19
UPSTAIRS, DOWNSTAIRS
Hanging down from the loft’s roof were cobwebs so thick Thordric had to cut through them to see what was behind, but that wasn’t what concerned him most. Morweena certainly hadn’t been lying when she’d said the loft was full. In fact, both he and Hamlet now saw that that had been a gross understatement.
Among mountains of jumble, ranging from abandoned sculptures to derelict clocks, there were yet more books. Whoever had stored them there had obviously decided that stacking was beyond their ability, or else had failed to see the importance of trying to preserve what looked like ancient manuscripts.
Thordric picked one up. He gasped. ‘Hamlet, look at this!’ he said, grabbing Hamlet’s sleeve and pulling him through a cobweb.
As the soft, sticky web caught his fac
