Archie Greene and the Magician's Secret Read Online Free PDF Page A

furnace. The fire made a hissing sound and gave off a plume of white smoke.
    ‘The Word Smithy knows,’ he continued. ‘Its flame has been burning for thousands of years.’
    The old man suddenly pulled a yellow flame from the furnace and to Archie’s horror he hurled it towards a pile of books on the workbench. Archie instinctively shot out a hand and caught the flame.
    In that split second he realised what a foolish thing he’d done. He flinched, expecting the flame to burn his skin, but he felt nothing except a warm tingling sensation on his palm.

    Archie stared at the flame still burning on his hand, twisting and writhing into different shapes. He was quite unable to drag his eyes away from it.
    ‘It’s beautiful,’ he mumbled. ‘But why isn’t it burning me?’
    ‘Pharos – the Flame of Alexandria – the light of the world!’ breathed Old Zeb. ‘It won’t burn you.’
    Archie couldn’t believe his eyes. He was only supposed to be dropping off books, but now he was catching fire!
    The flame changed from yellow to blue and then vanished. The palm of Archie’s right hand immediately began to itch. He was sure it must have been burned after all, but when he looked, there was just a tiny red mark like a small tattoo.
    He was suddenly aware of Old Zeb’s sparkling eyes. ‘Show me your hand again,’ the old man said. ‘The one that held the flame.’
    Archie held out his hand. The bookbinder seized it and turned it over so that the palm faced him.
    ‘Excellent,’ he muttered, a big smile spreading across his face.
    He took something from his pocket and dabbed at Archie’s hand. It felt wet and stung slightly. ‘There,’ he said, kindly. ‘That’ll soothe the itching. You won’t feel a thing in a couple of days.’
    Archie stared at the tiny red mark on his hand. ‘How weird,’ he said. ‘It didn’t hurt at all.’
    The old man nodded. ‘Yes, it’s called a firemark. There’s one for each of the three book skills – finding, binding and minding.’ Archie didn’t know what to make of what Old Zeb was telling him but the bookbinder interrupted his thoughts.
    ‘Now then,’ he said, ‘let’s get down to business. We start at nine sharp and we work until the work is done – or I’ve had enough. Mostly you will be mending books, but sometimes you will have to deliver them back to where they belong. Don’t worry, I’ll tell you more about that later. We’ll get you started tomorrow. Now, I’m forgetting my manners. Come along, come along, let’s have some tea.’
    Was this funny little man offering him a job, Archie wondered. It certainly sounded like it. It all seemed a bit quick but perhaps that was how they did things in Oxford. Archie could think of worse things than working in a bookshop. But what would Gran say? She didn’t like him talking to strangers – and Old Zeb was certainly strange.
    The old bookbinder poured two cups from an old cracked, brown teapot and licked his lips again. He definitely reminded Archie of a gecko.
    ‘Now, what’s your surname?’
    ‘Greene,’ Archie replied, still looking at his hand.
    ‘Oh!’ the old man exclaimed, excitedly. ‘Greeneis it? You’d be one of those Greenes then, would you?’
    The old bookbinder thought for a moment. ‘So, you must be Alex’s son?’
    Archie started at the sound of his father’s name. ‘Yes, but how did you know?’
    The old man gave a chuckle. ‘I could tell you a few things about the Greenes, I could!’ He picked up a set of bellows almost as big as he was and pumped some air into the furnace, smiling as it roared into life.
    ‘A Greene,’ the old man declared, holding up his teacup to make a toast.
    ‘Who would have thought?’ Old Zeb winked. ‘I taught your dad, of course.’
    Archie forgot all about the firemark and the job offer. Old Zeb had taught his father! Gran had told him that Alex Greene taught geography in a local school. Archie suddenly realised how little he knew about his family.