Kaz sighed. ‘So they’re both down there.’
I nodded. ‘Although, my father must have come this way too long ago for his prints to have remained. We should have thought of using the Tracker’s Lenses earlier! I feel like an idiot.’
Kaz shrugged. ‘We’ve found the prints. That’s what’s important.’
‘So, I did something good, right?’ Australia asked.
I glanced at her. Her head had begun to sprout her normal dark hair, and her face looked like some kind of hybrid between hers and Grandpa Smedry’s. While seeing her before had been amusing, now she was downright creepy.
‘Um, yeah,’ I said. ‘You did a great job. I can follow these prints, and we’ll find my grandfather. Then, at least, we’ll know where one of them is.’
Australia nodded. Even between the times I’d glanced at her, she’d grown to look more like herself, though she seemed sad.
What? I thought. She made a great discovery. Without her, we wouldn’t have . . .
Australia had made the discovery because she’d had the Tracker’s Lenses. Now I’d taken them back and was ready to charge off after Grandfather. I took off the Tracker’s Lenses. ‘Why don’t you keep these, Australia?’
‘Really?’ she said, perking up. ‘Sure,’ I said. ‘You can lead us to Grandpa Smedry just as well as I can.’
She smiled eagerly, taking them back. ‘Thank you so much!’ She rushed outside, following the prints back the way they had come, apparently to see if Grandpa Smedry had visited any other places.
Kaz regarded me. ‘I may have misjudged you, kid.’
I shrugged. ‘She hasn’t had much luck being an Oculator. I figured I shouldn’t take away the only pair of Lenses that she’s been able to use effectively.’
Kaz smiled, nodding in approval. ‘You’ve got a good heart. A Smedry heart. Of course, not as good as a short person’s heart, but that’s to be expected.’
I raised an eyebrow.
‘Reason number one hundred and twenty-seven. Short people have smaller bodies, but regular-size hearts. That gives us a larger ratio of heart to flesh – making us, of course, far more compassionate than big people.’ He winked, then sauntered out of the room.
I shook my head, moving to follow, then stopped. I glanced at the corner, where the footprints had lead, then walked over and fished around in the dirt.
There, covered by small leaves and placed in a little hollow in the ground, was a small velvet pouch. I pulled it open and to my surprise found a pair of Lenses inside, along with the note.
Alcatraz! it read.
I was too late to stop your father from going down into the Library. I fear for the worst! He’s always been the curious type and might be foolish enough to exchange his soul for information. I’m only a few days behind him, but the Library of Alexandria is a terrible maze of passages and corridors. I’m hoping that I’ll be able to find him and stop him before he does anything foolish.
I’m sorry I couldn’t meet you in the airport. This seemed more important. Besides, I have the feeling you can handle things on your own.
If you’re reading this, then you didn’t go to Nalhalla like you should have. Ha! I knew you wouldn’t. You’re a Smedry! I’ve left you a pair of Discerner’s Lenses, which should be of use to you. They’ll let you tell how old something is, just by looking at it.
Try not to break anything too valuable if you come down below. The Curators can be a rather unpleasant bunch. Comes from being dead, I suppose. Don’t let them trick you into taking one of their books.
Love,
Grandpa Smedry
P.S. If that crazy son of mine Kazan is there, smack him on the head for me.
I lowered the note, then pulled out the Lenses. I quickly swapped them on, then glanced about the hut. They put a glow about anything I focused on – a kind of whitish shine, like you might get from sunlight reflecting off of something very pale. Except the shine was different for different objects. Most of the boards in the hut were actually downright dull, while the velvet pouch in my hand was rather bright.
Age, I thought. They tell me how old something is – the boards were created and put there long ago. The pouch was made recently.
I frowned to myself. Why couldn’t he have left me another pair of Firebringer’s Lenses? True, I’d broken the first pair – but that sort of thing tended to happen a lot around me.
The thing is, Grandpa Smedry tended to place little value on offensive Lenses. He thought information was a far better weapon.