“They are not part of any narrative.”
“So, they are rejects?”
“No, they are both apart from and woven into all the narratives.”
“Got to love a riddle when we are trying to solve so many problems,” Malachi says.
“You must go on a quest to find them. They can aid you in what you seek.”
“Great, a quest,” Theo says, rubbing his hands together. “This was getting boring, wandering around musty libraries and researching books. No offense.”
“To offend me, I would need to care for your opinion,” the All Knowing says. “But they must go alone.”
“Not happening,” Hart snaps. “Daphne dances with death every diurnal.”
“Wait, which is it?” I ask.
“What?” the All Knowing answers.
“Are we going alone or together?” I ask.
“I said alone.”
“But if I am with my sister, we aren’t alone.”
“Fine, take the knights.”
Malachi’s lips twitch as I win the battle with a scary voice.
“How do we find these brothers?” Gwyneth asks with her hands on her hips. “The ones no one has heard of?”
A scroll of parchment floats down from the middle of the room and unfurls before us to reveal a map. In the center is the Hallows, surrounded by a ring containing the towns of Far, Far Away, then the unknowns of So Far Away. Nothing surprising, and no giant X where these brothers hang out.
As if touched by enchantment, the map shimmers to life, and before our eyes, the names of these lands transform in a dazzling display. The markings gracefully fade, only to re-emerge anew, tracing the same cherished territories, yet now they pulse with an ethereal glow, hinting at their existence in a realm entirely distinct, where magic flows like a gentle stream and wonders lie intertwined with secrets of the ages yet to be unraveled.
“What is this?” Gwyneth asks as she walks around the map.
“A map of the world that exists in tandem with this one. This is where you will find the brothers.”
A bright light appears and burns an X onto the paper where our So Far Away would be located.
“How do we enter this world?” I ask.
The All Knowing laughs as a white rabbit hops out from between some shelves. This is no ordinary rabbit—he wears a waistcoat and clutches a pocket watch. He turns to look at us over his shoulder. “Hurry. We are late,” he says before hopping off down the dark passage.
“Follow the rabbit,” the All Knowing says. Then, in a move I already hate, kicks us all out from the living library and back into the stuffy one with a grumpy librarian.
“Anyone else voting for not following the suspicious rabbit with a timekeeping issue?” Hart growls as he launches to hisfeet, snatches my hand, and drags me upright. Nash helps Gwyneth stand as Theo and Malachi also right themselves.
I snatch the waiting trident with a growl. “You can invite us to leave,” I snap at the shrinking dark passage.
“Follow the rabbit, Stone sisters. He will lead you to the realm you require. Finish the tasks, complete the quest, and maybe, just maybe, you will prove yourselves worthy of an audience with the brothers.”
“I really don’t like him,” Malachi decides.
The library door swings open, and a white fluffy tail disappears through it. “Do you think he will wait for us?” I ask.
Nash sighs and strides after him just as the mirror man emerges in the mirror we leave in here now.
