Lord Moderob led me to a bench in a secluded area of the park (it was not hard-there was no one there anyway) and gestured for me to sit down. I did so, and looked at him expectantly, crossing my arms as I did so.

"I'm all ears. Make it quick though- I've got to be home by six."

He sat down next to me, and laced his gloved hands, reminding me a bit of an evil accountant in a cloak. "Because the last person I talked to asked around five hundred questions, I will not permit you to question anything I say until I am done. Or else I will not answer any questions you have."

I shrugged and made a mental note to keep my trap shut. "Fine by me."

He paused, before saying, "What I am about to tell you is completely classified. Dare to tell anyone, and the consequences will be dire."

I nodded, a sudden uneasiness gripping me.

He carried on. "I have been told you have lived here your entire life. Therefore, I am assuming you know about the myths that lie here. Are you?"

I nodded again.

"You might think you know a lot already, but you must find out as much as possible about them. Read, ask people, do whatever you can. But make sure nobody know what you are doing. As your kind say: Kapeesh?"

I paused. Here was a guy I had no idea about, being all mysterious and telling me to do a bunch of random things. Oh, and of course the appearing aout of nowhere. I did not care how important or clever he was- that guy was definitely bringing up a bunch of red flags.

"Yes." I said in the end, and Lord Moderob nodded in appreciation.

"And there is one more thing- do not, under any circumtances, trust the Nalders. Or anyone in my world, for that matter. No matter what happens, no one is to be trusted. Remember that."

I almost asked him a question, but bit back my words almost a moment too late. Instead, I nodded and shrugged. "Sure."

"Good. Now, any questions? I shall allow a maximum of five, to save what happened last time."

I thought for a few moments, mentally listing the questions from most important to least important. "Who -or what- do you work for?"

I could not see his face, but I had a feeling he winced. "Well, I can not answer now, for it is hard to say, but in due time that will be answered."

I raise my eyebrows. "Seriously? You tell me to ask questions, and you won't even answer them? Scammer."

"I promise I will answer all your other four questions. I swear it on the scripts of Alamantea."

What was that? You know what: I did not even want to know. Who cared, as long as I got my questions answered?

"Okay, next question: who was the other person you appeared to? You kept mentioning then but you never actually told me who they were."

He paused, before saying softly, "I am surprised you are asking this, Benedict."

I cringed slightly as he used my full name- I hated it. "Why?"

"Because you have already met them. Today in fact."

This took me by surprise. "When have I...?" 

And then I realised what he was talking about. Apart from Mrs Lancaster (but she does not really count as a human), the only person I had something to do with was that girl in the woods, the one who probably thought I was stalking her.

"Oh." I said simply. This was going to be awkward if we ended up talking to each other.

He nodded grimly. "Yes. That girl is most annoying."

A small smirk tugged at my lips. "How annoying? Oh wait- don't answer that. I have better questions. Okay, next one: are you even human?"

To my surprise,  Lord Moderob flinched, a if uncomfortable by what I had said. "Well, it is a long story. I was cursed by... someone... to be half-demon, half-human and half-dragon. It is one of the reasons I wear this hood. My face is... horrifying, I have been told." He seemed a touch sad.

"Well I bet whoever told you that is uglier themselves." I retorted. 

Lord Moderob seemed like a nice guy, and his face probably was not that bad. I had seen the girls at school doing their make-up routine when they thought the classroom was empty, and compared to that, the most bad-looking person on Earth looked like a bunny. And before you ask, I am not a stalker. I was just trying to find my book, okay?

Lord Moderob chuckled. "If you ever meet them, for your own safety do not say it to their face."

I shrugged. " Can't promise anything. Anyway, how many questions have I got left?" I paused for a moment. "Oh yeah- fourth question. Did you know your name is Boredom spelt backwards?"

Although I could not see his face, I had a feeling he blushed slightly. "The girl asked that as well. I did not choose my name- bear that in mind."

"Right. Sorry. Anyways.... last question. Umm... err..... when will we meet again?" I asked, hoping he would actually answer this one properly.

I guess you know what happened next. Of course, answer only led to more questions. "When the time is right, and when the clocks are covered, we will meet again."

I resisted the urge to scream in frustration and looked him in what I thought was his eye. "Okay. So, umm..... goodbye, I guess."

Lord Moderob stood up. "Before I go, I must give you this."

With a flash of blue light, something appeared in his hand and he held it out to me. It was a coin, but not a modern one- it had wierd writing on one side, and some sort of ancient letter on the other. Oh, and it was white. Not silver or bronze like most coins- just plain white.

I took it and held it awkwardly in my hand for a few moments. "Err... thanks?

"You may not think it now, but it will prove to be vital in the next few days, or even weeks."

I nodded slowly, and pocketed the coin. "Okay..."

Lord Moderob stepped away from me. "Farewell, young warrior, and may your spirit go far." And with that, he vanished into thin air and the atmosphere turned normal, as if nothing had ever happened.

A dozen question racing in my mind, I picked up my bag and began the journey home.

☆☆☆

Although barely any people knew it, being alone (permanently) actually had quite a few perks. With no one to talk to, I was free to explore and mess around to my heart's content.

In just two years, I had figured every possible way to get in and out of this area, every single person's habits and daily routines (it's not stalking, before you ask- it is observing and reflecting) as well as all the secret routes, and trust me- there are a lot.

Today I chose a slightly more conspicious way to get home. Maybe it was Lord Moderob, or what he had said, but everything seemed a whole lot more creepier than usual. The sun was nearing the horizon when I heard a mocking voice behind me.

"Well, it's been a while, hasn't it, Bookboy?"

I stifled a groan and turned around. "What do you want, Matt?"

This was exactly what I meant when I said I likes being alone. Using a visible route meant more people woyld notice me, and of course I had the luck (or lack of it) to run into my least favourite person on the planet: Matt Freedman.

At a measly five feet (basically around my height), he did not pose much of a threat. Until you got to know him, that is. For four years, he had done everything in his power to make my life a living hell. Ripped library books (a true crime of the century), drenched bags and flying rubbers (I had gotten bruises everywhere at this point) were just a small part of his favourite hobby.

His freckled face broke out into a slightly maniacal grin. "You know what I want."

I raised an eyebrow, and crossed my arms. "Speak. What do you want?"

Suddenly, he lashed out with his meaty-but-strong hands and hit me in the stomach, causing me to double over in pain. Still trying to spite him, I managed a smile. "Wow. Who tought you that? Just saying, taking lessons from a toddler probably doesn't make you as strong as you'd like to think."

In response, he growled and took my bag before I could stop him (for your information, I was still dying). "So what you got in your bag, Bookboy?"

When I could, I straightened and shrugged. "I dunno. What do people usually have in bags? You tell me."

He ignored me and began to rummage through my bag. "Let's see... a book- boring. Another book- boring. Another book- boring. Why do you always read? It's stupid."

I rolled my eyes and mock-smiled at him. "Just because you can't do something, doesn't mean you have to hate it."

Suddenly, his face lit up. Oh no. He brought out a piece of folded paper and laughed. "Ooh, what's this? A love-letter?"

And then I realised what it was. In his hands was something I had not looked at in days- the letter my mom had supposedly written to my dad a few years back. She had left when I was a one-year-old and hadn't returned since, but she had sent a letter trying (in vain) to explain her absense. If Matt read that, all kinds of bad things would happen.

"Give that back!" I blurted and darted forwards to snatch it, but he pushed me away with his free hand.

He began to unfold it, and just as he was about to start reading it (I was shocked he could read too) I launched myself as hard as I could into his chest, the force pulling us both to the ground. In a mad struggly, I wrneched it out of his hands and jumped off him, dusting myself off as if nothing had happened.

Quuckly, I stuffed the paper into my pocket, grabbed my bag and began to run as fast as my feet would take me, leaving the cursing Matt behind.