Jon frowned. Something didn't match up. The whole time Remer had claimed that the group in Libri di Luca was a collection of unorganized fanatics who had put all Lectors in danger through the lax use of their powers. Now he was saying they might have a network extending across continents.
'Don't worry,' said Remer. 'We'll be home soon.'
Why should Jon be worried? He studied Remer's face in the rearview mirror. It looked as if he was the one who was worried. He kept casting concerned glances at Jon, and his driving was bordering on reckless.
They had left the city behind now, and Jon knew it wasn't far to the country house where they were staying.
'Are we in a hurry?' he asked, studying Remer's reaction in the mirror.
'Well, no, not really,' said Remer, casting yet another uncertain glance at Jon. 'But it's probably best if you get some rest before this evening.' He broke out in a big smile. 'We're going to the library tonight,' he said proudly. 'It's important for you to be prepared.'
Jon nodded. He had sensed that there was something special about this day. Partly because of the excursion to Alexandria, but also because a mood of anticipation had infused the whole day. Right up until Katherina turned up and spoiled everything, that is. He'd been looking forward to this day when he would finally make his contribution to the Order, but now he no longer felt as eager. It was obvious he was going to take part in some form of initiation, but he was no longer so sure what the purpose behind it might be.
They had reached the country house, and several people came out of the building as the car turned into the driveway. Remer got out and spoke to them in Arabic while Jon stretched his limbs after the drive.
'Come on, let's go in,' Remer said, motioning Jon into the house ahead of him.
They immediately went upstairs to Jon's room. He sat down on the bed. He had still not finished working through his thoughts about Katherina, and he would have liked to do it in solitude.
One of the guards came into the room and handed the chronicle book to Remer.
'So, shall we continue?' said Remer, settling himself into the chair next to the bed.
The guard had not yet left the room, but stood just inside the door. Remer looked at Jon with an expectant expression on his face, as if he was the one who was about to listen to a bedtime story.
'I think I'd prefer to wait a while,' said Jon. 'I'd really like to be alone.'
Remer's smile froze. 'It's important for you to be prepared for this evening, Campelli,' he insisted. 'And not just for your own sake.'
Jon was taken aback. There was a threatening undertone to Remer's voice, and he didn't like the sound of it.
'All I'm asking for is half an hour to gather my thoughts,' said Jon.
'I'm sorry,' Remer quickly responded, 'but there's a lot we still have to do.' He turned towards the man standing at the door and gave a curt nod.
Jon got up from the bed. 'I don't think you heard what I said,' he began, but the guard reached him in two strides. He took Jon by the arm and forced him back down onto the bed. With a look of indignation, Jon looked down at the guard's hand gripping his arm.
'This is really not necessary,' he said. 'I just need-'
'Itis necessary,' said Remer. 'As you'll see.'
Another guard came into the room and went over to the opposite side of the bed. Calmly but firmly the two men moved Jon into a sitting position. He tried to resist but they were too strong, and soon he was held down by the leather straps with no chance of escape.
'What's going on? There's no reason for this. Now tell me why!'
'Don't worry, I will,' said Remer and again nodded to one of the guards.
'No!' Jon managed to shout before the guard pressed a piece of tape over his mouth.
It really had been necessary after all.
That much Jon could now see. He should have trusted Remer's judgement and not underestimated Katherina's power. They were skilful, those Lectors from Libri di Luca, experts in creating discord and distrust between members of the Order if they didn't remain vigilant. If it hadn't been for Remer's quick-witted intervention, they might have succeeded in upsetting Jon so much that he might have denied himself the future he now had with the Order. He might even have turned against them.
After about an hour of reading, they removed the tape from Jon's mouth and the restraints from his limbs. He had been utterly calm, almost exhausted, and was allowed to sleep until Remer woke him again. It had grown dark outside, and Poul Holt had returned. He examined Jon with the routine movements of a doctor, shining light in his eyes, peering down his throat, checking his reflexes.
'You're in top form,' he said at last, giving Jon a smile.
Remer, who had retreated to the background, now came over to the bed.
'You'll have to forgive us for strapping you down,' he said, sounding truly remorseful. 'Unfortunately, it was necessary. I hope you understand.'
Jon nodded.
'It was necessary,' he said. 'I was about to cave in under their influence. It won't happen again.'
'I'm sure it won't,' said Remer, with a nod of satisfaction. 'And don't worry. Tonight you're among friends. Nothing is going to stop us.'
Jon felt reassured. The cloud of confusion he'd felt a few hours earlier had been swept away with such force he couldn't really remember what the whole thing had been about.
'About tonight,' said Remer, pointing at a black robe lying at the foot of the bed. 'Would you mind making sure it fits?'
Jon got up from the bed and held the robe in front of him. It was pitch black with white snakes in a border around the sleeves and hem.
'Are we going to a toga party?' asked Jon.
Remer laughed. 'Something like that.'
Jon put on the robe. It was made of silk, with a thick belt also of silk. Even with his normal clothes underneath, the robe was amply big, and when he pulled up the hood his face was in shadow. It gave him a wonderfully secure feeling. He felt like a monk; he smiled at the thought.
'Perfect,' declared Remer, and nodded with satisfaction.
'What about the rest of you?' asked Jon.
'Don't worry,' said Remer. 'We're all going to wear the same type of robe, but ours will be white.'
'Am I the only one in black?'
'Of course,' said Holt. 'You're the guest of honour.'
37
'You bastards,' exclaimed Pau from where he sat on the chair. 'You're never going to get away with this.'
Henning and Mehmet had tied him up with a rope they'd brought along while Katherina had taken over the toy pistol, which she kept aimed at Pau. Now he was spitting venom at them with hatred in his eyes.
'Are you going to a fancy-dress party?' asked Mehmet, holding up Pau's white robe.
'Look who's talking.'
'And what's this?' Mehmet held up the copper amulet they'd found round Pau's neck. 'Is this your VIP ticket?'
Pau didn't answer.
'Let's assume it is.' Mehmet handed the amulet to Katherina. 'So the question is, a ticket to what?' He looked expectantly at Pau, who deliberately turned his head away.
Katherina examined the copper amulet. It was round, about the size of a 5-krone coin, and it had a hole in the centre through which a leather cord was attached so it could be worn as a necklace. All around the edge, tiny characters had been neatly etched.
'What are you going to get out of all this?' asked Henning. 'You're already activated.'
Pau smiled.
'And what an activation it was,' Henning added. 'What was it you have for an RL score? Nought point seven? That's not even enough juice to run a bicycle light.'
Pau's smile vanished. Katherina could see he was gritting his teeth in anger.
'So I suppose it's a good thing you've got the protection of the organization,' Henning went on. 'Weak Lectors like you need all the help they can get. Do they have any use for you at all?'
Fury glittered in Pau's eyes, and his cheeks were flushed.
'Oh, that's rig
ht, you infiltrated Libri di Luca, but that was only because Luca took pity on you. He could see from a mile away how weak you are.'
'Shut up!' Pau threw his body as far forward in his chair as the ropes would allow.
Henning leaned towards him, just enough to stay out of his reach.
'So, what now? Your job is done. What possible use can the Shadow Organization have for a weakling like you now?'
'Come back after the reactivation, and I'll show you.'
Henning and Katherina exchanged glances.
'Reactivation?' Henning repeated. 'Is that what's going to happen tonight?'
Pau didn't reply.
'Have you found a way to repeat the activation?' Henning asked. 'A way to enhance it?'
A little smile formed on Pau's lips.
Katherina could see that was exactly what was going to happen. According to the documents from the school, almost all the people who had flown in were already activated. The whole staging of this gathering in this place seemed to point to something larger than a ritual ceremony of no practical significance. She held her breath. If a reactivation could enhance a Lector's powers, then what would happen to Jon? He was already off the scale and deadly dangerous when he was out of control. She could see that the others were thinking along the same lines.
'How much stronger can all of you get?' asked Henning at last.
'Enough to power a bicycle light,' said Pau, then smiled secretively.
'Then it's too bad you're not going to experience it,' said Katherina. She nodded towards the ropes. 'It's going to be hard to go to the reactivation when you're tied up like this.'
Pau looked at her. A hint of uncertainty had stolen across his face. 'They're coming to pick me up,' he said. 'They'll be here any minute.'
Mehmet looked at his watch.
'In half an hour, at the earliest,' he said. 'Plenty of time to get you out of here.'
Pau laughed nervously.
'We have friends in town,' Mehmet went on. 'How else do you think we found you? People who are good at finding things and also good at making things disappear.'
Pau shifted his gaze from one to the other, without finding even an ounce of support. Finally he gave Katherina a pleading look.
'You have to let me go, Kat,' he said desperately. 'I need this. It's my reward.'
'For what?' she asked.
'For Libri di Luca,' he replied, sounding annoyed.
'Didyou murder Luca?'
'No, no,' said Pau, shaking his head. 'It's my reward for infiltrating you.' His eyes took on a suffering expression. 'Come on, Kat. I promise not to say anything about you being here. Just let me go, so I can get my boost.'
'When is it going to happen?' asked Katherina.
Pau turned his head so he could avoid looking them in the eyes. He was silent for a long time before he answered.
'Tonight, like I said.'
'How?'
'Like an ordinary activation,' said Pau. 'But Jon is going to act as some sort of medium. I don't know exactly how it works. It has something to do with the library's energy and Jon's powers. When they're put together… ka-boom! Then we'll all get a boost up the scale.'
'And Jon?'
Pau shook his head. 'Nobody knows. Maybe nothing will happen, maybe he'll get a kick too, or maybe he'll croak.'
Katherina fought back a desire to grab Pau and shake the indifference out of him. They were wasting time while the Shadow Organization was getting ready to sacrifice Jon.
'How do all of you get in?' asked Mehmet.
Pau nodded at the robe.
'We have to wear that, and the necklace.'
'How many are going to be there?'
'Lots. They're coming from all over the world.'
'What about the language?' asked Henning. 'Jon can't very well reactivate people in all the different languages, can he?'
'I don't know! I think it has something to do with the electrical discharges. They'll strike everyone, regardless.'
'And what about afterwards?'
'Afterwards nobody'll be able to stop us.' Pau smiled.
Mehmet nodded to Henning and Katherina and then drew them away from Pau so he wouldn't hear what they said.
'What do you think?' asked Mehmet in a low voice.
'I believe him,' replied Henning with a sigh.
Katherina cast a glance over at Pau, who was sitting there with a satisfied smile on his face.
'I do too,' she whispered. 'Unfortunately. It doesn't look good. This is worse than I had imagined. We're going to have to stop it.'
'But how? There are three of us, and we don't know how many hundreds of them.'
'But there's only one Jon,' Mehmet pointed out.
'What do you mean?' asked Katherina.
'We have to stop him from taking part in the celebration,' said Mehmet bluntly. 'No Jon. No party.'
Katherina didn't really want to know what lengths they would have to go to in order to stop Jon, but she knew Mehmet was right. Jon was the key to the whole thing, and as long as he was on the side of the Shadow Organization – as he seemed now to be – he was dangerous.
'And how are we going to stop him?' asked Henning.
'We have to go to the party,' said Mehmet. He nodded towards Pau. 'One of us will have a free ticket to get in.'
'That will be me,' said Katherina quickly.
The other two looked at her.
'I know him best,' she stubbornly pointed out. 'We've trained together, so I know what he's capable of doing.'
Mehmet nodded. 'Okay. You take the amulet. Henning and I will find another way in.'
Henning agreed with a nod.
'Hey,' shouted Pau behind them. 'I think it's about time for you to set me free.'
The three exchanged knowing smiles before they turned to face their captive.
38
In a few hours it would be done.
Jon could hardly comprehend it. For most of his life he had been held back from following his destiny, and until only moments ago people had been trying to lead him astray, but now he would finally have the opportunity to take his rightful place. There had been countless obstacles along the way, and they had caused extraordinary delays. He wished that he'd had more time to prepare. After all, it was only a couple of days ago that he'd been initiated into the true nature of the Order. It annoyed him not to feel entirely ready, even though Remer had said he was. Of course he could see it was important for the Order to launch the activation. The longer they waited, the more chance of losing their influence, but he still felt uncertain. His encounter with Katherina just a few hours ago had shaken him, and if it hadn't been for Remer's intervention, things could have gone terribly wrong.
That couldn't be allowed to happen again.
So it was a focused and silent Jon who sat on the back seat of the Land Rover, together with Patrick Vedel, on their way to the Bibliotheca Alexandrina. In his hands he held the book from which he was supposed to read. It bore neither a title nor the name of the author, and the black leather had no visible markings to reveal the contents. This was the book used for all activations in the Order, specially written for the occasion and charged with so much energy that Jon almost dropped it the first time he held it in his hands. The pulsing from the book made his fingers tingle, but in a pleasant, reassuring way, which helped him to concentrate instead of distracting him. The contents were equally surprising. When Jon had had the opportunity to read some of the pages, he discovered that the descriptions and the images they evoked were strangely compelling. There was no question of any sort of coherent storyline. The book had been written for the purpose of supporting the powers in the best possible way, and it was full of scenes that could be interpreted and charged by the transmitter to great effect. Remer had explained that Jon's copy was only one of a large set of identical books that would be used at the reactivation. All of them had become charged during countless rituals.
Outside the car the weather changed as they travelled from the cou
ntry house to the city. The wind picked up, and dark clouds drifted in across the evening sky. When they reached Al-Corniche, the beach promenade, they could see the water pounding against the bulwark, the beaten foam tossed over the roadway in great white clumps.
Even though they had driven past the library earlier in the day, it made a different and much more spectacular impression against the backdrop of the sombre sky. The disc of the library roof was illuminated by spotlights, the entire glass surface gleaming an unnatural white. The spherical building on the plaza in front, which housed the planetarium, was girdled by glittering blue bands. Beyond the library was the pyramid-shaped library school; in the darkness it shone green in the glow from powerful searchlights. The illuminated buildings were an incredible sight, and from the sea they must have seemed a worthy replacement for the lighthouse of antiquity.
There were two other people in the car besides Jon and Patrick Vedel. Poul Holt was driving, and Remer sat in the front passenger seat. All four wore the same type of robe; only Jon's was black, the others were white. At first Jon had thought it slightly ridiculous to be dressed in this way, but now he agreed they needed to show the proper respect for the ritual, and this opinion was reinforced the moment he saw the historic setting before him. At the same time, the robe had a reassuring effect, and gave him a strong sense of solidarity with the others. He still felt slightly nervous, but otherwise great, and was looking forward to delivering the best performance he could muster. He recognized this feeling from all the occasions when he had delivered his closing remarks in court, but this time there was much more at stake than the fate of his client or his own pride.
Holt stopped the car right in front of the library and the three other men got out. The wind instantly grabbed at their robes and the trio hurried towards the entrance while Holt drove off. The entry area was made of glass; just inside, a red carpet led the way to the interior of the library. Behind glass doors stood two Arab-looking men wearing the same type of white robes and welcoming the arriving guests. When they caught sight of Jon's black robe, they bowed low and chanted several phrases in Arabic. After that they checked everyone's amulets before the party was allowed to pass through yet another set of glass doors.
The Library of Shadows Page 38