by Cari Thomas
He turned around, surprised to see her standing there. ‘Anna, hi.’
He knows my name! Focus, Anna, focus. ‘I need a word.’
He seemed even more surprised by her directness. A couple of the boys he was leaving with started making stupid noises. ‘Sure.’ He elbowed one of them. ‘All right. Go on, shove off, you lot.’ He held the door open for her, his look inquisitive but his smile softening. ‘How have you been?’
‘Good thanks. Surviving exams – but, actually, I need to talk to you about something.’
Peter stopped and turned to her. ‘Of course.’ A line appeared between his brows. ‘Tell me.’
‘Have you heard of this game going around about Rowan? You have to take a picture of her and share it?’
‘Who’s Rowan?’
‘The girl in our year. Wild hair, loud voice. She’s being picked on for her weight.’
‘Oh. Maybe. I might have been shown something. There are always stupid games going on; I don’t take much notice. I certainly haven’t joined in, if that’s what you’re asking.’
‘I didn’t think you would have. I just wanted to see if you could use your influence to try and stop it.’
He pulled himself up straighter. ‘Of course. I’ll see what I can do, although these kinds of things are hard to control once they start. People are idiots.’
Anna nodded in agreement. ‘Well, if there’s anything you can do.’ The bitter words rose to her lips: ‘Talking to your girlfriend might help.’
‘Why do you think Darcey had anything to do with this?’ he replied quickly, the smooth tone of his voice hardening.
‘I just know she did.’
‘That is hardly evidence, Anna.’
‘Darcey is behind all kinds of bullying and if you don’t see it then that’s because you don’t want to.’
Peter’s frown deepened. He breathed heavily. ‘I’m not stupid. I know she can be cruel sometimes. But she wouldn’t stoop that low …’
Anna held his gaze. ‘We’ll have to agree to disagree there.’ She’d spent years unable to utter a word to Peter and now here she was on the edge of an argument with him. A tense silence stretched between them, his clear blue eyes on her, studying her with an attention she wasn’t used to.
‘You sure it’s not Effie behind it?’ He said her name with distaste. ‘She seems the type.’
‘No, definitely not,’ Anna replied just as defensively. ‘Rowan’s her friend.’
‘Are you her friend?’
‘Yes.’
‘Well, I’d be careful there.’
‘OK,’ said Anna, not wanting to get into a row with him over Effie.
‘Anyway, it’s good of you to look out for your friend Rowan,’ he continued. ‘Most people in this school wouldn’t bother. They’re far too concerned with their own popularity.’
Anna met his eyes. ‘Not you?’
Peter shook his head slowly. ‘Popularity. Gossip. Games. Even lessons, exams, university … Sometimes it all feels so meaningless, you know? Sometimes I just want to get away from here, do something – purposeful. Something that actually makes a difference.’
Anna had always been fascinated by the depth of his eyes, but she’d never seen such intensity behind them. She smiled to soften the moment. ‘You will.’
He smiled back, shaking his head and clearing the look from his eyes. ‘I like your confidence in me, Everdell. I shall have to make sure to talk to you again.’
‘Well, that would be – I can – I’ll see you next class.’
He laughed at her incoherence. ‘For sure. Right, I’ve got to get to Politics. See you soon.’ His eyes lingered on her and Anna almost began laughing giddily as he left, before remembering the point of their conversation.
She tracked Attis down that afternoon and told him to put an apple in their lockers. She explained what was going on and he agreed immediately. They needed an emergency meeting. She wasn’t sure if she was meant to have control over coven meetings but she didn’t care.
When they met later, Rowan’s face was buried in her phone, her shoulders hunched, her usual smile wiped from her face. Attis looked on with concern. Effie was lighting a candle on the altar without touching it – on and off, on and off, a bemused look on her face.
Anna walked into the centre. ‘I called this meeting because of the Juicers. Darcey, Olivia and Corinne: they’ve—’
‘I know what they’ve done, Anna,’ said Effie. ‘Continue.’
‘It’s time we did something about them. I’m not sure what yet but we need to do something.’
Manda jumped in. ‘I found a spell on the internet to bind their cruelty. We just need a poppet, some masking tape, a rope—’
‘You sure you’re not planning a murder there, Manda?’ said Attis.
‘Perhaps we ought to look into something that ups our own protection?’ Anna suggested. ‘Dispels the attention, somehow.’
Attis nodded. ‘I could help with that.’
‘I would like anything attention-dispelling right now,’ said Rowan, head still downcast. ‘Any invisibility spells?’
Effie flicked the candle on. ‘Child’s play,’ she said, moving to stand by Anna. ‘Bindings. Protection spells. All child’s play. You can’t find anything worth doing on the internet. Darcey and her little friends have gone too far; it’s time we stopped them for good. We’re going to need an older kind of vengeance.’ She smiled with dark delight. ‘I know just where to find it. The Library.’
Rowan looked up from her phone.
Manda frowned. ‘I’ve never seen anything even remotely magical in the library.’
‘Not the school library!’ Effie laughed. ‘The British Library. We need a spell to take care of Darcey once and for all and the Library always provides. You’re staying over tonight, right, Anna? Let’s go tomorrow morning.’
‘That sounds great fun,’ said Manda. ‘Mum won’t mind me going out if a library is involved. I’ll dig out my British Library membership card.’
‘You won’t need a membership card where we’re going.’
Manda looked perturbed.
‘Where are we going?’ said Anna.
‘I promised I’d take you to a magical library, didn’t I?’
‘You’re going to love it, Anna,’ said Rowan, smiling at last. ‘Once my brother got lost in it for three days.’
‘How big is this place?’
Effie and Attis looked at each other with infuriating, knowing smiles.
‘Just bring breadcrumbs so you can find a way out.’ He winked.
THE LIBRARY
Rest gentle and in silence deep,
Let not dreams disturb your sleep.
Shut tight your eyes and wipe your tears,
For the darkness knows your fears.
A Binders’ Lullaby, The Book of the Binders
Anna looked around in paranoia at the rows of faces coming up the escalator, seeing Aunt in every one of them. She knew it was a bad idea to leave Selene’s house. If Aunt found out where she was … but she had to help Rowan and she had her own motivations too. If this library was the vast and wondrous place that Effie promised perhaps it could give her the answers she craved?
The British Library rose up in front of them, full of jolting angles and imposing might. Aunt had taken her once and Anna had loved it – its clean, open foyer, its modern glass centre rising high with old books, the reading rooms silent with focus. Every part of it seemed to work together, like a quiet, ticking mind in the centre of London. How many secrets live within its walls?
It wasn’t busy inside: a few drowsy-looking students and milling staff members.
‘We’ve got to go up to come down,’ said Effie, cutting a path through the foyer and taking the stairs up to the top floor. No one was around. She walked to the glass centre of the building. Anna had always thought it impenetrable, but now before her, amidst the books, was a rather dilapidated-looking lift, its brown doors barely noticeable. Effie pressed the but
ton and they waited. It arrived with a barely audible whoosh and they stepped inside.
It was small. They shuffled together and the doors squeezed themselves shut. The buttons went down to minus five. Anna wondered if they were going that deep. Effie reached out and pressed the intercom instead; there was a buzzing sound. She leant forwards and stated: ‘Eneke Beneke,’ into it clearly. The lift made a metal groaning sound and began to descend through the heart of the library, hidden from view by the wall of books around them. The electronic display followed their descent: minus one, minus two, minus three, minus four, minus five … minus six, minus seven …
Attis leant into her. ‘There are five official underground floors at the British Library. The rest are unofficial.’
The lift gained speed. Minus ten, minus eleven … Anna’s stomach began to do several tumultuous stomach flips.
He continued: ‘The underground site was actually a library of magical texts long before the British Library ever existed. Later it made sense to build the public library on top as a sort of cover.’ Minus fifteen, minus sixteen … ‘Many members of the British Library board are witches. They oversee the cowan library too but their real job is guarding the collections that lie beneath.’
Manda and Anna looked at each other, a similar excitement jumping between their eyes. Minus twenty, minus twenty-one …
‘Mum says we’re lucky we have access to so much knowledge,’ said Rowan. ‘That during the Dark Times witches had to bury it much deeper. It was too dangerous to put down in books. They hid it away instead, in folk songs, nursery rhymes, tarot cards, works of art … our secrets are everywhere.’
‘Are there librarians down here?’ asked Anna. Minus twenty-five, minus twenty-six … How deep are we going?
‘No,’ said Effie. ‘No one works down here. For that reason, it can be dangerous. Just don’t stray too deep.’
The excitement in Manda’s eyes had now turned to fear. Minus twenty-nine, minus thirty … The display went blank but the lift kept hurtling downwards until it stopped suddenly with a dull thump. It pinged open and several books fell in front of the doors. Stepping out, Anna wondered how it had managed to arrive at all. The lift appeared to be embedded in books. The doors shut and it was no longer possible to see where it had been.
The room ahead of them was dimly lit and full of swirling dust. Anna’s eyes took a moment to adjust. She looked down at her feet and saw that they were standing upon … books … a patchwork of covers and pages, puddles and streams of words, compacted with footprints and dust.
She lifted her gaze. The room around her was vast – corridors of books spread out around them as if they were in the centre of a wheel, spokes extending in all directions. Faded light trickled through some of the corridors while others seemed to swallow the light whole. Anna looked more closely at the shelves and realized that while they held books, they were also made out of books – stacks and stacks of them – forming the spines and ribs of each shelf. She tilted her head further again – it was hard to make out the ceiling, it was so far away. It was formed of books too, tightly knitted together, but some were falling loose, dripping pages and words over their heads.
‘Watch out for the loose ones,’ said Attis, smiling at her face. She wasn’t even sure what expression she was pulling.
‘It’s all books … everything …’ She lifted a foot and saw she’d scuffed the pages beneath it, crumpling the words. More books than she’d ever seen, that she’d ever been able to comprehend. It was beyond wonderful. The room was dark and crowded and heavy with words and yet Anna felt herself lifted, freed by the worlds waiting to be discovered all around her – the old, damp, dusty secret scents oddly comforting and strangely delightful.
There was no floorplan, no categories for the maze surrounding them. Only one sign, which appeared also to be made out of books. It read: ‘A story, a story, let it come, let it go’.
‘Where has the lift gone?’ Manda asked with controlled panic.
‘We’ll find it again. Come on.’ Effie moved forward.
‘I’m not so sure about this, I think I want to leave …’ Manda’s panic escaped and the books gobbled up her echo.
Anna began wandering down one of the corridors. She could locate no floorplan or categories for the maze surrounding them.
‘Hold your horses there, bookworm,’ Attis called out to her. ‘We need a plan or you will not be home by midday and your clothes will turn back into rags.’
Anna walked back to the centre. ‘How does it work then? How do I find the section I want?’
‘The Library is far too vast to be ordered in the traditional sense; instead it’s run by magic,’ Effie explained as if it was obvious. ‘You need to state your intention clearly, what it is you’re seeking. The Library will hear and guide you – unless it has other ideas …’
Rowan sniggered. ‘It always has other ideas. Just wait for the books to come to you. It’s best not to go digging or you could end up, you know, irrevocably damaged in some way. Try to avoid the really dark corridors. A lot of magic in here, both good and bad, some very old …’
‘I think I’ll just stay here and peruse the immediate area,’ said Manda, looking back hopefully as if the lift might appear again. ‘Anyone want to stay with me?’
Rowan laughed. ‘I’ll stay with you. I feel like Effie knows what she’s looking for and I’ll probably just get in the way or lost or injured or all three.’
‘OK, well, the rest of us should state our intention,’ said Effie. She stepped forward and narrowed her eyes. ‘Library, I’m seeking spells of vengeance – spells for those who deserve all they get. You know who I’m talking about.’ The light flickered in one of the corridors and darkened. ‘Guess I’m going that way then.’
‘Greetings. I’m seeking ancient symbols of metallurgy. New subject matter, please. Also a fun read, something with a spy and an irresistible love story.’ Attis turned and settled on the corridor he wanted to go down.
Anna wasn’t sure what to state. She didn’t want to bring up her parents’ death or a fear of curses in front of everyone. She stepped forward, opening her mouth to speak to a room full of books, feeling entirely insane, and yet, as she began, she felt them bend towards her like ears, eager and hungry. ‘Library.’ She cleared her throat. ‘I’m seeking information about my family. The truth.’
The room around her was silent but she swore she could hear something – the whisper of words buried deep, stirring, stretching out their letters towards her like a finger unfurling. She turned and caught a whisper coming from a corridor to her left – it was dark but not as dark as some.
‘I’m this way.’ She pointed, unsure but trying to trust the sensations around her. Effie was giving her threateningly curious looks. Attis’s eyes were narrowed and unreadable in the semi-darkness.
When Effie made off down her corridor, he stepped back towards Anna. ‘I don’t think you ought to go into the Library alone, not as a first-timer.’
‘I want to go in alone.’
‘Well, unfortunately, the Library is now telling me to go the same way as you, so …’
Anna narrowed her eyes. ‘That seems convenient.’
He shrugged, an implacable expression in his eyes. Anna shook her head and made her way into the web of books, Attis’s footsteps behind her. The corridor was long and full of small sounds on the edge of hearing. She continued down it, feeling the heavy press of knowledge on either side, the rows of books on books within books narrowing around them. She reached a crossroads and took a right because it felt right. She walked deeper, noticing a large gap in one of the shelves which was filled with paper debris as if a book had exploded. The light overhead flickered. She almost screamed when she came across a woman sitting atop a pile of books, another pile on her lap. The woman shook her head and threw the one she was reading behind her; it was about to land on Anna’s head when Attis batted it out of the way.
‘Oh, sorry!’ the woman said. ‘Didn’t see y
ou there.’
Anna nodded in return and continued down the corridor. Half of her was glad of Attis’s presence and the other half wished she could break away – her mission was not one for sharing. She took a fresh turn, following the whispering that disappeared as soon as she stopped to listen to it …
They passed a corridor of books all bound in red, another where all the titles were written backwards, another in which every book was tiny – no bigger than the size of her palm. Several corridors were lost in complete darkness, one releasing a strange gurgling noise which made her run in the other direction.
‘Anna, wait up!’ She heard Attis call from behind her, but the whispers were drawing her onwards. They grew louder and she took a sudden turn. ‘Anna—’ She turned again down a narrow corridor and the sound of his footsteps behind her stopped abruptly. She swivelled around to see where he’d gone but the turn she’d just taken no longer existed – there was nothing there but a wall of books.
‘Attis!’ she called, but there was no reply, no sound. ‘Attis?’ She felt suddenly very alone amidst the towering shelves, but alone was exactly what she needed to be …
She carried on down the snaking corridor, ignoring the tingle up her spine. She took in the many peculiar titles as she passed: Ancient Magical Mirrors. Topiary for Hedge Witches. Vasalisa and the Burning Skull. Magical Radios and Inhuman Frequencies. Symbology of the Taliswomen. Many were in other languages: French, Latin, Arabic, Greek; others she couldn’t place; some were not formed from words at all but strange images and symbols. Not all were still either: many moved, shifting and transforming. She stopped to stare at a gilded snake wriggling up and down a book’s spine. Others had no names at all.
Anna couldn’t resist opening a few, finding the pages old and dry, crackling under her fingers. She swore one yawned as she opened it. In another the ink was still wet and began to run when she held it up, ruining the words.
She soon had the distinct feeling she was walking in circles and was surely lost. Time felt as warped as the corridors – she wasn’t sure if minutes or hours had passed but she couldn’t stop. Something was pulling her onwards, books watching her pass, the light becoming even more emaciated, as if it had been trapped in the pages for too long.