Bloodrage - Helen Harper Page 0,13

stacks. The glorious scent of old ink and vellum wafted towards my nostrils and I inhaled deeply, briefly closing my eyes. Here, more than anywhere else that I’d visited in the academy, I felt at home.

I moved forward to the first row of bookshelves and slowly walked down it, trailing my index finger across the titles, feeling the different textures and raised embossed letters engraved inside. Some of the books appeared old, perhaps by even hundreds of years, whilst others could have been published yesterday. Every so often, a title caught my interest, and I hooked it off the shelf to peer at the cover before sliding it back into its place. There were the inevitable tomes relating to the five disciplines, but also histories, treatises on different denizens of the otherworld, spell guides and instructions…I took in the range incredulously. My thoughts inevitably flickered back to the smouldering remains of the Clava bookshop. Mrs. Alcoon would love it here. I loved it here.

Thinking of my old friend reminded me of my purpose so, taking in Mary’s words, I reluctantly left the books alone and went in search of Slim, the librarian. I wandered in and out of the aisles, occasionally glancing upwards to admire the windows and the way they distributed the light around the entire floor. It took quite some time to cover the ground floor, by which time I’d determined that it was empty. Finding it hard to believe that there weren’t more students here making use of such a marvellous space and range of books, I headed for the staircase and climbed upwards. I could feel the beginnings of a headache forming behind my eyes, but my surroundings allowed me to ignore it as little more than a nuisance. Instead I let myself soak up the view of thousands upon thousands of books that were laid out on the floor that was now below me.

As I’d surmised from my stunned view around as I’d entered, the next floor showcased more shelves and more books. Behind me were a range of several closed doors, no doubt small carrels for private and quiet study. Ahead of me, the mezzanine seemed to stretch backwards for miles so I headed in that direction, moving deeper in.

“Hello?” I attempted calling out. “Miss Slim?” My voice echoed back towards me, hinting at the absence of any other being. I thought for a moment, then called out again, “Mr. Slim?”

Nothing. I shrugged and kept moving forward. Gender distinctions notwithstanding, Mary had been sure that the librarian would be here, so I probably just had to look a little further. The area I was moving into was considerably less well lighted than everywhere else, probably because the stacks of shelves on this level were so tall that they were starting to block out the sunlight streaming in from the windows. The hackles on my skin were starting raise, for no apparent reason, and I suddenly shivered. Telling myself that it was just the slight drop in temperature now that I was no longer bathed in the warm sun, I continued on to a small door that I noticed at the back of the room. Set into the wall on its own, as it was, I reckoned that this was not just another study carrel, but either a cupboard or a doorway to another part of the vast library. I reached out to twist the doorknob to check when a sharp voice with an oddly Irish sounding lilt from behind interrupted me.

“What the feck do you think you’re doing?”

I blinked and began to turn around. Finally. “I’m looking for…,” My voice died away as I took in whom I was addressing.

In front of me, hovering in the air at about eye level, was what I could only describe as a chubby purple gargoyle. But this creature was most definitely not made of stone or affixed to some ancient building. Small wings attached to its back were fluttering in the air. It seemed impossible that they would be capable of supporting the creature’s weight in flight, and yet that’s exactly what was happening. A pair of dark flashing eyes were narrowed at me from under a set of bushy white eyebrows that curled out further than should really be allowed. The creature placed its hands on its hips, creating such a comical image that it was impossible not to suddenly smirk.

“What the feck is so funny?”

I wiped the grin off my face with a struggle. “Er…nothing.