(Adventure Adrian and the Kings) The Herald Quest

Chapter Twelve

TWELVE

  

The two yellow spots in my nightmares drew ever closer. Over and over, the deep menacing voice continued to slowly chant my name. The winds were now so strong that they seemed to be jumping out of my mind as if they were real. The gale was almost pressing against my face.

Up above, I could hear the thunder rolling harder across the sky and each drop of driving rain felt like it was stinging my skin. Suddenly a fork of lightning zipped through the air and shot clean through my body.

I awoke with a jolt. My heart was pounding and it was only when I realised I was still in my dorm room that my breathing began to slow down. My chest was still thumping and my head pounding with adrenalin. It was then I remembered Aunt Edna.

The Professor had recently received news that my Aunt had died at the hands of the gargoyles. And when he’d finally told me of his discovery…I was nothing short of devastated. I’d already lost both my parents and now with my Aunt Edna gone too, the College was all I had left in my life now.

Understandably I was restless that night and so I decided to take a walk in the hope it would clear my thoughts. Night times at the College were always deathly quiet. And after tonight’s sword battle and the Professor’s warning, most students wouldn’t dare risk setting foot outside their rooms, for fear of a lifetime’s worth of detention. But I wasn’t thinking straight and so took a chance.

I carefully prised open my creaky room door and peered down the dark corridor that was lit only by candles mounted on the walls. With no one in sight, I ventured through the maze of hallways, trying to forget about Aunt Edna and the craziness of this world. 

I turned down a corridor I’d never even noticed before and onto a wing of the campus that looked like it hadn’t been used for years. I eventually arrived at the end of the corridor and at a grand archway that looked somehow different from all the other doorways.

I pushed on the doors with both hands and they opened with a groan. I slowly wandered into the grand room and glanced up to the roof that was so high above me. The entire room was crammed with tall shelves that were packed with hundreds of books.

It was then I realised I must be in the majestic College Library. I searched curiously amongst the endless aisles and eventually stumbled upon the ‘archives’ section. This place was ideal for someone like me who needed answers to almost everything.

I suddenly thought of the mysterious legend that people had kept talking about. Grace mentioned this one story that fascinated me. Something about sacred swords I remembered. So I began to look for more information in a number of large binders filled with papers. But I couldn’t find anything about this tale at all.

Suddenly a haunting creak echoed through the air. I was disturbed by someone or something creeping through the library doorway. As the figure lurched closer, a lantern light grew brighter and cast a gigantic shadow on the wall in front of me. I turned quickly to see a character dressed in a charcoal coloured robe but I couldn’t see a face beneath the cover of a hood.

“Whose back there?” the figure yelped in a crackly voice before raising his lantern and shining the light straight it my eyes. “This library is forbidden after dark boy.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t…”

“You’re the new kid…ain’t ya?” the hunch backed man said and slowly stepped forward further.

“Yeah. I couldn’t sleep and…”

“What’s wrong lad?” he replied. “Could it be you’re having trouble fitting in here?”