, the thought never crossed his mind. He looked at Moyra, who was staring at him with her green eyes.

"That's a good idea," he replied, "I don't know why I hadn't thought of that before. Um…" he paused and looked over at Alexandra, then back at Moyra. "Do you mind if Alexandra comes with us?"

The look on Moyra's face told Kellach that she definitely did mind, but she didn't say so. Instead, she simply sighed. "All right, Kellach," she muttered quietly, "Only for you."

Kellach briefly wondered what she meant by that, but he decided to ignore it. After quickly checking on Driskoll again, the three of them went out into the town. As they walked towards the Wizard's quarters, Kellach explained to Moyra their plan for the day. He noticed that both girls stuck very close to him while they walked, and he wondered why.

They reached Zendric's tower and he was quite surprised to see the three of them at his front door. He looked down at Kellach.

"I was not expecting you today, Kellach," he said, "What are you doing here? And why is your brother not with you?" He noticed who was next to the young wizard. "Alexandra, I was not expecting you until tomorrow."

"We know all of this, Zendric," Kellach sighed, "I wanted to ask something of you. I was actually hoping I could resume my lessons again. It has been a while…"

Zendric took breath. "Very well," he said, "If you think you can handle it." Then he turned to Alexandra. "And what do you want, girl?"

Alexandra at first had looked confident, but as soon as Zendric turned his stare on her, she shrank back against Kellach. "I was, er, hoping you could asses my skills soon," she told him, "Kellach says I'm getting a lot better."

Zendric continued to stare down at them. Then he grunted. "Fine them," he replied, "I will assess your skills tomorrow. Now, I must return to my research, if you please." He gave them a curt nod before shutting the door in their faces.

Kellach was a little taken aback by Zendric's behavior. Why did he seem so gruff? Was something bothering him? He seemed more irritated today than usual.

Shaking his head, Kellach walked away from the door with Moyra and Alexandra following him. They headed towards the library, with Kellach keeping a sharp eye out for anything suspicious. He saw the Strangely Dressed Man a little bit away telling another story to a large group of people. He was glad he had such a large group. That meant he paid no attention to the three of them as they snuck past him to the library.

Kellach immediately broke away from the girls to look for the right section for monsters. He scanned the rows of books looking for anything that might be helpful. Nothing seemed to jump out at him and he wondered if Moyra was having any better luck. He briefly thought about asking the librarian for help, but he remembered the last time they tried that and decided against it.

Just when he was about to give up, Kellach suddenly spotted a book that looked like it might be helpful. It was titled Index of Summoning Beasts and Monsters. Surely this had to have something useful in it! He pulled it off the shelf and flipped through it until he found a section about the Beast of Shadows.

There was a brief description of the beast, followed by the name of a different book where one could find more information. Kellach sighed with frustration. Why couldn't things ever be simple for once? He searched the shelves, but couldn't find the book anywhere.

Looks like I'm going to have to ask the librarian, he thought bitterly.

"Can I help you?" asked the elderly librarian when Kellach approached him.

"Yes, I was trying to find this book, but I can't seem to locate it," Kellach told him, "It's called Summoning Beasts and Monsters. My teacher, Zendric needs it."

He couldn't quite tell if the librarian believed him or not, but at least he didn't ask any questions. He shuffled over to his desk and took out his record book. He frowned as he flipped through it.

"That's odd," he muttered, "That book was checked out about a month ago, but it was never returned. Someone else must have rented it out to someone, because I cannot read this handwriting."

Kellach let a frustrated sigh. Nothing could ever be simple.

…

"So, you didn't find anything useful either?" Kellach asked Moyra as they headed home. Alexandra had left them.

Moyra shook her head. "Not a thing," she replied, "It was as if all the books that could've been useful just disappeared."

"I had the same problem," Kellach told her, "There was one book that sounded useful, but someone had rented it and never returned it."

"So, what do we do now?" Moyra wondered. Kellach sighed heavily.

"I don't know," he admitted. He always hated not having a plan. It made him feel vulnerable and weak. He jumped a little when he felt Moyra put a hand on his shoulder.

"Maybe we should check out the castle again," she suggested, "We did discover that basement, but we didn't really explore it that well."

Kellach didn't like the idea of going back to that castle, especially when it was just the two of them. But he had to admit he had no other better ideas, so he reluctantly agreed. Moyra linked her arm with his and she led the way to the castle.

The castle was a lot more quiet than they were used to. It was starting to get late and there were not a lot of people there. It rather unnerved Kellach, but Moyra seemed unphased. They snuck away to look for the basement.

"Do you remember where it was?" Kellach wondered.

"Not exactly," Moyra admitted, "I know Driskoll said he found a secret trapdoor in one of the hallways." She looked at him. "Maybe we should split up a little? We might find it better."

Kellach felt a chill run up his spine, but he decided to ignore it. "Sure," he said, "I'll stick around here, why don't you try to find the stairs we discovered?"

Moyra nodded and quickly trotted off down the hall. Kellach watched her go before starting to examine the hallway he was in. He walked over to a side table and looked at it. Something about the vase seemed off. He tried to pick it up, but it wouldn't move. Instead, he heard a click, and the floor moved behind him. Smirking, Kellach walked over to the trap door and carefully dropped down.

As soon as he did, something suddenly tackled him to the floor. Gasping, Kellach tried to get up, but whatever it was forced him back to the ground. A spindly hand covered his mouth, and a thick shadowy arm wrapped around his chest. He felt a whip like tail bind his legs, and leg wrapped around his waist so that he couldn't move at all.

"Ha ha ha ha! I was wondering when I would get you alone," the familiar hissing voice of the Beast laughed in his ear, "You've alluded me for far too long, Kellach. Tonight, I will reach my full power! And then no one will be able to stop me! And your little friend will help me."

Kellach tried to struggle, but the beast was too strong for him. He felt its foul breath on his neck and he shivered. There was nothing he could do but lay there and wait for the beast to finish him off.

Sorry this chapter took so incredibly long to get up. I've been in a writing slump, and I have a lot of stories I'm working on. Thankfully, I have most of the next chapter already written out. So the next chapter should be up a lot sooner. Hopefully someone is still reading this. If you are, please leave a review! Thanks!