Leo was trying very hard not to fall asleep while standing. It was not easy. The Grand Hall of St. Orison Academy had been designed for important ceremonies, which apparently meant the floor was polished enough to blind people and the ceiling was so high that every cough became a public announcement. Hundreds of students stood in rows beneath floating lamps. Teachers sat on a raised platform. Cameras hovered near the walls, broadcasting the awakening ceremony to half the city. Leo stared at the nearest camera and wondered if it could detect boredom. If it could, he was probably already trending. "Stand straight," whispered Claire from two places behind him. Leo moved his shoulders a little. "I am standing straight. My soul is the one bending." "Your soul has been bending for twenty minutes." "It has a weak back." Claire sighed. She had been his classmate for almost a year, which meant she had already heard most of his excuses and still had not blocked him in real life. That w

The click came from the oldest shelves. Leo stood still, one hand inside his jacket and the strange card pressed against his chest. The sound had been small, but the library was quiet enough for him to hear every part of it. A latch moving. A lock opening. Something on the other side of the shelf shifting its weight. He did not like that last part. Leo glanced toward the front desk. Professor Ruth was no longer visible from his position. He could hear the faint movement of papers and the soft buzz of the desk lamp. He should leave. This was the sensible option. Go home. Sleep. Return in the morning with an adult, preferably one who knew what an uncatalogued remnant was and had insurance against mysterious doors. Instead, Leo reached toward the shelf. ''If this kills me, I am going to be extremely annoyed,' he thought. His fingers touched the wood. The entire bookcase shuddered. Dust fell from the upper shelves. The books did not move, but their pages rustled together like

Leo did not touch the grey book immediately. He crouched beside it and studied the cover from a safe distance, which was not actually a safe distance because he was still in a library where impossible doors had opened behind shelves. But it was the closest thing he had. The silver thread moved. Only a little. It shifted across the cover like a worm beneath paper, then went still. Leo stood up. "I am going to get coffee first." The book remained on the floor. He went to the staff room, made coffee that tasted like hot metal, and returned with the mug in one hand and a plastic ruler in the other. The ruler had been intended for straightening shelf labels. It was now his weapon. He tapped the book. Nothing happened. He nudged it with the ruler. The cover opened. Leo dropped the ruler and stepped back. The pages were blank except for a single grey line in the centre. The line moved when he leaned closer, changing from a curve into a symbol he did not recognise. His System w

Leo ran until the restricted collection was behind three locked doors and one very confused security camera. He stopped beside the vending machines on the second floor, bent over, and tried to remember how breathing was supposed to work. The grey book was under his shirt. It had not burned him. It had not spoken. It had not grown teeth. Still, Leo did not trust it enough to carry it openly, so he had wrapped it in an old library cloth and pushed it beneath his uniform jacket. His phone buzzed. Claire: Where are you? Professor Ruth is asking for you again. Leo typed a reply while still trying not to die from stairs. - I had an emergency. - What kind? He looked down at the book hidden under his jacket. - Shelf-related. There was a pause. - You are the worst liar I know. Leo slid the phone into his pocket. That was unfair. He was not the worst liar he knew. He had once met a second-year student who claimed he had missed class because a gate opened inside his bathroom. The s

Leo waited until the training hall emptied before looking at the paper. He did not trust the paper. That was becoming a general rule for his life. The instructors had taken the assessment equipment away. Students had left in groups, arguing about scores and complaining about whoever had received a higher ranking. Hannah had been called aside by one of the combat teachers. Owen had disappeared without making another comment. Leo sat alone on the lowest training platform. The torn paper rested on his knee. It was not a normal sheet. The edges were uneven, but the tear looked old rather than fresh. The surface had a grey colour similar to the light from his class awakening. A thin diagram covered half the page. Several lines crossed at sharp angles. One line began at a black circle, moved across the page, and returned to the same circle without touching the space in between. Leo traced it with his eyes. A small pressure formed behind his forehead. His System window appeared.