Third Chronicles of Illumination

by C. A. Pack

  He expanded his comments to address the group at large. RS:⌘ Apparently, he’s been biding his time on Fantasia, honing his skills and preparing for… I don’t know what. He is much more dangerous than Nero 51, in my opinion, and needs to be stopped. But for now, all we have to lure him here is Mademoiselle Alianessa Anjou from the French province on Fantasia.

  RZ: Ω She is bait?

  RS:⌘ Possibly. Or she can just tell us all she knows, promise to not use her powers for devilcraft, and we could return her to the location from whence she came.

  Pru Tellerence turned her full attention to Alianessa. PT:★ Are you the one who’s trying to steal Myrddin’s spell book?

  “Steal it? No. Why would I have to? As a member of the Eahta Frean fram Drycræft, I have full access to it. Besides, I know the spells by heart. I have no reason to steal it.”

  RS:⌘ What she says is true. And yet, I suspect there is something she is not telling us.

  “What do you expect me to tell you? That I know this Odyon fellow? That he promised me the world if only I kept his secret? I don’t know what you want from me.”

  RS:⌘ You claim not to know how to transmogrify for any length of time, yet I have looked within your psyche and seen that is a lie. You successfully traveled as light and sound between your home in France and the Fantasian Library of Illumination on this very day.

  “And I would have told everyone about my breakthrough if the meeting hadn’t deteriorated into a witch hunt. Why would I openly state I could do something, if it caused everyone to suspect and ridicule me for my hard work? At least Robert understood me. He helped me with the transmogrification spell and we experienced our success together.”

  RS:⌘ So you were aware he was already proficient in shapeshifting.

  “No. We only succeeded in accomplishing sustained travel over the past few days. And to celebrate, we both traveled to the Library of Illumination using that knowledge.”

  RS:⌘ That is what he wants you to believe. Robert has been an accomplished sorcerer for a very long time and has long been able to travel as light and sound.

  “That’s a lie.”

  RS:⌘ Not at all. The man calling himself Robert Birk and I have known each other for centuries. He is one of the most powerful sorcerers alive.

  Alianessa stiffened. “That’s not true. It can’t be. Why wouldn’t he have confided in me? We’re very close.”

  RS:⌘ Finally, the truth. Please explain what you mean by “close.”

  She sighed. “He told me he could help me, if I helped him. He showed me some tricks I could use to make the spells work for me. He said if I ascertained similar information from the other members of The Eight, I should tell him. And he would do the same for me, so we wouldn’t be left behind when someone uncovered the key to Myrddin’s magic.”

  RS:⌘ And have you given him such information?

  “Only to tell him that I thought Edmund Beasom had made a breakthrough and was holding back.”

  RS:⌘ And has he shared similar information with you?

  “I already told you. He helped me perfect the transmogrification spell.”

  RS:⌘ And nothing more?

  “No. We were going to start working on Totalis Pereamus next.”

  The group gasped as one.

  RS:⌘ Total annihilation of all living creatures?

  “That’s not what it means.”

  RS:⌘ That’s exactly what it means—the end of life as we know it.

  —LOI—

  3

  Johanna found Ava, Chris, and Jackson guarding the cupola. “Your mother would like you to go down for dinner.”

  “No,” Ava said quickly. “We have to make sure no one breaks through our defenses.”

  Jackson grinned. “Listen to my little sister talking all military-like.”

  She butted him in the stomach with the end of the Terrorian decimator. “I was the first one put in charge here. You don’t even have a weapon.”

  Johanna held her hand out. “You can give me the weapon. I know how to operate it. I have experience shooting Terrorians with one. You three go down and make your mother happy. Just save a little food for me, and I’ll eat when you relieve me.”

  “No,” Ava repeated. “You eat with the boys and save a little food for me.”

  Johanna’s pupils dilated slightly, and the decimator flew from Ava’s hands to her own. “Go down and eat with your family.”

  “How did you do that?” Ava cried.

  Jackson stared at Johanna. “You’re officially scaring me.”

  Chris nodded. “Big time.”

  “It’s a little something I picked up from our friend, Beck.”

  Jackson nodded. “You’re going to teach me how to do that, right?”

  “After you all have dinner with your mom.”

  “Will you teach us, too?” Ava asked.

  “Maybe. Ask me again after you get back.”

  The Roth siblings headed down the cupola stairs. “Your girlfriend is crazy cool,” Chris said to Jackson.

  “Yeah,” Ava echoed.

  Johanna smiled as she hitched the weapon over her shoulder. Crazy cool. I can live with that.

  The two Terrorian troopers could go no farther than the Juvini town square. They sat back-to-back in the center of the square trying to protect themselves, and arguing.

  “My weapon was damaged by one of the explosives a kiddlet threw through the window. Where’s yours?”

  “I don’t know. I lost it when the window shattered.”

  “Why didn’t you look for it? No good soldier would allow himself to be separated from his firearm.”

  “Don’t take that tone with me. Who do you think you are, Nero 51? You allowed your weapon to be damaged, which makes you no better than me.”

  Slowly, their tentacles snaked toward each other as a prelude to a fight.

  The basement of the Juvini City Center was damp and dusty, but it was organized, so it took Marbol and Pollo no time at all to find the scorchers. “We need some fat and fire-sticks to get these things going,” Pollo said, handing two of them to Marbol. “And we need a couple of the other guys to help us host our barbecue.”

  Up on the main floor they met up with Guffle and another boy.

  “Pye just got here.” Guffle turned to the new boy. “Tell them what you told me.”

  “Two creatures have taken over the square,” Pye said in a rush, “and when anyone gets too close, they snake out their long, slimy tentacles and try to snatch them. We have to do something!”

  “That’s what these are for,” Pollo said, handing Pye one of the scorchers.

  Marbol handed one to Guffle. “I guess it’s us four against them.”

  Pye looked over his scorcher. “These need fuel.”

  “We can find that stuff in the kitchen,” Guffle said.

  “Yeah, and then let’s roast us some monsters,” Pollo cried, raising his scorcher into the air.

  HB:✠ Ladies.

  Natalia Dalura inhaled sharply as she spun around. “Horatio Blastoe.” She placed her hand over her heart to still its wild beating. “You gave me such a fright. Thank goodness it’s you.”

  HB:✠ I’m sorry if I startled you, the overseer said, but I couldn’t very well arrive through the library. And since we would like to keep the situation contained for as long as possible to avoid a panic, I decided Dame Erato’s cottage would be the best place to enter your world.

  “It’s always a pleasure to welcome you to my home, Horatio Blastoe.” Dame Erato took his arm and led him to a sunny sitting area. “Perhaps you would like a brew and biscuits to sustain you?”

  HB:✠ Although my need for food has greatly diminished since becoming an overseer, I could hardly say no to your fine biscuits, Dame Erato. He turned. HB:✠ I’m glad to see you were able to safely exit the library, Natalia. Any Terrorians who may have gained entrance are now sealed inside.

  Dame Erato set three cups on the table. “It’s a shame it has com
e to this. What about the other libraries?”

  HB:✠ They have all been sealed, but it wasn’t that simple. Issiopia did not want to leave the Inspiracon library, nor did Dr. Infinitis on Educon. We had to stress that it was for everyone’s safety and would doubly act as a preventive to keep interlopers OUT.

  Dame Erato poured the brew. “Is ours the only library that’s actually occupied?”

  HB:✠ No. Juvenilia and Dramatica have also been invaded, although there are no Terrorians remaining on Dramatica right now.

  The older woman put the brew pot down. “However did they manage to get rid of them?”

  The dean smiled. HB:✠ The Dramaticans proved to be too “springy” for the Terrorians. Too spry. Too quick. And they used flaming arrows, which immolated the Terrorian troopers, who apparently oil their skin. I heard the resulting odor was awful. But better a lingering stench than the threat of annihilation.

  “Is Furst okay?” Natalia asked. “He is such a kind, gentle person and has always greeted me earnestly.”

  HB:✠ He is now the leader of his world. The military provost and the head of the Library Council were killed when the Terrorians first invaded Dramatica, and Furst took it upon himself to lead the Dramaticans against the infiltrators, and did so quite successfully. He’s always been so unassuming, but Pru Tellerence has put an end to that by outfitting him in a uniform fit for a king. The Dramaticans look up to anyone bedecked in precious stones, and Furst’s uniform has a jeweled sash bearing the Illumini constellation that no one else’s attire can come close to.

  Dame Erato and Natalia Dalura laughed for a moment, before realizing that Furst’s thrust to greatness was precipitated by the threat of war.

  Terrorians—trapped in their own Library of Illumination, regardless of their brute strength and sinewy tentacles—breathed shallowly and moved erratically while they considered what might happen if the seal on the library turned out to be permanent.

  “We must find a way out of here, or die trying,” one stated.

  “We will,” Nero 51 said evenly. “However, we have everything we need to survive right here.”

  The general scowled at the curator. “We have no nourishment.”

  “Wrong again, General. You are a continuing disappointment to me. I blame myself, of course. I was too hasty in replacing General Lethro 814. I should have realized at once that you are inferior, but mourning your predecessor clouded my judgment.”

  “What will we do for food?” one of the troopers asked.

  Nero 51 thought carefully about how much information he wanted the soldiers to know about the library. He decided revealing the contents behind one of the wondrous doors on level six would not be so terribly risky. “The library has a duplicloner, a replicator of sorts that will create whatever we need. Food, water…weapons.”

  “That’s phenomenal,” the soldier answered.

  The general sneered. “Will it replenish the air we need to breathe, as well?”

  “The humidifier in the front vestibule will take care of that,” Nero 51 answered icily.

  The general matched the curator’s tone. “As long as it doesn’t break down.”

  “We can re-create all the parts we need with the duplicloner.”

  “And you have the expertise to fix it if it were to break down?” the general shot back.

  “This is the Library of Illumination. We can find all the expertise we need etched on the obelisks.”

  “And the nimble fingers to perform mechanical surgery, no doubt.”

  Nero 51 did not answer the general, at least not out loud. You have outlived your usefulness, he thought, and I cannot allow you to continue to undermine me.

  Pru Tellerence had limited experience conjuring objects out of thin air and decided she needed to practice. She locked herself within her personal chamber and concentrated on creating a cloak that would not only hide her overseer’s robe but also would contain a magic pocket that would allow her to carry her miter within the cloak without showing its bulk. She refused to be separated from it again after previously being trapped on Romantica overnight, when she had hidden her miter in Natalia Dalura’s residence. She couldn’t hide it there again, considering the Terrorians had invaded the Romantican library. Besides, she would feel much safer knowing she could come and go between worlds at will.

  Her first attempt was a bulky, oversized garment that would be impossible to walk in without tripping over the excess fabric.

  Several tries later, she had a serviceable cloak that would cover her robes but still looked bulky and did nothing to minimize her miter.

  PT:★ This has to work… eventually. She concentrated on enchanting the fabric to remove the bulk from her robe and the hat beneath it, but the hour grew late before the cloak transformed into a cover-up that not only concealed what she wore but also appeared graceful with gentle folds of silky cloth. One more effort to change it from the color of mud to midnight blue and she felt ready to travel anywhere.

  Mal’s sudden appearance in the Dramatican library surprised Furst.

  “To collect the taxes, have you come? Not ready, we are.”

  “No, Furst. I’m here to speak with you about the sealing of the libraries. Every library on every other realm, except for here and Fantasia, has been completely sealed. It’s a precaution taken by the overseers to make sure no invaders get into or out of those libraries. We know they already have a presence on two other realms. We sealed all the doors and windows on most of the libraries as a precaution. Here, only your portals are sealed, so no one from another world, except for an overseer, or myself can visit. Not even a time machine should be able to break the enchantment on the current seal. You remain free to leave the library and interact with the people of your world. The same is not true on Fantasia. The overseers want Johanna and Jackson to be free to travel between realms as needed. That is the only realm without protection.”

  “Come to tell me, why did not Pru Tellerence?”

  “Pru Tellerence is busy with another matter. I’m sure she will visit you when she has completed handling it. But I wanted you to know that since your library is only partially sealed, you could carry on normally.”

  “Stop training soldiers, should we?”

  Mal raised his eyebrows. “Quite the contrary. Continue preparing yourselves to fight. The threat has been contained, but it has not been removed.”

  “Send Dramatican soldiers to Fantasia, should we?”

  “I don’t think that’s necessary at this time,” Mal answered. “But we may take you up on that in the future.”

  “Show them to you, I will.” Furst led Mal outside to the square to watch Dramaticans take part in military drills. Farther away, near the pond, some soldiers practiced shooting rocks with their decimators while others captured mice in the weapons’ force field. They allowed the creatures to go free, before capturing them again. “With moving targets, some of them practice,” Furst explained.

  “Yes. And they’re very good at it.”

  “Train the eye, it does. Better able to vaporize, they are, when proficient, they become. Easier to hit Terrorians, it is. Larger, they are. But, shoot back, mice do not.”

  “Yes. It’s infinitely more difficult to fight when you’re being fired upon. Still, it looks like you have a firm grasp of the problem and have everything under control. Continue the military training. You’re doing an excellent job.”

  Pru Tellerence knew Dean Horatio Blastoe was on Romantica, meeting with Natalia Dalura and Dame Erato, and she made a point of bypassing them when she arrived. She had not planned on returning so soon, but she worried about the safety of her child after hearing the realm had been invaded.

  She materialized inside Ingur Aguri’s cottage. She’d left Bel in the witch’s care, knowing Ingur would take care of the toddler as if she were her own. Indeed, the old crone had already renamed the youngster Selestra and treated her like a grandchild.

  “Why have you returned? I told you it would be dangero
us to be seen here with the child.”

  PT:★ No one saw me enter, and your windowpanes are hazy with age. I will make them more so. A moment later, the panes allowed light and images to filter in but obscured anything within from being seen from outside.

  “You have not explained, yet, why you are here.”

  PT:★ You must not reveal what I am about to tell you. There has been a change, here. The Library of Illumination has been taken over by invaders from another realm. They are contained within the library and cannot get out, but their close proximity to someone I care deeply about has me on edge. You must be forewarned, and take precautions when you go out, in case you have to adapt quickly.

  “Selestra now wears the mark of a Maroqi priestess.”

  Pru Tellerence looked at the child more closely and saw the golden spiral tattooed on the front of the youngster’s throat. PT:★ That must have been painful for her, she exclaimed.

  “Not at all. It was instantaneous and painless. I used a special ink for the mark. When people look upon the child, they perceive her as a very powerful Maroqi witch. Even someone from another realm would feel that she is not to be trifled with.”

  Pru Tellerence inhaled slowly, although her thoughts raced. PT:★ Has she shown any special powers?

  “None whatsoever, but the only people who know that are you and I.”

  Nero 51 allowed only one trooper to accompany him to sub-level six and swore him to secrecy before opening the entrance to the Chamber of Doors. He approached the fourth door and held his left palm against the lock. The door swung inwardly and a dim light illuminated, continuing to grow brighter with each passing second. The far wall appeared to be solid bronze and contained six large, boxy openings. An assortment of tables lined the two sides of the room.

  Nero 51 walked to a table standing in the center of the room and opened a box of small, glass files. He pulled a few out and inserted them into small ports located above each box. The duplicloner hummed gently as it started to reproduce food in one box, water in another, and merk in the third. Slowly, they filled the tables with enough food and beverages to last until the next day.