“I said, ‘Come alone,’” Erien whispered when he saw Vivienne.
“We can trust her. She knows who I really am.”
Erien’s eyes widened. “You told her?”
I nodded. “I live with her, and she became suspicious.”
“I hope you didn’t tell her everything,” he said so only I could hear.
I shook my head. Even Vivienne might not take too kindly to living with a fae-mage.
“Good,” said Erien, then turned to include Vivienne. “Come on. We only have a few hours.” He opened the library door with a key he had with him.
“Where did you get that?” Vivienne asked.
“I help the mastermage with research,” Erien replied. “He has a key that can open any door in the academy, and I just happen to know where he keeps it.”
Vivienne looked impressed.
The library was dark and eerie at this time of night. Muted moonlight threw shadows on the walls and floor that seemed to move according to the whims of the cloudy sky. Bookshelves stretched into darkness on both sides of me, and an unnerving silence seemed to settle like a thick shroud over the vast structure.
Erien’s hand lit up, pushing back the shadows. We had been taught how to do this in class. I concentrated my magic into the palm of my hand, slowly pushing some of it outward and rolling it between my fingers. A ball of white light swirled, lighting up the aisle in front of me. Vivienne still hadn’t managed to master this concept, and her light kept flickering and going out. Finally she gave up and stuck close to me.
We wound our way through the countless aisles to the far end of the library. Erien shifted a section of the bookshelf, and it opened inward like a door, revealing a hidden stone staircase that led downward, spiraling into darkness.
“Follow me.” Erien’s hand swirled with mage light as he descended the stairs.
Vivienne took my hand, and the two of us navigated our way behind Erien. A few hundred feet down, we came to an old wooden door. Erien used the master key, and the door opened, the creak of the wood echoing through the silent library.
We stepped inside, and I held out my hand. The ball of light in my palm cast a haunting glow over the cavernous room. We found ourselves at the top of a massive, grand staircase that descended into a huge, seemingly endless room. Row upon row of books lined the shelves, stretching two stories high all the way to the beautiful vaulted ceiling. The musty smell of leather and dusty books permeated the still air as I walked down the staircase, following Erien.
This looked like an impossible task. The secret library was huge. How would we ever find the right book?
“Do you think the Book of Abraxas could be here?” Vivienne asked.
“No, I don’t think so,” said Erien. “The mastermage would never allow a dark grimoire in the school. It’s too dangerous; anything could go wrong if it’s used without the correct knowledge. But we may be able to find out more about it in some of the other, older books.”
“How do you know so much about all this?” Vivienne asked Erien, lighting a candle.
“I’m going to be a historian.” Erien puffed out his chest a little. “The mastermage said that I could even be a professor someday.”
Vivienne laughed. “But you’re a noble. You can’t become a teacher.”
“Professor Tanko is a noble,” Erien argued.
“He’s the only one,” Vivienne insisted. “In any case, Professor Tanko is just a baron with limited holdings. You are presently the Earl of Everdale, and after your grandfather, you will be the next Duke of Silverthorne.”
“I could do both,” Erien said, taking a few books off the shelves and putting them on a nearby wooden table.
Vivienne crossed her arms. “Not if you’re on the royal council.”
Erien gave Vivienne a level look. “You seem to know a lot about the way the kingdom is run.”
Vivienne shrugged, picking up a book. “Father tells me stuff. I listen.”
For hours, we searched through all sorts of books, from ancient symbols and languages to the genealogy of kings, but there was nothing that even mentioned the name Abraxas.
“We should go back,” said Vivienne finally. “It’s going to be dawn soon, and people will start coming into the library.”
Erien nodded and started putting books back onto the shelves. “I agree.”
“No, just a few minutes, please,” I said, desperately wishing I would find something.
The sound of a door closing echoed through the secret library. All three of us froze in our tracks. Someone was coming, and there was nowhere to hide. I looked over to the stairs leading down into the vast room. A ball of light moved steadily toward us, hovering in the hand of a shadowy figure in mage robes. As he came toward us, the light illuminated his face.
Professor Dekela!
“What is the meaning of this intrusion?” said the mastermage, raising his hands and sending sparks flying into the air, lighting the candles on the chandelier that hung from the high ceiling. The room lit up. “Erien, you know better than to be down here. I expected more from you, and I showed you this library because I thought you were more responsible than the rest. The books here are not meant to be read by students. You know that perfectly well.”
“I know, Professor. I’m so sorry,” said Erien, hurriedly putting back the remaining books on all the wrong shelves. “It’s not what you think.”
Vivienne stood there, staring at the professor, and looked like she was about to burst into tears.
“It’s my fault,” I blurted out. I didn’t want Erien and Vivienne to get kicked out of school because of me. “Professor, this has to do with Morgana and the Book of Abraxas.”
The old professor did not look surprised. He assessed Erien and Vivienne for a second and turned to me. “Explain.”
I told him everything that Damien said about the key. I didn’t tell him about my night
