“Do you guys always have this much bodyguards?” I asked Kayda as a I saw a large troop of men started positioning themselves on different position of the mansion and the whole estate.

“Uh...Well” she hesitated before continuing

“Yeah, they are kind of like bodyguards. They are men that work for Alaric cooperation. They deal with business things that aren’t, uh... under the governments watch.” she faltered

Ah the mafia.

 But this is still too much people

They all wore a white shirt along with a black suit and had a brooch with the design of the letter A inside a cat’s outline. It’s a cute brooch for a mobster.

“OH! look its grandpa, let’s go” she cheered as she pointed to a man who looks like he is in his early 50’s . he wore a blue suit paired with a white shirt, matching it with grandma who was standing near him in her blue and white cocktail dress.”

“Grandpa” she squealed as she hugged him like a little girl.

I stood there awkwardly because what am I supposed to do, I haven’t met him until now.

 “Oh my, you must be Ayami” he said as he released Kayda from his hug.

“You look just like your mother when she was younger” he said, his eyes gleaming.

“No, she looks more like me” grandma bickered

“Well, she is your granddaughter no surprise” he said as he opened his arms for me.

I gave him a hug.

“You both are wearing matching dresses; my girls look wonderful.” He said

We both wore overskirt dresses, with the same floral designs, just different colours. I wore a light green one while she wore light pink.

“Hey kids,” A man’s voice echoed from behind us.

Kayda’s dad and mom

“Oh my goodness, my baby girls look awesome” Her mother said.

My parents came up behind with a huge smile on their face.

It’s been so long since we have all shared smile at a family function.

“We are really sorry; we couldn’t meet you before because of work” he sighed

 “Although we already met Reo before because of work” Kayda’s mom added

“All of the leaders have arrived, Sir.” One of the men reported to grandpa

“We should all go now” grandpa said

“Kayda and Ayami you may only enter the place upon the last stage of the ritual.” Grandma stated

“Kai and Reo will take you there in time” Kayda’s mom stated

We both nodded

“So, what are we supposed to do until then?” I asked Kayda after everyone left the mansion

“We could run around the mansion and no one would scold us, the only people other than us are the guards outside” she explained

“Where is this ritual place?” I asked

“There is mountain a bit far behind the mansion” she said “its kept inside the enclosure made for it protected by the divine mountain rivers around so that the shaders won’t be able to enter.”

“The leaders, they are the one who are supposed to be the wielders of the souls right?” I asked

“yes” she replied as we both climbed the stairs

“Welp, they don’t have it now. So, aren’t they hiding the fact from the rest of the world?” I asked

“Yes. It was the magic council’s decision. If the people know about this, they will panic and… .. fear is the worst enemy we could have right now.” She explained

“Do they have any intention of taking the souls back?” I asked her

She stopped in front of the library door.

“You seem interested in this just as how much I am. So why don’t we search for the answers together” she said as she opened the doors to the library

“Are we allowed here?” I asked

“The library? Yes. The place we are about to go? Absolutely NO.” she said with a smirk plastered on her as we walked into the library.

I looked at her confused.

“Let’s go” she pointed to the second floor of the library

We took the quick flight of stairs on left corner of the library.

 She stopped in front of a rack of books. She moved some books to the side to reveal a small lever inside the rack.

 She pulled it.

The rack moved to the side revealing a passageway into the darkness.

She looked back and held a proud smile and clapped her hands 2 times to which fireballs popped that lit up the passage.

My jaw dropped.

A hidden room?

We walked through the small cramped passage, having enough space for each of us to walk individually. Unlike the mansion, the passage way seemed uncompleted. It looked like it was made with clay. The floor was covered in sand instead of the mahogany floors like the ones on the library.

My eyes widened at the sight. The passageway opened into a big round hall; its walls filled with books to the brim of its high round vaulted ceiling.

Something like dust started circling me.

“Whooaaa … aren’t these like supposed to be extinct.” I asked.

“Yeah. The fairie dusts” she replied