The Familiars: Secrets of the Crown. Adam Epstein

magnifying glass and rubbed her eyes wearily. Feynam poured himself a tall glass of water from a jug on the table.

      “Brannfalk’s Crown, the Golden Crown of the Clouds, the Twin Crowns of Yajmada,” said the Elder. “But nothing at all about a Crown of the Snow Leopard.”

      “Don’t lose faith,” said Queen Loranella. “An old friend of mine used to say, ‘You always find what you’ve been searching for in the last place you look.’”

      Aldwyn could tell by the smiles on the children’s faces that they had heard this from the same source she had – Kalstaff.

      The front door of the Archives opened, and the librarian entered. Curiously, she was empty-handed.

      “You forgot the candles,” said Jack. “How are we going to be able to see?”

      “Yes,” replied the librarian, somewhat sheepishly, “they’re in rather high demand right now. The shops were sold out. I’m so sorry, Your Majesty.”

      “No need to apologise,” said the queen. “We’ll work by moonlight if necessary.”

      The librarian walked back to her seat behind the front desk, stepping right past a trio of the slimy bookworms that had found their way back inside during her absence. Aldwyn found it curious that now she ignored them, seeing how quick she had been to retrieve her broom before. Perhaps the exhausting day of research had taken its toll on her as well.

      “You said most of the Almanacs were in the Reference section,” Marianne called to the librarian. “Where are the rest?”

      “Let me check the catalogues,” she replied. Aldwyn was certain she was fatigued now, as this was the first time all day she hadn’t had a ready response to one of their queries.

      “I think I’ve found something,” said Dalton, sounding rather unsure about it.

      “You did?” asked Jack.

      “Yeah, right here, in the Wizard’s Almanac of Fables,” said Dalton, his excitement growing. “It’s written in Elvish, but I think I can translate it.”

      “Move over, move over,” said Sorceress Edna. “I’m fluent in all dialects of the Wood People.” She nudged him aside with her large rear end so that she was sitting in front of the book, and put her magnifying glass up to the page. “Ah, yes. The boy is right. Cheluji tui kiraumo. Snow leopard’s crown.” She continued to scan the page, deciphering bits and pieces. “The story tells of a young elvin warrior who went searching for this mythical treasure. Lots of details about the rituals he performed before leaving, and the possessions he brought with him.”

      Everybody was huddled around Edna now, hanging on the sorceress’s every word.

      “Any clue as to what the Crown is or where it is hidden?” asked Marianne.

      “Patience, young lady,” answered Edna, who moved the reading lens slowly across every word. “Tanah nok tahni. He carried with him a crocodile-tooth dagger, and wore mufahji round his neck. Rain charms.” She flipped to the next page.

      That’s when Aldwyn’s attention was drawn to the librarian again. She was on her knees, muttering aloud before the three thumb-long bookworms.

      “Uh, Jack.” He nudged his loyal.

      “Not now, Aldwyn,” the boy replied without even giving him a look.

      Aldwyn found the librarian’s actions quite peculiar. Had she lost her mind? Was she trying to reason with the worms? Whatever it was, it wasn’t normal. Maybe she—

      Were the worms getting bigger?

      Oh yes, they most certainly were. They were now as thick as watermelons, and as long as pythons.

      “Jack!” Aldwyn shouted, clawing at the boy’s sleeve.

      “Ow,” cried Jack. “What did you do that—”

      Then Jack saw it too. In the short seconds it took to get the young wizard’s attention, the slither of bookworms had expanded to the size of wine barrels. The librarian remained on the floor, reciting what sounded a lot like a magic spell.

      “Guys,” Jack called to the others, “you better look at this!”

      Everyone turned round.

      The once tiny and harmless-looking bookworms were now eight feet tall, their mouths surrounding a circle of teeth. The librarian stood beside the salivating creatures, her meek, shoulder-slouching demeanour gone, replaced with a scary confidence.

      “What have you done?” asked Queen Loranella.

      “The better question is how?” said Feynam. “How is a human still capable of casting magic?”

      “They’re not,” answered the librarian.

      Her body began to twist and contort; her ears started to grow and her nose shrank. Grey hairs sprouted from her flesh. Her brown eyes turned bright pink. She was shape-shifting. And when the transformation was complete, Paksahara was standing before them.

      “Normally, bookworms only have a taste for parchment,” she said. “But I think in this case they’ll make an exception.”

      The three towering slitherers advanced on the wizards young and old and their familiars. The quickest of the worms charged at them with its mouth wide open, smashing aside chairs and scroll cabinets along the way. The group fled from the long wooden table where they had been sitting, hurrying to take cover behind the stacks.

      “The book!” cried Marianne.

      But before any of them could go back for it, the charging demon worm halved the table, sending the Wizard’s Almanac of Fables flying, the jug of water rolling to the ground, and Edna’s magnifying glass shattering on the floor.

      “Last chance to surrender,” Paksahara called out. “Join me, familiars!”

      Despite these most dire of circumstances, Aldwyn would never accept her treasonous offer to betray Jack, and he knew that Skylar and Gilbert would never leave the side of their loyals, either. He focused on the fallen book and telekinetically lifted it into Dalton’s hands.

      “Quickly, this way,” said Feynam to the others. “There’s an exit in the back.”

      The elder led them, running down the narrow aisle. He was the first to emerge out the other side, and he never saw it coming. One of the bookworms opened its giant mouth and swallowed him whole. It happened so suddenly that it almost didn’t seem real. Everyone was left in stunned silence, except for Stolix, who had somehow remained asleep through everything thus far.

      “Any of you want to reconsider?” Paksahara asked the familiars with a sneer.

      Ramoth looked to Loranella. “My loyalty had been teetering before,” he said, showing his true colours. “Besides, I never like ending up on the losing side of a battle.” The firescale snake darted out from the stacks and took his place alongside Paksahara.

      “Children, run for the front door,” instructed Queen Loranella. “Edna and I will distract the worms.”

      The wizards in training and their familiars sprinted for the entrance as the gigantic and clearly very hungry bookworms were bearing down on them. Queen Loranella and Sorceress Edna hurried in the opposite direction, throwing books at the purple beasts to bait them away from the children.

      Skylar spread her wings and made a bookshelf stuffed with dusty tomes appear between them and the worms. Aldwyn hoped the illusion would fool the tiny minds of the oversize grubs, or at least buy them a little time.

      Dalton flipped open the Wizard’s Almanac of Fables as he fled, picking up where Edna had left off, searching the text as fast as he could.

      “Dalton, what are you doing?” asked Skylar. “You can read the book later!”

      “Not if I don’t make it out of here alive,” he replied.

      Just