Free The Ring of Five by Eoin McNamee

toward Ravensdale. As they walked, Les grasped Danny by the elbow.
    "Quick. I need you for a minute."
    Danny followed Les to the entrance hall. Valant stood at the desk, laboriously copying something into a huge ledger.
    "Distract him," Les whispered, then darted off into the shadows beside the fireplace, giving Danny a shove in the back that sent him staggering into the middle of the floor.
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    "Yes?" Valant said, raising an eyebrow. Danny thought frantically. Out of the corner of his eye he could just see Les creeping toward the desk, clinging to the shadow of the wall, moving silently.
    "We must be careful, Mr. Valant," Danny said. His voice came out slow and grave. "There are shadowy forces at work out there."
    Valant looked at him suspiciously.
    "Of course there are shadowy forces at work," Valant said, "this is a school for spies, Cadet Caulfield."
    Danny was aware that Les was moving quickly toward the open door behind Valant's back. He hesitated. He knew that to keep Valant's interest, he had to give him something interesting. Otherwise the man would just dismiss him as a show-off. He put one elbow on the counter and leaned forward confidentially. Valant looked around and moved closer. Danny kept a straight face, but his mind was searching desperately for something that he could use. Then the headline in the paper he had seen when he was at the Stores came into his head. He beckoned Valant closer. Behind the man, Les had reached the shelves, his wings only a foot away from the back of Valant's legs.
    "I hear," Danny said in a low voice, "that Sranzer is still missing."
    The effect on Valant was electric. One wiry hand shot forward and grabbed the front of Danny's shirt.
    "What do you mean?" Valant said, his voice low and furious. "What do you know about Sranzer, boy?"
    Danny gasped. Both because Valant was half choking him and because he had seen Les climb up the shelves
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    with incredible speed, then turn so that he was hanging upside down with his ankles hooked over the top shelf. His fingers riffled through the keys that were hanging on a board directly behind Valant's head.
    "I ... I ...," Danny gasped as Les selected a key and, with a quick thumbs-up, swung himself upright again and pocketed it.
    "I ... I only saw it in the paper ... at the Stores ...," Danny managed to squeeze out. Valant regarded him with deep suspicion, but loosened his grip.
    "You'd better be careful what names you bandy around here, boy," Valant said. "There's many a one would dearly love to know what happened to Sranzer."
    Valant looked around and put his face so close to Danny's that Danny could smell the musty odor of the man's breath. "Don't let me hear you mention that name again. Do you hear me?" Danny nodded. With relief he could see that Les had made his way to the corner of the room. Danny backed away. Valant's burning eyes fixed on his face. Danny kept backing up until he got to the door, then turned and bolted out of the room.
    Les was waiting for him in the corridor, grinning and dangling a large iron key.
    "Good work, Danny," he said. "Kind of funny, though, the way Valant jumped at you when you said that name--what was it? Sranzer?"
    "Don't ever do that to me again," Danny said furiously, rubbing his neck. "He nearly strangled me!"
    "Worth it, though," Les said. "I got the key."
    "What key?" Danny snapped, still cross.
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    "The key that opens the upper floors of Wilsons. We need to get a look at how that statue fell on you."
    "We don't know what's up there. It could be dangerous."
    "What? Dangerous like someone dropping a statue on your head?"
    Danny hesitated, but part of him did want to get a look at the mysterious upper floors.
    "Okay, but just me and you," he said firmly. Les nodded quickly.
    Danny went to bed fully dressed, and tried to stay awake, but he must have dozed off, for the next thing he knew, Les was shaking him by the arm.
    "Wake up!" Les whispered. Danny sat up in bed and swung his legs out. He slipped on