by Elle Adams
“Ah!”
My hand snagged on the edge of the second stair. Only the first one had vanished, but both my legs had disappeared through the gap and I couldn’t see how deep the drop was.
Sylvester fluttered down to land on the bannister. “You could have asked for my help.”
“I didn’t know if you’d come into that section.” I gripped the stairs with both hands, my heart thumping.
“Are you joking?” He gave a hoarse laugh. “As if I’d miss the chance to see your first encounter with the Dimensional Study Section.”
I sucked in a breath. “Can you help me out of here?”
“No,” he said. “You’re too heavy for me to lift.”
I pulled myself up, wincing when my knee got stuck halfway out of the stairs.
Sylvester laughed, his wings fluttering as he collapsed into hysterics in mid-air. I made a rude gesture at him, saying farewell to all attempts at being civil. “I’m glad you get so much entertainment out of my misfortune.”
He stopped cackling and said, “Well, now I won’t help you.”
Did this count as an emergency? I’d grab the paper Estelle had given me with the emergency words, but I couldn’t reach my pocket from this angle. I lowered my leg so my knee was no longer jammed and pulled myself out onto the second stair. Gripping the bannister with shaking hands, I practically flew down the remaining stairs and found Estelle near the table where I’d left the other books.
“Rory, you look frazzled. What happened?”
“The Dimensional Study Section happened.”
She winced. “Oh, no. Sorry, I should have taken that one.”
“No worries,” I said. “It’s kind of my own fault. I tried to run through with my eyes closed and accidentally fell through the stairs. Sylvester found it hilarious.”
“I’ll have a word with him,” she said. “He might be a bit caustic, but I reckon he’s channelling Cass.”
“He’s still nicer than my old boss,” I said. ‘By a fraction, anyway.”
“Still,” she said. “Tell you what—want to help me tidy the Reading Corner before it gets busy? This is the family friendly area. No hidden surprises.”
“Sure,” I said. Though I had an inkling the magical world’s definition of ‘family friendly’ might differ from mine. The Reading Corner was deserted aside from Tad, who lay in his usual hammock wearing the same green pointed hat as yesterday.
“We’re not that busy yet, but things pick up around lunchtime,” she said. “We have a free snack bar. Helps keep the shifters happy. Ah, speaking of…”
Someone had entered through the front door, which made a tinkling noise. Estelle turned in that direction. “People are always arriving early,” she said in an undertone. “Cass isn’t around yet. Hey, Lucy,” she said.
“Hey,” said the young woman who’d just come in. “Have you got anything on Paranormal Laws? I’m late with an assignment again.”
“Ah, that’ll be in the reference section here on the ground floor,” she said. “It’s by the Reading Corner. Tell you what, you go and find it, Rory. It’s Section A14.”
“Okay.” I might have had a less than stellar introduction to the upper floors, but I liked the Reading Corner, with its soft lanterns and comfy seats.
I walked through to the Reading Corner and checked the shelf numbers. A14 was to the left, so I went that way. The shelves stayed where they were, and there was a single copy of the book I needed. I reached and pulled it off the shelf, tucked it under my arm, and something caught my eye. On my right, a foot poked from between the shelves. A human foot.
I trod closer. A man lay between the shelf and its neighbour, on his side, a book clasped in his hands.
“Er… excuse me?”
No response came. My heart kick-started, and I whirled to face the Reading Corner. “Hey! Can someone get over here?”
A goblin looked up at me and hurried over. “Is that Duncan?”
The man didn’t move or answer. The goblin moved to his side, then recoiled.
“He’s dead,” he said.
5
Estelle was at my side in an instant, her hand clasped to her mouth. “Oh, no.”
The library might have no end of surprises, but a dead body was evidently not a normal occurrence.
“Someone call Aunt Adelaide.” She crouched down over his body, pulling out a thick, padded book with a dark plain cover. Opening the book, she tapped the page, muttering under her breath. “I think he was cursed. It’s not coming up with a natural cause of death.”
“When did he die?” I asked. “He was hidden back here, between those two shelves.”
“It must have been today,’ said Estelle. “An hour ago at most. Someone would have seen otherwise. I wouldn’t think he stayed overnight. Has anyone left in the last hour?”
“No,” Sylvester said, perching on the shelf. For once, his smug expression was absent. “Nobody has. That means the murderer is in the library right now, in all likelihood.”
I stared at the man’s body, my heart hammering. He was about my age, maybe a bit younger, with thick dark hair and eyebrows and pale skin. His eyes were open, his hands still clasping the heavy-looking book to his chest. I knelt to look at it. “What’s that book he’s holding?”
“Don’t touch it!” Estelle said. “It’s a magical item. I’m almost certain it caused his death.”
“But—that’s one of our books,” I said. “Look at the spine.” It bore the same labelling system as the other books, along with our family’s coat of arms.
“Make room,” said Aunt Adelaide, sailing through the gathering crowd towards us. “What happened? Did anyone see?”
A few murmurs followed. Nobody had seen. The few patrons present—aside from Tad, who’d slept through the whole thing—all gathered around my aunt, muttering anxiously.
“It looks like a magical cause of death, since there isn’t a mark on him,” Estelle said. “We should call the police, but it’s definitely a witch or wizard’s work.”
Who’d pick a library as the place to commit murder? Admittedly, the labyrinthine shelves offered endless places to hide a body, but the killer had chosen a spot right next to the Reading Corner. As opposed to, say, the Dimensional Studies Section. Not the act of someone who wanted to hide their crime.
I scanned the patrons. One, I recognised from yesterday, the vampire called Dominic. The memory of those creepy vampires was fresh in my mind, but Estelle had said it was a witch or wizard who’d committed the murder and I trusted her judgement more than mine.
The doorbell rang, making me jump. Were the police here already? I headed that way to see, and a man strode in through the doors. He had startling white-blond hair, and he held a long, curved weapon over his shoulder.
Nobody moved to stop him. The breath froze in my lungs. Are they seriously going to let him walk in here carrying that… weapon?
Worse, his eyes were fixed on me. I should move, but my legs had turned to lead weights. The man kept walking until we stood face to face. His eyes were a clear shade of blue-green, striking against his dark clothes.
“Can I help you?” I asked.
“I am the Reaper,” he said. “And I’m here to collect.”
My heart missed a beat. “The Reaper… as in the Grim Reaper?”
“Yes,” he said. “You’re new here, right?”
He moved the sword—no, scythe—off his shoulder and gripped it in both hands.
“Don’t take my soul!” I squeaked.
“Oh, you’re not the one I’m here for,” he said. “There’s a body in here, isn’t there? I sensed it.”
Because that wasn’t creepy at all. Still, at least it wasn’t my soul he was after. “This way,” I said, beckoning him towards the Reading Corner. I wished he’d lower that weapon of his. What in the world was he planning to do with it?
Despite his ominous presence, nobody seemed surprised to see him, and the crowd parted to let the Reaper through.
“Oh, Xavier, you’re here,” said Aunt Adelaide. “Good. We’re having trouble identifying the cause of death. It’s certainly magical, but…”
The Reaper—Xavier—stood for a moment, holding the scythe over the man’s body. His brow furrowed. “His soul is gone.”
A shocked hush fell over the patrons. Even Aunt Adelaide paled.
“What does that mean?” I whispered to Estelle.
“It means he was killed by a curse,” said Aunt Candace, striding into view. “A dark curse.”
Everyone watched as Aunt Candace approached, her wild hair standing on end and an almost excited bounce to her steps.
“But—” Estelle stopped. “If a wand killed him, someone would have seen or heard. His body’s right next to the Reading Corner.”
“Precisely,” said Aunt Candace. “Unless, of course, the curse was cast on an object.” Her gaze went to the book.
“She’s right,” Aunt Adelaide said. “It needs to be quarantined immediately.”
“There’s one small problem,” said the Reaper. “I was sent here to collect a soul. I can’t leave without it. It’s the rules.”
Oh, no. Did that mean he’d have to take someone else in exchange? I looked away from his gaze. Surrendering my soul to the Reaper had not been on my to-do list for my first day here.
Seeing me staring, Estelle moved closer. “That means he has to stay until we find out where Duncan’s soul went. It’s not possible for it to just disappear.”
“I’ll take your word for it,” I whispered. “I’ve never even seen a dead body before.”
The Reaper was still watching me, his head tilted. I wished he’d put the scythe away if he wasn’t going to use it.
The doorbell rang again, and this time, a small man with pointed ears walked over to the Reading Corner. He wore a blue uniform with a silver badge.
“That’s Edwin,” said Estelle. “He leads the local law enforcement.”
Edwin approached Estelle, giving me an appraising look. “You’re unfamiliar. New in town?”
“I’m Aurora,” I said. “I’m the new assistant here—Estelle’s my cousin and Adelaide is my aunt. So is Candace.”
Cass was still noticeably absent. Sylvester refrained from making a comment on my discovery of Duncan’s murder, to my relief. I’d already found a dead body—I didn’t need to be accused of putting it there.
Edwin looked around. “Tell me what happened here.”
“We found Duncan’s body in there, between the shelves,” said Estelle, pointing. “Xavier just told us he’s unable to collect his soul, since it’s gone. That suggests a powerful curse caused his death.”
“Yes, it does,” said Aunt Adelaide. “However, it wasn’t done with a wand.”
“We think it’s in the book he’s holding,” added Estelle. “There’s a strong possibility it might not be safe to touch.”
“No, well, that’s your area of expertise,” said the elf, stopping at a suitable distance from the man’s corpse. “Take care of the book and I’ll have my people remove the body. Who found him?”
All eyes turned to me. My mouth went dry. “I did,” I said. “Someone hid his body between those two shelves, like Estelle said.”
“You found him,” he said. “The newcomer.”
“She can’t use much magic yet,” Estelle said quickly. “She’s new in town. Just found out she was paranormal yesterday.”
More murmurs broke out. I spoke over them. “It’s true. I was on my way to find a book and found him lying there. Whoever put him here must have hoped nobody would find him until after they left.”
“Unluckily for them,” said Aunt Candace, “Sylvester has been watching the door all morning. All the possible culprits are here in this room.”
“Exactly,” said the owl, fluttering his wings and drawing everyone’s attention. “Nobody left.”
“Oh, Cass must be somewhere upstairs,” added Aunt Candace. “Someone can fetch her, and I’ll remove that book.”
“That book is police property,” said Edwin.
“Do you want to be cursed?” Aunt Candace enquired.
Aunt Adelaide shot her a warning look. “What my sister means to say is that the book is likely still afflicted with the curse that killed Duncan. In the interests of safety, it should remain here. Books are our area of expertise, after all. It wouldn’t be the first cursed book we’ve held at our establishment.”
“Evidently,” the elf said, with another glance at me. “Would any of you have reason to murder that man? You knew him? Regular visitor, was he?”
“He was,” said Aunt Adelaide. “I’ll talk to you—Candace, please put the book in quarantine. The quicker we figure out the curse, the easier it will be to trace the caster.”
She steered Edwin to the side to speak to him, and to my surprise, he went along without a fuss. My family must know the police well. Then again, the library was at the town’s centre, Estelle had said.
“None of you move,” Aunt Candace snapped at the others. “Sylvester, see to it that nobody wanders off. Now, let me work my magic.”
She pulled out a plain black book like the one Estelle had used and tapped a page with her fingertip. The dead man’s hands moved, releasing the book he held, which levitated into the air. Chains appeared and wrapped around the book, sealing it closed.
“What is that?” I asked.
“Protection. Just in case.” Aunt Candace waved a hand, and the book floated through the middle of the crowd. Everyone ducked out of the way. “I’ll put it in one of the classrooms. I don’t know what’ll happen when I try to crack it open, but I’d advise you to avoid the general area for a bit.”
“But who’s the man who died?” I asked. His arms had collapsed to his sides after he’d let the book go, but there still wasn’t a mark on him. His eyes were wide open, his jaw slack. His soul is gone, Xavier had said.
“Duncan,” Estelle said. “He was a student at the town’s University of Spellcraft. Pretty harmless. I can’t think why anyone would try to kill him.”
“Some of us wanted to at his poetry readings,” said Cass, appearing behind her.
“Cass!” said Estelle.
“Poetry readings?” I asked.
“They’re a weekly feature here at the library, every Monday evening,” Estelle explained. “Very popular. And yes, Duncan showed up every week with a new poem. Bad poetry is not an excuse to curse someone, though.”
Cass snorted. “Depends if you came to the last one or not. ‘Ode to the Decapitated Rat My Cat Brought In’ made me want to write my own obituary.”
Someone was displaying an alarming lack of sympathy for the dead.
The sleeping man in the hammock woke with a start. “Let the nefarious rites begin,” he proclaimed, startling everyone in the vicinity. Like me, they’d forgotten he was there.
“What does that mean?” I asked.
“In time you’ll learn not to ask that question,” said Cass. “Assuming you stick around. Personally, I wouldn’t if I were in your position, even without the dead body.”
“Cass,” Estelle said warningly. “Well, it’s safe to say Tad didn’t do it, he doesn’t even know his own name. The police will want to question the others…”
“Yes, we would,” Edwin said. “Starting with the person who discovered the body.”
I swallowed. Maybe it wasn’t the Reaper I should have been worried about after all.
Aunt Adelaide gave me an encouraging nod as I followed the elf policeman through one of the many open doors to the left of the Reading Corner and into what appeared to be a classroom. He took a seat. So did I.
“So, you’re new here,” Edwin said. “Know anything about curses?”
I shook my head. “No. I know that there are different types of magic and I’m a biblio-witch. That’s it.”
“Like your family,” he said. “Luckily for you, your family’s library is the centre of the town. They’re very well respected, and they often help us handl
e crimes involving little-known magic. This one will be no different. It’s a shame that the murder took place here, however, especially with a newcomer in town.”
“I didn’t know the man who died,” I said. “And I wouldn’t know how to go about cursing a book even if I wanted to. Is the Reaper going to stay here until Aunt Candace finds his soul?”
He tapped his fingertips on the desk. “The Reaper? Considering the nature of the curse, I’ve no doubt he’ll help you get to the bottom of it.”
I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to react. Most people didn’t want to spend a lot of time with the Grim Reaper, right?
“You found the body between the shelves, correct?” he went on. “Was Duncan holding the book?”
“He was,” I said. “Until my aunt removed it, anyway. I didn’t touch him.”
“Good,” he said. “Since you’re new, you won’t know the signs of magical contamination. Your aunt will handle the book. You can leave, Aurora. And welcome to Ivory Beach.”
I let the room, relieved that Edwin hadn’t seemed to think I was guilty. Then again, as Sylvester had implied, I had ‘newbie’ written all over me.
While Edwin called Estelle over for questioning, I joined Aunt Adelaide in the Reading Corner. The other patrons sat in the various armchairs and perched on bean bags and in hammocks. There were three goblins, two elves and a vampire. The rest looked human, so they must be witches and wizards—with the exception of Tad, who appeared to have fallen asleep again.
“I’m sorry, Rory,” Aunt Adelaide said as I took a seat on the bean bag beside her. “I didn’t know he’d question you first.”
“Don’t worry about it,” I said. “I might have found the body, but I wouldn’t know a curse if it hit me. Let alone how to steal someone’s soul. I didn’t even know souls existed, to tell you the truth.”
“That’s my area,” said Xavier, from behind my seat, startling me. I hadn’t even seen him move. “Normally my job is straightforward. Even most murders end with the soul where it’s supposed to be.”
“Uh… is murder really that common here?” I asked.
