She dropped the enormous book onto the table.
Dust exploded everywhere.
Gabrielle coughed loudly.
"What is that?"
"Our problem."
Alex walked over.
The moment he saw the title, the colour drained from his face.
"You actually brought it?"
"I borrowed it."
"You stole it."
"I borrowed it."
Alex sighed.
"We are definitely getting arrested. You are not allowed to take this book out of the library."
Ariel ignored him before opening the first page.
Both twins and Gabrielle leaned over the table together.
"Start."
"The Serifs are among the oldest magical bloodlines ever recorded. They do not create illusions. They weave fragments of reality into hidden dimensions known as Pocket Realms. These realms exist outside maps, outside kingdoms, outside time itself."
The images appeared in form of a hologram and a voice echoed from the book;
"The Serifs architects of reality."
"Who said that?" Gabrielle asked.
"The book. Get used to magic." Ariel replied. "Atijo, go on."
On the hologram, Men dressed in silver robes stretched out their hands as pieces of the world bent around them.
The image changed.
"A serf can not create life, destroy an existing one but create a reality separate from reality itself."
Ariel's eyes widened.
The next page showed a glowing prison suspended in endless darkness.
"It existed… Nowhere, It wasn't underground neither was it above the sky and this is called Pocket Realms… that is , a Places impossible to locate because they exist outside ordinary space."
Another page turned.
"Can a serf wield their power in the human world? " Ariel asked.
"Not every magical being can use their powers on earth?"
"Yes and not every magical being can look human. I am a fairy so I can. " She replied Gabrielle then to the book she said, "Show us"
The whole room became like that of a Serf's realm – the Pocket realm.
IT wasn't like the room any more, everywhere was filled with purple smoke.
"This looks exactly like the one the last time." Gabrielle said.
A woman appeared inside, she was chained.
Heavy silver chains wrapped around her wrists and ankles while strange symbols glowed beneath her feet.
Ariel froze.
"...No."
"For a serf to leave and dwell in a humanworld" The book continued. "The serf has to sacrifice seven earthy women, they are to be bounded with special chains. This chain extract human power."
"Human power?"
"Why women?"
"The power of life, power of birth." The book echoed.
Another image appeared.
A young girl reached forward.
Touched the chains.
The chains shattered.
Gabrielle.
Ariel slammed the book shut.
"Oh no…"
The were back to their reality.
Gabrielle looked confused.
"I don't get it, nor the hologram."
Alex searched the room for an example.
Finally he picked up a dark blue cup.
"Imagine this cup is the human world."
He picked up another smaller cup.
"This is a Pocket Realm."
He placed the smaller cup inside the larger one.
"It exists..."
Gabrielle nodded.
"But you can't see it from outside."
Alex smiled.
"Exactly."
"So..."
Ariel continued.
"If someone traps you inside one..."
"...the world no longer knows where you are."
"You were there?" Ariel said. "You broke a chain?"
Gabrielle nodded.
"I didn't know I wasn't supposed to."
Alex stood up, walked backwards until he reached the couch before dropping onto it.
"We're finished."
Gabrielle looked worried.
"What do you mean?"
"I think he would surely want to find the woman and kill her or I don't know. Can we find this woman?" Alex asked
"Why?"
"The Pocket Realm was created at a particular location, it might not be seen but it has a location."
"SO if she remembers, she can take us there." Ariel said completing Alex sentence.
"We've got school tomorrow, we can't work all night." Gabrielle said.
"How about this, tomorrow, after school, we will go to the archives and look for missing women."
"She wont be able to give you any information even if you find her." The book said as it opened.
"Why?" Gabrielle asked.
The book opened to a particular page and a paragraph was highlighted.
"Theory behind the pocket realm:
1. Anyone who has been in another world for a long period of time has no idea of what is going on in the current world.
2. The more you stay in that world the more you forget. 10 years, you will forget 10 years. One memory lost per day.
3. In the world, one day is 10 hours in the human world.
4. A pocket realm has a wall that prevents the human world form flowing into it.
5. The only way to recover the memory is to"
He paused.
"to what?"
"There is nothing there."
"Heyy, bookie, what is the last one." Ariel asked.
No response.
"Really?"
"Maybe, someone erased it." Gabrielle said sadly.
"We start tomorrow. I will look for a book on how to restore her memory, while the two of you will have to find the woman." Ariel said and then disappeared with the book.
After a while, Alex suddenly stood up.
"We need to understand your powers, because, you entered a place no ordinary magician should ever be able to find...how?"
He held her hand and soon, they appeared at an open field for golf/
"Outside."
"What if someone sees us?"
Alex stretched out one hand.
A tiny blue flame appeared above his palm.
"I want you to copy this."
Gabrielle closed her eyes.
A few seconds later, an identical blue flame appeared above her own hand.
Alex smiled.
"Good. How about we test if it is affected by distance."
He walked backward until he was ten metres away.
"Again."
She succeeded.
Twenty metres.
Still worked.
Thirty metres also had the same result.
Alex continued walking.
Thirty-five metres.
Gabrielle frowned.
Nothing happened.
She tried again but still nothing.
Alex waved his wand and a measuring tape appeared. He measured their distance.
"Thirty-two metres."
Alex nodded thoughtfully.
"So that's your current range." He said then disappeared.
"My what?"
"Your magic can reach another person's power within approximately thirty-two metres." He said as he appeared before her.
"You know you could have just walked." Gabrielle said smiling.
"Why walk when you have magic?" He replied then winked.
"So, you are limited by distance. That means, when you got into the realm, you were very close to where a serf was. "
"I was at the hospital."
"Normally, whenever someone taps into another person's magic, the owner immediately feels it. It's like someone knocking on your front door." Alex continued.
"But Ariel never noticed."
"Not once."
Alex smiled.
"Which means you aren't borrowing magic."
"So what am I doing?"
"We don't know."
He folded his arms.
"Don't tell Ariel but you are a better teacher than her."
"Lets go back, this time walking. And I wont." He said smiling.