The Protection of Ren Crown Read Free Page A

collapsed back into my seat and took the ward stone she handed to me. I placed the stone on top of the folio and papers. Using the ward stone would shave three minutes off my allowance tally, but running again would expend five.
    “Lucky?” She gave me an unimpressed look. “Normal magic users, the kind who get four hours here because the library can't be bothered to eat them sooner, can't do that.” She pointed at the creations on my pages.
    “I'm normal!” I argued. “People do crazy things at school all the time.”
    “Excelsine educates some of the most powerful young magic users anywhere.” It sounded like she was reading from a brochure, her voice haughty and disdainful. “You aren't used to normal, Ren. Or average. Most mages would be jealous of your one-hour limit here and what it means.”
    “Eh,” I said, equally dismissive, as I stood and approached the web of wards. “Bursts of madness are great, definitely, but if a mage is diligent, she can build magic into a device or ward over time and make powerful things no matter her power level.”
    And then spend as much time as she wanted here , enveloped by magic.
    I wrapped myself in another ward and breathed it in before letting it go. I drew it with fast and sure fingers, then chewed the cap at the end of my pencil, examining the complicated image to make sure everything was correct.
    “I think people underestimate the importance of diligence and working at something for years, Sistine Chapel style,” I mused.
    “Nothing you say will convince me that you would rather spend three months doing something that takes you twenty minutes now.”
    “Time itself? I could use a vacation.”
    Something akin to a growl came from Olivia.
    “Being an idiot means I'm normal,” I said cheerfully, tickled. The Olivia Price of two months ago wouldn't growl.
    Ten minutes later, I had completed three more papers. Olivia poked a finger toward the clock in the corner. When I looked up, a single digit appeared on the face, indicating my remaining library time.
    “Almost done. Do you think—?”
    My query was lost in a massive boom that shook the entire building.
    Olivia immediately swept everything into her bag and thrust her chair back.
    I followed suit, fumbling with the strap of my bag as I shook off the arms of the chair that tried to pin me in place. “I have seven more minutes .”
    “No. This is an attack.” She was already at the end of the gallery and peering around the corner before the sentence had fully left her lips. She frantically dug two small devices out of her bag and activated a small silver bracelet. A tangerine shield sprung around her.
    “On the library?” I said incredulously.
    “Artifacts, Ren.” The devices she had grabbed from her bag whirled in her palms lighting her hazel eyes with the emerald halo of one device and the topaz of the other. “The library is full of priceless pieces that people want. But also full of magical protection—active, inactive, and sentient. Stupid thieves.”
    The marble beneath our feet started swirling, as if responding to her words about its sentience. Olivia looked at the marble with distaste and a little fear. “Ugh, I hate it here,” she hissed.
    Another boom shook the space around us. I waited for Olivia to take off running, but she kept her position.
    “Does this happen often?” I whispered, watching the active marble swirl closer. But Olivia didn't move, even as other mages sprinted past us, down the main corridor, running toward the atrium and the single exit at the far end.
    “No.” Olivia gripped the emerald device. “The library exterminates all threats.”
    And just like that, the swirls in the marble gathered into a solid fist and shot out into the main corridor, like a predator chasing fleeing prey, and rammed one of the fleeing mages down into the stone floor.
    My heart stopped beating, and sound grew confusing.
    “...is very bad, ” I heard Olivia say, once my panic sharpened to