Beyond Fear (Book 1 in The Element Wars) (Published on Amazon - Sample)

Chapter Forty-One - The Search For Truth

Lizzie had never seen so many books in her entire life, and as she stood in the centre of the library they had entered, circling in disbelief, she was suddenly reminded of a scene from her favourite kid’s film.

She had always loved the bit where the Beast threw back the curtains to reveal the towering bookshelves and had always hoped that one day she would be able to stand in a room just like that and now she was.

But this library was even better than she could have ever dreamed of.

She smiled to herself, looking around at the rows and rows of vast shelves, overflowing with hundreds of books in every shape and size imaginable.

There were giant ones, the size of Lizzie’s body, their pictures beautifully painted beneath hand crafted covers. Tiny miniature ones that needed a magnifying glass to read the small cramped writing. Hundreds of ancient looking scrolls, their edges faded and papery as if they would fall to pieces at any moment but this was only the beginning as Cass pointed out several sets of spiral staircases leading to private reading rooms, where the important books were kept for safety.

Cass had lead them to one of these rooms, where they’d found several worn chairs, and a large table, the walls around them stuffed once more with books and here they had begun the long task of finding any reference of the Isle of Simkus. 

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They spent days searching through book after book, examining texts and scrolls until Lizzie’s head buzzed and her body ached. Unable to bare it any longer she had left Lucas and Cass to their relentless task and decided to explore the castle instead.

The size of it still astounded her, the vast rooms and endless hallways filled with treasures more beautiful than she’d ever seen, even in the museums at home.

There were statues of dragons, humans and creatures she did not know: suits of armour, swords and weapons, jewellery and crowns; that glistened with gems of every colour and ornaments of every size and shape.

The walls were lined with paintings and tapestries, the unique details and colours dazzling as they depicted scenes and battles from historical events. Telling stories and tales of old, filled with heroes and quests, their vibrant colours filling Lizzie’s head with wonder.

She was fascinated with the history, researching the dragon royal family and the bloodlines. Learning all she could about their King, Aurencrest Goldenheart and the magic the dragons possessed and even though she knew she should have been in the library helping Lucas, something about her task felt right; like she was meant to find something.

It was while she was seeking out information on the king that she found the passage. She wasn’t sure why she’d never seen it before because she had walked past it several times but for some reason this times as she passed the stone statue of the gargoyle, that stood guard, she caught a slight flicker of light and almost as if in a dream she automatically turned towards him.

Instead of finding a solid wall, she found herself standing in a long passageway lined with paintings, a soft orange glow lighting the way. Lizzie could feel the magic at once, a strong underlying current that coursed across her skin, a feeling of excitement growing inside her. She walked on carefully examining the details of each of the paintings, recognising most of the dragons and people in them; the images filling her head as she was transported into their world. The sounds and emotions were brought to life around her as she followed the passages as if in a trance until she found herself standing at the bottom of a small set of stairs.

She climbed them cautiously, unsure where they went and was surprised to find they lead to a large doorway; the heavy door closed tightly in its frame, hidden by a long velvet curtain.