The Crow Talker

“What happened to your parents, Caw?”

Lydia’s question snapped him back to the present.

“I don’t mean to pry,” she added. “It’s just that most kids without parents go to an orphanage.”

“I don’t know,” said Caw cautiously. “I don’t remember.”

He couldn’t tell her about his dreams. She’d only laugh.

“But …” She trailed off. Maybe she could sense that he didn’t want to talk about it.

They stopped to cross the road.

Glum squawked, swooping down and landing on the traffic light. She’s nosey, this one, he said.

The library rose ahead. It looked a lot older than most of the buildings in Blackstone. Lydia strode towards the huge double doors, but Caw paused. Now he was here, he wasn’t so confident. Could he really just march right through the entrance?

“What are you waiting for?” said Lydia.

We’ll stay outside, said Glum, settling on the steps. Be careful.

Caw knew he looked foolish, so he steeled himself and climbed the steps. A few pigeons scattered out of the way, and Caw suddenly remembered the homeless man from two nights ago, outside the takeaway.

He was probably mad, like Screech had said, thought Caw.

At the top of the steps, Caw felt an odd prickle on the back of his neck. He had the curious sensation he was being watched, but when he turned no one was there. Just the windswept grass of the forecourt and a couple of empty benches. He followed Lydia through the door.

It was warm inside, and sweat immediately broke out over his forehead. The silence made him suddenly aware of the sound of his own breathing, and his eyes swept across the cavernous room. On the far side, rows of towering shelves held thousands of books, and around the top of the room ran a balcony with more shelves. In front were several desks, where people sat reading and writing quietly. On the left, near the entrance, was a curved table with a computer and lots of stacks of paper, and behind it was the librarian. She was leaning over a notepad with her glasses perched low on her nose, and as she looked up and saw Caw, her face broke into a wide smile.

“Well, hello you!” she said. Her eyes fell on Lydia and her eyebrows shot up. “And you’ve brought a friend, I see.”

Caw nodded.

“I’m Lydia Strickham,” said Lydia. “Pleased to meet you.”

“You can call me Miss Wallace,” the librarian said. “Now, what can I do for you two?”

Caw placed his books on the desk. “I … Can you …” he mumbled, blushing furiously. He felt like running right back through the door and into the cool air outside. “I need to find a book,” he said finally.

Miss Wallace clapped her hands together in pleasure. “Well, it’s about time!” she said. “I never knew if you liked the ones I was picking out for you or not. Now, what is it you’re looking for?”

Caw glanced around the huge room. “I want to know about spiders,” he said. “Unusual ones,” he added as an afterthought.

He could sense Lydia frowning, but for once she didn’t say anything.

Miss Wallace just smiled. “Follow me,” she said.

Caw trailed after her between the stacks, trying not to catch the eye of any of the other readers. He was sure they were looking at him, in his dirty black coat and ragged shoes. The librarian glanced at the shelves, slowed, then paused halfway down. “You’ll find natural history here,” she said, gesturing to a section of the shelf. “Let’s see.” She peered closer, then pulled out a book. “This one is an encyclopaedia of spider species,” she said, handing it to Caw. “There are a few other books on arthropods too. Spiders are a kind of arthropod, you see? I’ll be at the desk if you need anything else.”

Caw sat on the floor, glad to be out of sight, and Lydia flopped down beside him. “I thought we were coming so I could teach you to read,” she muttered. “But you’re thinking about the prisoner, aren’t you? The big guy in the alley with the creepy tattoo.”

Caw nodded, opening the book. “I recognised it,” he said.

“From where?”

“From a dream I had,” said Caw. “A dream about my parents.”

Lydia cocked her head. “I thought you didn’t remember anything about your parents.”

Caw sighed. He hardly knew what to tell her. He hardly knew what he really knew. “I can’t explain,” he said. “It feels like a memory. I’ve dreamt it so many times. Except the last time was different. There was this man … an evil man … he wore a ring with a picture of that spider on it.”

Lydia frowned, looking puzzled. “The same spider?”

“Exactly the same,” said Caw. “Will you help me look?”

They sat side by side, flicking through the images of spiders. None of them looked like the one they’d seen, with its looping body, its long, narrow legs, and the M design on its back.

After half an hour, Lydia stood up and stretched. “It’s not there,” she said. “Let’s ask Miss Wallace if she can help.”

“Find what you’re looking for?” asked the librarian cheerily, as they walked up to her desk.

Caw shook his head.

“We’re looking for a particular spider,” said Lydia, “But none of the books show it.”

“Hmm,” said Miss Wallace. “Could you draw it?”

“I think so,” said Lydia. Miss Wallace handed her a sheet of paper and a pencil. “The body was kind of like an S-shape,” Lydia muttered as she drew. She captured the shape almost perfectly. Just seeing it again made Caw shudder.

“Don’t forget the M in the middle,” he said. He took the pencil and made the adjustments.

Miss Wallace squinted at it through her glasses. “Are you sure this is a real spider?” she asked. “It looks more like a symbol or a logo.”

“I just want to know where it comes from,” Caw said. “It’s important.”

“Well, we get all sorts of experts and academics in the library,” said Miss Wallace. “Let me make a few calls. Could you come back tomorrow?”

Caw nodded. “Thank you,” he said.

“It’s no problem,” she said. “Would you like to take some more books out while you’re here?”

“Yes, please,” said Lydia, before Caw had a chance to reply.

When they left the library, Lydia’s bag was full of new books, and most of them had a lot more words than Caw was used to. Caw didn’t care though. He was still thinking about the spider. If he couldn’t find it among all those books, what hope did he have of discovering the truth about his dream?

They found Screech and Glum perched on the steps outside, watching a man sitting on a bench across the street eat a hamburger.

This guy’s not dropped a single crumb, said Screech, bitterly.