Witch's Brew - Spellspinners 1 (Spellspinners of Melas County) by Heidi R. Kling Read Free Book Online Page A

set of stairs that led to Father’s private library.
    Like the rest of the house, the room was dimly lit with dark painted walls. Large, thick-cushioned couches formed a rectangle on the black wood floor, and a skylight above them provided some much-needed illumination. A Parisian rug hung from the curtain rod between two of the floor-to-ceiling bookshelves.
    With umpteen rows of books on witches.
    He sighed, running his fingers through his hair. Searching them all would take days. He opened the first one.
    As he flipped through its chapters searching for anything about an amulet with a tear-shaped stone, he thought about Lily.
    Nothing.
    He slid the book back into its place, and felt a buzz on his thigh. Her amulet in his pocket began to pulse.
    Quickly, he pulled it out and held it, flat, in his palm. It grew warmer, and just when it was getting to the burning point, it spun. Then stopped. Angled toward a book on the third shelf.
    The binding was glowing.
    Wary that it could be hot, too, he took off his shirt and used it like a potholder, to slide the book out.
    The pages flipped open on their own, gold-edged and glowing.
    And stopped at an illustration of a wizened old woman he could only guess was a witch, standing in the center of a ring of stones. She was pointing a glowing sword into the sky, lightning striking its tip.
    So witches hadn’t always had the gift of eternal youth that they possessed now? Interesting. How did they obtain it? And how could the warlocks get the same benefit? Could it be earned in the Gleaning? Was that why this year was so much more important to Father? Because his aging was now so accelerated, this was his last chance to reverse the process?
    Logan leaned in for a closer look; the woman in the picture was wearing an amulet.
    Identical to the one flashing in his hand.
    He ripped the page out of the book, folded it carefully, and tucked it into his pocket. After ensuring all the books were exactly where they belonged, he headed out to confide in Chance, both about meeting Lily last week, looking for her in the clearing every evening since, and what he’d found here.

The Roghnaithe
     
    Lily
    After school I headed straight for the Melas Public Library.
    Maybe it was just an offhand comment, but what Orchid had said about our being an “endangered species” had freaked me out for some reason.
    “Good afternoon, Lily,” Mrs. Glumberg said, as soon as I stepped through the automatic doors.
    “Hi. How are you?” I asked.
    “My gout is better! Thanks for the tip about the cherries,” she said.
    “Anytime. So glad to hear it.”
    “So what are you looking for today?”
    “Can I have the key to the fifth floor?” I asked quietly.
    “Hmm, that’s for students normally.”
    “I promise, I’ll be like, five minutes. Max,” I reached into my bag and pulled out a glass bottle of special cherry elixir I whipped up for her in case she needed some extra encouragement to hand over the key, and set it on the counter. “Oh, here. We made this especially for you.”
    “How very sweet!” She glanced around to make sure no one was watching before she pulled her private set of keys out of her purse, and used one to open a drawer behind the counter.
    The golden key flashed in my palm.
    “Thanks a lot,” I said, closing my fingers around it before she noticed its magical response.
    “I hope you find what you’re looking for,” she said, innocently.
    She and Iris were old friends, and I wasn’t sure how much she knew about the Fifth Floor. So I just said, “Thanks, me too.”
    The elevator only went to the fourth floor. I got off there and took a hidden flight of stairs to a locked door that said ARCHIVED BOOKS: NO PATRONS ALLOWED BEYOND THIS POINT WITHOUT SPECIAL PERMISSION. When I slipped the golden key into the lock, the doorknob magically twisted and opened for me.
    The fifth floor was a large, dusty archive that patrons were only allowed to use with permission from Mrs. Glumberg.
    To