Trial By Fire (Going Down in Flames #3)(32)

Bryn pulled the book closer. “Is this one of those knowledge is a treasure analogies, or is there a story that goes with this map?”

“If I remember correctly, A Knight’s Errand goes with the map.”

Bryn turned pages until she found the correct story. “Do you remember what it’s about?”

“A knight goes to collect a payment that was due to the dragons of his village. He rescues knights from an evil dragon, or something like that.”

Bryn and Valmont read the story together. When they finished, she turned back to the map. “So the knight rescued people from evil dragons, here.” Goosebumps broke out on Bryn’s arms as she pointed to the Institute. “What does that mean?”

Valmont sat back and rubbed his chin. “I guess it means the people who wrote this book didn’t love the Directorate or the Institute. Maybe that’s why your library doesn’t house these books.”

Bryn’s heart sped up. “Do you think we’ll find some clues in here about things the Directorate doesn’t want us to find? Clues about hybrid dragons who aren’t evil?”

“Maybe.” He reached into the bag and pulled out the remaining books and laid them on the table. “If there are clues of some sort, we should probably start with the first book.”

Half an hour later, Bryn had read her fill of gruesome fairytales in which someone was always stabbing someone or gouging out their eyes. “Why are these so violent?”

“Aren’t all tales violent, like the Brothers Grimm?”

“I grew up on the Disney movies, not the gory original versions.” Bryn’s eyes teared up as she remembered evenings spent with her parents in front of the television, munching on popcorn. She took a shuddering breath.

“Come here.” Valmont opened his arms and pulled her into a hug. “I’d ask if there was anything I could do, but I know the answer already.”

“Just having you here makes it better.” And that was the truth.

He kissed the top of her head and then released her from the embrace. “Do you have any more ideas about the books?”

The tomes lay scattered on the table. She lined them up one through five. There was some sort of pattern stamped into the leather on the covers, but she couldn’t quite make it out. Turning her head to the side, she tried again. “Do the covers go together like a puzzle?”

Valmont leaned closer and ran his fingers over the embossed leather. “I’ve never seen all the books at once. Normally we only had access to one at a time.” He performed the same head tilt maneuver. “It seems like they should form some sort of pattern, but I can’t see it.”

“Let’s call Clint and Ivy. They’re the artists. They probably know how to see it differently than we do.”

…

Clint and Ivy knocked on the terrace window half an hour later and came inside.

“You look so much better.” Ivy hugged her friend. “Now what’s this art puzzle you want us to look at?”

Bryn hadn’t thought it wise to say too much over the phone. As they walked into the living room, she explained the situation. “Before you look at these books, you need to know the Directorate would not approve of us even having them.”

“Books? What books?” Clint asked as he picked volume one up off the coffee table and studied it. “You never asked us to look at any books. Is that how we’re going to play it?”

“Exactly.” She explained the origin of the tales and how they thought there might be a map to things the Directorate didn’t want them to find. “I’m hoping for some sort of secret message.” And that’s when she realized she hadn’t told Clint and Ivy about having proof other hybrids existed. She still wasn’t sure she should drag them any deeper into her quest.

Clint flipped volume two open and then spread it out flat so the front, back cover, and spine were one smooth piece of leather. “What if we turn them all like this?”

Ivy helped him open all the books and lay them flat. Then they shuffled the covers around. Bryn and Valmont sat back watching them move the tomes around like they were part of one of those slider puzzles where you move the pieces and line them up to make a picture.

“The top branches are missing.” Ivy walked around the coffee table.

“Branches?” Bryn asked.

“You have to stand off to the side to see it,” Ivy said.

Bryn joined her friend. From this angle, the imprints in the leather book covers lined up to create a tree trunk and some branches.

“Are there more books?” Clint asked.

“I don’t know,” Valmont said. “What would a tree mean? I can understand a road map, but a tree?”

“Wait a minute.” Ivy moved the books so they were two across and three down and then walked around the table in a circle. “Nope. I’ve got nothing.”

Clint squinted like he was concentrating. “This is going to make me crazy.”

“Glad I could share the insanity,” Bryn said.

In an odd maneuver, Valmont stepped up onto the couch. “If it’s different angles we’re wanting, we should consider all of them. Think outside of the box.”

Ding, a light went off in Bryn’s brain. “A box is like a treasure chest.”

“Are we shouting out random facts now?” Clint asked.