The Secrets of the Elements novel Chapter 8

"Why not?" asked Maya and shut the door of her bedroom. "Because it's too risky," said Advika wearing her earphones.

They were on a conference call.

"I think Advika is right," said Ray lying down on his bed. "We were nearly caught yesterday. We should wait."

"I agree," said Tej. "Let's disguise and go," said Zarna. There was a brief pause. "We can, actually," agreed Advika. "Let's decide what we'll disguise as, and then decide the date and time," said Maya. "Okay then, guys think of a person or character, but it should look normal, we don't want to grab attention," said Tej.

"Okay, we'll discuss our characters, I mean costume on the group chat," added Ray. "Yes, we'll post pictures of ourselves disguised as some character on the group and then decide," said Zarna.

"Okay," said Tej and Advika in unison.

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Advika rummaged through her wardrobe. She removed a blue tank top and a denim jacket, along with a brown three-fourth. Mom might have a wig, she thought. She went towards the door. "But what will I tell her? Why do I want that wig?" she wondered.

"I might have to steal it then," she said and went to her parents' room.

She quickly opened the drawer below the mirror and took the wig. "Sorry, mom," she whispered and sped towards her room.

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Ray, removing his headband, set his hair with some gel. He put on a white cap and glares, looking in the mirror in front of him.

"No," he said, removing the glares and looked around in the room.

He picked up the round spectacles kept on the table and walked towards the mirror.

"Nice," he said and smiled.

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Tej wore a fake moustache and applied a bit much oil to his hair. He dressed in a full sleeve white shirt and a khaki pant.

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Maya wore a knee-length black skirt and a half-sleeve white top. She applied some kohl in her eyes and some powder to make herself look fair. She braided her curly hair and applied some lip balm.

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Zarna, dressed in a cami top and black jeans, tied her long hair into a bun and applied some foundation and kohl. She wore fake eyelashes and put on a dark red lipstick.

Should I wear specks? Or should I try wearing a wig?" she wondered. She opened the cabinet and removed round spectacles from it. "Maybe I should wear this," she said and put it on.

"Now I look different," she said, looking at her reflection in the mirror.

Advika wore a blue tank top and brown three-fourth. She removed her specks and wore blue colour lens instead. "This will make my hair look longer," she said and put on the wig. She wore a denim jacket and applied some powder to improve her complexion. "Maybe I should not apply a lipstick," she said and closed her closet.

"I hope I'm looking at least a bit different," she wondered as she took her phone and clicked a selfie.

Her phone vibrated as her friends had sent their photos on the group chat. They all agreed on their attires and decided to go to the library the next day, morning, even if it meant bunking college.

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"What do you mean I can't fight the werewolves?" he almost screamed at the old man.

"Master Daksh, your father Indra is a professional... and experienced, he can get away with... anything," stammered the old man.

"You mean to say I'm weak?" Daksh asked, towering over the old man.

Daksh was tall, had a fair complexion, always had his hair in spikes, and had blue eyes. He had a sharp nose and always carried a small stiletto with him.

He wore a transparent white T-shirt that revealed his abs. He was muscular and wore white studs in one ear.

He ran his slender fingers through his dark black hair and let out a sigh.

"Whatever you do, I want those five," he muttered.

The old man nodded his head and bowed before Daksh before taking his leave.

"I'm here for. . . I came here to read books on Indian History, for a school project," Advika lied. The girl looked at Ray. "Oh, I came here looking for books on ancient temples, I love history, you see," he said and coughed.

"I'm Rutuja, the librarian, if you need help finding the books, let me know," she said, and with a nod went to sit on the red colour sofa next to the library's entrance.

Advika took a deep breath as she walked towards the bookshelves on her right, while Ray on the left.

There was a range of various tall bookshelves on both sides of the library. There are several types of books on the shelves ranging from English classics to science fiction, to magazines, to non-fiction, to references and finally to books on Occult and supernatural.

Advika scanned the books as she walked through the bookshelf. The Legends of Saptabhumi by Chitra D., The Princess of Tribhumi by Lekha G., The Elements by Gustaf Morgan.

Advika stopped the instant she saw the title which read 'The Elements'. She went through the book, scanning each page thoroughly.

Ray carefully removed his phone from his pocket and clicked a few pictures of the book he was holding. He quickly examined the section of Occult and ancient history.

Zarna entered the library and glanced at Rutuja. "Hi," she said. "I'm looking for books on ancient history. Could you help me with it please?" she asked. "Sure," said Rutuja and led her to the section of ancient history. Zarna's eyes fell on the staircase opposite the bookshelf. "Where does that lead to?" she asked.

"Oh, that, it's closed now," replied Rutuja and went back to sit on the sofa.

Zarna quickly went through the books, scanning for anything related to the elements. The Magical Waters by Deba Grey, read the book cover. It had an illustration of blue sea, with waves crashing the ship on the harbour. Zarna picked up the book and sat on the chair nearby to give it a read.

In ancient times, sorcerers used water as a medium to travel in time. It could transport them to the past or future according to their choice, the only limitation being that they had to hold their breath until they get out of the water.

If the sorcerer can hold his breath, then, and only then can he time travel by water. The element of water has many powers. It can be both clam and fierce like fire.

To practice this, the sorcerer needs to focus on his mind; being thoughtless. The energy of the water needs to be felt first before practising any kind of magical routine with it.

Zarna sighed and kept the book back on the shelf.

Tej stepped into the library and looked around. Daksh followed. Tej headed towards the Literary section and picked up a random book from the shelf.

"Rutu," said Daksh and held her hand. "I want to talk to you, now," he said and glanced at the others. "Daksh, I can't leave the library unattended," whispered Rutuja and removed her hand from his grip. "I'll talk to you in the evening."

Daksh nodded his head and left the library.