XXXIX. The fire of the sun

Cara

Apparently, the castle had no proper cell signal. Brienne had informed me that the country had a large invisible dome around it that prevented interference from the outside world. The dome also messed with most satellite signals. Hence, I had no way what-so-ever of communicating with my father.

My separation from the outside world left me wandering around. Again and again, I found myself at the castle's humongous library.

I entered through the only door and walked past the front desk. Contrary to the common stereotype, the librarian was not an elderly, four-eyed, gray-haired woman. In the woman's place sat a tall, lean man with black rimmed spectacles.

He caught me staring, his piercing gaze slowing my feet into a sudden halt.

"May I help you?" He raised his jet black, well-trimmed eyebrows questioningly. His eyes raked me from shoes to hair and I could not resist the temptation to look down too.

He gazed fixedly at my pale blue three-quarter length dress and flat, brown sandals. I'd learnt that around here, when it comes to fashion, plain dresses were the way to go.

Certain outfits meant certain things too. Hand-maidens commonly wore white dresses with exposed backs. Serving boys also clad white on many occasions.

"No, I'm just here to check out the books," I explained, but his stare did not falter.

"I've never seen you around here, who are you with?"

"Ummh ? Who am I with?"

"Yes. Name your master," he ordered." And be quick with it."

My jaw clenched at his rudeness and I reminded myself that I was a stranger in their home and a stranger to their customs and courtesies.

He moved out from behind his desk and emerged before me. I noted the dagger dangling from his leather pants.

Perhaps it would have been a good idea for me to carry around my weapon too.

I thought back at the modified lacrosse stick I frequently carried  to protect myself. It was back in my room.

The man pursed his lips, awaiting my answer with clear impatience.  He looked more than eager to use his blade on me.

Did they do that kind of thing around here? Or was he also just looking for a way to protect himself?

I'd been told that this wing of the castle was extremely safe. Maybe I was ill-informed.

"I am a guest of the king," I told him. He looked at me skeptically, eventually nodding when I did not show any signs of untruth.

I went past him, stopping dead in my tracks when I spotted a certain curly-haired boy, nose deep in an old book. I called him," Aeren ?"

His head shot up at the sound of my voice, a smile instantly plastering itself on his lips.

"Oh my God! Cara Matthews!"

The male librarian immediately turned to us, throwing Aeren a threatening gaze. A warning. Aeren said nothing to him and spoke to me again, this time in a lower tone. "I'd heard of you being here, I just wasn't so sure."

"You'd heard?"

"Of course. You are the talk of the town. People are raving on about the king's special human guest."

His emphasis on the words 'special' and 'human' did not sit well with me.

"But I just got here yesterday?" He took a chair from one of the other tables and set it at his desk, gesturing for me to join him. I did so. There was no way I was going to pass up the opportunity to talk to the only person I knew around here.

"Gossip spreads like influenza around here. I'm sure it has leaked out of the castle by now."

I decided to make no meaning of what he said. It hardly mattered who knew I was here, unless it was Zoladie. On second thought, I did not want word to spread. It would possibly attract her attention.

"What are you reading?" I asked, deliberately changing the subject.

" Magna est Bellum , " he said.

" You understand Latin?" I had noted that the title was in Latin.

"Obviously. I would not be reading this if I did not."

" Impressive."

" Do you not learn it in school where you are from?"

"No. Latin is considered a lost language back in America. Rarely used. Save for in scientific terms like in Binomial Nomenclature," I explained.

Through Aeren, I learnt that the educational system here was very developed. Here, children would choose their field of specialization once they became adolescents. Different creatures took different careers. Witches had their own careers and so did werewolves. It was also common for citizens to take up jobs in the human world, like in government and finance. This allowed for low-key correspondence between the kingdom and the outside world.

Apparently, children born to werewolves usually took jobs in the military and defense forces of the country. Those who were unable, like Aeren had been, became serving boys to soldiers and leaders.

Jasper, being a close friend of Aeren's brother, had agreed to take him in as his personal serving boy.

"So you work for Jasper, huh?" I asked, sympathizing with him. I'd seen how Jasper treated Aeren. Let's just say, Jasper wasn't the ideal boss.

"Yes. But it isn't so bad. I'm often free to do my own things when he is out. He is pretty independent. He and Ivan are currently out looking for Zoladie, an infamous sorceress and Jasper says that if I join him, I'll probably ruin the search and waste their time."

I caught something flash in his eyes. " Did you want to go?"

"Oh, goddess no! I just dislike being cooped up in here all day. I've been stuck in this castle since Grayson took the job as Beta Minor."

" Wait! Grayson's your brother?" It was hard to believe that this scrawny little boy shared blood with the built man I'd met the day before.

"Yes. We could not be any more different. He got the lions share of strength in the family. I myself am virtually human. When my time came, I could not transform whereas he shifted at the age of nine."

"Hey, being human isn't SOOO bad."

"It isn't. At least humans don't have too much trouble keeping their emotions at bay. Lycanthropes have a tendency to act like sixteen year old's in heat!" We shared a hearty laugh.

With Aeren's aid, I was able to find a suitable book to read. Though the book was fairly interesting, I was drawn to the 'Witch History' section of the library.

I perused the shelves in search for a text that would answer my questions on Zoladie and hopefully on how to stop her. I had decided that I would help Ivan find the witch, whether or not he wanted me to.

A thick dusty book took my attention.

Xolem Ignim : the fire of the sun.  I read the brown top page that held the insignia .of the clan. Zoladie was in this clan and it was once considered the most powerful clan among the offspring of Hecate. Now the clan was small and weak  with its strongest member on the run from King Alpha Ivan Vasiliev, the last known Volk.

Sheba was the first matriarch and founding member of the Xolem Ignim.  The old woman was once one of the most beautiful women on the planet, her beauty greater than that of Helen of Troy and Queen Cleopatra of the Ptolemaic Dynasty.

She was in a league of her own and discovered more than a thousand new spells in her time. All her creations were documented in a spellbook which was now kept in the safety of the witches in their castle, by  Poseidon's Falls.

It was noted that after many years in service to the then King, Sheba wanted to rule. Her betrayal brought on an era of evil, with her using her famous – and outlawed – reincarnation spell to raise an army. She was eventually stopped. Her body now lay deep in the tombs beneath the castle.

It was unsettling knowing that a few feet beneath me, lay the body of a once all powerful witch.

The day faded away in a glimpse, with me spending majority of it with my nose in a book. The text said that Zoladie sought revenge on Ivan for reasons unknown and that she was Sheba's daughter. 

Zoladie seemed to be a mystery. And she was a high search priority to the crown.