Knots in the Ties

We found ourselves in a room with rows of shelves that never seemed to end. The height of the shelves didn’t seem to end either. I grabbed Jack’s hand and held it tightly. He gave me a questioning look.

“I sense something dark here,” I told him quietly.

“Do you know what it is?”

“I’m not sure. I can’t sense what it is. I can only sense that there is something here. I don’t know why I can’t sense it.”

“I think I know,” Luna said. “I just don’t know how they could be in here though. This place has books that are very dark though. You might be feeling that.”

“I guess.”

“Let’s go look for that book now.”

We started to search every book that we could see. We thought that they might be looking for the rest of their lives, but then Jack found it. “I found it,” he called softly to us. We went over to him. “It’s locked though. You need a key to open it.”

“This is definitely it,” I agreed as I looked at it. The book was half white and half black with a giant lock on it. “How’d you find it so fast?”

“It drew me to it. Cymbeline, do you know where the key is?”

“Maybe,” she answered. “I have an idea, but I’ve never been there though.”

“Where?”

A loud sound came from another part of the room. It sounded like a pile of books had fallen down. Jack held the book to his chest, Luna and Cymbeline got into their stances, and I summoned my dark sword. Another sound came soon after, but it was closer this time. I mentally prepared myself for the fight that was about to come. I could just feel the darkness around us.

“Leo?” Luna questioned when she saw a figure walk up to us. I could still feel the darkness, so I kept my weapon ready.

“You can put your blade away,” Leo told me. He turned to Luna. “What are you doing in the library? You normally tell us if you’re going to be looking something up.” His gaze caught Jack’s though. Leo looked down and saw the book in his arms. “Where did you get that book?”

“Leo,” Luna said to him, “the demons are bringing the darkness into this world.”

“But they can’t without Alex.”

“They can. They found a way to do it. This book tells us how to stop it.”

“I know.”

“You know? Why didn’t you tell us?”

“Why would I do that?”

“Because you’re on the council!”

“That’s not Leo,” I told her.

“What do you mean?”

“That’s not him. It’s evil.”

Leo smiled a smile that was inhuman. His skin turned black and became a shadow looking form. Luna’s eyes became wide from the sight. She knew what this being was.

“Run!” She told us.

The four of us started to run as fast as we could. I could see Cymbeline trying to make a small portal to throw ahead of us, but nothing was appearing into her hands. She tried three times before giving up.

“I can’t make a portal,” she told her older sister.

“I know,” Luna said. “That shadow isn’t the only one here. If there was one in the form of Leo then there are ones in the form of every member of the council. They are using some kind of magick to stop us from using ours.”

“Do we have to fight them then?” I asked them.

“We’re going to have to, but I don’t know if we can. Shadows are some of the strongest demons there are just because they can reform. I only know that you can take them out with light.”

“Light?” Jack whispered.

Before I knew it, Jack had stopped running and was just standing there. I ran over to him and tugged on his arm with my free hand. He didn’t move though.

“Come on, Jack! We have to go! There’s too many of them!”

“Light,” he repeated.

I readied my sword when I saw twelve shadows coming our way. If Jack wasn’t going to move, I was still going to do my best to protect him. I loved him, and maybe that power will be enough to stop them. They were so close now. Their presence was making me uncomfortable.

“Light.”

I turned to look at Jack and saw that his eyes were pure white and glowing. Parts of his hair became white as well. Energy started to circle around him just like it had done that the night that I was taken. The shadows were close now, and they were headed straight to Jack. Jack unleashed his powers by collecting all of it into a wave and sending it forth. The shadows shrieked and were taken into the light before disappearing from this plan of life.

I couldn’t believe how powerful Jack actually was. We were suppose to be even, but it seemed as if he was stronger than me. Although there was a difference, I wasn’t weak afterward. I caught Jack before he could hit the ground. Even though he had just killed twelve shadows, I still found him to be completely adorable. With my sword gone, I picked Jack up and carried him over to the sisters. Their faces were shocked, but the expression soon faded when they summoned a portal to take us where Cymbeline thought the key was.

Notes