Arik came to my side, leaned over, and lowered his voice. “Follow me. I have to talk to you, privately.”
It sounded like an order, so I crossed my arms. “Don’t boss me, like the others. Remember I’m not a Sentinel yet.”
“Are you barmy?”
I loved how his strong brows pushed together over his dark eyes when he wasn’t sure about something. “What is that supposed to mean? Speak English, already.”
“I live in England. I am speaking English,” he said. “Have you gone mad?”
I raised an eyebrow.
“Will you please follow me? Is that better?”
“Much better, thank you.”
I plodded after him into a long corridor with interminable rows of coat racks lining the walls. It had to be where the senators left their coats and stuff when visiting the library.
“What is it?” I asked when we were out of view from the others.
“Remove your sword.”
“Why?”
“I want to replace the Chiave with your sword. No one has seen yours or the Chiave up close. They won’t even notice the difference. It’s the only way to keep it safe.”
“All right.”
He took my sword and handed me the Chiave. I slid it into my scabbard and ran a finger over the golden hilt. An intense pain hit my breastbone. I gasped. My hand flew to my chest, and warm liquid drenched my fingers. I staggered into Arik’s arms.
Arik removed my hand from my chest. “You’re bleeding.” He pulled back, examining my wound.
“I think someone shot me,” I mumbled against his shoulder. I buried my chin into my neck, straining to see the wound. My scar was bleeding. I swiped the bloodied mark with my fingertips.
“There isn’t a wound.” Arik paused. “I think your blood is calling you.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” I panted, more than a little freaked.
“A calling is used to communicate with spirit seers. They’re seers who have died.” He rubbed his chin. “Usually, a seer cuts themselves and uses their blood with a crystal ball to get a vision from a spirit, but you’re not a seer. So it has to be coming from the other side.”
“Are you saying a ghost made me bleed?”
“Yes, I believe so. I’ve heard about spirit seers trying to communicate from the other side through nosebleeds and bloody tears and such. Perhaps you should try and perform a truth globe with it.”
“That’s just crazy.”
He punched out a breath. “Will you please try?”
“Okay.” I smeared the blood onto my palm. “What do I ask it?”
“Perhaps, you should ask it what it wants.”
I frowned at him. “You know this is creepy, right?”
He nodded. “But just do it.”
My hand twitched as I created a truth globe. The silver sphere struggled to form in my hand. Pain shot across my brain, and I winced.
“What’s the matter?”
“I guess it’s just a side effect of using the globes.” The pain subsided, and the globe balanced on my palm. “What would you like to show me?” I asked it.
I gasped as the sphere’s shape changed. It became a silver hourglass, then the bottom half split into legs and the top half grew arms and a head. When the process was complete, a beautiful silver image of a naked woman perched on my palm. Her thigh-length hair draped over the front of her body.
“It is an honor to come before the one Agnost presaged,” the woman said, sounding like she spoke through a tin can. “I am Agnes, the spirit of the Chiave found. Until all the Chiavi are recovered, this one will serve you well. This sword is a destroyer of all swords. May you fare well, heir of the Seventh Wizard.”
Agnes’s silver body thinned and stretched until it turned into a line of silver smoke and dissipated.
“Now, that I’ve never seen before,” Arik said.
“Why am I not panicking?” I lowered my shaky hand. “This is crazy. It’s a dream. It has to be.” My breath quickened.
Arik took my face in his hands. “You are panicking. Take a deep breath.”
I gulped in some air. “I have to get to Asile and get Gian’s book.”
“We must get to Couve.”
“No,” I protested. “You don’t understand. The chart is inside that book. It’s on the desk in my room.”
“Calm down,” he said. “No one in Asile knows the chart is in your book. It will be safe until we return.”
“How can you possibly know that? Conemar asked for the chart. It’s right in the open. Anyone can find it.”
“If they knew where it was, he wouldn’t have asked you for it. We