Talon Academy

Chapter Fifteen

I puzzled over the brittle pages that seemed like delicate petals threatening to fall apart. My fingers gently turned each page hoping to find even the trail of ink but no matter how many pages I turned they all remained blank. I had expected more than a void of pale yellow papers with no story to tell.

Sighing, I leaned back in my chair and closed the strange book. The leather felt soft under my fingers as I trailed my hand along the gold spirals. It was so beautiful and yet there was nothing written inside. I would have thought something that looks this old, maybe 50 years or even 100 years old, would have a great tale inside just waiting to be learned. Yet there was nothing, not even a title or name indicating who it belonged to.

I still don't understand why a beautiful yet empty book would be resting on the shelf of our common room. It made no sense that it lay between the work of Shakespeare but had no story to compare. What I had thought was a mysterious book was just ... empty, with no secrets locked within.

Faster than lightning, I flung open my door and burst into Rachel's room. She jumped in her bed in fright before throwing a pillow at me.

Annoyed she yelled, "Liz! Can't you just knock like a normal person. What do you want?"

Smiling excitedly I asked, "Can I borrow your UV torch?"

One of her perfectly shaped eyebrows raised up in question as she got out of her bed, "May I ask why you need it?"

I paused for a second before replying, "Just to check something."

She returned from her cupboard with the torch in her hand. With a sigh she held it out, "You've changed. You no longer tell me things and now you keep more secrets."

I knew she was right and a sadness creeped into me. Over the past few months I had stopped sharing things with her. Before I would tell her almost everything, from how awful school was to how much I liked a certain movie. Now, I couldn't tell her everything but this book wasn't really dragonrider related. It didn't feel right keeping so much away from her but this book could be my redemption.

I took the torch from her before smiling, "Come on. Since you're so curious you can help me."

A smile broke on her face before she hugged me. I melted into the hug and pressed my face into her shoulder. She whispered in my year and my eyes clouded in an attempt to stop the tears.

Pulling back I replied, "I was beginning to miss you too."

Smiling happily, I led her to the strange book and gasping she lightly touched the leather cover. She opened the book and was met by the same blank pages that I had seen. She looked back at me in confusion.

"They're all blank and there isn't even a single word written anywhere. That's why I wanted the torch," I explained. She nodded her head with understanding and stepped to the side so I could shine the torch on the pages.

If this beautiful book really did have secrets or a tale to tell then maybe it was hidden. If so then the torch would show the invisible writing that we couldn't see. I clicked open the torch and watched as the purple glow swept across the page. Frowning, Rachel turned over the page and then the next. There was still nothing.

Disappointed, I turned off the torch and closed the book once more. I placed the torch beside it and sat on my bed with a sigh. Rachel sat beside me and looked over at the gold spirals engraved within the leather.

"Where did you get it from anyways?" She asked turning towards me.

"It was in the common room."

"Common room? I thought only 6th years have common rooms."

"We have one too and there is a bookshelf there. That's where I found it."

She paused to think before proposing, "Maybe it's not even a book. It could be a notebook that belongs to someone."

"I guess. It just looks too old and too big to be a notebook. Who would want to carry around such a heavy book as a notebook," I pointed out.

"Good point. Still, it would explain why it has no title. Someone could have bought it a long time ago and left it in the common room by accident. The Academy looks old enough to have been around for centuries now."

"Who would leave it in the bookshelf though?" I let my body fall backwards and closed my eyes.

"You mistook it for a book. What if someone else did as well and put it in the bookshelf?"

"That makes sense. That's probably what happened," I mused, "I just thought that it would be more exciting."

"Because of the cover and how beautiful it is? Well you should know not to judge a book by it's cover," she gave me a pretend look of disappointment that made me laugh.

I sat up as I shook my head at her, "Oh come on. No matter how many times people say that we still judge a book by it's cover. The cover tells us a bit about the story within. It raises our expectations and makes us curious. That's why books have a cover."

"This time it didn't really do its job that well it seems."

"Exactly. I went through so much trouble to get it back and it was all for nothing."

Confusion filled her face as she asked, "I thought you got it from a bookshelf?"

"I did at first but this jerk took it with him by accident so I had to get it from him. He enjoys pushing my buttons and making fun of me so it wasn't fun at all."

Her confusion turned into humor as she teased, "Who is this guy that seems to be getting on your nerve?"

"His name's Roubin. He likes messing with people and we have come to hate each other over the last two months."

"He hates you? Wouldn't have thought so if he goes through all this effort."

"Nope, just stop. He does hate me and he's the type of jerk that messes with people for his own amusement just because he's bored."

"Oh then probably best to stay away from him."

"Exactly. Now enough of this; am I the only one that's starving."

Laughing she replied, "Nope, I am as well. Let's go get food from downstairs and then watch a movie."

"Sounds like a plan."