To his shock, she walked right up to him. Her smile was crooked, and her eyes were nervous as they darted from him to Rayne and then settled on him. Rayne straightened from where he’d been bent over his book and offered the woman a politely inquisitive look.
“Hi,” she said and gave a seemingly nervous wave. “Sorry to bother you, but I was talking to one of the librarians. He mentioned that you were studying the mythology of the Gods War. I thought you might find this book useful if you haven’t tried it yet.” As she spoke, she placed a folded piece of paper on the table near the book that was open in front of Caelan. “I hope that helps you find what you’re searching for.”
She quickly spun around and walked out of the library.
Caelan glanced up at Rayne to find that his friend was staring at the last spot they could see the student.
“That was…interesting,” Rayne murmured.
“Definitely.”
Caelan picked up the piece of paper and opened it. Written in crisp, clean handwriting was:
Abbott’s Definitive Guide to the Great Gods War: Volume 1
272.006
Caelan flipped the paper so Rayne could read it as well.
“The funny thing is that I did check out this book two days ago. I didn’t read it cover to cover, but I can’t say that I found anything particularly helpful in it. There was no mention of Zyros in it. Abbott blamed the war on a falling out between Tula and Nyx, which I will say they both laughed loudly at.”
Rayne’s eyes followed the paper as Caelan set it on the table, his arms folded over his chest. “I’m more intrigued by the ‘hope you find what you’re searching for’ comment. Maybe she knows that we’re not just seeking reasons behind the Gods War.”
Caelan’s eyebrows jumped toward his hairline and he leaned in to drop his voice even lower. “The godstone?”
“I was thinking Feroz. I don’t think it’s a stretch to believe that others have realized that we’re not from Ilon and that we’re part of the group searching for him.”
A wide grin spread across Caelan’s face. “So…could be help, or it could be a trap?”
Rayne stretched out his hand for the piece of paper. “Would you like me to fetch the book?”
Caelan snatched up the paper and pressed it to his chest. “Absolutely not!” he gasped.
“Your Majesty,” Rayne pressed in a low, hard voice, but that only made Caelan roll his eyes.
“She gave it to me. I get to go. Just because you’re bored—”
“I’m not bored!” Rayne hissed, jerking his hand back. “I’m thinking about your safety.”
“Well, I am bored. I’m going. You stay here.” He pushed to his feet, earning a glare from Rayne. “I promise to make a lot of noise if someone attacks or tries to kidnap me.”
“I’m very tempted to let them have you,” Rayne muttered.
Caelan chuckled to himself as he started to walk along the rows of bookshelves. He glanced at the paper and then up at the numbers on the end of the rows to find the right section. The book was located only about five rows from their table. If Caelan so much as dropped a book on the floor, Rayne would be able to hear him.
He paused and stared down the rows on either side of the one he needed to find that both were empty. So was the one he needed. His eyes skimmed over the numbers, the colors of the various spines blurring together into a fragmented rainbow before he located the thick tome by Mr. Abbott. From his first reading of the book, the man was long winded for not saying much that was helpful or accurate. At least, accurate as far as the gods were concerned.
Prior to touching the book, Caelan quickly inspected the shelf and the surrounding books, but nothing looked like it had been tampered with. With extreme care, he slowly slid the guide from its place, his entire body tensed and ready for an explosion or maybe an attack.
Nothing happened.
Except for the fact that he felt like an idiot.
Groaning softly to himself, Caelan started paging through the book as he strolled to the table he was sharing with Rayne. Halfway through the massive tome he located a scrap of paper with an address and time written in a hastier script. Below that was a single name: Feroz.
When he reached the table, he slapped the paper down in front of Rayne and added the book to the stack already sitting between them.
“Oh. That is very interesting,” Rayne practically purred with glee.