The Palace Library Read Free Page A

even I can’t always
find it.  The Library finds me.  It can reach through history to find
those who, like you, can help in a crisis.  I am one of a council called
The Witan that it reaches out to.”
    “You
make it sound like a person,” said Eleanor.  She was a little out of
breath.  Great Uncle Jasper was a tall man with big strides and they were
struggling to keep up.
    “Not
a person really, but something with a personality anyway.”
    Suddenly,
they were there.  They stopped by the small door in the Long
Gallery.  Great Uncle Jasper squatted down to look at them at eye level
and spoke to them as equals.  “You know where to go from here,
Grace.  I sent for Harry earlier and was about to send for both of you
before I found you in Harry’s room.  There is no time to talk or to tell
you more.  Edgar will give you what you need.  Good luck.” 
    With
that, he gave them each a kiss on their cheeks and strode back to the end of
the room.  Grace and Eleanor felt lonely and bereft as he left. 
There were too many unanswered questions.  With the hands that had been
holding his, they found each other’s hands and as he left the corridor, he
turned and said, “Trust each other, as friends and families should.”  Then
he smiled.  “When you see Harry, I don’t think he’ll have any doubts about
a magical library any longer.”
    Both
girls hesitated before going through the door.  Grace looked at the
tapestry on the wall and said to Eleanor, “This picture has changed
again.  The dog was sleeping last time I was here, and growling the time
before that.”
    “She’s
looking impatient here isn’t she?” said Eleanor.  “It’s as if she’s been
pacing up and down waiting for something or someone.”
    “Maybe
she’s waiting for us,” said Grace
    “She’s
a very beautiful dog,” added Eleanor, putting off the scary moment when they
would open the door.
    “How
do you know the dog’s a girl?” asked Grace.
    “I
just know,” replied Eleanor mysteriously.  “And stop holding my hand so
tightly.”  But Grace noticed she didn’t let go or release her own tight
grip.  They were both shivering, even though it wasn’t cold.  Then
they opened the door.
    This
time The Library was dark.  It looked as if it was dusk outside and there
was a terrible storm raging.  There was a domed roof high above them with
a lantern window.  Lightning burst with rolls of thunder sounding almost
immediately.  The light threw strange shadows around the room and the
books.
    The
girls were more than a little frightened, especially when they turned around
and saw the sun shining through the windows of the long corridor.  Grace
and Eleanor looked at each other and paused.  Grace took a deep breath,
let go of Eleanor’s hand and said, “Follow me.”  They climbed down the
ladder - counting all 29 steps carefully.  At the bottom of the stairs,
they found Edgar the Librarian.  He was waiting for them.
    “Good
morning, good morning,” he said fiddling with his hands impatiently, “if it is
morning.  It’s so hard to tell sometimes.  How nice to meet you,
Eleanor.”  It was immediately clear to Grace that he was a lot more
serious than the previous day, even though he was still terribly polite. 
“I didn’t know whether you would be here at all, but I thought I’d wait
anyway.  The thing is I’m just a little worried about Harry.  He
seems to have vanished and I think he has gone out of another door.”
    Grace
wondered whether she should be cross with Harry for not believing her, but for
now she was just worried about him.  There was too much to take in.
    Edgar
continued, “Perhaps it was foolish of me to let him go wandering around on his
own.  It has been such a long time since The Library allowed two doors to
be opened at once; I had forgotten it might be a problem.”
    “What
do you mean ‘The Library allowed’?  Don’t you mean you allowed?’”
asked Eleanor, echoing Grace’s