Spells & Shelves (A Library Witch Mystery Book 1) Read online

  Cass merely glared at me and picked up a book. I’d bet she’d interrupted my biblio-witch induction on purpose, but someone needed to keep an eye on Samson and other potential thieves. We sorted books into piles while Aunt Adelaide staffed the front desk. Several people asked after Tad and offered their condolences on his death, but none seemed to be put off coming into the library. Apparently, the risk of death at the hands of a paperback was an occupational hazard.

  I sorted book after book. One of them was bound in heavy chains. Another blew out puffs of smoke whenever anyone touched it. Aunt Adelaide took care of the ‘dangerous’ section, which left Estelle and me to split the rest with Cass.

  To no surprise, Cass disappeared halfway through. I picked up the book she’d abandoned, a law volume, and made my way to the Reading Corner to return it to the shelf. At least I knew my way around that part of the library.

  I checked the number again and found the right spot on the shelf. When I put the book into place, it stayed where it was. The shelf didn’t start moving, the floor didn’t give way, and the laws of physics remained in place. Sorted. I walked back around the shelves to avoid directly passing the hammock where Tad used to lie and walked headlong into Dominic coming the other way.

  “My apologies,” he said smoothly. “I didn’t see you there.”

  I backed up a step. “I thought you could read my mind.”

  “I was lost in my own thoughts. As I’m sure you were, too.” He flashed me a smile. With fangs. It hit me in a rush that I was alone behind a long row of bookshelves with a vampire. Cold sweat gathered on my forehead and my body tensed.

  “Don’t let me keep you.” He took off at a brisk walk and was gone.

  I breathed out, walking past the corridor he’d been blocking. That was the way into our family’s living quarters. What was he doing there?

  I halted. There was something on the floor beside the stairs that led up to my room. It looked like… red sand.

  The same type of sand the vampires had used to set me on fire.

  I ran all the way to the front desk. “Aunt Adelaide,” I called.

  She jumped up from the desk and ran towards me, her hair flying behind her.

  “What is it?” she asked. “Goddess, not another one?”

  “No, but there’s something—look.” I led the way to the corridor leading to our living quarters and showed her the glowing sand on the floor. “I recognise it—it’s what the vampire used to burn down the bookshop. Or tried to.”

  She knelt down to look. “Oh, that’s firedust. We have some in our store cupboard. Maybe Candace or Cass needed to use it and accidentally dropped some on the way out.”

  Maybe, but the firedust was right next to the stairs leading up to my room. Had the vampire been up there? The downside to having so many patrons wandering in and out was that nowhere was off limits, not if the library didn’t want it to be. But if Dominic had wanted the journal, then he could have taken it from me when we’d collided and nobody would ever have caught him.

  Aunt Adelaide scooped the firedust into her hand and entered the kitchen. A cupboard door lay half-open, showing shelves containing various ingredients in bottles. Sure enough, there was an open bag labelled ‘Firedust’ peeking out. She carefully tipped the firedust from her hand into the bag. “Candace probably wanted to burn a manuscript that wasn’t working. Wouldn’t be the first time.”

  “I ran into that vampire again,” I blurted. “Dominic, I mean. Just there. I didn’t think patrons could walk this close to our living quarters.”

  He hadn’t hurt me, either, though he’d had ample opportunity when we’d been alone together. But what about the firedust? Even if it got there by accident, it was a downright dangerous substance to spill in a library.

  “Is that so?” Aunt Adelaide closed the cupboard door. “He’s a regular visitor. I can go and find him, if it worries you.”

  I shook my head. “He’s probably disappeared by now. I guess I’m just jumpy.”

  My aunt briefly rested her hand on my arm. “I understand, Rory, believe me. But you’re safe here.”

  I gave a small nod. She left the kitchen and I followed close behind, my gaze darting to the spot where the firedust had lain. The carpet was clear, but on the stairs, a thin trickle of sand marked the lower steps.

  I crouched and picked it up, turning it over in my hands. Aunt Candace appeared, descending the stairs, muttering under her breath. I jumped out of the way before she walked into me.

  “Oh, you’re still here,” she said distractedly.

  “Why wouldn’t I be?” I asked. “Er… Aunt Adelaide said you removed some of that firedust from the cupboards. Did you? Because I ran into Dominic—”

  Her whole body went still. “If you tell anyone,” she said, “I will write you a horrible death scene.”

  The firedust slipped from my hand. “Tell anyone what?”

  A notebook and pen appeared at her side. I took a wary step back. Was she really threatening me? Why would she and the vampire conspire together?

  “Aunt Candace… is Dominic one of the vampires after the journal?” I asked. “Did he kill Tad?”

  “Excuse me?” Edwin’s voice said loudly. The elf policeman approached us, looking at Aunt Candace, then me.

  Aunt Candace’s notebook disappeared into her pocket. “Oh, it’s you,” she said. “What are you doing here?”

  “It looked like you were terrifying your niece,” he observed. “What was that about vampires?”

  Aunt Candace looked me over. “She seems fine to me. Nobody mentioned vampires.”

  “She just did,” said Edwin. “I think you’d better come with me.”

  My aunt folded her arms. “I don’t think so.”

  “Are you threatening an officer of the law?”

  Aunt Candace made an exasperated noise. “No, I’m not threatening anyone.”

  Two trolls appeared behind the elf, blocking the way into the library.

  “Just what is going on?” Cass’s voice rang out.

  “Your aunt’s being rude to the chief of police,” Aunt Adelaide informed her. “Edwin, there must have been a misunderstanding.”

  “I understood perfectly clearly,” he said, in cold tones. “I heard her making threats. Something about death.”

  “In a book!” Aunt Candace said. “And for your information, Dominic did nothing wrong.”

  “Is that so?” Edwin beckoned to her. “Come on, and we’ll talk somewhere more appropriate.”

  Aunt Candace made an irritated noise, but the presence of the two hulking trolls encouraged her to follow the chief of police back into the library.

  Cass gave me a glare. “What did you do?”

  “Nothing,” I said. “I ran into her on the stairs and she threatened to kill me off in one of her books if I told anyone something. The problem is I’m not sure what that something was.”

  Aunt Candace twisted to face me. “Wait, you don’t? What did you say to Dominic?”

  “I didn’t,” I said. “I ran into him here right when I saw that firedust on the floor. I thought the vampires were trying to burn the place down.”

  “The firedust?” Aunt Candace said. “No, I brought the dust out to destroy that blasted curse book. I’ve had bloody enough of it. I must have dropped some of it on the way.”

  “You can tell me all about it,” Edwin said, and the trolls flanked Aunt Candace until she walked away. I heard her yelling from the library entrance, and Aunt Adelaide and Estelle hurried after her. Before I could join them, Cass barred my way.

  “I can’t believe your nerve,” she hissed. “First you barge in here and disrupt all our lives, now you’re getting us arrested.”

  “Okay, I made a mistake!” I said. “Look, there was dust all over the floor out here and I thought it might catch fire.”

  “Goddess, you’re ridiculous,” she said. “Firedust wouldn’t work in this place. That vampire was talking complete nonsense. Look.” She yanked out her
Biblio-Witch Inventory and tapped a word. Flames sprang up on the floor, but the instant they appeared, a cloud of smoke descended, swallowing them up. “Library’s defences. See?”

  I gaped at the spot where the flames had vanished. “So the vampire—Mortimer Vale—was just bluffing? He didn’t know?”

  “You’re still telling that story?”

  I blinked. “You don’t believe me?”

  She snorted. “Sure. It’s too convenient. You happened to get yourself threatened by vampires right when your magic showed up, so you decided to barge into our lives as though we weren’t all doing perfectly fine without an extra person to train. The library is ours.”

  “I don’t see why there shouldn’t be room for someone else,” I said. “I’m sorry about your aunt, but I’m here now, and I’m not going anywhere.”

  “Sure, you say that,” she said. “You didn’t see what the library was like after your dad left. It was a wreck for weeks. We couldn’t walk down corridors without it raining frogs.”

  Really? If she was telling the truth, Dad had left for my sake. She must know that. “Were you the one setting the library against me? To drive me off before it got too attached?”

  Her mouth twitched. “So what if I was? You don’t belong here. And if it’s true that those vampires are after that journal of yours, then you’re a danger to all of us and you should leave. Unless you want to give me the journal instead and save us all the hassle.”

  “Was it you who took it from my room?” It was about time we cleared the whole thing up.

  “Not directly.” She scowled. “The library tried to shelve it. If it contains our secrets, it belongs in the library. You don’t.”

  She about-turned and left me standing there in the corridor, unable to rid myself of the sinking feeling that I’d just wrecked my new life before it’d even got off the ground.

  A soft caw caught my attention. Jet. I held out my hand and let him land on it. My familiar. He wanted me to stay. I just had to hope I hadn’t completely messed things up.

  13

  Estelle found me sitting morosely at the study desk in one of the classrooms. Was there even any point in doing my theory work exercises if my aunt was going to jail?

  “Hey,” she said. “Sorry about earlier.”

  “Me, too. I can’t believe I got Aunt Candace arrested.”

  “She didn’t exactly make an effort to defend herself,” she said. “I’d almost think she wanted to get arrested.”

  “What, for research? Like the dust?” I laid my head down on the table. “I should have just asked if it was actually possible to burn the library down before I lost my head over that vampire.”

  Her brow wrinkled. “You couldn’t have known. The police will get to the truth and she’ll be back before we know it.”

  “And if not? Cass hates me, too. She admitted she’s the one who’s been setting the library against me.”

  Estelle put a comforting arm around me. “Don’t let her intimidate you. Give it time, she’ll come around to the idea of having another witch around.”

  “She said it’s because my dad left and upset the library,” I said. “I didn’t know she’d remember.”

  “Ah,” said Estelle. “I’m guessing she meant… I’ll have to ask my mum, but she said your dad did come to visit once or twice when you were a baby but wasn’t able to stay. For obvious reasons. I guess it upset the library that he was gone.”

  “Yeah.” I sighed. “Anyway, she’s angry with me for getting Aunt Candace arrested now. And Dominic, if they found him.”

  “He’s at the police station, as far as I heard. Not sure if they arrested him or not, but he’s vehemently denying he killed either of the victims.”

  “I don’t think he’s the killer.” I’d even messed that up. But what had I missed? I’d been so sure the vampires were involved.

  “That’s in the police’s hands now,” Estelle said. “As for us, we have to get the place ready for the poetry night.”

  “The… hang on,” I said, lifting my head. “Poetry night? Is the poetry night held in the Reading Corner?”

  “Unless the others want to move it elsewhere. It’ll be weird without Tad watching from the hammock.”

  The hammock. I hadn’t thought to look over there to see if Tad had left any clues behind. Call it intuition or just grasping at straws, but there must be some reason he’d been targeted.

  Had he witnessed the first death? Was that why they’d killed him?

  We left the classroom for the empty Reading Corner, where I made straight for the hammock where Tad used to lie. It was untouched, and inside it was the pointy hat he’d been wearing the last time I’d seen him.

  I picked it up and a piece of paper fell out, covered in scribbled lines. Poetry. The first line read, ‘Let the nefarious rites begin’. That sounded familiar.

  “Estelle?” I said. “What happened to that slip of paper that was in the cursed book?”

  “What about it?” Estelle asked.

  “This is the same poem.” I held up the paper. “Did Tad get it out of the book?”

  “No, he couldn’t have done,” she said. “From the way he was lying, he died the instant he touched the book.”

  I examined the scrap of paper. It sure looked similar to what I remembered of the poem we’d found in the book of curses. “But that means the other piece of paper is missing. The one from the book. Did he have it on him when they removed the body?”

  “Duncan’s poetry?” She frowned. “Why would Tad have a copy?”

  “Maybe he was a fan,” I said, but my mind was racing. “It was the last thing Duncan wrote before he died. Maybe it counts as evidence.”

  “Let’s check the book again,” she said, walking across the Reading Corner. “Pretty sure Aunt Candace just left it there in the room.”

  “She said she was going to burn it, though.”

  “My mum would kill her if she did.”

  This time, the door to the spare room was locked. One tap from Estelle’s wand opened it. The book of curses wasn’t floating in a circle this time but lay on a table in the room’s centre, unmarked.

  I approached it apprehensively, then picked up the book. The cover felt leathery, the pages were yellowed, and I didn’t drop dead. Good start.

  Taking in a breath, I opened the book at random, then I held it up to let the pages spread. No scraps of paper fell out.

  Estelle frowned. “I should have asked Edwin if he found any bits of paper on Tad’s body. I wouldn’t have thought to look. Is the poem exactly the same?”

  I held up the crumpled paper again. “Yes, but I think the handwriting is different. Maybe Tad copied it out if he was a fan.”

  “I thought he couldn’t write,” said Estelle.

  I looked down at the page again. It didn’t contain any clues on its own, just a string of dubiously connected lines. But I was sure it must be evidence. It wouldn’t endear me any more to the police if I showed up so soon after they’d hauled off my aunt, but guilt at Aunt Candace’s imprisonment would gnaw away at me until I did something about it.

  “Late customer,” Estelle said, at the sound of the doorbell. “I’ll get Mum, you ask what he wants, okay?”

  “Sure.” I left the room, pocketing the scrap of paper. Evidence or not, I still needed to do my job.

  I crossed the library to the front desk—and froze.

  Mortimer Vale smiled back at me. “Those are some very clever wards you have on this library,” he said. “Very clever. Now, give me the journal.”

  “I won’t.”

  His teeth flashed, and his body blurred as he vaulted the counter. I dove to the floor, my hand in my bag and grasping for the pen and notebook. He landed beside me, reaching out, but I’d already pressed pen to paper. Fly.

  The books stacked on the desk rose into the air, knocking the vampire off his feet. He was upright in a heartbeat, but they flew at him again, forcing him to move around the desk towards the doors.
<
br />   “You can’t keep me out forever, Aurora,” he said. “I will have that journal.”

  He disappeared, the merest rattle of the doors betraying that he’d been there at all.

  I released a breath, my hands shaking. The books which had chased him dropped to the floor and I quickly moved to retrieve them.

  As I did so, Aunt Adelaide appeared. “Rory? Who was it?”

  “The vampire,” I said. “Mortimer Vale. He got past the wards on the library. I threw the books at him, but he escaped.”

  Aunt Adelaide swore. “Right. I was already on my way to the police station. We’ll both go this time.”

  “The poetry night, though?”

  “Estelle can take over,” she said, returning the books to the desk with a flick of her wand. “We’ll go now before it gets dark.”

  I didn’t like the idea of carrying the journal on me with Mortimer Vale so close, but it was that or leave it behind. “How did he break the wards?”

  “He didn’t break them.” She swept towards the doors and outside into the chilly evening air. Her Biblio-Witch Inventory was in her hand, and she looked the building up and down. “If he found a gap in the wards, there’s only one person outside the library who might have told him.”

  “Who?”

  She turned away from the library and broke into a fast stride across the square. “The curse-breaker.”

  “The—wait, what?” I ran after her. She was way fitter than I was. Probably from charging around the library all the time. “How would he know?”

  “Because there was a time when my sister and I wanted to break the curse on the library,” she said. “He’s the only person we told.”

  I frowned at her. “But I thought he hated the library.”

  “He hated dealing with its magic,” she said. “In the end, he was unable to undo any of the spells your grandmother put on the library, and we’re glad of it.”

  We reached the seafront and she directed her pace towards the decrepit little shop. I’d have picked anyone else to ask for help, but I trusted Aunt Adelaide’s judgement more than mine at the moment.