Shift by Raine Thomas Read Free Book Online

would have had to undergo to locate the scroll piece. Her uncle noted her reaction, too. He reached over and took her hand. It made Sophia consider the fact that Quincy had no one to comfort him like that.
    “We don’t know where the library is,” Uncle Gabriel said.
    Aunt Amber frowned. “Huh?”
    Looking around at all of them, he explained, “The library is protected by the same kind of enchantments that protect Central and our homes. Its location is contained on a map.”
    “Where’s the map?” Clara Kate asked.
    Archigos Zayna spoke up for the first time. “It was entrusted into the care of an Estilorian who has been removed from society for a number of centuries. His name is Hoygul. Hoygul the Scultresti.”

Chapter 6
     
     
    Quincy was unsurprised by the approach of Malukali and Knorbis. The two elders with the strongest mental abilities were married and did nearly everything together. In truth, he envied their close relationship.
    That didn’t make him feel any more hospitable toward them at the moment.
    “May we come in?” Malukali asked when he answered the door to his cottage.
    “Of course,” he replied automatically, stepping aside and allowing the couple to enter.
    He had decided to retire to his cottage rather than return to the gathering at Gabriel’s. It had just felt like too much to participate in the conversation. Knowing that Malukali could easily intercept his thoughts, he had conveyed what he remembered to her and asked her to make excuses for his failure to return.
    She and Knorbis now moved inside, walking over to the sofa situated in the small gathering area just to the left of the entrance. An arched doorway at the rear of the gathering area led to his bedroom. The bulk of the cottage was comprised of Quincy’s clinic, however. A door to the right of the front entry led to the clinic, as did a second door from outside. Because the cottage was located very near to the central training paddock, it received quite a few visitors, especially if Gabriel or Amber weren’t around to heal injuries.
    Quincy knew the polite thing to do would be to offer the elders something to eat or drink, but he didn’t want to encourage an extended visitation. Instead, he took one of the two chairs adjacent to the couch.
    “How can I help in the retrieval of the scroll piece?” he asked, deciding to get right to the point.
    “You can’t,” Malukali replied. “You know very well that Saraqael’s next grandchildren are due at any moment.”
    He flinched at the reference to his friend, but couldn’t argue.
    “You’re needed here, Quincy. You are the most qualified Estilorian to deliver the Kynzesti.”
    Knorbis added, “Zayna knows the way to Hoygul’s cottage. She just left with Uriel and a host of Waresti to get the map to the library. Then they’ll retrieve the scroll piece and bring it back here.”
    Quincy frowned. “Here? Why would we endanger those who live here by bringing such a thing among them?”
    “It will only be temporary,” Malukali explained. “We need a heavily protected area to contain the scroll piece while we gather the others. Once the scroll is again assembled, we will determine what to do with it.”
    “I don’t like it,” Quincy said, but he knew there were few options. “That aside, does archigos Zayna think she’ll be able to find the exact location of the scroll piece within the library? I found it completely by chance all those years ago, and I couldn’t tell her where it is even if I tried.”
    “No,” Knorbis agreed, “you couldn’t. A being’s memory of the library’s location is erased once he leaves it. Similarly, the contents viewed there are usually erased. The fact that you retained this particular line in your memory, even though it was suppressed, is very curious.”
    “I’m not sure that particular enchantment works,” Quincy argued. “Saraqael retained full knowledge of the scroll he read even after leaving the library.”
    “You