Arcane Academy

.09

"I'll never get over that trick," Aster said with a big grin, obviously impressed with the fancy white angel light. Elio rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to the room. The three boys stood there, stumped, not sure how to handle this. The room had no nooks and crannies, there was nowhere to duck and hide. If Azrael wasnt there in plain sight, then he wasn't in this room at all. Aster let out a sigh as he moved to push the curtains on the windows aside to check - ya know, just in case - and came up empty. He turned back to the others with a frown. "Perhaps the library, then?"

Elio nodded and turned toward the exit, pausing only to flick the lights off. Arlo and Aster followed on his heels. Elio drew the door open and immediately stumbled backward into Arlo and Aster, letting out a yelp of surprise upon seeing a figure on the opposite side of the door. Arlo caught Elio and straightened him back up as he observed their new arrival: the girl from the party.

"Sorry! I didn't mean to startle you," she said, blush creeping up to her cheeks and settling along her skin, down her neck and across her shoulders. He had never seen anyone blush quite as severely as this girl - he had read about such kinds of blush in books, pointless romance novels he had stumbled across - though, he didn't quite believe someone could blush in that way.

"What are you doing here?" Elio asked in exasperation, huffing as he straightened out his clothing and ran a hand through his fine curls. "I mean - sorry, you just scared the Heavens out of me!"

"I - I figured I could come help you search for the boy... Azrael?" She asked at the end, sounding unsure. Aster nodded beside then to assure her that she was correct.

"Valerie, right?" Aster asked.

"Valentine. You can just call me Val, though." She said with a quick nod and then she stepped aside to let them past her. She peeked behind them with curious eyes. "No luck there?"

Arlo found himself shaking his head as he moved out the door and stopped beside Val, looking her over carefully. The girl had thick, reddish brown curls that fell past her shoulders and settled close around her hips. When she tucked her hair behind her ears, he saw her ears come up in a sharp point. An Elf. "He didn't come here. We were going to try the library next."

"What about the other study areas?" Aster asked as he joined the two, then turned to start down the stairs behind Elio who glanced back at them and slowed when he realized the others were not directly behind him. Arlo gestured for Val to follow and joined the others on the stairs. The group made their way down the stairs and started through the darkness toward the library, their shoes clapping against the dark cobblestones as they went. The air was thick with worry and the night air was chilly with a breeze. The stars above them shone beautifully, almost as if there was nothing wrong that night. The stars didn't seem to care that things were amiss. They had their own duties to attend to that didn't involve a wild goose chase.

"I suppose we will have to check those places after the library?" Elio suggested questioningly.

"Sounds like an okay plan to me," Arlo said as the group found their way onto the stairs of the library. They climbed up and stopped in front of the door, Aster giving the doors a push and pausing when they didn't budge. He turned, eyebrows raised, to his group of friends. Elio frowned, knowing he had no way to open the doors. Valentine shook her head and then all eyes fell on Arlo who let out a sigh.

"I don't have the keys," he murmured.

"But, don't you have, like, magic?" Elio's eyes brightened as he said this, as if this were the most fascinating thing to an angel.

"Wait, if the doors are locked, doesn't that mean Azrael couldn't get in either?" Valentine suggested as she looked between the three boys.

"She has a point." Aster said.