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She grabbed the set of sticky notes and pen to the right of the keyboard and jotted down the location at the bottom of the screen.
She spun and studied the vast array of shelves, wondering where to begin. She glanced at the pink paper stuck to her index finger.
“N28352.635BR,” she read and glanced at the shelves again. “Where the heck is that?”
Her eyes focused on the tower rising in the distance. She considered asking for directions and quickly decided to search on her own.
“Time to learn, Paige,” she said as she set off in search of the catalog number.
She wandered into an aisle between two shelves, searching for the reference numbers. Under one bin, she found the catalog reference A98756.587AC.
She wrinkled her nose. “A,” she read as she traced a finger along it. “Nowhere near N.”
She trudged along, wandering to another area of the library, finding the letter K and continuing on through the stacks. Skipping multiple shelves, she turned a corner and cocked her head at the reference numbers there.
“P,” she read. “Dang it. I passed up N.”
Paige spun on her heel and returned in the direction from which she’d come, then she finally located a shelf with the letter N at the head of the references.
She wandered halfway down, checking the numbers following the first letter. The number two finally occurred as she rounded the bend. She wound around the shelves until she found a number close to the one she sought.
“Finally!” she exclaimed, reading N28352 on one of the labels.
She searched for the second half of the reference. She frowned as the numbers jumped from 627RT to 638AB.
Paige flung her arms in the air. The sticky note fluttered to the floor. “Where’s 635?”
With a sigh, she bent over and snatched the paper from near her feet, catching sight of a box labeled 635RR.
She cocked her head. “RR. Maybe the reference is wrong. Could be a typo.”
With a shrug, she tugged the bin from the shelf and set it on the floor in front of her. She studied the container for a moment before she grabbed the top and lifted it.
“What’s the worst that could happen?” she murmured to herself.
With the lid still clutched in her hand, she stared at the inside of the box, pinching her brows together. Inside, a whip lay coiled.
Paige wrinkled her nose at it as she reached for the handle. “How does this help you walk through walls?”
When she grasped the leather-wrapped handle, electricity jolted her, crackling up her arm and into her chest.
“Whoa!” she exclaimed as the whip rose from the box, cracking in the air.
Paige struggled to wrangle the whip as it waved in the air. The electricity sweeping over her body made it difficult. It finally died out at her feet. She glanced down, her jaw unhinging at the sight.
Her sweats and tank top had been replaced by a ringmaster’s outfit. Black boots rose to her knees, covering dark leggings. A sequin-covered, red tuxedo-style jacket topped her tight pants. Something moved on top of her head. She reached up and pulled off a top hat.
She gasped. “What is this?”
The whip cracked again, and spotlights shone down on her from an unknown location. A roar sounded behind her.
Wide-eyed, Paige whipped around, scanning the area behind her. Her eyes bulged more at what she found.
A massive lion stalked toward her, eyeing her like a gazelle as he licked his chops.
CHAPTER 20
“Uh, nice kitty,” Paige said, forcing a smile as she searched for a way to escape the lion.
