Chapter Six
Justin had expected 1 of 2 outcomes when he opened the book. He thought he would either be immediately transported back to the bookstore or nothing would happen at all. He did not plan on option 3. As the book fell open in his arms, he heard a click and felt the D20 dice come loose from the cover. He tried to grab it, but couldn't shift the book to his right hand before it hit the ground. He saw Maggie out of the corner of his eye reach for it, but she hesitated for a moment too long, and the dice fell into the grass and lay there motionless.
"You're still here." There was clear surprise in her voice as Maggie took another step closer to Justin. Looking over the top of the still-open book at the shiny red dice lying on the ground, he swallowed once before he continued. "I guess I am."
With two more small steps, Maggie closed the gap between them. "What does the book say?" Justin had completely forgotten about the book amidst the shock of the dice hitting the ground and the bigger shock of still being here. He had known there was a good chance that might happen, but I guess deep down he thought he would have ended up back in the bookstore. He was also shocked to realize that he wasn't upset about still being here.
"Well?" Maggie layed he hand on Justin's forearm, bringing him back to the moment at hand. He tilted the book so she could see what was inside at the same time as him, and then looked down to finally figure out what type of book he was holding.
The pages were blank. Shifting his weight, he slowly began flipping through the rest of the book. It wasn't just the first few pages. The entire book was blank. "I don't understand. What good is a book without words?" The very unladylike hurrumph that came from Maggie caused him to look up at her in question. "Well, isn't it obvious?" He shook his head, completely confused by her question. "Men. Obviously, a book without words is meant to have words put in it."
It took Justin a full 5 seconds to understand what she meant. "Oh, you mean like a diary?" Maggie shrugged and folded her arms across her chest. It doesn't have to be just for a diary. It can be for keeping track of important information besides what you did on any given day, but yes, it could be used as a diary."
Justin closed the book and gently set it back down on the grass before standing back up and facing Maggie. "Are you just going to leave it and the red thing on the ground? I don't think that would be a good idea." Justin looked down at the D20 dice for a moment as though waiting for it to explain to him why he found himself in this situation. "No, I am going to take it with me. I just need a moment to think. It came off for a reason, and I am not entirely sure if it is safe to touch. What if I pick it up and it takes me somewhere entirely different than the bookstore, or it burns my hand?"
Looking down at it, Maggie only waited two heartbeats before she reached for it and scooped it into her palm. Justin was so shocked that he took 2 steps back from her as though afraid she would explode.
"I'm fine. Everything's fine." She moved the dice from one hand to the other to show him that there were no marks on her hand. "Here, you take it." There was no way that Justin could not take it after seeing how quickly she picked it up. He was again surprised that he didn't detect any pity or disgust in her when he had hesitated to get it. Most people he knew would have called him a coward or a wimp.
After only the briefest pause to steel his resolve, Justin reached out and took the dice from her hand. It was colder than he thought it would be. Colder than he remembered when he rubbed it in the bookstore. The sun caught on the numbers, and he realized that they were the same gold as the etchings on the book. It really was quite a lovely dice as far as dice went.
"Why do you think it fell out of the book when you opened it?" Justin looked at her for a moment before shrugging. "Honestly, I have no idea. Your guess is as good as mine."
"Well, what are you going to do now? Are you going to stay and help the king with our mythical creatures problem?" Justin realized that he didn't have much of a choice, but he didn't want to say that to her. But he was also beginning to low-key freak out as the reality of his situation finally sank in. He took a moment to look up at the sky and realized just how low the sun was to the horizon. That fact gave him something else to think about besides his dire situation.
"Um, before I decide how to handle the mythical creatures problem, I need to figure out where I can spend the night." Maggie let her shoulders relax in relief. "Oh, that won't be a problem. There is plenty of space at my home for you to stay. My father will be so grateful when he finds out you have decided to help. I want you to know that I am grateful too.
Justin was about to object to her statement about him having already decided to help, but seeing the hope in her eyes gave him the courage he needed to nod and simply say, "Thank you."
They both looked around awkwardly for a second before Justin bent down and retrieved the book from the ground. He slipped the D20 dice into his pants pocket, making sure he pushed it all the way down to the very bottom. He didn't want to risk it falling out. He didn't know if having it was essential to him getting back home eventually, but better to be safe than sorry.
Even as fear caused his heart to race and his palms to sweat, there was still that steady feeling of rightness in the back of his mind. Somehow, he knew that this didn't happen by chance and that there was a purpose to all of this craziness. He only hoped he was brave enough to see it through until the end.
Pulling himself out of his thoughts, he gestured for her to go first. "Lead the way." She smiled at him as though he had given her the greatest gift. He realized that in that moment, he very well may have. He had agreed to come with her. He had given her something that had apparently been in short supply for some time. Hope. He couldn't let her down. He wouldn't. Somehow, he had to find a way to solve the problems Aldervaile had with mythical creatures. After all, they were his specialty. They were what he knew best.