The Shattereds

Chapter 6

"How are we going to get upstairs?" asked Emily.

"The Staircase Room," answered Servant Vine. She led Emily to a door. She pushed it open and led Emily inside. They walked onto a small platform. Emily looked around. It was a room the size of a football field. There were two stories, each with nine platforms. There was one at each corner, one between each corner, and one in the middle on both stories. Every ten seconds, staircases and walkways would disappear and reappear somewhere else. Emily looked down. There was no floor, just a deep pit with platforms floating above it. "Welcome to the Staircase Room," said Servant Vine. "One of those doors will lead us to the second floor." She gestured to the platforms above them. Each one had a door, except for the one in the middle.

"Is there a pattern or something?" asked Emily, watching carefully.

"No. It's completely random, that's what makes it really hard to do," said Servant Vine.

"Alright. Let's just wing it," said Emily. A staircase appeared in front of them. Emily ran up it, Servant Vine following. They got to the platform just as the staircase disappeared. Emily tried the door, and it disappeared. "Not that one," said Emily. A walkway appeared. They ran across it, to the center platform. "I vote going to the one opposite of the entrance," said Emily. A staircase leading down appeared, going backwards. They did not go. The next round, the walkway they came from appeared again. Then it was the same staircase.

"We might have to go down to go up. The same thing keeps appearing," said Servant Vine. They ran down the staircase to the platform next to the entrance platform. A walkway going sideways appeared. They ran across it. Then there was a staircase going up to another door. Emily tried it, but it disappeared.

They ran on a walkway to another door, but it also disappeared. "What door could it possibly be?" asked Emily, looking around. They watched for five rounds.

"I bet it's the platform above the door," said Servant Vine.

"What? How do you know?" asked Emily.

"The walkways and staircases appear there the least. It has appeared there once out of all five times," said Servant Vine.

"Let's go then," said Emily. A walkway appeared. Emily ran across to the corner door. She tried it, but it disappeared. There was a staircase leading down. Emily ran down, Servant Vine following. There was a walkway to the middle platform. They went across. "We're so close. We just have to get up and across," said Emily. A staircase leading up appeared, leading to the platform next to the one they were trying to reach. They went up.

They waited a couple rounds. Nothing led to the door. Suddenly, one appeared. Emily took off running, Servant Vine beside her. Emily then felt a spell hit her. She hit the wall and passed out on the walkway. Servant Vine made it to the platform and gasped. "Emily!" she shouted as the walkway disappeared. Emily stared to fall.

Servant Vine shot a spell under Emily. A bridge of ice appeared under her. Emily fell onto it. Servant Vine fell to her knees. She clutched her chest. She looked down at Emily. "Emily," she said. Emily started to stir. She rolled onto her stomach. She let out a groan. She opened her eyes. She saw Servant Vine, then suddenly, a walkway appeared above her. She slowly got up. She crawled to the entrance platform. Her head was spinning.

"Emily!" called Servant Vine as the walkway disappeared.

"I'm under you," said Emily. Suddenly, a vine appeared from above.

"Grab on," came Servant Vine's voice. Emily grabbed on tightly. She was lifted up. Servant Vine grabbed her and pulled her onto the platform. Emily saw one hand clutching her chest. She looked tired.

"What's wrong?" asked Emily.

"I shouldn't have been able to do that," she whispered. She took a deep breath. She then picked up Emily in her arms. Emily felt her get up.

"I thought you couldn't sit down," said Emily.

"I shouldn't have been able to do any of that," said Servant Vine. She opened the door and walked through. Emily smiled. They had made it. Servant Vine carried Emily down a hallway. Emily looked around. It was covered in dust, like no one had ever been there.

Servant Vine entered a library. Emily looked around. It was even bigger than the downstairs library. There were tables set around the book shelves. The shelves were stuffed full of books, from floor to ceiling. Servant Vine put Emily down on a cushioned couch. Emily looked up at her. "Thank you," she told her. Servant Vine smiled. Emily slowly sat up. Her whole body ached.

"Relax. We have some time," said Servant Vine. Emily laid back down.

"Do you think the books here can help us beat Witch Broom?" asked Emily.

"Us beat her? You beat her," said Servant Vine.

"We can both work together to beat her," said Emily. Servant Vine smiled.

"I can help you come up with a strategy, but nothing else," said Servant Vine. Emily sat up. Her body ached, but she ignored it. She stood up. Servant Vine didn't protest. Emily hugged her. She hugged back.

"We can beat her," Emily whispered. Servant Vine only nodded. When they let go, Emily was smiling. "Ready?" asked Emily. Servant Vine nodded. Emily went to the bookshelves. They had labels on them. "Spells. Curses. Counter-curses. Destruction spells. Soul spells," read Emily.

"Let's start at soul spells," said Servant Vine. They walked down that aisle. Emily looked at the titles. She stopped at one book. She pulled it off the shelves. "The Immortality Spell of Souls," said Emily.

"Let's keep that one," said Servant Vine. They continued walking.

"Soul Shattering," Emily said, spotting a book. She grabbed it. They continued along. They ended up at the Destruction Spells. "I don't think we will need anything here," said Emily,

"Wait. We do. Witch Broom always enchants objects to attack her opponents. We should find a book on how to destroy them," said Servant Vine. They walked down the aisle.

"Here's one," said Emily. "Let's look for more books that might help."