Night fell as death rode into the Great Library of Summershall. It arrived within a carriage. Elisabeth stood in the courtyard and watched the horses thunder wild-eyed through the gates, throwing froth from their mouths. High above, the last of the sunset blazed on the Great Library’s tower windows, as if the rooms inside had been set on fire—but the light retreated swiftly, shrinking upward, drawing long fingers of shadow from the angels and gargoyles who guarded the library’s rain-streaked parapets.
A gilt insignia shone upon the carriage’s side as it rattled to a halt: a crossed quill and key, the symbol of the Collegium. Iron bars transformed the rear of the carriage into a prison cell. Though the night was cool, sweat slicked Elisabeth’s palms.
“Scrivener,” said the woman beside her. “Do you have your salt? Your gloves?”
Elisabeth patted the leather straps that crisscrossed her chest, feeling for the pouches they held, the canister of salt that hung at her hip. “Yes, Director.” All she was missing was a sword. But
MARGARET ROGERSON
MARGARET K. McELDERRY BOOKS is a trademark of Simon & Schuster, Inc. For information about special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact Simon & Schuster Special Sales at 1-866-506-1949 or [email protected]. The Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau can bring authors to your live event. For more information or to book an event, contact the Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau at 1-866-248-3049 or visit our website at www.simonspeakers.com.
Also available in a Margaret K. McElderry Books hardcover edition Book design by Vikki Sheatsley The text for this book was set in Sabon. Map by Robert Lazaretti Manufactured in the United States of America First Margaret K. McElderry Books paperback edition June 2020 109 8 7 6 5 4 3 21 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Rogerson, Margaret, author. Title: Sorcery of thorns / Margaret Rogerson. Description: First edition. I New York : Margaret K. McElderry Books, [2019] | Summary: When apprentice librarian Elisabeth is implicated in sabotage that released the library's most dangerous grimoire, she becomes entangled in a
centuries-old conspiracy that could mean the end of everything. Identifiers: LCCN 2018037616 (print) | ISBN 9781481497619 (hardcover) |
ISBN 9781481497626 (paperback) | ISBN 9781481497633 (eBook) Subjects: | CYAC: Apprentices—Fiction. I Libraries—Fiction. I Magic—Fiction. I
Foundlings-Fiction. I Fantasy. Classification: LCC PZ7.1.R6635 Sor 2019 (print) | DDC [Fic]—dc23 LC record
available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018037616 SORCERY THORNS
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8/25/21 An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Division 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10020 This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author's imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or
places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. Text copyright © 2019 by Margaret Rogerson Cover illustrations copyright © 2019 by Charlie Bowater All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any
form. MARGARET K. McELDERRY BOOKS is a trademark of Simon & Schuster, Inc. For information about special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact Simon & Schuster Special Sales at 1-866-506-1949 or [email protected]. The Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau can bring authors to your live event. For more information or to book an event, contact the Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau at 1-866-248-3049 or visit our website at www.