15
The Ancient Library

It was hard to see
where they were going without the lantern, but Kate could sense
that they were entering an immense space. The air was clear and
cool and the sound of voices carried from somewhere nearby. The
path opened out a few steps ahead of them and a silhouette of
railings rose up in the dim light, blocking their way.
Silas stopped walking
and held her still. ‘Officers,’ he said loudly. ‘Step
forward.’
Kate looked on in
horror as two wardens stepped out of the dark. They bowed at once,
refusing to raise their heads until he gave the order.
‘Very good,’ he said
firmly. ‘You have taken a fine ambush position. If I were an
intruder I would not have detected your presence.’ Silas sheathed
his sword and the two wardens bowed again, putting away their
daggers.
‘Da’ru has sent
another girl to aid the search,’ he said, pushing Kate towards the
two men. ‘I hear there was a bookseller brought here from the town
of Morvane.’
‘Yes,
sir.’
‘Put the girl to work
alongside him. I have my own business here. I will not be
disturbed.’
The wardens bowed
together and one of them took hold of Kate’s arm, making the cut
Silas had made there burn and sting. ‘Come with me,’ he
said.
Kate looked back at
Silas, who was now holding on to the railings, looking out into the
darkness like a captain on the deck of a ship. The railings made up
part of a long balcony, and the warden took Kate over to a flight
of stairs which curved down into an enormous room. She stopped at
the very top and looked out at the view Silas had already
seen.
The ancient library
was not just a room, it was a chamber.
The staircase
spiralled down to dozens of towering bookcases lined up in long
rows beneath an arched red-brick roof, and there were people down
there, carrying lanterns and candles that created pools of orange
light in the dark. Some were balancing on narrow platforms that ran
around the uppermost shelves, and others were wheeling themselves
along on railed ladders that reached taller than a house, pulling
handfuls of books out for inspection, leafing through them and
forcing them back in again out of place. They were so far along the
shelves that it was hard to believe they had only been searching
the library for two days. There had to be thousands of old books
down there. Wintercraft could be any
one of them.
The warden followed
Kate down the steps and when she reached the bottom she looked up
and saw Silas watching her from the upper balcony. Loose pages
littered the floor between the disordered bookshelves and the
warden took her to the row along the easternmost wall, the only
place in the chamber that was still relatively neat and
tidy.
‘You will work here,’
he said, pointing down the row. ‘The others will tell you what to
do.’
The warden left her
there without a light and Kate could feel the bookcases looming
over her like sad sentries witnessing the destruction and disarray.
The cavern was so huge that the voices of the other workers did not
carry right to the edges and a strange silence hung around her as
she walked along the row, heading towards a candle propped at an
angle upon the floor.
‘No, no, no. I don’t
need help. Go back. I’ll work faster alone.’
A figure was kneeling
just outside the glow of candlelight and he struggled to his feet,
leaning on a stick for support as Kate drew closer.
‘Row sixteen needs
another pair of hands. This one’s full of nothing but poetry and
fairytales. No point wasting anyone else on it. I’m fine on my own.
Go back.’ The man gathered up a handful of open books from the
floor and quickly pushed them back on to the shelves.
Kate quickened her
step. She knew that voice. ‘Artemis?’
‘I’m not moving. I
don’t care what they say … What? How do you know my name?’ Artemis
picked up the candle and held it high, squinting to see who had
spoken. His cheek was bruised and his right eye was swollen, but it
was definitely him. He looked tired and nervous as he stood his
ground, waiting for her to come into sight. ‘Oh!’ He lowered his
candle the moment he saw her face.
‘It’s all right,’ she
said. ‘It’s me.’
‘Kate? How … ? Kate!’
Artemis abandoned his stick and limped towards her, reaching out
his arms and pulling her into a hug.
‘I hoped you would
remember the way out … but when I saw the fire, I was worried that
… Kate, I thought you were dead! What are you doing here? Is Edgar
with you? Did the wardens get him too?’
‘I think he’s all
right. He’s here in Fume, but we got separated.’
‘I’m so sorry,’ said
Artemis, still clutching her tight. ‘The fire … I couldn’t stop
them. I couldn’t—’
‘It’s not your
fault.’
‘I just wanted to
keep you safe.’
‘We don’t have much
time,’ said Kate, slowly pulling away. ‘The man who gave the order
to burn the shop. He’s here.’
‘The collector?’
Artemis’s face hardened at once. ‘Where is he?’
‘That doesn’t matter
right now,’ said Kate. ‘A lot’s happened since we left Morvane, but
I think I have a way to get you out of here. I just need you to do
something for me.’
‘Anything,’ said
Artemis.
Kate chose her words
carefully. If Artemis had found the book, he would have hidden it
well and there was no way she would be able to find it without him.
She needed his co-operation. She had to get this
right.
‘I know what you’re
looking for down here,’ she said. ‘If you know where it is, if you
have it, I need you to give it to me.’
Artemis looked down
the shelves behind Kate and once he was sure no one else was
nearby, he spoke very quietly. ‘We are looking for Wintercraft, a book of old Skilled techniques,’ he
said. ‘What makes you think I have it?’
‘Because you’re the
only one down here who knows exactly what you’re looking for.
You’ve seen the book before. You knew the Skilled were going to
hide it down here. I think you might even know where it
is.’
‘Shhh!’ said
Artemis.
‘The Skilled sent you
those messages from the south, didn’t they?’ said
Kate.
‘That doesn’t
mean—’
‘I know they put the
book here to protect it, but we have to find it. It’s the only way
to get us out.’
Artemis’s face
dropped. He limped back to the shelves and picked up his stick. ‘Do
you know how many people have died because of that book?’ he said.
‘I can’t believe anyone still wants it. The High Council think that
they need it. They think it will give them answers. That it will
somehow end the war and make their lives so much easier, but it
won’t. Wintercraft is dangerous, Kate.
The book is a lie. It always was.’
‘I know what it
is.’
‘But you have never
actually read it. Believe me, I have.
It is a collection of impossible theories, written by a group of
people no one remembers, about something that could never
happen.’
‘What makes you so
sure?’
‘Shades? Wandering
souls? Spirits returning from beyond the veil? It’s impossible! How
could any of it be real? The dead stay dead! We know that better
than anyone.’
‘You saw me bring
that blackbird back to life,’ said Kate.
‘The Skilled are
healers, that’s what they do. They preserve life by healing the
body. They do not have any power over the soul. The veil and
spirits and everything else, it’s a nice idea but there’s no real
truth in it. You know that.’
‘My parents thought
it was true.’
‘I loved Jonathan and
Anna,’ said Artemis. ‘I tried to understand their lives. I did. For
years I wanted to believe that it was all true. I wanted to see
what they told me they could see, but there is nothing there. It is
all a lie. The veil does not exist. And even if it did,
Wintercraft is all about corrupting its
natural balance, allowing people to abuse life and manipulate
death. I would not want to live in a world where anyone had that
kind of power. Just the idea of it has been enough to drive the
whole of Albion into chaos at the hands of the High Council, and it
was enough to turn the entire Continent against us. We can’t let
the council have it, Kate. They’re all crazy. They don’t have the
slightest idea what they’re doing.’
‘Why not let them
have it?’ asked Kate. ‘If it’s as harmless as you think, it won’t
make a difference, will it?’
‘Because it doesn’t
matter what I think the book means,’
said Artemis, struggling to keep his voice down. ‘All that matters
is what they think it means, what
they think it does. The council are
taking it all far too seriously. They will follow its words, step
by step, thinking they can command spirits, bind souls and achieve
the impossible. They will keep experimenting on the Skilled, taking
the lives of innocent people. Innocent people like you, Kate. They
will keep failing and they will try again, and everyone else will
pay the price.’
Kate felt frustration
welling up inside her, but she fought against it, forcing it back
down. ‘Don’t you want to get out of here?’ she asked.
‘Of course I
do!’
‘Then help me find
the book. We can’t leave here without it. All we have to do is hand
it over. Then we can go home.’
Artemis shook his
head firmly. ‘No,’ he said. ‘You don’t know what happened last
time. If you knew what I had done—’
‘I know exactly what
happened,’ said Kate, stepping closer. ‘I know what happened to my
parents. You warned them not to take the book, but they didn’t
listen. The wardens found them and they died for it.’
Artemis looked up at
her in shock. ‘How could you—?’
‘I know why you ran.
You were scared and there was no way you could have helped them.
But if you hide the book this time, the same thing that happened to
my parents will happen to us. I know you want to keep it safe, but
I would trade anything to get you out of here alive. Nothing is
more important than that.’
Artemis looked down
at her as if she was five years old again. ‘Listen to me, Kate,’ he
said. ‘These people cannot be trusted. Whatever deal you have made
with them, they will turn their backs on you the moment you hand
over the book. They will promise you anything to get what they
want. It was not worth risking your own life to save mine. You
should not have come here.’
Artemis turned away
from Kate and anger blistered inside her. She grabbed his shoulder,
forcing him to face her. ‘Which is more important?’ she demanded.
‘Staying alive? Or protecting a book that you think is useless
anyway?’
‘Kate, you’re hurting
me.’
‘I came here because
I wanted to help you. I know the veil is real. I know what the
Skilled can do and I know how dangerous Wintercraft can be, but we have no other choice. No
matter where you hide it, they are going to find the book
eventually. At least this way we have a chance to get out of here.
Why won’t you listen to me?’
Artemis said nothing,
but when he looked straight into her eyes Kate was sure she saw a
look of fear cross over his face. Realising how tightly she had
been holding him, she let go. ‘I’m sorry,’ she said.
‘So am I,’ said
Artemis, rubbing the pain from his shoulder. ‘I don’t know what
that collector did to you, Kate, but if you want the book so much,
it’s the least I can give you to help put things right.’ He limped
a few steps along the shelves to a waiting rail ladder. ‘Up there,’
he said, rolling the ladder a few steps to the left and holding out
the candle for her to take. ‘Twenty-third shelf up, fourth book to
the right. There’s a knot-latch. You’ll see it.’
‘How did you find it
all the way up there?’ asked Kate. From the look of Artemis’s
ankle, he would not have been able to manage one rung, never mind
however many it would have taken to climb up there.
‘I didn’t,’ he said.
‘But it’s there. When the Skilled hid it here, one of them came to
see me again at the shop. She told me that it was our family’s
right to know where the book was being kept at all times. She even
offered to bring you and me here to see this library for ourselves,
but I refused. “Furthest row on the right. Two hundred paces.
Twenty-third shelf up. Fourth book right.” Those directions have
stayed in my memory for ten years. I would have needed a guide to
find the library if I didn’t use one of those wheels, but once I
was in here, I knew exactly where it would be. Half of our family
died for that book. I never want to see it again, but if you need
it, it is yours. I’ll leave it to your conscience to decide what to
do with it this time.’
‘Thank you,’ said
Kate. She took the candle and climbed the ladder, taking extra care
to test each rung as she went.
The knot latch was an
old trick. Not many people knew about them, but they were simple
enough to spot when you knew what you were looking for. Kate found
it exactly where Artemis said it would be - a secret spring-button
disguised as a knot in the wood - and she pressed it.
Something clicked.
Kate balanced the candle on the shelf, pulled a handful of books
out and found a thin flap of wood beneath them. She lifted the flap
carefully and put her hand inside, adjusting her hold on the ladder
to keep her balance as she wriggled a small leather pouch out of
the hidden space. Kate tugged the cords from its drawstring neck
and a small book slid out of it on to the shelf. She could smell
its age, and wondered how many other hands had touched it; how many
people had died to keep its words a secret. Its cover was exactly
as she had seen it within the veil, stretched in old purple leather
with ancient silver lettering that still sparkled in the
candlelight.
Wintercraft
The spine creaked and
snapped gently as she opened it, sending brown fibres drifting into
the air. The old paper was crinkled and cracked, the pages clinging
to the spine by the thinnest of threads, but the ink was still dark
enough to be readable.
Kate read the only
words written on the first page.
Those Who Wish To See
The Dark, Be Ready To Pay Your Price.
A shout of surprise
echoed up from below, and it was only then that Kate sensed how
high she was above the ground. She clung to the ladder for safety
and looked down. ‘Artemis?’
It was too dark to
see anything. She stuffed the book back into its pouch, grabbed it
and the candle in the same hand and clambered back down the ladder
as fast as she could.
‘Artemis?’
‘Kate, no! Stay up
there!’ Artemis cried out in pain.
Kate stopped twenty
rungs from the bottom, close enough to see Silas’s grey eyes
looking up at her.
‘Your warnings are
unnecessary, Mr Winters,’ he said. ‘I have no interest in taking
your life. All I want is the book.’
Kate climbed down the
last few steps and saw Artemis curled up on the floor with Silas
standing over him, one boot pressing down on his injured ankle.
‘Stop! Don’t hurt him!’ she said.
Silas’s sword shone
deep blue as he stabbed it into the library floor beside Artemis’s
neck, splintering the ancient wood and sending shards of it across
Artemis’ face. ‘Give me the book,’ he said, lifting his foot from
Artemis’s leg and pressing it against his neck instead, forcing his
quivering throat closer to the blade.
‘It’s yours,’ said
Kate. ‘Take it!’
Silas held out his
hand. Kate passed the pouch to him and he checked inside it before
tightening the strings again and tucking the precious book into his
coat.
‘Now we leave.’ He
wrenched his sword out of the ruined floor and grabbed Kate’s
hand.
‘Leave her alone!’
cried Artemis, struggling to his knees, trying to heave himself to
his feet as Silas dragged Kate away. ‘You’ve got what you wanted!
Leave her. Please!’
Silas kept moving,
pulling Kate along past the bookshelves and moving quickly through
pools of light cast by people working on a platform overhead. Kate
looked back at Artemis’s face until it was swallowed by the
darkness. Her candle blew out and she let it fall to the floor,
listening to the blood pounding in her ears as they raced between
the shelves. Silas may have got what he had come for, but she was
leaving something far more precious behind.
Silas stopped
suddenly as they came up against a solid wall. Kate could feel the
coldness of the stone and Silas’s hand upon hers as he forced her
palm against it.
‘Ask it to show us
the secret way,’ he ordered, his voice vicious and cold. ‘Ask it
how to get out.’
A sharp point stabbed
into Kate’s skin and the sound of a moving spirit wheel rumbled
through the wall. The tiles rattled into place around her hand and
the floor shifted beneath her feet.
Silas pulled Kate
back as part of the floor slid to one side and the faint glow of
firelight brightened a shaft thick with cobwebs, with rusted metal
hooks marking where a ladder had once been. Kate could smell water.
Deep water.
‘There’s no way
down,’ she said.
Silas peered out over
the edge of the hole. ‘Only my way.’
Then, without
warning, Silas pulled her to his chest, engulfed her in his arms,
and jumped.