The Book of Shadows by Murray Elizabeth Rose

Author:Murray, Elizabeth Rose
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Mercier Press

Beckoning, Miss Malone led Ebony and Winston through a couple of dark and dusty rooms, down a level, through a door and then up several flights of a winding staircase until they reached what looked like a fire exit. As Miss Malone pushed the door open, they all paused; rain was now lashing down outside.

‘How do I know this isn’t a trick?’ Ebony asked, hesitating.

‘I admit I supported Ambrose,’ said Miss Malone. ‘But I didn’t know what was happening. I was just doing my job as a member of the High Court.’

‘You expect me to believe that?’

‘Yes, because it’s the truth.’ Miss Malone’s face creased with desperation. ‘I honestly thought I was carrying out official Order business.’

‘Like shooting at me?’

‘That wasn’t me or the colleagues I’m friendly with,’ said Miss Malone. ‘And it was quite a shock for us to see that he would shoot at some of our own, let me tell you. That was when we first started to realise that things were not what they seemed.’

‘How do I know I can trust what you’re saying and this isn’t some trick of Ambrose’s to draw me out?’ asked Ebony.

‘I know I can’t prove it, but you have to believe me,’ replied the librarian. ‘At the time we had no idea you were the guardian. And we didn’t know the judge was planning to swap souls or that he was holding some of our kind in stasis. Now we hear he’s controlling the Shadow Walkers. You can’t think that anyone in their right mind could support that!’ She shook her head vigorously, her blue hair catching the light like mackerel scales under ocean waves. ‘Now, please! Let’s go and recover this message.’

Miss Malone opened her umbrella and stepped outside, and, after a moment, Ebony followed, tucking under the umbrella’s warm amber glow as the rain thudded against it. They were on a platform that overlooked the entrance to the library. It had a white spiral staircase that led to other areas of the building, probably for maintenance men and emergency services, and behind them, there was a smooth, green dome, but no sign of any message or messenger.

‘While we’re waiting, what do you want me to tell my aunt?’ asked Ebony, looking around her.

‘Tell her that I’m acting as Icarus’s messenger until he comes out of hiding. We are seeking ways to reduce Ambrose’s power. Icarus found a clause in our laws that states if a judge is absent for longer than sixty-five days – and that’s just days away – we can call an emergency meeting and vote him out.’

‘I don’t think that will scare him much.’

‘No, I don’t suppose it will. But the sky world will recognise the vote and remove his ability to sign decrees and banish people into exile. He’ll no longer have any sway over our eternal destinies.’

‘What can I do to help?’ asked Ebony.

‘Let us worry about the vote; you must release the souls that are in stasis in the Reflectory. Only you have this power and we need our missing Nine Lives families to be reborn again.

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