The Glorious Race of Magical Beasts by Alex Bell

Author:Alex Bell
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Faber & Faber
Published: 2024-06-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Sixteen

If there was anything Eli loved more than the Royal Library first thing in the morning, it was a library on board a ship at midnight. There might not have been bats swooping in through the windows, but there was moonlight winking on inky waves beyond the portholes, and the soothing rocking motion of the Nepo as it glided over the vast ocean. The lamps glowed softly on the walls and it seemed to Eli that the books rustled their many pages, just a little, when he walked in, as if they were welcoming him.

He wasn’t planning on doing any more joo-joo bub research. They’d be at the Milkshake Islands in the morning and Eli needed to be ready with the library key. He took a seat at a table and had just spread all his keys across the surface when Raven walked in. She’d changed into her racing outfit, and Eli wondered whether there was some sort of faery charm on the clothing to keep it so pristine and white.

‘Oh,’ Raven said. ‘I wasn’t expecting to find anyone here. Thanks for the cheese and biscuits, by the way.’

Eli looked blank. ‘What cheese and biscuits?’

‘A plate was left outside my door.’

‘It wasn’t me. It must have been Jeremiah.’

Raven shook her head. ‘I can’t work him out.’

Eli knew his friend could be waspish sometimes, but he was a good soul underneath.

‘I guess he didn’t want you to go hungry,’ Eli said. ‘I’m sorry about Jeremiah. He’s—’

Raven waved his words away. ‘It’s his ship; he can be however he likes. And I did insult him first, even if it was by accident. I couldn’t sleep. Do you mind if I join you?’

‘Oh, no, please do. I thought I’d start looking for the key,’ Eli said. ‘The one for the lighthouse library.’

‘Is that them?’ Raven asked, drawing up a chair on the opposite side of him. ‘Your magic keys?’

‘Yes, except for this one.’ Eli indicated a large key with a metal tentacle wrapped around it. ‘That’s the Nepo’s library key. The others are mine, though.’

‘But there are only, what, twenty keys on that ring?’ Raven said. ‘And there must be thousands and thousands of libraries in the world.’

‘That’s right,’ Eli said. ‘I only have a few keys on the ring at any one time. If I want a key that isn’t there, I have to summon it.’

‘And how does that work?’ Raven asked, sounding curious.

‘I have to look for the key in my mind,’ Eli said. ‘And concentrate on it really hard. I’m, um, not that good at summoning yet, though. I’ve mostly just visited whatever library happens to have its key on my ring, so I’ve not had much practice. I might not manage to find the right one straight away.’

Raven gazed at the keys on the table between them. ‘Well, I’m still kind of thinking that you’re playing a joke on me, so I’ll be amazed if any keys appear at all, frankly.’

Eli wasn’t surprised – he knew he didn’t look or act the way people expected from a mage.

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