The Untold Prophecy (The Last Library Book 1)

by Jill Cooper

  His voice was all too familiar.

  “Education wasn’t the evil deed the ministers tell us it was! It enriched lives with thought, sciences and poetry. Did you know that once upon a time, man believed the earth to be round and it existed in a thing called space?”

  My face fell slack as a hush fell over those congesting in the city streets. Those in line did an about face to see who would say such a thing.

  “Flights of fancy,” someone mumbled. “Stories from the dark ages.”

  “The curators spread rumors and speculation,” someone else said. “Evildoers and heretics, every single one of them.”

  A curator? That was the same word that was written on my paper. I was staring up at the man on the bench, wondering who he was, when the minister’s whistle pierced the air. The man on the bench jumped down, and I finally saw his face. It was George.

  I froze and watched as George lifted his arms to the crowd. Did he have any idea what the ministers would do to him? What the hell was he doing?

  “Listen to me. Don’t let the ministers or the death hunters scare you.” George pleaded. He took the hood of his robe down and revealed his brown messy hair and strong jaw.

  “Do you have any idea the splendors that the world once held? It just wasn’t us working and slaving for the ministers! There was life. Joy. Color. Words printed on pages telling stories, but we now live for the ministers! They work us to the bone! And last night, they took my mother.”

  No! He couldn’t! He just couldn’t! He wasn’t just risking his future, he was risking my future. The words he spoke were forbidden and against all our laws. I needed to find a way to stop him and get him out of here before people identified him.

  People turned to stare. I took a step forward and a woman grabbed my arm. “If I were you, girl, I’d keep my distance from him.”

  “We’re to be wed.”

  “Not if he keeps talking like that you won’t.”

  Glancing between this stranger and George, I felt the same fear she did, but if I didn’t try to reason with him the hunters might come and if they did…

  George continued, “Before the reckoning, we took care of our elderly and our sick. Now, they’ve taken my mother and I’m to pretend like she never existed? Like there isn’t a hole in my heart?”

  Shadows cast over his face. Gasps erupted from the crowd and I stared up. The hunters were circling; they had detected his words of blasphemy, and they’d take George to the minster, never to be seen again.

  I stormed away toward him and grabbed his arm. “George! Why?”

  His soft brown eyes swept down to me. “I had to, Abs, I’m sorry, but I can’t remain silent and allow a good woman to be forgotten. I can’t!” He lowered his eyebrows and leaned in to whisper. “This is my way into the stockades. I know it.”

  So getting caught was part of his plan? I grabbed his hand and yanked him down from the bench. “You’re a fool!”

  “What…Abby!” he yelled as I pulled him away from the crowd. Everyone was swarming to get a closer look. Shadows from above followed us and cast a darkened shroud on the ground. “Abby, I have to do this!”

  “If we stop, you’re dead, and now I’ll be dead, too. We have to hurry. Quick!” I pulled him down an alley and we sprinted between two brick apartment buildings. When we came out the other side, I leaped up a fire escape.

  George couldn’t make the jump so I leaned down and offered him my hand. I pulled him up so he stood beside me. He gasped for breath. “It’s like you’ve done this before.”

  Ignoring his statement, I used the back door into Mr. Quibbles apartment. He wasn’t home and didn’t believe in locks. I hurried over to his front window and peered outside.

  From up this high, I had a great view of the Minister of City Affairs’ office. It isn’t the biggest in town, but it is the most regal, with a marble domed roof. Four hunters circled above it, as though they were waiting for new orders. I certainly hope we wouldn’t end up on that list. I pulled George down beside me so we could hide beneath the window and held his hand in mine.

  One, so he’d know how I feel about him, and two, so he wouldn’t rush off.

  “You shouldn’t have done this, Abby.”

  “Why’d you do it? Why say those things? You know they could get you killed.”

  “They’re the truth. You have to believe me.”

  “I believe you, George. Of course, I do. But the truth gets you dead. Don’t you know that?” I sighed.

  “You of all people…I thought you’d understand. You’re to be my wife.”

  “At this rate, I won’t.” As I said it, I felt a rush of panic. “We’ll be lucky if we get out of here alive.”

  George shook his head. “Abby—.”

  “They will know it was you. If we’re lucky, we’ll keep quiet long enough that they’ll let the matter drop considering what happened last night, but you can’t do this again. George? You can’t.”

  George sighed. With the way his eyes focused down at the floor I feared his feelings were hurt. “Look,” I said as calmly as possible, “this could all blow over. If we can hide for a few hours—.”

  “Abby! I wanted to get caught.”

  I shook my head and didn’t want to hear his reasoning. “You said that already but I don’t understand. The hunters will kill you.”

  “Maybe.” George smirked. “You made a good point this morning about breaking into the stockades. It’s too risky, but if I’m already there, all I need to do is break out. Not break in.”

  Me and my big mouth. “Even if you get out of the stockade, it’s hundreds of miles to the barrier. You’ll never get there on foot and you can’t board the train without a pass. You’ll be dead before you reach the next town.”

  “You have a pass. You could get us on.”

  “So, that was the plan then?” Angrily, I crossed my arms and tossed my head back. “Break your mom out, come find me and put me on the spot, and have us all run for the barrier to live like wild animals?”

  George took my hand and kissed it. “I know you’re angry. You have every right to be angry, but this is what I want. This is what I need, Abby. I know you don’t want anything to happen to my mother. You’re just frightened.”

  “As you should be, too! You have the death hunters hunting for you and you did it on purpose!” I sighed and shook my head. Nothing good was going to come of this, but if I abandoned George, I was walking out on my future, the man I loved. What was the right answer in all this?

  “Abby…” he said softly.

  I raised my hand as I heard knocking coming from down below. Well, that wasn’t a good omen. “We have to move. C’mon.” I opened the door. The coast looked clear enough and we treaded quietly down the corridor. The painted walls were cracked and the floorboards squeaked as we made it down to the ground level.

  As we sprinted, a whistle blew and a little kid’s voice called out. “They went that way, Minister! That way!”

  Great, just what we needed.

  “Run!” I hissed and grabbed George’s hand. We ran past the building and into an intersection. I turned right and pulled him behind me. The direction we headed in would bring me home and my parents would know what to do. We could hide in the stock room until we made a decision; the ministers wouldn’t search it without good reason.

  As we ran past an old wooden wagon, the Minister of City Affairs stepped out of nowhere; his glowing eyes catching our every moment. We retreated and ran the other way.

  If he had seen me, the hunters would see me, that’s how it was, which was why some believed the ministers to be all powerful.

  “Abby Taylor, you wait!”

  We turned down an alley and I must’ve miscalculated because at the end was a towering brick building with a steel iron fence on top. On the other side, the Minister’s home.

  “We have to climb or head back.” My voice rose; I was panicked. I didn’t know what to do.

  “Abby.” George shook his head. “Just
let me get caught. Just let me go.”

  “No!” I screeched and clung to his hand tightly as I placed my feet on the wall and started to climb up, but I couldn’t climb and hang onto George. I couldn’t make George climb and if I couldn’t, he was going to be lost to me forever. My heart couldn’t take it.

  It just couldn’t.

  The minister walked down the alley toward us. Out of thin air a cane—wooden with a silver metal top—appeared in his hand. With a flourish of his hand, he spun it and slammed it down onto the sidewalk. Shadows emerged against the buildings out of nowhere and hunters sprang forth, closing in on us.

  I knew the ministers were heartless, but this? He was signing our death warrants. Oh God. They were close. So, close my insides began to shake. This could very well be my end. George was going to die because he had been stupid enough to speak the truth and stand up for what he believed in.

  I wasn’t one to tell him he was wrong. As much as I protested, my hidden book stash said otherwise, but I wasn’t ready to be as bold as he.

  George’s eyes were wide, and his lips stretched thin. “Good-bye, Abby,” he whispered. And for a brief moment, his lips touched mine.

  I loved him. He was mine in every way a husband was supposed to be to a wife. Friends back when we were toddling around in diapers; I couldn’t watch the hunters take him.

  Standing in front of him, I spread my arms. “He didn’t mean it. He didn’t—”

  The hunter’s breath blew me back with an unseen force. It slammed me back against the wall and I squealed as my head hit the bricks.

  “Abby!” George’s hand stretched out to mine as the hunters closed their circle close around him.

  “George!” I screamed and scrambled to my feet. The ground shone blue, a color I had never seen. Then as if they created a magical portal, they disappeared with a puff of mist.

  George was gone. “No!” I screamed and lunged for where he had been a moment ago.

  The Minster of City Affairs tapped his cane onto the cobblestone sidewalk as he limped closer to me. “Be grateful, Ms. Taylor, that you didn’t go with him. Running is a capital offense when it comes to aiding a criminal. You’re lucky your family has my precious seal, or you wouldn’t be receiving a warning.”

  George was no criminal and the idea was a preposterous notion. “He didn’t mean it. Please, give him another chance. He’s grieving.” I pleaded. “He just is torn up about his mother. Please, Minister.”

  “Human attachments are nothing but an excuse,” he said the word as if it were dirty, wrinkling up his nose in disgust. “Affection is far from allowed. Do I need to talk with your parents about your feelings for this boy?”

  I quivered under his gaze. “No, Minister.”

  “You’ll receive this one pass as you were to be married, but the next time you shan’t be so fortunate.”

  “Were?” My brow furrowed.

  “Tomorrow morning, George Tippin will be dealt with. I suggest your family get your affairs in order. Find another to take his place quickly, or you’ll discover that the world can be a cruel place for spinsters.” He turned and left the alley.

  I shivered inside. George was gone and if I wasn’t careful, I’d be gone, too.

  Chapter Eleven

  Tarnish Rose

  George would be scrubbed. Killed by the hunters in relentless torment and the city would be forced to watch as punishment for his defiance.

  Just the idea of it made me numb. I rubbed my arms as I slowly made my way back to my parents’ shop. I’m pretty sure I had been sent out for a reason, but I couldn’t remember what it was anymore. All I could remember is George.

  “Abby!” someone called at me as I made my way beneath an old torn canopy. Everything was like that here. Even the brick foundations were crumpled. What used to be windows in the building across from me, were now plywood with symbols of a square and a cross painted in black.

  Do not dare enter, for the hunters take privy.

  Who had lived there before the hunters erased them? I remembered a name—just barely because it happened so long ago. Johnson. Was it Natalie? I dared not even recall her face, but I remembered a happy girl with pigtails.

  “Abby?” Margret was out of breath when she caught up to me. “Didn’t you hear me calling?”

  I tried to keep distance between us. “You shouldn’t chase me. You shouldn’t be seen with me. Not after…” I gazed back the way I had come. “They took George. The hunters.”

  “Oh, no.” Her voice hushed, “I’m so sorry, Abby. I heard what happened. Everyone is talking about it. What will your family do? The wedding…”

  She had accepted that George would be scrubbed, she hadn’t even bothered to ask me about it. She assumed George would be dead and we’d just move on. Was that the right thing to do? Just accept this? That was what I had been telling George, wasn’t it? Just accept your mother is now gone and move on. But now I realized how hard that was to do.

  I didn’t know if I could do it.

  “His father is going to be heartbroken.” I continued on my way down the sidewalk and Margaret hurried after me.

  “He knew the rules and he broke them. If you cross the Minsters and their rules...”

  “I watched the minister summon the hunters.” My insides shook as the memory was triggered in my mind. “It was horrible.”

  “Yet you’re free to go?” The color drained out of Abby’s face and left her pale.

  “The minister said next time they won’t. This is my last chance.” I sucked on my lips and hopelessly raised my eyebrows.

  “Then go home. Hide. Don’t do anything rash, Abby.”

  “What could I possibly do? It’s hopeless. No one has ever escaped the barracks before.”

  “I don’t know if anyone has ever tried before either. Who would?” Margret asked with dread in her eyes. “Want me to walk you home?”

  “I think I’d rather be alone.” I squeezed her elbows in an open display of affection. “Thank you, though.”

  Margret nodded. “We’ll catchup tomorrow, promise?”

  I did. She ran back the way she had come, and I continued around toward the family shop. I’d be glad if they’d heard what had happened already. If I had to explain it….

  I sighed as I passed a woman in a black robe. Her hair was, of course, hidden beneath her thick fabric but I felt her stare on me.

  I turned back toward her and recognized her from somewhere. It certainly wasn’t from Rottenwood. She was traveling and…

  Her eyes opened wide. “Your eyes are different but you’re her, aren’t you?”

  “I…” my chin quivered, “…don’t know what you’re talking about.” I backed away, but my legs wouldn’t carry me further.

  She closed in. “Tarnish Rose,” she whispered. “You read to my grandchildren, my children, and our neighbors three months ago. Don’t you remember?”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about. What you’re talking about is blasphemy. Only the ministers can read. If they were to hear how you’re talking….”

  She nodded. “Breaks all of the rules, doesn’t it? But the stories, the stories are wonderful. I’d risk it all. Time and time again. Wouldn’t you?”

  “No,” I lied out of fear and glanced around. Someone was coming around the corner and if they heard this woman’s rantings, I’d be questioned. I was sure I couldn’t withstand a tight scrutiny.

  The woman fished something out of her pocket. Loose pages with jagged seams as if they had been ripped from a book. “We found these. I’ve been carrying them ever since, in case I ever saw you again.” She offered them to me, her hand outstretched.

  I backed up, cowering in fear. I couldn’t take those pages but my heart…oh my heart was desperate for them.

  “Put those away,” I hissed. “Put those away or you’ll get us both killed.”

  “But,” her face fell. “I thought…”

  “You thought wrong. I’m a nobody. You’re mistaken, old woma
n.” Finally, my body worked again and this time, I ran the whole way home.

  ****

  When I arrived, Poppa was with a customer but his eyes darted over. Momma was behind the counter, but she rushed to me as I stepped inside.

  “Are you all right? Abby?” She put a hand to my forehead as though I might have a fever.

  “You heard about George?” I said weakly. My encounter with the woman in the street still fresh in my mind.

  “The whole town is talking about it.” Mr. Eisenhower said as he snatched his bag from Poppa. “You ran with the crazy crackpot and were hunted down by the ministers. Saw the whole thing.”

  I cringed, and Momma sighed. “Have a nice day, Mr. Eisenhower.”

  “Ha,” he cackled. “What’s a nice day?”

  When he was gone, Poppa walked over and a lecture was sure to follow. “Can we skip the talk?” My stomach was already tied up into knots over what happened.

  “Skip the talk?” Mom asked, her hands on her hips. “Abbigail Taylor, do you have any idea how worried we were about you?”

  “You weren’t there. You didn’t see George. You weren’t surrounded by hunters and thought you might die. Your life wasn’t taken away in an instant. So, just leave it alone.”

  I wasn’t angry. I was defeated.

  “Abby!” Momma scolded.

  With tears in my eyes, I hurried to my sleeping cove and curled up on my mattress. My mind wandered to the books hidden beneath, but I couldn’t look at them. Couldn’t touch them. My heart couldn’t take even thinking about them.

  The old woman’s words haunted me. Images of her disappointed eyes flashed in my mind. I buried my head in my arms and just wanted to fade away.

  A brief knock outside my sleeping nook interrupted the quiet. Poppa entered and nudged my shoulder. “Want to talk about it?”

  I gazed up at his kind, round face and sighed, then sat up on the mattress. “He’ll be scrubbed tomorrow morning. We’ll all have to be there.”