Until then, she needed help and led the pair into her bedroom. She crossed and dropped beside an old blanket chest. She pulled it open, sifted through her folded sweaters, past an old Army jacket, and retrieved the book. It still remained protected in its cloth wrap. She had not dared uncover it, fearful of being drawn further into this mystery, sensing the danger it represented.
But there was no shirking from that responsibility now.
She knelt back and parted the folds of cloth. “Back at the Old Library, Professor Wright gave this to me.”
“Wait... Professor Julian Wright?” Tag pressed her. “The head of our program?”
She nodded and did her best to explain all that had happened, stressing the urgency in the man’s attitude. “He believed the book wasn’t safe at the library, not even in his own possession. But I don’t know why.”
Anger spiked though her for being thrust into all of this against her will. Though, she knew that wasn’t entirely true. She had accepted the responsibility. While it would be easy to say she did it to curry favor with the director of the postgraduate program, she knew the blame lay deeper. She had difficulty saying no. It went back to having to always be the good daughter, to stave off triggering her father’s outbursts—as if she had control over him. Now she knew better, but such self-awareness didn’t stop those deeply ingrained reflexes.
What have I gotten myself into?
Both her roommates dropped and crowded next to her, eyeing the strange text on her knee. The leather bindings were clearly old, centuries at least. She fingered two bands of copper that held the text clamped shut. The release appeared to be a small metal tin, embedded with an eyeball-size crystal orb. As she wiped dust from it, the sphere rotated under the thumb.
She warily drew her fingers away. “I don’t know what the hell this is or why it’s so important.”
Naomi leaned in, her eyes bright with curiosity. “Do you see any title? Or the name of the author?”
Sharyn flipped the volume back and forth. “Nothing.”
Naomi wiggled to free her phone. “I should record this.”
Sharyn pushed her friend’s arm down. “No, not until we know more.”
Tag pointed to the cover’s center. “Look at that embossed emblem. Like the spokes of a wheel, all pointing to various symbols.”
“Very cryptic,” Naomi noted.
“Whatever it is, the book must be valuable,” Sharyn added. “Enough for Professor Wright to send it off with me. Just prior to that, he had taken a call. He had sounded shocked, even angry.”
“Maybe the call spooked him,” Tag offered, then used his cane to push back to his feet. “Still, why give it to you? If he was concerned for its safety, why not take it himself?”
Sharyn recalled the professor’s urgency. “He warned me to keep it hidden. To not even tellhimwhere I hid it until he deemed it safe.” She stared over at the other two. “I think he feared whoever was after the book might knowhehad it.”
“So he sent you scurrying off with the prize.” Naomi sat heavier on her heels. “Away from him.”
Sharyn clutched the book harder, aching to know why this was so important, but she remembered Wright’s other warning. “He also told me not to attempt to open it.”
“Like we could,” Tag scoffed. “It’s clearly locked with some code tied to that crystal. I can see symbols engraved into it. Am I right?”
Sharyn held the book at an angle toward the room’s lamp. “You are, but it looks like the symbols areinsidethe crystal, like flaws in a diamond.”
“Truly?” Tag reached over to see for himself.
Sharyn pulled the book away with a twinge of possessiveness. “We can leave this mystery for later. Right now, we must change and get out of here.”
Tag frowned. “You mentioned that to Mrs. Kenworthy. Why?”
Naomi stood up. “Sharyn is right.”
Tag looked between the two women with confusion.
Sharyn explained, “Someone clearly attacked the Old Library, setting fire to it. Professor Wright could’ve been caught there.”
Naomi continued, “And if Wright was there, he might have been forced to reveal where the book was—andwhohe gave it to.”
“If they got my name, it wouldn’t take them long to find out where I live.” Sharyn frowned. “Again, I could be wrong about all of this, but I’d prefer not to take any chances.”
