The Traveller's Stone (The Haven Series Book 1) by S. J. Howland

The Traveller's Stone (The Haven Series Book 1) by S. J. Howland

Author:S. J. Howland [Howland, S. J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Silverwick Press
Published: 2019-08-14T06:00:00+00:00


Chapter Eight

They were all up late the next morning, and breakfast turned into brunch. On hearing about Len’s late-night dunking in the lake, James laid a hand on her forehead, even as she continued to pile honey onto a piece of toast.

‘You feel cool enough,’ he said, frowning. ‘But it can’t be good for you, getting soaked in the middle of the night and then standing around in a sopping wet dress. I’m amazed you haven’t caught your death of cold.’

Mrs Stanton snorted.

‘Not she,’ she said. ‘Your niece may be an absolute menace but apparently she’s a very healthy one.’

Len beamed at her, tipping her piece of toast in a silent salute, and her grandmother rolled her eyes.

When they had cleared the table, the three of them headed out for the sun-warmed grass under the trees in the orchard to discuss their next steps. After going around in circles for several minutes, Len sat back decisively.

‘There’s only one place where you’ll find the answers, Xander,’ she told him. ‘Like you said, you’re talking about history and that’s all kept in the Halls of Records. If we want to find out about ancient blood and enemies,’ she ticked them off on her fingers, ‘that’s the place to go.’

Xander nodded slowly. It seemed obvious now that Len had pointed it out. However, there was still one problem and Ollie promptly articulated it.

‘That means trying to get past Primilla Pennicott in her den, which is never a good thing.’

‘Len’s right, though,’ said Xander.

‘Of course I am,’ replied Len airily.

Ollie shook his head. ‘Why do I feel like this isn’t going to end well?’ he asked no one in particular and then got to his feet with a sigh. ‘Well, we might as well get started. The quicker we get there, the quicker we’ll get thrown out.’

Twenty minutes later, they were walking through the imposing doors of the Halls of Records and Xander felt a sense of excitement bubble up inside him. Finally, they might be close to getting some answers to the questions that had been dogging him since his life had changed irrevocably in the British Museum, as the impossible had unfolded before him. Len nudged him and gestured off to the right.

‘The research terminals are over here,’ she whispered. ‘We can’t search blind – there are literally millions of records here.’

Xander nodded and followed her. Ollie remained a few paces behind them, glancing up at the big desk on the dais which, ominously, was empty.

‘She’s loose in here somewhere,’ he muttered under his breath, looking around him with a hunted air.

‘Less chat, more hurrying then,’ replied Len. She led them towards a terminal, tucked away between stacks of shelves, and then sat down and swiftly brought up a series of menus. ‘What shall we search for first?’ she asked, her fingers hovering over the keypad.

Xander thought for a moment. ‘Try ‘ancient blood’,’ he said.

With a few keystrokes, Len brought up list after list on the terminal screen. She muttered under her breath as she scrolled through them so fast that Xander could only catch a few words.



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