Chapter 50
The lock didn't stand a chance against Max’s illicit skill set.
I slip inside the dark room, and shut the door behind me, significantly reducing the thrum of music and chatter. The library is vast, the smell of old parchment and secrets has my gryphon immediately interested.
It takes a while to undo the vitrine lock, it’s a complex spell, but I finally manage it.
The stacks of parchment contain the knowledge I’m hungry for. I want to shift, but the fragile papers will not take kindly to being clawed. My beast nudges at my skin as I flick through the sheets.
This is going to take too long, I need to shift.
—Can I get help in here…someone to turn the pages so I can read in gryphon form—
Immediately, Bloomhower responds. —I’ll do it…two minutes—
It's only one before she slips in through the door. “Naomi and Max are on watch,” she whispers. “What do you want me to do?”
I gesture to the glass case. “I need to be able to see all sides of the documents, ten seconds per page. Understand?”
She nods, gulping. “Ready.”
I shift. Now back in my beast, I feel fear rolling off Willow. I don’t reassure her, there is only one focus. Padding over to the girl, I nudge her to get moving. My beak on her arm does the job and she scurries forward. “OK, OK,” she hisses. “Just had to freak out for a moment.”
Quickly she gets to work, moving the fragile papers so my eagle eyes get a glance at each. Yes. Good. The massive amount of documents should take thirty-seven minutes, according to my internal calculator. It’s a dangerous amount of time to be in here.
My beast begins to memorize the information.