I approached the clear plastic box with the book. A warning label on the container read: “Hazardous: Magical Materials.”
We pulled on gloves, and Ms. Cross gingerly undid the clasp and opened the case. Magic sparked around the tome, shadowy and evil, leaving an oil slick on the air.
She shuddered and held the book out. “What are you looking for, specifically?”
Carrow reached for it, but I was quicker, taking it first. She didn’t need to touch something coated in magic like that. As soon as my fingertips touched the spine, I knew.
Damn it.
I could feel it, the same way I’d been able to feel it on the other book. When I flipped open the pages and saw the section that had been torn out, I wasn’t surprised.
Carrow scowled. “He’s been here, too.”
“Who the hell did that?” Ms. Cross glared from the book to me, and then back at the small man behind the special collections desk.
“Not us, obviously. But that’s why we?
?ve come. Our copy of this book is missing the same pages.”
“Could I hold it, please?” Carrow asked.
I frowned but passed it over. She took it, grimacing slightly, and ran her fingertips over the stumps of the missing pages.
Her magic flared slightly, and she scowled. “There’s no new information here.”
“What is your gift?” Ms. Cross asked. “And what’s going on?”
“I’m a bit like a psychic or a seer, but my gift is activated by touch.” Carrow handed the book back. “Whoever vandalized our book did the same thing to yours, but we have no idea who.”
“There’s more to it, isn’t there?” Ms. Cross asked.
“A lot more, and—”
“Shh!” Ms. Cross drew our attention to the doorway.
A pair of accounting trolls had entered the room and were asking questions.
8
Carrow
Neve pressed her back against the wall of the cubicle. “Shit! Those are the trolls we walked in on earlier. I think our number is up.” She looked at me. “They may not be after us, but I don’t want to count on it. Do you have what you need?”
“Yes. We’ve got as much as we can.”
“Okay, lets boogie.” We backtracked through the stacks into the central chamber, hugging the shelves beneath the balconies to keep out of the sight of any possible watchers above. I followed Neve, bounding up the stairs to the second floor, and crossed over the lower half of the skyway.
Panic rose as we hurried through the corridors, trying to avoid looking suspicious. We couldn’t get caught breaking into one of the main government buildings in Magic Side. They had the manpower to hunt us down and put us behind bars, and I didn’t have time to chill in a holding cell.
Mac and Seraphia didn’t have time. It was up to us to save them.
I studied Neve as we turned down another one of the endless narrow corridors lined by red doors. If we got caught, it could end her career. Yet, she seemed to be having fun. Who was this woman, and why was she risking her job to help us?
Finally, we exited into the alley, and I heaved a sigh of relief.
It was after noon now, and the sun shone high overhead. Birds chirped from the trees in the courtyard, and Neve said, “Come on, follow me.”
She led us down the sidewalk away from the Hall of Inquiry, skyscrapers to our left and the long parkway to our right. We ducked into a bar in the lower level of a century-old building. Three-paned windows let in the sun, and the bar was well lit, with high ceilings and dangling Edison bulbs. A slender, tattooed woman was working behind a granite bar top. It was trendy but quiet and cozy at the same time.