N I N E
Riddle Boy

THE EVOLUTION OF the scenery around us was beautiful. Colors melted into one another, displaying a rainbow of visuals before the scene before us finally reoriented back to the front doors of the large castle where the four brothers, and now Minnie and I, reside.

Fabian dropped his hold on Dimitri and Minnie's hands as if they were hot rocks, quickly stepping away from them and towards the door. We all watched as he pushed the large doors open, storming inside without another word.

"What is up with him?" I asked with a slight snort, shaking my head in disbelief. "I think the only thing that is truly temperamental is Fabian himself."

"Preach it, sister." With both her hands in the air, Minnie laughed.

Shaking his head, Dimitri tried hard to smother his own laughter before rolling his eyes with false sternness. "Come on. Time is an enemy and it is also something that is very hard to catch up with."

"Calm down there, Mr. Uptight." Following after Dimitri's increasing footsteps, I hurried along the steps as the three of us curved hallways after another. "What happened to the fun version of you?"

He did not stop walking, simply glancing back for a few seconds with a mysterious glint in his eyes. A smile appeared on his face -- though it was more of a smirk -- before he turned back to face where he was headed to.

"People change, Andy. Besides, I've learned that nothing is ever constant when you are around."

Not knowing whether I should take that as a compliment or an insult, I simply shrugged. "At least I can easily say that I keep things interesting at all times."

When we had finally arrived at whichever room Dimitri had decided to head to, the other brothers were already present and seated, each with a frown on their features. It was then had I noticed that the room was the first room in which I had been in when I first arrived in the castle. It looked slightly different than how I remembered to be, but it still functioned as what it should, a fancy over-extravagant sitting room.

"You sure took your time," Fabian grumbled under his breath, hands holding up a glass of golden whiskey before he chugged it down as if it were nothing more than smooth ice water. "Not that you have an eternity of it."

"Fabian, do not start this again." Calvin placed two of his fingers and rested them on his temple, rubbing his head as he groaned with annoyance. "We do not need this."

Snapping his mouth shut, Fabian leaned back into his seat, the frown not quite leaving his features nevertheless. He placed the now empty glass onto the coffee table, slouching in his seat as boredom radiated off of him.

Seeing that Fabian was now more subdued than not, Calvin turned his attention over to us, sitting up just a little straighter. "Minerva, why don't you go and take a walk around the castle grounds instead? I'm sure that today was already rather eventful. We don't want to tire you out, now, do we?"

I knew that tactic way too well. Calvin was trying to push Minnie away, place her somewhere else so that she would not be included in our discussion. A feeling of indignant overwhelmed me, my eyebrows furrowed as my lips parted, ready to speak in her defense. I was not about to allow my best friend, another useful mind that could help us with the problem at hand, be pushed away and cast aside as if she was not worthy enough to be entrusted a vital piece of information.

Before I could even place in a word, however, Minnie placed a single hand on my shoulder, shaking her head lightly.

"It's okay, Addison. I know when I am not wanted here," she whispered softly under her breath, ensuring that only I could hear her. Though how effective that was, I do not know for the four brothers surely had heightened abilities that came along with their magical abilities. "I'll be in my room if you need me. We did wake up rather early this morning and I am already feeling pretty worn out. I'll see you guys later."

Just like that, Minnie was out of the room, the doors shutting softly behind her as her footsteps trailed off into oblivion. When I was sure that she was no longer in hearing range, I frowned, anger still fuming.

"Why did you send Minnie away? She could've offered some helpful information that could assist us in regards to finding the book. And everyone damn well knows that we need it."

"Your friend would be of no help, Addison," said Wilhelm. "She is a mortal and we're in a domain she is not familiar with. There is no possible way in which she could have known more than us."

"Besides," Calvin added, "the lesser she knows, the safer she will be. Do not forget that it was Lucius that had her brought down and out of the mortal realm in the first place. He might have done something to her that we do not know of."

"So you're saying that you think Minnie would betray me?" I was in disbelief. "Then why did you let her help me this morning? Why was she allowed on the trip?"

"Addison, Calvin did not mean offense. It is just that it would be better for her to know less. Information is a deadly heavy burden sometimes."

When I turned around to face the speaker, I realized that Dimitri had moved closer. He was barely inches away from me, just what felt like a hair's breadth away. His molten silver eyes seemingly carved into my very soul, staring them down. For just a split second, I thought I saw those beautiful eyes glance down at my lips before they were back, staring at me dead in the eye. I swallowed the bile in my throat.

"Fine." Walking away as fast as possible without turning back, I dropped myself onto one of the couches, pulling a throw pillow towards my chest, hugging it tightly. "So I guess we have to fill you two in on what happened back in Lucifer's lair?" I targeted the question at Calvin and Wilhelm.

"There is no need for that, Addison. Fabian had already filled us in on the details."

"And also the fact that Lucifer had escaped his prison," Wilhelm growled with anger. "That son of a bitch. It's going to take us a long time to capture him back. And now with Addison's fate on our hands as well, we might as well just start digging our own graves in preparation for doomsday."

"Oh, don't be overdramatic, brother." With all the casualness of the world, Dimitri poured himself a new glass of whiskey, refilling Fabian's cup just as well before placing the bottle down. "We will handle this one at a time. First, help Addison, and then put Lucifer back in his place."

"You say that like it is easy. And I meant both tasks." I snorted, rolling my eyes.

"So, Fabian mentioned that a certain past life had shown up back in the lair?" Calvin asked, clapping his hands together to garner our attention. "Who is this girl?"

"Lola. She sounds like a child, to be quite frank with you. She was speaking in riddles about how the book is hidden in the old world and that she is the old world." I groaned in desperation, throwing my hands up into the air before burying my face in them.

"She also said that Addison was the only one that could access this old world that she speaks of," Dimitri added. "Any idea what that might mean?"

"It's not that simple, Dimitri. We have to figure out what even is the old world first and foremost. Then how do we access it."

"This is impossible," Dimitri groaned.

"Don't be dejected, Dimitri. After all, you are dubbed as the riddle boy." A rare time it was, Fabian cracked a smile.

"Guys, if Lola is the old world, and she is dead, she's in my past. She is technically old and belongs to nothing more than just a memory now." I stood up, a metaphorical light bulb shining brightly over my head as pieces of a puzzle started to slot themselves in perfectly. "She belongs in the makeshift world of my memories and only I can access my past lives and get them to come out. They appear through my body. That's it!"

"Am I the only one being absolutely lost here?" Wilhelm asked, to which Calvin raised his hand to smack him behind the head.

"Please, Addison, do explain what you are getting at." Shooting Wilhelm a glare, Calvin turned over to look at me in the eye. I could feel the attention of the four brothers burning into my flesh. Being quite literally translucent made me feel even more transparent to them. It was as if they were trying to stare into my very soul and my mind.

"Lola, Ida, my past lives. They are the old world. My old world. Hence to access it, I would have to be able to access my own past lives and go inside my mind to talk to them. All of them."

Realizing just how crazy I sounded, I paused. My eyes turned over to Dimitri. His own pupils were staring at me, examining each of my movements and pondering over my words. It seemed as though he was lost in his own thought. I cleared my throat once before following that with a question.

"Is that possible? To go into my own mind and look for my past lives?" I asked.

"It is not impossible..." Dimitri trailed off.

"But it is definitely unheard of," Fabian continued for him. "To go into the history of your lives would need a very powerful medium to help you through it. And even with that, the risks are high. There are chances that you will never return and instead, one of your past lives will instead and take your place."

Immediately, a thought flew through my mind. I could almost bet that I had heard Fabian those words with a hint of longing. As if he were actually praying that I would get lost in the labyrinth of my mind and hopefully let Ida get a chance to take my place. Despite that fact, I did not voice out my thoughts. There needn't be more conflict between the group of us.

"Addison is already considered dead. The magic and strength needed to pull her through could be gathered by the four of us easily." Calvin thought out loud.

"I can't. I used most of my strength to help bring Addison back. My powers will take a good few days to heal from that." Dimitri sighed in frustration, a single hand tearing through his hair, making an absolute mess of it. "We need to find something else."

"There is a labyrinth built beneath the earth where the castle now stands, many years ago. Lucifer used these tunnels once, before the castle was even built above it, to practice and build his strength and power. Maybe that magic still lingers to this day." Wilhelm pointed out, a small hope-filled smile shaping his lips.

Abruptly, he stood up and crossed the room to where a large bookshelf was located. He pulled at the glass doors and withdrew a single piece of inked parchment. It was only when he neared had I noticed that the piece of parchment had drawings and small labels all around it. It was a map of Hell itself.

"The labyrinth leads to the heart of Hell. The dead center of it. We just have to go through the tunnels and get there. Even if Lucifer's magic no longer lingers, this heart still owns the life source of this domain. You will be able to find help there easily just from the location."

My heart was pounding rapidly in my chest and I could already feel my hands starting to get clammy in the palms. Fear and nerves were already starting to overtake me. What if my guess was wrong? What if the book is not in the old world. What if the answer to it is not there as well? Many things could go wrong, with the worst being the fall of Hell and all of the afterlife.

It all comes down to these few days. I just have to pull through and we will make it.

Taking a deep breath to steady my rapidly pounding heart, I braved a smile. "So, when do we go?"

This chapter is dedicated to @the-average-gatsby. Your comments are really entertaining. :') Happy birthday!

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Until next time. ❤