Immortal Consequences(89)

“Actually,” Emilio muttered, pushing up the sleeves of his jacket, “it should only take a few seconds.”

Olivier frowned. “What do you—”

The words died in his throat the second Emilio stuck his hand into the orb. The swirling strands of green light consumed his hand, traveling up his arm in wispy clouds. Olivier looked on with an amusing mixture of amazement and terror. Emilio knew he could easily have explained the mechanisms of the orb, but he preferred it this way. Not to mention that a part of him secretly reveled in watching Olivier squirm and worry.

When the process was complete, he pulled his hand back out and the light traveled away from his arm and back into the orb.

For a moment, nothing happened. And then something clattered in the distance, the sound of paper shifting, of metal creaking. The air around them crackled with magic. The floor beneath them rumbled.

“What’s happening?” Olivier whispered warily.

“Just wait.”

The book shot out from the green orb without warning, flying over their heads before softly landing in Emilio’s hands with a thud. A film of green light enveloped the cover, but as soon as Emilio blew a soft breath of air against it, the glow vanished.

“How—” Olivier shook his head, a smile of disbelief spread over his face. “All right. You need to tell me how the hell that thing works.”

“It’s called a Seeing Orb. It’s connected to your thoughts. All you have to do is press your hand against it and think of the book you want. And if the Library has it, it appears.” Emilio couldn’t stop himself from smiling. “Cool, right?”

Olivier’s green eyes sparked with something wild and beautiful, his face split into a radiant smile. The look on his face nearly knocked all the air from Emilio’s lungs, but before either of them could say anything else, the whooshing sound of a relocation spell echoed a few yards behind them, followed by the flutter of hushed whispers. Of urgent words.

“…it’s not going to be that simple…”

Emilio snapped his head up, eyes wide. Olivier seemed to be thinking the same thing, because he gripped Emilio tightly by the hand and pulled him behind a bookshelf just as two Housemasters appeared.

“I don’t care what it looks like…he’s still complicit. He has been from the very start.”

That was Russo. Emilio recognized the soft tone of her voice and the cadence of her words. She wore her Housemaster’s cloak draped over her shoulders with the hood up, obscuring her face. Even though the person next to her had their hood up as well, Emilio could clearly tell it was Birdie. Her height combined with the tufts of bleached-blond hair sticking out beneath the hood gave her away. Not to mention her thick Texan drawl.

“You don’t know that,” Birdie replied. “Things change. We changed.”

They walked toward the Seeing Orb, glancing over their shoulders. Emilio recognized the look in their eyes. The tension in the way they moved. Whatever the two of them were doing, they were trying not to get caught.

“That’s different. This goes beyond everything we knew. It’s a connection beyond our understanding. He can’t escape it.”

“I guess you’re right.” Birdie took a step closer to the orb. “Not to mention, he doesn’t have much of a choice. I’m sure you’ve heard of his…situation.”

Russo hesitated. “I have.”

As much as Emilio wanted to stick around and find out what they were talking about, he knew it wasn’t worth the risk of being caught. Not to mention that they were minutes away from being late to the ball.

“We should go,” he whispered, tugging sharply on Olivier’s sleeve.

Olivier nodded, his eyes darting between Emilio and the two Housemasters. Clearly, he felt just as torn between his need for self-preservation and his unrelenting curiosity.

Russo and Birdie pressed their hands into the Seeing Orb, focusing on the light. Emilio knew it was their only opportunity to run out of the Library without arousing suspicion. So he laced his fingers through Olivier’s and they quickly worked their way around the bookshelves until they reached the entrance. He didn’t look back to see if the Housemasters had noticed.

He just ran.

40

Olivier

“I can’t believe we got away with that.”

Olivier felt high. His hands tingled. His head swam. It was the familiar rush of adrenaline that often accompanied doing something he knew was against the rules. Something that could get him in trouble. He never understood why he loved the feeling so much, but it was just an inherent characteristic he was born with. An insatiable need for risk. And yet this time, he couldn’t help but wonder if the intoxicating feelings coursing through his body had less to do with sneaking into the Library and more to do with the fact that Emilio still hadn’t let go of his hand.

Maybe it was both.

“Did you hear what they were talking about?” Emilio pulled him back through the entrance of Litterman House. The fireplace crackled with a dying fire, illuminating the dark common room in a pale amber glow. Even in the dim light of the fire, Olivier could make out the familiar terra-cotta-colored rugs adorning the floor. The bushels of wildflowers and melted wax candles scattered across the light-colored wooden dining table at the far end of the hall.

“Sort of,” Olivier mumbled. He wished they could have stayed to find out more. To listen in on the rest of the conversation. But it had all happened too quickly. “Who do you think they were talking about?”