Read Online Magickeepers: The Eternal Hourglass by Erica Kirov - Free Book Online Page A

and her lips trembled. “The Shadowkeeper didn’t even look at me, Nick. It went right to you. If Mischa hadn’t protected you like that…” She shuddered.
    “So…so the bear wasn’t trying to drown me?”
    “Drown you? No!” Isabella said. “He was trying to save you.”
    “What were you two doing in here?” Theo demanded.
    “It was my idea, Theo,” said Isabella. “I thought Nick would like swimming with the bears. I’ve gone swimming with them before.”
    “But not at night. You cannot be in here alone. It's not safe anymore.”
    “I don’t understand. Safe? The Winter Palace has always been safe for us.” Isabella's voice was tremulous, and Nick worried she would start crying. He hated when girls cried.
    Theo sighed. “Not anymore. Come on.” Theo offered Nick his hand to help him stand up. “You need to see something.” Leading the way, he and Irina left the pool area. Nick and Isabella followed them, dripping water on the carpet.
    “We are in so much trouble,” Isabella whispered.
    “Yes, you are,” Irina said over her shoulder. “But thank goodness we got there when we did.”
    “What happened to the creature?” Nick asked.
    “Vanished.”
    A rock of dread sank heavy in Nick's gut. He would have felt a lot better if they had captured the creature, whatever it was.
    Theo commanded a heavy door at the end of the hallway to open. It swung wide, though it looked like it was made of pure steel. Inside, banks of computers lined the walls along with dozens and dozens of monitors from security cameras. Members of the clan were pointing at different screens. A large tiger stood guard by the door, its eyes fierce. It stared at Nick as he entered.
    Someone pointed at a monitor. “There! See him?”
    Nick struggled to see, but the adults blocked his view. One or two of the security men turned around and parted for him and Isabella.
    “I’m Zoltan,” said the biggest, burliest—and hairiest— of the men. “I’m the Security Chief. We’re like any other casino.” He pressed buttons and close-ups of gambling tables appeared on some of the monitors. Nick saw dealers passing out cards at blackjack tables, and chips on green felt. “We watch for cheaters. Like him,” he pointed at one screen. “He's trying to palm chips. We’ll take care of him. And this one.” He nodded toward a monitor where a woman in an evening gown played blackjack. “She's a card counter.”
    Nick stepped closer to the monitors.
    “And here…the Shadowkeepers.”
    Nick felt his throat go dry—which was beyond strange, since he felt so waterlogged that he wondered if he’d ever feel dry and warm again. On the screen, he saw black shadows, like the creature with leatherlike wings, slipping between people unnoticed, as if the shadows were invisible.
    “How are they not seeing those things?” he asked incredulously. They were right there.
    “Humans, Nicholai,” Zoltan said, “see what they want to see. They would rather be afraid of the stock market falling, of not getting the job they want, of silly horror movies than really open their eyes. Plus,” he cleared his throat, “the Shadowkeepers have powerful magic.”
    “As powerful as ours?”
    The adults exchanged glances, which Nick knew meant they just didn’t want to tell him the bad news.
    “Well,” Zoltan said. “The balance between good and evil—”
    Theo interrupted. “They are powerful, yes, Kolya. And they know you are here. They have never, since we immigrated to America, been this bold.”
    “That's not true,” Irina said. Then she bit her lip.
    Theo glared at her.
    “They know I’m here? What do I have to do with anything?”
    The room fell silent.
    “Come on,” Irina said. “It's time to get you two up to bed. It's late.”
    Nick started to ask Irina something, but he could see tears in her eyes, so he changed his mind. He was in enough trouble. He followed down the hall dejectedly, the blanket dragging behind him. Irina kept