“Spirit,” I tried again. “Here.”
His pupils grew, consuming the green of his eyes. He said only one word: “Run.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Daniel heaved me back toward the center of the library.
“Dead!” he roared. “The Dead are here! Get out!”
First came whimpers, then shrieks as the people near us flew for the exit. Their feet stampeded on the pine planks.
I yanked free of Daniel and ran to the nearest fire alarm, which dangled on the western wall between two rows of shelves, just out of reach above my head. My eyes caught on a footstool nearby, and I scrambled to it.
“Dead!” Daniel continued bellowing, and then Joseph’s voice joined in.
I dragged the stool to the wall, but a sudden blast of cold surged behind me. I froze midstep and turned my head slowly.
There it was. The bodiless, lightless creature my mother had let loose. It was far worse than I remembered. Blacker, deeper, and radiating death.
I threw myself toward the nearest shelf as splinters exploded. The spirit had smashed into the stool. I bolted out of the aisle and ran for the entrance, where I saw Joseph run and leap into the fountain.
A plaster bust whizzed past my head, missing me by inches. It smashed to the floor and sprayed white dust everywhere.
I didn’t pause, but ran faster toward the front of the library. A sound like agonized fury followed me. It ripped through the air, so high-pitched it barely registered in my ears yet set my skin crawling.
I reached the fountain just as Jie skidded to a halt beside me. Joseph stood as he had the other day, arms extended and eyes squeezed shut. The spirit was nowhere to be seen.
“It moves between the realms,” Joseph said through clenched teeth. “It jumps back and forth. As long as it hovers in the spirit realm, we cannot see or touch it.”
“But how can it do that?” I asked.
“The spirit is strong—stronger than before. The curtain between worlds is no longer a barrier for it.”
“But I can see it,” Daniel said. “With the goggles—I can see it even though it’s in the other world. There!” He pointed back to the circular desk in the center of the library. “It’s there.”
“How do we stop it?” Jie asked.
“I need electricity,” Joseph said. “I can do nothing without a source.”
Daniel yanked off the goggles. “This place ain’t powered. We’ve gotta find something else.”
The black clot formed like a sudden thundercloud over the desk. Daniel shoved me behind him.
Books flew off the desk and hurled toward us. Jie sprang up and intercepted them with fists and flying kicks, and the books pounded to the floor one after the other.
The darkness winked back out.
“It must stay in our realm,” Joseph murmured. Sweat beaded on his brow, and his face was twisted with concentration and effort. “Lure it out or I cannot affect it.”
“Here.” Daniel shoved the goggles in Jie’s hands. “You cover us.” He turned to me. “You look for quartz. Like a prism or part of a small decoration.”
“Quartz?” The word tasted heavy on my tongue—I didn’t see the logic. “Why do you—”
“It’s a power source,” he snapped. “D’you know of any here?”
“N-no.”
“Then you have to look around. Maybe it’s part of a [illegible] or some other bauble.”
“What will you do?” I asked.
“See what other electricity I can find. Now go.” He shoved me toward the western side and darted off toward the east.
I jumped into action, scrambling to the first aisle of shelves, but a quick scan showed only books.
A thump and the flap of pages resounded behind me. I whirled around just as a dictionary thudded at my feet. I jerked my gaze up and saw that Jie had stopped it. But only barely. I had to trust her instincts to protect me.
I rushed from that row and on to the next.
“Down!” Jie screamed, and somehow I reacted. I dropped to the floor, and a crash suddenly filled my ears. Shards of plaster and white powder rained down around me.
That figurine would have killed me.
The thought set me moving again. I raced to the next row of shelves and spared a glance across the room. Daniel seemed no better off than I. He was covered in soil as if he’d survived a potted plant attack.
I skittered into the next aisle, but the spirit was already there. Waiting, its shape like a twisting shadow in the hazy light.
I tried to stop, windmilling my arms to keep from tumbling forward.
In that moment as I fought for my balance, time seemed to stop. This couldn’t end here. Not now, not after we’d finally found a clue about the Exhibition guides and the Dead at the library.
I grasped at a shelf, and my eyes lit on a book spine.
The Nature and Presence of Amethyst.
I knew, deep in the back of my mind, that this meant something. But what?
Darkness consumed my vision, and the stench of grave dirt invaded my nose. Time surged back to its racing pace.