Life Reader

by Shea, K. M.

  “Class is going to start in ten minutes, we better get this put away before anyone comes in,” Raven sighed.

  Aron reclaimed the large bottle while Asher rolled the map up with a flick of his wrist.

  “Right. We actually have to go,” Aron said, tossing the pills in his backpack before zipping it shut.

  “Why? I thought you have study hall first hour,” Raven said.

  “We do. But last night we found ourselves so enraptured as we searched for information about Saint Cloud that we weren’t able to do anything else,” Asher said.

  “You mean you screwed off and played video games all night,” Raven said, tightening one of her two pig tails that were gathered at the base of her head. Her copper curls spilled out of the ties, achieving a cute look that pleased Raven.

  “So we got a new game. Sue us! See ya in Government,” Aron said, sliding off the top of a desk.

  “Bye,” Raven said as Asher flicked a hand up in acknowledgement.

  Seconds after the twins left Crevan Espion, the quiet transfer student who sat behind Raven, entered the room.

  “Good morning,” Raven said, flashing a smile in his direction.

  Crevan grunted as he stumbled through the classroom.

  “Did you finish today’s homework?” Raven asked with forced cheerfulness.

  Crevan grunted again before collapsing in his desk.

  Raven turned so she faced forward, satisfied she had furthered the image of her perky persona. She hummed as she dug through her backpack, organizing her books and unearthing notes. She opened the reading for the day and was about to immerse herself in it, still humming as students began to trickle into the room.

  Raven absent mindedly rubbed vanilla lip balm on her lips. She froze. Something softly brushed the base of her bare neck.

  Raven whirled, the curls in her pig tails bouncing, and fixed her gaze on Crevan.

  Crevan had his chin propped on a folded arm, and was splayed over the desk, his free hand outstretched, fingers extended.

  Raven stared and Crevan blushed. He retracted his hand and hid his face in the crook of his elbow.

  Raven didn’t know whether she was charmed or mildly repulsed. The anti-morning, antisocial boy had touched her hair.

  Weird.

  “Good morning Ray-Ray!”

  Raven spun around in her desk. “Good morning Shannon!”

  “How are you this fine morning?”

  “Wonderful! And you?”

  “I should have asked for further clarification about hiding in the bathroom,” Raven whispered, glaring at the twins at nine o’clock in the evening.

  “You are such a girl,” Asher said, rolling his eyes.

  “You’re just lucky I managed to find my fashion winter boots,” Raven stamped a foot.

  “Those are NOT boots! That’s why they’re called fashion boots! They’re lined with fake fur and they’re suede,” Asher argued.

  “Even so you had better be grateful,” Raven shot. “My feet are sweating like pigs.”

  “I could have gone without knowing that,” Aron calmly interjected.

  “Look, just give me a Lucky Brewster pill and I’ll go hide in a stall,” Raven impatiently demanded, shifting her weight while folding her arms.

  “No. We’re all hiding in the same stall. Safety in numbers,” Aron insisted.

  “Just shut up and take a pill. We have three minutes until Jeremiah finishes checking the men’s bathroom and comes over here,” Asher hissed, shaking a Lucky Brewster pill into his hand before passing the container to Raven.

  “You two are such perverts for wanting to hide in the women’s restroom,” Raven said, fishing a pill out of the jar before popping it in her mouth. The pill was surprisingly juicy and sweet even though its texture was conversely grainy and chalky. “Mmm, strawberry,” she said.

  “Jeremiah searches this restroom second, so it gives us more time to prepare. Besides, it’s cleaner.” Asher coughed. “Ack! Pickles!” he spat as Raven selected a second pill and handed it to Aron, who was holding the flashlight so the trio wouldn’t be in complete and utter darkness in the bathroom.

  “Yes, peach!” Aron cheered after tossing the pill in his mouth.

  “Okay, okay. Into the stall!” Asher hissed.

  “Righto,” Aron said, lumbering into the middle stall. He hopped onto the back of the toilet and leaned against the far wall.

  “This had better not break,” Raven grumbled, climbing onto closed toilet lid.

  “It won’t. Aron and I have done this before, and you can’t weigh that much extra,” Asher said before joining her on the lid. They wobbled sideways so Raven leaned against the left wall of the stall, Asher against the right, their feet crossing in the middle.

  “Okay, he’s coming. Now remember, the charm direction is disappear… I think,” Asher said.

  “What? You mean you didn’t read the directions?” Raven said, her voice going up several octaves.

  “SHH!” Aron said, reaching out to cover her mouth with his free hand.

  Raven glared at the boy as voices called from outside the bathroom.

  “That’s him,” Aron said, removing his hand from Raven’s mouth while clicking off the flashlight, plunging the room into darkness.

  “Disappear,” Asher, Aron, and Raven whispered.

  The bathroom door opened, and Raven held her breath. The lights flicked on, and Jeremiah strode in, humming under his breath.

  Raven leaned back against the stall, staring wide eyed at Asher. Her palms were sweaty with fear, and Raven suddenly felt frighteningly unsteady.

  “La laah, la,” Jeremiah murmured, pushing the first stall door open. Raven stared out through the slit between the bathroom door and wall before she squeezed her eyes shut.

  “La laaah daa da dum,” Jeremiah sang, his shoes clicking on the tile floor as he moved to the stall Raven and the twins occupied.

  The door creaked as it swung open. Raven squeezed her eyes harder, as though she could will herself out of Jeremiah’s sight.

  “La dee dee, la laah la, dee dee,” Jeremiah hummed, moving onto the next door.

  Raven’s eyes popped open and she stared out as the stall door slowly swung shut, catching a glance of the stall’s reflection in the mirror. It looked empty.

  Raven twisted her head to stare across the stall at Asher. She couldn’t see him, but she felt it when he bumped her fashion boots in warning.

  By the time Raven got over the shock of being truly invisible, Jeremiah checked the last stall and flicked off the lights.

  “All clear,” Jeremiah carelessly called before the bathroom door closed, immersing the bathroom in darkness once again.

  Raven waited for several silent moments before whispering. “I can’t believe that worked.”

  “Never doubt our skills as delinquents,” Aron said.

  “Quiet!” Asher said. “They’re still out there. Miss Morris is arming the alarms. We need to wait about five more minutes.”

  “How long does the invisibility charm stick?” Raven whispered.

  “Not long. I think it’s like… eight minutes?” Aron said.

  “Try five,” Asher said.

  Raven tipped her head back to rest it against the stall wall. “I can physically feel my lifespan shortening when I’m with you guys. Can we turn on the light yet?”

  “No.”

  After what felt like an eternity, Asher—once again visible since the charm had run its course—lit his wristwatch with a built in light. “Okay,” he said, hopping down while Aron turned on the flashlight. “We’re good to go.” he held out his arms to help Raven dismount the toilet.

  “Operation Beard the Bear has commenced,” Aron said, also hopping off the toilet, once again leaving Raven squished in the center of a Montamos sandwich.

  “We seem to doing this in a lot lately,” Raven said, her ire clearly marked in her voice.

  “Hey, I’m not complaining,” Aron teased, purposely crowding Raven as Asher
shoved the door open.

  “Light, light!” Asher barked.

  Aron chuckled and held the flashlight up as they filed out of the stall.

  “Okay, here is where the fun starts,” Aron said, walking towards the door.

  “Normal thieves only have to deal with a regular security system. Bells and alarms mostly. That is the least of our worries. We also have to deal with the magic systems,” Asher said, following his twin.

  Raven groaned. “Please don’t call us thieves.”

  “What, would you prefer double agent?”

  “Recruiting spy?”

  “Renegade?”

  “Turncoat?”

  “Rebel?”

  “Anyway,” Aron said, holding the flashlight below his head, the light flooded his face with the exception of his eye sockets. “We have thirty seconds to shut off all the alarms.”

  “Thirty seconds?” Raven repeated.

  “Yes. The alarms will immediately pick up our movement the instant we leave this bathroom, but it waits thirty seconds before springing,” Asher nodded.

  “Why thirty seconds?” Raven said.

  “Because it takes stuffy Director Eastgate, moving at a fast walk—,” Asher started.

  “Would be too unseemly to run,” Aron piped in.

  “Thirty seconds to travel the path between the door by the reference desk and the arming mechanism by the door to the kitchen,” Asher finished.

  “From there we have to high tail it to disarm the magical systems. Which is both easier and harder,” Aron said.

  “That’s encouraging,” Raven said.

  “Your job will be to disarm the regular alarms. The code is 007007. We suspect our director is a James Bond fan,” Aron said.

  “And I have to do this within thirty seconds?” Raven asked.

  “Yep. It’s a standard number pad, pretty easy,” Asher said. “As soon as we leave this bathroom ignite your ring—Aron and I need the flashlight—and enter the code. We’ll point out the keypad to you before we leave the area. If something goes wrong, open the door to the kitchen. Aron will be on the other side, disarming the alarm for the staff office area. I will be going ahead to find the magical security system’s shut down mechanism.”

  Raven unsteadily breathed out and stamped a foot, like an impatient horse waiting at the starting gate of a race.

  “You ready? Aron asked.

  Raven pursed her lips and shook her head. Her heart was pounding in her throat at such a volume she could barely hear the boys.

  Asher chuckled. “Such a girl. Don’t worry. The more devious activity you experience the calmer you’ll become. On the count of one we’ll go. Aron? If you would?”

  “Absolutely. Annnnddd starting the countdown. Five, four, three, two, ONE!”

  One of the twins ripped the door open, and in an instant Raven and the boys ran as though death itself were on their heels.

  They made no noise besides the whispers of their feet hitting the carpeted floor. Within seconds they skid to a stop by the kitchen door. Asher crowded through it, Aron right behind him.

  “Here,” the younger twin hissed, slamming his open hand on the stone wall before slipping through the door.

  Raven murmured to her ring, “Illuminate,” which lit up with the familiar silver glow. Directly above the spot Aron pointed out was a rectangular, plastic box. Part of the box popped off, hinged like a door, unveiling a number pad.

  Carefully, so as not to fumble, Raven started entering the numbers. “Zero, zero, seven,” she whispered, trying to swallow around the fear that clawed at her throat and swamped her body. “Zero, zero, seven.”

  The plastic box chirped, and the tiny screen lit up. “Alarm disarmed,” the screen read.

  Raven released the breath of air she was holding and discreetly wiped at her forehead, wondering if she was sweating. She swallowed and frowned. Her tongue felt numb, like she had received a Novocain shot at the dentist’s office.

  “Raven?” Aron whispered, inching the door open. “Did you get it?”

  “Yep, it’s off,” Raven said, smacking her lips several times while musing over the sudden numbness. (Perhaps her fear wasn’t so much paralyzing as it was numbing?)

  “Great, come on,” Aron said, holding the door open for Raven.

  Raven cast one last glance around the darkened computer room before sliding through the door.

  “Hopefully Asher’s working on the magic system,” Aron said as they rushed down the hallway, guided only by the light of their rings.

  “I’m trying but it’s not going well,” Asher called in a scathing whisper.

  Aron and Raven stopped when the light of their rings fell on Asher, who was pawing through a beautiful wooden chest that stood in the hallway as a decoration. “Why don’t you have the magical defense system off yet? I can feel it breathing down my neck!” Aron said, the barest traces of fear lacing his words as he pulled the flashlight from Asher and held it for him.

  “He’s moved it! I can’t find it anywhere! Help me if you’ve got time to freak out.”

  “Find what?” Raven asked, awkwardly rubbing the back of her neck. It felt like someone was squeezing the base of her neck with a large, meaty hand, but her fingers felt nothing but her skin.

  The twins ignored her and Aron dropped on his knees to help his brother open and close various drawers.

  “Consult the Book!” Asher ordered, shining the red light of his ring in the chest.

  Aron dropped the backpack and ripped out a thick book, paging through it with wide eyes.

  Raven swallowed and sunk to the floor when her spit caught in her throat. Coughing, Raven raised both hands to clutch her throat, which was when she realized that the light of her ring had gone out, and she hadn’t dismissed it.

  “Find it Asher, it’s got Ray,” Aron tightly said, his hands shaking as he continued to flip through the book.

  Raven released a gurgling croak. The spit was still lodged in her throat and her silver page turner ring was so cold it felt like it was spreading frostbite through her fingers.

  “Got it!” Asher said. His ring shed more red light as there was a low thrum. The pressure on the base of Raven’s neck evaporated. She was suddenly able to properly swallow, and her ring slowly warmed to a regular temperature.

  Raven shook like a jello block, her muscles unable to support her. “What was that?” she asked, her voice hoarse.

  “That,” Asher said, standing up, holding something in his left hand. “Was Saint Cloud’s magical defense system.”

  Raven, still spineless, shook her head. “No it wasn’t. A regular defense system wouldn’t attack a page turner.”

  Asher walked over to Raven as Aron wedged the flashlight against his side with an arm.

  “You’re right. But this isn’t a regular defense system,” Aron said as he dug in the backpack.

  “It’s not?” Raven weakly asked, barely strong enough to flick one of her pig tails over her shoulder.

  “Nope. Saint Cloud doesn’t have a regular defense system because it fell apart when circulation operations halted,” Asher said, wiping sweat off his forehead. “But Director Eastgate couldn’t leave the library open to attacks, so he had to improvise.”

  “What does the defense system do?” Raven asked.

  “The standard alarm system is normal in all libraries,” Aron said, pulling out a thin case from the backpack. “But that would only take care of thieves who don’t have magic at their disposal. Saint Cloud could still be attacked by magic abusers, so he had to create a system that would attack anything with magic.”

  “What does the defense system do?” Raven repeated.

  “You gotta hand it to him,” Asher breathed, taking the case when his twin offered it to him. “He takes the magic present in the library and artificially controls it with charms. That’s pretty sneaky.”

  “GUYS, what does the defense system do?” Raven said, fear curling her fingers into a fist.

  “It targ
ets human intruders’ magic and slowly smothers it,” Aron said.

  “As you know, our magic is tied to our very soul, so smothering our magic will knock us out and keep us unconscious.”

  Raven blinked, staring at the large circle of light the flashlight created on the wall.

  “Thankfully, for safety reasons, Director Eastgate created a shut off charm that can be tripped by any library staff member. The downside, though, is that whoever opens the library in the morning is going to know we were here tonight. But that shouldn’t bother anyone too much. We’ve done it before and he’s never asked.”

  “You mean we could have DIED?” Raven shrieked, the gravity of the situation finally sinking in.

  “Oh no,” Aron shook his head. “Saint Cloud would have kept us in an unconscious state until the library was unlocked at opening time.”

  “And you couldn’t have told me this before?” Raven howled.

  “You wouldn’t have wanted to risk it,” Asher said, rolling his eyes.

  Raven squeezed her eyes shut and groaned. “I am so not cut out for this.”

  “Tell me about it,” Asher grumbled, his face was pale and drawn.

  “You’ve got to admit there’s poetic justice in it,” Aron said, slinging the backpack over his shoulder again. “The director has cut off the magic present in Saint Cloud, which cuts off our magic in an artificially created defense system. Very symbolic,” he nodded.

  Asher looked queasy before offering Raven a hand up. “Come on. We better get going.”

  Raven took the hand, and Asher helped her to her feet while Aron trotted up the hallway, stopping just outside a door.

  “Think the key still works?” he asked.

  “They haven’t changed it yet, we’ll be fine. Besides, we brought our lock picks, right?” Asher asked, opening the thin case. He selected a silver key from the case before joining his brother at the door.

  There was a click, and the door swung open. “I think the janitorial staff greased it. Last time we were in here it creaked like a sick siren,” Aron said, flicking on an office light before plunging into the office.

  Asher and Raven followed him inside. The brothers moved through the office with familiarity. Asher plopped down in a chair behind the desk, Aron headed for two metal filing cabinets.