“Class dismissed,” he said as if we hadn’t had a conversation at all. “I’ll see you again on Wednesday.”
My friends exchanged glances with one another, then they all looked at me. I nodded, slowly, and led them out of the classroom.
Tanoki was right. While I’d been locked away in the Stacks, I’d uncovered a secret vault of lore left by the New Moon clan.
And I thought I knew how to find another.
The Museum
THE REST OF THAT SCHOOL day passed even slower than our history class had. I couldn’t shake the nagging feeling that if I didn’t find the trove of information Tanoki had hinted at soon, it would disappear.
Deep down, I knew something hidden for centuries wouldn’t just up and disappear in the next few hours. That didn’t make it any easier to delay our search while we waited out our classes and wolfed down dinner.
“If you’re in such a hurry, you should have skipped food instead of shoveling it down your neck,” Clem said as she finished the last of her bowl of blackberries and melon balls.
“I’m not skipping dinner,” Eric said. “My core demands fuel. I’d faint in the hall if I didn’t feed it.”
Hahen sniffed at that and poked me in the shoulder. “Neither of you look like you’re in danger of wasting away. It’s a shame Jace would rather skip his scheduled meditation time than a meal. Artists need far less food than mere disciples.”
“This is important,” I grumbled.
“So is advancement,” the rat spirit shot back. “Though I suppose it would be hopeless to work with you when your thoughts are preoccupied with other concerns. I’ll come find you after your little adventure.”
With that, Hahen and Niddhogg hopped off the table and left the dining room.
“He’s got a point, you know,” Abi said. “We could search for the information you seek while you train with him. Splitting up would kill two birds with one stone.”
A wave of gratitude passed over me at Abi’s willingness to take that responsibility off my hands. His heart was in the right place even though he didn’t understand how misguided his suggestion was. It was good to know that my friends were more than ready to pitch in.
“Normally I’d agree with you,” I said as I gathered up my dishes and pushed back from the table. “But I’ve got some tricks up my sleeve that will make this search go much faster.”
“I hope it’s worth it.” Eric grinned as he dumped his tray into the bin next to the door. “Because Hahen won’t forget that you stood him up.”
“Don’t I know it,” I said with a chuckle.
I forced myself to wander aimlessly after we left the dining room. If we’d picked up a tail, I didn’t want to lead them right to the goods. After a few minutes of ambling up and down the main campus, the only students I saw were freshmen, and they looked so confused and startled by everything that had happened to them that day it was impossible to believe any of them were spies. For a moment, I thought I’d glimpsed black robes in the jumble of new kids, then shook my head at my foolishness.
The odds of Mama Weaver assigning any members to the Shadow Phoenix clan this year were slim to none. A pang of guilt shot through me at the reminder that I was the last of my kind.
No, I couldn’t think like that. Too much rested on me to give in to emotions.
“All right,” I said, confident no one was trailing us, “let’s find this place.”
My command of the School’s shifting architecture had grown by leaps and bounds over the summer. It only took a quarter of an hour to find the Stacks’ door. The sight of the heavy barrier in the jinsei lamp’s silver light forced me to pause for a moment and calm myself. I’d been a prisoner behind those doors for months, certain that I’d remain a hollow for the rest of my life. As painful as that memory was, this was also where I’d learned to walk a new path, and discovered the fateful history of the Eclipse Warriors.
“How old is this place?” Eric asked as he gazed at the ancient wooden door and the crumbling stonework that surrounded it.
“Very, very old,” Abi replied. “This was one of the first schools. My father says the earliest students weren’t Empyreals. They didn’t even have clans. They were all just cultivators who gathered together to learn and perfect their art.”
“Fairy tales,” Clem said with a snort. “The school is only a thousand years old, at most. Its first students came here to learn to work together with the members of another clan. The hope was introducing young people to those outside their clan would usher in a new age of peace. I guess that was another fairy tale.”
It was hard to tell which of my friends was right. Clem had been raised in a very proper and upright household. Her family was deeply embedded in the political and legal system that kept Empyreal running. Whatever she’d heard about the School would support that viewpoint.
Abi, on the other hand, came from a religious upbringing in a rural Nigerian village. His family’s version of history would be steeped in symbolism and interpretations of the oracles’ words. I was sure the truth lay somewhere between those two ends of the spectrum.
“It doesn’t matter how old it is,” I said matter-of-factly. “Now if I was an ancient trove of knowledge, where would I hide?”
“You don’t think it’s in the Stacks?” Eric asked.
“No,” I said. “I spent months locked up there and found very little of use. Tycho said it was where they put the castoffs.”
“Then why are we here?” Clem inquired.
“Because the librarian said what we’re looking for has been hidden for a very long time.” I looked around at the ancient stonework. “And this place is old.”
Abi’s shoulders slumped. “We can’t search this whole wing of the School. It
