Finding ME (Chapter 9)

Chapter 91

It took a few days to get to Celestial.  There were fields to cross, and a river that had but one bridge going across it.  The river had been so treacherous, that after only one bridge was built, and no one wanted to build another one.  So every day it was crowded, for there were so many travelers trying to get across to the other side. 2

Finally, after longs days of travel, they reached Celestial.  It was a beautiful city with a wondrous library in the middle of it shaped like a descending star.  That’s where Jay and Danny immediately went to with Melissa and Canace tailing closely behind.  As they approached the library, Canace gaped in wonder.  There were tons of stairs that led to beautiful wooden doors.  They were decorated with images of stars, tall ones, small ones, shooting star, and falling stars.  The stained glass windows next to the doors were designed with a similar pattern. 3

Jay and Danny started walking up the steps without even looking at the wonderful sight.  Jay stopped at the top, and then turned to Danny. 4

“So we’re here to look at this book, right?”5

“Correct,” Danny replied, opening up the great door.  He walked in and veered to the left.  Jay and Melissa followed, but a guard inside cut off Canace as she tried to walk in.6

“Sorry miss, but dogs aren’t allowed inside the library” whispered the guard quietly. 7

Canace looked at Melody and then back at the guard, “What am I supposed to do?  I need to go in there; my friends are going without me.” 8

“Let your dog stay with me.  You can come pick it up when you leave.” Canace nodded and whispered to Melody, “Stay girl, I’ll be back soon.”  Then she got up, smiled at the guard, and ran off to find her friends. 9

The library was bigger then she had thought it was.  It had three stories that were filled end to end with books, and she looked through every part of it.  Finally, she found them sitting down at a table in the only secluded room in the whole library.  They were hunched over a book and were flipping through the ancient pages carefully.  Canace slipped in next to Jay and peeked cautiously over his shoulder.  10

“Where were you?”  Melissa demanded suddenly, her blue eyes piercing at Canace.  Jay jerked up to look at her, but ended up knocking her back. 11

“Oww,” Canace muttered while she rubbed her head.12

Danny, without looking up from the book, replied, “She was learning about the no animal’s rule they have here.”  Then he looked at her, “Am I right?”13

Canace nodded sheepishly as she nervously fiddled with her stone necklace.  For the first time, she noticed it had some sort of clip in the back.  She shoved the thought out of her mind and focused on the book. 14

“So, have you figured out what it looks like yet?”  Canace asked Danny,15

“It seems like you’ve flipped through every page of that book twice!” 16

Danny sighed, “Yes, it’s on the last page.  All it shows is what the necklace is supposed to look like when it is put together.”17

“Let me see.”18

Danny handed the book over slowly to her, and she looked at it carefully.  It was familiar to her a bit.  “They do keep one of the pieces here, right?”19

“It’s in the case on that wall over there.”  Jay pointed to a wall on the other side of the library.  Canace picked up the book and started on her way over there.  Jay and Danny followed, both a bit curious. 20

“Wait for me!”  Melissa called. She was a bit slower then the rest, but made her way over to Canace and the gem. 21

Canace studied the stone.  It had a familiar color.  It was mostly blue, with a hint of gold in it.  The stone was in a setting that was the shape of a star.  She noticed that there were six places for stones, one at each tip of the star, and a circular one in the middle.  The lonely looking stone filled the place at the top of the star. 22

* * * * * * * * *23

Canace found that the scenery around her hand changed once again, so she braced herself for whatever was to come.  When the scenery had formed, she noticed that she was all alone in a camp she assumed was hers.  There was a tent, a fire, and she smelt her dinner slowly cooking.  Canace could tell that she was reaching the end of the forest that seemed like home she had been in before.  This must be where I went after I said goodbye to Luke!  Canace realized, where was I going again? 24

Before she was able to answer her own question, a sudden tension filled the air.  “Well isn’t that lovely?”  Canace found herself saying.  She stood up, and then gazed around in perfect silence.  The only sound she could hear was the crackling of the fire and rustling of the wind through the trees.  Although she thought that there was no one out there, and wanted to find out where she was going, she wondered what she was looking for.25

“Okay, come out!”  Nothing. 26

“I know you’re out there, so don’t bother hiding any more.  It’s useless,” she called out to the darkness.  As she waited expectantly, there was a rustling behind her, she turned around cautiously, and saw something move.27

* * * * * * * * *28

“Um, is just me or has she been standing there a bit too long?”  Melissa asked, peering at Canace. 29

Jay looked at her face, and then at his friends, “Well, maybe this time she’ll get something good out of it.”30

“Something we could maybe use to help her,” Danny suggested, patiently waiting for her to snap out of it.  Melissa started tapping her feet, tripped over one, and then accidentally fell on Canace.  She knocked her over, and toppled to the ground.31

Canace screamed, and then realized she had not been attacked by whatever had been in the shadows.  Everyone in the library looked at her, then shook their heads and went back to what they were doing. 32

Jay and Danny turned away as if they did not know the two girls next to them. 33

Melissa shook Canace off her then stood up.  Canace slowly stood up, recounting what she had just seen. 34

“Canace, did you get a good look at that stone?  You were staring at it for awhile.”  Jay grinned, his bright blue eyes glistening. 35

She looked at him sarcastically, “Yes, I now know every detail of that rock sitting there.  In fact, I know it so well that you could change the color slightly and I would be able to tell.”36

They all stared at her surprised by the sudden outburst.  Danny was the first to speak up, “Canace, what did you see?”37

“I was sitting at a campfire, and I guess the me then heard something.  Nothing more, nothing less.”  Canace yawned impatiently. 38

“Are you sure?”  Jay asked, not convinced that was all.39

“Positive, I would’ve told you if there was.”40

Jay eyed her suspiciously, then looked back at the rock, “So what do you think of it?” 41

Canace took one more peek at it, “The color looks really familiar.  It reminds me of…”  Then she twiddled her own necklace as she thought.  Of course!  It reminded her of her own necklace! 42

Canace took off her necklace, and compared it to the one in the case. 43

Danny was astounded, “They…they look exactly the same!”44

“How?”  Jay asked himself, “Canace, where did you get this?”45

“From one of the merchants in Hollow Hills.  He said he found it in the woods one day.”  Melissa stood there, stunned.46

Jay got excited, “You guys know what this means?”47

Danny nodded happily, “This is a big step for the Kyna!”48

Melissa still stood there, stunned.49

“Wait, but what if it doesn’t fit and we’re all excited over nothing?”  Canace pointed out. 50

This stopped Jay and Danny’s excitement.  “Well, we could try it out to see if it fits.  Would they allow us to do this Danny?”  Jay suggested, looking hopefully at his friend. 51

Danny thought a second, and then said, “It’s worth asking them, I guess.  The people in the Star Cities would do about anything to see the necklace complete again.  Let’s go!” 52

Jay found the head librarian who was interested by what they said.  So he unlocked it for them, and watched as Canace fit her stone into the center setting.  It clicked into place, and for a moment, Canace could have sworn she had seen a faint glow. 53

She looked over at her friends to see if they had seen it too, but they were too excited to have seen anything.  So she shook it off, and let the excitement overcome her.  It did not come. 54

Jay came up and gave her a Canace a hug out of excitement.  She felt pleasant tingles all over her body.  “Hey Canace, aren’t you excited?”  Jay’s face was glowing with laughter. 55

What is wrong with me?  Canace asked herself.  Not able to answer, she forced a smile and spit out as happily as she could, “Very!” Jay looked at her with concern, and then shrugged.56

Melissa was still stunned, and would be until they dragged her out of the library and had Melody give her a bath of drool.57

* * * * * * * * *58

Two figures met once again, this time in the shadowed areas of Celestial.59

“Greetings-” one began.60

“Save it!  We have a problem!  They have located all the pieces of the necklace,” the agent snapped.61

“We must hurry then.”62

“Really?  I didn’t realize that!”  This agent had a short temper, “Well, what news did you bring?  It had better be good.” 63

He cleared his throat, “We have gotten word about a person who may know the location of the royalties.  Spies tell us that the two boys will be assigned to investigate this.” 64

“Where is this town?”65

“Sandy’s Bay, the other side of-”66

“I know where it is!”67

“Sorry.”68

“Set up the ambush.  We’ll get them as the cross the field.”69

“No offense, but are you sure that will work?  We don’t have an..accurate success record yet.  They might escape!” 70

“That’s why we have a back up plan!” This so called agent was really bugging her. He couldn’t see the obvious solutions right in front of him! “Get our forces to divide into two. Have one head over to the starfield. We’ll be there in a few days. Have another group get ready in the TODH.  If the first ambush fails, we’ll get them heading that way.”71

“How will you get them to do that?  They’ll never apply to it!”72

“The boys will if it means they can get to Sandy’s Bay sooner. And the girl follows them every where,” she laughed. 73

“What should I do after informing the troops??” 74

“Pay a visit this person in Sandy’s Bay.  Get the information at whatever the cost.”75

“What if the informant won’t talk?” 76

The agent rolled her eyes, “If we can’t have the information, no one can.  Either way, dispose of them.” 77

“Yes, and of the necklace?”78

“It’s not going to work anymore.” 79

* * * * * * * * *80

After days of searching, he had finally received word from his friend Mark.  Mark had come up to him and looked straight into his eyes, painfully searching for the right words to say.  His worst fears were being played out.  “Did you find her?  Is there any news?”81

“They got her bud,” he had said.82

“What!  No!  How?”83

“Not sure.”84

“Why didn’t you try to save her?”85

“I…I did.”86

His voice got quiet, “Mark, what happened?”87

“We were flying on Nolackys way high up.  She was drugged at the time; the only reason stayed on was that she was being pinned to him, and he was about to drop her.  I called out, but she used the distraction to break free and ended up dangling in air, holding one by one hand.”88

“Did she know it was you?” 89

Mark sadly shook his head, “I don’t think so.  She would have known to just drop so I could catch her.  It tried to fight the man, but it was difficult.  As one final attempt, she pulled his arm down. 90

“This sent him out of control.  His Nolacky hit mine, and we were both spun down, barreling towards the ground.  I hit several trees before landing and was knocked unconscious for a couple of hours.  Later I had found I had broken my right arm.”  Mark held up his sling in demonstration.91

This still didn’t answer his question, “Mark, what happened to her?  What happened to T-?”92

“She fell.  I…I’m not sure where, but I know it wasn’t near her captors.  I don’t think she made it.  I’m really sorry; I know how close you two were.”  Mark looked away. 93

Pain welled up inside him, rejecting all other emotions except for anger.  He clenched his fists, “She made it, she had to have made it!” 94

Mark sighed, he was tired as it was, and this wasn’t helping.  Why did I have to be the one tell him?  he asked himself, “Look, I don’t think she did.  We were up high.  Almost to the limit where if you go any higher, you’ll suffocate.  If she made it-”95

“She did make it.”96

“Anyway, something would be wrong right now if she did.  You cannot fall from that high and not get injured.  It’s impossible.” 97

He let this sink in.  Tears swelled up in his eyes, “I’m leaving Mark.  I’m not coming back until I find her.” 98

Mark had nodded, “I wish you the best of luck.  Remember though, you might not like what you find.” 99

And so he had left, only knowing that she had landed somewhere near a small, isolated town called Hollow Hills.  If she had made it, no, he pushed the thought out of his head.  She had made it, and she had gone there.  He was in Keystones Hole now; he would make his way directly across the Star Cities, and approach from the West.  He would find her.  Yes, he would.  And no one, no one was going to stop him. 100