Grimelda paced around her private laboratory. It had been two days since she sent her apprentice on a mission to find a first-class panacea. While he was away, Grimelda and her fellow brewmasters had successfully brewed a vial of the potion. It sat on her desk as she pondered her next steps. Who should consume the potion first? Certainly not Masters Ipso and Penn, for they were nearing their sixties. Tech wizards like Master Hubert were not an option too; their reliance on technology would hinder their journey to Medela. Brewmasters like her needed to remain at the apothecary. Perhaps Master Gilbert? She lifted her wrist to tap her phone.

A warning blared from the speakers: "Code Black! Code Black! All light and elemental wizards, proceed to Tenebrare!"

At once, Grimelda saw a third of the brewmasters in PANACEA1 remove their equipment and dash out the door. Her blood ran cold. First, Masters Galatea and Gertrude were injured while on duty at their post near the Tenebrare portal. After that, Masters Gaël and Lucia were sent to take over. What chaos was ensuing there to the point that entire divisions of wizards had to be called? Grimelda sighed. She had to focus.

Her phone beeped. It was a word from her apprentice. She tapped and swiped on her screen. Horror filled her heart once she read his message: I tried to get a vial from the black market this morning. I tried to buy from some sorcerers, but I'm cursed now and don't know when I'll recover. I'm sorry.

Grimelda pressed her hand against her forehead. No, no, what had she done? Her desperation cost her apprentice great harm. She should have never sent him on a mission. Now, they had lost another valuable member of their workforce. She replied: Don't apologize, I shouldn't have sent you. Get well soon.

Grimelda's gaze lingered on the potion atop her table. It was clear and odorless, like water, and she supposed it tasted like water as well. She contemplated ingesting it. If she were to go to Medela, then nobody would be left to supervise the brewmasters. But, if not her, then who will? What choice was she left with? She grasped the bottle and held it in front of her.

Someone knocked on her door.

"It's open."

Giorgino entered her laboratory, holding more vials of the same potion. "We've managed to brew five more."

"Excellent. Put them on the desk here."

Giorgino placed them on the desk in front of her.

"Can you stay awhile, please?" she asked.

"Uh, sure," Giorgino replied.

"Good. Close the door."

Giorgino closed the door.

Grimelda sighed. She asked him, "Have you heard of what happened to your student?"

He shook his head. "What happened?"

"He almost died due to a serum overdose."

"He did?" he asked, widening his eyes.

"Don't worry, he should be fine now," Grimelda said. "So for the past year, he's been drinking pure anti-sleeping serum thrice a week. Over time it caused his insomnia and almost killed him. We took him to the doctor early morning yesterday, and he prescribed him an antidote.

"Anyway, the doctor said that he should drink the serum only twice a week at most, and it should be infused with a drink instead of being consumed in its pure form. You'll have to rearrange his schedule as well so that he doesn't keep on getting up in the middle of the night."

"Oh, I didn't know I'd kill him," Giorgino said, guilt painting his face. "I don't know how to apologize."

"It's not really your fault. You didn't know. Anyway, we also have Medela to deal with. At least one of us has to go there."

Giorgino shivered, expectedly. "Who, exactly?"

"I don't know. I was thinking of sending a light wizard, or maybe an elemental one, but they're all called to Tenebrare."

"Why not a witch or warlock, like you or Master Umbro?"

"Better not. Shadow magic resembles dark magic closely, and we may not be welcome in Medela."

"A brewmaster or tech wizard?"

"Out of the question. Their magic relies on resources, and they won't have access to that if they go."

Giorgino touched his chin and pondered. "I can go."

Grimelda furrowed her brows. "You're willing?"

"It's my fault that a human girl is cursed. If someone has to go, it better be me."

"Alright then, find someone to accompany you."

"Nobody. I'll go alone."

"Alone?" she exclaimed. "Are you out of your mind? Nobody who went there has returned!"

"Those people passed by Nitea. I'll be passing through the Grand Study Hall. Maybe the path will be easier."

"Giorgino, you haven't mastered any field of magic yet. You're still a year away from being a brewmaster and three years more from being a light wizard."

"But I have gathered ingredients for a panacea, and that wasn't easy. I can handle it," he affirmed. "Master Grimelda, please. Let me make up for all of this."

She relented. "Grab one of them and drink."

Giorgino reached for a bottle and drank its contents. Nothing happened for a while. Later, Giorgino began talking to himself.

"Why are you talking to yourself?"

"No, there's someone's voice in my head," Giorgino explained. "I think the potion's talking to me?"

"Of course, 'obey its every behest,' " Grimelda said, quoting the poem Master Ipso had shown her. "What's the potion telling you?"

"It's asking me why I'm looking for Medela." Giorgino then turned his head. "There's a human girl who's cursed and I want to save her."

A hush followed. Giorgino turned his back on her as he talked to the voice in his head. Grimelda straightened her face to suppress her laughter, for he looked like a madman as he conversed with the voice. She wondered what words were being exchanged between them.

Giorgino turned around. His face was frozen in anxiety. "Uh, Master Grimelda, I can't go."

She furrowed her brows. "Why not?"

"It says that only humans can pass through Medela."

"Well, we're part human. We wouldn't be Gatekeepers if we didn't have a strand of human DNA; you should be able to pass."

"Exactly. We're not fully human. It's, uh"—Giorgino snapped his fingers as he tried to recall the voice's message—"it's asking for 'the magicless whose powers are bound by blood and not ink.' Something like that."

"Realm Seekers."

"What?"

"Realm Seekers," she repeated. "Their pieces of jewelry are bound to their bloodlines. The three of them have to fetch the panacea."

The room grew cold. They exchanged nervous glances as they let the news sink into their heads. Giorgino shook his head. "No."

"We have to."

"B-but they're just teenagers!" he exclaimed. "Sending them to Medela is a death sentence."

"What choice do we have, Giorgino?"

"I can ignore the voice and go there myself—"

"No! Have you not read Stella's notes? 'Obey its every behest.' What the potion says, we must follow." Grimelda lifted her phone to check the time. "It's 10:50 a.m. in Paris. They should be awake by now."

"Should we get them here now?"

"No, not now. Stella's mother was already suspicious of the trio when they kept on sneaking off to someplace else. In fact, we had to erase her memories recently. We'll arrange with them first."

Grimelda typed on her wrist as she composed a group message to the trio. She sent it. Her heartbeat thumped as she awaited their response.

***

Eddie reached for the chocolate macaron nearest him, having just eaten his second. He held it with three fingers as he lifted it to his mouth. He took a bite. Its decadent ganache flooded his tongue as soon as he cracked the macaron's shells. Its sweetness laced its scent as well, indulging his nose like how his mouth was. Not a single crumb fell to the floor, plate, or tablecloth as he ate—the sign of a well-baked macaron. Once he was done, he reached for a napkin and wiped his mouth.

He and his guests were dining at Ladurée for lunch and were at the dessert stage. In the morning they had gone to Avenue Montaigne for the first leg of their luxury shopping spree. If everything were to go as planned, they would spend the next four or five hours buying at boutiques on the Champs-Élysées. Eddie glanced at the other tables. Some tourists placed their shopping bags on top of their tables, showcasing their expensive purchases. Others kept them hidden underneath or placed them on their chairs. As for Eddie and his guests, all the things they bought were stowed in the trunk of their cars. Besides the fact that it was safer to keep them out of sight, he never fancied the idea of carrying glaring logos. He found them more tacky than elegant.

"These macaroons are so good," Jon said.

"Macarons," Eddie corrected him, concealing his annoyance behind a smile. "The macaroon is a dessert whose main ingredient is shredded coconut. The macaron is a sandwich-like cookie we're eating right now."

"Yeah, these are so good," Stella said, taking another bite. "The ones I've eaten before are hard, but this is not."

"Hard macarons are bad macarons. This is not one of them. Anyway, after this we're going to go shopping around the Champs-Élysées. Which store do you want to stop by first?"

"The Louis Vuitton flagship store is near, right?" Letizia said.

"It is. It's right over there." Eddie gestured to his front. "There's usually a queue to get in though."

"I don't mind queueing," she smiled.

"I also don't mind," said José.

"Alright then, Louis Vuitton it is," Eddie said. "Just a word of warning: it's often crowded with tourists so the service can be a bit slow and things get sold out quickly. Expect to wait for a while to get a sales assistant."

After a while, Eddie called a waiter and asked for the bill. He reached for his phone and wallet as he waited. He checked his notifications. One of them was a message from Grimelda. He wanted to read it, but felt rude if he stared at his phone for too long instead of interacting with his guests. He pocketed his phone instead—he could read it while they were shopping.

"Eddie," Stella murmured.

"What is it?"

"Did you get a message from, um, you-know-who?"

"I did. I'll read it later."

The waiter arrived at the table. Eddie paid for their lunch before they proceeded to Louis Vuitton. To their luck, the queue was empty when they arrived, so they entered the outlet without having to wait outside. Eddie was right; they would have to wait awhile to be assisted by a sales assistant. As they anticipated assistance, Eddie sat on one of the sofas and opened his phone. He read Grimelda's message: Three of you have to go to Nitea as soon as possible. Please arrange a time when you can without gaining suspicion from anyone.

He glanced at Jon and Stella. They, too, have read Grimelda's text. He could not discuss with them yet; they were in public. Unless...

Eddie stood up from his seat. "Jon, Stella, follow me. I want to show you something."

The two of them followed him. Eddie's eyes darted around the crowded store in search of a place to teleport. He reached into his bag and tapped Louis. It understood his signal.

As soon nobody was looking, Louis teleported them to Eddie's bedroom. Jon and Stella looked at him in confusion.

"Grimelda sent me a text, we have to go to Nitea as soon as possible," Eddie informed. "What time should we go?"

"Can't we go now?" Jon asked.

"We can't. She specifically said to go at a time when we don't arouse suspicion. Last time we just disappeared, Stella's mom got suspicious and we had to erase her memories, remember? I suspect that we'll be staying there for long."

"How about after dinner?" Stella suggested.

"Dinner is scheduled for seven o'clock, and the earliest we can go after that is eight or nine. It'll be early morning there. Let's see if she'll accept."

Eddie reached for his phone and texted Grimelda. To his surprise, she replied in an instant: We can meet at that time. I'll see you at your usual practice room.

"She agrees. Let's go back."

And in a flash, they returned to the fashion outlet.

***

It was half-past nine o'clock. Eddie was in his bedroom, preparing himself for their journey to Nitea. He had changed his clothes, prepared his bag, and stuffed Louis into it. All he needed to do was wait for Jon and Stella. He sat on his bed, swinging his legs out of boredom. They should be here any minute now.

He heard knocking. Eddie got up and strode towards the door. The two of them were there, holding a set of clothes for them to change into.

"Stella you can change in the bathroom." Eddie gestured to one side. "Jon, you can change in the closet or something."

He closed the door behind them and waited for them to finish changing. Meanwhile, he glanced at his wristwatch. They were already running late. He tapped his foot in impatience.

Stella walked out of the bathroom, cradling her sleepwear in her arms. "Where do I put my clothes?"

"Just hide them in the bathroom. Uh, Jon, hide them there as well. Hang them behind the door."

They obeyed. After hanging their clothes behind the bathroom door, Louis teleported the three to the portal and they crossed over to Nitea. They arrived at the practice room a couple of minutes later. Awaiting their arrival were Grimelda and Giorgino.

"Sorry we're late," Eddie apologized.

"It's fine. We know how hard it can be for you three, trying to come here without anyone noticing," Grimelda said. She handed each of them an opened vial. "Drink this."

The three of them each held the vial to their lips. Eddie noticed the liquid was clear and thin, like water. He sniffed it. It was odorless, like water. He gulped it down. It was tasteless, like water. Unlike water, he felt a strange sensation soon after he drank it. First, he heard ringing in his ears and ticklishness in his chest. After they had subsided, he heard a voice in his head. It was deep and masculine.

Hello, Realm Seeker.

He turned around. There was nobody else in the room. Eddie asked the adults, "Am I supposed to be hearing a voice in my head?"

"You are. That's the potion speaking to you," Giorgino said. "Uh, so we got some bad news. The three of you have to journey to Medela."

Shock and disquiet colored their faces.

"Anyway, don't worry, we think you'll make it. The voice in your head is the potion speaking to you, and whatever you do, you must follow it. Here"—Grimelda handed each of them an empty vial—"use that to collect the healing water. Come; we have to go to the Grand Study Hall."

Eddie kept the vial in his bag while Jon and Stella stored them in their pockets. The three of them followed Grimelda and Giorgino out of the Gatekeeper base. Eddie expected the two to take them to a Nitean library. As soon as they neared the Paris-Nitea portal, he raised an eyebrow. They were heading to Earth? The five of them crossed to Earth and ended up in the portal's antechamber.

Grimelda faced the wall opposite the door. She uttered, "Recludo."

The wall crumbled to reveal the Grand Study Hall. The trio gasped. They remained speechless as they followed Grimelda and Giorgino into the hall.

"This exists on Earth?" Eddie breathed. "I thought Earth is magicless."

"Indeed it is," Grimelda answered him, not keeping eye contact as she strode. "Centuries ago, when magical people like us still lived on Earth, they built the Grand Study Hall so that they had a place to learn all things magical without having to go to another realm. We don't live on Earth anymore, so this place serves more as a secret library for us Gatekeepers. Apparently, it also serves as a secret portal to Medela."

They halted in front of one of the stained-glass windows. Unlike the others, which had people depicted in them, that particular window showed nothing but an empty sea. The five of them waited in front of the window. Nothing happened.

Look for the marine maiden.

Eddie turned around. It was just the voice in his head. "Look for the marine maiden."

"What?"

"Look for the marine maiden," Eddie repeated, glancing at Giorgino. "That's what the voice is telling me to."

"It's saying the same to me," Stella said.

"I don't know where else could she be except here," Grimelda said, pointing at the window. "You think she's in the other windows?"

"Possibly," said Giorgino. "Let's split up and look for her."

The five of them separated and searched for the marine maiden. Eddie scrutinized the other stained-glass windows as he strode past them. None of the people inside appeared to be the one the voice was referring to.

In the play area, a blue-haired doll stood on one of the low tables. She waved her hand as she called for their attention. Eddie watched as Grimelda ignored it, focused on the task at hand. Eddie tilted his head. Its hair was as blue as the sea in the window. Could it be the marine maiden? He walked towards it. He genuflected before the low table so that his head was closer to the doll.

"Hello there," he said softly. "Are you the marine maiden?"

She shook her head. "My sister is," she squeaked.

"You have a sister?"

She nodded her head.

"Where is she? We need to find her."

"She's over there." The doll pointed at the empty stained-glass window. "She only comes out if you sing to her."

"Sing?"

"Sing a song."

"What kind of song?"

"Any. She's a bit picky, though."

Eddie nodded his head. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Eddie rose. "Guys, I know how to find her."

"You do?" Giorgino said, alert.

"This doll told me the marine maiden is in the window. She only comes out if we sing to her."

Grimelda furrowed her brows. "What kind of song?"

"Any song, but she's picky!" the doll peeped. "She likes it when boys sing to her."

Stella and Grimelda cast glances at the rest. "One of you has to sing to her," Grimelda said.

"Not me," Giorgino said, raising his hands in front of himself.

"I can try!" Jon beamed. "Any song, right?"

The doll nodded.

"Let's go! I'll sing to the marine maiden."

Jon galloped towards the window in a way that made Eddie chuckle. He could not help but feel that Jon would swoon as soon as he saw the marine maiden. The five of them returned to the window. They glanced at Jon. At once, he belted out a tune.

Eddie covered his mouth in an attempt to suppress his laughter. Jon was not terrible, per se, but his voice was far from enchanting. He glimpsed Stella's face. The two of them exchanged knowing glances. If the marine maiden were to come out after hearing Jon's serenade, it would be a miracle.

After Jon finished his song, they waited for a moment. The marine maiden made no appearance. Jon asked, "Is she coming?"

Louis's snort could be heard through the leather of Eddie's bag. "No, you drove her away."

Eddie, Stella, and Giorgino burst into laughter, but soon composed themselves when they caught sight of Grimelda's glare. She chided them, "We have a human girl's life at stake and the three of you are busy laughing at a failure?"

"S-sorry, master," Giorgino apologized.

"Eddie, why not you sing?" Stella asked. "You have a good voice."

"What makes you think that?"

"When we were at church, I heard you singing along with the choir. You were very good."

"Good as in good or good compared to Jon?" Giorgino asked.

"Very good," Stella answered him. She faced Eddie once more. "Eddie, you try."

"Which song?"

"Ave Maria, the one you sung at church."

Eddie nodded his head. He faced the window, took a deep breath, and sang, "Ave Maria, gratia plena..."

His strong voice shook the air around him. His eyes narrowed at the window. The blue sea inside it expanded till it engulfed the entire window, filling it with a deep shade of blue. A dark and blurry mark appeared in its center. As he continued his song, the mark shaped into a feminine figure. The marine maiden. Soon, a soothing song answered his call, and she came into view. As expected, she was a mermaid, her beach blond hair covering her willowy body.

"I have been called!" she said. Though she was speaking, her voice was still melodious. She eyed the five of them. "What brings you here?"

"We have to go to Medela," Grimelda said. "A human girl is cursed and we need the healing water to save her."

"A human girl! How did that happen?"

"It's, uh, a long story," Giorgino said. He and Eddie exchanged sheepish glances.

The marine maiden twirled her tail. "You two," she said, pointing at Giorgino and Grimelda, "wait here. Oh, I sense a magic book. It must stay here as well."

Eddie opened his bag and tossed Louis out of it. He told it, "Be nice."

"Of course I will."

"Ah, you're the one with a charming voice," she said to Eddie. "Anyway, you three can pass. Follow me."

Rumble. The glass window cracked and shattered, revealing a dark and narrow pathway. A flock of books fluttered to their front and formed a staircase to the window.

"Good luck," Grimelda bade them. "Remember, follow the voice."

"We will," Eddie promised.

The trio stepped onto the books and climbed the stairs to the pathway. The marine maiden's voice echoed through the tunnel. Eddie took one last glance behind himself before he and his friends marched onward.

As soon as the trio disappeared into the darkness, the glass window repaired itself.

✧ ✧ ✧

It's time we wish the trio a lot of luck, because they're going to need a ton of it if they want to succeed 😬 what do you think lies ahead of them?

I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter! If you did, please don't forget to vote for it by pressing the star on this chapter! It's an instant way to let me know that you like my story 😊