“I’m afraid that’s Bas’s sense of humor, Chad,” Brianna said. “If she says something ridiculous, she’s probably joking. Right, Bas?”
The powerful entity smiled. “Probably.”
Chad tossed his hands in the air. “Listen, this whole mission is ridiculous! How would I know the difference?”
Emerson placed a hand on Chad’s shoulder. “I know where you’re coming from, son. I felt the same way when I was exposed to the supernatural world at a young age.”
Chad nodded. “Well, thank you for trying to clue me in. I’m still feeling fairly clueless, although with Duke pointing me toward some of the L.A.W. library’s occult texts, I’m beginning to see how a lot of magic has been lost to the mundane population. So many magnificent, peaceful witches were killed in the Middle Ages that it’s no wonder their grimoires had to be carefully hidden or destroyed completely.
“Yes, and some of those that have been unearthed—so to speak—have been protected behind powerful wards.”
“Let me guess,” Chad said. “Some of these are in the Library of Congress.”
“Ding, ding, ding…” Emerson said, smiling. “Give the man a prize.”
“The only prize I want is getting myself and my loved ones out of this alive.” He winked at Brianna.
“Uh, yeah…” Brianna said. “About that. I’m about to go on another mission. I can’t tell you about it in case a veiled enemy could overhear us.”
Chad whirled around, scanning the area. Directing his gaze at Bas, he asked, “You think there are dark forces here?”
“No, the mansion is one of the safest places you’ll ever find, but you can never be too careful. These anomalies are getting closer and closer to breaking through.”
Brianna and Raynacrept silently through the darkened halls of the Library of Congress, their footsteps muffled by a silencing charm. The vast building felt eerie and abandoned at this late hour, with only the faint glow of security lights casting long shadows across the ornate architecture.
"Remind me again what we're looking for?" Brianna whispered, her eyes scanning the seemingly endless rows of bookshelves.
Rayna's voice was barely audible as she replied, "The Codex Temporis. It's said to contain powerful time magic - spells that could potentially rip open the barriers between worlds if the Aether Pirates got their hands on it."
“And we’d be overrun?”
“Yup. And like the pirates of old, we expect them not only to plunder, but to kill indiscriminately.”
“Oh, shit,” Brianna whispered.
“No shit,” Rayna whispered back.
They rounded a corner into a section filled with rare manuscripts, the air heavy with the musty scent of old parchment.
Brianna felt a prickle of unease run down her spine as they moved deeper into the rare manuscript section. The shelves loomed around them, filled with ancient tomes and scrolls.
"It should be here somewhere," Rayna murmured, her eyes scanning the spines of the paper books, even though they were looking for something so old that it might be written on papyrus. "Look for anything that seems out of place or gives off a magical aura."
As they searched, Brianna noticed a faint shimmer in the air near one of the shelves. "Rayna," she whispered urgently, "I think I found something."
They approached cautiously. As they got closer, Brianna could make out the outline of a book that seemed to flicker in and out of existence.
"That's it," Rayna breathed. "The Codex Temporis. It's cloaked, but you found it. Your abilities to sense magic have grown! Congratulations!”
“Don’t congratulate me yet. We’re supposed to bring this back to the L.A.W. library, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, anything could happen between here and there…” As if she’d just initiated a self-fulfilling prophecy, she hissed, “Wait,” holding up a hand. "Do you feel that?" Brianna paused, extending her magical senses. There was a faint vibration in the air, barely perceptible but growing stronger with each passing moment. "The anomalies?"
Rayna nodded grimly. "They're getting closer. We need to hurry."
Suddenly, Brianna froze. "Rayna, look," she whispered, pointing to a large but faint shimmer in the air near one of the bookshelves.
