Strange Beasts || Novella

IV

Raina wasted no time running downstairs, as far away from the ridiculous book and dusty attic. The further she got away from it, the easier it was for her to dismiss the whole thing as a trick of her overactive imagination. She blamed the silly game Rami and Grammy were playing; she had gotten caught up in it all without realising.

Thinking of her brother brought back the guilt she felt over her actions. However angry she may have been, Rami didn't deserve the unkindness, least of all from her. Straightening up, she dusted down her clothes and continued further into the house to try and find her brother. Grammy's house was the type that was filled with little surprises, constantly revealing new nooks and hidden spaces. But Raina knew exactly where to find Rami.

"You know you could catch a cold from sitting there," Raina said, her gaze softening at the sight of Rami curled up by the large window. The room was dark; unlike the other rooms in the house, Grammy intentionally kept the electricity off. Raina approached her brother, making sure to keep the door ajar so that they wouldn't be at risk of getting locked in. Carefully monitoring his face for any clues, she crouched down next to him, using the back wall to lean on.

"If you get ill how do you plan on protecting the Kingdom?" Raina asked, her lips twitching as she watched Rami battle with his pride to maintain the silent treatment.

"I'm sorry okay? I didn't mean for you to hear tha-" Raina started.

"But you did mean it! You think it's all a stupid game in my head." Rami interrupted moodily, turning away from her. He curled up in a smaller ball, which was quite difficult since they were already in a tight corner. As far as his older sister was concerned, he was acting rather childish and being quite unfair.

At least that's how she convinced herself to stop the moisture in her eyes from spilling.

Lifting up her hand, Raina hesitated, the empty look in her brother's eyes stopped her from comforting him. She didn't even have the heart to scold him for his use of language. It was another painful reminder of how she had failed to protect him, yet again.

Just as Raina had concluded Rami was too angry to ever talk to her, he titled his face to the side, revealing one puffy eye and asked: "Where's Grammy?"

"I thought she was with you," said Raina; "didn't she come down just after you did?"

Rami widened his eyes, giving a silent answer to the question. Almost without realising it, both siblings put aside their quarrel and headed out of the forgotten room. Together they went into each room – the living room, the kitchen, her bedroom, the spare room, the toilet with the leaky tap – trying to find any sign of their Grammy.

"She's still in the attic, she's got to be," Rami said.

"I was the last one up there, I told you it's empty," said Raina, but Rami wasn't listening to her and instead darted towards the far staircase, his small feet thundering in his haste. "See, she's not here," said Raina, her chest heaving, yet something prevented her from giving her brother a signature 'I-told-you-so' expression.

Colour drained from her face as Rami lifted up the cover of the book gently.

"Don't touch that!" Raina leaned forward, eyes widening as the numerous strange occurrences surrounding the book flashed through her mind. "I mean, it's Grammy's. We shouldn't touch it," she added, clearing her throat.

Ignoring his sister, Rami bent down and traced the edges of the spine like he had witnessed his grandmother do earlier. "Why would she leave it on the floor? The Kingdo – I mean, it's an important book," said Rami and for a brief moment, his eyes connected with Raina's which were filled with such sorrow over his self correction.

Perhaps that was what encouraged her to channel her inner child, however deep she had buried it. With a hesitant smile, Raina ventured closer to the book, picking it up with the same delicate touch. Checking to see if her actions were acceptable, Raina turned over the book to inspect it a little more. The inquisitive part of her wanted to check the page with the large door to see if it was a trick of her imagination after all.

With a quick glance at Rami, Raina knew her questions would have to wait. For now at least, comforting her brother took priority.

"She's around here somewhere. It's a large house, we must have forgotten to check a couple of the rooms. Just you wait, supper time will come around and we'll smell something delicious like pie or chips. Then we'll tell Grammy about this adventure of ours," said Raina. "We can ask her to tell us more about the Kingdom, Guardians and all the strange beasts in that world."

"You were listening!" said Rami, a small smile creeping against his lip.

"Of course I was. If it's important to you, it's important to me." said Raina. "Regardless of my own feelings about it." It was one of those moments where words were not needed between the two siblings, the silence gave them enough comfort.

"Can we read for a bit? Do you think Grammy would mind?" asked Rami, shuffling in closer so that his shoulder was touching hers. Raina hesitated to reply. There was no way she could talk to Rami about what she thought she saw. It was a trick of the light after all.

But that particular door was somewhere in the middle of the book; it couldn't hurt to flick through a couple of pages. Rami had taken her silence as confirmation, opening the cover to reveal a small passage.

Seek what must never be found, protect what the truth hides; a family once torn apart, holds the Kingdom together again.

"What do you think it means?" asked Rami in a hushed voice.

"No idea. It doesn't make much sense does it?" said Raina and proceeded to turn the page, filled with intrigue, despite her initial reservations about the book. Both children poured over it, marvelling at the illustrated butterflies that decorated the corners. Rather than text, this book seemed to be an artistic guide to the Kingdom; from detailing a map of the whole area, to small sketches of various wildlife and flowers. They looked fairly similar to the ones seen in any ordinary garden, but then again, Grammy had explained that the earth connecting the two were the same.

"Wait a minute – didn't the passage say it would hold the Kingdom together again. Do you think this has happened before?" asked Rami knowing that his sister would not know the answers any more than he did. All the same, he pulled the book closer and flicked back to the first page wanting to reread the inscription.

At that moment, Raina let out a small shriek, pushing away the book as far away from the two of them as possible.

"It's not possible, it can't be possible," repeated Raina, ignoring the protests of her brother, as she buried her head in her hands. For the page had been invaded by another.

The Beast that blinked had moved.