Winston Academy Middle School: Year 1

Chapter Nine: A Family Secret

"So what you mean is this Vandal guy is evil and he's working with creatures of the dark side and he has existed for about three years?" I recalled.

"Yes, more or less," Kaiden agreed, "... one thing that is worrying though, is that the monsters invaded our school. That has NEVER happened in the history of the academy."

"The school has magical barriers that stop creatures of the dark side from entering. If they can break through, it's bad news. We've always been told that the academy is safe, which is one of the reasons why we weren't planning to tell you about -him-. But now it seems like those people are wrong." Amber shivered.

Wow.... life just got about three times as complicated. And I thought it was already more complex than it ever was before.

Since the attack sort of destroyed the right side of the academy, all lessons were cancelled until the damage was repaired. I decided to use that time to do more research. Michel was willing to help, so we left while the rest were asked to tend to the damage.

"Skyler, I think I found something..." Michel heaved a 10 cm thick volume of The Complete History of Hybrid Families, 20th Edition.

I scanned the outer cover and shook my head.

"This is the Ra-Re one. If I'm going to find out about my family, we need the Ro- one. Where did you find it?"

"It was lying on that table there." Michel pointed.

"I guess we can track the rest down. Do we have a computer system here?" I asked thoughtfully.

"Let's see. I don't actually know that."

After a good ten minutes of searching and not finding, we decided to take a little break.

"Honestly, does anything in this library know where The Complete History of Hybrid Families, 20th Edition is kept?" I grumbled in frustation.

Suddenly the book on the golden lectern flipped open loudly. It stopped on a spread of pages and started glowing.

I approached it with high alert, but then I realized that THAT'S the 'computer system' in this library. Pretty neat, if I say so myself.

"Ohh, it's over there!" I pointed to a tall bookshelf at the back of the library.

Michel and I walked over. To say 'tall' is a major understatement. The bookshelf is probably equal to a three-story building.

I'm certain that the whole bookshelf is filled with the same book, just different parts of it. There was A to Z, and each alphabet alone took an average of five books. Each book was 10 cm thick and 20 cm tall. No wonder they needed that gigantic bookshelf.

"Great. The Ro- book is on the 9th shelf. That's like, almost two times my height." I muttered.

"There's a ladder here." Michel pulled the sliding ladder along.

"Okay. You hold it and I go up?" I said.

I climbed the ladder, which wasn't too hard. My first problem though, is that I cannot seem to pull the book out without risking tumbling over.

"Try wolf form?" I advised myself.

With a little bit of claw work, I managed to lift the Ro- volume up. I slid one paw under it, then turned back human. I gave the book a yank- it popped out much easier.

"Michel, I got it! But how do I get down?"

"Good question. Throw it first?"

"Maybe on something soft though."

Michel piled sofa pillows on the floor. After he was finished he gave me an 'ok' sign.

The book landed with a small thud. Michel picked it up and brought it to one of the desks in the library. I carefully climbed downwards, then followed Michel to the desk.

"Okay, what do we have here?" Michel opened the first page.

"Wait. I'm grabbing the index first." I sprinted to the bookcase and back.

"Robert... Robfin... Robhall... Robin- getting closer - Robinson!" I sighed.

"Page 837 of the Rk-Ro book...," Michel flipped through our book, "found it!"

"The Robinsons were a well-known family of Werewolf Hybrids. They were the trusted protectors of our realm since they first joined in the early 18th century. Robinson warriors have fought in many, many wars against the dark side, the most famous was the Ravengale War of 1791." I read.

"Famous members of the family include Sir Warwrick Robinson, the general of the Good army in the Ravengale War, Dame Opal Robinson, also known as The Maiden Knight, and Tracey Robinson, the first Hybrid to make an alliance with dragons."

"Wow... your family really is something."

"Aw, Michel, but that's old history. I thought my family was nothing all my life." I shrugged.

"But the most famous, or should we say infamous, is Gristone Robinson. He was born in the mid-19th century. In his last year of high school at Winston Academy, he had an accident which unleashed an army of creatures from the dark side inside the school complex. Right after the accident he disappeared and was never seen again." I stopped to let that sink in. Is this the 'accident' that everybody is referring to?

"An eyewitness claimed that a possessing spirit was unleashed and possesed Gristone, but there aren't evidences that supported the claim. Meanwhile, the Robinsons, noble as ever, were ashamed of the trouble they caused. They swore to never dabble in their powers again. Now, the Robinsons live as normal humans, and nothing has been heard from them ever since." Michel took over.

"Until now." I corrected.

"Yup. Skyler, your family was never blamed for the accident, but you guys still withdrew. What is up with you guys?" Michel shoved me playfully.

"Don't know. But at least one mystery is solved." I answered.

"Sure is."