The Quest of the Prodigy (The Alchemist of Time Book 1) Page 3

  Mimi patted her father’s shoulders. “Daddy, what are they talking about?”

  “What?” he asked, and looked where she was pointing. “Oh, probably a book club. Books have a special power of bringing people together like that. But here’s what I wanted to show you.”

  Walking up the stone steps, Mimi and her father passed people sitting outdoors reading. He led her to the stone lion on the right of the building, which was the less crowded of the two statues. The shade from the tree above the lion was refreshing, and Mimi was able to get a clear view of the statue without the sun disturbing her vision. The stone mane made her gasp in awe.

  “This lion is named Fortitude. His brother on the left is Patience. They have a very important job, you know.”

  “They do?” asked young Mimi. She was getting excited about entering the library.

  “Yes they do. Their job is to guard this precious library…the third largest library in the entire world. For any library, large or small, is a very special place.”

  “Why?” Mimi wondered.

  “Because books are very powerful, Mimi. Each page is crafted by magic. Magic of knowledge. Even fiction books, books based on make-believe, are powerful. Not only can they take you to new worlds, but they teach you something about humanity. And what you do with that power is your responsibility. You must use that knowledge for good. Use books as an understanding of how to treat people with kindness, and help make the world a better place. That’s the job of these twin lions, to protect such knowledge.”

  “Protect it from what?”

  Her father laughed. “Oh Mimi, I’m afraid it’s a secret they’re not sharing. Now, are you ready to get your very own library card?”

  “Oh yes! Then will we be able to visit Patience and Fortitude every Saturday?”

  He laughed again. “Yes dear, of course. I’d be happy to spend every Saturday here with you. And then we can discover magic, together.”

  EIGHTEEN-YEAR-OLD MIMI Mockel had grown up believing books and words were powerful, but she assumed her father had only been joking about the statues protecting the library.

  She had just finished reading a five-star romantic lawyer comedy novel called The Truth of Love and was excited about discovering another great read. There was still a week left of winter vacation, meaning plenty of time to read books, her favorite thing to do in the world.

  At five o’clock in the afternoon on New Year’s Eve in New York City, it was already dark. The darkness overhead made it feel much later than it really was. It made her feel tired. The sound of the city street, crowded with buses, honking taxis and screeching cars as always, helped keep her awake. The smells of gasoline, steak grilling from a nearby eatery and city grime filled her senses. She was happy to be at the library, and not at a lame party her friend Meredith had invited her to. She knew Tucker Clarkson, her crush since freshmen year, would be there, and had not been keen to make a fool of herself again. She was never one to celebrate this holiday, yet Meredith always invited her.

  Mimi had never understood the point of celebrating the Earth completing another rotation around the sun. It was supposed to do that. Why did the city have to get so excited every single time? It would impress Mimi more if the Earth suddenly decided to stop. And if that happened, the planet would be in too much trouble to celebrate. She’d much rather read than party on this pointless holiday.

  As she did every week when visiting the New York City Public Library, Mimi paused on her way inside to greet her favorite stone statue, the one that always reminded her of her father: Fortitude.

  “Hey Fortitude,” she greeted, not feeling at all too old to talk to stone. “How are you doing tonight? Must be lonely with everyone partying in Times Square, huh?” She gave the stone lion a knowing smile. “Wish my dad kept his promise about visiting you every week. Stupid military and not being allowed to talk about it. I really miss him, you know. And I’m sure you have secrets too with all that you must see on these steps.”

  She tucked a strand of her wavy dark brown hair behind her ear and crossed the familiar steps, a path she could walk blindfolded with how often she visited this place. It was her favorite home away from home and she wished her few close friends treasured books as much as she did. They didn’t understand her obsession with books. Her family, father aside, didn’t either. Albert, her thirteen-year-old brother, called her a dork every morning. Like his obsession with ninjas, skateboarding and video games is any better, Mimi thought. Her sister Teagan, who was only ten, always complained when Mimi would rather go to the library than take her to a singing, acting or dancing recital.

  And that was the Mockel family. Three busy kids who hardly talked to each other, a father always traveling for the Navy and a mother who was so busy working for the New York Times that they needed their nanny Ursula to help take care of Albert and Teagan.

  Some might have called them a normal American family, but Mimi knew better. With a bookworm for the eldest daughter, a punk-geek of a brother and a younger sister with big American Idol dreams, she didn’t see anything normal about them.

  Mimi tried to forget about her family for the night. That was why she loved books so much. That was the magic she knew her father had been talking about all those years ago: the magic to make one forget about their own troubles and step into the life of someone else for a couple hundred pages.

  Walking up to the front doors, her heart skipped a beat when she saw it was closed. New Year’s Eve. I forgot they would be closed.

  Mimi pressed her face against the doors in despair. The glass was cold, and she pulled away, leaving a smear. Inside she could make out the dimly lit stacks of books and craved to pick one out. Any new reading material would make her happy, and she wanted it from the library, not a bookstore. She preferred only to own books she had already read, ones she had deemed worthy to sit on her shelf. She was also too old-fashioned to like the idea of an eBook. She knew she was a book snob through and through, but she would not apologize for having standards in her reading preferences.

  With a groan, Mimi stood back and stared at her reflection in the library door. The navy feather down coat and yellow snow boots helped protect her from the bitter cold and leftover snow from last week’s storm, but her shoulder-length brown hair was beyond saving from a frizz-fest. Windy, bitter cold New York City did no favors for one’s hair. But as Patience and Fortitude represented, the people of New York City were strong as stone and had the courage to push through anything.

  Unlike her friend Meredith, who would always say she wished she lived in Miami, Mimi didn’t mind winter so much. She didn’t even need to wear gloves today, though they were tucked in her pockets in case it got to that point. Albert would always tease her, saying the reason she didn’t get cold easily was because she was fat. Mimi would always tell him to shut up.

  “You traitor,” she told Fortitude the lion in a hurt voice, “how could you do this to me? Don’t you know I’m your biggest fan?”

  There was a gust of wind, and Mimi got the eerie sensation the lion was listening.

  The wind caught some snow from a pile on the steps and sent it swirling around the lion. Mimi followed the gust with her eyes and her face lit up as she spotted an open window.

  “Thank you, Fortitude. I always knew you were my favorite,” she said with delight, giving him a wink.

  Looking around to make sure there weren’t any pedestrians to witness, Mimi walked quickly to the open window. How fitting of her character that the first major rule she ever broke in her entire life was in order to get a new book.

  Like a thief in the middle of the night, Mimi crawled through the window, struggling a little to fit through the narrow frame. This is so Winnie the Pooh, she thought.

  There was a soft plop as her feet hit the marble floor of the Rose Main Reading Room.

  Mimi wasn’t sure why there was an open window in such a famous library, and dreaded to think of the wasted heating bill it caused the foundation. But no matter. Sh
e was in.

  She was so ready to sink her teeth into another good read. Some kids her age were addicted to drugs. Some kids her age were addicted to Tumblr. She was proud to admit she was addicted to reading.

  Her hand clutched her smartphone, an outdated model because her family plan didn’t expire until late next year. It did have a working flashlight app, which Mimi used to navigate through the creepily abandoned building. It feels so wrong to be here, she thought. There wasn’t another soul around. She felt a momentary pang of guilt. But who will miss a single book out of, like, 53 million?

  Creepy didn’t begin to describe the atmosphere of the dark and deserted Rose Main Reading Room, illuminated only by the streetlamps outside. The multiple giant chandeliers that normally offered excellent reading light were all turned off. Mimi could just make out the stacks of books flanked against the wall; it was difficult to impossible to tell the color of the spine or read the titles.

  Mimi was just making her way to the fiction section to pick up another romance novel, her favorite genre after romantic comedy, when there was a terrible BANG. It sounded like a cross between a gun going off and a door slamming.

  Mimi pressed her phone screen to turn off her flashlight app, worried about the light drawing unwanted attention. Someone had made the alarming sound.

  Her left snow boot kicked into something on the ground. There was a soft sliding noise and Mimi blinked until she could make out a book. This place is always so organized, how could they miss this? Cathy, you’re dropping the ball, Mimi though to herself, thinking of her favorite librarian.

  Delicately picking up the book with her bare hands, she gasped in pain at its unexpected heat. Slipping on her yellow gloves for protection, Mimi studied the strange book. It must have been some trick of the streetlamp, for it was glowing eerily.

  “The Time Traveling Diaries of Sebastian Barkley?” she read aloud, squinting at the title. I’ve never heard of this character, and time travel sure as heck isn’t real.

  The cover lacked a picture, but a handsome scroll trim of gold glided along the edges, and both front and back covers were crimson red with shimmering gold letters in a fancy, old-fashioned script. Turning the crimson book over, she frowned at the lack of description.

  Mimi felt an overwhelming curiosity toward the book, a deep desire to know its contents. This was the one she should take home tonight. Usually time travel stories weren’t her cup of tea, but she might make an exception for this one. That pull she felt was telling her there was no other book she needed but this one.

  Tucking the new book under her arm, she was headed toward the drop box to return The Truth of Love when she heard another chilling sound: the sound of footsteps.

  Major trouble!

  Albert would never stop laughing at her if she phoned home from jail. She could never give her bratty brother that much satisfaction.

  Her breathing became quick and shallow as she tried not to panic. Mimi looked around the library. She could hear nothing but the footsteps, and she couldn’t see who they belonged to. The sound grew closer, which meant the person was coming closer. They were too close for Mimi to try and run for it.

  Hiding was the next best option. Mimi slunk under the nearest table, clutching the book tightly. The attachment to the book seemed to grow stronger as she held it closer. Although the stone floor was cold, she knew she had to keep hidden. She couldn’t afford to get caught. Jail likely did not offer a broad reading selection.

  The form of a woman appeared from the eerie shadows and entered the RMRR. She didn’t look like a security guard. She wore a long black leather coat over dark green trousers and black combat boots. Her hair was raven black and tied back in a braided ponytail. She was a good foot over Mimi’s height of five-foot-three.

  But if this woman isn’t a security guard, who is she? What the heck is going on? And why is she armed with a strange looking gun?

  “I know someone is there. I’ve got heat sensors,” the woman cried.

  She advanced into the long room until she was standing next to the very table Mimi was hiding under.

  Mimi had always imagined Albert would be the one with the impressive police record. She was the good kid. Unwillingly, she emerged from under the long table.

  “Heat sensors? Why do you need heat sensors in a library?” asked the ever logical Mimi as she rose from her hiding spot.

  “Because, little girl, a book just fell through Time. It’s bound to be hot. And I see you found it for me, excellent.”

  Mimi’s right foot stepped to the side to start running, but before she could move, the woman grabbed her arm in a vice-like grip. Her eyes filled with tears as fingernails dug into her shoulders. The woman’s long nails stung like hell through Mimi’s thick down coat.

  “Let me go, you’re hurting me!”

  The woman ignored Mimi’s demand. “Give me the book, and you can walk away.”

  Mimi felt once more the strange connection to the book. It was like the book had belonged to her for her entire life, like the book was the most important thing in the world. Like the book was more important even than school! And to Mimi, nothing but family was more important than school. As the book warmed in her hands, she felt a mixture of courage and peace fill her spirit. The woman growled as she impatiently waited for Mimi’s answer.

  “No,” Mimi surprised herself by saying.

  The door to the RMRR pounded open, smacking the gray marble walls of the library with a loud boom. Mimi looked to her right to see who could make such a noisy entrance. Perhaps they could help her get away from this crazy woman.

  THE TERRIBLE figure that entered the room did not look like someone who would help her. A man sculpted like a Greek Olympian with olive skin, curly black hair and a potato shaped snout was walking through the double doors. To make things worse, he had a fierce glare and was holding a gun matching the one the woman had strapped to her leg. The apparent anger on his face gave Mimi an instinctive feeling that he was more foe than friend.

  The man was glaring at an electronic device, looking as ticked as Mimi’s mom when she saw Teagan’s cell phone bill. He didn’t seem to notice Mimi or the woman.

  The woman let go of Mimi and rushed to her partner. As she moved, her long leather coat shifted, revealing a nasty looking whip with painful metal spikes hanging from her belt. Turning, the woman pulled her gun free of its holster and aimed it at Mimi.

  “Heat sensors are picking up that the girl has the Diary, Captain,” the woman reported and pointed to Mimi.

  Mimi glanced down at the book that was causing all this trouble. For a split second she thought about surrendering it to the two freaks that were blocking her way home. Was a single book really worth all this trouble? She had to get back home; she’d left her brother alone!

  But as soon as she thought about giving up the book, the book turned hot again, making Mimi wince. It seemed to be pleading with her, reminding her it belonged right where it was, in her hands. Mimi suddenly felt powerful, like she could do anything; still, she much preferred to run than to fight. She wasn’t about to break that philosophy by getting in a fight now, a fight she wasn’t one hundred percent sure she’d survive from.

  “This is so not a normal book,” she muttered to herself when the warmth did not fade. Pivoting quickly, Mimi broke into a run.

  She didn’t look back to watch them running after her. There was a zwooop sound as a laser was fired, just missing her ear. She didn’t know if that meant they had really bad aim or if they were giving her a warning shot.

  Tears welled in Mimi’s eyes as holes were blasted in the library walls. The gunmen were going to cause destruction to her favorite library in the world. She would never be able to live with herself if she was the reason it suffered damage. She couldn’t let that happen. Like those twin stone lions, she wanted to be a savior of the library.

  “Help me!” Mimi yelled at the book still clutched in her hands. It was silly, but this night had been anything but normal.


  Without warning, a golden bubble sprouted from the book and began to circle around her. Her mouth dropped open in amazement. As the shimmering bubble finished forming, Mimi wondered if this was how her old pet hamster had felt whenever he rolled around in his plastic ball. She hoped she had a better fate than Hammy did the day a three-year-old Albert shoved Hammy out the window of their apartment on the twenty-ninth floor. Albert had sincerely thought hamsters could fly.

  The bubble shimmered and sparkled, glowed a bright yellow color, and produced soft warmth that instantly made Mimi feel safe. Safe like hugs from Grandma and Grandpa.

  She looked up and could tell the bubble didn’t shock the two chasing her. She wondered what they’d seen in their lives to not be startled by a golden bubble bursting from a book.

  The man was getting closer and closer.

  Concerned about popping the bubble if she moved, Mimi stood perfectly still. She would trust the book.

  Between the golden shimmers of the bubble Mimi could see the Captain firing the Photon Laser once more. His dark and angry eyes glared at Mimi. She felt hunted. The soft warmth of the book was the only thing keeping Mimi so calm. She must find a way to get home.

  She gasped as the red and yellow lasers from their gun twisted around the golden bubble. The lasers slowed down when they touched the bubble, as if someone had hit the pause button on a remote control that controlled time. Mimi leaned backward, her eyes following the laser scrapping the surface of the bubble. Above the bubble, she could see the famous ceiling of the Rose Main Reading Room that was painted with rose colored clouds and pristine blue skies. Her eyes followed the lasers bouncing off the bubble and ricocheting into the marble walls.

  Suddenly, a loud ticking erupted from the book, so loud she might have stepped inside a watch. Mimi worried her ears might pop from it.