“In the hallway. ‘In case of emergency,’ it said. It seemed like an emergency.”
Alison and Keir led them into the secret passageway. It sloped gently down, the walls stone on one side, wood on the other.
“These walls are false,” said Keir, tapping on the internal wooden walls. “Built during one of the conversions. Weldan House has some passages like this for the servants.”
“I always dreamed about using a secret passage,” said Rinka. “I had hoped it would be under better circumstances though.Listening to the ladies gossip at lunch. Sneaking away in the night to meet a secret caller.”
“You hardly have to sneak,” said Idris, “but if you wanted to give that a go once this is all over…”
“I liked him better when the ghost had him,” said Willow.
“It wasn’t a ghost,” said Idris. “It’s some aspect of whoever originated these curses though.”
“Take it easy,” said Rinka, helping him as he stumbled. “I don’t want to have to drag you out of here.”
“But I’d like that,” said Idris.
At least they were going downhill.
Finally, they made it back into the library. The hidden door was still open, and the mess of books looked undisturbed.
“What happened in here?” asked Rinka. “That Ms. Redclaw is going to be furious.”
“It was defending itself,” said Idris.
“Oh, the library,” said Alison as she realized what Idris meant. “All these books—it was defending itself from something.”
“I smell Leo here,” said Willow. “Ceri too. Both of them recently.”
“Don’t tell me they went outside,” said Idris.
Lightning flashed through the windows. The door where the path in the books had led definitely went outside.
“It’s dangerous out there,” said Keir. “The lightning alone—”
“I’ll go,” said Idris. “Dragon blood. It’s strong.”
“Not a chance,” said Rinka. “What will you do if they’re in trouble when you find them? All of you are dead on your feet. I’ll go.”
“No,” said Idris. “Keir, stop her…”
It turned out they didn’t need to argue. Just then, the door burst open.
Ceri stepped through, soaked to the bone.
“He’s gone,” she said. “Leo is gone.”
Chapter Seventeen
IN THE EYE OF THE STORM
Ceri
“Gone, how?” Alison dared to ask. Ceri could see that the others were thinking it.
“Not dead. Gone. I saw it with my own eyes,” said Ceri. “He was there in the center of the courtyard. I didn’t see him at first—the lights went out, and it’s so dark out there. But the lightning flashed and I—”
She choked up. “He can’t be gone, can he? It’s not right.”
