The Lost Books

  And he remembered something Lord Patch had said to him. You have no idea what you are, do you? It was true. “I don’t know what I am,” he concluded. He studied the letters on his wrist to see if they’d oh-so-helpfully give him some advice. But of course they didn’t.

  “I do,” Miss Bug said. “I know what you are.”

  “Oh, really,” Alex muttered crossly, and pulled down his sleeve again to cover the letters.

  “Yes.” Miss Bug’s little face grew serious, the eyes huge behind the thick lenses of her spectacles. “You’re not just a librarian.” Somehow the words sounded weighty. “You are the Librarian.”

  As she spoke, the bracelet of letters around Alex’s wrist itched. He pushed up his sleeve again to see what the letters had to say.

  POIEDSOINXLIEIEKSXXWQOINX

  “That’s not particularly helpful,” Alex told them. Then, like spindly-legged ants, the letters crawled over each other, shifted again, and spelled out two words.

  THE LIBRARIAN

  And it was true.

  He was.

  Acknowledgments

  Thanks to all the librarians. You know who you are. Specifically thanks to the librarians who kindly gave me permission to kill them off in this book (with their names slightly altered): Mary Rumsey, Maeve Clark, Jackie Hockett Biger. And to the memory of Kathryn Farnsworth, storyteller, librarian, and the person who first pointed me toward books.

  To the bestest BFFs in the world: Jenn Reese, Deb Coates, and Greg van Eekhout. You guys.

  And seriously, without Michelle Edwards this book might not exist. Thanks, pal, for all the long talks and long walks and for urging me to send the “librarian kid book” to my agent. All the pompons and all the woolly hats in this book are for you.

  To my friend Luke Reynolds and my intern, Lee Hartley. And to the memory of my dearest Ellie Ditzel.

  To my awesome colleagues at Prairie Lights Books, a great bookstore. You should all visit it, especially on Sunday afternoons when I’m working in the kids section downstairs.

  To this book’s readers. This was the most fun I’ve ever had writing a book—and I hope you have as much fun reading it.

  About the Author

  Photo courtesy Sarah Prineas

  SARAH PRINEAS lives in the midst of the corn in rural Iowa, where she wrangles dogs, cats, chickens, and goats, goes on lots of hikes, and finds time to write. Her previous books include the Magic Thief series, Winterling, Summerkin, and Moonkind. She is married to a physics professor and has two kids.

  You can visit Sarah online at www.sarah-prineas.com.

  Discover great authors, exclusive offers, and more at hc.com.

  Books by Sarah Prineas

  THE MAGIC THIEF SERIES

  The Magic Thief

  The Magic Thief: Lost

  The Magic Thief: Found

  The Magic Thief: Home

  The Magic Thief: A Proper Wizard

  Winterling

  Summerkin

  Moonkind

  Thrice Sworn

  A Digital Short Story

  Back Ads

  Copyright

  THE LOST BOOKS: THE SCROLL OF KINGS. Copyright © 2018 by Sarah Prineas. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

  www.harpercollinschildrens.com

  Cover art by Jim Madsen

  Cover design by Joel Tippie

  Library of Congress Control Number: 2017954075

  Digital Edition JUNE 2018 ISBN: 978-0-06-266560-7

  Print ISBN: 978-0-06-266558-4

  1819202122CG/LSCH10987654321

  FIRST EDITION

  About the Publisher

  Australia

  HarperCollins Publishers Australia Pty. Ltd.

  Level 13, 201 Elizabeth Street

  Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia

  www.harpercollins.com.au

  Canada

  HarperCollins Publishers Ltd

  Bay Adelaide Centre, East Tower

  22 Adelaide Street West, 41st Floor

  Toronto, Ontario, Canada

  M5H 4E3

  www.harpercollins.ca

  India

  HarperCollins India

  A 75, Sector 57

  Noida

  Uttar Pradesh 201 301

  www.harpercollins.co.in

  New Zealand

  HarperCollins Publishers New Zealand

  Unit D1, 63 Apollo Drive

  Rosedale 0632

  Auckland, New Zealand

  www.harpercollins.co.nz

  United Kingdom

  HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.

  1 London Bridge Street

  London SE1 9GF, UK

  www.harpercollins.co.uk

  United States

  HarperCollins Publishers Inc.

  195 Broadway

  New York, NY 10007

  www.harpercollins.com