Radiance - The Alight Archives Book #1

35. Glyph's Shadows

When Micah pushed open the door, Elaine's eyes widened in disbelief. Before them were countless rows of tall, wooden shelves, each one stretching from floor to ceiling, packed with books of all sizes. Elaine had spent many hours perusing her local library's contents back in Page, but she had never seen such a vast quantity of books in her life. 

The shelves were so tightly packed with thick novels and texts that she was amazed that none had slipped loose to the floor. The air was heavy with the scent of old paper and leather bindings, and she couldn't help but feel a sense of awe at the sheer volume of knowledge contained between twin covers.

Micah led Fearne and Custas into the room, with Elaine following behind. As she descended a flight of small, creaky wooden steps, she noticed that there were no visible staircases connecting the different levels of the tower. But as she looked up, she saw long, branch-shaped figures stretching across the large hexagonal gap running up the middle of the tower, connecting one half to the other. Bridges. This kind had a partial, upward curve at the halfway point, reminiscent of the old bridge that arched over the river near her cottage, and the black guardrails they were lined with would prevent even the most clumsy student from stumbling over. 

"Don't daddle, Harwood," she heard Micah order from the front of the group, aiming her an unsmiling glance. "You lot have got a big load today. Best not waste any more time."

"Come on," Kliff sighed next to her. "Casey warned us not to rile him up. Let's try our best to appease him for now, yeah?"

Elaine nodded, albeit a bit flustered. "R...Right."

The library was dimly lit, with the only sources of light being either the occasional lamp situated on a table or the candles of the chandeliers hanging over their heads. Elaine cautiously made her way down a narrow path that had been carved in between towering bookshelves, her steps soft and tentative. 

The path was so cramped that she instinctively stayed at the direct center, fearing that she might accidentally ram her shoulder into a passing shelf or student. Micah's voice could be heard from the front of the group, but Elaine couldn't quite make out what he was saying. A few shuffles in front of her was Kliff Dresden, his curious gaze aimlessly seeking something she remained unaware of.

They had been traversing the bookshelves for a while when it was that they finally wound up on the last row. There, Elaine noticed a magic circle engraved into the wooden floorboards, with turquoise-colored symbols and runes forming its outer rim, stretching all the way to their feet. Micah was the first to step over it, looking a bit frustrated as he urged them to follow. Elaine took a deep breath and gingerly sandwiched her way between Fearne and Custas, who was unsuccessfully trying to hide the redness on his cheeks by covering them with a hand. Elaine couldn't help but giggle softly, but refrained from saying anything to avoid humiliating him further.

As they shuffled closer together in the circle, Micah spoke a command in his authoritative voice. "Floor Black. Special Authorization. Name: Alphone." Suddenly, a bright pillar of light shot up from the circle, the runes on its outer rim spinning rapidly like the wheels of a carriage. Elaine closed her eyes reflexively, but when she opened them again, she found herself transported to a different tier of the library. "This is where you'll be doing your assignment. Follow me, if you will," Micah said, already walking ahead. The others quickly followed, eager to see what lay ahead.

As Elaine took a quick glance around the room, she realized that this floor wasn't any more unique than the ground floor. However, she could tell right away that the bookshelves here carried a much more homogeneous collection of books, and there were far fewer of them. Elaine had been astounded by the variety of books on the ground floor. None of them looked the same and the knowledge that each contained was distinguished from its neighbour. Even if two books discussed the same subject matter, Elaine was sure that their differences would be greater than their similarities.