by Elle Adams
“I assumed Candace left the door locked so I haven’t been here,” Aunt Adelaide said. “Estelle’s been out all day, and Cass has, too. I’ll call the police. Candace, check there aren’t any hostile curses on the body. And put that book somewhere safe.”
“The room was safe,” said Aunt Candace, but she pulled out her Biblio-Witch Inventory.
Xavier, meanwhile, stepped around the body and returned to my side. “I’ll have to tell my boss another soul has vanished.”
“Sure.” I walked with him to the door. “I’ll tell you if we figure anything out.”
There was nobody else within sight, and that wailing alarm ought to have brought everyone in the library running downstairs. That suggested the killer had slipped in and out without being seen—or the cursed object was already in here. But why kill Tad? Had he just been in the wrong place at the wrong time, or was there another reason? Maybe the killer was trying to stop anyone else from getting their hands on that book. Which would be a valid motive, except that they’d had ample opportunity to do so over the last week. Nobody could watch every corner of the library at the same time.
I needed a warm mug of tea to soothe my nerves. Since nobody had given me instructions, I made for the kitchen. As I did so, Jet flew down to land on my shoulder. I didn’t even jump this time.
“Did you see who killed him?” I asked.
The bird shook his head. I guess he does understand me. He took flight and swooped around to the stairs, hovering above the lowest step.
“You want me to go upstairs?”
He flapped his wings. Giving the stairs a warning look not to vanish or move, I walked quickly up to my room. The door lay open, and my heart sank. What’s gone missing this time?
Nothing was missing. Instead, Dad’s journal lay on my bed, as though it’d never been gone. Next to it sat Sylvester, a self-important look on his face.
“I knew it!” I said. “You stole it for Cass, didn’t you?”
“The ingratitude!” he said. “I retrieved this from the reference section.”
“What was it doing in there?” I said. Oops. That’s what I got for speaking without thinking first.
“Not much, by the look of things,” he said. “Certainly not making insulting accusations.” He gave a sniff.
“All right, I made a mistake,” I said. “Sorry. Someone just died downstairs and I’m a little on edge. Not to mention there’s a group of murderous vampires after it.”
“I am very much aware of that threat,” he said. “That’s why I endeavoured to help you, and you repay me by insulting me.”
He took flight, nearly clipping the top of my head with a claw. I ducked and grabbed the journal, hugging it to my chest.
“I forgot I challenged him to find it,” I told Jet. “I… may have suggested you’d find it before he did. Is he bothering you?”
The crow made a chirping noise that presumably meant no. Hmm. The owl might not have taken the journal, but I didn’t entirely trust him.
I sat down on the bed and opened the journal. The text remained unreadable. I’d figured Dad had created the code himself, but perhaps it was magic-related instead. Though the biblio-witchery I’d seen so far had been written in English, and my aunts hadn’t recognised the language. I turned the pages, finding it exactly as I remembered. Maybe I’d been too quick to judge Cass after all. I was sure I’d seen her carrying it, but there were probably a lot of small square books in here. Well done, Rory. I crossed my fingers that Sylvester wouldn’t tell Cass what I’d said.
“Rory?” Estelle pushed open my door. “Are you okay?”
“I have Dad’s journal.” I held it up. “Sylvester found it in the reference section.”
Her eyes brightened. “Oh, that’s great! I’m glad to hear it. The police are downstairs, and I worried they’d taken you away or something.”
“I found the body, but it’s obvious I didn’t do it. The problem is, it doesn’t look like the book of curses did, either.”
Someone had slipped in and out and killed Tad without being detected. Like a ghost. Or a vampire. But vampires couldn’t cast curses. Right?
Unsurprisingly, the atmosphere at dinner that evening was subdued, even when Cass graced us with her presence. She was so non-talkative that I honestly couldn’t tell whether the owl had told tales on me or not. Aunt Candace, on the other hand, seemed unusually cheerful, chatting nonstop while we ate.
“So you found the missing journal,” she said, when we were finishing off our meals.
I reached into my bag. “Sylvester found it for me. In the reference section.”
Cass looked quickly in my direction then looked away again. I couldn’t read her expression, but I was sure she looked a little startled for a second. “Seriously?” she said. “The owl never does anything for free.”
“I told him that Jet would find it first, so he took it as a challenge.” I put the book down on the table.
Aunt Candace leaned over eagerly. “Let’s see what Roger wanted to hide.”
“Nobody can read it,” I said. “Even Aunt Adelaide couldn’t.”
“Maybe it was closed off to you before because you weren’t magical,” Aunt Candace said in thoughtful tones.
“Why the sudden interest?” Cass asked.
Aunt Candace shrugged. “Dealing with that curse book reminded me I haven’t had a pet project in a while. I’m wondering what Roger wanted to keep hidden from his family.”
“Only if Rory agrees,” Aunt Adelaide said. “Yes, it is curious, but don’t forget those vampires are hunting down the book.”
“That means it’s valuable,” said Aunt Candace. “And packed with secrets.”
Her pen and notebook floated under the table, scribbling away.
Aunt Adelaide sighed. “Yes, fine, we can have a look at it again. If that’s okay with Rory.”
“Sure,” I said, pushing the journal to my aunts’ side of the table. “The library keeps trying to shelve it. Twice it’s gone missing and shown up on a random shelf.”
“That so?” Aunt Candace all but snatched up the journal. “I’d need to run a few tests.” She pulled out her Biblio-Witch Inventory, and my hands clenched under the table. After she’d blown her own eyebrows off trying to get that book of curses open, I wasn’t sure I trusted her to handle it carefully.
“I don’t know about this…” I reached for the journal, but Aunt Candace held it in the air.
Aunt Adelaide pointed her wand at the journal and levitated it back to my side of the table. “Candace, control yourself. This isn’t a rare artefact we’re dealing with, it’s something very personal to Rory.”
“Thanks.” I took the journal again. “I found it in the back room of the bookshop and I assumed Dad wanted me to have it. Abe was the only other person there, and he was a normal.”
“I’m aware of that,” said Aunt Candace, looking aggrieved. “I only wanted a look.”
“Or to snoop into Roger’s life,” Aunt Adelaide said. “Which is pointless, as that book isn’t magical at all. If it was, the library would have alerted me.”
“I didn’t know that,” I admitted. “I didn’t know the vampires would follow me here, either.”
“Don’t blame yourself for that,” Estelle said, drowning out Cass’s derisive cough. “If it’s not magical, maybe they want it for some other reason.”
“I’d need a closer look to be sure,” Aunt Adelaide said. “If that’s okay with you, Rory.”
“Sure.” I passed her the journal, ignoring Aunt Candace’s scowl. “Does the writing look familiar at all? I’m sure you’ve probably handled books written in dozens of languages in the library.”
“We have,” she confirmed. “This… no, I don’t recognise it. If the library tried to shelve it in the reference section, that suggests it contains information. Vampires trade in knowledge. Maybe that’s why they want it.”
Aunt Candace turned to me, her pen still scribbling away. “She’s right. Are you certain
there wasn’t a code-breaker document in the shop?”
“I never found it,” I said. “And if there was, wouldn’t the vampires have wanted that, too? Unless…”
Unless they could already read it? That couldn’t be possible, not if Dad had made it so that even I couldn’t understand it.
Aunt Adelaide shook her head. “Not if it contains information on the magical world. He wouldn’t have put it in a place where a normal could get their hands on it.”
“But what could possibly be that important?” I asked. “I mean, he left the magical world behind. He didn’t know anything about the library that you don’t already, right?”
Cass made a sceptical noise, and I glanced in her direction.
“What?” I said.
She shrugged. “If I were you, I’d have asked more questions when I had the chance.”
“What, to Dad? He never gave away he was paranormal even for a second,” I said. “I couldn’t have known to ask if I didn’t know this world existed, could I?”
“Exactly,” she said. “You didn’t know. Anything.”
Estelle rose from her seat. “Cass, that’s enough. You’ve done nothing but try to make Rory feel unwelcome since she arrived.”
“You only just noticed?” Cass shot back at her, bounding to her feet. “I’m done with this nonsense.”
She turned on the spot and stormed out of the room.
I shook my head. “Why would she be so insulted that I didn’t ask Dad what the book was for? I didn’t even know it existed until after he died.”
Aunt Adelaide looked up from the journal. “Cass is displeased by the threat to the library. Since we can’t understand the text in the journal, we can only speculate about what the vampires want it for. And as long as it remains in the library, it puts all of us at risk.”
Oh. Cass didn’t want me here, but if I left with the journal and lost it to the vampires, the library’s secrets might be compromised, assuming that’s what Dad had written about. No wonder she was so annoyed at me. Didn’t make it my fault, though.
Aunt Adelaide handed me the journal back. “If the library keeps trying to shelve it, I’d carry it with you from now on. Or you could leave it in one of our secure rooms.”
“Ah—I think I’ll carry it instead.” I tucked the journal under my arm. “Thanks.”
“C’mon,” said Estelle. “I’ll make tea, and we can watch a film. I haven’t shown you my room yet.”
“You have a TV in here?”
“Of course. We don’t live in the Stone Age.” She grinned. “Just tell me what you like.”
“I’m about five years behind. Dad never had a television and I didn’t have the money.”
“No worries, we’ll find something.”
Aunt Candace looked disappointed when I put the journal back in my bag, but she didn’t try to take it again, and Estelle and I left the dining room. I expected the stairs to mess with me on the way up, but the library seemed to be on its best behaviour tonight.
“So,” Estelle said. “How did your walk with the Reaper go?”
“It wasn’t really a walk,” I said. “I mean, we went to see the curse-breaker. I couldn’t go alone, since you know, there’s a vampire chasing me.”
“Ah, yeah, vampires aren’t fans of pointy objects. Except the obvious, that is.” She bounded ahead to her room. “So what did Mr Bennet say? Was he as bad as last time?”
“Worse,” I said. “Well, he did confirm Dominic was the one he borrowed the curse book to help, but he claimed it was to do with fang-shrinking curses or something. But that’s the second time his name’s come up in connection to this case.”
Estelle paused with her hand on the doorknob to her room. “Dominic wasn’t in when Tad died, though. You think he did it?”
“I don’t know what to think,” I admitted. “I’d blame the book of curses, but Aunt Candace picked it up and she was fine, and Xavier would know if it had anyone’s soul trapped in it. He said.”
“Xavier did, did he?” She gave a wry smile. “You two talked a lot? I don’t think I’ve ever seen him take an interest in anyone before.”
I frowned. “Really? He seems pretty outgoing.”
She pushed the door open, revealing a room the same size as mine but much more cluttered. A huge TV occupied one wall. “The problem is his boss,” she said. “The Grim Reaper has a reputation. I sometimes see him in the library, but he keeps to himself. Shame, given how smoking hot he is. Don’t deny it—you noticed.”
“I did notice,” I admitted. “But I guess being a Reaper is an important job, and now there are two souls missing right here in the library.”
“So he’s going to be hanging around a lot? That might be good news for you.” She winked. “All right—what do you want to watch?”
12
When I woke up the following morning, the first thing I did was check Dad’s journal was still under my pillow. From now on, I was carrying it everywhere with me.
I made my way down to the kitchen without any library-related mishaps and found breakfast waiting on the sideboard. Estelle waved me into the living room. “My mum left out some of that extra-strength coffee.”
“Oh, awesome.” I picked up my plate and mug and joined her on the sofa. “It’s Monday morning and the stairs didn’t collapse on me. Did I wander into another library overnight?”
There was a sniff from the back of the sofa. Sylvester gave me a dirty look. I smiled placatingly, but he took off in a flutter of wings.
“Uh-oh,” said Estelle. “What did you say to him?”
“I accidentally accused him of stealing the journal yesterday.” I took a bite of toast, which was flavoured with raspberry jam today. “Since I found him in my room with the journal after we found Tad’s body.”
She winced. “That explains why he’s in such a mood. In fairness, it’s the sort of thing he’d do as a joke. But he’s the one who found the journal?”
“Only because I said Jet would find it first.”
She sipped her coffee. “That’s probably the best way to deal with him until he gets used to you. Appeal to his ego.”
“Would the same work for Cass?”
“She’s slow to accept change. Give it time.”
We munched companionably for a bit. “Is the library open as usual today?”
“Of course,” she said. “Mondays are one of our busiest days. We have the poetry night, which is always a laugh.”
“I think I’ll sit that one out.” The memory of Tad’s death was too raw. Not to mention Duncan’s.
“Oh, Rory,” said Aunt Adelaide, entering the room. “Good, you’re here. Aunt Candace wanted me to give you this.”
I took the magical theory textbook she offered me. “Do I have another magic lesson, then?”
“Tomorrow,” she said. “Your aunt’s left details of the assignment inside. I know theory is dull work, but the quicker you pass your first exam, the quicker you’ll get a wand.”
“Oh, good,” I said. “I’d feel much more secure if I had a way to defend myself against those vampires.”
“You won’t have to worry about that for long.” She smiled and nodded to Estelle. “Take Rory to get her Biblio-Witch Inventory.”
My heart jumped. “I get one of those? For real?”
Estelle grinned. “Told you so.”
“In the meantime, you can start the theory exercise in your own time,” Aunt Adelaide added, leaving the living room. “My sister will probably forget to check, but you’ll need them for the exam.”
“Don’t bother with that now,” Estelle said in an undertone. “Really, you want that book. It’ll be up on the third floor.”
I was almost as buoyant as Estelle as I followed her through the library, up a spiralling staircase to the third level.
Estelle pulled a key out of her pocket and approached one of the locked doors marked with an X.
“Why does the door need a padlock on it?” I asked.
“W
ords can be slippery,” she said. “You never know when they’re going to escape. Close the door behind you and watch your back.”
That sounded ominous.
She unlocked the door, then pulled out her Biblio-Witch Inventory and tapped the page once. The door sprang open.
A single book lay on the table inside, its cover black with no writing on it. I approached and picked it up, half-expecting it to light up or something dramatic. Instead, all the pages were blank.
“It’ll fill up when you start learning magic,” Estelle said. “In the meantime…” She passed me a notebook and pen, both of which were marked with the family’s coat of arms.
My hand closed around the pen, a smile blooming. Finally. I had all my real biblio-witch gear. That proved I belonged here, right? “So I write the words in the book as I learn them?”
She nodded. “When you learn a new word, make sure you write it in the Biblio-Witch Inventory so you can use it any time. Or just use the pen and notebook if you’re in a hurry. You can also still write on any available paper, since the power comes from you, not just the tools, but they help.”
The door slammed open behind us and Cass bellowed, “We need you downstairs. Now.”
I looked at Estelle in alarm. “Not another murder?”
“I hope not.”
I put the Biblio-Witch Inventory, pen and notebook into my bag and followed her out of the room, which locked itself behind us.
Beyond the foot of the spiral stairs, a large pile of boxes stood beside the front desk.
“New delivery,” Cass said. “We have to get these to the right sections before the clients get their paws on—stop that,” she snapped at Samson, the persistent late-returner, who’d tried to remove a book from the pile. He had some nerve, considering Cass was in an even fouler mood than usual, by the look of things.
“A delivery? That’s all?” I said. “I thought someone died.”
She rolled her eyes. “So dramatic.”
“Someone did die,” Estelle said. “Fine, Rory and I will help out if you don’t disappear after two minutes like you usually do.”