Zhandra reads the first sentence. "To see the truth, let the nectar flow." She looks at Gabe again. "Is the candy-flavored liquid you gave us earlier called nectar?" She demands, but Gabe remains silent. The tips of his lips turn down. "I am sure you can answer the question. It's not task-related."
It is Aristotle who answers. "My dear, he could have answered you if you would have asked him before you read the riddle. If he answers your question, that would be considered cheating."
Oh, right, you can't help unless we have solved the riddle." She recalls. The feeling of hopelessness intensifies. 'Even if the nectar is the drink we had earlier, we don't have any more of it.' Then she remembers that she had scooped some liquid into the jar while doing the earlier task. 'It smelled felt the same as the one Gabe had given us. Could they be the same? But Gabe didn't say anything about it when we were about to enter the book. Could it be that Gabe himself doesn't know of its existence in the Dwelling of the Dark?' She wonders, and keeping her eyes on Gabe, takes out the small jar from her pocket.
At first, Gabe doesn't react, but when Zhandra opens the cork and takes a drop of the liquid on her finger, the fairy's eyes almost pop out of their sockets. "That's the-"
Aristotle coughs. Loudly.
Gabe shuts up right away and averts his gaze. Then, slowly looking up at the now angry face on the book, he mouths an apology.
Aristotle puffs his cheeks and gives his companion a condescending look.
'So it probably is the same thing we drank.' Zhandra concludes. 'The previous riddle referred to it as nectar, so, it is possible that this time too, this liquid is the nectar that the riddle is talking about.' She closes the jar and returns it to her pocket. "What could let it flow mean?" She voices her thoughts more to herself than the other three occupants of the room. But even after giving it a lot of thought, nothing comes to her mind.
It is the soft sounds of her brother's snore that bring her back to the present. She shakes her head when her eyes fall on the tiny sleeping form. "Of course, he fell asleep. It is way past his bedtime." Zhandra tells Gabe, who subconsciously looks at his pocket watch. When the siblings had returned home after finishing the second task, it was already past ten pm (time moved at different speeds in Dwelling of the dark and human realm). So, just fifteen minutes in there meant two hours in human time.
Zhandra had been trying to solve the riddle for almost an hour now. It was eleven. They just had an hour before the gates to the fairyland would close on Gabe and Aristotle forever, and Zhandra was still stuck on making sense of the third riddle.
For the first time, she feels like they would fail Gabe and Aristotle. She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. It is at this point that she remembers the promise she had made to her daddy.
"Oh-O." She facepalms and goes to Alex. "Hey, Alex. Wake up. You haven't brushed and changed yet." She shakes his shoulders, and the boy groans softly. "No, I will not give you my crayons. You have taken enough."
"Alex?" Zhandra calls again and turns the sleepy boy to face her. "Wake up. I will help you, alright."
"Not giving it. Mine." Alex continues to talk in his sleep. "Go back under the bed." He mutters irritably and turns his face away once more.
Seeing her brother's resolve not to wake up, the older accepts defeat. "Daddy is going to be so upset with me." She whines and slides down the foot of the bed.
Just as Zhandra is about to give up and accept that she had indeed failed Gabe and Aristotle, she feels something wet and sticking seeping through her shorts.
"Oh. Nooooo!" She yelps and thrusts her and into her pocket. They come out sticky. "WHYYYYYYY?" She drags in frustration. She looks at the tiny jar that had emptied half its contents into the pocket of her shorts. Immediately, she fixes her mistake by sealing it properly and is about to stand and dust her now ruined shorts when a rancid stench assaults her.
"Eeeewwwww!" She pinches her nose. "What's this stink!? Where is it coming from!?" She questions in a nasal voice.
Gabe gasps. "Oh, dear!" He exclaims, "Impossible... How come-" He trails off.
"Must hide!" Aristotle says in an urgent whisper before vanishing from the opened page of his book.
The reactions don't go unnoticed by Zhandra. It is precisely at this moment that Alex suddenly sits up and looks at Zhandra. Tears roll down his cheeks. He jumps down from his bed. "Zhan, he took it. He took all of it." He wails, throwing his arms around his sister.
"Hey, I am right here. And daddy is next door." She reassures, wrapping her brother in a warm embrace. "I won't let anything hurt you, alright?" She promises, stroking the back of his head. "Now that you are up, If you want, I can help you brush and change." She offers, leaning away and smiling at him.
Alex nods slowly and is about to leave his sister's lap when his eyes fall on something on the floor. It is green and glowing. He yelps and scrambles a few feet away. "Get away from there, Zhan. It's the monster." He pleads his sister with big scared eyes.
She falls on all fours and looks at the place Alex had pointed out seconds ago. "What is scaring you, Alex? There is nothing under your bed. She pinches her nose as the stench washes over her.
Alex shakes his head vigorously. "No, there is. There is a monster under my bed. He is the one who has been stealing my crayons!" He replies and starts pulling Zhandra away, stopping her from bending over to take a closer look under the bed.
Meanwhile, Gabe crawls to the edge of the bed and tries to catch a glimpse of the commotion. The first thing he sees is a blob of green slime. It is unmistakably the residue of the creatures that had once threatened them as well as human beings. But that was almost a millennia ago. After the Washi War between the fairies and Demasters, The Lady had made sure that they won't be able to bother humans again. Even Gabe, a senior-level fairy ( who prided himself about knowing everything that there was to know about the happenings of all three realms, both official and unofficial), had not heard anything about the Demasters entering the human world. So how was it that there was green slime under Alex's bed? What was more concerning was the fact that the said slime looked fresh.
Alarm bells go off in Gabe's mind. "Get away from there!" He commands, startling the kids.
Alex lets go of his sister's arm and turns to the celestial being. His lips quiver; tears start rolling down his cheeks. "It's the monster. It's green and blue. Its eyes are yellow. Gabe, tell Zhan that I am not making it up." He cries, making his voice crack.
Zhandra doesn't move. She, however, narrows her eyes at Gabe. "You know what's in there, don't you?"
Gabe doesn't answer. Ignoring Zhandra's question, he gestures them to come over.
Alex looks at Zhandra questioningly, and when she nods, he leaves her side and goes over to Gabe.
The wheels in the girl's mind start turning. She recalls the second line of the riddle. 'It will show what is hiding in plain sight; the path will glow.' Her gaze lands on Gabe, who looks scared. Beads of sweat dot his forehead.
'He is still refusing to answer my question. Is he scared that if he answers, the oath we have taken will break? If that's the case, then that means that what Alex is seeing has something to do with the riddle.' She pulls out the jar, and on a whim, takes a tiny sip of it. She expects Gabe to say something, but he doesn't; his eyes, however, widen.
She instantly realizes that it has the same candy flavor as the one Gabe had offered them. 'I was right; this is nectar.' She thinks, feeling triumphant, and once again bends down to look under the bed.
What she sees shocks her. She gasps and staggers back. "That's... that's... " She shakes her head and rubs her eyes before looking again. The thing under the bed is exactly like her brother had described moments ago.
"You see it too, don't you, Zhan. I wasn't lying." Alex states in a slightly offended tone.
Zhandra nods without looking at her brother and continues to observe the creature. Yes, it was every bit like Alex had described, but what catches Zhandra's attention is the way it had not moved at all since she had spotted it. In fact, sitting (or perhaps it was lying down, Zhandra wasn't sure) at the leg of Alex's bed, it looked strangely vulnerable and defenseless. The look in the yellow eyes was all too familiar as well. It was fear. Her eyes wander the area surrounding the creature. 'It's a little bit taller than Gabe, but it's much wider than him.' Zhandra inches closer to have a better look, and the creature shrinks back and closes its eyes. Gentle tremors rock its body.
The act makes Zhandra stop moving. She moves back and watches the creature relax a little.
"Zhan, get away from it," Alex calls. His voice is shrill and scared.
"Alex, if it wanted to hurt me, it would have done it already." She replies, then putting her hand out, she demands. "Get me the flashlight from the bedside."
"Why?"
"It's too dark. I want to take a closer look at it."
"Why?" Alex presses on. He doesn't understand why his sister was not listening to him.
"Just give it to me, Alex." Zhandra sighs exasperatedly.
"Fine." Alex pouts while handing Zhandra the flashlight. She fails to notice the displeasure on his face, though.
Switching it on, Zhandra dims it to avoid startling the creature and focuses the beam of light on it. Despite her best intentions, it jumps back, hits its head on the top of the bed, and winces (at least, that's what Zhandra concludes for the sound that leaves it is somewhere between a giggle and a yelp).
"Hey," She whispers. "I won't hurt you...none of us will. But you have to promise that you won't hurt us either." She pauses and switches off the flashlight. "Can you understand me?"
The creature nods slowly, hesitantly.
"I think it will be for the best if you would come out from under the bed," Zhandra suggests, sliding further away, giving the creature some space.
"Zhhhhhaaan! I am scared. Can we call daddy, please?" Alex pleads.
"Alex!" Zhandra snaps. "Why are you scared? Gabe, Aristotle, and I are there for you, and so is daddy. But this- it has no one. And did you take a good look at it? I think it's scared of us." She says in a stern voice; a look of surprise fleets across the boy's tear-stained face.
"If you don't believe me, have a look at it yourself." Zhandra challenges.
Alex tilts his head. His brows draw closer in concentration. He knew that his sister is smart and thus would never put him in danger. "Alright." He says and joins Zhandra on the floor.
Almost immediately, fears melt away, for when he looks at the creature rubbing the back of its head and pouting.
The view makes Alex giggle, making Zhandra glares at him. "That's rude, Alex."
Hearing Zhandra's words, the creature stops rubbing his head and looks up at them.
"Can you please come out?" Zhandra repeats her request.
Unexpectedly, the creature bobs its head. A few slimy drops of liquid fall on the floor in front of him. "En. En!" It shakes its head as if disappointed with itself. Then slowly, inch by inch, it starts slithering closer to Zhandra, who starts backing up slowly. She gestures Alex to leave her side, and he does as asked. Anticipation and excitement make themselves known on his countenance.
As the creature starts moving, Zhandra recalls the next part of the riddle. "Friend or enemy, you decide. Show me your heart, to know the last task." She smiles, and her gaze comes to rest on Gabe. "I know what the task is about, Gabe!" She announces happily.
{Chapter Word count: 2128;
Word count so far: 20329}