Read Online Archie Greene and the Magician's Secret by D D Everest - Free Book Online

rewritten and restored to their former glory.’
    ‘But what’s stopping the museum rewriting the magic books now?’ Archie asked.
    Bramble laughed. ‘There haven’t been any great magic writers for hundreds of years. Some people are still born with magical gifts – there are some at the museum like Gideon Hawke in Lost Books – but they aren’t a patch on the old ones. They certainly aren’t good enough to rewrite the magic themselves. All they can do is identify magic books and understand spells.
    ‘When the magic writers return there’ll be another golden age. Until that day, the Scriptorium gathers dust.’
    Archie gazed around the room. Against one wall he noticed a large book with a brown leather cover. He felt himself drawn to it.
    ‘That’s
The Book of Yore
,’ said Bramble. ‘It contains the history of magic. But it’s best not to disturb the past.
    ‘This is what I wanted to show you,’ she said, pointing to the far end of the Scriptorium where a huge glass dome stood surrounded by a wooden frame. ‘Come up here so you can see better.’
    She led Archie up a short flight of stairs to a raised wooden platform that offered a better view. They were standing now above the dome looking down on it.
    Bramble’s eyes sparkled in the torchlight.‘Behold, the Books of Destiny!’ she whispered.
    As Archie gazed down through the glass, he could see there were two marble plinths. On each plinth a book was displayed at an angle of forty-five degrees. One of the books was closed, but the other, which was as big as a small table, was open.
    ‘The Books of Destiny are different to the other magic books,’ explained Bramble. ‘They foretell the future. The closed book is
The Book of Prophecy
. It contains predictions about the future.’
    ‘What’s the other book?’ asked Archie, indicating the open book. From where they stood he could see it had a sombre black cover. Suspended on the inside of its spine so that it was clearly visible was a strange silver hourglass. But strangest of all, a blue quill floated in the air just above its open leaves. He watched in wonder as the quill danced in the air scribbling entries.
    ‘That is
The Book of Reckoning
,’ whispered Bramble. ‘It keeps the tally between life and death. Each and every one of us will pass through its pages.’
    Archie could see that the blue quill was moving in a smooth and controlled way, as new names appeared on one side of the ledger.
    ‘
The Book of Reckoning
contains the entry of every birth and death in the history of the world,’Bramble continued. ‘The magic quill is from a Bennu bird and it is constantly updating itself.’
    Archie gazed at the huge book in awe. ‘That’s amazing!’ he breathed.
    ‘Yes,’ nodded Bramble, ‘that is remarkable enough, but
The Book of Reckoning
also has another purpose. It foretells the time when all of the magic books will release their magic. According to legend, that day will either mark the beginning of a new golden age of magic or the start of another dark age!
    ‘See the hourglass in its spine?’ Bramble said, pointing at the silver phial Archie had noticed earlier. ‘It keeps a tally of the time that is left until the final reckoning.’
    Bramble saw the concerned look on Archie’s face. ‘Don’t worry,’ she chuckled, ‘the hourglass hasn’t moved for more than a thousand years.’
    ‘And what does that mean exactly?’ asked Archie.
    ‘It means that we can all sleep easy in our beds,’ said Bramble. ‘Now, come on, or you’ll be late for Old Zeb. See you this afternoon.’
    They turned to go, and as they did neither of them saw the single grain of sand that fell from the upper chamber of the hourglass.

14
Strange Voices
    I t was already nine o’clock when Archie stepped back through the shaft of light into the front of Quill’s. An old woman looked up from her table, surprised to see a young boy suddenly appear from the shadows at the back of the café. But then she