The Secrets of the Elements

Chapter 8: To The Library

"Why not?" asked Maya and shut the door of her bedroom. "Because it's too risky," said Advika

wearing her earphones.

They were on a conference call.

"I think Advika is right," said Ray lying down on his bed. "We were nearly caught yesterday. We should

wait."

"I agree," said Tej. "Let's disguise and go," said Zarna. There was a brief pause. "We can, actually,"

agreed Advika. "Let's decide what we'll disguise as, and then decide the date and time," said Maya.

"Okay then, guys think of a person or character, but it should look normal, we don't want to grab

attention," said Tej.

"Okay, we'll discuss our characters, I mean costume on the group chat," added Ray. "Yes, we'll post

pictures of ourselves disguised as some character on the group and then decide," said Zarna.

"Okay," said Tej and Advika in unison.

~~~~~~

Advika rummaged through her wardrobe. She removed a blue tank top and a denim jacket, along with

a brown three-fourth. Mom might have a wig, she thought. She went towards the door. "But what will I

tell her? Why do I want that wig?" she wondered.

"I might have to steal it then," she said and went to her parents' room.

She quickly opened the drawer below the mirror and took the wig. "Sorry, mom," she whispered and

sped towards her room.

~~~~~~~~~

Ray, removing his headband, set his hair with some gel. He put on a white cap and glares, looking in

the mirror in front of him.

"No," he said, removing the glares and looked around in the room.

He picked up the round spectacles kept on the table and walked towards the mirror.

"Nice," he said and smiled.

~~~~~~~

Tej wore a fake moustache and applied a bit much oil to his hair. He dressed in a full sleeve white shirt

and a khaki pant.

~~~~~~~

Maya wore a knee-length black skirt and a half-sleeve white top. She applied some kohl in her eyes

and some powder to make herself look fair. She braided her curly hair and applied some lip balm.

~~~~~~~~

Zarna, dressed in a cami top and black jeans, tied her long hair into a bun and applied some foundation

and kohl. She wore fake eyelashes and put on a dark red lipstick.

Should I wear specks? Or should I try wearing a wig?" she wondered. She opened the cabinet and

removed round spectacles from it. "Maybe I should wear this," she said and put it on.

"Now I look different," she said, looking at her reflection in the mirror.

Advika wore a blue tank top and brown three-fourth. She removed her specks and wore blue colour

lens instead. "This will make my hair look longer," she said and put on the wig. She wore a denim

jacket and applied some powder to improve her complexion. "Maybe I should not apply a lipstick," she

said and closed her closet.

"I hope I'm looking at least a bit different," she wondered as she took her phone and clicked a selfie.

Her phone vibrated as her friends had sent their photos on the group chat. They all agreed on their

attires and decided to go to the library the next day, morning, even if it meant bunking college.

~~~~~~~~

"What do you mean I can't fight the werewolves?" he almost screamed at the old man.

"Master Daksh, your father Indra is a professional... and experienced, he can get away with...

anything," stammered the old man.

"You mean to say I'm weak?" Daksh asked, towering over the old man.

Daksh was tall, had a fair complexion, always had his hair in spikes, and had blue eyes. He had a

sharp nose and always carried a small stiletto with him.

He wore a transparent white T-shirt that revealed his abs. He was muscular and wore white studs in

one ear.

He ran his slender fingers through his dark black hair and let out a sigh.

"Whatever you do, I want those five," he muttered.

The old man nodded his head and bowed before Daksh before taking his leave.

Daksh entered the womb-chamber of the temple and joined his hands before the idol of Lord Shiva.

"I know I'm doing wrong, but, you know my intentions," he said and bowed before Lord Shiva's idol.

"Daksh," he heard someone call his name; he swivelled.

"Dad," he said and touched his father's feet.

"Master Indra," said the old man as he entered the womb-chamber.

Indra turned to look at the old man. "Did they come again?" he asked. "No, Master," said the old man.

"Keep an eye on anyone that passes through this temple or the library," said Indra and turned to face

Daksh.

Daksh could feel his heart thump and throat go dry.

"What are you doing here?" asked Indra. "I... I came to-"

"I had told you to take care of Rutuja," said Indra and crossed his arms.

"What happened to Rutu? Is she fine?" he asked.

"Don't worry, she's fine. Just some werewolves had attacked Dai Ma's place yesterday night," revealed

Indra. "I should go and see her," said Daksh, his heart pounding.

"You should," said Indra and disappeared. Daksh followed suit.

~~~~~~~

Tej stopped the car a few meters away from the temple. "I'm not feeling great about this," said Advika

and stepped out of the car. "Relax," said Maya, adjusting her cap. "Okay guys," said Tej fixing his fake

moustache. "Remember we don't know each other, nobody calling out anyone by their real names."

"Yes boss," said Ray and wore the spectacles as Zarna nodded her head.

They walked towards the library, which was located just behind the temple.

Advika felt a wave of cold air sweep her hair as she stepped into the ancient library. There was pin-

drop silence; nobody in plain sight.

"Yes?" said a young girl as Ray entered the library; Advika swivelled.

"I'm here for. . . I came here to read books on Indian History, for a school project," Advika lied. The girl

looked at Ray. "Oh, I came here looking for books on ancient temples, I love history, you see," he said

and coughed.

"I'm Rutuja, the librarian, if you need help finding the books, let me know," she said, and with a nod

went to sit on the red colour sofa next to the library's entrance.

Advika took a deep breath as she walked towards the bookshelves on her right, while Ray on the left.

There was a range of various tall bookshelves on both sides of the library. There are several types of

books on the shelves ranging from English classics to science fiction, to magazines, to non-fiction, to

references and finally to books on Occult and supernatural.

Advika scanned the books as she walked through the bookshelf. The Legends of Saptabhumi by Chitra

D., The Princess of Tribhumi by Lekha G., The Elements by Gustaf Morgan.

Advika stopped the instant she saw the title which read 'The Elements'. She went through the book,

scanning each page thoroughly.

Ray carefully removed his phone from his pocket and clicked a few pictures of the book he was

holding. He quickly examined the section of Occult and ancient history.

Zarna entered the library and glanced at Rutuja. "Hi," she said. "I'm looking for books on ancient

history. Could you help me with it please?" she asked. "Sure," said Rutuja and led her to the section ofBelongs to (N)ôvel/Drama.Org.

ancient history. Zarna's eyes fell on the staircase opposite the bookshelf. "Where does that lead to?"

she asked.

"Oh, that, it's closed now," replied Rutuja and went back to sit on the sofa.

Zarna quickly went through the books, scanning for anything related to the elements. The Magical

Waters by Deba Grey, read the book cover. It had an illustration of blue sea, with waves crashing the

ship on the harbour. Zarna picked up the book and sat on the chair nearby to give it a read.

In ancient times, sorcerers used water as a medium to travel in time. It could transport them to the past

or future according to their choice, the only limitation being that they had to hold their breath until they

get out of the water.

If the sorcerer can hold his breath, then, and only then can he time travel by water. The element of

water has many powers. It can be both clam and fierce like fire.

To practice this, the sorcerer needs to focus on his mind; being thoughtless. The energy of the water

needs to be felt first before practising any kind of magical routine with it.

Zarna sighed and kept the book back on the shelf.

Tej stepped into the library and looked around. Daksh followed. Tej headed towards the Literary section

and picked up a random book from the shelf.

"Rutu," said Daksh and held her hand. "I want to talk to you, now," he said and glanced at the others.

"Daksh, I can't leave the library unattended," whispered Rutuja and removed her hand from his grip. "I'll

talk to you in the evening."

Daksh nodded his head and left the library.