Lily Wong Ch. 11

Chapter 11

The Alarm

"What are your orders, my new master?" said an old man's voice that seemed to come out of nowhere from the ceiling.

Lily looked up. "New master? That means me, right?"

"That has to be what it means!" Viv shouted. "You did it, Lily! We won!"

They had won. Lily had won. But after all that trouble, she almost could not believe it. Some part of her was afraid it was all some kind of daydream or illusion.

But as her friends' cheers continued while nothing else happened, Lily became convinced that this was no daydream, she was awake, and victory was hers.

"I won," she muttered. "I really did it. Oh, thank goodness!"

Relief washed over Lily and her legs turned to jelly. Unable to stand, she collapsed down, sat on the floor, and sighed while looking up dazed. But then the blue parrot flew over and landed on top of the crystal ball.

Immediately awake again, Lily sprang back up and growled, "What? Still want some more?"

The parrot, however, shook its head and replied, "No, I've had enough. Congratulations, child. Both victory and the workshop is yours, for now. Until next time, Lady Sapphire."

And then the parrot took off and flew out, going straight through the brick wall where the exit should be and disappeared.

After a while of staring at the wall, Eddie broke silence and said, "So, the bird can go through walls like a ghost. Figures."

"It's getting late," said Oliver. "We should get going too."

"Agreed," said Eris. "But before that, aren't we forgetting something."

The gang looked at one another.

"Oh, right," said George. "We need to get our faces back."

"That is important," said Viv.

Lily looked at them all in disbelief. "Seriously? You guys forgot about your own faces?"

"Can you blame us?" said Oliver. "It was kind of hard to keep track with all the crazy Wonderland stuff going on. Anyway, do you mind, Lily?"

"Sure, no problem," said Lily. "So uh, you heard the man, Workshop. Here's my first order: give back all the faces those books stole."

"Understood. I will have the books return the faces they stole."

For some reason, the workshop replaced its old man's voice with Lily's own. It kind of unnerved the real deal, hearing her own voice spoken back to her in a robotic, unfeeling way.

While one by one, the gang got their faces back from the flying books, Lily took a look around her new workshop. Now that she got a better look of the place, it kind of reminded her of a classroom. Especially, the tables and that chalkboard. It was easy to imagine children in colorful robes sitting on those benches, writing notes on those tables while an old dude with a long, white beard and pointed hat gave a lecture by the chalkboard.

And Lily wasn't the only one to think that way.

"Curious, isn't it?" said Oliver as he joined Lily to watch a pair of books hook the banner back up on the wall over the crystal ball. 

On the banner, stitched in gold, was a shield with the picture of a bird's head on it. Beneath the shield was a ribbon (or maybe parchment), curled at the two ends, with words on it that read - 

"Gloria per sapientiam. That means 'Glory through wisdom' in Latin," Oliver said. "And it's the school's motto. That picture's also part of the school's emblem. Well, more accurately, they're the motto and emblem of the Bluestone family who started and owns the school."

"Wait, isn't our school's director a member of the Bluestone family?" asked Lily.

"Well, his name is Bluestone too, after all," said Oliver. "I would think that was obvious."

Lily scowled, thinking the teen detective was being snarky with her. But she moved on and asked, "Then does that mean Director Bluestone is behind all this? That he's the Schemer?"

Oliver shrugged and said, "That's where the clues seem to point. But the school's a big place and has a lot of people in it. I think we're going to need to dig deeper before we can start pointing fingers at anyone."

"Well, no time like the present, right?" said Lily.

Oliver tapped his chin and went, "Hmm. Tempting, but no. It's almost curfew time, and that's when the guards start their patrols. And I don't have to tell you how much trouble we'll be in if they catch us coming out of the library so late."

"Good point," said Lily. And then she turned and called out, "Hey! You guys all got your faces back?"

"Yep!" answered George. "We're good to go!"

But then Alejandro shouted, "Hold on! What about Hassan and Melody's faces? We haven't gotten those back yet."

"Oh yeah," went George. "Where are they, anyway?"

"Let me ask," Lily said. And then she turned her eyes to the ceiling and called out, "Hey, we still need to give back two faces. Can I have the books that got them?"

"Certainly, Mistress," said the workshop. 

And then two books flew over to her and landed onto her hands. One was a big blue book with a four-digit number printed on the front in big, gold font. The other was a small green journal.

Turning to the library helpers, Lily asked them, "You wanna take these?"

The library helpers exchanged looks, and then Alejandro replied, "I think we're good. You guys can do the honors. There's no telling what'll happen if we touch them."

"Still, I am curious what those books actually are," said Erin.

"Well, one of them looks like a yearbook," Lily said, flipping the books over in her hands. "It's got the school emblem on it and the year that it was probably printed. We already know that the one Melody found is a journal, though I don't see a name on the cover."

"Here, let me take a look," Oliver volunteered. 

"You sure about that?" Lily asked.

"Well, I think it's safe if you hand it to me," Oliver said. "You are it's owner right now. And it's not like I'm trying to steal it."

"But there's a face inside it," Lily pointed out. "And if I remember correctly, it screams."

"Can't be worse than the horror movies I watched," Oliver said.

Lily finally gave in, shrugged, and said, "Suit yourself."

She handed Oliver the book and he quickly flipped it open from the back cover.

"Oh! Found a name," he said. "It looks like this journal belongs to one Mary Ann Duskbell."

At the same time,, Viv and Eddie yelled, "What!?" Their eyeballs popped out in surprise.

"Did you just say Mary Ann Duskbell?" said Viv. "Seriously?"

Taken aback, Oliver leaned away from the Waller twins and replied, "Yes. That's what I saw written on the bottom corner of the very last page. Why? Is she someone you know?"

"Someone we know?" said Eddie. "She's-!"

DOOT! DOOT! DOOT!

Just before Eddie could explain what got him and his sister so frazzled, alarm sounds exploded out of everyone's phones.

Lily reached into her pocket for hers, but Oliver was first to see the message that everyone got.

"Oh no!" he shouted. "We need to get out of here! Now! A teacher's coming. And he's got a banjo!"

The others looked at him funny.

"Who walks around the school at night with a banjo?" Lily asked. And then she turned away, rubbed her eyes and said, "Never mind. I know who."

"Forget about the banjo," said Viv. "If that message is telling the truth and a teacher is coming, then wouldn't it be better to wait down here until he leaves?"

"No, Oliver is right," said Alejandro. "The library's got heavy security because of the super old and super expensive books here. That includes motion sensors. They're off now, but you can bet the teacher will turn them back on after he takes a look around."

"The exit of this workshop leads smack dab in the middle of the library," said Erin. "If we go out after the sensors are turned on -"

"- the place'll get flooded with guards faster than you can say hocus pocus," George finished. "And, of course, we get in trouble."

"Staying the night here is also not an option," said Oliver. "Our I.D. cards keep track of where we've been and when. The school's computers will show if we don't clock in to our dorms before curfew and tell the teachers that we're outside when we're not supposed to be."

"Then what are we waiting for?" shouted Lily. "Let's get out of here!"

She looked up and ordered the workshop to let everyone out. Before she was even done speaking, the brick wall that blocked the way out turned into a pile of white sand that drained into the floor and disappeared.

Everyone quickly ran out of the workshop and made their way to the small room at the end where a magic circle glowed. As soon as everyone was inside the circle, there was a flash of light and the world around them transformed. They found themselves back where they started, in a section of the library full of books about technology. But there was something different about the place from when they left it. 

Last time they were here, the lights were off. But this time, they were on. Not only that, when the library was supposed to be dead quiet, Lily could hear someone humming along while plucking the strings of a banjo.

Eddie gasped, "The teacher!"

Viv clapped her hands over her brother's mouth while the others went, "Shh!" But it was too late, and they were heard.

"Who's there?"

Lily's heart skipped a beat and she thought, I knew it! The man's voice belonged to none other than her uncle Viceroy.

"Who's there?" Uncle Viceroy called out again. "Come out! Show yourself! I warn you! I've got a banjo!"

He sounded a little far away, but Lily could tell he was getting closer and closer thanks to him plucking the banjo each step he made. And then he stopped.

"Come on! I know you're there."

Oliver dared to take a peek and swore.

"He's standing right in the middle of the library," he told the others. "There's no way to sneak past him!"

"What do we do?" Lily hissed. "He's going to catch us!"

The gang all looked at one another, panicked. But then - 

"I'll go," Alejandro said, raising his hand. "While I distract him, you all get out while you can." 

"Are you sure?" asked Oliver. "You're gonna get in trouble."

"Hey, you don't know that for sure," said Alejandro. "I'm sure I can talk my way out of it. Besides, it's the least I can do for what you're doing for my friends."

"We'll stay too," Erin volunteered.

George blinked. "Huh? We?" After Erin threw a dirty look at him, he said, "Yeah! We too!"

Touched, Alejandro said, "You guys, you don't have to - !"

He was cut off by Uncle Viceroy who shouted sternly, "Okay, no jokes, guys. I know there are a bunch of you hiding back there. You're only going to make things worse for yourselves if I have to come get you."

"There's no time to argue," hissed Erin. And then she turned to Lily and the others and told them, "As soon as you see your chance, get out."

Oliver nodded and said, "Got it. We owe you one."

"We owed you first," said Erin. "Let's just call it even."

"Deal."

After trading nods, the library helpers straightened up and walked out of the aisle.

"Okay, we're coming!" Alejandro announced.

He led Erin and George out from the back way, making Uncle Viceroy turn away from the door.

"So?" Uncle Viceroy said, giving the group a stern scowl. "What are you doing here? Lockup was ages ago. I don't have to tell you that means that no one should be here, except for the guy who lost a game of mahjong and now has to take over a certain librarian's pre-curfew patrols for a week."

The library helpers blinked.

With a raised eyebrow, Erin said, "You lost a game of mahjong to librarian and have to do one of their jobs for them?"

Uncle Viceroy's frown turned deeper and pointed out, "You still haven't answered my question."

Behind the teacher's back, Oliver peeked out and seeing a chance, crouched low and tiptoed out the aisle. Lily and the twins followed at his heels. They headed straight for the door. But right in the middle, Eddie stepped on a loose shoelace and tripped, fall flat on his face.

"Ow!"

"Hm?" 

Uncle Viceroy began to turn, but he stopped when Alejandro stammer-shouted, "Y-y-y-you wanted to know what we're doing here, right Mr. Lin?"

"Yes," Uncle Viceroy said crossly. "That's what I asked like a bajillion times already."

Lily and the gang breathed a sigh of relief.

Viv angrily mouthed at her brother, "What are you doing, you idiot?"

Eddie whispered back, "Sorry! Sorry!"

After he got back up, the gang headed to the door.

"The truth is," Alejandro continued, "we came here to get something back. It was really, really important."

"So important you couldn't wait until the library opened in the morning?" asked Uncle Viceroy.

"Uh . . . Yes," said Alejandro. "Super important. So super important it couldn't wait until tomorrow."

Uncle Viceroy crossed his arms and went, "Uh-huh. I see. And what are you looking at, mister?"

George had been staring at Lily and company as they snuck to the door. The gang had to be slow and careful not to make any sound so Uncle Viceroy would not notice. They froze when Uncle Viceroy suddenly snapped at George.

"N-nothing, sir!" George cried back, straight and rigid like a soldier at attention.

"B-by the way, sir," Erin cut in. "What's with the banjo?"

"I just felt like playing one," Uncle Viceroy replied. "Tomorrow, I plan to bring a pipa."

"A pipa?"

"A Chinese lute," said Uncle Viceroy. "But never mind that." 

He gave the library helpers one more lookover and then sighed. 

"Fine," he said, rolling his eyes away. "I get the sense you're not lying about how important that something you needed back was, important enough to risk getting in trouble for, so I'll let you off with just a warning."

"Really?" said Alejandro. "Phew!"

He and the other library helpers breathed relieved sighs. However, Uncle Viceroy was not done.

"But don't think that means you can keep sneaking into places when they should be locked up," he said. "Next time I catch you somewhere you're not supposed to be when you're not supposed to be, expect some serious detention time. And let me be clear, my detentions will not be fun for you. Got it?"

"Y-yes sir," said Alejandro. "Crystal clear."

"And that goes double for you guys!" Uncle Viceroy said with a raised voice. "Don't think I didn't notice you trying to sneak out behind my back."

Lily and the others froze. Oliver had his hand on the door handle. And the twins made faces like their stomachs were twisting into pretzels. It'd be funny for Lily to watch if her stomach was not also feeling like that. She was chilled to the bone with dread.

But Uncle Viceroy kept his back turned to them and said, "Go on then. All of you get out. There's only twenty-three minutes before curfew starts, so you better head straight for your dorms."

"Yes, sir," said Alejandro. "Thank you, sir."

He and the other library helpers then briskly walked away, joining Lily and the others at the door. Before leaving the library, they gave Uncle Viceroy a quick look, but he kept his face to the back while plucking a lively tune on his banjo.

Once they were outside, Lily breathed out and said, "That. Was. Close."

"Too close," said Oliver. "It's a good thing Mr. Lin was in a lenient mood. The guy likes to do his own weird thing all the time, but he's normally pretty strict with rule breakers."

"Uncle Viceroy? Strict? I can't imagine," said Lily. And then she remembered something and gave the twins a look. "Oh, by the way. What was up with you two back there? It sounded like you two knew the owner of that face-stealing journal."

Viv and Eddie gave each others glances.

And then Viv said, "Yeah. We think we do. Mary Ann Duskbell, the owner of that journal might be our mom."

**********

As soon as he heard the door behind him, Viceroy Kevin Lin turned around, walked over to the front of the library. Once he was sure the place was securely locked, the history teacher went straight over to the nonfiction section, boldly marching into an aisle full of books about technology. He stopped right in the middle of the aisle, set his banjo aside and crouched down, putting his hand flat down on the carpet.

Blue light erupted beneath him, drawn into the shape of a circle with weird shapes and symbols in neat formation within.

With a frown, Viceroy stared at the light with a shadow cast over his eyes, giving him a menacing look.

<== Chapter 10

Lily Wong Ch. 10

Chapter 10

The Secret Workshop

Slowly, while packed tightly together, the gang made their way down the torch-lit hall. The tunnel wasn't very long. Even at their slow pace, it took no more than half a minute before they emerged into a brightly lit chamber that took their breath away.

Lily softly went, "Whoa!" Her mouth hung open in awe.

Almost all the walls, floor and furniture looked like they were made of gold under the glow of the glittery chandeliers hanging high up from the ceiling. Six polished wood tables paired with benches took over the space in the middle in three-by-two rows and columns in front of a big, fresh chalkboard.

"Look!" cried Alejandro, pointing to one side of the chamber where two shelves covered the walls all the way up the ceiling. Flying between those shelves like crisscrossing pigeons were -

"Books! Lots and lots of books! Just like the one that ripped off Hassan and Melody's faces!" 

"Speaking of which, do you see it anywhere?" asked Lily. "Because I don't."

She carefully looked up at the flock of flying books, absentmindedly walking into the chamber.

"Hey, careful, Lily!" Oliver called out. "There could be - !"

HONK! HONK! HONK!

Oliver's warning came too late, and as soon as Lily stepped past a gold line drawn around the chamber, an alarm blared.

"Alert!" cried an old man's voice. "Alert! Intruders in the workshop! I repeat! Intruders in the workshop! Activate defenses!"

That can't be good, thought Lily.

"Lily!" Oliver shouted. "Get back here! Hurry!"

Lily turned to flee, but found her way blocked by a swarm of books that swooped down in front of her. She had no choice but to dive deeper into the chamber and duck beneath a table as the books flew at her. The books just narrowly brushed over her head and went up to the ceiling before looping back down.

"Eek!" Lily saw the books coming straight back at her and raised her arms over her face in fright. Light flashed from her bracelet and wrapped around the young girl like a glowing blue bubble.

The bubble kept out the vicious books as they snapped at her like rabid dogs. Lily curled up and cowered at one side of the bubble, wishing she could look away from the frightening sight. Sadly, there was nowhere she could turn to because the books attacked from everywhere around her.

She whimpered.

And then over the crinkling and flapping of paper, Lily heard a voice cut in. A familiar, distorted and echoing chorus of voices speaking as one.

"Quite a pathetic showing, don't you think, Lady Sapphire?"

Lily peeked over her arms. Through a gap between a cluster of animated books, she could see a blue parrot perched on the bench watching with drooping, almost apathetic eyes.

"What are you doing here?" Lily asked.

"Oh, not much, really," the parrot replied. "Just watching fools be fools as they fall into a trap."

"A trap?" Lily raised her eyebrows. "This was all a trap!?"

"Of course," said the parrot. "You are as weak as a bug. But however weak bugs are, they are still annoying, especially when they get in the way of my master trying to have fun."

A memory of Eddie being despondent when he lost his wallet case and Melody crying over her missing face flashed, and Lily felt anger flare from her gut. "Fun? You think this is all fun? Do you have any idea how much you hurt Melody or Eddie?"

Unfazed, the parrot prattled on. "Of course," it said. "The misfortune of others is always fun to watch. Even now, my master and I are having fun watching your friends suffer from the mistake you made just waltzing inside this chamber without a care in the world."

"The others?" Lily's face fell. "Oh no! Oliver, Eddie! Viv! Guys! Answer me!"

She didn't get an answer. Instead, what she got was this:

"Eek!"

"Get away! Get away!"

"We gotta get out of here!"

"We can't! We can't get out!"

"The exit! Where's the exit!"

"It's gone! Closed off!"

"Where'd this wall come from?"

Lily tried to see what was going on, but there was little she could past the swarm of books crowded around her bubble. She could barely make out a couple of human shapes flailing about as books circled around them like flies around garbage.

Over the screams, Lily heard the parrot comment, "Wow, I take it back. This is no fun to watch after all. In fact, this might even make me sick to my stomach."

Lily felt her own twist into a knot.

This is all my fault, she thought. Because I was careless, the others are . . .

Frustrated, she cried out, "Gah! What is happening out there?"

"Curious?" asked the parrot. "I suppose I can put a pause on this trap and show you. See for yourself what you have done to your friends."

He let out a squawk and the books all scattered up, clearing the way for Lily to see what had become of the others. She spotted them huddled together by the archway. A few feet in, there was a brick wall covering the way to the hall they had taken earlier.

"Guys!" she cried out.

As Lily stood back up, the bubble around her popped and she was free to run to her friends' side. But when some of them looked up and she saw their faces, Lily stopped and gasped in horror with her hands cupped over her mouth. Where she would normally see eyes, noses, and mouths, there was nothing but smooth skin. Everyone in the gang was like that, apart from Lily who had been protected by a magic bubble.

"Oh no!" she moaned. "I am so sorry, you guys. Because of me -!"

"Never mind that!" Viv snapped. "Apologies can wait. Isn't there something else you should be doing right now?"

Lily wiped tears away with her sleeve and then gave a resolute nod.

"You're right," she said, turning to throw a fierce glare at the parrot. "This isn't over yet. Before I start feeling sorry for the mistakes I made, I need to put a stop to this mess and get back everyone's faces!"

"Well, you sure change your mood fast," quipped the parrot. "You've got a lot of spirit, I'll give you that. But spirit will not help you here. There is only one way you can get out of this trap and get back everyone's faces, and that is to become the master of this chamber."

"The master of this chamber?"

The parrot nodded. "That's right," it said. "It was this chamber's magical defenses that robbed your friends of their faces. Punishment for their intrusion and touching things they were not supposed to. Only the chamber's magic will undo the damage it has done. And it will only do that if its master tells it to."

"And how do I do that? Become this place's master?" Lily asked.

"Find the chamber's core, push out the current master's magic power and replace it with your own," said the parrot. "But that's not going to be easy when you don't even know where the core is or what it even looks like. And you still have to deal with those attack books. Also, even if you do find the core, get past the books and reach it, you still have to push out the Schemer's magic power. There's no way you can do that with your measly power."

"Yeah?" said Lily. "Well, we won't know unless I try. I'll show you just how much power I really have!"

The parrot spread its wings and took off, flying high to the ceiling above even the swarm of vicious, airborne books. 

"Brave words from a bug!" it said while hovering by a chandelier. "Very well! Show me what you can do!"

Oh, I'll show you what I can do, alright, thought Lily. What I can do with a magic bracelet that is!

"Books of the workshop!" the parrot roared. "By the power vested in me by our common master, I command you to defend your home!"

"Bracelet, protect!" The words barely made it out of Lily's lips when another bubble of light appeared around her. It appeared just in time as a swarm of flying books came swooping at her. The bubble held firm and the books harmlessly bounced off its glowing surface. Like this, Lily was untouchable.

But that won't last long, she thought. The drowsiness and vertigo she felt getting more intense by the second told her she had better find that core thing or whatever fast.

"If you can multitask," she said to the bracelet, "it'd be great if you could find that core thing for me."

The bracelet answered with a beam of light that shined from one of its jewels to the left side of the chamber. Lily could see past the books snapping at her protective bubble, and saw the light hit a big, blue crystal ball taking up most of a table top's space at the far end of the chamber. The ball shined in kind and even created a curtain of light around it like a winter sky's aurora.

That ball must be the core, she thought. Easy-peasy. I'll have no trouble getting to that as long as the bubble holds up.

The parrot watched from the side. Its eyes narrowed as if it could read Lily's mind.

And then the books all flew away. Lily was surprised and wondered if they maybe gave up.

She would soon find out that was sadly not it. 

The books all gathered at one side of the room, all sticking together. They became a single statue that looked kind of like a cactus to Lily. Except this cactus can move. And it swung a punch at Lily so fast, she didn't have time to blink.

Lily shrieked.

The bubble absorbed the attack, but both it and Lily were sent flying back and crashed against the wall.

"Lily!" the others screamed.

But Lily raised her hand and called back, "I'm okay!"

Even though she crashed hard enough to leave a huge crack on the wall, she was mostly unscathed thanks to the bubble of light protecting her, although a bit dizzy.

Suddenly, Oliver screamed, "Lily, move!"

Lily looked up and saw a huge square flying towards her. With a shriek, she threw herself sideways and flattened herself against the floor as the cactus-shaped book statue punched the wall. She craned her neck to look behind her and quickly scrambled backward when she saw the statue coming with its arms raised up. The arms went swinging down and landed on the floor with a loud thud just an inch away from Lily's feet.

The parrot watched from the safety of an empty space in a bookshelf.

"My, my!" it said loudly. "You know you're going to lose if you don't fight back, right? Or is this all you can do with your power? Just shy away inside some bubble or hop around like a meek bunny rabbit?"

Lily glared at the parrot and thought to herself, I so hate that bird!

But as much as she hated it, she had to admit the bird was right. There was no way she was reaching that crystal ball as long as that statue of books was around to get in her way. 

Still, how could she get rid of it? Even if the bracelet allowed it, Lily doubted she had enough magic juice left to blow that thing up. And she still needed to save as much as she could for the chamber's core. If only there was a way to make it go away, or at least make it stop moving for a little bit.

Lily jumped aside as a pile of books came crashing down. She jumped away again when, again, the pile of books tried to smash her like a bug.

She frantically looked around and muttered to herself, "Come on, Lily, think! There must be something here you can use. Wait! There! That's it!"

Behind the cactus-shaped, book pile statue, Lily spotted a huge, blue tapestry banner hung on the wall.

After jumping away from another attack, Lily held her hand high over her head and shouted, "Bracelet! That banner thing! Tie the book thing up!"

Understanding what its master wanted, the bracelet's stones shined and threw a beam of light at the banner. The banner was ripped off the hooks and coiled around the statue, pinning its arms to its sides.

Just like Lily hoped, the banner stopped the statue from moving, giving her the chance she needed to run to the crystal ball as fast as her legs could carry her. She ran so hard, she couldn't stop until she crashed into the table. Her belly ached from hitting the table, but she ignored the pain and slapped her hand hard down on top the crystal.

And then she shouted at the bracelet, "POUR IN EVERYTHING WE GOT!"

Blue light shined from the bracelet, spread onto the crystal ball and bathed the whole room. This was probably the brightest the bracelet had ever shined before.

"Huh?" Lily cried out in surprise. "My hand's being pushed away?"

She thought it was just her imagination, but soon realized there really was something pushing back and forcing her hand off the crystal ball.

"Careful you don't let go," the parrot teased. "You'll have to start all over again if your hand slips off."

Lily grit her teeth and held back a curse word as she pressed her hand back down on the crystal ball as hard as she could, as if to smoosh it flat like a pancake. But then she tore her eyes away when she heard what sounded like lots of heavy somethings hitting the floor and saw the statue break apart. The books fell out of the banner wrapping, bounced off the floor and flew into the air, clustering back together like a swarm of bees.

"Oh, come on!" moaned Lily. "I have to deal with these guys again?"

"You didn't think it'd be that easy, did you?" said the parrot. "Too bad, child. But it looks like we win. Better luck next time. Now, my books. Attack!"

It was too late for Lily to do anything. She could not get away in time. And even if she did get away, doing so meant letting go of the crystal ball before she could get control of it. So either way, it was game over.

The books fast approached, aiming to take Lily's face. She didn't even have time to blink. And then -

"HIYAH!"

Someone jumped in front of Lily and swung a chair at the books, swatting several aside.

Astonished and wide-eyed, Lily cried out, "Oliver?"

Oliver half-turned his faceless face and looked back, flashing Lily a thumbs up.

"Don't worry, Lily," he said. "We got your back. So you just focus on what you have to do to get back our faces!"

Scattered battle cries made Lily look around to see her friends and the library helpers all dive into the swarm of books. Erin and Alejandro both had shields they ripped off the walls and used to swat away Lily's attacks. Eddie and George danced around while holding a square, blue pillow in each of their hands. As for Viv, she appeared by Lily's side, swinging around an old, yellow-stained globe that mapped out Planet Earth to strike down whatever books managed to slip past the others.

"Quit spacing out, Lily!" Viv snapped at her roommate. "We can't hold them off for long, so hurry up and finish what you have to do!"

It was just what Lily needed to wake from her stupor. She returned her attention to the crystal ball and fought against whatever invisible thing was trying to push her away.

"Come on," she muttered. "Come on!"

The light from the crystal ball grew brighter and brighter, until it was the only thing that Lily could see. And then . . .

"Magic power registered," an old man's voice announced from the ceiling. "Congratulations. What are your orders, my new master?"

<== Chapter 9

Lily Wong Ch. 9

Chapter 9

Night at the Library

"Honestly, I'm not sure it was a good idea for you to make a promise like that," Viv said as she and Lily walked out of girls dormitory.

They were headed over to the Clubhouse to meet the boys and talk about their next move. The Clubhouse was a place between the girls and boys dormitories where students could hang out and chill on their free time. It came with its own snack bar, a computer lab, a TV room, an arcade room, and even a movie theater. Lily wasn't sure why there'd be both a TV room AND a movie theater (if you asked her, the TV room was big enough to count as a movie theater).

"I don't see what the big deal is," Lily said, holding the left side glass door open for Viv. "We ARE going to try and get her face back."

"Yeah, but we don't even know for sure we can," said Viv. "Melody'll be really disappointed if we can't keep that promise."

"You say that like we could lose," Lily said.

"Hey, it's possible," Viv argued. "You remember, the only reason we got all that stuff back was because the parrot went easy on you. We can't count on that happening again."

"Then I'll just get better," Lily said. "I'll get faster, stronger and way more powerful. Have some faith in me."

"It's not about having faith," said Viv. "All I'm saying is that it's better to be careful before making any promises, because there's always a chance you might not keep them whether you want to or not."

Suddenly, a voice cut in and asked, "What's this about promises?"

While the girls were talking, they had arrived at a sitting area in the lobby where Oliver and Eddie occupied two silver-gray, leather armchairs facing opposite each other around a round, glass coffee table. Oliver could hear the girls from a mile away, though didn't catch everything.

"It's nothing," said Lily. "Anyway, here's what we heard . . ."

After telling the boys the whole story as told by Melody, Oliver rubbed his chin thoughtfully and said, "An old journal with a green leather cover that disappeared somewhere around the non-fiction section, huh?"

"That matches up with what happened to that other guy," said Eddie.

The girls exchanged looks.

"That other guy?" asked Lily. "What are you talking about?"

Oliver explained, "While you were getting the details from Melody, me and Eddie went to have a word with the other library helpers to get their side of the story. That's when we discovered that there's a second victim."

Viv raised an eyebrow. "A second victim? You mean someone else got their face ripped off?"

"Yep," replied Oliver. "It was Hassan. He went looking for the book on his own, found one that looked different, and it attacked him. After taking his face, the book flew away. Hassan chased after it thinking it would lead him to the one with Melody's fave, but lost it by a shelf full of electronics books."

"Electronics?" Lily spoke up. "Not technology like that time with Melody?"

Oliver shrugged. "It could be the same section, they just call it different things because of the type of books there. Anyway, that seems to be a good place to start investigating."

"Let's backtrack a little," said Viv. "There's ANOTHER of those books?"

"Honestly, I'm not surprised," said Eddie.

"Alright then," Lily said, rubbing her hands together. "When do we start?"

Oliver smiled and replied, "When else? Tonight!"

**********

"When you said, tonight," said Lily, "I didn't think you meant after dinner when most buildings, including the library should be locked down."

"When else did I mean?" asked Oliver. He was ahead of the group tiptoeing through an aisle shining a light in front of him from his smartphone.

Right now, Lily and the gang were in the library, well after the librarians had gone for the night. The lights were, of course, off, leaving the library in total darkness. Which was why Oliver was using his phone's flashlight to light the way. A glance at her own phone told Lily that it was now seven minutes past Eight.

"Where'd you get the key this place, anyway?" whispered Eddie.

Oliver replied, "I borrowed it from Alejandro. He and Erin were entrusted with lockup. He also gave me his passcode for the alarm. As long as we get back to the dorms before curfew strikes, we're safe."

"I don't know about that," Lily said doubtfully. "Sneaking into the library after closing? This feels so wrong."

This would make the second time she and the others were scurrying around in the dark where and when they were not supposed to. She started to wonder if this was going to be a regular thing from now on.  

"Can't be worse than sneaking outside of the school to explore the forest at night," muttered Viv.

"So where should we start?" Eddie asked Oliver.

Oliver replied, "The aisle with the technology books. That's where the face-stealing book disappeared twice, so we should start there. But be careful. That thing's already gotten two faces. Let's not add more to its collection."

With darkness surrounding them at all sides, the gang headed to the area of the library that housed the non-fiction books. But just before entering that maze of bookshelves, Oliver suddenly stopped.

"Wha -?" 

Lily was going to ask the older boy what was wrong, but he cut her off with a "Shh!" while holding a finger to his lips. He quickly snuffed out his phone's light and stretched his ears to the non-fiction area. Lily did the same and strained ears, catching the unmistakable sound of people speaking in hissing whispers. A jolt of fright hit her heart when she realized that she and the gang were not alone.

The whispering got louder, a sign that whoever was covered by the bookshelves was getting closer.

Oliver frantically waved his hand, signing to the others to hide. Playing Follow-the-Leader, the gang copied Oliver and dove behind a low shelf full of encyclopedias. One by one, they peaked out over the shelf top and watched as three whispering dark shapes emerged.

Suddenly, Oliver popped up and cried out, "What are you guys doing here?"

The three figures jumped back and yelped, "Gah!"

One figure swore and said, "Geez, Oliver! You scared me!"

"You know these guys, Oliver?" asked Lily. Seeing that they were in no trouble, she and the others stood back up. Light from Oliver's phone revealed the three figures were fellow students like themselves.

Oliver replied, "You could say that. These guys are library helpers like Hassan and Melody. From right to left, we got Alejandro, George, and Erin."

The oldest of the trio, a lanky, Hispanic boy raised his hand and said, "Yo, 'sup? The name's Alejandro. Nice to meet you all, Oliver's sidekicks."

"Sidekicks?" Lily, Eddie and Viv gave Oliver the side-eye, but he just turned away and pretended like nothing happened.

"Ahem!" he coughed. "Anyway, you still haven't answered my question. What are you guys doing here? I thought I told you that I'd handle this myself."

"Come on, Ollie," said George. "You can't expect us to just sit back and twiddle our thumbs when two of our friends are in trouble."

"Besides," said Erin, "we wanted to see what the famed Lady Sapphire was like."

Startled, Oliver stammered, "Wha-!? Wh-what do you mean? Wh-wh-what does Lady Sapphire have to do with anything?"

Erin rolled her eyes and went, "Oh, please, Oliver. You get new assistants at the same time Lady Sapphire shows up, followed by something fantastically impossible like a face-stealing and flying book? Not to mention, even after seeing that picture of Melody, you believed our story a little too fast and said you'd solve everything with an weird can-do attitude. It wasn't hard to connect the dots and see that you might have been through something just as weird and that maybe Lady Sapphire was mixed in this somehow."

"The way you acted just now all but proves it all," said Alejandro. "I'm guessing the kid with the blue bracelet's her, the heroic Lady Sapphire? That bling of hers really stands out."

Oliver gave Lily an awkward smile and then replied, "No point hiding it. Yep, that's her alright. Meet Lily Wong, A.K.A. Lady Sapphire." 

Lily cupped her hands over her eyes and groaned. It's only been a few days and the truth of Lady Sapphire was already out. And all the attention the library helpers gave her was not helping.

Viv raised her hand and said, "I'm just going to put it out there already, but we are terrible at keeping secrets."

"Anyway," said Alejandro, "we want to help out."

With a sigh, Oliver said, "Well, you're here already. We may as well have you show us the way."

"Great! So where do we begin?"

"The technologies section," said Oliver. "That was where the book kept disappearing at."

"Got it," said a cheerful Alejandro. "Right this way!"

The library helpers led the gang through the maze of bookshelves, taking twists and turns from aisle to aisle, shelf to shelf, until at last they came across a path with books about the subject of technology. They stopped right in the middle and took a look around.

"So? What do you think?" asked Erin. "Find anything?"

Oliver shined his light everywhere, but shook his head.

"I don't see anything out of the ordinary," he said. "No vents or trap doors the book could use to escape. It looks like every tightly packed book belongs here. As far as I can see, there's no green journal book. What about you, Lily? Notice anything unusual?"

Lily took a brief look around and then replied, "No. I can't find anything out of the ordinary."

"What about the bracelet?" asked Eddie. "Can it detect anything?"

George blinked. "The bracelet can detect things? Is it magic or something?"

"Actually, yeah," said Lily.

Astonished, the library helpers cried out, "IT IS!?"

Viv put her finger to her lips and went, "Shh! Quiet in the library!"

The library helpers clapped their hands over their mouths and then hissed, "The bracelet's magic?"

Lily nodded. "It's a long story."

"A story we don't have time for," Oliver cut in. He pointed to the time shown on his phone. "Let's move along, shall we?"

"Right, but what exactly do I do?" said Lily.

"Just ask it to show you where the book is," said Oliver. "I know the bracelet's got restrictions, but that should work."

"If you say so," Lily said, only half-convinced. She took a deep breath and sighed. "Well, here goes nothing."

She pulled her sleeve up to expose more of the bracelet and stretched her arm out in front of her.

"Okay, bracelet," she said. "Show us where the face-stealing book is."

She didn't have to wait long for something to happen.

Light shine from the bracelet's top stone and a thin beam flew out straight to the floor. A circle filled with intricate patterns suddenly appeared beneath everyone's feet and illuminated the space around them.

"Whoa!" Eddie cried out.

"Is that what I think that is?" shouted Erin.

"It is!" Alejandro said excitedly. "It is! It's a magic circle! A real magic circle! Just like in comic books!"

Lily shrieked, "Eek!"

The light shining from the magic circle instantly grew brighter, overtaking everything that Lily could see like the flash from a camera.

And then, the next moment Lily could see, she found herself and the others in a small, circular room with walls of dark brick and a high ceiling. Past the archway in front of them was a tunnel lit by rows of flaming torches with more warm light at the end.

"Did we just get teleported by that magic circle?" asked Viv.

"I think so," said Oliver.

"That's so cool!" cried out Erin. "Let's do that again."

"But where even are we?" asked Eddie.

Lily replied, "I don't know, but wherever this is, I bet you anything this is where we'll find that book."

<== Chapter 8                                                                         Chapter 10 ==>

Lily Wong Ch. 8

Chapter 8

The New Client

"Hey, did you hear? They say that the Lady Sapphire is actually the ghost of a school matron from long ago that haunts the school grounds at night looking for troublemaking students to punish."

"I hear she's actually a famous thief who leaves a calling card for every steal she makes."

"No, no, no! She's a superhero who shoots blue lasers out of her hands. That's why she's called Sapphire!"

Around an outdoor lunch table, a group of friends were trading stories they heard about the mysterious hero who got back all the stuff that the blue parrot had stolen.

At the next table over, that very Lady Sapphire had her face planted on the table while each new tall-tale further added to her pain.

It has been several days since news of the mysterious Lady Sapphire broke out, and with it came a slew of exaggerated rumors with no signs of stopping. All that attention her alter ego had gained was just pure torture to poor Lily. But the one to blame for her suffering, the actual inventor of her alter ego, just casually sipped on a Caramel Frappuccino as if he had done nothing wrong.

Lily glowered at Oliver and then asked him, "Why? Just why did you do that?"

The teen upperclassman took a longer sip of his cold coffee drink, a really long sip until his straw made bubbly noises before asking innocently, "Do what?"

"Turn me into a comic book superhero, of course!" Lily snapped.

"I wasn't really aiming for superhero," Oliver said. "I was aiming more for mysterious gentlelady vibes."

"Not sure I get you, but not any better," Lily said. "And you still haven't answered my question."

"It's simple," Oliver said. "We are a group."

He used his hands to draw a circle around the table, including Eddie and Viv.

Lily crossed her arms and said, "Okay."

"There'll probably be a lot more cases like the Parrot Incident," said Oliver. "If we keep it up, eventually people will start noticing what we've been up to. By leaving that calling card, it gives the illusion that just one person is acting alone. If the school thinks only one person's behind everything, there's less chance they'll find out it's us."

"Makes sense," said Eddie.

Lily, however, continued to glower at Oliver and said, "And the real reason?"

"I always wanted to leave a calling card like that and couldn't help myself. Sorry."

"And you couldn't have made it something like MISTER Sapphire or LORD Sapphire? Why LADY Sapphire?" Lily asked. 

"Well, as you probably already know, judging by how mad you are, I was thinking of you when I made up the name," Oliver said. "It may have been a team effort, but you were the main star of the show. I just wanted to give you the credit you deserved."

In a sarcastic tone, Lily said, "Gee, thanks."

Oliver replied back, "You're welcome," as if the sarcasm was lost to him. "Anyway, speaking of Lady Sapphire, there's actually a case for her."

Lily, Viv and Eddie sat up.

"Really?" went Lily. "Already?"

Oliver nodded. "Yeah. Well, I call it a case for Lady Sapphire, but it's technically my case."

"That was fast," said Eddie. "It hasn't even been a week yet."

"Well," said Oliver, "as they say, there's no rest for the wicked."

"Is it that parrot again?" asked Viv.

Oliver shook his head and and said, "No. It's not the parrot. It's actually something different this time."

"Really? What is it, then?" asked Eddie.

"I think it's better if I just showed you," said Oliver.

Oliver pulled out his phone and held it out. Lily and the others bent closer to take a look and then reeled back in shock, crying out, "Gah!" 

On the phone's screen was a picture of a girl with long, brown hair and a literally blank face. Where her eyes, nose and mouth should be, there was just pale, smooth skin.

**********

The faceless girl's name was Melody Meadows, Oliver explained, a classmate of his and a library helper. She was the one who sent that picture to him herself along with a message asking for his help.

"I'm not sure if this is a legit magical problem, so I'd like to have a talk with her face to face, or face to faceless," he said. "But there's a problem with that. She's holed up in her room, and I can't exactly waltz into the girls dorm building."

That was where Lily and Viv came in. As girls, they would have no trouble visiting Melody at her dorm room and get the full story from her. They made their way straight over after getting the room number from Oliver.

Up the elevator, they went until reaching the fifth floor. Melody's room was the last one at right-side hallway. Lily was admittedly nervous walking down the hall of a floor reserved for older students. But she tried not to let it show while she and Viv passed by some of those same older students. 

The older girls, however, paid the younger pair no mind and just chatted with one another about some upcoming school event.

"Okay, we're here," said Lily, looking up at the small bronze plaque on the door. "Room 521. You want to do the honors?"

"No thanks," said Viv. "You can do it. You're the one with the magic bracelet, after all."

Lily gave Viv a frown, but then shrugged away her misgivings and raised her knuckles to the door.

Knock knock knock!

From behind the door, a girl's muffled voice called out, "Who is it?"

Lily replied back, "I'm Lily! I'm with my roommate, Viv. We're here because Oliver wanted us to talk to you. He said something about a . . . special problem?"

There was silence. And then a second voice softly mumbled, "How much do you know?"

Lily could barely hear her, but answered in a lower voice, "Oliver showed us the picture."

A short couple of seconds later, there was a loud snap from a lock bolt and the door cracked open just enough for a single brown eye to peek out. The eye rolled up and down, clearly sizing up Room 521's two visitors.

"You two are Oliver's sidekicks?" asked the owner of that eye.

Lily and Viv exchanged looks. "His . . . sidekicks?"

"Yeah," said the owner of the eye peeking out the door. "Oliver said he got himself some sidekicks, kinda like how Sherlock Holmes got those street kids to help him out now and then. The Baker Street Something or Other."

"Since when are we his sidekicks?" Viv hissed into Lily's ears.

Starting to get suspicious, the owner of the eye demanded to know, "Are you here to help Melody or not?"

Lily quickly answered, "We are, we are!"

"Then get in here!"

The owner of the eye threw open the door and snatched Lily and Viv by their wrists. Before they could react, the pair were yanked inside and they stumbled to the middle of the room, coming face-to-face with the faceless girl who sat on the right side bed.

Although Lily had already seen the girl's picture with her lack of face before coming, it was still shocking to see in person and she couldn't help but stare. She was snapped out of her stupor by the sound of the door being bolt-locked behind her.

Hesitant, Lily asked the faceless girl, "A-are you . . . Melody?"

The faceless girl nodded. "Yes, I am."

Astonished, Viv cried out, "You can talk!? How?"

Melody shrugged. "Don't ask me. I can see, talk, smell, and even eat just fine. I don't know how that works when my eyes, nose and mouth are gone."

"About that," said Lily, "how did that happen? We heard a little bit of the story from Oliver, but would it be okay if you gave us all the details yourself? As much as you can remember is fine."

Melody fell silent and shuddered. She turned her faceless face to the girl standing at the door, as if to ask for permission. The girl at the door, Melody's roommate by Lily's guess, nodded back.

After a sharp breath in, Melody said, "Alright. Here's how it went." 

And then she began to recount her story.

**********

FROM THE CASE FILES OF GREAT DETECTIVE OLIVER:

EYEWITNESS REPORT, BY LILY WONG

WITNESS/VICTIM: MELODY MEADOWS

It happened just the day before yesterday, in the late afternoon after the library was closed. It was just me and the other library helpers doing final clean-up and shelf-sorting. The librarians had already gone to a meeting and trusted us to lock up everything when we were done. I was assigned to put returned books back on their shelves at the non-fiction section. 

The library's a very big place and there are so few of us, so us library helpers were usually spread pretty far apart. I was pretty much alone, pushing a steel wagon full of books around a maze of bookshelves. 

As you'd expect, it was pretty quiet, except for the squeaking sounds the wagon's wheels made. My footsteps were completely muffled by the old, charcoal-colored carpeting. And although the library still got plenty of sunlight through the windows, I was deep at the center and got nothing but cold ceiling lighting which can be unpleasant sometimes.

Still, I took my time like always, putting books back where they belong by order of the Dewey Decimal System. As I was crossing from one section to another (I believe I was between the plants section and the animals section), I noticed a book lying on the ground. 

The book was clearly someone's personal journal because there was no title on the jungle-green leather binding and cover, and there were no labels that showed it belonged to the library. It was around eight by eleven inches in size, and a brighter green ribbon attached sticking out of the pages. Oh! And speaking of the pages, I noticed the edges were pretty yellow, so I'd say the book was at least a couple of years old, maybe even more than ten years old.

Now, finding lost stuff in the library was nothing new to me. So it was hardly weird for me to find a random journal lying on the floor. I figured someone must have accidentally dropped it without knowing it, and went over to pick it up.

After giving the book a look over to see if there was a name anywhere, I flipped open the cover and then - BAM! The blasted thing flew at me and latched onto my face like some alien parasite. 

Needless to say, I screamed bloody murder. The others heard me freaking out and ran over to see what was wrong. I think at first, they thought I was playing around. But as I struggled to pull the book off my face, I ran into a bookshelf, made the book wagon tip over when I bumped into it, and then banged my face and the book against the floor. And I did it over, and over, and over, and over, and -

What's that? You get the picture already and you want me to just move on already? Okay.

Well, the other library helpers soon realized that something really was wrong and tried to help pull the book off. While some of them held onto me, the others pulled on the book.

It hurt, a lot, having others play Tug-of-War with my head. I was afraid it'd get torn off my neck. Thankfully, it never came to that. But, after one final pull that finally got the book off, me and the others went tumbling down to the floor. And then, when we all sat up, George and Alejandro, two boys a year older than me and my fellow library helpers, got a look at me and screamed.

I didn't know what got them so freaked out, but it had me worried. Others also saw my face and screamed.

"What is it?" I shouted. "What's wrong?"

The others pointed at me and babbled, "Your face! Your face!"

"My face? What about my face?" I asked.

Alejandro answered, "It's just . . . gone!"

"Gone? What do you mean gone?" I didn't understand what they were going on about and thought they had gone crazy.

But then, Erin, another library helper, pulled out her phone, put the camera on Selfie mode and showed me - well, you've already seen for yourself. 

"My face!" I cried out. "What happened to my face? IT'S GONE!"

I thought it was some kind of sick joke, a trick feature of the camera's. I wanted it to be some kind of joke. But when I touched the area where my nose and mouth would be, all I felt was smooth skin. My face really was gone. 

When I realized that, I freaked out.

"Where did it go? Where did my face go?" I screamed. 

I reached out, grabbed the shoulders of whoever was close by and shook them around, demanding to know where my face was. Everyone got scared and ran away from me. 

But then one boy, I think Alejandro again, cried out, "The book! It must be the book!"

We all realized that the book must be to blame and quickly looked around in search of it. Hassan, the last of us library helpers, found it first. 

"Over there!" he shouted, pointing to the floor near the technology section.

I turned around and saw the book lying open. And on one of the exposed pages was -

"My face!"

My eyes, (the one on the book) flew open and my face (again, the one on the book) let out a bloodcurdling scream. It was like something straight out of a horror movie.

We all screamed and jumped back as the book floated up to the ceiling like a balloon. And then the book swooped over our heads like a vampire bat, went into the autobiography section and disappeared.

We ran after it, of course. But it was too late. The book was nowhere to be found.

**********

"We searched the library top to bottom, over and over again," said Melody. "But we could not find it again. Finally, around five minutes before lockdown, we gave up. Erin called Naomi -" She nodded to her roommate. "- and together, they snuck me back into the girl's dorms. I've been stuck here ever since."

Lily listened to the faceless girl's story intently, jotting down every little detail she could in a notebook she had brought with her. When Melody was done, Lily closed the notebook shut and looked up.

That's when Melody clasped her hands together and asked, "Say, Oliver'll find that book, won't he? And get back my face? I'm not going to be stuck like this for the rest of my life, will I?"

Although she no longer had a face, Melody was clearly scared and desperate for reassurance. She sounded like she was almost going to cry, and appeared smaller and more vulnerable even though she was a couple of years older than Lily.

Lily could barely stand it and blurted out, "We'll find it! Don't worry. We'll get your face back."

And silently, she added, I promise in the name of Lady Sapphire!

<== Chapter 7                                                                                     Chapter 9 ==>

Lily Wong Ch. 7

Chapter 7

Lady Sapphire

Staring at the leather card case in her hand, Lily mumbled, "I won." And then louder, "I WON! I got the card case back!"

She waved the case triumphantly over her head as she drifted back down to the ground. The others rushed towards her, elated at her victory.

"I believe this belongs to you," Lily said, grinning as she handed the case back over to Eddie.

Eddie took back the case, holding it like one would hold a delicate egg.

"Thank you," he said. "Thank you so much. I really owe you one."

"Don't mention it," Lily said. "I'm just glad we got it back. Not only that, everyone's things back."

She was very pleased with herself. So pleased, in fact, that she nearly forgot about the giant parrot until it went, "Ahem!"

Lily and the others turned around.

The giant parrot stood in front of them, glaring, and said, "I am not impressed."

"Hey, hey, hey," went Oliver. "Calling foul now? A bit too late for that, don't you think? You're not going to try and go back on your word, are you?"

"The magic contract is absolute," said the parrot. "Victory is yours, fair and square. You may take back the things stolen from the Bluestone students. But that does not change the fact that you are weak. Too weak."

Dismayed, Lily cried out, "Weak? Sure I needed help, but I didn't do too shabby against you."

"Hmph!" 

With a stiff sniff, the giant parrot spread its wings, and a strong wind current pushed everyone down and sent them rolling away. 

"Eek!"

"Yikes!"

"Whoa!"

The next thing Lily knew, she was suddenly lying on some some bushes and had the parrot's face right up to hers. 

"Make no mistake, child," it said, "I was going easy on you. If I had taken you seriously, I would have won with or without all that interference."

Lily blinked, and in that moment, the parrot was no longer in front of her, but back up the tree's higher hollow several feet away as if to prove its point.

Looking down on the children, the parrot continued.

"The way you are now, you are no threat to my master," it said.

"And just who is your master?" Lily asked. "Does he have something to do with what that ghost lady said?"

The parrot tilted its head sideways. "The ghost lady? Do you mean the Lady of Sapphire?"

"The Lady of Sapphire? Is that who the ghost lady is?"

"If she spoke to you through that bracelet of yours, then the ghost lady is indeed the Lady of Sapphire," the parrot said, "my master's enemy."

"Who is your master?" Lily asked again. "What is he after? Why did he make you steal all those things?"

"My master didn't make me do anything," said the parrot. "I did all this by my own will. And as for my master's goal, that should be clear: the spread of chaos and trouble!"

"But for what?" Lily asked. "Why does he want to make trouble?"

"Because he wants to," the parrot replied. "There is no other reason."

"That's it? Just because he wants to?" Lily was both shocked and outraged by the parrot's answer.

"So he has told me, yes," said the parrot. "If that is all you have to ask, then begone from my domain!"

The parrot flapped its wings again, creating a whirlwind of leaves that circled all over round and round, covering everything else in sight.

"No, wait!" Lily cried out over the howling gusts. "You still haven't told me who your master is!"

"He has gone by many names," said the parrot. "Villain, Traitor, Wicked Wizard. But you may call him . . . the Schemer."

The wind became too much for Lily and she had to turn away. She turned back when the wind finally died down and the leaves had all fallen to the ground, but both the parrot and the huge tree it called home were already gone. It was just Lily and the gang sitting in a much smaller clearing with a pile of stuff stolen from some school kids.

All was dark and quiet, except for the light shining from Oliver's phone.

"The Schemer, huh?" he muttered. "So that's who the enemy is."

"You heard all that?" Lily asked.

Oliver nodded. "As clear as day. Honestly, though, there's something iffy about some of the things it said. Still, it sounds like our troubles are far from over. In fact, I'd say we're just getting started."

"Let's worry about that later," said Viv. "I don't know about you all, but I'm beat.

"Are you guys okay?" Lily asked the twins.

"We're fine," said Eddie. "What about you?"

"Me too," Lily answered. "Well, actually I got a problem."

"What is it?" asked Viv.

"I can't move." Lily was unable to get up, leaving her stuck sitting on the ground.

"No surprise there," Oliver said. "You were really pushing yourself in that fight."

"All to help me," Eddie said with a guilty look.

"Hey, don't worry about it," Lily said. "That picture of your mom's important to you, after all."

"Yeah, it is," Eddie said. 

He gave his sister a look and Viv responded with a hand sign that meant, "Go ahead."

Eddie took a deep breath and then spoke up. "Actually, a few years ago, our mom disappeared. No one knows what happened to her. She just vanished without a trace. We had police looking for her, detectives looking for her, even psychics looking for her. They were all dead ends. In the end, everyone gave up, including our dad."

"So that's why you wanted a crystal ball for fortune telling," Lily realized as she turned to face Viv. "You wanted to see if you could find your mom with magic!"

Viv said nothing, but nodded.

"You can do that, Lily?" Eddie asked excitedly.

But that excitement died when his sister said, "Don't get your hopes up, Ed. We tried, but it was no good. Fortune telling's a no-no with that bracelet, among other things."

"For a tool that's key to saving the world, sounds like it's got lots of limits," quipped Oliver. 

"By the way," said Lily, "what are we going to do about all this stuff?"

She pointed at the pile of stolen goods they won back.

"I think that's a bit too much to carry back, even with the magic carpet."

"More importantly, how are we going to explain this?" asked Viv. "I know what we just did should count as a good deed, but I can't imagine the teachers are going to be happy with us when they find out we snuck out of school to explore a forest at night."

"Oh, you can just leave that to me," said Oliver. With a grin, he added, "I have a plan."

**********

Morning had come and it was almost time for classes. Despite that, Lily, Viv and Eddie all had a hard time getting out of bed because of the exciting, and tiring, night they had. It took a lot of willpower just to brush their teeth. And even though they managed to get ready, get dressed and get out the door, they ended up falling asleep on top of their breakfast at the dining hall. If not for a passing cleaner waking them up, they would have been late to homeroom. They barely made it to their seats before the bell rang.

By the way, when they reached the classroom, Lily found her Uncle Viceroy sitting on the teacher's desk clipping his toenails. As soon as the bell rang, the history teacher quickly brushed all the nail clippings off the tabletop, put on his black socks and slipped his feet into his dress shoes while sliding off the desk himself. 

After making his necktie straight, he cleared his throat and started the class with an unsurprising news announcement with a bit of a surprise twist.

"Ahem! Ahem! Good morning, everyone. Got some news to share today. Earlier today, everything stolen by that blue parrot was found at the north forest. If any of those things are yours, head over to the Admin Office."

The whole classroom was abuzz with the news.

Although still tired, Lily and the Waller twins exchanged knowing glances and proud smiles.

And then one girl with red hair raised her hand and asked, "Mr. Lin, how did the stuff get found? I thought the school searched everywhere, forest included, but couldn't find anything."

"Good question," said Uncle Viceroy. "An anonymous tip was sent to the office in the form of a letter, telling us where to find the stolen stuff."

"A letter?"

Uncle Viceroy nodded. "Yeah. I got a copy of it right here. Let me read it out to you, word for word." 

Here comes the twist.

"I have driven away the flying menace and reclaimed all that was stolen. Signed, Lady Sapphire."

Lily was so surprised, she could not help but snort.

Silently, she wondered, Lady Sapphire? Is that supposed to be me? Seriously? And why "Lady Sapphire"? Why a name like that?

"Now, I don't know who this Lady Sapphire is," said Uncle Viceroy, "but if you're listening, on behalf of Bluestone Academy, thank you. And personally, I hope you don't get expelled if you get caught for sneaking out of school at night.

"Anyway, moving on, there have been reports that someone has been flying a drone around the school after curfew . . ."

**********

In a certain room of the school's main building, nicknamed the castle for its castle-like look, a white-haired man was doing paperwork while a blue parrot sat on his shoulder, eyes on a certain letter that was typed from a computer in cursive-style font. The only light in the room came from the sun through the picture-frame window behind them.

"Lady Sapphire, huh?" The parrot broke silence with an amused snort. "Sounds like the name of a shadowy anti-hero from a steampunk novel."

"The letter must be Oliver's doing, then," the white-haired man said. His pen did not stop scribbling on the sheet of paper in front of him. "He's always been fond of stories with Victorian England-like settings."

"I'm impressed," said the parrot. "You're very dedicated to the teacher role, to know the likes of a random student you've rarely spoken to before."

"I just happened to see him reading a stack of such books at the library while I was passing through," the white-haired man said. "But I think he might have also been inspired by the Lady of Sapphire."

"What will you do now?" asked the parrot.

"Proceed with the plan, of course," said the white-haired man. "Your loss hardly changes anything. We will continue to spread chaos and trouble to this school. And we will not stop until at last, we reach the grand finale. So I swear, as the Schemer."

<== Chapter 6                                                                             Chapter 8 ==>

Poem: Changed at '19

Changed at '19.

Perhaps forever more, I am.

Once a mocker, now an emulator of the mocked.

The abnormal became normal,

An everyday urge, vice and obsession.

I cannot stop what had begun at '19.

I cannot change back to what I was.

An error upon my paper,

What is etched with Sharpie cannot be erased.

Before '19, carefree 'twas I.

Now, I am a turtle,

Most comfortable in its shell.

Or a snail in a world of salt.

Although past has '19,

Slow is the fish to match

The wax and wane of the ocean.

A storm with little hint of receding.

An insanity born at '19.

Like a scar that never fades.

Though the world may move on,

A block of ice remains my coffin.

A glue sticks me to the past.

Bad habits die hard.

I cannot resist them.

This is what it means

To be changed by '19

Lily Wong Ch. 6

Chapter 6

The Parrot's Challenge

The giant parrot spread its wings and used them like parachutes as it dropped down to the ground. A single flap created a gust of wind that nearly blew Lily off her feet, literally. Seeing it standing right in front of her, Lily realized that the bird was even bigger than she remembered. It could easily eclipse a three-story building.

"I see you've brought company," the giant parrot said, giving the whole gang a glance. "I suppose it just proves that heroes have to have companions."

Lily said nothing. To be honest, the way the bird towered over her and looked down on her was intimidating. But she soon swallowed her fears, steeled her nerves and glared back at it.

"Parrot!" she shouted. "I've come to -!"

The parrot cut her off and said, "I know why you are here. You are here for this, are you not?"

It held a wing to its pile of treasure. A small blue light shined from it and flew out, stopping just beside the parrot's head.

"This . . . card case is what you seek," the parrot said.

Lily, however, shook her head and boldly declared, "Wrong, Parrot!"

The card case was definitely what Lily and the others had come for, but that was not all they needed to take back. Lily was sure that among the junk the parrot collected were objects that were invaluable to their owners, precious and prized possessions to their hearts.

"We're here to take back EVERYTHING you've stolen!"

"Oh?" went the parrot, tilting its head one side. "You're greedier than I thought, Hero of the Sapphire Bracelet. How amusing. Very well! I am in a generous mood. I am willing to wager ALL my treasures in this duel."

"They're NOT your treasures," Lily grumbled, but the parrot acted like it didn't hear.

"But for this duel to work, you too must wager something!"

Lily figured as much. It happened all the time on TV shows. When two people challenge each other to some kind of supernatural game, both sides always needed to bet something.

"What is it you want?" she asked the parrot. 

"YOUR SHOES!"

"Of course, my shoes," said Lily. "Wait, what?"

"You heard me," said the parrot. "I want your shoes!"

"My . . . shoes? Not my priceless magic bracelet or magic broomstick, but my cheap, retail store-bought shoes?"

"That bracelet is indeed valuable," the parrot said. "However, it is enchanted so that only the chosen one can even touch it. Because of that, needless to say, the bracelet is worthless to me. However, it would be amusing to see how you go around the school without your shoes. Now that is worth something."

"You just like being mean to people!" Viv shouted accusingly.

"Yes, so what?" said the parrot, beak turned up.

Viv's face turned red.

"Alright," Lily said. "If I lose, you can have my shoes. But if I win, you return everything you ever stole!"

"Agreed!" shouted the parrot. "Then let the game begin!"

Lines of bright blue light spread from beneath the parrot's feet and traced shapes across the ground, becoming what could only be a magic circle.

"Within this circle, all of us are bound by a magic contract," the parrot explained. "A magic contract is unbreakable and will force even myself to keep my promises. The game is simple. You and I each will wear a ribbon around our heads. The one who snatches the other person's ribbon first is the winner."

As the parrot spoke, two feathers flew out from its neck. One flew up to the parrot's head while the other drifted over to Lily. Bright light flashed from the feathers and they transformed into large, long blue ribbons. The parrot's ribbon tied itself around the parrot's head while Lily tied hers herself.

"The detective wannabe will signal the game's start," the parrot decided.

"Hey, I'm not a detective wannabe," Oliver argued. "I AM a detective!"

Despite his dismay, he approached Lily and the parrot, and cleared his voice. "Ahem! On this side, we have Lily Wong. On the other, we have a giant, talking parrot! They will compete for all the stuff that was stolen from everyone at Bluestone Academy. First person to snatch the other's ribbon wins. Challengers, are you ready?"

The giant parrot bowed down low and spread its wings. "Ready," it said while glaring straight at Lily.

As Lily glared back, she held out her hand and called out, "Broomstick!"

In a flash of light, the broomstick appeared in front of her. She grabbed it and prepared to fly.

"Ready," she said.

Oliver looked from one challenger to the other and then held his hand high over his head.

"On your marks," he said. "Get ready . . . START!"

He swung his hand down in a chop and both Lily and the parrot kicked off. 

Lily and the parrot zoomed up into the air, circling around each other a couple of times before the parrot threw his head out, beak wide open.

"Whoa!" Lily cried out. She pulled away just in time to avoid getting her head chomped off and then reached out to snatch the parrot's ribbon off its immense head. But the parrot did a mighty wing flap and made a wind gust that pushed Lily further away. 

"Eek!" She shrieked as she went spinning and spinning several feet. Even when she finally pulled her broom to a stop, the world just kept on spinning around her. 

"Lily, duck!"

Upon hearing Viv yell, Lily dropped down, just as a huge, dark shape soared over her. She flew down low, close to the ground and turned around to see the parrot looking back at her while going, "Tch!"

"That was close," she said. Had she been a second slower, she would have lost her ribbon and the game. She wanted to thank Viv for the assist, but that would have to wait until later.

The parrot turned around and zoomed down at Lily. Lily swooped straight up and the parrot twisted to turn Ninety-Degrees after her. Glancing back, Lily saw the bird had caught up and was right at her tail. It had its beak wide open to snap down on her broom. But before it could do that, Lily swung her right shoulder down and spun away.

She jerked to a stop and then zoomed at the bird, aiming to grab one end of the bird's ribbon to yank it off. But the parrot saw her attack coming and lurched backward as Lily flew by.

Down below, Oliver, Eddie and Viv watched as Lily and the parrot zigzagged around each other, each trying and failing to grab the other's ribbon.

"Not good," Oliver said, watching the dance between girl and bird through a pair of black binoculars. He had dug them out from the parrot's treasure pile. "Lily's starting to get exhausted. She's really out of breath, as if she just ran a marathon."

"What? How come?" asked Eddie. "Isn't the broomstick doing most of the moving?"

"If I had to guess, I'd say it's because the broom's moving by taking Lily's energy. And the more it moves around, the more energy it takes."

"Now that you mention it," said Viv, "when we messed around with the bracelet before, Lily suddenly got really dizzy."

"That just proves it, then," said Oliver. "For that bracelet to work its magic, it takes energy from Lily. And by the looks of things, she's running out of that energy. Fast."

"What do we do?" Eddie cried out. "She's going to lose at this rate! Look! I don't even play that much sports, but even I can tell that she's getting really sluggish and slow."

Indeed, up close to the tree tops, Lily had slowed down a lot, barely matching a drifting balloon. The parrot, however, was as fast as always, and swooped in. Lily narrowly pulled away in time, with one end of her ribbon just a centimeter or two away from the parrot's beak. She tried to flee, but the parrot chased after her keeping close at her tail.

"But what can we do?" asked Viv. "This is a battle between the two of them. There's no way we can just jump in and help!"

Oliver tapped his chin thoughtfully. And then, it hit him.

"No, wait!" he said. "That's not true! We actually CAN jump in and help."

The twins looked at him and blinked. "What do you mean?"

"Remember when Viv cried out that warning?" Oliver said. "That's clearly giving outside help. But the parrot never cried foul. It didn't even say a peep."

"Isn't it just because it was too focused on nabbing Lily's ribbon?" Eddie asked.

"Could be," Oliver admitted. "But I think it's more because giving or getting outside help isn't against the rules."

"Could there really be such a big loophole? Kind of too convenient, don't you think?" said Viv.

"But it's one we can't just leave alone," said Oliver.

"I still don't see what we can do, though," said Viv. "None of us got magic powers. And I don't think us shouting, 'Look out!' is going to do much either."

"I got that part covered," said Oliver. "Come on. Help me out!"

And then he went diving into the pile of stolen treasure, sifting through them while looking for something.

Eddie and Viv exchanged looks and then glanced up at their friend who was doing her best to dodge the giant parrot's snapping beak. The parrot had Lily cornered by a cluster of branches and leaves where two trees met.

"What are we looking for?" Eddie asked as he and his sister joined Oliver.

Oliver replied, "If my memory's right, there should be . . ."

As Oliver and the twins searched through the parrot's ill-gotten wealth, Lily had just about reached her limit. A waterfall of sweat cascaded down her face as she heaved in and out. Her heart threatened to break out of her ribcage with a rapid beating.

"Ugh!" she groaned while hovering near a wall of leaves. Her hands and feet felt so heavy. And the world around her just kept spinning even when she wasn't moving. She was not going to last much longer and the parrot could see that.

"It looks like this is it," it said. "You put up a good fight, but it was not good enough. Prepare to say good-bye to your shoes!"

"No!"

Everything looked like it was moving in slow motion. The parrot pulled its head back and then sprung at Lily. Lily leaned away, but she couldn't get far away enough. The parrot's beak closed down around an end of Lily's ribbon like a pair of scissors. And then -

"Gah!"

"Squawk!"

Both girl and parrot yelped and broke away from each other, startled by the by loud, eardrum-splitting heavy-metal music that suddenly pierced the night air. They went flying back too far and crashed into tree branches at either side of the clearing.

Where'd that come from? Lily wondered as she shook herself free. 

She happened to glance down and spotted the others waving to her. Eddie held a round, black speaker box over his head while Oliver waved around his smartphone. 

Her friends had come to her rescue again, Lily realized.

With gratitude, she waved back, but then frowned when she noticed how they kept pointing at her and then their heads as if they were trying to tell her something.

They cried out, "Lily! Your ribbon! Your ribbon!"

"My ribbon?"

Lily reached up to touch her forehead. With a jolt, she realized something dreadful: she was no longer wearing her ribbon.

The ribbon! Where is it? She looked around frantically and quickly spotted the long, strip of silk hanging from a tree branch. The ribbon must have got caught on it when she crashed over there earlier.

"Accursed noise!"

Hearing an angry shout, Lily turned around to see the parrot shake itself free. Behind the giant bird was also a ribbon caught on a tree branch.

Noticing Lily's gaze was elsewhere, the parrot turned, spotted the ribbon and looked back. It saw the ribbon behind the girl and now had to make a choice, the same choice that Lily was going to have to make:

Do I get back my ribbon, or go for the other one?

For Lily, the choice was clear. She was not going to last long either way, tired as she was. This game had to end now.

The parrot squint its eyes at Lily. It probably realized what she was thinking and quickly turned to get back its ribbon. But mustering all her remaining power, Lily urged the broom to fly and zoomed past the parrot. She closed in on the ribbon in an instant, but the parrot was just fast enough to stop her in her tracks by snapping its beak on the brush end of her broom.

With a grunt, the parrot tried to tug Lily away from its ribbon. But Lily stubbornly pushed on while stretching her hand out as far as she could.

"Grr!" she went. "Come on. Come on! REACH!"

The tips of her fingers managed to brush against the edge of the ribbon. But the parrot proved itself stronger and yanked Lily away. She was tossed away and just barely managed to stop herself from hitting the ground.

She looked up in horror as the parrot soared over her head towards her ribbon. Once more, it opened its beak to pluck the stream of silk. But then -

"Squawk!"

Down the ground, Oliver ran around the clearing and held his phone up. The phone's flashlight shined on the parrot's eye, startling it.

"Lily, NOW!"

Oliver's voice snapped Lily out of it and she once more mustered all her energy for one more push. She urged the broomstick to launch her back into the air, shooting straight for the parrot's ribbon.

Meanwhile, the parrot recovered from Oliver's surprise light attack, shook its head furiously and beat its wings hard.

"Yikes!"

The parrot's wing beat blew a burst of wind that pushed Oliver into some bushes. With nothing to get in its way, the parrot once more reached out to snatch Lily's ribbon. Lily was almost at the parrot's ribbon, but the parrot was also close to Lily's.

Lily's hand stretched out while the parrot's neck stretched out. 

Lily's fingers closed around the parrot's ribbon while the parrot's beak closed around Lily's ribbon.

And then -

The whole clearing was bathed by a flash of blue light, too bright for Lily to handle. She closed her eyes shut while holding her arm up over them.

"Huh?"

Feeling something moving in her hand, Lily slowly opened one eye and glanced up. Both eyes flew open and she unfurled her fingers. Laying on the palm of her hand was a small, black rectangle made of leather. It was Eddie's card case.

Lily had won the battle.

<== Chapter 5