“I collect champion cards! They’re very different.” He rummaged for his deck in his pocket and then spread the cards across the table. “These are different competitors in Dooling. It’s a sport where Lore Keepers fight alongside their Beasts. The tournament is hosted in the Jungle every year—”
“Asport?” Barclay repeated, aghast.Thatwas exactly the barbaric behavior he expected from Lore Keepers.
“Barclay doesn’t know much about Beasts,” Viola said, shooting him a warning look to be polite.
The twins’ eyes widened. “What do you do for fun?”
“I… I like books.”
“Oh great,” Abel mumbled, looking between the three of them. “I’m outnumbered.”
Ethel, meanwhile, clapped her hands in delight. “What are you reading, Viola?”
Viola lifted up the cover ofA Traveler’s Log, which depicted a giant lamprey the size of a sea monster with electricity running through its body. Barclay couldn’t see what page she was on, but judging from how closely she’d been studying it, he guessed it had to do with Gravaldor.
“That’s one of my favorite books!” cooed Ethel. “I’ve read it at least ten—”
“She used to sleep with it,” said Abel, sounding bored. “Like a pillow.”
“At leastInever cried when my champion card of Clifton Langer got a bend in it.”
“That—that was one time! And his Griffin’s fire Lore lets himrain fire from the sky! He’s a local hero. Besides, I don’t see how you can still like that book when—”
“Conley Murdock was a genius, though!”
Indeed, Viola was now reading it so closely she didn’t notice Mitzi biting her earlobe.
“What’s so great about him?” Barclay asked.
Ethel looked astounded. “He once swam into the mouth of a Hookshark to treat its toothache! He rode a Pterodragyn! And he’s cataloged more information on Beasts than anyother Lore Keeper alive—over one thousand species.”
“Do you think his book can help me study for the exam tomorrow?” Barclay asked bitterly.
“Probably not—it’s a bit advanced. But you can always start here.”
Ethel slid Barclay her stack of books.
Barclay had never seen a more welcome sight. Books? This he could manage, if only he had enough time. Unfortunately, Ethel’s books were each monstrously large, with wispy thin pages and words so small he needed to squint.
“I’ve taken the exam before,” Viola said, pausing her chapter to hold Mitzi down as she tried to drink Viola’s mug of pear cider. “They only ask really basic things. Like who the first Grand Keeper was, and what a common use of a Petalmill is, and what the names of the six Legendary class Beasts are—”
“Basic?” Barclay squeaked. “But I don’t know any of that!”
Abel shrugged. “That stuff only matters if you want to be a Scholar sort of Keeper. Not us.”
Barclay remembered Mandeep explaining the different types of Lore Keepers. “What kind do you want to be?”
“Guardians, of course. They’re the ones who protect the towns from wild Beasts. They’re always the most famous and powerful, and their assignments have the highest rewards. There are only a few Guardian Masters at this Exhibition, but I think we’ll be selected.”
“You’ll jinx us!” Ethel hissed.
Abel smirked. “You worry too much.”
Barclay, however, was certain he hadn’t worriedenough. He poured over the opening of a book calledThe Wilderlands, Volume 1: The Woods. Then he made Viola tell him the answers to all the questions she had mentioned. The first Grand Keeper was Faiza Asfour, who supposedly bonded with all six Legendary Beasts and used her Lore to keep them contained within the Wilderlands. The common use of a Petalmill was a cure for the Summer whooping cough. And the names of the six Legendary Beasts were Shakulah, Dimondaise, Raajnavar, Lochmordra, Navrashtya, and Gravaldor.
“You don’t need to know all this!” Abel said. He stretched and yawned. “The best thing you can do is get a good sleep.”
Barclay very much doubted he would sleep tonight. He better stay up all night studying. Because even if Abel didn’t need to worry, even if there were several Guardian Masters at the Exhibition who would select him, Barclay didn’t have Abel’s experience or his options. Hehadto win. And failing the first exam didn’t seem like a good start.
