The Shadowseeker - Victor Kloss Page 0,23

a ladder lay resting against the books, to help the reader reach the top shelves.

Ben glanced at a huge brown book titled A Brief History of the Troll Wars, sandwiched between two other equally interesting titles. “Any idea where we should start looking? You spend a lot of time in libraries. How do they work?”

“It's pretty simple,” Charlie said. “Each section is cross-referenced by subject and then placed in alphabetical order. So we just need to find the Spellsword section and then look for the letter 'I'.”

Charlie led them deeper into the library, turning left and right until Ben was completely lost. The light was poor and the occasional ray highlighted the dust particles coming off some of the older books that probably hadn't been touched in years. The soft footsteps and rustle of pages faded away as they worked themselves deeper into the library.

“Are you sure this is the right way?” Ben said.

Charlie's eyes were scanning each shelf. “We should be coming up to it.”

“Maybe we should have recruited Jimmy's help after all,” Ben said.

“You don't mean that – ah, here it is!”

Charlie bent down and picked up two copies of a thin green book titled An Introduction to Spellswords.

“Well done,” Ben said. “Now it's just the simple matter of getting out of here. Any ideas?”

“I made sure I remembered each turn we took. Now I just have to reverse that. Where would you be without me?”

“Completely lost,” Ben admitted. “Let's get— what was that?”

Something moved, right on the edge of Ben's peripheral vision. He would have missed it if not for the tiny ray of light peeking through the books; there was a small gap between two shelves just ahead of him.

“What is it?”

“I thought I saw someone,” Ben said.

He walked over to the gap, but there was nobody there. Ben frowned. He was sure he had seen somebody, yet there was nowhere to hide. It was as if the person had just disappeared.

“I don't like that look on your face,” Charlie said. “What is it?”

“Nothing,” Ben said, shaking his head.

The lie came easily. He didn't want to scare Charlie when he didn't have any proof, but when Ben replayed the moment in his mind, he could have sworn he saw the glimmer of steel.

The sudden sound of quick, heavy footsteps made them both jump. They were coming from just round the corner.

“Mr. Greenwood and Mr. Hornberger,” Dagmar said, as she came into view. Under her arm were several dusty books, as well as her rod.

“Ms. Borovich!” Charlie said.

Ben thought he caught a flicker of surprise in Dagmar's eyes, but if so, it was gone in an instant. “What brings you to this section of the library?” she asked.

“Looking for our first book,” Ben said, and Charlie held them up helpfully.

“I see.” A subtle furrowing of the brow was the only indication of her displeasure. “You do realise there is a section for first-grade books near the front, right next to the study room?”

“Ah. We didn't know that,” Charlie said, scratching his head.

“Please stick to that in future,” Dagmar said. “You are nearing the restricted section of the library, which is out of bounds for apprentices.”

“We'll do that,” Ben assured her.

Dagmar gave them both a nod and then strode on by. Charlie and even Ben felt compelled to step back and give her plenty of space as she passed. She stopped, right at the gap in the shelf where Ben thought he'd seen something. She frowned and gave a sniff, her eyes widening for a fraction of a second. Then she tapped her rod thoughtfully and disappeared amongst the shelves.

— Chapter Ten —

Professor Rafakat

“Should we tell someone?” Charlie asked.

Ben waited until they were back in the pleasant atmosphere of the main library before revealing to Charlie what he'd really seen.

Ben shook his head. “Definitely not. They'd have someone watching over me in an instant, and then our chances of searching for my parents would vanish.”

“That's true,” Charlie admitted. “Do you think that glimpse of steel you saw could have been from the Shadowseeker?”

“I don't think so,” Ben said, with a certainty that was mainly for Charlie's benefit. “It could have been anything.”

The calm, peaceful ambience of members reading helped Ben take his mind off the Shadowseeker and he soon spotted Jimmy waving at them with great enthusiasm.

“I saved your seats, like you asked,” Jimmy said, with a surprised smile. Ben suspected that Jimmy hadn't expected them to return.

“Oh, crap,” Charlie said, as they sat down.

“What?”

Charlie, mindful of Jimmy