“I am so confused.” I shook my head with my mouth wide open. “How could a Knight be right under my nose without me seeing him?”
“Stealth is the nature of both Psi Fighter and Walpurgis Knight. Ours by skill, theirs by lies and deception. You are right under his nose and, as far as we know, he has not detected you, either.” The Kilodan turned and pulled a dusty brown book from the massive bookshelf. He handed it to me. I took the book from the Kilodan and noticed that his hand was trembling. I glanced up into his face, though I saw nothing but the emptiness of the mask. The mask looked down at me, and the Kilodan placed his hand gently on my cheek.
“I’m always here for you, Rinnie. But I don’t always know when you need help.” He turned to Andy. “This goes against my better judgment. Protect her.”
“You know I’d die for her,” Andy whispered.
“I know. I’ll probably kill you for talking me into this.”
I laughed and examined the book. A silver hasp held it closed. The leather cover was badly worn, but the silver embossed letters were still readable: The Book of Lore.
“What’s this?” I asked, opening the book.
The Kilodan folded his arms. “It will help you to understand what you’re agreeing to.”
Chapter Seven
The Book of Lore
The day took forever, but school finally finished. I sat with Kathryn in the Greensburg Library, The Book of Lore open on the table in front of us. The place was vacant except for the librarian, who had sent us into a small room behind her desk. We needed privacy, and the Greensburg Library was one of the few safe places above ground I could discuss things with Kathryn.
“So let me get this straight,” Kathryn said. “We’re having Watusi Night at our school and that book is going to teach us the dance steps.”
“Walpurgis,” I whispered.
“Gesundheit. Why are you whispering?”
“Because we’re in the library. You’re supposed to whisper.”
“That’s only in old libraries.” Kathryn waved her hand in dismissal. “Modern libraries are different.”
“Shhhh!” the librarian hissed, shaking her finger at us.
“This place is two hundred years old,” I told her.
Kathryn lowered her voice. “So is the librarian. Why don’t they have a Cone of Silence or something? Now, tell me about this Wisconsin Knight dude, who apparently dwells within the very halls of learning of which we have grown so fond. And why do you think it’s not a chick? Why would you assume women can’t be great warriors? That’s discrimination. I mean, this is the twenty-first century, isn’t it? I actually find myself in mild shock that you are not more progressive in your thinking, Lynn Noelle.”
“I don’t know. I never said it was a guy. I suppose it could be a girl. You know everything about everybody at school. You tell me.”
“Gotta be a dude,” Kathryn said.
“But you just said—”
“Everybody knows knights are guys. Chicks don’t carry swords. Too hard to accessorize.”
“Joan of Arc. What about her? She carried a sword.”
“And look how well that turned out for her. So this ratty old book will help you find the bad guy, huh? What is it? Combating the Forces of Evil for Dummies?”
“Something like that.”
“Well, read on!” Kathryn said.
I unhooked the silver hasp and opened the worn leather cover. A musty smell filled the air. The only thing on the first page was a handwritten note. I read it to Kathryn. “This memory will be passed through time from Kilodan to Kilodan.”
“Groovy. A hand-me-down. Wait, does that mean you’re the next Kilodan? Or is this a loaner? Who do I have to talk to? You’re a shoe-in for this promotion, girl. I’ll take care of it. I’ll tell them everything I know about you.”
Suddenly a soft voice spoke from the doorway. “If you can’t keep your voice down, the entire world will know everything you know about her.”
Kathryn jumped. “Where did you come from?”
I laid my head down on the table with a clunk.
“My mother,” the librarian whispered. “Thirty-four years ago. Not two hundred.”
“Kathryn, Mrs. Simmons,” I said into the tabletop. “Mrs. Simmons, Kathryn.”
Mrs. Simmons patted the top of my head. “Sit upright, please. I know very well who Miss Hollisburg is.”
“How did you get from your desk over there to my blind spot over here without me seeing you move?” Kathryn asked.
I suppressed a giggle. It wasn’t often that I saw Kathryn flustered. “It’s what we do.”
“We?” Kathryn looked from Mrs. Simmons to me and back. “You mean she’s a—”
“I am like you,” Mrs. Simmons said to Kathryn with a smile. “I help people keep their secrets. I guard friendships. We know the things we know because we are faithful and trustworthy, you and I. I know that you would never purposely reveal your friend’s secrets. It is my job to make sure you don’t reveal them accidentally. So please keep your voice down. Do I make myself clear?”