“How did you know about us?” James mustered the courage to ask. “And where we were going? What’s your name?”
“I appreciate your courage. My answer to all your questions could be as straight as GO TO HELL, I DON’T CARE. You are under captivity, and you should not be asking questions. But I still address you as friends.” The voice had a calm tone. “Listen, you are not the only ones who want to get the Pages of Destiny. I need them too. And guess what? I already possess the Second Page.”
“No,” James whispered to himself. “It is impossible.”
“You see, I knew that you have been smart enough to get the First Page. So I set my sights on the second riddle. I solved it and got the Second Page.”
“You are lying,” Pyros said. “The riddle mentions that to get the Second Page one must have the First Page.”
“Well, riddles are always strange. Those lines are only to stop people from trying to get the Second Page. But if someone had attempted to get the Second Page, as I did, he would have got it, if, of course, he could solve the rest of the riddle.”
“You are lying. It’s impossible,” James said.
The voice laughed. “If you still don’t believe me, hear this. The answer to the riddle... is space. There is no sound, no noise in space. A thin sheet... of stars. From the mountain rock to the Great White North. The mountain rock is the Rocky Mountains. The Great White North is Canada. Left by the great fireball... the great fireball is the 1972 Great Daylight Fireball, which moved from the Rocky Mountains to Canada… moving in the largest hall. It is so evident that the largest hall is space from where I got the Second Page.
“The line about getting the First Page before, as I told you, was a distraction. I scoured the atmosphere around the Earth, along the path of the fireball, and bingo. There was the Second Page of Destiny waiting for me.”
“Wait!” Daniel said. “The riddle must have been formed thousands of years ago. How can it entail the Great Fireball, which occurred in 1972?”
“Oh, come on! All kinds of magical things happen in the Dark World! I understand this much better than you; that’s why I am always one step ahead of you.” The voice again laughed. “Take your case. The Scavenger located you on Earth through your pictures, given to him by Lord Arcane hundreds of years back, when you were not even born. Isn’t that magic? Deny that if you can.”
James thought deeply but had no answers. The person, whoever it was, was speaking logically.
Archer was persistent. “But how did you know that we would visit Cotton Village Library?”
“Easy. How can one even attempt the second riddle without referring to the greatest book on space and working of the Universe – ‘A Brief History of Time’. And as I am always one step ahead of you, I knew you would refer to it just as I referred to it and got the Second Page of Destiny. My sorcerers put a cloaking spell on the book in Pyros’s cave, making it disappear. I knew the cave’s Library regularly synchronizes with the Master Library at Cotton Village. It was natural that you would come to Cotton Village Master Library to get the book. I trapped you there, and lo and behold! Here you are!”
James’s mind was working very fast. He knew he and the others had to get out of captivity soon so that they could find the Scavenger. He continued the conversation. “What do you want from us?”
“Well, you all must be curious as to why your friend, the mighty Scavenger, is not with you right now. It was surprising how he managed to escape despite my best of warriors trying to capture him.” The tone of the voice was full of rage.
“But why do you want the Pages of Destiny? What worth would the pages be for you?” James asked.
“I am surprised you asked such a foolish question. Matt may be important for you, but for me, he is worthless. The stupid boy took along someone vital for me.”
James, Archer, Daniel and Pyros were shell-shocked. It was as if everything had gone out of control. This person even knew about Matt.
James tried to compose himself. “So you want the Skull Warrior.”
“Obviously. Let me make you an offer. You have the First Page, and I hold the Second. We both are pretty worthless without the other Page. It’s a simple deal. We join hands to combine the Pages of Destiny and open the dimension. You take your Matt and I take my Skull Warrior. How’s that?”
“We would rather die than help you,” Archer spat out. The expressions on his friends’ faces said that they too agreed.
Archer looked down at his hand and focused. To his relief, a small glint of fire appeared. His Elemental Powers were still working!
A second later, his body burst into flames.
He started screaming and shouting. The others backed off against the wall, getting an idea about Archer’s plan.
The voice spoke and laughed, “It’s not going to work. I know you are an Elemental.”
Archer changed track. He threw powerful balls of fire at the walls, but the fire just got absorbed by the walls.
“How dare you try these dirty tricks here? You all are such emotional fools – there’s no point in striking a deal with you people. Let Matt die in the dimension and let you all die here. I will somehow figure out how to get the First Page. You have just five minutes to meet your death. The poisonous gas that I am going to release in the chamber will devour you. Rest in pieces.”
The voice went silent. Suddenly, a fog started appearing from all the corners of the chamber.
Pyros’s face turned white.
