Professor Attwood grabbed several books from the shelf. “Time to go,” he said, handing me the books.
“Where are we going?”
With his hand firm on my back, he ushered me swiftly to the door. “I have an appointment coming. You must seek out Arik and find out if he’s trustworthy before dinner. I know you already trust him, but we should verify it anyway.” He pushed a pamphlet into my hand. “This is a map of the castle. You will find the Sentinels’ chambers listed on it. Your room is in the visitor corridor. It’s all on the map.”
“That’s crazy. How do I get his blood?”
“You’ll figure a way. Are you afraid of him?”
A picture of Arik flashed through my mind. Tall, broad, with a confident swagger, there was no doubt he could kill if he had to. But I trusted him. He’d saved my life more than once. “No.”
“Good. If he wanted, you would already be dead.”
“Thanks for that. I feel much better.”
He raised an eyebrow at me. “Are you being sarcastic?”
I rolled my eyes. “Duh.”
He smiled, which made him look less intimidating. “Just go. We haven’t much time.”
I had no idea why he was in such a rush. “Why—”
He popped open the door. Standing on the other side was a cloaked man, his hood pulled over to hide his face.
“Excuse me,” I said, squeezing by him. The hood slipped back and I recognized the guy. “Hey, I know you.”
“I’m sorry, we’ve never met,” he said, moving into the office.
“Well, no, we didn’t meet. But you were in the Athenæum with Arik. He said your name. Edgar, right?”
Professor Attwood scooted past him and took my arm. “I must ask you to keep Edgar’s visit with me a secret. It’s a matter of life or death. His.”
I glanced through the crack in the door. Edgar attached a small metal device to Pip’s globe. “What’s he doing?”
Professor Attwood yanked the door closed. “It’s his mission recorder,” he whispered. “He’s transferring the information to Pip.”
“Who is he?”
“I asked you to keep his visit a secret.” Professor Attwood gave me a warm smile. “Will you do that for me, and stop asking questions?”
I didn’t like not knowing, but his pleading eyes said he wouldn’t tell me even if I begged. “Okay,” I huffed. Again, someone else wasn’t giving me all the information I knew I needed.
“Good, then, I’ll see you at dinner.” He went back into his office, leaving me staring blankly at the door.
Because I’m the world’s worst navigator, following the map Professor Attwood gave me proved a bad idea. After a series of missed turns and hurried backtracks, I ended up in the long corridor containing the Sentinels’ rooms. I stopped at the door the professor had marked on the map and pounded on the thick wood. I yanked my hair tie free, letting long brown strands fall past my shoulders. He didn’t answer. I knocked louder.
“You are seeking for Arik. No?” a girl barely older than me asked in a French lilt. She embraced a stack of towels as she came down the hall. Her blond hair swept her shoulders with the rhythm of her hips. Plain English words couldn’t describe her beauty as well as sexy French ones could.
“Yes,” I answered, studying her almond-shaped eyes, their color almost too blue.
“Well, ‘e’s not zere,” she said, eyebrows arched to sharp points. “All Sentinels ‘ave been sent on a…how do you say?” She puckered her puffy pink lips as she tried to find the correct word. “A mission, zat’s it, no?”
“A mission? Do you know when they’ll be back?”
“Perhaps a few days, perhaps weeks, zat’s all I know. I’m merely the c’ambermaid.”
“Thanks.” I hugged the books to my chest so she wouldn’t see the titles and headed back the way I’d come.
Before I went around the corner, I gave her a quick once-over. She stood with one hand on her hip and the other balancing the towels as she gave me an icy stare. With biceps like that, there was no way she was a c’ambermaid. She looked like a spy to me. I would have to tell Professor Attwood about her later. Right now, I wanted to get to my room and check in with Nana.
I had an eerie feeling someone was following me as I raced down the hall. I darted glances over my shoulder. Nothing. I skidded around a corner into another empty corridor.
Rubber shoes squeaked across the floor in the hall