Creeping Shadow (The Rise of Isaac, Book One) by Caroline Peckham Read Free Book Online Page B

of a corridor then hightailed it back the way he had come as he spotted them barrelling past.
    "What's all that racket?" Ely called from a corridor to their right and Oliver veered down it in response.
    He strode towards a door which was left ajar; a narrow strip of light stretched towards them across the floor. Oliver took a calming breath and pushed the door lightly so it swung open on creaky hinges.
    He couldn't help but be distracted by the vast room that lay ahead of him. It was a library of a thousand books all organised in the most unusual way. The floor was made of crystal-clear glass that looked down upon hundreds of books which were perfectly arranged into a spiral beneath the pane. The walls were similar, rising several floors high in a circle of glass as if they were inside a tunnel of books.
    Oliver opened and shut his mouth as he spotted Ely beside a glass podium in the centre of the room.
    Ely smiled at them as they entered. "A little elaborate, I know, but this library is state of the art. I had it fitted last year. You can type in the book you'd like to read on this screen and it'll retrieve it for you. And if you don't know what you want you can browse the entire library right here, it's all at your fingertips."
    Oliver felt the pieces of the letter in his hand and was reminded of the reason he had been looking for his grandfather. His anger had diminished slightly which, he thought, was probably a good thing. "Ely we need to talk to you about something."
    Ely raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Oh? And what might that be?"
    Oliver lifted his hand and opened his palm so some of the pieces of paper fell to the floor.
    Ely paused, eyeing it with a fearful look. "What's that?" he asked.
    "It's a letter from a man called Hawking, addressed to you." Oliver kept his voice steady, gauging his grandfather's reaction carefully.
    May looked between the two of them nervously.
    "Oh, is it now? And where did you find that then?" Ely asked, walking towards him slowly.
    "In your room," Oliver admitted, jutting up his chin.
    Ely's nostrils flared. "You went in my room?" His voice was a little too high for Oliver to be fooled by his calm tone.
    "Yes," Oliver said.
    "We just wanted to know more about you. You haven't told us anything," May tried to explain.
    "That letter is private," Ely said.
    Oliver stiffened and tried to bite back his anger but it burst from his lips anyway. "You're involved with covering up Mum's disappearance. You know what happened to her, don't you? Where is she?!"
    Ely's face contorted angrily. "How dare you? I've done no such thing!"
    "That Hawking guy hid what happened to her room. It was ripped to pieces and no one believed us!" Oliver shouted, unable to control his rage.
    "You don't understand!" Ely retorted.
    "How can we understand? You don't tell us anything! We know nothing about our family and you've hidden anything that could tell us about them!" Oliver snapped.
    "That's enough ," Ely growled. "Go to your rooms. Both of you!"
    "Ely if you'd just explain-" May begged, looking painfully uncomfortable with the confrontation.
    "I said enough ! Out. Now ," Ely demanded, pointing towards the door.
    Oliver threw the handful of paper to the floor in a shower of white pieces then stormed from the room, hurrying upstairs.
    May followed Oliver closely and shut the door behind them as they entered his room.
    "We need to call someone," Oliver said, turning sharply around to face his sister.
    "You just threw away the evidence!" May said, sounding frantic.
    Oliver swore loudly at his stupidity.
    "You don't think straight when you're angry," May accused.
    "I'm sorry, alright?" he snapped.
    She rolled her eyes and marched out of the room, shutting the door firmly behind her.
    Oliver threw himself down on the bed, balling his fists in the sheets as his mind rushed with questions.
     

5
    A Dark Fate
     
    O liver had spent the rest of the day in his room, passing out finally at midnight to the sound of heavy rain