Right. The Unity Celebration. Jim and Patricia will be visiting Skallagrim for it. Not only have I not made a dent in getting my powers under control, but now I’m suspected of murder. I gulp. I have to prove I didn’t do this, and soon.
By the time we reach the library, we still haven’t learned anything helpful. And what started as a drizzle is turning into a downpour.
Irina flings the door open, and we hurry inside. As Nils and Irina shake out their umbrellas, I look around in awe. The library is like nothing I’ve ever seen before. It’sbeautiful. Bookcases so tall they reach the high ceiling. The stacks are towering, as lofty as buildings. I can’t imagine how many tomes must be held here, or how anyone can access them all. The smell of mildewed pages and old leather fills my nose.
“Wow.”
Irina grins, looking a little sheepish. “This is my favorite place on campus.”
“We know.” Nils huffs a laugh, hefting the books onto the first table he can. He sounds winded, slightly out of breath. “Whew.”
“Thanks again for your help,” Irina says as I set down the ones I’m holding too. “I had to drop these off before my shift starts.”
“I guess she doesn’t know anything useful,” Nils says quietly to me as Irina starts to check her books back in. “Maybe we can catch one of Emilía’s friends in the study hall.”
“Sounds good.”
We head for the door.
“Wait,” Irina calls out. “There is something maybe you shouldknow.” When we turn around, she’s chewing her lip. “I think Emilía might’ve been seeing someone new—”
“Who?” Nils and I ask at the same time.
Irina shakes her head. “She refused to tell me. Kind of like you’re not telling me the truth, either, are you?” She gulps. “What I saw… Emilía… that really happened, didn’t it? It can’t be a coincidence that she disappeared shortly after I had that dream, and now a few days later, you two show up asking odd questions.”
I hesitate, but as Nils opens his mouth to speak, I cut him off with “I’m sorry, Irina.”
Nils casts me a look, but I shake my head. She deserves the truth.
Irina stares down at the table. “Iknewit. Somehow I knew that dream was real.”
“That wasn’t a dream; it was a premonition.” Nils puts his hand on Irina’s shoulder. “Did you see who attacked her?”
“No,” Irina says, hugging her arms tightly. “I saw it through her eyes, as if Iwasher. There was a sense of urgency, though, I remember that. She was late to see someone. She was hurrying, and then a berserkr attacked her.” She covers her mouth with her hands. “Her stomach was ripped open—her intestines… I’m going to be sick.”
Irina pushes up from her seat and races off, disappearing between the stacks.
Nils looks pretty sick himself. “Is what she said consistent with what you saw?”
My stomach turns as I recall the gruesome sight. “Yeah. The injuries Irina described…” I can’t bring myself to finish. Emilía wasn’t just killed. She was ripped open. Even though Irina somehow knows all the details, she can’t be responsible. Only a berserkr could have committed this crime.
Nils pats my shoulder. “If Emilía was on her way to meet someone secretly… looks like we have our first suspect.”
I chew on one of my cuticles. “But how do we find out who it was?”
Nils sighs. “Her friends might know.”
“Emilíadefinitelywould,” Irina says, reappearing behind us. “We can ask her ourselves.”
“I’m sorry,what?” I exchange an uncertain look with Nils. “How are we supposed to do that?”
“I’d like to know too,” Nils adds.
Irina’s gaze is hard and resolute. “We’re going to perform a séance.”
Irina takes us to her dorm room in Freyja Hall. As soon as we’re inside, she heads for her desk, grabbing one of her many books, and starts searching through it.
Rain lashes the window as I look around. There must be a clue to who Emilía was seeing here somewhere. Lightning flashes, illuminating her side of the room. Her bed is unmade, her textbook lies open on her desk, her backpack slung over her chair. A shiver spreads through me. It looks like Emilía could return at any moment.
