*Sasha*
It was hours before Amanda had the bright idea to have Chelsea dress like , and then give a chance to get out of the boutique. The two of them walked out of the boutique, chatting rrily as though they were completely oblivious to the danger outside.
As hoped, the threat followed them.
I knew I had re minutes before they figured out Chelsea was not . I slipped out of the boutique, gave a quick look around, then booked it for the closest safe space I could think of–the Great Egoren Library.
From there, if necessary, I’d be able to walk just a few blocks to the castle, though Lucas’s worries about the royal court made hesitate on that idea. I trusted Queen Lena implicitly, but as Lucas had said, the orb was a powerful artifact, and there were those who might use the knowledge of it against not only us but the king and queen as well.
A thick must of books surrounded like a protective shroud as I entered the library, the heavy door closing behind with a soft thump. Even the doors here were too frightened of the Grand Librarian to make noise.
Speaking of whom, he looked down his nose at from a perch atop a tall desk, no doubt taking in my disheveled appearance and panting and wondering if I’d brought in disruption with .
But when the door stayed closed and my breathing evened out, the Grand Librarian’s gaze went back to the book in front of him, which he was carefully repairing at the spine.
I bobbed my head respectfully and went to find a place to sit and bask in the ambiance of tall stained glass windows depicting great legends from our past, legends that could be found in these very books.
By sheer coincidence, I ended up sitting next to the religion section. It occurred to that the places the orb had been bringing were, well, mostly religious. Perhaps there would be so answers about the orb here.
I kicked myself for not thinking of it before. In twenty minutes, I had armloads of religious texts, mostly Lycennian since the orb reacted to my dream dancer powers. So were so old that a cloud of dust curled upward when I set them down on the table, and delicate yellow pages crinkled ominously.
A woman in white gloves, clearly a curator or librarian of so kind, was quickly at my side, carefully removing the oldest texts from my fingers before handing a pair of white gloves from her pocket. “Sorry,” she said. “I should have noticed earlier. So of these are very close to disintegrating. It’s a pity we don’t have more space in the glass cases for so of these books, but given all that are here, we have to pick and choose, you know?”
“I understand. Thanks for the gloves,” I replied, pulling them on and waiting for the woman to give the crumbling book back to .
“I’m Jennie,” she said instead, keeping hold of the book. “I’m a librarian here. Is there anything I can help you find?”
Since I’d been striking out in the religious texts, even the one she was holding, I debated whether to ask for her help. A librarian would certainly know the library subjects and where they were shelved better than I would. “I... um....” I glanced at the Grand Librarian, who was staring sourly at us since we were whispering in his holy place of silence.
Jennie looked behind her and smiled a bit. “Don’t mind Gregory. He’s just an old fuddy-duddy. I’m just saying you’ve been sitting here for nearly two hours and you just seem to be getting more and more frustrated....”
This was true. I sighed, and ca up with an excuse. “I’m looking into the power of ti travel... for a project... for school. I thought maybe there would be sothing in the religious texts....”
“Well, looking in the Lycennian texts was a good start,” Jennie complinted . “But what you really wanted was magic, dream dancer magic. We have a few texts about that.” Jennie closed the yellowed book I’d been looking at and lifted the heavy pile of books easily in her arms. She quickly filed them away before taking to a completely different part of the library.
Tos were sparse here, very old, and very faded. Even the gold leaf stamped into the leather covers was nearly entirely chipped away.
“Not a large selection,” I said, disappointed as I helped Jennie take down the entire collection–all six of them.
“Magic is still kind of a taboo subject. Gregory doesn’t like to curate books on it, and if he does, he vets them to see what is ‘safe’ to put on the shelves and what needs to go in the vault. Unfortunately, he’ll never let you in the vault, and I don’t have a key,” Jennie responded.
“So... these are probably pretty ta,” I inferred.
“Very,” Jennie said.
With a sigh, I started putting them back on the shelf. “I don’t think I’ll find my answers in here, then.”
Jennie cocked her head at . “If you really want to know about magic, you want to talk to a real live witch.”
I shuddered, rembering the old priestess. “Been there. Done that. Lived to regret it.”
“Oh. You t a bad one, then,” Jennie said sympathetically. “I actually have a very good friend who is a witch, a good witch. An older witch... don’t make that face at . You might have ended up facing so evil old crone, but this friend of mine is good, and kind, and very knowledgeable. I can bring you to et her, if you like.”
I pushed a lock of hair behind my ear. “I don’t know....”
Jennie shrugged. “If you don’t try, then you never will know.”
The woman had a point. “Okay,” I relented. “But, fair warning, that old hag is still on my tail, with so shifter cronies.”
“Oh, that’s why you burst in here like an oncoming storm. I thought poor Gregory was going to have a heart attack,” Jennie grinned. She removed her gloves, then plucked mine off, and put both sets in her pocket. “Gregory!” she called, and the old man nearly unseated himself. “I’m heading out for the day. I’ll see you tomorrow!”
“Jennie, do learn to keep your voice down,” Gregory hissed. But he nodded at both of us and made a shooing motion with his hands. Clearly, he was glad of our departure.
Jennie popped her head out the door before , looking both ways. “I don’t think they’re around,” she whispered to , then took my hand in her warm one and tugged out onto the street.
We passed the castle and moved closer and closer to the most ancient part of the city. It still had a partial wall around one side from the dieval battlents that had once been. There, nestled between two leaning buildings, was a cottage, older still than anything around it.
“Wow,” I said. I’d been to this part of town before, but I couldn’t believe I’d never noticed the cottage before.
“Magic,” Jennie explained. “We don’t like unwelco guests, like your old hag.”
I glanced up at her. “We?”
“My mother and I. Sorry, I said she was a friend, but I had to see if you were trustworthy first. Since you can see the cottage, then that ans you’re a good person,” Jennie said.
“Uh... great?” I replied.
“It is great. Now, my mother’s na is Rochel, and the minute she sees you she’s going to insist on making tea. But after that, you can ask her as many million questions as you want. She likes having company, and there are fewer and fewer safe people around,” Jennie said sadly.
I nodded. “I hear you there.” I was sure Lucas would murder for doing this, but I got a good vibe from Jennie, so I followed her over the threshold of the cottage.
A woman with gray-streaked brown hair was standing over a table to one side of the cottage, under a window, organizing dried herbs into jars. She looked up when we entered and smiled.
“Jennie, dear, it’s been so long since you brought a friend ho,” she said.
“City people keep getting more and more corrupt,” Jennie lanted. “But I did find soone I have a good feeling about today. She has questions about ti travel and dream dancer magic.”
“I see. Well, my terribly rude daughter has not yet introduced us, so I’ll start. My na is Rochel,” Rochel said, moving away from the herbs and, as Jennie had predicted, to a teapot.
“Sasha,” I responded. “Sorry, she couldn’t be polite. I never gave her my na.”
“Ah. Yes, it is good to be cautious in these tis, especially when you are being chased by a dark witch.” Rochel hung the kettle over a low fire.
It was as though I’d been transported through ti. There were no electronics here, probably no indoor plumbing. Just a fireplace, a table and chairs, a bed on this floor, and a small loft above. It also boggled my mind that, although the cottage was trapped between two large buildings, light poured in through all the windows.
“Magic,” Rochel winked. “I like to use a little for comfort, and sunlight is so uplifting, wouldn’t you agree?”
“Yes,” I said. “If I had the power, I’d probably project sunlight everywhere, too.”
Rochel blinked at . “Oh, but you do.”
“I... do?” I echoed.
“Of course. Every dream dancer would easily have that power. I an, it has been a very long ti since I’ve been in the presence of a dream dancer, but that doesn’t an I don’t recognize one when I see them,” Rochel said.
My mouth opened and closed... opened and closed.
Jennie patted on the shoulder. “You don’t have to stand there gawping like a fish. Mom is just very good at what she does. There is very little that she cannot see.”
“Lycennians don’t co this way often. They tend to keep to the Light Realm,” Rochel continued. “But every once in a while, one will get a hankering for adventure. Not that adventure is what brought you here, but it’s what you’re on now... a quest of great importance, if I don’t miss the mark.”
“Well... yes, actually. I an, the Goddess herself... how do you know all this?” I gaped.
“You stand here before . There is much I can sense.” The tea kettle whistled, and Rochel turned back to the fire. “Please, have a seat. If you don’t mind, I will let Jennie and you deal with the tea. I was just in the middle of cataloging so very interesting herbs, and I figure I can talk while I organize.”
“That sounds fine,” I said weakly. Jennie motioned for to sit and poured the best cup of herbal tea I’d ever tasted.
“Now, my dear,” Rochel continued with her back to . “About this quest from the Goddess?”
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