Herobrine's Revenge (The Wielder Chronicles Book Two)

Chapter 23: One Chance

Chapter 23: One Chance

- Nya's POV -

After the assembly, the shock and grief of Emily's death - no, murder- still numbingly strong, I didn't go to potions class. Instead, I ran off to find Zach. Right now, I just needed him there, beside me. I needed his warmth, his reassuring presence.

I sprinted down the corridors, and into the oak-floored library, which was almost empty because people were still getting back from the assembly. And, just as I predicted, there was Zach, sitting on a spruce wood chair looking out the stained-glass window. I walked up next to him and tapped his shoulder. He didn't jump; in fact, he didn't even look surprised. His eyes were still on the view of Bloquear through the blue-glass panels. His gaze was faintly pained, as if he were recalling a memory he didn't want to remember.

"Hey." I said, sitting next to him. He barely moved.

"Emily's dead." He stated, his voice tight. I nodded. He sighed, expression sombre. "If only I had gotten there sooner..." His voice echoed off, and his sentence remained unfinished.

I knitted my eyebrows in confusion. Gotten there sooner? Mr Slayer had said that Emily's body had been discovered two nights ago, and her family informed this morning. Which must mean that Zach was the one who discovered the remains. I took a sharp breath, but too be honest, I wasn't all that shocked. It explained his disappearance on Sunday. Besides, my life is pretty strange already, so the fact my boyfriend found and reported my best friend's body didn't even make me feel queasy.

I put my arm around his shoulder, just like he does to me when I need comforting. He leaned over and nuzzled his face into the croook of my neck, his eyes closed. I felt an odd sense of amusement; I came here for comfort from him, but it ended up vice versa. We stayed there together for what felt like hours, but could have been minutes, I couldn't tell, before he got up reluctantly.

"Sword class." He smiled, a real smile, and my heart danced with relief. I kissed him goodbye and once he left, I decided that attending potions class this late was going to do me more bad than good. So instead I stayed in the library, scanning through the countless leather-covered books that looked worn and old. It seemed that this university spent more money on the weapons and training rooms than practical studies. But I didn't mind; this place was still by far the biggest source of reading material I had ever come by.

I lounged against the one of the tall bookshelves that were lined up vertically to the library entrance, the titles carefully sorted through them alphabetically. To the left of the double-door entrance was the desk, where the librarian, Mrs Quest, sat, and to the right was a cluster of seats next to wide, coloured glass windows. The library's aura was warm and homely and cosy, just like libraries should be. The atmosphere around this place, with it's contrast between oak and spruce wooden flooring and furniture choices, made you rather sleepy.

I grabbed a book that sparked my interest, titled Daydream. I sat down in a hall between two of the large bookshelves, quietly reading, lost in a different world.

I don't know when it happened, or how, but sometime later I fell into a shallow and uneasy sleep.

***

I woke up, but it didn't feel like waking up; more like I was floating, light, and disconnected. I turned around to see the bookshelves still upright and neat, and I was there, Daydream lifted up to my face. My gaze was intent on the pages. My eyes widened in shock, and I looked at my hands, and the window's reflection from the other side of the room. I was still Nya, still had the same light brown hair and blue eyes, but why was there another one reading right in front of me?