Free Gloria Oliver by Cross-Eyed Dragon Troubles Page B

cave’s far side was a large counter. Behind it, she noticed another passage leading off to somewhere she couldn’t see. She stared at the space beyond in confusion not having thought the cave could possibly be as large as it was from what she’d seen of it from the outside.
    Her gaze was distracted from this quandary by a set of small bookshelves behind the counter holding old and worn books. Written across the spine of each was a person’s name. In the shelf beneath them were identical looking books, but these looked new and held no names on the spine.
    “They’re a jewel each if you want one.”
    “Oh!” Talia jumped at the voice so close to her side. She’d not heard anyone coming up beside her.
    Nertak smiled at her obvious surprise. “Those are old diaries of previous students. Some are of their time here in the school, others after they’d gone. Could make for some interesting reading.”
    She said nothing, still working at slowing down her speeding heart. How could this old man have sneaked up on her so quietly?
    “Find anything you want to buy?” He moved to go around the counter.
    Talia went back through everything she’d seen and, though a number of them were tempting, she didn’t really need any of them at the moment. “No, thank you, not today.”
    He shrugged. “Inventory changes all the time, so don’t be shy about coming to visit. Also, please keep in mind if you agree to model for me, I’ll happily give you a discount.” He looked her up and down again, a leering look in his eyes.
    She felt her skin go cold as she abruptly realized she was there alone with the old man. The fact he’d been able to sneak up on her so quietly just made her feel more uneasy. She resisted the urge to reach for her knife. “I’ll, I’ll keep it in mind. Thank you.” She tried hard to smile in a friendly manner.
    The old man’s eyes seemed to gleam.
    It was then she remembered one of the reasons she’d come there in the first place. “There … there is something you can do for me though. The Administrator said you could mail this for me?” She reached into her pocket and brought out the letter for her parents. “How much will it cost?”
    “Oh! Well! Aren’t you the dutiful daughter?” The old man seemed incredibly pleased.
    She didn’t understand it at all. She wasn’t sure she could get used to these people. The old man, just like the Administrator, seemed to be able to change from giving one impression to another at will. It was very confusing.
    “That service is free. So write to your parents all you want. I’m sure they’ll be happy to hear from you.”
    He gave her a large smile.
    She stared at him, wondering if everyone in this place would be the same as this. “Yes … Thank you.”
    She got out of there soon after, confused enough for one day.
    Not having anything better to do, and deep inside knowing she’d gotten more excitement than she wanted already, she dawdled in her room until it was close to dinner.
    When she entered the dining hall, it was still early, the scent of baking bread hanging lightly in the air.
    One student was there already though, sitting in the back, far away from everything, his eyes wide and staring, looking pale though he had sun browned skin. Talia realized immediately he must be new. Did she look so lost and scared just yesterday? Her heart went out to him; she knew exactly how he felt. She decided to try and help him out. Nonchalantly, she made her way over toward his table.
    As she came close, the boy appeared about to bolt. She decided to plunge right in. “Hi! My name is Talia. What’s yours?” She tried to give him the friendliest smile she could come up with.
    The boy’s dark eyes locked with her own for a moment and then quickly glanced away, trying to look at everything but her. “I’m, I’m Daltan.”
    “Please to meet you,” she said as cheerily as she could. “Did you just get in today?”
    He nodded slowly, still not looking at