The Forbidden Library

by David Alastair Hayden

  “Because your world is warmer?”

  “In part, but mostly because it requires less internal kenja to initiate. And the winter healing spell tends to be painful.”

  “So why know it at all?”

  “You might want it for healing a burn victim or someone suffering with a high fever.”

  Turesobei removed the splint and chanted the spell. His restored internal kenja pulsed into and through his kavaru. A white cloud formed over his broken arm. The energy seeped in like a cluster of thin needles stabbing all the way into the bone. He groaned and bit his lip until blood trickled down his chin. The arm went numb from the cold, an aching numb, but still far better than what he had experienced. He breathed a sigh of relief. Warmth returned slowly and the pain faded away. He wriggled his fingers, flexed his elbow, and held the arm out.

  Eira felt along it and gasped. “The bone was broken in three places and deformed, but now it has healed back perfectly.” She laughed. “That should’ve taken another six weeks to heal. At the least.”

  “It doesn’t always fix things back right like that. I was lucky. And if you hadn’t set the bone first, it would be crooked now.”

  “It’s amazing,” she exclaimed. “Simply amazing. I wish I could learn magic.”

  “I wish you could, too,” Turesobei said. “Most wizards would never say that, though.”

  “But then they would all know fighting magic as well, yes? And there would be lots more death.”

  “Unfortunately.”

  “I think your magic could of much value to us here.”

  “Just remember, all I can do is accelerate natural healing. If injuries are too severe, especially internal injuries, there is nothing I can do. And if disease has set in, all I can do is delay the inevitable or reduce the symptoms. I cannot cure it.”

  Over the next several days he healed four of her patients who had lingering injuries that were causing them problems plus one child with a disease. Eira hoped the healing would allow the child to recover enough that her immune system could fight off the disease. She was a sweet child who laughed through the healing, grimacing only once during the spell. Turesobei hoped it would work to save her.

  A number of business arrangements swamped Tsuroko and his wife, which meant Turesobei could escape dinner with Kurine’s parents for a while longer. At least until the birthday party. Enashoma was helping Kurine with all the preparations. Birthdays were a huge deal amongst the goronku.

  Turesobei studied the mark of relentless fire in Chonda Lu’s grimoire, combining some aspects of it with the mark of warming that was in his standard spell book. The goronku gave him a jar of sonoke blood for him to draw the marks with since he lacked Zhura ink which would’ve been the ideal substance to use. After three days of practice he successfully drew a mark of warming that drew trace threads of fire kenja from the environment and focused them into the mark, radiating heat outward. Now he only needed to incorporate the mark of renewal to make it semi-permanent.

  “Very good work, master,” Lu Bei said. “Your skills are advancing rapidly.”

  Turesobei nodded. “They should. I’m battle tested. And Chonda Lu’s grimoire is helping. I can’t do much of what’s in it, but I’m learning refinements I can apply to my standard spells. When I had those flashes of Chonda Lu’s past, I picked up a little more understanding of his grimoire. Not enough to cast. I don’t have the inherent power channels that would allow that. Just a better understanding.”

  While Turesobei worked on spells, Iniru and Zaiporo trained with Herd Chief Boronaru, learning to feed, ride, and care for the sonoke. Enashoma studied sewing with Kurine and her mother, when she didn’t help with party-planning. Motekeru carried giant blocks of stone and stacked them, helping the goronku build a new outer building for storing supplies. Motekeru, once given the tasks they needed him to complete, worked tirelessly through the night. Turesobei introduced Rig and Ohma to the goronku community and told the wolfhounds to mingle and play. They were an incredible hit with not just the children but the teens and adults as well. The hounds entertained children, rushing throughout the village, playing for hours at a time. The goronku, who had nothing like dogs, were fascinated by them. The Ancient Cold and Deep did not produce pets.

  Turesobei went into the staircase that led from the goronku common room up to the outside world. Halfway up he sat down and cut a slit on one of his fingertips.

  “You know I don’t approve of this, master. Using blood magic for something so common … it’s an unnecessary risk.”

  “There is so little risk, Lu Bei. There are no entities to entangle with my essence. I’m not summoning anything, or attacking someone. It’s a passive spell used to benefit others.”

  “You just recovered.”

  “I’m not drawing much.”

  Lu Bei placed his hands on his hips and stamped a foot. “Well, I don’t like it one bit. If I could resign from my post, I would.”

  “That’s a load of denekon poop and you know it.”

  “Do not mock me, master. I take blood magic seriously.”

  Turesobei tapped the Mark of the Storm Dragon on his cheek. “So do I.”

  “Then you should know better!”

  “It’s not personal. There’s no vendetta. There’s … I’m not going to discuss it any further. We have to do things to earn our keep faster. That’s what I’m trying to do, and I don’t have Zhura ink. I’m going to be facing worse dangers than this soon enough.”

  Lu Bei stuck out his tongue, went into the pack, and turned back into a book.

  Turesobei completed the first mark of warming. A little bit of himself trickled into the spell as it activated. Some said blood magic was energy that never came back to the wizard, but Grandfather Kahenan didn’t believe that was true and neither did Turesobei. The energy came back, just slowly, sometimes over the course of a few years. And the energy he used on this was minor. He didn’t need blood to activate the spell just to bind it onto the wall. With the mark drawn he now had to power and activate it through chanting and meditation. The process took him from dusk until dawn and left him so exhausted he fell asleep on the stairs.

  A tap on his shoulder awoke him. He lurched forward, his entire body aching, several limbs asleep. He tried to stretch them out. One cheek was numb.

  Narbenu stood over him. He glanced at the scarlet symbol with its twisting, interlocking lines incorporating odd glyphs and covering a space two hand-widths across. He held his palm near it and shook his head. “I can’t feel any difference. Are you sure it worked?”

  Turesobei rotated his shoulders. “Just needed a nap.” He touched the mark and whispered the final activation command. Only a slight draw was required from inner kenja at this point. “Give it a few minutes.”

  Narbenu handed Turesobei a bowl of steaming sonoke milk. As Turesobei drank, Narbenu sat next to him. The goronku man reached his fingers out near the mark again.

  “I can feel some warmth now.”

  “You can touch it,” Turesobei said. “I made it as permanent as I could … as permanent as paint. So it will wear down if touched too much.”

  Narbenu touched it and immediately drew his hand back. “Hot.”

  Turesobei nodded. “If you leave something touching it long enough, that something will catch fire. I made it as strong as I could since the door at the top will let in cold air every time it opens. I’m going to make another one on the other side of the staircase. Fortunately you are near enough to some fire energy currents for them to work. Probably from the hot springs at your lake and the thermal vents. I’ve never made runes this strong before.”

  “How long will it last?”

  “A century I’d guess, though the strength will fade over time.”

  “Anything we can do to keep them strong?”

  “Nothing that your conscience would approve of, and nothing my conscience would let me tell you. Hopefully this will make for less cold air getting into the common room. I’ll do your chambers next
.”

  Narbenu shook his head. “I’m a scout. I’m used to the cold. I don’t want to get too used to the warmth. Do Shaman Eira’s chambers. She’s getting old. And the recovery room for her patients. Herd Chief Boronaru would appreciate warming runes in the pen for the calves and newborns. And I think you know it’s most important that you impress him, above all others, with your contributions to the community.”

  Turesobei spent a week adding marks of warmth to all those places. As he did them, he got better at it, eventually managing two each day. By keeping busy and exhausting himself, he successfully avoided Kurine, having only to endure a few minutes of smalltalk each day. Once he escaped her during her lunch break by darting outside, though he was woefully under clothed. So he hurried to the lake where it was a little warmer. Thankfully no one was out tending the gardens. Lu Bei picked through the scraggly herbs and wildflowers trying to make a suitable tea blend.

  “The pickings are slim, master,” the fetch said as he tasted the herbs.

  “You sure those aren’t poisonous?”

  “Why would they have poisonous herbs in their gardens, master?”

  “Might be medicinal. Too much could harm us.”

  “One of my talents, master, is I can tell if an herb is poisonous or not.”

  “You never mentioned that before.”

  Lu Bei puffed himself up indignantly. “Well, master, you never asked.”

  Sun Priestess Oroki strolled out and joined them. Having never met her before, Lu Bei bowed and praised her.

  “My lady, you are a vision of pure beauty such that the sun must be ever so glad that you speak with him so often.”

  Oroki laughed with delight. “I’m not looking for a tiny winged husband. You don’t have to praise me so much.”

  “I speak only of truths,” Lu Bei said, bending over to examine an herb. “I never lie.”

  Turesobei looked at her and shook his head no.

  “My lady, I shall make you tea tonight. You shall be most impressed. I am a master of tea.”

  “That is true,” Turesobei told her. “Though I think he uses some sort of subtle magic to enhance the flavors.”

  “My methods are proprietary,” Lu Bei replied.

  Oroki sat down beside Turesobei. “I sense you are uncomfortable with the marriage to Kurine.”

  “How did you know?” Turesobei asked.

  “I saw you dart out when she appeared. Figured if you’d planned on going outside, you’d have worn your parka. You must be freezing.”

  “It’s warmer here beside the lake and I’ve added something to help me in this world.” He stretched to show her his belt which had a warming mark etched on it now, one much weaker than the ones on the walls. Its effect was similar to wearing an extra silk nightshirt. Not much but something. Of course, once they were away from the thermal energy below the village, the mark probably wouldn’t help him anymore.”

  “It’s okay,” she said. “You can be honest with me. I know Kurine caught you unawares.”

  “I really had no idea. She knows that now. But …”

  “You can’t break it without difficulty.”

  “If I leave this world or die …”

  “Kurine is quite the catch, you know. Very pretty, highly skilled, the only child of a wealthy and respected family. Many boys are jealous of you, though they are all several years too young to marry. The plague took many of the children that were Kurine’s age. Not that it’s a problem for her to wait if she wished, or take an older man, but the older ones … Well, they don’t have mates yet for a reason many of them, unless they’ve lost their wives. And then there’s Kemsu. They were best friends for many years but had a falling out. And he’s a slave and can’t marry.”

  “Kurine is a wonderful girl,” Turesobei said, honestly, “but my betrothed just died. And Iniru and I were … I don’t know. And I’m not an adult among my people.”

  “Kurine told me you would not be an adult among your people until eighteen. A curious custom. You are an adult here, though. And if you stay …”

  Lu Bei gagged on an herb, spat it out, and pranced around cursing. “Spicy spicy too spicy — Bad!”

  They laughed at Lu Bei who scowled at them while scooping up ice and chewing on it.

  “If you stay with us, you will be an adult,” she continued. “And I hope you do stay. You and your friends have so incredibly much to offer our community. Skills and knowledge we’ve never encountered before. And this is a good place to live … in this world, anyway.”

  “I won’t argue that.”

  “You could all make families here and prosper. I sense your sister and Zaiporo are a couple.”

  “Maybe. Kind of. I don’t think she’s made up her mind. She’s young still.”

  “And Iniru would have no trouble finding a husband if she should desire one.”

  Turesobei bit back a retort. He would be with Iniru. Somehow. “You should ask her how marriage works among her people. They can have multiple spouses and then declared friends who are almost like spouses but aren’t and … Honestly, I’m not sure I understand it all. But if you’d like to learn about a culture more alien to yours than mine …”

  The priestess’s eyes were wide. “That … that really works?”

  “She says it works for them, and they’ve done it for ages, but I can’t even make things work with a single girlfriend so I don’t see how it could.”

  The priestess chuckled. “I was looking for you for a reason. The Council has discussed your situation. Since Motekeru does the work of eight men carrying blocks, night and day, and since your warming marks and healing are so useful, your debt will be paid to us in eight months. We will understand if you choose to set out then for the Forbidden Library. And if you fail and manage to return, you are welcome to live here all your days and no one will think less for you having tried to go home. Quite the opposite. You would be admired for your bravery and determination.”

  “Thank you, my lady. For understanding.”

  “I understand your situation is difficult. We all do, and we sympathize.” Sun Priestess Oroki stood. “I will see you at the party tomorrow night.”

  The birthday party. His first ever. The Chonda frowned on the practice. At eighteen he’d undergo a simple blessing from King Ugara and enjoy a lively tea. The zaboko did birthday parties, though. Most baojendari, though they’d never admit it, were jealous that they did.

  His first birthday party … He should be excited. Among all the cool cultures, he was now an adult, having turned sixteen already. But there seemed to be so little worth celebrating. And Kurine … He sighed. What a mess he’d gotten himself into.

  Chapter 21

  After Turesobei cast a healing spell on a herdsman who’d broken his hand in an accident, he returned to his room. Kemsu and Zaiporo were waiting for him. They each grabbed him by an arm and drug him to the communal bathing room.

  “We reserved time for you,” Zaiporo said.

  “Got to get you cleaned up nice for your party,” Kemsu added, smiling almost maliciously.

  They shoved him into the room and Kemsu tossed him an ivory comb engraved with swirling patterns. “A present, from your betrothed. And I’d say your hair could use some effort, my friend, looks terrible. Narbenu wishes you a happy birthday, by the way. He’s on scout duty this evening and won’t be able to make it to the party. He apologizes.”

  Turesobei stripped down and sank into the tub, thankful he was here alone. The warm water was brought in by pipes from the hot springs. He figured the goronku could easily heat the entire village if they arranged the pipes correctly and dug down to tap into the geothermal currents below, but there had to be a reason they hadn’t done so already. He allowed himself to relax and tried not to think of … anything serious.

  Why shouldn’t he allow himself some time for fun? Why shouldn’t he celebrate his birthday? He always ended up just barely saving the day, and by the time he recovered, no one wanted to celebrate his accomplish
ments. They just wanted to put new burdens on him.

  “I’m sixteen years old now,” he muttered to no one. “Many cultures consider me a man. I’m alive. I saved my world. Two women love me … I think. So tonight I’m going to have fun for a change.”

  A nagging sense that he didn’t know how to have fun danced through his mind, but he dismissed it as quickly as he could.

  *****

  Lu Bei entered the bedroom and bowed in a most dignified manner. “Master, do you know what time it is?”

  “No, what time is it?”

  Lu Bei pumped his fists into the air, spun around, and shook his behind as if dancing. “It’s time to party!”

  Laughing, Turesobei followed Lu Bei to the common room. He swept back a curtain that didn’t usually hang there and stepped into — An empty room.

  Chairs and tables sat along the edges, clearing a large space in the center. Only half the star-stones burned. A giant, flickering lantern hung from the center of the ceiling while colored ribbons draped from all over.

  “Where is everyone?”

  “Birthday madness!” Lu Bei cried, flying around the room shooting sparks from his palms. “Happy sixteenth birthday, master!”

  Drumming and piping erupted from the opposite hall and a six-piece band — three drummers, two pipers, and a crooner — marched into the room and took up position in the corner. Cooks bustled out of the kitchen carrying plates of goronku delights: smoky meats, smoky vegetables, and smoky milk soups.

  Zaiporo appeared behind Turesobei and shoved him forward. “Happy birthday, Sobei!”

  Turesobei stumbled out into the common room. The Council entered. Each approached, patted him on each shoulder, and said, “Welcome to adulthood, Chonda Turesobei. Happy birthday.”

  Tsuroko’s shoulder-pats knocked Turesobei side-to-side.

  Enashoma crashed into him. “Happy big one, big brother.”

  He squeezed her tight. “Yay! I’m an adult now.”

  “Yeah, only here, you know. Don’t let it go to your head. Just imagine what Grandfather would say.”