The Apprentices (The Crimson Guard Trilogy Book 1) by Dana Journey Read Free Book Online

the guards.  They were very accomplished weapon and magic users. 
    By the end of the first week I had mastered most of what they were trying to teach.  The guards and Keeper were very surprised, but I told them that my first master had always said that I was an extremely fast learner.
    A few days later I awoke sore from a hard training day with the shorter guard.  Well, he was not much shorter than me, maybe an inch.  But when he is close enough to land some hard punches you can tell the height difference.  Although I still had a few hours left before I was due for lessons, I decided my bed was no longer where I wanted to be.  I left my room and started to wander.  I had not gone far when I noticed a door, I had not seen before.  Above the door was a single word ‘Cleansing.’  The word reminded me of something, but I could not grasp it as I reached out to open the door.  Before I could the Librarian turned the corner and walked up to me.  In his hand was a small book, the spine was gilded with gold and silver.  There were no words on the leather cover.  He handed it to me.
    “What is this?”  Great question to ask a man who can’t speak .  With no response he walked away.
    I opened the book and on the inside cover was the title ‘Artifacts and Secrets of the Library.’ I read further and it said “Property of The Librarian.”
    Well, that is odd , I thought.  I wondered why he would give me this.  I walked back to my room pondering the book, almost forgetting the ‘Cleansing room.’
    For the next week I trained hard with the taller of the guards.  Having been around him for so long, I decided to refer to him as ‘Too Tall’.  This guard seemed different than the others; maybe it was because he was taller, or maybe because I was learning battle magic.  The battle magic was quickly becoming my favorite.  Odd because not so long ago I trembled at the mere thought of attacking someone.  I had just finished my training when the Keeper summoned me to his reading chamber.  I arrived to find him once again hunched over the same book. 
    “You asked for me.”  I stated more than asked. 
    “Yes, yes.  Come, come.” He stood from the desk holding his hands behind his back.  “I have been told you are doing incredibly well in your training.”  He said with a smile.
    “I am doing my best, just trying to learn as much as I can before I leave.”  His face turned in response to what I said. 
    “Oh, in a hurry to leave are you?”  He asked
    “I have been given a task I must complete.”  I answered.
    “What is this so important task?”  I stopped to think about his question, did I even know what my task was.   Trying to change the subject I asked “I have been wondering the Library after my training sessions, and I found a room with Cleansing above the door, what is in that room?” 
    His face became cold, “did you enter the room?” 
    “No.”  I answered “I was just curious.”
    His face softened again.  “Don’t worry about it just a storeroom.  Now you should get back to your room, don’t wonder too much.  We wouldn’t want you to get into trouble.”
    Ignoring his warning I again wandered through the halls hoping this time to catch a glimpse of Juleen.  Oh, how much I wanted to see her .  I realized at that moment I had not seen her since that first day when I was introduced to her. 
    I had been out and about for an hour or so when I decided to return to my room.  I slipped down on the bed and took out the Librarians’ book.  I flipped through the pages and saw many pictures of rings, other jewelry, hats and books.  Why would someone draw a picture of a book in a book? That made no sense to me.  On the corresponding page was a brief description of what it was and where it was stored in the Library.  I continued to skim through the book when I came to a crude drawing of a bell.  I thought back to the amazing sound created by the golden bell when I had