Chapter Three

Chapter 3


Georgiana didn’t wait for Mr. Howler to catch up, though it  did cross her mind that maybe he wouldn’t come at all. In that case, it would have been wise for her to turn around and get her father. Yet, when this thought occurred to her, she was already at the library’s door in the attic.
It wasn’t long though, before Mr. Howler had joined her.
“Oh thank goodness.” She cried in evident relief. “I was scared you wouldn’t come.” she explained. He gave her a funny look, his strange gold eyes mesmerizing her for a moment, as he reached up to push the door open.
“Of course I came Miss Smith. Do you know how much of an embarrassment it would be if I didn’t?” He asked, shocked that she would even have assumed he wouldn’t come for just a second.
“I would never be able to live it down.” He added quietly as he pushed open the door. Gesturing for Georgiana to stay behind him, he entered the darkened library.

Because it was such a dark night with hardly any moonlight, all Georgiana could see, was the vague shapes of the numerous bookshelves, desks that were always full of maps and notes.
She stuck close to Mr. Howler as he moved soundlessly around the large room.
“What are all these maps for?” He inquired. Walking over to one of the cluttered desks and sifting through papers.
“I don’t know.” Georgiana answered, coming up beside him. “Father keeps himself cooped up in here most of the time. When ever I ask him what he’s doing, he’ll go on ranting about some great discovery he’s made. Something that’s going to change the future he says. I don’t know what he’s talking about in the slightest.” She spun the globe around thoughtfully. “Mother doesn’t like to talk about him anymore. I think she’s scared that he’s lost it, and thinks that if she doesn’t acknowledge it, it will just go away.”
Nico watched her with sadness in his eyes as she told her story. But she wasn’t looking. She quickly went to another table and rummaged through it to try and find her father‘s journal.
Nicolas froze as his heightened sense starting blaring alarms at him.
Down below in the badly light factories, and then where they all lived, everyone’s sense of balance, smell, sight, hearing, all grew to pass the average person’s strength in their senses. If they didn’t it could mean a life or death situation.
At the moment, he could hear a faint breathing pattern that didn’t belong to himself, or Miss Smith.
Closing his eyes, and forcing all his concentration on that pattern, he found that it was coming from behind the curtains on the far window.
As he moved towards it, passing the empty fire place, he picked up the fire poker as silently as he could.
His eyes flashed to Miss Smith as she moved to watch him, her mouth opening up to say something. He put a finger to his lips and she fell quiet.
Georgiana watched as he moved towards the window. Her heartbeat racing harder every time he moved closer. She was surprised to watch how the strange boy moved. The way he moved reminded her of how she imagined a lion to move when he was stalking his prey.  Silently, and with a strong air of deadliness.
Georgiana wanted to ask what he was doing, but knew that if he was walking that quietly, and was holding a poker like a weapon, she had best keep her mouth shut.

When Nicolas came up to the curtain, he pounced at it, slashing the iron through it, cutting the curtain in half. There was a rage filled scream as someone hidden in shadows jumped at him. Nico spun out of the attackers punch, but didn’t see the knife until it sliced through his upper arm. Nico grunted in pain, but pushed it from his mind as he brought the poker down on his back. The attacker groaned, and doubled over. Nico took the opportunity and shoved the figure out the window.

Georgiana stifled her scream by stuffing her fist into her mouth. Gathering her senses, she rushed over to Nico and almost touched his bleeding arm before she remembered her manners, and knew it would be unacceptable.
“Are you hurt?” She asked for the sake of breaking the silence.
He looked up at her in disbelief.
“Oh alright, I guess that’s an obvious answer. If I may, I’ll bandage your wound.” Georgiana offered, forcing herself to ignore the awkwardness of the situation.
Nicolas gave her a curt nod and she quickly went to a drawer in her father’s desk.
Bringing back a bandage and a bottle of rubbing alcohol, she guided Nico to the broken window so she could see better.
Nicolas let his breath pass between his clenched teeth as she helped him out of his coat and pulled the torn shirt out of the wound.
“Do you not have linen shirts in Lower Station?” Georgiana pondered aloud as she dipped a clean cloth into alcohol.
“Uh…” Nicolas was taken by surprise with her strange question. “No. We don’t. Cotton’s much cheaper to buy and -” He cut himself off by biting his tongue when she pressed the cleaning alcohol onto the wound.
“Sorry.” She whispered sincerely. He realized that the reason why she had asked him the strange question was to get him distracted from watching her dab the alcohol on his wound.
Smart girl. He thought.
Georgiana was busy wrapping his arm when she heard her father’s footsteps on the attic stairs.
“Quick! Hide!” She hissed, ushering him under the table. He heard her scramble for something on the desk above him, followed by the scratching of a pen. But then she moved away just as the door burst open.

From under the table, among the stacks of books, Nicolas wasn’t able to see much except for the hem of Georgiana’s nightgown, and the slippers of who he assumed was her father.
“Georgie!” A masculine voice cried. “What are you doing up here child and -”
“Oh father!” Georgiana’s voice sounded like she might burst into tears any minute. “There - there was a man and he -”
“Hush child. Lets get you back down stairs and get you a cup of tea to settle your nerves.” Her father soothed. The two people walked to the door, Georgiana let a piece of paper drop from her hand as she walked out of the room.
Her father hesitated at the steps. His eyes taking in the torn curtain and broken windows.
“Oh Lord please say they didn’t take it.” He whispered before closing the door and joining his daughter at the bottom steps.