Fourteen-year-old Lena found a key in the shape of an ink pen in a box. The enclosed ticket only said, quite emphatically: Take it to the library after dark. Lena knew every bookcase in the school reading room because she had grown up there. Her grandmother had once been a librarian, and then disappeared without saying goodbye. The key pulsed with warmth as Lena clenched it in her hand under her jacket. Rain dripped from the neon signs and the city pretended that nothing unusual was happening. At dusk she slipped into the library through the staff side door. Behind the counter stood Olek from the reading circle, holding a torch and a sandwich. - 'You shouldn't be here,' he whispered, but curiosity glimmered in his eyes. - We shouldn't - Lena corrected him, picking up the key, which suddenly trembled. Pages spilled from the shelves, as if someone had blown from inside the bookcases. Somewhere behind the atlases there was a quiet clatter, and an expectant silence fell. The mythology bookcase moved away, revealing a narrow corridor smelling of wet paper. The walls were tangled with dark patterns, resembling feathers dipped in ink. The key pulled Lena forward, as if he knew the way without hesitation. - 'If it's a trap, we'll be a legend,' Olek muttered and switched on the torch. The torch switch tapped dryly and the light reflected in the brass plaque. The plaque was engraved: Half Shadows Depot, Entry only with a live pen. Beyond the door a room spread out, quiet but full of the soft rustling of pages. In the centre lay a book pinned with a silver chain, and the cover pulsed softly. Lena put the key to the lock, and ink dust rose from the cover. The dust formed into wings that fluttered windlessly above the table. A whisper sounded from the depths of the book, very clear: Do you know the price of the first question? Olek nodded, but Lena felt the floor ripple slightly like water. Black drops began to fall from the ceiling, forming signs that moved. The key snapped out of Lena's hand and slid into the lock, turning itself. Silence fell, and all at once the wings stopped the air, waiting for an answer.