Guardian of Secrets (Library Jumpers, #2)

by Brenda Drake

  A school of putti, one of which sees farther than the rest.

  Not found yet. Putti. Strange name. I had to look it up. It’s another word for cupids.

  Strong women flank the ceiling; the one in Sentinel dress holds an enchanted point small in size.

  I had found that one after a battle in the Senate Library in Paris. Sinead was the one who spoke the key to release it. A warrior woman then came to life and handed her a sword. Its power could destroy all swords.

  Behind Leopold he stands, one hand resting on a crown and the other holding a rolled prize. We were looking for this one now. Uncle Philip believed it would be in one of the libraries in Germany because of the mention of Leopold. This was the last library. We had searched them all and hadn’t found it. And it definitely wasn’t in this one, either. The others on the list seemed like a badly written poem or something.

  With numbers in her mind and knowledge in her hands, on her brow a crown does rest;

  In front of the world, he wears his honor on his chest;

  Beneath destruction and rapine, he scribes the word, while time falls;

  All these things are within the library walls.

  All not found.

  Uncle Philip was busy working out where the rest of the Chiavi might be from the riddles in the chart.

  I stopped in front of the statue.

  Nick shuffled into the room, his backpack shifting. Ever since we had that narrow escape from The Red, he brought his pack with him on our hunts, stuffed with provisions, survival gear, and a knife. “This place would be amazing if we were stoned,” he said.

  “Really, Nick?” I shook my head, not able to suppress the smile struggling on my face. He never had a filter.

  “So you ready to go? We’ve checked this library twice. There’s nothing here.”

  “There’s maybe nothing we’re looking for here, but I think this is a Chiave.”

  He came closer. “You don’t say. What makes you think so?”

  I pointed out the line on the chart. “This.”

  “With numbers in her mind”—he read it aloud and mumbled a few of the words—“knowledge in her hands…a crown.” He looked up from the page and at the statue, a blank expression on his face.

  I heaved a sigh. “You see, this is the room of knowledge. There’s a statue for History, one for Natural Sciences, and this one is for Mathematics.”

  “I don’t get it.” He rubbed the back of his neck.

  “With numbers in her head.” I waited. He still didn’t get it, so I added, “She has a crown on her head.”

  The light went on. “Oh, yeah. We found one!”

  We found it? I let out an exasperated breath. “Yeah, whatever.”

  He eyed me. “Well, what are you waiting for? Do your magic.”

  “Okay, but we should stand back. No telling what will happen. I’m not sure what this pendant does.”

  We took several steps back.

  I fisted the locket with Pip’s feather inside and called, “Libero il tesoro.” Actually, it was more of a whispered shout, as if there was anyone around to hear me in the after-hours darkness of the library.

  A strong gust of wind rushed through the room, whipping tea-colored strands of hair across my face. A cracking sound came from the statue, like bones snapping. The white plaster woman dropped a compass and paddle with letters and numbers on it she’d been holding.

  The statue’s eyes popped open. Nick and I gasped at once. Her sculpted eyes snapped in my direction. She hopped off the marble base, glided across the floor, stopping directly in front of me.

  “Welcome, daughter of the Seventh. I am Mathematics.” She removed the crown from her head and held it out for me. “The Chiave I offer you can render the owner invisible. But beware, for its magic doesn’t last long.”

  I took the crown from her. “Thank you.”

  “May the heir go unnoticed into the blackness.” She bowed her head, glided back to her pedestal, picked up the compass and paddle, and then hopped back up onto her perch. She repositioned herself, the wind dying the instant she froze back into place.

  I glanced down at the golden crown in my hand.

  “Well,” Nick said. “That was weird and awesome at the same time.”

  “Here”—I pushed the crown into his hands—“put this in your bag.”

  He put it on his head. “Can you see me?”

  I rested my hand on my hip. “Yes. Stop fooling around.”

  “It’s broken?”

  “Maybe you have to speak a charm?”

  He took it off and examined the outside of the crown, and then the inside of it. “There’s something etched inside.”

  “Let me see.” I took it from him and read it. “Nascondi.” The crown glowed.

  “Put it on.”

  I placed it on my head. “Am I gone?”

  “Nope,” he said. “The thing is broken.”

  “Nascondi means hide.” I took the crown off and examined it. There was a crescent moon etched on the front of it. It’s like my brand. “Maybe it doesn’t cause invisibility,” I said. “It must hide the wearer from the Monitors in the gateway. Kind of like how we’re shielded from them.”

  “That makes sense. I bet you’re right.”

  I took the crown off and handed it to him. “We’ll have to look into it more.”

  “Okay,” he said, slipping his backpack off his shoulder. “Should we take it to Asile?” He slid the crown into the opening then zipped the bag closed.

  “No. Any Chiavi we find, we give to Carrig. He’ll get them to the Wizard Council.”

  I tugged my phone from my front pants pocket and checked the time. “We have an hour or so left before we have to be back.” I swiped down the photos of libraries I had saved on my phone. “I saw that Uncle Philip had listed a library in Austria as a possible location for the Chiave that mentions Leopold. He said he was some king or royal from ancient times. Maybe we could check it before we return home.”

  “I’m game. Anything to keep me out all night and away from my mom’s disappointed frown.”

  “You should be easier on her, Nick.” I looked up from the screen. “You know she loves you.”

  “I know. I don’t feel normal around anyone lately, except for you.”

  “That would be a sweet sentiment if I treated you as well as everyone else does.”

  “Yeah, maybe if they were meaner to me, I’d be nicer to them.” He smirked. “I’m so screwed up.”

  I chuckled. “You so are.” I continued reading the list. “Here it is. The National Library of Austria. It’s in Vienna.”

  “Cool. Let’s do this.” He swung the pack over his shoulder. “You want to jump first or should I?”

  “I’ll go. I have the sword.”

  “Good point.”

  I shook my head at him again, smiling. He was such an annoyance. An enduringly cute one, though.

  ...

  The National Library of Austria, dressed in warm wood, was in complete contrast to the cold marbles and ornate decor of the Wiblingen library. The glossy wooden railings of the galley, giving access to the upper level bookcases, harmonized with the cream and brown marble on the walls and columns. Even the gold fittings didn’t distract from the many bookcases reaching two levels high. Display cases, white marble statues, artwork, and world globes decorated the museum-like room.

  The circular windows encompassing the cupola let in light from the full moon. Dust particles teased each other in the silvery beams. Everything had a quiet blue hue to it.

  “Hello!” Nick called out, his voice resounding in the room.

  “Nick,” I hissed. “Stop it, someone will hear you.”

  “I just wanted to see if my voice would echo in this huge place.”

  “We don’t have time for games.”

  “Okay, got it. No fun. Ever. You check this room,” he said. “I’ll search another one.”

  “Sounds like a plan.” I pulled out my phone. “Or I could jus
t Google it.”

  “If this dinosaur has wifi.”

  “Looks like it does.” I tapped the key charm that unlocked wifi passcodes into my phone. They were emojis—clap, clap, devil, punch. The wizard techs were so clever.

  Nick glanced at the screen. “It’s a gamble you’ll find anything. All my searches for the other clues so far have come up empty. Or I’d find a million things that matched it.”

  “Well, this time we have a location and a specific item—um—or person.” I touched the internet icon, typed in a search for Leopold in the library, and waited. The connection took a long time. Nick and I both frowned at the screen as we waited for the results.

  The page slowly loaded. “Here it is,” I said. Something flickered in my peripheral vision, and I snapped my head in that direction. My stomach dropped as I peered into the shadows. “Did you see that?”

  “What?” He spun around, looking in the direction I was.

  “It had wings.”

  “Stop. You’re going to give me a stroke.” He sighed. “It was probably just a moth.”

  The page finished loading. “The statue is of the Archduke Leopold Wilhelm,” I said. “It’s somewhere in this room.” I showed him the picture, and we drifted across the checkered floor, inspecting each sculpture we passed.

  We walked by map display cabinets made out of intricately carved wood and passed between two enormous marble columns. I kept sneaking glances over my shoulder, looking out for whatever it was I had seen. Nick was probably right. It had to be a moth. The little creatures snuck in through open doors and windows all the time back home.

  “You know, we really do have an interesting life now,” Nick said, interrupting the silence of the library.

  “Interesting? That’s an understatement.”

  He suddenly stopped. “Well, hello, Mr. Leopold.”

  “We found it?” Excitement replaced my alarm.

  “The dude’s wearing a dress, and check out that honker.”

  “You’re impossible.” I stepped around the thick column to see the statue with his back to Leopold. Something whizzed by my ear and I swatted at it. “I don’t think it was a moth, but a bee. It buzzed.” I flailed my arms above my head.

  Nick joined me on the other side of the column, searching the area for the mysterious bee. “It’s November, it can’t be a bee. So who’s the spinster?”

  “It’s a man.”

  “How can that be? Look at his long hair. And it’s curly. And the skirt.”

  “The men wore wigs at that time. And skirts. The website said he was part of the Hapsburg family.” I retrieved my list and read it again. “Well, this has to be the statue. He’s behind Leopold.” I looked from the paper to the statue. A marble crown was on top of a marble stand beside the man. “His hand is resting on a crown. The riddle mentioned a rolled prize in his other hand.”

  “There’s nothing in that hand,” Nick said.

  A creature resembling a girl, no bigger than my open hand, with a lanky green body, much like a praying mantis, landed on the statue’s hand. “It’s because this Chiave has already been taken.” Her sharp voice startled us, and we both jumped back.

  “What the hell is that?” Nick asked.

  Deep red curls bounced against the girl’s back and between iridescent wings.

  “I know you,” I said.

  “Is she real?” Nick’s voice trembled.

  “I assure you I am most certainly real.” She stepped over the statue’s thumb.

  Nick moved behind me, looking over my shoulder. “She’s real—real freaky looking.”

  “You’re one to talk. At least I haven’t got a big nose.”

  “It isn’t big.” He rubbed his nose.

  She raised a tiny eyebrow at him.

  “You belong to Sinead,” I said. “You helped us in Esteril.”

  “I’m not a pet. I don’t belong to anyone.” She gave me a wide sharp-toothed smile. “I aided Sinead in finding you that day in Asile when someone had drugged you. I am Atenae, daughter of Solitare, princess of the book faeries.”

  Nick edged out from behind me. “What does a book faery do exactly?”

  “We protect the pages of books from things like book mites, fires”—her amber eyes watched Nick coolly—“and dirty human fingers.”

  “I’m a wizard.”

  “You smell human.” She climbed the statue’s arm and turned when she was eye level with us. “I’ve been watching you two. You’re the protectors. Gian told me you would come. His heirs.” Her gaze landed on me. “You’re a tough girl. Gian would be proud.”

  My cheeks warmed, and I was about to thank her, but Nick spoke first.

  “So are you going to tell us who took the scroll?”

  “Gian discovered it, and now it’s in a Laniar’s possession.” She flew up and hovered in front of Nick’s face. “You know, for having a big nose, you are sort of cute—in a weird human way.”

  Nick stood straighter. “You’re not so bad yourself—in a weird green insect kind of way.”

  She giggled and returned to the statue’s hand, landing gracefully on the marbled knuckles. “I saw the statue come to life and give the Chiave to Gian. The statue said that it held the name of the one who can destroy the Tetrad. It had said, ‘Blood of blood, flesh of flesh, only the heir of the one can stop the elements of the four. Whoever holds the scroll, guards the secret.’”

  “Gia’s the one,” Nick said.

  “No, I’m not. In a dream, I was in an icy cave, wearing a parka. I tried to release the Tetrad, but it said I wasn’t the one.”

  Nick’s shocked expression found mine. “I had the same dream.”

  “Stop fooling around, Nick,” I said. “You couldn’t have the same dream as me. It’s impossible.”

  “I wouldn’t say that,” Aetnae said. “Haven’t you learned? Nothing is impossible when magic is involved. A Spirit Seer could have given you both the dream. Whoever did, wants you to know there is another.”

  “So neither of us is the one?” I wanted this to be true, but wasn’t sure I could trust Atenae. “Then who is?”

  Atenae’s wings began fluttering, and she lifted off the statue. “Only you two remain from the Seventh Wizard, and the one comes from his blood. That is, unless there is an unrecorded heir.”

  “Maybe that creature with the Chiave knows who it is,” Nick said.

  “His name is Toad. You can find him in the gallows under the Vatican Library.” She flew off into the shadows. “But do not let anyone know that he has the Chiave, for he would surely die before the morning,” she said from somewhere in the darkness. “Go alone. Toad won’t talk to you if you bring any Sentinels along. He was instructed by Gian to only speak to an heir.”

  Chapter Eight

  Faith paced her bedroom in the attic just above the room I shared with Deidre. Faith had an addiction to reality shows. I made sure to record them for her so she’d have a distraction while we slept at night. I waited for her pacing to stop before slipping out of bed and wiggling into my jeans. I decided to ditch the Sentinel getup. If Faith caught me sneaking out this late, at least I wouldn’t tip her off to what I was actually up to by wearing my gear.

  Wanting to travel light, I decided not to take my helmet and shield.

  “Where are you going?” Deidre asked from her twin bed on the other side of the room.

  Crap.

  I paused in the middle of pulling my T-shirt over my head. “Um—I’m meeting Arik. Be quiet. Can’t you just pretend to be asleep like I do when you sneak out?” I yanked my shirt down.

  She sat up on her elbows. “You aren’t meeting Arik. He’s in Asile.”

  I shot a puzzled look at her as I slipped on my jacket. “He is?”

  “Ah-ha! I knew you weren’t going to see him.” Deidre swung her legs over the side of the bed. “I saw Nick texting you. What are you two up to?”

  “Be quiet, Faith will hear you.” I rushed over and sat on the bed beside her. “You promis
e not to tell?”

  She nodded. “Promise.”

  I studied her face, wondering if I should trust her.

  “Stop frowning like that.” Her short bleached hair stuck out all over the place. “I may not like you, but I’d never rat you out.”

  I glanced at the door. “Okay, here’s the thing. No one can know. Nick and I discovered the location of another Chiave, but it’s in the gallows under the Vatican library. We’re sneaking there tonight to find it.”

  “Why don’t you tell Carrig?”

  “I can’t. The guy we’re meeting would freak. He’ll only talk to Gian’s relatives. Nick or me.”

  She hopped off the bed. “I’m going with you.”

  “No you aren’t.” I popped up. “You’re not shielded. It’s not safe.” Changelings had the exact same DNA as their Sentinels and could go through the gateway books. The doppelgangers weren’t recorded with the Monitors at birth as Sentinels, wizards, and Mystiks were, but they still came up as nonregistered jumpers, and I worried her jump would cause alarm.

  Deidre pulled on some leggings under her long Dr. Who T-shirt. “I’ll go another way and meet you at the Vatican. They won’t know who I am. And by the time they follow my trail, we’ll be back here in bed. Besides, I know the Fey who work there. They run the gallows. Sinead used to take me along with her when she’d deliver care packages to the prisoners. I can get you in.” She stuffed her feet into her pink Doc Marten boots.

  “He’s picking me up on his motorcycle. There’s no room.”

  “Three can ride a bike.” She grabbed her leather jacket, snagged her hobo bag off the desk chair, and eased open the door. “You coming?”

  I snatched my window rod off the desk and stuffed it into my jacket pocket. The rod—well, it was actually two pieces that snapped together—ignited a blue screen between them when separated. It was like video chatting to the Mystik world and would be handy if I needed to contact Uncle Philip in an emergency.

  We snuck out the side door and crept alongside the bushes to the street. Keeping to the shadows, we trotted up the road to where Nick waited leaning against his bike.