“Should I ask how you know this?” Chelsea asked.
“I was a precocious kid,” Caleb said defensively.
“You’re still a precocious kid.”
Caleb laughed. “You got me there.” Taking the key to the nearby door, Caleb inserted and turned it. There was another click, and the door easily swung open.
Chelsea frowned. “This doesn’t look like a legitimate entrance.”
Stepping into the darkness, Caleb pulled out his watch and formed a globe of white light that floated in the air over his head. Behind him, Chelsea did the same with an orb of emerald fire.
“It’s a service tunnel,” Caleb said. “It was built before this area was turned into a garden. I’m not sure exactly how things used to be set up, but they still maintain it. They open it up around Halloween when they turn the whole library into a haunted house.”
“It’s like a maze,” Chelsea said, peering left and right at a four-way intersection. “Why so many paths?”
“Dunno,” Caleb said with a shrug, taking the path to the right. “They all lead somewhere, but aside from the main path between the garden and the library itself, everywhere else just leads to closets and storerooms that aren’t in use anymore.”
“You think maybe what the Hollows were attracted to about this place might be in this tunnel?” Chelsea asked. She ran her hand along the stone wall, then pulled it away, staring at her fingers. “The walls are wet.”
“The plumbing isn’t great,” Caleb said with a chuckle. He paused, listening. “Hear that? Water’s dripping somewhere.”
“This feels like a completely different building. More like a centuries-old ruin than part of a modern library.”
“Well, the library isn’t all that modern.”
“You know what I mean. It’s been renovated. It looks like a modern building designed to have an older feel to it, but it isn’t… like this.”
“Good point.” Caleb stopped at the next intersection.
“What is it?” Chelsea asked.
“Hear that?” Caleb asked back.
“Is that… music?”
Caleb strained to hear. Was it coming from above, or from within the tunnels? And the music…
“It sounds like a Piper’s Flute,” Chelsea said ominously.
“Can you tell where it’s coming from?” Caleb asked.
Chelsea shook her head. “If I had to guess, I’d say up above.”
“All right. Let’s hurry.”
Caleb took the left path at a jog. Even with his familiarity with this secret entrance to the library, it was still dangerous to try charging through at top speed. He’d gotten lost down here more than enough times to know that much.
But while he took a measured pace on foot, his mind was racing as fast as it could. The music was growing louder, and the sound of it was the haunting, hollow tone of a Piper’s Flute.
But that song… it was going on for too long. He’d never heard a Piper play that. They seemed to have two very short songs — one for luring children to follow them, and one for summoning Hollows to their aid. Those two songs never changed as far as Caleb knew. Hunter training involved listening to recordings of both songs until new Hunters memorized them.
As far as he knew, there were no other songs.
So what was this strange music?
The song for luring children from their homes had a sort of upbeat melancholy to it. It was something that made you want to tap your foot and cry at the same time — joy juxtaposed with a heavy heart.
For summoning Hollows, the song was tremendously brief. Just a quick series of high, frantic notes, and reinforcements arrived. It made sense. If you were going to call for backup, you couldn’t afford to take your time on a long, complex melody.
But this new song that drifted through the stone hallways was completely different. It didn’t repeat itself like the luring song did. It continued into new phrases, emotions changing and shifting, like it was telling a story. What had started out haunting and lonely was now tinged with a sadness that pierced Caleb’s heart. That sadness rolled itself forward into a bitter regret, a guilt of time wasted and things left unsaid.
“Caleb?” Chelsea asked. Looking up, only now did Caleb realize that Chelsea was ahead of him, looking back with concern.
“I…” Caleb started, but what could he say? His heart felt so tremendously heavy.
“Are we close?” Chelsea asked. Caleb nodded, moving forward once more to lead the way. He thought he saw, for a brief moment, tears shining in Chelsea’s eyes, but she turned away.
There. The stairs up to the library’s main floor. Like Chelsea had guessed, it was clear now that the song filled with emotions too deep and powerful for words was coming from above.
“Stay cautious,” Chelsea said. She spoke in a restrained voice, like it was hard to get words out. Caleb nodded, feeling the same way, uncertain if he could speak. Pocket watch in hand, he led the way up the spiral staircase.
At the top was a door, and he pushed it open carefully.
The song washed over them, and Caleb almost fell back at the sudden surge. With a force of effort, he stepped forward. They were in one of the open lounge areas in the library, with tables and chairs and couches spread out for leisurely reading.
On the far side of the open area, seated on a couch, someone was playing a flute.
It was clearly a Piper’s Flute. Caleb would recognize that strange design anywhere. But the person playing it wasn’t a Piper.
It was a little girl.
Chapter 7: The Girl in the Library
— G —
The source of the strange, powerfully emotional melody that filled the library was the small child sitting on the couch in front of Caleb and Chelsea. She couldn’t have been more than six years old, and as she played, her eyes were closed. Sitting back on the couch, her feet didn’t even reach the floor, kicking in time with the song she played. She wore nothing more than a simple white dress — even her feet were bare. Apple-red hair spilled from her head in masses of curls, long and flowing. If the girl stood up, Caleb was convinced her hair would reach all the way down to her feet.
“What…” Chelsea said softly from next to Caleb. She was staring, wide-eyed, as confused and shocked as Caleb was.
“I…” Caleb took a breath. “Who are you?” he asked, as loud as he could without sounding like he was shouting or angry.
The music died away, and the girl opened her eyes, taking in Caleb and Chelsea.
“I’m Isabelle,” she said simply. Her voice was cute and energetic. Combined with the way she kicked her legs, it was hard to believe she was the one behind the sad and lonely music.
“That doesn’t really answer our question,” Chelsea muttered.
“Hi, Isabelle,” Caleb said, smiling as he took a few steps forward. “I’m Caleb.”
Isabelle hopped up to stand on the couch, bouncing on the cushion. She twirled the Piper’s Flute in one hand, then pointed at Caleb with it. “Hi, Caleb!” she said, a broad smile on her face. “I think you’re the first visitor I’ve ever had.”
“Visitor?” Caleb asked.
Isabelle nodded, her mass of red curls bouncing adorably. “That’s you!” she said. “And her!” She pointed to Chelsea. “Do you have a name, too?”
“What kind of question is that?” Chelsea muttered. She stepped forward. “I’m Chelsea. Why do you have a Piper’s Flute?”
Isabelle waved. “Hi, Chelsea!” She then took a long look at the Flute in her hand. “Piper’s Flute?”
“Yes,” Chelsea said. “Why do you have it?”
“It’s not a Piper’s Flute,” Isabelle said, staring at Chelsea with her big blue eyes. “It’s my flute. I made it.”
“You…” Chelsea let out a long sigh. “Caleb, what the heck?”
“Relax,” Caleb whispered back at Chelsea. “She seems like she’d scare easily.” He raised his voice to address the girl. “What did you mean by that, Isabelle? How did you make
it?”
Isabelle cocked her head to the side, staring quizzically at him. She hadn’t stopped bouncing on the couch cushion. “Like this,” she said as she held up her free hand. Trails of light started swirling above her open palm, forming a sphere, and a moment later, the lights dissipated, and another Piper’s Flute was in her hand. She grinned and held it out to Caleb. “Do you want it?”
“How did you do that?” Chelsea demanded. The harshness in her voice came across strongly, and Isabelle leapt up, now standing on the back of the couch. Wide-eyed, she watched Chelsea nervously.
“She’s a kid,” Caleb said softly, placing a hand on Chelsea’s arm. “We’re not going to get anywhere if we scare her.”
“Something isn’t right,” Chelsea said, staring at him. “You can see it as plain as I can. She isn’t ordinary. Why does she have a Piper’s Flute? How was she able to make a second one out of thin air?”
“Let’s find out,” Caleb said. “If we get worked up, we’ll scare her off.” He nodded to the frightened Isabelle. “Right?”
Chelsea sighed. “I’m going to watch your back,” she said. A lighter in each hand, she walked away. She left the green orb of fire with Caleb, floating a few feet over his head, and summoned up another one to follow her as she left.
“She’s scary,” Isabelle said, watching her go.
Caleb chuckled. “She’s just concerned, is all,” he said. “You can do things that we’ve never seen before. And those flutes… well, there are monsters that use them to do terrible things.”
“Monsters?” Isabelle asked. She looked more curious than anything. Apparently Chelsea was more frightening than monsters.
Caleb nodded, walking closer. He pulled out a chair across from Isabelle and sat on it backwards, draping his arms over the chair’s back. “Kids have been disappearing from the city. They’re being lured out of their homes by monsters called Pipers who play those flutes.”
Isabelle frowned, plopping down to sit on the couch. “Pipers…” she said slowly. “Aren’t pipes different from flutes?”
Caleb chuckled. “Yeah, the name comes from an old folk tale,” he said. “They’re similar enough. But anyway… how are you able to make those flutes? I mean, I saw what you did, but I don’t understand it.”
“It’s magic,” Isabelle said brightly, smiling proudly.
“Yeah, I guessed that,” Caleb said with a laugh.
Isabelle leaned forward, wide-eyed. “You can use magic, too?”
“Sure can.” Caleb held up his pocket watch, flipping it open. The face of the watch glowed with bright light, and out came two spheres of white light. They flew forward, dancing a halo above Isabelle’s head, and she laughed as she watched. Returning the lights to his watch, Caleb closed it and grinned at Isabelle. “Pretty cool, right?”
Isabelle kicked her legs faster. “Right!”
“But, see…” Caleb twirled the watch by its chain, “I can only use magic through an object like this, called a Talisman. But it looked like you used magic freely. Am I right?”
Isabelle nodded. “That’s right!”
“Do you know how you do it?”
Isabelle frowned, swaying side to side. “I dunno. I know how I do it, but only as a feeling. I just… know what to do. And then I do it.”
“And you can make these magical flutes,” Caleb said, pointing to the flutes in Isabelle’s hands.
The little girl nodded. “That’s right!”
“Why those flutes? Can you make other kinds of instruments?”
Another nod. “I can make all kinds of instruments! But… these are special.”
“Special? Why’s that?”
“Because…” Isabelle looked deep in concentration. She twirled the flute she’d made before Caleb and Chelsea’s eyes, and it vanished into thin air. She then held up the first flute, the one she’d been playing the song with. “This is the only way I can get home.”
The way Isabelle said that made Caleb pause. She’d seemed so energetic and friendly, but when she talked about going home, her voice was filled with the same loneliness and regret as her song.
“Where’s home?” Caleb asked.
“The Library of Solitude,” Isabelle said, enunciating each syllable carefully, like she’d practiced the name over and over. “For some reason, I keep ending up in this library. It’s not the right one.”
“Do you know where the Library of Solitude is?” Caleb asked. He had about a million other questions about a place called “The Library of Solitude,” but he didn’t think throwing all of those into the face of a little girl who just wanted to go home would help him much.
Isabelle shook her head. “I know what it looks like. But… I don’t remember how to get there. Or what else is around it. I just know that there’s a song that will guide me back. But I don’t know which song.”
“And you have to play it on that flute?”
Isabelle nodded. “Right.”
“Do you know how others might get flutes that are like that one?”
“Like the monsters?”
“Right.”
Isabelle rocked back and forth, staring at the flute in her hand. “There’s a man who used to ask me for them. He’s not a monster, though. He’s a person, like you.”
Caleb frowned at that. “I thought I was your first visitor.”
“You are. He was a solicitor, not a visitor. He hasn’t found me since I came here, and I don’t know how to find him. But he would always come to me, when I was in the other place, the nothing place, and ask for this specific flute. But I can’t give him this one. So I made him one that’s just like it, and he said that was good enough. Though he was still kind of pushy about this one.” She pursed her lips. “I kinda didn’t want to give him anything since he was so rude.”
“There’s something special about that one?” Caleb asked, pointing to the flute in Isabelle’s hand.
She nodded emphatically. “This is the first one. My mommy gave it to me and told me to make sure I never lose it, because it was the only way to get home if I got lost.”
“What was the man like?” Caleb asked. “And how many flutes did you give him?”
Isabelle swayed from side to side again, her eyes tilted upward as she thought. “He was taller than you,” she said, pulling details from her memory one at a time. “He had white hair. And a big scar. It went from the top of his face on one side, across his nose, and down to his neck on the other side.”
Well. That didn’t sound like anyone Caleb knew. He’d remember features like that.
“I didn’t give him all of the flutes at once,” Isabelle continued. “He asked for one. Then he showed up again, asking for two. The next time it was for five. And… he kept wanting more. I think I gave him about one hundred before I started ending up here, and then I didn’t see him anymore.”
Caleb gaped. One hundred? How many Pipers had the Hunters destroyed? Less than twenty in the past five hundred years, if Caleb knew his history as well as he thought he did.
“Do you know how long ago you first met him?” Caleb asked.
Isabelle sighed, staring at the floor. “Time’s difficult,” she said softly. “My mommy always said so. At least it is for people like us.”
“What do you mean by that?” Caleb asked. “What kind of person are you?”
Isabelle opened her mouth, but then the old clock in the library started to chime. “No!” she cried in dismay. “My time’s up!”
“Your time’s up?” Caleb asked.
Isabelle nodded sadly. “Sorry. It was fun meeting you, Caleb. Hey! Can we talk more tomorrow? We just got started, but you’re really interesting, and you ask a lot of questions, and it’s fun!”
Caleb stared, not sure how exactly to take all of that. Finally, he just smiled. “Yeah, sure. I’ll be back tomorrow.”
Isabelle hopped to the floor. Even standing up straight, she only barely came up to the top of the chair. She held out her free hand, pinky extended. “Promise?”<
br />
Caleb nodded, entwining his pinky with hers. “Promise.”
With the last chime of the clock, Isabelle vanished.
“Caleb, time’s up!” Chelsea called out, coming back around to the lounge area. “Hey, where’d the kid go?”
“She said her time was up,” Caleb said, standing. “She just disappeared.”
“Time…” Chelsea stared at the couch where Isabelle had been, confusion and fear clouding her expression.
Greysons of Grimoire Page 7