“Let’s hurry while the lobby is still empty,” Shae said as they began to descend the stairs.
“Yes, it’s hard to tell how long it will stay this way,” Desta agreed. She scampered down merely a step behind her mother.
The moment Desta’s foot left the bottom step, the doors they had just come out from opened again. Shae half-expected to see the usher, but instead two young couples sauntered out.
The blonde woman fanned herself as the doors closed. “It’s simply far too hot to remain in there a single second more,” she declared.
“Oh, I kn-ow,” the brunette woman cooed in response. “I don’t understand how it’s possible for the theater to be so hot, especially considering tonight is such a cool night.” She, too, began fanning herself ostentatiously.
Despite her nerves, Shae found the pair amusing. They were moving their fans in perfect synchrony.
“It didn’t seem terribly hot in there to me,” Desta whispered.
“You aren’t wearing layer upon layer of petticoats like they are,” Shae argued even though she agreed with Desta. “Ah, here’s the ladies’ room!” she said, intentionally speaking loudly enough to be heard by the two couples. Shae took Desta’s elbow and guided her away from the stairs. They strolled across the lobby slowly, trying to look as casual as possible.
The couples sashayed across the lobby together, with the women fanning themselves all the while. They paused near the valet window, beneath the Carriages sign. Promptly after one of the men rang the bell on the counter, the pale, thin valet appeared.
“Please summon our footman to have our carriage brought around. Tell him that we don’t wish to roast in this place any longer,” the brunette said, right before Shae and Desta entered the ladies’ room.
Once inside, Shae pressed her ear to the door, straining to hear the conversation in the lobby. She heard the women say, almost in unison, “We will be waiting outside in the fresh air.”
Shae sighed with relief. “It sounds like they will be leaving soon,” she said.
Desta pulled her eyes away from the elegant decor of the powder room and pressed her ear against the door as well. She heard the tapping of high-heeled shoes against the marble floors and then the sound of the anteroom doors opening and closing.
Desta and her mother had intended to visit the library soon after they arrived in Niamh. Their plan had been to search ahead of time for books with crystals in their spines and note their locations. That part of the plan could be done during regular library hours, but the rest had to be done in secret. Since the crystals would only glow for the One, Shae and Desta would have to resort to peeling back the inner covers. They had no doubt that the librarians would frown upon people damaging their collection. On top of that, Desta and Shae intended to borrow the book once they found the correct one. Except, in this case, “borrowing” was less like checking out the book and more along the lines of stealing it.
Unfortunately, their original strategy was foiled by the fact that the library had been closed both days for festival preparations. Instead, they had settled for gathering information by talking with the innkeeper, whose son was attending the University. The woman was quite proud of the fact that her son had received a scholarship. She had been more than happy to discuss anything related to the University, and her son’s studies, at length. It seemed the woman was an expert, but Shae suspected that her knowledge was fueled by maternal pride more than personal experience. Shae made a point to casually mention that they wanted to visit the library to look for an original copy of her favorite collection of lore. The innkeeper had immediately suggested that they look in the Special Collection Room since that was where the old and rare books were stored. That, at least, gave Shae and Desta a place to start their hunt, even if they didn’t know where the Special Collection Room was.
Time passed, and there were no more sounds from the lobby aside from the muffled voices of the actors in the play. The door to the ladies’ room opened a crack, and two pairs of eyes peeked around the edge into the lobby. The man at the valet counter was gone. The lobby was empty. The entry to the library was conveniently located next to the ladies’ room, so they needed to dash just a few feet and duck beneath the velvet rope that barred entry to the hallway.
“Let’s go,” Shae whispered, tip-toeing back into the lobby. Desta followed behind her.
The sightless eyes of stone statues, frozen in depictions of scenes from famous plays, were the solitary witnesses to the women slinking through the short hallway. The only evidence of their passing was the gentle swaying of the Closed sign that hung from the rope.
The leather soles of their shoes made a soft tapping sound on the checkerboard floor, but in the dark stillness of the empty library it seemed more like a deafening echo. The arms of the chandeliers hung empty, like branches with no leaves, and no glow lamps hung from the sconces on the walls. Desta was relieved that the clouds from earlier in the day had broken, and the moonlight provided sufficient illumination to see by. The walls here were a deep shade of red and decorated with carvings of golden phoenixes that seemed to be flying toward the ceiling. The curled feathers of their outstretched wings cast odd shadows across the walls and onto the floor as the moon drifted in and out of transient clouds. Desta knew it was her imagination, but it still felt like the shadows were following her as she moved. She quickened her pace and reached out to grasp the strap of her mother’s leather bag.
Shae flinched and spun around. “What are you doing?” she gasped. “You scared me!”
“This place is creepy,” Desta replied timidly, shrinking back from her mother’s ire. “I didn’t want us to get separated somehow.”
Shae glanced around at the cloth-covered easels and pedestals that lined either side of the central aisle. Those must be the paintings and sculptures that had been on display earlier in the day during the first part of the festival. In this dim light, it would be difficult to discern between the artwork and another person.
“It’s a good idea to stay close,” she said. “Be careful not to knock anything over, or we’ll be caught for sure.”
They crept onward, pausing every few feet to read the signs posted on the endcaps of the towering bookcases. The signs indicated the type of books on each set of shelves and occasionally pointed in the direction of other areas. Halfway through the history section, they found the first sign labeled Special Collection Room. The arrow pointed to the left, so the pair turned to walk down the narrow aisle between two of the cases. The space felt confined compared to the openness of the main aisle, even though there was still ample room for Shae and Desta to walk side by side.
A groaning sound broke the silence around them, and Shae halted. Desta, hardly a step behind, bumped right into her back. They both stumbled awkwardly forward.
“Did you hear that?” Shae hissed.
“How could I not hear it?” Desta gulped. She looked up as a shadow flickered across the ceiling. “The bookshelves aren’t going to fall on us, are they?”
Shae was more worried about whether or not they were being followed. She pulled herself together. If anyone had seen them sneak in, the person would confront them directly, not follow them. Now was not the time to be paranoid. “Of course they aren’t. That noise wasn’t any different from the sound of a house settling. You’re being silly.”
“You’re the one who froze up when you heard it,” Desta replied sullenly. Her sweaty grip on the purse strap slipped a bit as Shae started walking again.
At the end of the aisle, was another sign pointing toward the Special Collection Room. The occasional creaks and groans persisted, spurring Shae and Desta to quicken their pace and continue onward. They followed the bookcases along one wall until they finally reached a tall, arched opening leading to a tenebrous hallway. The sign above the arch read Special Collection Room.
They huddled together as they inched through the hall. It was so dark here they could see little else but the opening at the far end. They passed se
veral recessed coves that contained still more sculptures. Though Desta couldn’t tell what the subjects of the statues were, she assumed these were permanent decorations since only one was covered with a cloth.
“We made it,” Shae said, relieved, as they reached the opposite end of the hall.
“It seems my luck is with us tonight,” Desta said, gesturing toward the metal lattice gate that stood open in front of them.
Shae stepped through the opening into a spacious room. It was as ornately decorated as the rest of the library. Moonlight poured down into the room from short, wide windows near the ceiling. Even that didn’t provide enough illumination to penetrate the darkness that filled the gaps between the massive bookcases that lined the walls. The center area of the room was populated by sturdy-looking tables. All but one of them was empty.
“That is fortunate,” Shae said. “I didn’t anticipate any section of the library would be locked. We would have come all this way for nothing if this gate had been closed.” She pulled the purse off her shoulder and set it down on a table near the bookcases.
“Let’s start by searching for any books that have crystals with them. The ones we are looking for must have crystals, or at least an empty spot where a crystal could have been,” Shae instructed.
Desta ran her hands over the spines of the aged books as she walked. “I know,” she replied softly, rolling her eyes.
“Don’t roll your eyes at me,” Shae chided.
“You can’t see well enough…I mean, I didn’t!” Desta argued.
Shae heaved a sigh and climbed up one of the tall ladders as quietly as she could manage. They hurriedly combed the shelves, with Shae looking over the highest ones and Desta those closest to the floor. Not a single one had a crystal embedded in the spine.
Shae descended the ladder, frustrated. “Maybe the crystals were somehow hidden inside the other five books,” she mused.
“If that’s the case, could they have the same title or author name as ours, or a matching symbol somewhere on the cover?” Desta proposed.
“That’s a good thought,” Shae replied. “Let’s look at our book one more time to see if there might be any clues.”
Desta hurried over to the table where Shae had left the purse containing the book. There couldn’t be much time left before the play ended. They had to be sure to get back by then so they could blend into the crowd to leave. She reached in and lifted the book by its spine. The leather slipped in her sweaty grip, and the crystal popped free from its pocket. It rolled across the floor and disappeared into one of the dark gaps between the bookcases.
Desta wanted to curse, but she couldn’t with her mother around. She laid the book on the table and hesitated, pursing her lips, before finally dropping onto her hands and knees to reach into the nook. She patted the floor and was startled to touch a large, solid shape that resembled a shoe. That was odd. It must belong to a statue that was obscured by the darkness in the nook. And then Desta realized that the shoe was warm. She yanked her hand back and skittered away from the gap. Her heart skipped a beat then thumped so hard that she feared it would fly right out of her chest.
A hand extended from the nook, and a male voice said, “Is this what you’re looking for?” The fingers of the hand uncurled to reveal the dropped crystal. Desta’s heart skipped a beat again—this time not from fear.
The crystal was glowing with a bright white light.
Chapter 3
The One
Nerissa stared, temporarily stunned, at the shining stone in her hand. The light radiating from it was as bright as a glow lamp. She had never seen a crystal react like this before. Why was it behaving so unnaturally? After spending hours waiting in her hiding spot with only silence and stillness as company, suddenly everything seemed to be happening all at once. She stepped uncertainly out from between the bookcases. Revealing herself was not part of the plan, but what else could she do after the girl had grabbed her foot? Desta was still on the floor, scuttling like a crab away from her. There was a clatter as she backed into a chair and sent it tumbling onto its side.
Hearing the noise, Shae sprang in between them and stretched out her arms defensively. Her expression was a mixture of apprehension and amazement. In the same instant, Raysel appeared at Nerissa’s side. He was still clutching the sheet of cloth that he had covered himself with to look like a statue in the hallway.
“Are you alright?” he asked. His gaze alternated between the pair of women they were spying on and the crystal in Nerissa’s hand. He seemed as curious about it as she was, but Nerissa knew that there were more urgent matters at hand right now.
“Yes, I’m fine. She grabbed my foot,” Nerissa explained. “Since my hiding place had been discovered, there wasn’t much else for me to do but step out of the gap and show myself.”
Before she could say anything else, Jarold’s broad form was silhouetted in the entrance doorway. Nerissa could see that his hand was on the hilt of his sword, ready to draw. “What is going on?” he asked. His breathing was heavy after running back from his post among the stacks in the main part of the library.
“There’s been a change of plans,” Raysel replied. He didn’t turn his eyes away from Shae and Desta. “Secure the area to make sure no one else is around, then contact Leal. Tell him to be ready at the meeting place and that there may be two extra people with us. We will meet you there shortly.”
Jarold nodded. “Understood,” he said before soundlessly disappearing.
Shae watched the conversation between the three men and tried to keep her arms from shaking. The two in front of her were dressed in livery, yet she very much doubted that they were actually servants. The man holding the crystal was unarmed, but the other one was carrying a sword. Servants didn’t carry swords. The man who just left had been carrying a sword too. She didn’t know for sure that she could trust these strangers, but…
Behind her, Desta began to babble. “M-mother, look at the crystal. It’s glowing! H-he’s the One the prophecy was talking about.”
The strange light coming from the crystal was bright enough to illuminate the young man’s face. It cast his features in planes and shadows, but Shae could still see that he had short brown hair. His companion’s hair was so white that it reminded her of the color of snow.
“Quiet,” Shae ordered her daughter. They had come to the Library seeking books, and instead they found the person the prophecy described. As a seer, Shae knew that certain events were predestined to occur, but a chance encounter like this was almost more than even she could believe. But, there was no way to deny that the crystal was glowing, exactly as the prophecy had said it would.
The short-haired man curled his fingers around the stone, but Shae could still see the light emanating from between them. “What does she mean by ‘he’s the One’?” he asked.
Shae thought for a moment before answering. Her first instinct had been to defend her daughter, but the men weren’t behaving in a threatening way. The reaction of the crystal meant that this man was supposed to know everything about the prophecy anyway. “We are looking for books related to a prophecy we found. Rather than trying to explain everything, it would be easier if I showed you.” She dropped her arms and gestured toward the book that Desta had laid down on the table a few minutes before.
“Go ahead,” the man with the sword said. He moved to position himself protectively a half-step ahead of his companion.
Shae looked at Desta, who was still frozen in place on the floor. The two men stepped up to the table as Shae offered a hand to help her daughter up. Desta picked up the chair she had knocked over and sat down on it. Wide-eyed, she leaned forward with her elbows on the table but didn’t say anything.
Nerissa watched as Shae peeled back the fabric that lined the inner cover of the book. The Ohanzee agent from Shae and Desta’s village had said that they were coming tonight to search for a book that contained an ancient prophecy about Casimer. The agent had no information to indicate where their loyalt
ies lay, their intentions, or about the nature of the prophecy. Aside from Desta’s startled exclamation about the crystal and vague reference to the One, nothing the women had said or done earlier tonight had given Nerissa any additional insight.
She placed the crystal on the table so that she could inspect the book. As soon as it was no longer in contact with her skin, the light ceased to emanate from it. Now, it looked no different from any other ordinary stone. She pressed one finger against it experimentally and the light sprang back into existence with the same intensity as before. So it was her touch that caused the reaction. Her eyes met Raysel’s briefly. They shared a puzzled look, and Shae’s voice broke in before either one of them could speak.
“The reason why the crystal is glowing is explained here,” she said, pointing to one of the paragraphs.
Nerissa reached out and gently brushed her fingers across the page that Shae had revealed. The page itself was smooth and transparent, despite having a slightly yellowish tint from age. It was definitely made of vellum. The words themselves had not been written on the vellum, but instead were inscribed on a piece of parchment underneath so that the vellum acted as a protective covering. The intensity of the ink was uneven and blotchy in places, despite the fluidity of the script the words were written in. Nerissa had seen similar characteristics in historical relics and knew that they meant the document had been written with quill and ink rather than a modern pen. The yellowing of the vellum and the characteristics of the writing both indicated to Nerissa that the text was either actually as old as it appeared to be or an elaborate fake.
Reflection: Harbinger of the Phoenix (Records of the Ohanzee Book 2) Page 2