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I could see the surety in his eyes and if he had said it was anyone else.I would have believed him. But this was Isaac. Mybrother.
I just couldn't believe it. It didn’t make sense. Were we talking about the same person? Because Isaac would never betray me.
But Ilyric…
He stares at my bewildered face, his own expression hard and unwavering.
Then a thought hits me, the Library’s magic and our connection.
I take a deep breath and close my eyes. If I could connect to our bond, maybe I could understand more. Maybe Ilyric was mistaken. Maybe he was wrong?
I try to call to the connection I felt to the magic in the Library, the Autariums magic. If it was still here in the building or near, I would be able to feel it. I reach out, trying to sense it and connect to our bond…but nothing. I try to grasp or listen out for anything but still feel nothing.
There’s no magic, no little wisps or words being sent…just silence.
Maybe its power was exhausted like mine? Maybe it had been too drained and couldn’t connect?
I open my eyes and stand up. There was onlyoneother way to confirm it.
I rush toward the back door and up the stairs.Ignoring the calls behind me and the burn as I push my legs harder and faster, climbing the stairs.
Theyhadto be wrong, seen someone else….anything.It just wasn’t possible.
I reach for the door, my heart racing and breathing ragged as I open it, but I am not prepared for what I see. My knees buckle and give way as I gaze at the destruction before me. The air pulled from my lungs as I look toward the debris and wreckage around the room where the old protection artifact once stood.
The Autarium.
The large glass casing that contained the small ancient power source was shattered and smashed open. The piece itself gone.
My breathing comes out in quick rasps, my heartbeat picking up as I continue to stare around the broken room. I push one last time for the bond, praying it would connect, but again feel nothing. It was really gone. The Autarium was taken.
I knew its power was weakening. I should have done more to protect it, to keep it safe.
I had thought they wanted the Records, never once thinking it was anything else. Why did they take the Autarium and leave the Records? Was that their aim all along?
I brush my hands through my hair, looking around the room at the wreckage when my eyes catch on a small silver band sticking out from a broken floorboard. It sits on the edge of the wood by the Autarium remnants, glass, and debris surrounding it.
I shakily pull myself up and make my way over to the small silver trinket.
My fingers brush away the glass covering it, my heart instantly turning to stone as I lift up the metal band.‘If…’ is carved into the silver platinum ring.His initials.My Joke…ourjoke…for Isaac Ford. A gift I gave him for his twenty-first birthday, one he wasneverseen without…until now.
Suddenly the room begins to spin, dizziness taking hold of me, my eyes clouding over fully as I fall forward. My knees give way again, with no hands to catch me this time as I hit the floor. The strength is completely taken from me as the air is ripped from my lungs.
Everything comes to a stop, only my heartbeat ringing in my ears, the thrumming becoming faster and louder. The coldness seeps into me from the floor beneath as my hands brush the broken wood, splinters stabbing into my palms and pricking my skin.
But all I could feel was the numbing pain and emptiness spreading in my chest.
The Autarium was gone…taken.The Library was a ruined mess, splintered and unrecognizable.
And Isaac…Why would he do this?How could he, to ourhome…tome?
We were supposed to be a family.Closer than even the bonds of blood.
I bend forward, resting my forehead on the cold wooden floor, trying to calm my racing heart and breathing. Why would Isaac betray me? He’s always been the one by my side, the one to have my back, no matter what. It just didn’t make sense.
The feel of the cool wood grounds me to the spot as I try to think things through. My mind trying to remember something about his behavior.Was he acting differently lately? Did he say anything out of the usual recently?I shake my head, nothing coming to me. He had been the same as always, maybe a little more grumpy because of being tired, but that was more than likely due to reading late into the night.
My mind grasps for every recent conversation, every move, every smile, and concerned look…every meal together. It just didn’t make sense. Nothing stands out.
