Page 19 of A Sea of Secrets
Kendra’s face paled. “Uh, yeah babe, probably good to know.”
Of course, she didn’t know how to swim. Rather than dwell on the impending likelihood of drowning, I swallowed my fear and began searching like a madwoman. “It’s not so hard,” I said as I tried the desk drawer, finding it locked, then sweeping through the papers on its surface. “Just doggy paddle. You know, like you’re pedalling with your legs and hands.”
“Yeah,” Dick chimed in from where he knelt beside me. “Nothing to it. It’s like riding a bike. Once you get the hang of it, you’re good.”
I risked a peek over my shoulder, finding Lou’s beautiful features easing ever so slightly. The glance I shared with Kendra, however, was not so optimistic.
My eyes trailed to the bookshelves, and I scuttled over, doing my best to ignore the fact I was standing in knee-deep water. The books were all weighted down to the shelves, but my eye caught one that began lifting ever so slightly at the bottom.
My Adventures with a Montague,the spine read. I racked my brain, then realised why the name clicked. Jannis Montague, a name from an alarmingly short line of rulers who died of natural causes. Lucky duck passed in her sleep. A red heart on the spine was the only other possible clue worth noting.
“I found them,” I shouted. “Look for spines with any monarch name mentioned in the title.”
Dick assessed the book I had looked at, then jimmied a few of the surrounding titles. Most were firmly tucked away, whereas the book he touched shifted easily. I pointed to the symbolas well, and he quickly nodded before shooting me an excited smile.
“They will likely be loose titles on the shelves,” he called to the others. “Look for symbols on the spine.”
Everyone scrambled towards me, tripping over each other in desperation. Too many sets of hands began pawing at the shelves, a few elbows coming out.
“Elbow me in the ribs one more freaking time…” Kendra hissed at the guy next to her, but it was no use. Pure panic etched over his plain features, not that I could blame him. The water was up to our waist now.
“Got one,” Dick shouted. “The Hunt for the Wild Willow.It has a club on the spine.”
“Me too,” Lou yelled, waving a copy ofHorticulture and Hogan. I hadn’t heard of any Hogan, but I was more than happy to trust her on that one. “This one has a spade.”
“There’s two more spaces,” Dick yelled. “Two more books!”
“Uh, guys, better hurry,” the brown-haired girl said, backing away from the shelf and towards the desk.
“Not fucking helpful!” Dick roared.
Any other time I might have laughed at his rare use of profanity, but the water was up to my chest now and it was freezing as hell on my tits.Fuuuccckk.
“Lou,” Kendra said, her eyes wide. “Get on the desk.”
“But—”
“Get on the desk, Lou!” she yelled.
“By all the freaking gods,” I breathed, my nails skating over the book spines. “Come on fuckers, where are you?”
“Here!” Blondie yelled, waggling a red tome, just as one of the guys pulled out a green one.
“Now we just need to put them in the proper order,” Dick said, nodding.
“I’ll do it,” the panicked guy yelled, snatching the books from our hands and shoving them haphazardly into empty spaces.
The water climbed to my chin now, forcing me to bob on my tiptoes. “There must be a system,” I snapped. “Think about the order.”
The guy didn’t listen, too busy shoving, his pupils blowing out with undiluted fear.
“Stop!” I cried. I tried to take some of the books from him, but he smashed an elbow into my nose. “Oh, hell no.” Blinding pain flared behind my eyes, and I felt something hot and sticky trickle over my lips.
Dick tried to pull him back, along with one of the girls, but the guy was brutishly strong for such a stick. Probably the adrenaline.
“Ya, okay, enough of this bullshit.” I locked an arm around his throat, tight enough to make him choke as I pulled him back and dumped him under the water. He dropped hold of a few books, and I gasped. “Dick!”
“Everyone take a deep breath,” Kendra shrieked as the water reached our lips.
