Creeping Shadow (The Rise of Isaac, Book One) Read Online Free PDF

the handle and pushed it open, wincing as the hinges creaked. May clapped a hand to her mouth as she started giggling and Oliver grinned.
    He peeped inside and found an enormous bedroom with a fourposter bed draped in grey material at one end. At the other, was a colossal desk made from dark wood engraved with symbols and patterns around the edges. It ran the length of an entire wall and had a hollow space beneath it where a four-wheeled stool was located. Piled atop the desk was a mountain of papers and books.
    "This must be Ely's room. Maybe we shouldn't go in?" May said, but Oliver was already crossing the hardwood floor to investigate the desk.
    A leather-bound book lay open at its centre portraying a diagram of a hand, facing palm up in the middle of the page. Arrows pointed to various lines on the image with strange words annotating it.
    Oliver turned the page to find a more detailed diagram that displayed various fingers and different angles of the hand. A floorboard creaked behind him as May crept up to the desk.
    "Do you reckon he's into palmistry?" Oliver asked.
    "What? Like fortune telling?" May asked, looking doubtful.
    "Yeah, look at these." He showed her the diagrams.
    "My friend was into all that stuff. This doesn't look like that, though." May frowned and her forehead filled with tiny creases. They vanished as she picked up a piece of paper that caught her attention. "What do you think this is?"
    Oliver cast his eyes over the drawing of a spiral that was interspersed with circles at random intervals.
    "No idea," he said.
    He glanced around the desk and spotted a pile of books that had been haphazardly placed on a wad of papers. They wobbled precariously as he lifted the top book and the one beneath it slid forward, shooting towards the floor.
    Oliver winced as it hit the wood with a loud thud and they stood in tense silence, waiting to see if Ely had been alerted by the noise.
    Oliver sighed with relief a moment later and stooped down, crawling under the desk to retrieve it. As he lifted the book a small scrap of paper was disturbed from beneath it. He reached for it, grasping the piece between two fingers.
    "DINNER'S READY!" Ely's voice boomed up the stairs.
    Oliver jerked upwards in shock, hitting his head on the underside of the desk with a loud crack.
    "Argh," he groaned, pulling in a sharp breath of air between his teeth.
    "Quick, get up ," May said in a panic.
    "Don't worry about me it's not like I smacked my head or anything," Oliver said, crawling out from underneath the desk.
    He stood, placing the book back on the desk and stuffed the piece of paper into his back pocket before rubbing his head to ease the pain.
    They snuck out of the room and Oliver shut the door quietly, feeling a rush of adrenalin pump through his veins. He turned to find May grinning at him and he shoved her playfully in the arm before leading the way back to the staircase, tiptoeing as they went.
    As they descended, the sound of talking carried up to them from below. They reached the entrance hall and Oliver looked around, uncertain of where to go.
    "Ely?" he called out but received no response.
    They followed the voices through to a large kitchen where several people were gathered around a breakfast bar that was topped with black, grey-streaked marble.
    The group looked young, perhaps in their early twenties; the men were dressed in smart suits and the women in party dresses. They laughed and chatted amongst themselves seemingly unaware of Oliver and May's presence.
    "Um, excuse me?" May said but none of the strangers reacted.
    The two of them lingered awkwardly in the doorway for a moment then Oliver stepped further into the room and the group turned to face them, looking surprised.
    A woman broke apart from her companions, flicking a long strand of white-blonde hair out of her eyes. She glanced back towards the others with a meaningful glare and they fell silent, eyeing Oliver and May curiously.
    "Can I help you?" Her voice was