Page 18 of Lightningborn

The shed wasn’t locked, and Gem pushed back the door. The walls of the outbuilding were lined with shelves and tools, and bags of fertilizer sat in the corners, but there was enough space for a small dragon to stand without knocking anything over.

“Okay, Cloud,” Gem whispered, stroking the dragon’s nose when they had ducked inside. “I need you to wait here until I come back for you. Stay here, all right?”

The white dragon blinked clear blue eyes at her and cocked his head. Gem patted his neck and backed away. “Stay,” she told him, holding up a hand. “Stay, Cloud.”

Cloud burbled softly, but he didn’t follow. With a smile, Gem turned and slipped out of the shed, ducking into the heavy shadows around the garden.

She didn’t run into any trouble creeping around the first-year dorms. Due to a strict lights-out policy and curfew, none of the first-years were ever awake past midnight. The building was dark as she sidled along the wall, keeping to the shadows and being as quiet as she could.

The two dragon statues loomed, tall and imposing, at the steps to the library. As Gem crept around the dragons’ platforms, voices echoed from the top of the stairs. Quickly, Gem darted behind the dragon on the left, and Headmistress Idella strode past, two librarians trailing behind her.

“Has Gregor finished sorting all the missives?” Gem heard the headmistress ask as she swept by.

“Yes, Headmistress. They will be ready to send out tomorrow.”

“Good. Now I must think of something to say to over a hundred students tomorrow, telling them they all must go home for an undetermined length of time.” The headmistress gave a heavy sigh. “What are the king and the archmage thinking? I cannot believe we must shut down the college for…”

Their voices faded away. Gem bit her lip, then took a deep breath and gazed up the steps to the library. Unlike in the first-year dorms, the lights here were still on. The Great Library was always open and the librarians, according to popular rumor, never slept. They just drifted up and down the aisles like wraiths all night, keeping an eye on every book shelved within. This would easily be the hardest and most dangerous part of her plan.

Luckily, she had come prepared.

Going through the front doors would be foolish. Instead, Gem crept around to the side of the massive building to the high arched windows set into the brick. They were locked, of course—the librarians were super paranoid about rain and moisture getting into the building—but there were ways around that. Especially if you were a mage. Practicing magic outside class hours was forbidden, but so was sneaking into the restricted section of the library late at night. If she was caught, a little forbidden magic would be the least of her worries.

Gem closed her eyes, briefly centering herself, finding the invisible threads of magic that flickered and swirled through the air. Magic came from the Maelstrom, and its energy was everywhere, even though the terrible storm itself was far, far away. She touched those threads, feeling the power flicker along the strands, tingling as they brushed her skin, and raised a hand toward the windowpane.

Levitation was one of the first forms of magic that students learned at the college: the art of making something weightless enough to hover in the air. With small items—pencils, coins, pins—it was easy to make them float and dance like butterflies on the breeze. Larger items became increasingly difficult. The heavier the object, the more magic was required and the harder one had to concentrate to keep it aloft. It didn’t work on living creatures, only inanimate objects, so mages couldn’t levitate themselves all over the kingdom. But most students were making pencils zoom around the classroom by the end of their first month.

Levitation magic was also closely tied to another form of magic, mage fingers, which wasn’t taught until year two. Gem, however, had been practicing magic with a private tutor before she had first come to the college. She knew a few things the other first-years didn’t.

A ghostly hand, seemingly made of mist, appeared on the other side of the window. Still keeping her magic tightly under control, Gem directed it to float down until it reached the lock above the windowpane. With a firm twist, the ghostly hand turned the lock, then shimmered into nothingness as Gem released the magic.

Her heart pounded as she pushed up the window and crawled through, landing silently on the carpeted floor. Now things were serious. Sneaking around the college after curfew would’ve gotten her into lots of trouble, but it was something students, especially the older students, did occasionally. If Gem was caught breaking into a restricted section of the library, not only could she be expelled from the college, it would reflect poorly on her father. Not to mention he would be furious with her.

No turning back now.

The floors of the Great Library were covered in thick, elegant carpet. It was intended to impress and show off the college’s wealth, and it was both a blessing and a curse right now. Good because the carpet muffled Gem’s own footfalls; if the floors had been hardwood or tile, her steps would’ve echoed loudly and drawn the librarians faster than cats to a dead fish. Bad becauseshecouldn’t hearthem, and she knew from past experience just how suddenly they could descend if she made any noise at all. She would have to be very, very quiet.

Good thing I wore my soft boots. Now, where is this restricted section?

The library had three floors. The first floor held normal books, things like textbooks, encyclopedias, and tomes for research, with a few novels and works of fiction scattered through the shelves. The second floor held the books that had everything that had to do with magic, and the third one had rooms for meetings and special classes. None of them were restricted, so that meant…Was there a roombelowthe library? A secret floor that held all the books the college didn’t want students to see? But she had been all over the library, both inside and out, and had never seen an entrance to another room.

Wait, thereisa door. Now that she thought about it, Gem remembered a simple, unmarked door that she had never seen anyone go through. Unfortunately, that door was near the front of the library, behind the head librarian’s desk.

Gem winced. But she couldn’t think of anywhere else that might lead to the restricted section. Taking a deep breath, she slipped into the labyrinth of aisles and began creeping her way toward the desk of Hawkeye Hagda herself.

No librarians caught her. No flock of scowling ladies swarmed her as she tiptoed down the hallways of books. Though one time she did have to freeze in place, not daring to move a muscle, when she heard a quiet cough a few aisles over. Even after the librarian had moved on, it was still several heartbeats before Gem could breathe again.

At last, peering between two textbooks, she finally saw what she was looking for. The door in question sat in a corner against the far wall, beyond the staircase that led to the second floor. Unfortunately, the mahogany desk sat next to the stairs as well. And Gem could see the curly gray hair of the head librarian poking over the top of an open book. If Gem placed even one toe out of hiding, Hawkeye Hagda would spot her for sure.

Gem ground her teeth. She had to get to that door, but not while ol’ Hawkeye was guarding it. What could she do that wouldn’t get her caught?

Inspiration struck. She was an aspiring mage, after all. She couldn’t summon a storm or call down lightning, but she did have a few other tricks up her sleeve.

She peeked through the books and saw a likely target: a thick tome, standing upright on the top shelf a few aisles away. It was precariously balanced, very close to the edge. A gust of wind or a strong breeze would easily blow it over.

First-year students were not supposed to know wind magic. But Gem knew a lot of things she wasn’t supposed to. Raising a hand, she pointed two fingers at the balanced textbook and sent a waft of air gusting toward it.

The book shivered, leaned a bit, and then toppled, hitting the floor with a heavy thud that seemed to echo through the building. At the desk, the librarian’s head snapped up, a scowl crossing her features. Setting her book aside, she hopped down from her stool, walked around the desk, and strode off in the direction of the noise.

---