Veil of Shadow and Rain ✓ [TSC #1]

Chapter 7 - Library Secrets

'Calm down, Jake,' Wren said.

'There's no time to calm down!'

'We could ... we could skim it,' Ladislaya choked.

'How do you skim a book?' Jake wheezed.

'By flipping through the pages and reading the keywords,' Ladislaya said through gritted teeth, snatching up Shadow Angels: A Guide to Shadow Angels. She flipped to the tenth page. 'The first few pages are usually useless. They don't tell you much.' She skimmed through the book as fast as she could. 'Here,' she said at last, pressing her finger down on Page 67. 'This got to me fast.'

Wren peered at the book as she read:

In the darkness they reside,

Whispers echo through the night

As the move unseen, out of sight

They are the Shadow Angels,

Silent watchers in the shadows,

The presence never seen

They navigate the hidden ways,

Through tunnels dark and deep,

Their secrets locked away,

For their vigil they must keep

They are the Shadow Angels, enigmatic and wise

Their mysteries hidden behind a veil of lies,

Yet a glimmer of truth shines through the dark,

Leading those who seek, to a secret mark.

Behind the portrait, in the library hall,

A hidden passage waiting for a call

To those brave enough to venture inside,

A world of secrets, waiting inside,

'It's a poem,' Wren said.

'About a portrait,' Ladislaya said vaguely.

'We have to go to the portrait behind the library,' Wren said. It was a statement, not a question, but the way she framed it sounded like a question. 'Is there a portrait behind this library?'

'We can go check,' Ladislaya said. 'But are you sure it's this library the poem's talking about? It could mean the North or the South one.'

Wren shrugged. 'It's worth a shot. Come on.'

They raced to the back of the library to see a portrait of a man hung on the wall. He looked in his mid-60s or 70s, and a had a long beard and had twinkling blue eyes.

'Abernathy,' breathed Ladislaya, her eyes wide and looking at the portrait in surprise and wonder.

Wren stared at her as if she was speaking in another language. 'Aber-what?'

'Abernathy. The most powerful wizard of all time in Elryzian.'

'That's ... understandable of why his portrait's here,' Wren said, looking back at the portrait. 'He dead?'

'Wren!'

'Just asking!'

'No, of course not!'

'Um, guys?' Jake said uncertainly. 'Have you thought of how we're going to get into a passageway that happens to be behind a portrait?'

Wren took a step forward and adjusted the portrait to the left. Creaking could be heard as cracks started shifting through the wall. A part of the wall that consumed the portrait swung to the left, revealing half of a pillar so they could stand on it.

'How did you do that?' Jake wheezed.

Wren shrugged. 'What? People do that in movies. Figured it was worth a try.'

They jumped on the half of the pillar and found that a staircase was connected to it. They made their way down, their footsteps echoing in the dark - tap, tap, tap - and finally made it to the landing. As if on cue, fire torches lit up, lighting the whole room. They were in some sort of sanctuary. Bookshelves lined the wall and a round table stood in the centre of the room, and that was about all. There was nothing much, and yet, the room was too small and had too little books to be a library.

'This seems to be the perfect place where secret meetings are held,' Ladislaya said, picking up a book from the bookshelves.

'Are you sure we can breathe in here?' Jake's voice called out.

Wren walked around the room. It was pretty small. Besides books and bookshelves, there were boxes lying on the ground in the corner of the room. Wren lifted the flap of the box and peered inside. Torn pages of paper had been forcefully stuffed inside - as if someone had been trying to hide them. Wren reached in for a page of paper and brought it to her face. The page was partially crumpled and dog-eared. The page was messily erased so Wren could see remaining of handwritten notes on the paper. Just as she was about to read them, footsteps approached the room. She quickly stuffed the paper back into the box.

'Jake, is that you?' she whispered silenetly. Jake made a cut-throat motion across his throat. Ladislaya mouthed, 'Hide!'

Wren squeezed herself between two bookshelves; Jake searched desperately for a hiding spot. Wren imitated wild hand gestures, mouthing furiously, 'Move!'

As footsteps creeped in louder, Jake lunged under the round table, almost shuddering. Ladislaya arched her back, cracked her knuckles and to Wren's amazement, wings began to form on her back as Ladislaya grew smaller and smaller ... and in a blink, she was gone. Wren looked down on the ground, seeing a black beetle stare up at her. Wren could almost picture it winking as the corner of her lips turned up. Wren closed her eyes as a soft, uncertain voice filled the room.

'Hello?'