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Hali’s eyebrows shot up. “But that’s easier said than done, I’m afraid. I acquired this particular grimoire from the Bellerose estate, but there was no sign of any coded message to go along with it.”
“The Bellerose estate, you say? That’s . . . curious.” Illyria’s expression darkened for a moment, and Hali had to wonder what thoughts were churning behind that elegant visage. “The Belleroses were quite the scholars of primordials and prehistory, if I recall correctly. It seems unlikely they would have kept such a thing in secret, but one never knows.”
Hali’s smile faltered. But the primordials were Osric’s area of expertise. Could it all be a coincidence, or was there something more at play? She shook her head, trying to dispel the sudden cloud of suspicion. Surely it was nothing. Just her overactive imagination, as usual.
“Unlikely, but not impossible,” Hali said, her mind already spinning with the possibilities. “If there is a coded psassage it’s meant to unlock, then it could be anything. A love letter, a secret treaty, a map to some long-lost treasure . . .”
Illyria’s eyes gleamed with excitement, and she leaned in, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. “Or a prophecy. Imagine that—a grand, ancient prophecy, just waiting to be revealed. It’s enough to make a scholar’s heart race, is it not?”
“Oh, I can only dream. But who would have gone to such lengths to encode it, I wonder? There was nothing else in the collection to indicate it was part of a set.” Hali’s shoulders slumped. “It’s a dead end, I’m afraid.”
Illyria’s smile was undimmed. “For now. But you never know what might turn up. The world is a vast and wondrous place, my dear. Secrets have a way of coming to light, if one is patient and persistent enough.”
“I’ll keep my eyes and ears open, then. If there is a coded message out there, I will do my best to find it.”
Illyria reluctantly closed the grimoire and slid it back to Halizanth. “I fear we may have reached the limits of my knowledge, at least for the time being. But the offer stands, should you wish to return and continue your research. The Starlight Sanctum boasts an extensive library, and I would be more than happy to lend you a hand.”
Halizanth’s heart soared. A whole library of mystical tomes and ancient texts from places Uncle Lysander had only told her of. “Oh, I would love that! I can’t remember the last time I had someone to collaborate with on a research project. It’s all too easy to get lost in one’s own head, you know.”
Illyria smiled, a warm, soothing presence. “I do, indeed. The pursuit of knowledge can be a lonely path, but it need not be. There is much we can learn from one another, if we but take the time to listen.”
“Exactly! Oh, I can already envision myself getting lost in your library for hours on end. Unraveling secrets that have lain dormant for centuries, and all that.” Halizanth’s eyes sparkled with excitement. “Perhaps I’ll even uncover the key to that coded message, and we’ll unlock a grand prophecy together.”
Illyria’s laughter was like tinkling bells, and Halizanth found herself already looking forward to hearing it again. “A lovely thought, my dear. Why don’t we make it a date, then? Say, next week? I’ll prepare a selection of texts for us to peruse, and we’ll see what wonders we might uncover.”
Halizanth beamed. “I would like that very much.”
As Hali stepped out of the Starlight Sanctum, the last rays of the sun were painting the sky in shades of rose and gold. She lingered on the front steps, gazing up at the elegant facade of the old townhouse, a sense of wonder and possibility filling her. What had been a mere curiosity shop to her before now felt like a doorway to a whole new world of potential. She could almost hear the books calling to her from within, their secrets beckoning.
With a skip in her step, she set off towards the Folio & Fancy, her mind already racing with thoughts of the research that awaited her. She had a new theory to test, a new avenue to explore, and the prospect filled her with an almost giddy excitement. The coded message was still a mystery, the grimoire’s secrets still out of reach, but for the first time, she felt like she was on the right path.
The lights of the Folio & Fancy were already glowing in the gathering dusk when Hali turned the corner onto her street. She’d been so lost in thought, so caught up in the memory of the afternoon’s revelations, that she’d almost forgotten the troubling questions that lingered at the back of her mind. The coded message, the strange break-in attempts, the shadowy figures that seemed to be lurking just out of sight—there was something happening, something she couldn’t yet grasp. But for now, she pushed those thoughts aside, her heart still light with the promise of the research that lay ahead.
She was so lost in her daydreams that she didn’t notice the figure waiting for her in front of the shop until she drew closer, and the figure stepped forward, out of the shadows.
“Osric!” Hali’s heart gave a little leap in her chest, and she felt an absurd, theatrical thrill at the sight of him, as if they were the star-crossed lovers of one of her beloved romances. “What are you doing here?”
“Hali.” His voice was a low, smoldering caress, and her name sounded like a secret, a promise. He took her hands in his, the warmth of his touch sending a shiver down her spine. “I’ve been looking for you.”
Hali’s heart fluttered, and she had to resist the urge to throw herself into his arms. “I’m right here, you silly man. There’s no need to look.” She tilted her head up to look at him, and her pulse sped up at the intensity in his golden eyes. “Is everything all right? Did something happen?”
He hesitated for a moment, as if weighing his words. “I’m not sure. But I have a . . . a theory, you might say. A rather dangerous one, at that. But I need your help to test it.”
Hali’s heart raced. “Anything. You know I’ll do whatever I can.”
He reached up to tuck a stray curl of hair behind her ear, his touch surprisingly gentle. “I know you will. That’s why I came to you.” He took a deep breath, as if bracing himself. “I believe that the grimoire you found is the key to something much larger. And I have an idea for how we might use it to draw out our mysterious friends.”
Hali lifted one brow. “Draw them out? But how?”
“The grimoire. If we make it known it’s at the shop again, then . . . Well, I have a feeling they’ll come calling.”
Hali’s eyes widened, and she clutched at his hands. “But I can’t risk the grimoire! It’s far too precious, and I have no idea what they want it for. What if they try to destroy it, or worse?—”
“I won’t let that happen. I swear it.” He squeezed her hands, his grip steady and strong. “But I believe this is the only way to flush them out. To finally get the answers we seek.”
The chance to unravel the mystery that had been haunting her, to confront the strange forces that had descended upon her little shop—it was a lot to take in. But when she looked into Osric’s eyes, she saw nothing but unwavering determination, and a glimmer of that same fierce hope that was burning in her own heart.
“Okay,” she said, her voice surprisingly steady. “Okay. Let’s do it.”
