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Both boys nodded and Bear pointed out, “It wouldn’t matter anyway since you could just make another door appear.”

“I have no idea how I did that, so let’s not count on it happening again.”

“The look on the librarian’s face…” Jordan snorted, before mimicking the little man, “Very well.”

They burst out laughing at his impersonation and when they were calm again Bear asked, “So, when do we get to have our first Library adventure?”

Alex thought for a moment before saying, “I want to solve this Aven mystery first. Can you guys wait until the weekend? That gives me four more days. I’m sure I’ll find something by then.”

They hid their disappointment well—if Jordan’s pout and Bear’s sigh could be considered hidden expressions.

“The patience will be good for you,” Alex said, yawning. “All that chocolate has made me sleepy. Or maybe it was everything else that happened. Either way, I need to crash.”

She stood up and headed to the door, only turning around to say, “Don’t forget, you can’t tell anyone about the Library.”

“You can count on us,” Jordan promised, waving her out of their room.

Eighteen

It took all week, butby Saturday morning Alex had finished searching through all of the yearbooks from the previous fifteen years. She was sure Aven couldn’t have been older than that, but still she’d found no trace of him anywhere.

The more she thought about it, the more Alex was convinced to just leave it alone. She might not ever see him again anyway, and for some strange reason, that made her feel oddly disappointed. There had just beensomethingabout him; something so… appealing. Half of her had been enamoured, and the other half… repulsed.

There was something else about him, too. Something not quite right. Alex remembered feeling the need to please him, to do whatever he asked of her. She’d never felt so compelled, sotempted, before in her life. Even just thinking about it made her skin crawl, so she resolutely decided to let go of the entire Aven issue. It was time to move on.

“Hey, Alex!” Jordan called out as he jogged over to her.

She was sitting underneath her favourite tree by the lake, enjoying the beautiful day and attempting to clear her head. So far, no such luck, so she was glad for the distraction. “What’s up, Jordan?”

He took a seat beside her. “What are you doing for Kaldoras?”

“Kaldoras?” The foreign word triggered a memory of Darrius telling her about the Library and the upcoming annual holiday. “It’s sort of like Christmas, right?” At Jordan’s blank look, she mumbled, “Never mind.”

Sometimes Alex found it easy to forget she was in a whole new world. And with everything else going on, she had failed to remember that there was only a week left until classes were suspended for the break. She definitely wasn’t looking forward to what was sure to be a lonely holiday, since most of the other students were leaving to visit their families. Added to that, it was also the first time ever that Alex wouldn’t be with her parents for Christmas, and she felt sad just thinking about that.

“I’ll be staying here,” she said, trying not to sound too miserable about it. “It’ll be a good chance to catch up on homework.” Eugh. What an awful prospect.

“How ’bout an alternative?” Bear said, appearing from behind them and sprawling onto the ground. “I was just talking to Mum and she told me to bring you home with us for the holidays. Ordered, more like. Once Mum starts insisting, you really don’t get much of a say in the matter.”

“I couldn’t possibly,” Alex said, though she was touched by Bear’s offer. “Kaldoras is for family time, or so I presume.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Bear said. “We always have heaps of people over to celebrate. It’s not so much family time as it is a global event—especially with Gammy’s cooking.”

Alex still wasn’t sure until Bear added, “And besides, Jordan’s coming too, so it’s not just my family.”

“You’re going?” Alex asked Jordan.

“Sure am,” he answered, as if it was a silly question. “Ever since I met Bear, I’ve spent Kaldoras with his family.”

“How come?”

“My folks are always busy around the holidays,” he said, sounding slightly bitter. “Fundraisers, royal galas, charity balls… the whole socialite shebang.”

Her eyes widened. “Your parents are socialites?”

“For lack of a better word,” he mumbled, not meeting her eyes.

Alex was curious and she found it difficult not to ask more questions. But she could tell that it was a sore subject, so she didn’t press him.