Lost Library: An Urban Fantasy Romance (27 page)

Lizzie hesitated for only a second,
then said, “Do it.” She blinked, then smiled. “Please.”

Pilar
took her hand, squeezed it lightly, then stepped back a few feet. Lizzie was subjected to the same intent look again. First, she felt slightly nauseous, and then light-headed. Nerves? Or something Pilar was doing?
I will not forgive myself if I pass out again
. Then there was a pop, similar to the feeling of a sudden cabin pressure change in a plane.

Pilar
loudly exclaimed, “Oh, my!”

When Lizzie looked up, she saw
Pilar on her rear end several feet away.

“What happened? Are you
okay?” Lizzie leaned down to help Pilar up, concern etched on her face.

Pilar
nodded her head vigorously. “Are
you
ok?”

“Sure. I guess it didn’t work? I feel the same.” Lizzie’s brain was frantically moving on to the next question. How would she fool Worth?

“No. No, no. It definitely worked. Reversing the sleep in a child is like slowly removing a ward. I started, but as soon as I lifted a small part, the escaping trickle became a flood. Your magic just gushed out.” Pilar’s eyes were very wide. “I think whoever did this was very powerful. That’s why it’s held so long. You truly have no idea who could have done this?”

She had magic.
Seriously? Magic!
Take that you stupid spelled book. Assuming the book was still waiting for her when she got home. Assuming she got home. Assuming she survived tomorrow.
Okay. There went all the fun.

Oops.
Pilar was talking to her. The woman was a superhero, as far as Lizzie was concerned. The least she could do was pay attention to her when she asked a question.

“Sorry
. What was that?”

Pilar
repeated, “I just wondered if you could have had any idea who did this. It was a very powerful, well-constructed spell. Whoever did this must have had greater warding talent than any I’ve ever experienced.”

“Warding? I thought you said it was some kind of sleep?” She would never get a handle on this magic stuff. She had years of catch up work to do.

“I didn’t want to mention before, because…well, it wouldn’t have been helpful. The sleep we use on children is much like a ward. It covers and masks the child’s magic while lulling it into an inactive state. The spell is attached to an object that is always with the child. An item of jewelry, for example.”

“But I don’t have anything from when I was a child.
” Lizzie’s eyes widened slightly. “
Oh.
Then how did it work?”

Pilar
shook her head. “I don’t know. Spell casters work with, and through, inanimate objects. Casters manipulate objects. They bind spells to objects. I have always known that to be true. But this—the spell seemed bound directly to you somehow. I really don’t understand how that’s possible.”

Time
later to dwell on the complete freakiness that was her life. If she survived her experience with Worth.

“Well, whatever happened just
now, does this mean I can read the books in the library? That’s my primary concern. Worth,” Lizzie said, pausing and letting out a breath. “Worth frightens me. I don’t want to know what would happen if he found out I was useless.”

“I hope so. Not
every female caster has a facility for reading spelled texts. He must have thought you had the talent, or he wouldn’t have taken you.” Pilar raised her eyebrows questioningly.

“I have, or had as of a few days ago, a record book from a
Lycan pack. That may have misled him.”

“That would do it.
Lycan. Hmm. But you’re not a Record Keeper.” At Lizzie’s head shake, Pilar asked, “Your boyfriend is Lycan, maybe? That’s how you have a pack’s book?”

“No! I mean, no, I don’t have a boyfriend. I’m not sure how the book ended up with me.”
Lizzie thought of John and the promise she’d made to herself, about him and missed opportunities. Quickly changing the subject, Lizzie returned to the most important question. “How does magic work?”

John woke immediately
, at the light tap on his door. Rolling out of bed, he grabbed his jeans from the bar stool and pulled them on as he said, “Enter.”

Kenna
opened the door and stepped inside. The only thought she had as a muscular, bare-chested John buttoned the last two buttons of his jeans, was—did Max usually sleep in the buff, as John so obviously did? Well, that, and also that John likely went commando, given the lack of a boxer band visible above his very low-slung jeans.

She may be developing a Max crush, but she wasn’t completely blind.
Yet. She thought of last night and wasn’t sure if she wanted to giggle like a schoolgirl or cry for getting in over her head. Get it together, woman.

John was staring at her like she’d lost her mind. He was probably right. Last night was clear evidence of that.
She and Max, steamy sex, waking up next to him—what had she been thinking? They were on a rescue mission, and she was having amazing sex. She sighed, then delivered her message as if there had been no awkward silence…or bare skin.

“Harrington has information on the Prague residences. He also approved Sarah’s
participation—she’s coming with. Meeting in ten minutes in Harrington’s office.”

John grabbed a shirt from his bag, and asked, “Where’s Max?”

“He was in the shower just a few minutes ago. He said to tell you he’d be done by the time—I’m quoting—you got your slow ass out of bed and down the hall.”

John grunted in response.

“’K. I’ll see you in a minute.” Kenna let herself out of his room at warp speed. No need for John to see her blush, or to let him guess that the source of her embarrassment was the shower she and Max had shared this morning.

Harrington produced a thin file, then seated himself at the conference table in his office. John, Max, Kenna, and Sarah were already clustered around the table with coffee and toast.

“There are three properties in Prague.
A modern apartment convenient to downtown, a country home with a park located just outside Prague, and a townhouse in the historic district. Comparing these properties to residences we’ve connected to Worth in Norway, Germany, Italy, Russia, and Brazil, the historic townhouse stands apart from the other two properties. He favors modern convenience for in-town housing. And in several of the countries, he owns a country residence similar in acreage and style to the country home outside Prague. Due to time-constraints, my staff focused their efforts on the townhouse.”

“And if that’s not where she’s being held?” John asked.

“Having completed a background file on the high probability location, they’ll go back and keep digging on the other properties. We’ll also continue to watch the money. He’s attempting to mask the source of the financing for his projects, but he can’t completely prevent the movement of funds.”

Harrington tapped a finger on the closed file.
“This one is interesting. Interesting enough for me to doubt it’s a coincidence that the house landed in Worth’s possession. The house was at one time the property of the Kovar family. They were one of the more powerful spell caster families in the area a few hundred years ago.”

At Harrington’s pointed look, Sarah shook her head. “I’m not familiar with the name.”

“How about the lost library?” he prompted her.

“
That
I’ve heard of. A number of books, guesses range from tens to hundreds, collected by a group of spell casters in an effort to preserve and further spell caster knowledge. Lost long enough ago and kept secret enough that no one knows whether the library is myth or poorly documented fact.” Sarah’s brow puckered. “That’s it. I don’t think I’ve ever really heard more than that.”

“There were
fairly active rumors as late as the 1800s of the library’s existence. Rumors had the books secreted away by one of any number of important spell caster families.” Harrington paused.

Max frowned. “
Including the Kovars?” He shook his head. “You don’t think Worth has actually found this library?”

Harrington replied,
“I hope not. But that’s certainly one explanation for Worth’s targeting of female spell casters. And yes, there was rumor of the Kovars’ involvement with the library. But that doesn’t mean much. Any notable spell caster family would have been included in the speculation and rumors.”

Sarah chimed in.
“I’m not sure if you’re aware…” She turned her attention towards John, Max, and Kenna. Harrington encouraged her to continue with a quick nod. “We discovered that each of the women Worth targeted probably have some level of language talent. The murdered woman was a Record Keeper for a local pack. The missing woman, Pilar, consulted on magical texts within the spell casting community. And Lizzie was in possession of a magical text.
We
know she’s had difficulties with the book, but that wouldn’t be something Worth is likely to know.”

John replied, “And if
—or when—he finds out? What is his response likely to be?”

Harrington
’s answer wasn’t comforting. “I think you should plan to move as soon as possible. I’ve got a flight arranged.”

John inferred
that Worth’s response was likely to be violent. It was time to finish their planning session and head to Prague. He only hoped that all of the signs weren’t misleading, and they’d chosen the right location. Lizzie’s life likely depended on it.

The books Worth wanted her to work on were located
in the basement. Her escort—Curly, Moe? She couldn’t keep them straight—brought her downstairs after a quick breakfast. Her shift lasted from 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. There were three women, so she supposed each woman took eight hours each day.

On the way down the stairs, she reviewed her lesson from last night. It had seemed so simple with
Pilar coaching her, but alone....
Glass half full, Lizzie.
Rainbows and sunshine.
It would be easier if she actually thought she could do it. And she could. She’d been able to see Pilar’s wards once she’d been shown how to look. They were cool. She wasn’t sure why it had surprised her. It was magic. Better yet, it was Pilar’s magic. It made sense that her magic would look sparkly and pretty.

Lizzie liked the idea of an instruction manual
, with step-by-step instructions. So she and Pilar had broken it down into three steps.

Step one
: find her magic. Apparently, magical people didn’t go around accidentally making magical things happen, because magic was buried deep inside. She had to try really, really hard to find it. Pilar was surprised when Lizzie told her that. Pilar assured her it would get easier with time and practice. Magic wasn’t just dripping from anyone’s fingers. Magic had to be pulled out to be used. That was one less thing to worry about. With her luck, she would have accidentally set someone’s car on fire or turned their cat blue.

Step two
: decide on an action. That sounded really simple to her. But Pilar said no, that could be the hardest part for new practitioners. You had to have a very clear and very specific picture. Always concerned about the possibility of an epic fail moment, she’d asked Pilar what happened if one did not have this crystal-clear image. Again, her mind was put at ease. Nothing. No magic. Apparently, the magic didn’t know where to go, so it went nowhere.
Whew.
No exploding houseplants or levitating neighbors.

It seemed like so much could go wrong.
But, no. Pilar assured her, it wasn’t nearly so dangerous as Lizzie was imagining. Truly dangerous magic was imagined and willed into existence, just like any other magic. Which led to step three.

A
pply will. Pilar described this as a firm and decided frame of mind. “Be certain you want it, then project that certainty,” Pilar had said.

When asked where and how to project,
Pilar had looked at her curiously, head tilted and expression confused. Maybe it was the language barrier? But she was betting it was more of a Lizzie issue. What seemed so simple to Pilar was new and awkward to her.

Damn.
They had arrived at the entrance to the basement.
I’m not ready.
Then she realized, she’d never be ready. This was one of those moments in life that outstripped any ability to prepare. Kidnapped for skills she may not have, her family held hostage for her success, her magic awoken only hours earlier, and acting skills any kindergartener could trump. She took a breath and walked into the room.

Books.
Ceiling to floor books. Stand-alone shelving in the center of the room filled with books. Tables piled with books. She inhaled. Even the smell of the room was of books. Dusty, musty, leather-bound. It was beautiful; it was heaven. She smiled.

Then she saw
Larry, or Moore, she supposed. And then, there was Worth. Her smile drooped at Moore and fell completely away when she looked at Worth. For the first time, she knew he would never allow her to leave. Not alive. Nor Pilar, for that matter. Now she understood the deep sadness she’d seen in Pilar when they first met. Pilar knew. She was working to keep her daughter safe, because she’d already accepted that her own life would be forfeit to Worth and his library of magical texts.