by Brenda Drake
Nana sat on one of the high-back chairs, her feet propped on the ottoman, with Baron stretched across the back of the chair and Cleo on her lap. We both were still in our pajamas. She knitted a scarf she was making for Deidre, who was pouting in our room over her latest guy issue. She’d dated three guys over the break so far. Jaran and I had an ongoing bet how many she’d go out with before we got back to school. He’d said four, I’d said three, and it looked like I might lose.
Gian’s journal was more of a record book than an actual diary. He’d registered library names, dates, and times on the pages. Some were dates before his time, as early as the seventeenth century. The word “slip” kept coming up on the page. I read one of the entries, trying to figure out what it meant.
January the fourth, ten thirty-three, evening, I encountered a slip under the “House of Books” in Gall. I tapped the laminated prayer card that had bookmarked the page against my leg.
“Stop frowning, dear.” Nana looked over her teacup at me. “When you get to be my age, you’ll have craters between your eyes. What’s that in your hand?”
“It was stuck in the book.” There was an illustration of an enormous, white church on the card. “It’s a prayer card from St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York. Someone wrote ‘prayer candle, seventh row, three in’ on it. Strange. Do people register the prayer candles they light?”
Nana looped a string of yarn around her needle. “Possibly. People have strange habits sometimes.”
I pushed the card between two pages in the back of the journal. “I just don’t get the entries in his journal. He keeps talking about slips in the library. What’s a slip?”
“Maybe it’s a change in the air or something.”
I picked up my window rod from the coffee table to contact Uncle Philip.
He answered immediately. “To what do I owe the pleasure? I trust you rang in the New Year with a great celebration.”
“Yes,” I said. “I hope yours was good.”
“It was splendid. Quiet and uneventful.”
“I’m sorry to bother you.”
“You are never a bother to me.” His voice sounded stiff, it always did, but this was different. Stressed.
“Arik gave me one of Gian Bianchi’s old journals for Christmas. I found some recordings in it. Like dates, times, and names of things. A word keeps coming up—slip. Do you know what he meant?”
“It’s an old term. Slips are what we practiced feeling in the library. How one detects a trap. I’m curious to see this journal.”
“I’ll bring it next time we meet. What about ‘House of Books’? Does that mean anything to you?”
“No. Why?”
“He mentioned this slip was between the ‘House of Books.’”
He rubbed his chin as he thought. “Very interesting. I don’t know of a trap registered as such. He must’ve been recording traps. Ones we haven’t documented.”
An explosion went off in the background. The window rod got static-y. Pip squawked madly on his perch. Uncle Philip listened to whatever the bird was saying. Another explosion sounded. Debris fell around Uncle Philip.
“Gia, inform Carrig—” The static increased. “Asile is being attacked. Send help—” The screen went black.
I shot to my feet, dropped the journal onto the coffee table, and snatched up my cell phone.
Carrig answered on the second ring. “Good morning, Gia.”
My heart thumped in my throat. “We have to…we have to… Asile is under…”
“Calm down and tell me slowly.”
“I was talking to Uncle Philip when explosions went off. He said to send help. Asile is under attack.”
“Get your gear on. Is anyone with you?”
“Nana is.”
“Have her take you to the library. We’ll meet you there.”
I slammed my phone on the coffee table and dashed upstairs to change. Nana hurried behind me. I grabbed the silver box Miss Bagley had given me to call her to the library. I pressed the crystal twice to say it was an emergency, and it glowed red.
Superman had nothing on me. I was out of my pajamas and into my gear in seconds. Nana was right behind me, which was even more impressive when you figure in the age difference.
I lifted my shield, attached it to my back, and buckled my scabbard around my waist. Nana passed my trench coat to me, and I tugged it on as we went out the door.
She fishtailed it all the way to the library, and I succeeded in not throwing up on her dashboard. We were there first and waited for the others.
The McCabe Boarding House van slid to a stop in front of the library. The Sentinels jumped out before Carrig turned off the engine. Under their trench coats, they were dressed in their biker-like knight gear—leather pants, boots, helmets, metal and chain chest plates, shields on their backs, and swords attached to their waists. Except for Kale, who wore his bladed gloves and wrist guards.
I met the Sentinels at the library door, leaving Nana behind in her Lexus.
“Where’s Kayla?” Carrig demanded, bounding up the steps to us.
“I paged her,” I said, slipping on my helmet and lacing my arm through my shield.
“Is she with Brian?” he directed to me.
“No, he’s at work.”
“All right, then. Arik, get us in the library.” He faced Nana in her car. “Mrs. Kearns, can you let Sinead know what happened? She be at a movie with Deidre.”
Nana nodded her agreement over the steering wheel.
Arik removed a thin card from his pocket and used magic to break us into the library.
“How are we going to travel through the gateway with it locked?” I asked Carrig as we headed for the book.
“I’ve always known the charm,” he said. “I just never let on that I did.”
Jaran fetched the gateway book.
Carrig waved his hand over it. “Sbloccare il gateway,” he chanted. “This be a dangerous situation. We jump in pairs. We’re odd numbers, so I’ll go on me own.”
“We’ll go first,” Arik offered. “Gia can protect us before we enter the library.”
“Gia?” Carrig waited for my agreement.
“I’m fine with that.” I was anxious to get to Uncle Philip. I prayed he was okay.
We grabbed hands.
“Aprire la porta,” Arik said.
The book tugged at me, and I jumped with Arik into it. I felt at home in the gateway, the dark hugging me, the cool air brushing my face, but this time uneasiness fluttered in my stomach. I never knew what I’d see on the other side before, yet I wasn’t as terrified as I was now, not since the first time I accidently went through one.
Arik created his fire globe on his palm as we plummeted. The orange and yellow glow flickering across his face made him look like he was on fire. I ignited my pink globe to a softball size. When we slowed, I tossed my globe in front of us and watched as it went through the gateway exit. Arik landed in the Bodleian Library first, with me right behind him. My globe had hit the floor and shot up to the ceiling, engulfing us in a protective shell.
“Release us,” Arik said, steadying his globe.
I dug my fingers into the membrane of mine, popping it.
The library was quiet. I removed my sword from its scabbard and readied my attack position. We moved around the reading room, making sure the coast was clear. The others made it through, and we kept alert while following Carrig down the corridor of bookcases.
I flicked my gaze between the rows of desks sitting between each set of shelves and the intricately etched dark wood arches overhead, scanning for an attack from any direction. Shadows moved around us, and I flinched before realizing they were ours.
Carrig turned to face the third bookcase on the left. He pulled down the two wooden knobs on each side of the house-shaped box attached to the end of the bookcase.
“Ammettere il pura,” Carrig said to unlock the secret passageway.
Nothing happened.
Carrig tried to open t
he bookcase several times before giving up. “Someone used a lock charm.”
“Gia, try your globe,” Arik said.
I nodded and created a small globe. I tossed it against the bookcase and recited the key. A pink glow spread across the wood, releasing the charm. The bookcase trembled as it slid across the floor to the left, revealing the staircase diving deep into the darkness.
The light from our globes bounced across the rocked walls as we sprinted through the tunnel to the end and up the steep stairs to the outbuilding. We dropped our trench coats on the floor. They’d only be in the way if we found ourselves in a fight. Carrig pushed the door open, and I froze alongside the others at the sight across the hills.
Asile was burning.
The screams echoing down the hill pushed us into motion. I raced up after the others, the pathway a blur under my feet. I was vaguely aware of the destruction around me. The people of the cottages surrounding the castle rushed around, drenching fires with water, aiding the injured, or huddling in corners stunned by the horrors around them.
Carrig chanted a charm behind us, locking the outbuilding.
My thoughts were on Uncle Philip. I had to get to him.
He had to be okay.
What if he isn’t? What if he’s—? I couldn’t even think the word.
My feet pounded harder, my breaths rushing out painfully.
We broke into two groups. Carrig led a bunch of Sentinels from the other havens to the city beyond the castle. Arik took our Sentinels to the castle. I stayed on Arik’s heels as we blew through the doors and into the wide corridors. Lei and Kale went left. Demos and Jaran went right. Arik and I went straight ahead to the education wing.
We climbed the stairwell to Uncle Philip’s office. Bookcases were overturned, burn marks scarred the walls, and the books and folders on his desk were charred and wet. Someone must’ve doused the fire that had caused the damage. Smoke burned my throat with each breath, and I covered my mouth, stepping over the fallen bookcases and scattered papers. The Monitor’s bird perch and globe had been tipped over, the glass sphere cracked in the middle. Something scratched under one of the bookcases. I stopped and listened.
“Arrrk! Help. Attack. Arrrk!”
“Pip!” I scrambled to the side of the bookcase. “Help me lift this.”
Arik hoisted the case up, and I reached in, feeling around for Pip. He nuzzled his feathered head against my hand. I gently grasped him and eased him out. Pip’s feathers were a little ruffled and smudged with soot, but he seemed okay. Arik righted Pip’s stand and globe, and I eased the parrot onto his perch.
“What did they do to Uncle Philip?” I asked.
“Arrrk! Gone.”
“I know he’s gone, but where? Did you hear anything?”
Pip spread out his wings and rested them on his back. “Chiavi. Arrrk! Hurry.”
I looked over at Arik. “Where do they keep the Chiavi?”
He blanched. “Merl’s vault.”
He didn’t even wait for me. After Arik’s parent faery was murdered, Merl had become like a father to him. He clomped over all the stuff and flew out the opened door. My boots skidded across the floor as I tried to keep up with him around corner after corner, down and up staircases, and through corridors. As I ran, I snapped the shield off my back and yanked out my sword. Arik hadn’t readied his fighting gear, his focus on Merl.
“Arik, get your shield and sword out,” I yelled at him.
He darted a look over his shoulder at me and then unsheathed his sword, disappearing around the corner.
“Your shield, too! Damn it!”
A man tackled me from the side and we crashed to the floor, my head hitting against my shield, pain blossoming above my eyebrow from the blow. I grasped his jacket, yanked him over, and straddled him. His fist hit me square on the chin and I fell back against the floor. Before I could recover, he was on me, clutching my neck, choking me.
I dug my nails into his skin, trying to pry his hands from my throat. He butted his head against mine and stars erupted in my vision. Something hit him from behind and his face went slack. He teetered and fell off me to the side.
I coughed and wheezed as air rushed into my lungs.
Arik yanked his sword out of the man’s back.
“What the hell? We stay together.” I removed my helmet and dropped it on the floor, coughing. “We stay together!”
“I’m sorry, I wasn’t—”
“Thinking? You weren’t thinking?” I stumbled to my feet. “Get your head in the fight, Arik. I need to trust that you have my back. Remember? Those are your words by the way, not mine.” I picked up my sword and shield. “And slow down. We have to conserve our energy.”
“I apologize. It’s just—” He sighed.
I placed a shaky hand on his shoulder. “I get it. I’m terrified for Uncle Philip, but we have to stay calm. We can’t let anyone down by making senseless mistakes. You taught me that.”
This wasn’t like Arik. I got that he worried about Merl, but he was trained to keep his feelings in check. I should be the one losing it, not him.
He took a deep breath and shook his head hard before saying, “All right, can you continue?”
“I feel like shit, but I can keep going.”
“Right. We stick together. You watch one side, and I the other.” He unhooked his shield.
A rust-colored man with horns and a stocky, bald Laniar charged down the corridor, swords in hand. Arik and I rushed for them, side by side. My steps didn’t falter, even with fear twisting my stomach. I gripped my sword tighter and prepared for impact.
The Laniar’s blade met mine and we slammed into each other. I backed up and brought my sword down on him again. He parried my blow, and I moved around him.
The Laniar bared his sharp teeth at me. “Put down your sword, little girl. You can’t win against me. I’ll eat you whole.”
I shrank back.
What am I doing? Don’t show fear. Stand your ground.
Straightening, I measured my stance and balanced my weight, aiming my sword at him.
Arik grunted to my right. I didn’t dare take my eyes off the Laniar, though I desperately wanted to know how Arik was doing in his fight. I stepped over the debris from the damaged ceiling.
The devious grin on the Laniar’s face made me want to recoil, but I took a deep breath and held my ground.
Focus, Gia. It’s just like a practice match. Except bloody and deadly. I swallowed that hard fact down and kept my focus on my opponent.
He made a fatal mistake, and I smiled. The Laniar chanced a sideway glance at the horned man. I side-kicked his left knee, causing him to drop to the ground. The sword fell out of his hand, and a startled expression crossed his face. While he was down, I threw a knee strike to his face. He fell backward, and I slammed the hilt of my sword repeatedly against his head until he was unconscious.
I should have stabbed him, but I couldn’t do it. I didn’t want to kill people or creatures. That wasn’t me. At the same time, I wondered if I was lying to myself.
Arik thudded to the floor beside me, and I spun around.
The horned man brought his sword down, and Arik rolled away. The sword clanked against the tiles, missing Arik by mere inches. I got into a ready position fast and delivered a roundhouse to the horned man’s face. He stumbled back but recovered quickly. It was enough of a distraction for Arik to leap to his feet and drive his sword into the man’s side.
The man staggered, lifting his sword. Arik sparked a fire globe to life, manipulating it into a fiery whip. The Laniar shifted on the floor, picking up his blade. He pulled his hand back, readying to throw the sword at Arik. I ignited my globe. The sword spiraled through the air, aiming for Arik. I pitched my globe, capturing the sword in a pink sphere before it met its target. It hit Arik’s back and he stumbled forward. The globe dropped to the floor and busted, the sword clattering onto the rubble from the ceiling, the point sticking straight up.
Arik hit the Lan
iar across the chest with his fire whip. The Laniar scampered down the corridor, vanishing through a broken part of the wall. Arik made to give chase, but then stopped. The horned man advanced, blood dripping from his side, his eyes fierce and his hand tight around his sword.
“Arik, watch out,” I screamed.
Arik spun around, a fireball bouncing on his hand. He threw it at the horned man, hitting him smack against his chest. The man flew back and landed on his sword, the blade skewering through his back and out his chest. He jerked several times before falling silent.
I bent over, trying to catch my breath.
Arik dropped a hand on my back. “Are you all right?”
I nodded.
“We must keep going,” he said.
I nodded again, straightening.
Arik picked his way through the rubble, and I followed.
He glanced back at me. “Where’s your helmet?”
“Back there somewhere. Keep going. We don’t have time to get it.”
Once through the debris, we stayed silent as we booked it down the corridor and headed for Merl’s chambers. Smoke filled the hallway, Asile guards lay lifeless on the ground, and water drenched the floor. The door to Merl’s chambers was ajar.
Kale and Lei arrived at the same time Arik and I did.
The inside of Merl’s chambers resembled the destruction inside Uncle Phillip’s office. Arik eased in, with me close behind him. The vault was open and a man’s hand stuck out of a pile of rock and mortar. I held my breath as Arik knelt beside the man and clawed at the debris. I dropped my sword and shield and joined him, removing bricks and clay, uncovering the man underneath.
I gasped.
Merl stared up at us, his eyes lifeless. Arik fell back with a guttural moan that resounded across the room.
With a painful sob, I covered my face with my hands. How could this happen? How could he be gone?
“No!” Lei screamed from the doorway.
My teary eyes found her anguished face. She collapsed into Kale’s arms.
I dropped my hands and staggered to my feet. Arik was a mess. He wasn’t recovering from the shock. It was so unlike him. But I couldn’t worry about him. Or what was wrong with him. I had to keep going.
I had to find Uncle Philip.
