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Frustrated, Alex turned and carefully walked along the steep bank of the river’s edge, halting when she reached the middle of the cave. She looked over to the other side of her rocky prison and realised that even if she found the courage to cross the water, she could see no evidence of an exit over there.

  “A little help here?” Alex called out, not even sure who she was calling to.

  “I thought you’d never ask.”

  Alex whirled around, certain she’d heard a voice this time. But there was still no one there.

  “Where are you?” she asked.

  “I’m here.”

  Helpful. Not.

  “Who are you?” Alex tried again.

  “I am who I am.”

  Again, not helpful in the slightest.

  “What are you?” Alex asked, hoping for more of an idea.

  “I’m everything. Everything you hear. Everything you see. Everything you touch, taste, smell. I’m all around you, Alexandra Jennings.”

  Alex hesitated. “You’re the Library?”

  The voice chuckled. It was a strange sound, but full of warmth. “That’s how you know me, yes.”

  It wasn’t really an answer, but Alex had a feeling it was all she was going to receive. “Why did you bring me here?”

  Alex was asking about the cavern, but the Library’s answer surprised her.

  “Because you are Chosen.”

  “I… don’t understand.”

  “Take a look around you, Alexandra. What do you see?”

  Alex decided to humour the voice. “I’m in a cavern split by a river that’s preventing me from getting to the other side.”

  “Is it really preventing you?” the voice asked.

  “Have you seen that water?” Alex replied. “I’d probably be swept under within a second and left to drown. That’s if something didn’t eat me first.”

  “What else do you see?”

  Alex looked around. “That’s pretty much it. Is there more?”

  “I see darkness. I see segregation. There’s life here, and death too. The river ebbs and flows and the current forces the change; but in what direction? And for what purpose? What choices will be made and who will be affected by the consequences? There are many decisions and many possible outcomes. Tell me, Alexandra, if given the choice, what would you choose?”

  The noise in the cavern died out as the river stilled. One moment it was a raging torrent and the next it was as peaceful as a frozen pond. Three huge boulders rose to the surface of the water, creating a steady bridge for her to cross.

  Alex was astounded by the river’s sudden change, but her gaze was quickly captivated by what appeared on the other side of the water. Because now there was an open doorway resting in the middle of the cave.

  And it led straight to her house at Cannon Beach.

  “You have a choice to make, Alexandra,” the voice said.

  The puzzle pieces snapped together as Alex thought about the Library’s impossible doorways. “It was you who brought me through to Medora, wasn’t it?” she whispered.

  “I merely presented the opportunity.”

  “Why?” Her question was part agonised, part desperate. She needed to know why everything had happened—and more, why it had happened to her.

  “Because you are Chosen,” the voice said, repeating its earlier response. “And you are needed, for such a time as this.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” Alex asked, wondering why she wasn’t already running across the river and jumping through the doorway back to her world.

  “It means what it means,” the Library said. “And it’s up to you to decide what it means.”

  “Stop speaking in riddles!” Alex cried, frustrated.

  “I speak only the truth,” the voice said, softening. “It’s you who must interpret that truth, otherwise I would be denying you the freedom to make your own decisions.”

  Alex let out a deep breath and said, “So, basically you’re telling me you brought me here for a reason, but you won’t tell me what that reason is because you don’t want to influence my choices?”

  The voice didn’t say anything and Alex took that as a sign to continue. “And now you’re saying I can go back? Just like that?”

  There was still no response and Alex looked longingly at the doorway back to her world, to her home.

  She took a step forward before she paused. “Can I come back? Once I’ve gone through, can I come back through the doorway?”

  Again there was no response. Where had the voice gone? It seemed like it had told the truth about not telling her what to do. But there really was only one decision she could make. For all she knew, this was the only opportunity she would ever have to get back to Freya. There was no guarantee that the headmaster would be able to find a way home for her whenever he finally decided to return to the academy. This might be her only chance to get back to her normal life. Back to her parents. Back to where she actually belonged.

  Placing one foot in front of the other, Alex carefully stepped onto the first boulder, then the second and the third. Before she knew it, she was standing in front of the doorway, staring up at her house.

  One minute… Two minutes… Three minutes passed and she just stood there, looking through the doorway.

  The choice was obvious—she had to go through. But still, she hesitated.

  What if she couldn’t come back? The Library may have brought her through to Medora once, but that didn’t mean it would do so again.

  And what about her friends? Jordan? Bear? The rest of the Ronnigan family? Fletcher and Jarvis and the other professors? What about Darrius? What if she never saw any of them again? She wouldn’t get the chance to say goodbye, and they’d have no idea what had happened to her.

  But if she didn’t leave, she might never have access to a doorway like the one in front of her again. Was she willing to risk her life—her parents—her world—just to spend more time with a handful of people she’d known for only a few months?

  As she stood in front of the doorway, Alex thought about everything that had happened to her since she’d first arrived in Medora. All the impossibilities she’d witnessed, all the amazing adventures she could never have dreamed of experiencing. Was she really willing to let all of that go? Did she even have a choice?

  Alex turned and glanced behind her into the dark uncertainty of the cavern one last time. A silent tear fell down her cheek as she closed her eyes, whispered a heartfelt goodbye, and reached for the door.

  Thirty-Five

  A resolute click echoed around the cavern.

  Alex looked at the closed door in front of her and another tear slipped down her cheek. She hoped she hadn’t made the wrong decision, but for better or worse, she knew in her heart that she just wasn’t ready to leave this world of wonder and the people in it.

  Full of determination, Alex turned her back on the door and retraced her steps across the boulders to the other side of the river. The moment she stood on the cavern ground again, the rocks disappeared from view and the river roared into motion once more.

  “You’ve made your choice?” the voice asked, back again.

  “I have,” Alex answered, feeling more and more confident of her decision.

  “I’m pleased.”

  “What happens now?” Alex asked.

  “As always, that’s up to you,” said the Library. “But know that I am with you.”

  Alex presumed it was meant to be a comforting thought, but instead it kind of creeped her out to think that a disembodied presence would be following her around.

  “I’m being stalked by a sentient Library,” she said to herself. “Could my life be any weirder?”

  “Trust me, Alexandra, this is only the beginning.”

  “Awesome,” Alex muttered. “So, now that we’ve had this bonding session and all, how do I get out of here?”

  “Through the river,” came the reply, as if it was obvious. At least she’d been given a straight answer and not another rid
dle this time. But still…

  “I just crossed the river,” she said. “Remember?”

  “I didn’t say over the river, but through the river.”

  Alex looked at the rapidly moving water and took a defensive step away from the edge.

  “Nuh-uh, no way,” she said. “You dropped me in here, so you can just fly me straight back out, thanks.”

  “It doesn’t work that way,” the Library told her. “If you always relive the same experiences, you’ll never learn new skills or have opportunities to develop your character.”

  “I’m pretty happy with my character as it is,” Alex said, staring at the water with rising trepidation. It was as if the river was becoming more violent the longer she looked at it. Even the craziest adrenaline-seeking daredevil would think twice before taking a plunge into the fathomless depths.

  “Challenges are beneficial, Alexandra,” the voice said. “They make life interesting. Isn’t that why you came searching for me today—because you were bored?”

  “Bored, yes. But not suicidal,” Alex argued. “And I wasn’t looking for you. I was just… looking around.”

  “For a distraction.”

  “Yes,” she reluctantly agreed.

  “And here you’ve found one.”

  Alex looked at the water again. Was it just her imagination, or did it look even deeper and darker than before?

  “Do I have a choice?” she asked. She wanted another option; any other option.

  “You always have a choice,” the voice reminded her. “This one is just simpler than some of the others that you have faced—and have yet to face.”

  “So, I can either stay stuck down here until I starve to death, or I can leave and maybe survive—but that’s not necessarily guaranteed at this stage? Great choices I’ve got there.”

  “And yet, they’re still choices.”

  Alex huffed out a breath. “Okay, I’m sorry if this offends you, but it has to be said: you’ve kept me safe so far, but, well, you’re a building. Sentient or not, I’m having a hard time accepting your guidance, especially when it comes to these die-hard trust exercises. Are you sure there aren’t any other options?”

  There was silence for a moment, and then—

  “I’ve enjoyed speaking with you, Alexandra,” the voice said, and to Alex’s annoyance, it sounded amused. “I hope we have the opportunity again soon.”

  Just like that the voice left, leaving Alex completely alone to face the raging river in front of her. She paced a few steps up and back as she tried to convince herself that it would all turn out okay. Part of her knew she would be fine, but another part of her was terrified anyway. It was just like when she’d jumped out of Darrius’s room above the clouds. She hadn’t died then, so she wouldn’t die now.

  Or so she hoped, anyway.

  “You can do this,” Alex told herself, and before she could change her mind, she closed her eyes and took a running leap into the river.

  The force of the current pulled her straight under the icy water, tearing at her body and tossing her around like a rag doll. Within seconds she was dragged through the exit fissure, and all traces of the cavern’s glowing luminescence disappeared, leaving Alex in pitch-black darkness.

  She frantically pushed against the tide, swimming with all her might to reach the surface for some much-needed air. The lack of light was terrifying, and even when she finally managed to break through the top of the water, the darkness was all around her still, along with the loud, echoing noise of the churning river.

  The further Alex travelled, the more frightening the darkness became. She couldn’t see anything, not even her own hand in front of her face. In fact, she was becoming so cold that she could hardly even feel her hands. She needed to get out of the water, and soon.

  Alex felt a shift in the current as it began to pick up speed. The noise grew louder, and as the river churned and gurgled she had a sudden, horrifying idea about where it ended.

  “Oh, please no,” she gasped, as a faintly glowing light brought her destination in sight.

  The river was about to end, all right. In a waterfall.

  Alex struggled to move her frozen limbs, but it was too hard to battle the current. She barely managed to put up a fight before she was falling over the edge.

  The water crashed down around her. The noise was at once both deafening and silent as together Alex and the river plummeted to the ground. She tried to look down, but all she could see was more water falling beneath her and a cloud of mist much further on where the waterfall disappeared into whatever was below.

  Falling.

  Falling.

  Falling.

  Inexplicably, the moment Alex entered the mist she started to slow down. Her speed continued to decrease as she fell through the spray, blinded by the haze. When her vision finally cleared, her eyes widened in shock for a single moment before she crashed into the watery surface below.

  It wasn’t the landing that had surprised her, but rather the scenery around her. She’d seen it before, only an hour or so ago, hanging in the foyer of the Library. It was as if Alex was inside the oil painting—as if she’d fallen down the same waterfall and into the lake that spiralled through the valley.

  She didn’t have the chance to wonder about the impossibility since, even though the vapour had slowed her progress, the fall had still pushed her deep into the water. Instead of stopping, Alex felt herself being pulled further down, and she tried not to panic as everything became darker all over again.

  After a few seconds Alex noticed a light up ahead, almost as if someone had turned a lamp on underwater. Whatever was pulling her down continued to drag her closer to the light, and it became larger and larger until she was pulled straight into it… and out the other side.

  Alex landed on a cold, hard floor, sucking in huge gulps of desperately needed air. She was frozen to the bone, saturated, and lying in a pool of water. But she was also alive and back in the Library’s foyer, after having apparently fallen straight through the oil painting. As she lay there gasping and shivering, she stared at the picture and remembered her earlier thoughts about it being so masterfully created that it looked like the water was rushing straight out of the picture. Someone clearly had a warped sense of humour.

  Alex painfully sat up, shaking feeling back into her frozen limbs. A long, hot shower and some nice warm soup would have her back to normal in no time, she hoped. Fletcher would never let her live it down if she had to visit him twice before term even started. That just wouldn’t do.

  Distracted by her thoughts and the uncomfortable sensation of her circulation easing back into her now tingling extremities, Alex only realised she wasn’t alone when someone cleared their throat, interrupting the silence.

  Oh, the librarian was going to kill her for the watery mess she’d accidentally caused.

  “We have to stop meeting like this.”

  Alex frowned in confusion when she heard the smooth, melodic voice that definitely didn’t belong to the grisly librarian. She looked around and, after gaping for a moment, Alex came to her senses and forced herself up to her still-tingling feet.

  Despite having just fallen out of a painting, Alex’s only thought was that she must look like a drowned rat with her dripping hair and her clothes plastered to her trembling body. If there was one person in the world who she most certainly did not want to look like a drowned rat in front of, it was this man.

  “Aven,” she breathed, still panting lightly after her previous lack of air.

  “Alexandra,” he greeted, smiling as he leaned casually against the wall. “I’d hoped we’d meet again soon, but I must say, I never presumed the circumstances would be quite as dramatic as this.”

  “Heh,” she tried to laugh but it sounded awkward. She felt like she’d just been caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

  “I decided to drop by for a visit,” he continued, taking a step towards her, “but I have to say, your arrival was much more spectacular. This i
s indeed a pleasant surprise. I had no idea you were so… familiar… with your Library here.”

  Alex swallowed nervously. He was too entrancing, too mesmerising—just like the other times they’d met. She shifted backwards, and his narrowed gaze followed her movement.

  “I like to study.” Alex tried to act nonchalant. “Libraries are good for that.”

  “This one in particular, or so I hear,” he said, his golden eyes staring straight into her own.

  She wondered for a horrible moment if Aven was gifted with mind-reading abilities, like Professor Marmaduke and possibly Marcus Sparker. He’d claimed to have studied at the academy, which meant he must have a gift of some description, but she had no idea what he was capable of doing.

  Dancing elephants wearing pink tutus. She dredged up the bizarre mental image and watched his face for a reaction. None came. No surprise, no amusement, nothing to indicate that he could read her thoughts—much to her relief.

  “I guess it’s pretty good,” Alex agreed. She then started rambling, hoping to distract him. “But it doesn’t always help much with the practical subjects. You would know that, since you went here. Studying doesn’t work for PE, hey? Or even Combat. Actually, most of the classes here are pretty hands-on, come to think of it. So, yeah, it’s a great library, but not always a big help in those areas.”

  She really didn’t like the look in his eyes. It was a calculating, knowing look that left Alex with an uncomfortable feeling in the pit of her stomach. It was definitely time for her to get out of there.

  “I’m making a mess,” she said, validating her excuse by gesturing to where her clothes were still dripping water onto the floor. “I should get going.”

  Aven moved then—much faster than she thought possible—and he clamped his fingers around her upper arm.

  “I don’t believe we’ve finished catching up yet.” His grip was so firm that it was almost painful, especially considering her body was still tingling uncomfortably. “It would seem we now have much more to talk about, Alexandra Jennings. All along I’d hoped I was right about you, but I was never certain. Now, much to my pleasure, I’m confident in my belief of who you are and what you can do.”