Black Books (The Magical Bookshop Book 5) by Liz Hedgecock

Author:Liz Hedgecock [Hedgecock, Liz]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: White Rhino Books
Published: 2021-12-21T06:00:00+00:00

Chapter 13

‘Are you sure this is it?’ asked Jemma, as the taxi grumbled to a halt at an archway with wrought-iron gates.

The taxi driver twisted round. ‘You saying I don’t know my way round London?’

‘Of course not,’ said Jemma. ‘It’s just…’ Scarier than I thought it would be, she admitted, in her head. She couldn’t even see the library yet, but she had driven past enough impressive stone buildings to be very, very worried.

‘I thought you were a student,’ said the cabbie. ‘Anyway, are you getting out or what? I’ll be charging you waiting time soon.’

Jemma fumbled in her bag, found her purse, and touched her card to the reader. ‘Want a receipt?’ asked the driver. He sounded friendlier now that she’d paid.

‘Yes please,’ said Jemma. She could claim it as expenses; after all, Lennox had told her to take a taxi. That’s assuming I get out of this alive. She got down from the cab, closed the door firmly, and walked towards the railings.

Oh no. Through the archway Jemma saw a courtyard, trees, and at the far end, a large stone building – and the closer she walked, the bigger it got. It was like a cathedral, with mellow stone, lots and lots of windows, and a tower above the entrance. That was bad enough, but what was worse was that people were leaving the building. Some merely walked quickly, but others ran, looking back every so often at the building as if it might follow.

She didn’t want to go in, but she had to – assuming she could get past the flow of people coming the other way. She had hoped to sneak in behind somebody, but nobody was entering the library. Jemma waited for the flow to ease, listening to the snatches of conversation as people passed:

‘I thought they were filming at first.’

‘I don’t understand what was happening in there.’

‘The librarian rang 999 and asked for all the emergency services.’

Jemma swallowed and pushed forward, trying not to elbow people as she fought her way into the library. Once she had got through the crowd, though, she encountered another obstacle.

‘I’m sorry, you can’t come in.’ The speaker was a short, broad man with a purple lanyard round his neck. ‘We’re evacuating the library.’

‘Why, what’s going on?’

He huffed. ‘If we knew that, we probably wouldn’t need to evacuate.’ He stepped back to let another scurrying group through. ‘Trust me, you won’t get any learning done with things the way they are.’ His eyes narrowed. ‘Can I see your ID card, please?’

Jemma moved to the side and pretended to rummage in her bag. What should I do? I have to get in, and there’s no way they’ll let me.

Then she thought of something. It worked on books, but she had no idea if it would work on people. She raised her head, looked the man in the eye, and said quietly, ‘I am an Assistant Keeper, and I am here to help.’

‘What?’ The man cupped his ear. ‘I’m sorry, I can’t hear a thing with this clattering.

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