He hoped.
As Gwyna watched him curiously, he took the pendant out of its silk wrapping, wincing a little at the discordant "music," and held it in his hands, tuning his mind to find more of the same "music."
There was music of various sorts all around him; many, many of these volumes had something to do with magic. Some of it was pleasant; some absolutely entrancing, the kind he could get lost inside for hours.
But he didn't have hours, and he wasn't looking for anything pleasant.
Then he heard it; a thin, evil trickle that could not by any stretch of the imagination be called a melody. A discordance of which the pendant was only a small part.
He turned and followed it; it led him to a panel on the back wall, to one side of one of the enormous bookcases. It was a panel like many others in the room, but when he tapped it slightly, he thought it sounded hollow.
The only trouble was, he couldn't open it.
He tried everything he could think of; pressed anything that looked like it might be a release, and all to no avail. Gwyna took her turn at it, but her skill was not in this, and she was no more successful than he was.
He was about to make another attempt, this time at forcing the panel open, when he felt a presence behind him.
He turned; Gwyna whirled at the same instant.
Brother Reymond stared at them in dumb shock, his mouth agape with surprise.
Robin didn't wait to see what he'd do; she muffled his mouth with both hands, as Kestrel grabbed his arms. Together they wrestled him around and stuffed him in a corner.
He looked at her; she looked back at him. "Now what?" she mouthed at him.
He shrugged. "We t-try to convince him," he whispered back, then looked into the frightened eyes of the Brother.
Robin only rolled her eyes skyward, and tightened her hold on Brother Reymond's mouth.
Afterwards, Jonny wasn't certain how long it took him to convince Reymond simply to stay quiet until he had heard them out. It felt like forever, and he was certain that Robin's arms were aching with strain by the time Reymond nodded a frightened agreement.
Things went a little faster, after that. She told him in detail about the Skull Hill Ghost, and the curious exception he had insisted on making to his promise. Then Kestrel told him about Padrik and his Healing Services.
Reymond's eyes grew larger and larger, the more they spoke, but his mouth betrayed, not fear, but dismay. When Robin related her little stay with the Patsonos, his brows drew together in anger_but when Kestrel finally told him about the demon-summoning, and the fate of Orlina Woolwright, he could hardly contain his agitation.
"Dear and gracious God!" he exclaimed in a hoarse whisper when they were done. "I never thought_I didn't want to think_but this explains all those visitors to the Abbot, the ones who seem to be in a trance, and who disappear, never to be seen again! They all wear pendants like that one"_he indicated the wrought-iron pendant in Kestrel's hand_"and that alone would convince me that you are telling the truth! But I have learned other things since you were last here...."
"Like what?" Robin asked harshly, as his voice trailed off. He flushed with shame.
"About your Ghost," he said, unhappily. "I have found manuscripts that told me he was bound there by the first Abbot, some fifty years ago or so. I also learned that there are other manuscripts that would tell me more, much more, if only we could find them."
"What do you mean?" Robin asked, her face puzzled. "Are they lost? Were they taken away?"
He shook his head, growing more and more distracted with every word. "No, they were hidden, somewhere in this Library, but I cannot for the life of me find them, and I have been trying _"
Jonny cleared his throat, very delicately, and Brother Reymond started. "C-could they b-be b-behind this p-panel?" he asked, touching the offending bit of wood.