Wizards from all over the multiverse had been summoned. The room they sat in was circular; the setting was arranged from the top being wider to the bottom narrowing. The floor stopped to be able to hold the current speaker, the director of the library, and the Wizard High Council. The next five layer-up members of the library. After that, there were the wizards and their apprentices. Candles flew around them and lit the auditorium. Baatar stood on the ground as he talked to the others.
“I don’t know if you have noticed, but we have an earth missing, an arm of an Elder God, and the multiverse is now threatened to come undone.” Baatar said loudly, “We also have the fact that our director, Sara, is dead. And Alex is healing from erecting a new barrier.”
The room exploded into arguments and shouting. A brunette woman who had fair skin, blond hair, and brown eyes. She was tall, like any basketball player. Her robes were brown with moss and insects crawling around her. Other wizards kept their distance from her. She came from an earth where insects had died out and were replaced with robots.
“Baatar, why should we follow you?” Holly shouted out, “Why should Alex get our support?”
“Yes, why not select from amongst ourselves?” A young curator dressed in tan robes shouted.
The large audience broke out into cheers and arguments. Baatar looked at Holly, who was now sitting down. Baatar looked for his chair and sat down. He looked at the crowd, which looked like they had finally come to a mutual agreement. Baatar stood up and addressed the masses.
"Well, members of this council, what say you?” Baatar asked out loud, knowing what they had decided.
“We shall have a vote between Alex and a selected candidate of our choice.” A bearded man said he was using the staff to amplify his voice.
“I'm afraid that won’t be necessary.” Alex said as he walked in to the auditorium, “Council members, I’m sorry for this sudden intrusion.”
The room erupted in arguments as some members threatened to attack one another. Alex, who looked rested but was still pale, He raised his right arm and commanded everyone to keep quiet. A red seal appeared around everyone’s neck, and their voice was silent.
“I said quite; you’ll be able to talk when you are ready to.” Alex said, “Now council members, please let me explain.”
“Please, Alex, continue.” Said a very elderly man.
“Thank you, Lord Agnus. Now, if you please, I have come to some important information.” Alex said, “We have a spy among us. Not just that, but Sara is in fact not dead.”
A group of people let out gasps that echoed through the room. From the same door, Director Sara walked in. She had her customary wizard robes. Her bright white robes had the library crest on the right shoulder. Her staff was in her left hand and was emitting a faint glow from the stone. From behind them, Felix walked in with chains around his wrist. His human form was beginning to morph back to its grotesquely familiar appearance. She shouted in pain and shame. Trying to hide her horrific appearance, she used her arms to hide behind. Sara used her well to make the being walk close to her.
“This was once Alex’s most favorite apprentice.” Sara said, “We caught on to her when we had no records of a Felix.”
“We, actually, were influenced to believe Felix existed.” Alex said it earnestly.
“So we set a trap for her to inadvertently make her give up her master.” Sara said, “So if there is going to be any vote, it’ll be nullified.”
The room erupted in arguments and ugly comments. The wizards had had enough; from out of nowhere, a few rebel mages used their power to cause one of the upper levels to explode. A human-sized energy ball with swirling lightning traveled through the air. The sizzling lightning crackled as it made contact with a wizard's five-foot brown beard. The explosion caused a crater the size of a little league baseball field. Bodies lay in smoldering heaps; their charred bodies smoked, and the smell hung in the area. Everyone looked in disbelief as the row right below them also exploded into flames and exploded concrete. More wizards joined in on the onslaught, and by the time anyone could respond, the assault was over. The wizards and mages who had attacked were gone. Behind Sara, the sound of chains hitting the concrete floor echoed.
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“We just lost half of our numbers!” Sara shouted, “I believe that they may have sided with their side.”
“You think that thing turned half our members?” Lord Agnus asked.
“Yes, and I think I know where the earth went to.” Sara replied, “But I’ll keep that to myself until we have settled this situation.”
"Yes, I agree. I can also say for the rest of the council that we support your efforts.” Agnus said, letting his words echo, “We shall adjourn for the moment.”
The council members went to the director's office. The office had changed to be the size of a regular office. She led them through the doors, and a glass meeting table with leather chairs appeared. They all took a seat and relaxed. Some of them felt the actual weight of the situation.
“Sara How did you figure out Felix was working for someone?” Rufus said from her right side, wearing a white cloak, “What ripped you off?”
“When I first encountered him, he was using a very powerful spell.” Sara said, leaning back in her chair, “It was meant to conceal his true identity. I didn’t know what it was at the time.”
“I have to admit that, as an assistant, I too fail to recognize his true nature.” Alex added.
A pair of twins who looked exactly alike, one female and her brother. They both had brown, curly hair. Heart-shaped faces were very young-looking, with red irises. The robes were immaculately white and never seemed to accumulate any dust. London is the oldest by two minutes, while Lourdes was the baby. They come from a wealthy earth and a very wealthy family. Their birthplace is Londinium; there, Rome never fell and took over the world. For them, life was always fun.
“Tell us then, is there any way to bring back the lost earth?” London said, “Has anything like that ever been done before?”
“To my current knowledge, it had been attempted, but the result was that the earth shattered itself.” Derek said, who was setting in his chair, “I’m afraid to say that no one in this room has the capacity or the mana required to attempt such a task.”
Derek looked down with his now graying hair. His ebony skin was milk chocolate and had scars from his younger years. The blue eyes that filled his whole eye were as blue as the sea. He’s body was slim and had fins. He, too, can come from an earth that is fully aquatic. Unfortunately for his species, they evolved from a calamity that caused the temperature to rise on his planet. This resulted in the ice caps melting, causing the island nations to flood. With this, their bodies evolved into fish-like mammals.
A man dressed in pure, clean white western clothes stood up. His white leather cowboy hat flew from his head. With the wicked speed of a demon, two six-shooters. One was bright silver metal with a cow horn on the handle, and a rose was carved out. The second revolver was blue, with a dragon hide on the handle. Along both barrels read: Im slmli lu hvierxv i trev gsb oruv. Mzb nb zrn yv gifv qfhg zh nb qfhgrxv rh xlow zmw uzhg. The Enochian letters enhanced the barrel’s accuracy and potency of his magic attack. In a split second, a cloaked figure appeared with two large flaming holes. The pistols had green mana smoke bellowing from a nonexistent hole. A small enochian circle was etched where the barrel hole was supposed to be.
“God damn it, Jack, you almost shot me with that.” Monica, who had a red classic wizard cloak, looked angrily at Jack. “Just because your eyes are more adapted to seeing things that don’t want to be seen doesn’t mean you can almost take my head off.”
“Well shot, sweetie. I’m sorry. Maybe next time I’ll just let this here nightmare creature just kill you." Jack said it in a Texan accent, then blew a kiss in his direction.
She made a disgusted noise, pretending to vomit. He leaned down and picked up his hat. The white cowboy hat was still as white as it had been. He walked over to the creature, picked the dead body up from the floor, and threw it on the table. The creature was five feet long with four arms and a reach of three feet. Its black, almost liquid body was bubbling and quickly disappeared into a smoky mist until nothing was left.
“You‘all saw that right; it wasn’t just me.” Jack asked as his hands started to burn, "Ahhhhh, my goddam hands, they’re burnin!”
As he showed his hands, the black ooze smoke was dissipating, revealing a reddish hand. The palms were beginning to turn white and blister. Jack fainted from the pain; his eyes rolled into his head. His body found the floor, and he was out. The table disappeared, and the wizards all stood up to help Jack. The door to the office was quickly closed with a loud thud. It shook the walls and made a couple of the artworks fall to the floor. The glass shattering as the wooden frame cracked and splintered. A familiar laugh was starting to echo in the room as a disembodied voice began to speak.
“So you must be the council that oversees the library.” Caqihr's voice rang from almost every place.
“Who are you? Show yourself.” Alex said, “Everyone be ready.”
“That’s so laughable; you think that working together is going to hurt me. My name is Caqihr, the twin brother of Orisorin.” Caqihr made the room vibrate with his voice.
“We don’t know who you are, and Orisorin never had a twin brother.” Sara said, “Show yourself, demon.”
The room stopped vibrating, and a figure stepped out of a painting of Orisorin, the first wizard. The black smoke figure appeared to detach from the painting. The black form stood in front of the council. His body started to take shape, and features formed on his face. An exact resemblance to Orisorin.
“So what brings you out here, son?” Jack said, getting ready for a fight, “I reckon you better say what you have to.”
“Fair enough.” Caqihr said, “I can bring your earth back from the Elder Gods.”
“And what do you seek in return?” Asked Derek, “Nobody does things just out of the goodness of your heart.”
"Yes, there is something I seek. The Book. My book, my brother stole that book from me a very long time ago.” Caqihr said, “Make this promise, and the earth is back right where it belongs.”
“I think we might be able to work something out.” Sara said, “Just let us handle this once you get the earth back.”
Sara walked up to the figure and extended her hand. Caqihr did the same when their hands touched. A magical light softly lifted from their hands and created lettering around their hands.
“Now it’s official.” Caqhir said, “This will seal our pact.”
"Yes, I know, the first to betray the other will die a horrible death.” Sara said, “You will have the book once you have delivered the planet.”
The human figure started to dissolve back into black smoke. The human face began to smile and then disappeared into nothing. The black smoke hung in the air until nothing was left. Several council members tried to take a sample, but any sample dissolved in containers. They all looked at one another and knew what had to be done.