Pegasus and the Mirrored Ones

Chapter 14

Annabeth's POV:

Following somebody is a lot more effort than I thought it would be. Another fact I learnt is that Emily, although calling herself a New Yorker, cannot find her way around the city. It took around fifty tries until she finally found the right street. By this point I was bored out of my mind. All of those murder mysteries with detectives creeping around had it wrong. Or maybe there was something seriously wrong with her.

I walked through the main doors, taking in the beautiful sight. There were books everywhere, spilling out of shelves and stacked up on the floor. An old grand piano stood in the corner with all of the keys replaced with thick leather bound books. To me, this was heaven. The only thing I wanted to do was just stop no stare as I drank the fantastical image before me.

Emily seemed to have other ideas. I hid behind a display case and watched as she walked towards the librarian's desk. Behind it was a woman in her late thirties with bushy brown hair. She looked up as Emily placed her hands on the desk.

"How may I help you?" The lady asked.

Emily's face softened as if the lady's voice brought her bittersweet memories. "Miss Linwood," she replied gently. "It's me. Emily"

The woman, this Miss Linwood's, hazel eyes widened behind her thick frames. "Emily!" She cried joyfully. "It's been so long since I last saw you! How is your mother?"

Emily halfsmiled. "She apologises for not coming in sooner. We had some family issues." For what seemed the millionth time today, I felt confused. I thought Emily's mother was dead? Several parts of this story didn't add up. I was still in my thoughts when I heard Emily speak again. "Please can I have my mum's keys? I have some work to do back there." Miss Linwood handed a pair of large iron keys with a smile "No problem. We do need to catch up again Emily. You've grown up so much from the little girl you were when you first came."

Again, Emily wore that wistful look, but it was covered quickly with a blinding smile. She thanked the librarian again and went through a mahogany door marked 'U0IVZT3ERS ONIYY' I squinted my eyes as I tried to decipher the peculiar lettering, before realising with a start that it read 'VOLUNTEERS ONLY'. As soon as the door had shut, I walked briskly to the desk.

"So," "I wanted to ask about Emily, she's a friend of mine, how do you know each other?"

Miss Linwood looked at me carefully. "Well of course, I would tell you, but why do you want to know?" I was about to speak when she cut me off. Rude. "I first met Emily when she was, oh I don't know, 3 or 4? She and her mother were reading a book together and I went up to them and we started talking. Shortly afterwards I offered her a volunteer position here and she accepted. I haven't seen them both for five years or so?"

"And when did you last see Emily?" Something wasn't adding up here.

"Oh when she was 10 or so. By the way, isn't it nearly her 16th birthday soon?" I was shocked. It sounded like the Emily Miss Linwood knew wasn't the Emily I knew. Or thought I knew. Seems like she's hiding things from both of us. I thanked Miss Linwood and turned to leave. When she wasn't watching I slipped my yankees cap on and darted through the door.

Inside it was pitch black. I let my eyes adjust to the sudden darkness and realised I was in a storage room. Books with broken spines and torn covers roamed the walls, mixing in with books that seemed to have never seen the light of day. There were hardcovers decorated with complex patterns and some in unknown languages.

I walked forward to another door ajar. There was a large keyhole in it, it must have been the one matched with the key Miss Linwood gave Emily. Thankfully Emily hadn't relocked the door so I was able to squeeze through the small space. I heard a voice singing gently under their breath. I turned to the left and saw Emily sitting on the floor cross legged stroking the pages of a book.

I strained my ears to try and catch what she was saying:

"I can swear I can joke

I say what's on my mind

If I drink or I smoke

I keep it with the guys

And you see me holding up my middle finger to the world

Fuck your ribbons and your pearls

Cause I'm not just a pretty girl"

I stepped forward, trying to read the front of the book. I struggled with the words until I realised it was written in Greek: "η προέλευση και η πτώση της τιτανομαχίας". The Origins and the Fall of the Titanomachy. Why would Emily want to read about the Titanomachy? She denied being a demigod and yet here she was reading Greek fluently? The more I found, the more I wanted to know the truth? Could we really trust Emily? Were we letting an enemy into our midst?

I watched as Emily picked up the book and another one from the shelf and turned around. I quickly walked to a corner of the room and held my breath as she entered the door that she has come from. I followed her so that I wouldn't be locked in. Emily went back into the library and handed the key back to Miss Linwood.

"Do you mind if I borrow this book?" I heard her ask. "I can work on translating it back home and turning it into a digital copy."

Miss Linwood replied "Of course honey, you don't need to ask me. Remember you're a volunteer."

Emily gave her a small smile. "See you soon then Miss Linwood." She waved goodbye and headed out of the main doors.

I approached Miss Linwood. "I'm sorry can I ask just one more question?" I continued without letting Miss Linwood reply. What is Emily's mother called?"

She looked surprised. "But if you are a friend of Emily, how do you not know her mum?"

"Emily and I have only been friends for a short while and I haven't met any of her family yet." I mean, I wasn't lying."

"If you must know, Emily's mother is called Sarah and her dad is called Steve, although I don't know much about him other than he is a police officer."

So the Jacobs family is made up of Sarah, Steve and Emily. More facts for me to use. And more things to search up.

Thank you so much for 200 reads! I'm sorry if the Greek is wrong; I used google translate.