in front of me where I’d left him. His eyes were on mine and there was an odd glint to them, almost as if he were studying me. It was a look I likely had on my own face when confronted with a new problem. I wasn’t sure why it made me feel uneasy.
“What?” I asked.
“Just wondering who you are,” he shook his head.
“You know who I am,” I raised a brow.
“I thought I did,” he frowned. “But now I’m wondering again.”
My stomach was doing back flips at his nearness and perusal. I took one step back and cleared my throat.
“Where are the boys?” I changed the subject.
“They are busy setting out saucers of milk and waiting for the faeries to take a break,” he chuckled.
“That’s good,” I cocked my head. “You’re very good with them. What does the barrier feel like?”
“Your mind seems to derail thoughts quickly,” he moved as if to touch me, but pulled back when the barrier stood firm. “Pins, needles and a current of static electricity.”
He pushed at his mop of hair, which did look to be standing on end.
“What element controls Electricity?” I asked.
“None of them exactly,” he frowned and his eyes moved to the dirty table. “Except...”
“Except?” I repeated.
“Go over to the table and look through the notes,” he directed. “I have a hunch you may find dandelions among them.”
“You think it’s the Time Elemental?” Something about that rang true for me.
“It’s a hunch,” he shrugged.
“It would make sense in a way,” I rustled through some of the pages. “Quantum physics and the polarization of time are just in the infancy of experimentation. There is so much we don’t know about time and how it works. This could just be a manifestation of the type of power the Time Elemental has.”
There were near unintelligible scribblings across mountains of papers, some covered in coffee rings, some with other substances I didn’t care to examine. I paused when I came to a stack of five leather volumes, numbered by roman numerals on the spine. The top one seemed the oldest, but what made me pause was the hand print in the thick dust that covered it. There was no layer of new dust on top of the handprint. I examined my hands to see if I had inadvertently touched the stack. Though my hands were dirty, they lacked the thick layer of grime that would have been evidence of touching the volumes.
“Did I touch this stack of books?” I looked over my shoulder at Alexandar.
“No,” he stood on his tip toes, trying to see the table.
“There’s a recent handprint on them,” my brows furrowed.
“Be careful,” he said. “It’s unlikely a trap, but be cautious.”
I nodded. I felt a powerful pull from these books and I was curious about what they contained. As I slowly reached toward the book an image popped into my: of a cane with a silver dandelion head. The vision made no sense, but it continued to solidify into a memory when I finally touched the soft leather volumes. The edges curled backward from repeated use and the ware was obvious. At the immediate time of contact I heard a loud and comfortable laugh. It seemed to echo inside my head, speaking of delight and joy.
“Did you hear that?” I asked Alexandar without taking my eyes off the book.
“Hear what?” He asked.
“The laughter,” I smiled as the sounds faded and opened the cover.
“I think I knew him somehow,” I said.
“Him?” Alexandar asked.
“Yeah,” I gestured to the volumes. “Him. Look, I think I’m going to be a while here.”
I looked over my shoulder again at Alexandar, who nodded.
“I will come back in a couple hours,” he turned to leave and then called over his shoulder. “We can start your training when you’re done.”
I nodded absently, my vision remaining on the books in front of me. I picked up the one on top of the pile and opened it. The first page was covered in ink drawings of dandelions in different stages of life. The second page was a very old and stained looking journal log.
February 28, 1680
Suddenly I have found a need to write down my thoughts. My dreams are fraught with the life and death of dandelions. I know not why. It is an obsession that transpired soon after my near death experience. It was terrifying and exhilarating.
I witnessed as a child ran into the road from a sweet Shoppe without looking. A passing carriage had been racing through and I watched, horrified as it bared down on the small figure. Without thinking I dove for the child and knocked her out from under the hooves. I was nearly trampled myself, except something amazing happened. Time stopped.
It quite literally halted in its tracks. The Divine was looking out for me that fine day and now I feel that something big is about to happen. I am driven to record it for posterity. I must.
J.R.
I sat at the desk and stretched. My back felt sore from standing. It seemed odd that it would hurt so quickly.
“What does it say?” Alexandar must have returned quicker than he’d planned. He put his hands in his pockets.
“I think it’s the journal of the Time Elemental,” I stared at him owlishly. “But if this is correct that he must be almost four-hundred years old...”
“What?” Alexandar blinked at me. “Let me see that.”
I stood and walked over to hand it to him. About halfway there it ripped itself out of my hands and landed right back on top of the pile.
“It’s well protected,” Alexandar frowned. “And it seems it’s only meant for some who can enter this circle.”
I looked at the stack of books and papers. I wanted nothing more than to sit and read all of it.
“I wish I could just dive in,” I sighed as I walked out of the circle of clutter. “But I need to learn more about my own element before learning another.”
It was almost painful leaving the table of knowledge behind but I needed to learn about my own control. I made a mental note of where the stacks were so that I would be able to easily find my way back. Alexandar took the lead and we ended up in an area that looked like a tiny classroom, complete with wooden flip top desk and black board. Already written on the board was “Elementals 101: Theory and Practice”.
“Smart to phrase it like a class I would take,” I chuckled.
“I set this up yesterday while you took care of the boys,” he walked to the blackboard. “I knew that you would need something to work on.”
“Let’s get to work,” I sat at the desk and lifted the lid to reveal notebooks, pens, pencils and highlighters in a multitude of colors.
Pulling out the supplies I needed, I closed the lid and set myself up for a long class session. I wasn’t disappointed. The boys wandered in and out a few times throughout the day. They brought us snacks and excited news about their faerie adventures. I marked time by their arrivals and departures. When they’d left for the third time I stretched and marveled at the two notebooks I had filled. Alexandar was a fount of information.
“Let’s call it a day,” he stretched as well. “We will pick it up again tomorrow.”
“Alright,” I nodded and put my supplies back in the desk.
Tucking the notebooks I’d filled under my arm I stood and we began our trek out of the library.
“How did you learn all this?” I touched the journals.
“Years of research,” he stated flatly. “It’s come in handy.”
“I appreciate it,” I yawned. “Though I enjoy researching and meandering around on my own, I need a crash course if I’m to hold my own weight next time.”
“I’d say you did well enough on your own,” Alexandar said.
“If time hadn’t stopped again,” I shuddered. “I doubt it would have ended so well.”
“Time stopped again?” Alexandar stopped and turned to me. “When?”
“Right about the time I would have died,” I said. “That’s when the sword appeared.”
r /> “Is that why he was screaming about how you did it?”
“I would assume so,” I shrugged and continued on. “I need to find a way to attack the Agents of the Void if our Elements don’t work on them.”
“That sword seemed to work rather well,” Alexandar’s brow furrowed.
“Has Chauncy found anything out about it?”
“Only that it is extremely volatile. Anything it pierces seems to disappear into some sort of black hole,” he said.
“Curious,” I sighed as we exited the library.“So your sister...”
“Is an Agent of the Void,” Alexandar frowned. “Yes.”
I felt as if he’d been dreading this conversation. As would I, if the positions were reversed. Part of me felt like dropping the subject, but I was hurt that he hadn’t told me. We’d been through a lot recently and I felt a little betrayed by his omission.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I asked.
“Because I hoped it wasn’t true,” he said.
“But Valerie and Chauncy, they knew,” I stated.
“Yes,” he said. “Because they were there.”
“So you don’t trust me,” my frustration was evident.
“No,” he stopped. “That’s not it at all.”
“Then what?” I tried to continue down the hall.
“I...” He grabbed my arm. “Can you just stop moving for one second?”
“No,” I slipped out of his grip.
I knew I being irrational but his deception had hurt my feelings more than I wanted to admit. Especially to him.
Alexandar caught up to me easily and pushed me forcefully against the wall. He imprisoned my arms against the wall and I struggled against him. When I didn’t break free easily, I turned my head away and stared off