Peter Collins and the Secret Library: Chapter 2: Part 1

For the beginning of Peter Collins and the Secret Library, please read the Prologue.

Chapter 2

The Mace & Willa Library

He was standing at the door of an enormous circular room. The round walls were twenty feet high and a magnificent crystal chandelier hung from the domed top. Nailed into the walls were hundreds of shelves, each one holding a small wooden box with a letter and a number engraved in gold. The carpet was a deep scarlet and at the center there was a large crest with the letters M & W written inside. Two elderly men were piling boxes into a bag and a young woman wearing all green (Peter assumed this was what he saw earlier) talking with someone from behind a small desk. Her back was turned, blocking the person from view.

Peter’s first thought was, Impossible. The room itself was too large to fit it the building and they would have at least seen something through the cracked windows. What is this place, anyway? He took a step forward and he caught small bits of what the lady was saying.  

“...completely gone out of control. Shouting at the top of their lungs, knocking things over. Sometimes I wonder why I decided to have five children. Five! And three was bad enough…”

“I understand, Miranda. What would you like?” It was a woman’s voice.

“Well, I need something to keep them quiet…” said Miranda. “And I just got a new tea set so I’ll need to make another barrier. I think that’s it… Oh, Andrew needs a haircut so I need a trimmer.”

There was the crinkle of paper and the scribbling of a pencil, indicating that the mysterious someone had written something down. Then she folded the paper and handed it to Miranda.

“There you go. G-47, X-22 and S-95 That last one is a little high up. Would you like me to get it for you?”

“Oh. Yes please.”

Peter saw a hand holding a wooden stick appear over the green women's shoulder.

“Summone!”

Peter gasped.

Allison screamed.

The three customers whirled around.

And a box flew from its shelf and hit Miranda on the head.

“Ow!” She cried. Miranda dropped the list and touched the bump on her forehead.

“Oh! I am so sorry…” The woman stood up to help her and Peter and Allison saw her for the very first time.

The woman was a small, pale old woman that had long grey hair with streaks of silver. She was wearing a green dress with several pearls sewn into the fabric and had an emerald ring on her knobby finger. Peter thought she looked strange and beautiful but the strangest and most beautiful thing about her were her eyes. Her eyes were a piercing crimson the color of blood and her pupils deep and ancient, like the pitch black bottom of an abandoned well. And she was looking directly at him.

The chapter will be continued in Chapter 2: Part 2