Chapter 9

CHAPTER NINE

We were in the library, surrounded by books that smelled of dust and magic. Robbie, Jessie, and I spread out across a large table, potion books stacked like miniature skyscrapers around us. But even with all this information laid out before us, we were having trouble finding exactly what we were looking for. It was like this potion was our needle in a haystack.

"Okay, so dragon's breath is listed in 'Potions for the Powerful,' but no mention of mirror shards." Robbie flipped through pages with furrowed brows.

"Mirror shards aren't usually in potions. They're more for scrying or… Oh." Jessie paused, her eyes widening. "What if?—"

"Ahhh!" I gave a tiny scream and flopped down on top of my book.

"That bad?" Robbie asked, his face appearing in front of me with a wide grin.

"This is impossible." I sat up, stretching. The audible popping of my spine echoed around us, and they both gave me a look. "What? I’m not as young as I used to be, and these wooden chairs are just awful."

Jessie shifted on her seat. "My butt keeps going between being asleep and hurting."

"It’s my legs that are achy." Robbie added. "I’m not used to sitting this long in this uncomfortable of a position any longer."

"Man, we sound old," I said, followed by laughter.

They grinned.

Branches from a tree outside brushed against the window as the wind blew, and I sighed. "I wish we were outside frolicking in the grass."

"Frolicking?" Jessie asked, lifting a brow.

"Yes." I gave a sharp nod. "I wish we were dancing around, giggling, and rolling around in the grass. This room is starting to feel like a prison. A really bleak prison that I’m itching to escape from."

Jessie gave me a look. "Feeling a bit dramatic today?"

I gave another loud sigh. "Maybe. It’s just that every spell we find only has one or two ingredients from the spell we’re trying to identify. None of them are right, and I feel like we could spend forever here and not find what we’re looking for."

"Is there maybe a spell we could try?" Robbie asked in a hopeful voice.

Jessie wrinkled up her nose. "It’s hard to try to find something when we don’t know what it is."

"Fair enough," I said, then looked down at the table. "I guess we’ll just have to keep trying. Jaylyn is missing. Fingers are being pointed in my direction. If looking for a needle in a haystack is–"

"Hey, what are you all doing here?" The voice was smooth, almost musical, and it cut through our brainstorming session like a hot knife through butter.

There he was, Lucifer, standing there with a book tucked under his arm. "Being A Great Dad For Dummies," the cover read. His surprise seemed genuine, as if we were the interlopers in his personal study.

"Lucifer? What are you—" I said but stopped myself. It wasn’t every day you bumped into the ruler of Hell in the school library.

He grinned. "What are you?"

"Research," Jessie answered before I could think of anything better to say. She always did have a knack for being direct.

"Research," he arched an eyebrow. "On?"

I hesitated, then figured why not, it's not like we could hide anything from him. "Our schoolmate disappeared. We found this piece of glass and a list of ingredients for a potion."

"Is that right?" He stepped closer to peer at the parchment we’d laid flat on the table. "Mind if I take a look?"

"Sure," I said, sliding the list toward him. What was the worst that could happen?

"Interesting," he scanned the list. His lips quirked up in a half-smile, and then he glanced up at us with those knowing eyes. "Good luck with your research. "

"Thanks," I said, though my gratitude wavered on the edge of uncertainty. Because when Lucifer wishes you luck, you can't help but wonder if you'll need it. He walked deeper into the library.

"Okay, what exactly is he doing?" Robbie whispered, fixed on the spot where Lucifer had vanished between the stacks.

I shrugged and turned back to the pile of books in front of us. "Who knows with him? Let's just keep looking."

Jessie nodded, pulling another heavy tome toward her.

We were so engrossed in comparing ingredients lists that we didn't hear him coming back. The sudden slam of a book on the table made us all jump. I looked up to see Lucifer standing there, a smug look on his face.

"Thought you could use a little help," he gave us one of those winks that made you feel like you were in on some secret joke, but also that the joke might be on you.

"Uh, thanks?" Jessie eyed the book warily.

Without another word, Lucifer strolled over to the librarian's desk and started tapping away at the computer. He pulled out a laminated card from his pocket and swiped it through the checkout scanner.

"Wait, how do you even have a library card?" Robbie asked as Lucifer finished up.

"Let's just say I'm full of surprises," Lucifer said with a grin, then flashed the card at us before it disappeared back into his jacket. In a blink, he was gone, leaving behind only the echo of his laughter and the faint scent of brimstone.

"Did that just happen?" I asked, still staring at the empty spot where he'd been.

"Seems so," Robbie said. We exchanged glances, none of us quite sure how to feel about the assistance from Hell's own ruler. "Seriously, why does he even have a library card for this school?" Robbie scratched his head, looking from the empty space Lucifer had occupied to the book on the table.

Jessie and I shrugged in unison, our eyes wide with the same confusion. "No idea," I reached for the book. It was weirdly warm, like it had been sitting in the sun, even though the library's gothic windows let in little more than a gloomy light that made the trees outside look almost sinister.

We flipped the book open and, wouldn't you know it, it fell open right to an earmarked page. My finger traced the list of ingredients we'd been puzzling over for hours, now neatly matched with their counterparts in the book. "Well, how about that?"

"Creepy guy," I said, remembering Lucifer's sly smile, "but he sure is handy in a pinch."

Robbie paled, his usual broad-shouldered confidence shrinking slightly. "You don't think... this means we owe him a favor, do you?"

Jessie gasped, her curly hair bouncing as she clutched at her chest dramatically. "Or our souls?"

For a moment, we all just looked at each other, the weight of owing something to the ruler of Hell pressing down on us. Then, the ridiculousness of it all hit us, and laughter bubbled up from my throat. Jessie joined in, her giggles high-pitched and infectious, and even Robbie cracked a smile, his blue eyes lighting up again.

"Imagine that, trading souls in a library," I managed between laughs, my earlier worries dissipating like smoke. Maybe I was getting the hang of this magical world after all.

After I calmed down, I squinted at the title printed in bold, ancient script:

Veil Minimizer

(loose translation).

The book smelled of dust and old leather, its pages yellowed with time. I traced the words with my finger, trying to make sense of what it all meant.

"There’s something about going between worlds," I said slowly, trying to figure out exactly what that meant. "I’m guessing that’s kind of like using the portals?"

"Kind of, except you don’t need a spell for that," Jessie said.

Robbie smiled. "Just a portal, a letter, or a stone."

Jessie pulled the book a little closer, her eyes narrowing as she read. We stayed silent, watching her, wondering what she might be able to figure out that we couldn’t.

"Looks like this thing is older than the hills," Jessie said, scanning the cryptic text. "Says here the origin has been lost."

Robbie leaned over my shoulder. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Wait, there's a note," I pointed to the margins where someone had scribbled something in faded ink.

"For some reason this potion is really good to clear up constipation."

I blinked, not sure if I read that right.

"Constipation?" Jessie snickered, looking amused.

"Does that mean Jaylyn went to another world and... pooped when she got there?" The words tumbled out before I could stop them, and heat crept up my cheeks. I chanced a glance at Robbie, his expression a mix of amusement and surprise.

"Poop?" Robbie said, his broad shoulders shaking with laughter.

"Shut up." I swatted at him playfully, my face now blazing red. The three of us erupted into giggles, the sound echoing off the library's high stone archways.

"Only you, Cendi," Robbie managed through his chuckles, "could turn ancient potion research into toilet humor."

"Hey, I'm just reading what's there," I said, still red-faced but grinning. It was good to laugh like this, even if we were dealing with mysteries beyond our understanding.