by Amy Cross
"You're just in my head," I say, backing away from her. "I've got it all worked out. Whatever's happened to me, I've started to hallucinate. I need help. I need pills and therapy, and then you'll go away and Haley will come back and..." My voice trails off as I realize how desperate I must sound. Still, I can't accept that Haley's dead.
"No," she replies with a smile. "You need to come with me. You're the first book, Claire. You're the book that came before all others. Once the Forbidders have you in their possession, they'll be more than happy to return to their world. The Library might be gone, but the human world will survive. Doesn't that sound like a fair deal?"
Realizing that there's no point arguing with something that only exists in my mind, I turn and run along the aisle. There's less moonlight in this part of the library, so it takes me a while to find my way to the door. Eventually I reach the main hall, but the front doors are locked and I realize that the only way out is to go back the way I came and find the small window again. As I try to decide what to do, I hear a set of footsteps getting closer, and finally I spot Sam appearing once again in a nearby doorway.
"You can't run," she says. "You ran from the Library to the human world, then you were pulled back, then you ran again, and now there's nowhere left for you to go. If you don't come with me, the Forbidders are going to tear this world apart."
Hearing a splitting, cracking sound outside, I hurry to the main doors and look out to see that a small crowd has gathered on the lawn. They're staring up in awe at the night sky, where a swirling vortex of clouds seems to threaten a spectacular storm.
"You've seen something like this before," Haley continues. "Don't you remember the moment when the Forbidders sent the Grandapams back to their world? That disruption in the sky is one end of a bridge from the Library to this world. Soon, the Forbidders will come swarming through, and they'll show no mercy. You've seen the desolation that afflicted the Library. Imagine the same thing happening here. Imagine the main cities of your world being torn apart, their buildings toppled like shelves, their people burned like books. Imagine huge Forbidders swooping down and destroying human civilization, crushing skyscrapers with their wings and setting your rivers ablaze. Imagine watching so much death, and knowing that it's all your fault." She smiles. "Just because you can't bring yourself to make the ultimate sacrifice. Are you really such a coward, Claire?"
"This isn't happening," I say firmly, with tears in my eyes.
"Can't you feel them coming?" she continues. "Last time you encountered them, I was still able to hold them back. This time, their desperation knows no bounds. They're flooding across the bridge. When they get here, they'll kill everything in their path. All those lives, ripped apart and destroyed. All those people killed needlessly. I assure you, the Forbidders take no prisoners. You've never seen a Forbidder when it's at its fullest fury. The power is immense. They'll strip this world bare in days, and then where will you hide?"
"I have to wake up," I whisper. "Please, God, let me wake up." Beneath my feet, the ground starts to tremble.
"You can stop this?" Gum says, leaning close to my ear. "Just say the word. Just accept your fate, and this world will be saved forever."
As the windows start to rattle, I drop to my knees, still staring out at the huge, swirling storm. I no longer know what to believe. Either I've lost my mind, or the world has gone crazy. Either way, there's no way this can continue. I feel as if my head's about to explode, and finally I realize that I've got no choice. The last thing I want to do is surrender to anything or anyone, but I just need the madness to end. I can't let all these people die just because I'm scared.
"Fine," I say. "I'll do it."
"I'm sorry," she replies. "I'm afraid I didn't quite catch that."
"I'll do it," I say again, through gritted teeth.
"Say the words," Gum replies calmly, as if she's enjoying taunting me.
"I'll give myself to them," I continue, my voice trembling as I try to fight back the tears. "Whatever they want, they can have it. Just stop everything else." Closing my eyes, I let my head drop, and suddenly I realize that the distant vibrations have eased. Looking back out the window, I see that the storm is already clearing.
"You've made a very wise choice," Gum says eventually. "They'll never know it, of course, but billions of people on this planet will always have you to thank for their continued existence. Their lives will go on as normal, and the only difference is that one girl will be missing. That girl will be you."
"Now what happens?" I ask, watching as the crowd disperses. After everything that's happened, I just want to get it over with.
"The Forbidders waiting," she replies. "It's time to go and give yourself to them completely."
Vanguard
It takes many hours for us to reach the point at which our world touches the edge of the void. It is a journey I have undertaken many times before, heading into the mountains that border the Library and seeking the solace of thoughtlessness that comes when one stares into the nothingness between worlds. Many men come to this place in order to have their minds filled with wonder, but I have always come for a very different reason: to have my mind emptied, so that I might better see the kernel of truth.
"Behold the seven worlds," Reith says as we stand and look out upon the void. "In all their wonder, they come closest to meeting in this place. Have you ever seen anything so wondrous?"
Before us, the other worlds hang in the firmament. There is the human world, bright and teeming with life; there is the Underworld, which is filled with the secrets of creatures that prefer to remain shrouded in doubt; there is the world of the Grandapams, which has fallen victim to a darkness that has snuffed out all life; there is the world of the Drazi, which has fallen to the same darkness that destroyed the Grandapams; there is the world of the Forbidders, filled with fire and torment; there is the world of the Eternals, who long ago locked themselves away in despair; and finally there is our world, the Library, which is now barren and lifeless.
"This is the only beautiful thing I have ever seen," I reply, with sadness in my heart. While some of the worlds have fallen into darkness, others remain bright and vibrant. There is a part of me that would like to stand here forever, but I know I must soon go to my grave. Perhaps if I had been a better warrior, and if I had found a way to defeat the Forbidders, I would be deserving of a grave in such a place. As it is, I must be humble and accept my place in the dirt.
"Many men have stood in this place," Reith says. "Scholars, academics, researchers, philosophers. Even a few warriors, Vanguard, such as yourself. All of them were looking for some kind of peace, some kind of understanding of the void and of the seven worlds. None received the peace they sought, however. It is the curse of our kind that we can look upon the workings of the universe, but we can never come close to understanding any aspect of the higher purpose." He turns to me. "Do you believe in any gods, Vanguard?"
"I believe in the void," I say darkly.
"But the void is nothing," he says. "Do you not believe that, beyond the void, there might be a greater intelligence?"
"There is nothing beyond the void," I say bitterly.
"Perhaps," he replies. "Myself, I prefer to believe in a greater power. A power that we cannot even begin to comprehend."
"It is hard to believe that such destruction could have been visited upon us," I say, as my mind calms. I have no patience for Reith's rambling questions about higher powers. If such powers exist, why would they allow such destruction to be visited upon us? "The seven worlds have hung in balance for so long," I continue, "and now the Forbidders reach out in anger to attack the others. The delicate balance has been destroyed."
"They're scared," Reith reminds me. "For so long, they were godless creatures. Then the darkness came and they became terrified. They eventually decided that they had angered the gods in whom they had never previously believed. In some ways, the Forbidders are like children. Rather than build a religion out of faith, they built one
out of fear. They searched desperately for an idol, and they found one in the first book of the Library. That, I'm afraid, is why our fate became so inextricably linked with theirs. It is to be hoped, however, that once they have the book, they will retreat to their world and never again trouble the others."
"Are you so naive?" I ask. "Do you not think they will be back eventually?"
"Eventually, perhaps," he says. "But not in our lifetimes."
Taking a deep breath, I think of Claire. She must, by now, have begun to notice that the Forbidders are interested in her world. I can only hope that she makes the right decision.
"The darkness has already claimed the worlds of the Drazi and the Grandapams," Reith continues, "and its effects have been felt here in the Library and also in the human world. It has reached the Forbidders too, sparking their current fear. There are rumors that the Underworld is affected, but I was never able to confirm such a thing. Regardless, it is clear that the darkness is slowly spreading through the void, reaching out to every world. Perhaps it will even one day attack the Eternals, and who is to say that the Eternals will have the ability to fend it off? It might be the case that eventually all seven worlds will be consumed by the darkness."
"We can only hope that some solution is found," I mutter bitterly.
"The greatest minds of the Library were unable to find a solution," he points out. "They studied the ancient texts for many years, and yet they could never answer even the simplest of questions about the darkness. They could come up with no name for it, nor were they able to determine where it comes from or what it wants. They could not even agree upon the question of whether or not it is intelligent. Some believed it to be a mindless, destructive force, while others argued that it displays signs of intelligence."
"And you consider these fools to be the greatest minds of the Library?" I ask. I have long disliked the smugness of those who set themselves apart as the Library's intellectual superiors. They always looked down upon the warriors, yet it was always the warriors who dealt with any problems that arose.
"But do you not see it?" Reith continues. "Have you, like all the others, been dazzled by the lights of the seven worlds?"
"What do you mean?" I ask. "I see everything that there is to see. I see the seven worlds and I see the void."
"Look deeper," he says. "Look over toward the gap between the human world and the Underworld. Although they shine brightly in the void, try to look into the emptiness between them. Tell me what you see."
"I see the void," I reply, a little frustrated by his determination to make me see something that doesn't exist.
"And nothing else?"
Sighing, I stare for a moment at the huge nothingness that hangs between the worlds. Finally, just as I'm about to turn and ask Reith again what he thinks I should see, I realize that there's a vague shape far, far beyond the other worlds. I narrow my eyes for a moment, trying to get a better view, and after a moment I start to realize what I'm seeing.
"Such a thing is not possible," I say, feeling my heart start to pound.
"And yet there it is," he replies. "You see it with your own eyes."
"No," I say firmly. "This must be a mistake."
"I would have said so myself, had I not seen it myself."
I open my mouth to argue with him, but no words come out. Instead, I stare up at the heavens and keep my eyes firmly fixed on the dark, ominous shadow that I had never before noticed. There are seven worlds in the void, but now I am seeing another shape, further out than the others and barely noticeable. Huge and dark and spherical, it appears to be an eighth world.
"This is some kind of trick," I say after a moment. "Someone is trying to..." My voice trails off as I realize that there is no way anyone could conjure up such a massive sight. The distant dark world looks to be at least as big as the rest, if not slightly larger. It is beyond the means of anyone, even the Eternals of old, to create such an illusion.
"Since we were children," Reith continues eventually, "we were all taught that there are seven worlds. This is part of the sacred knowledge that has been passed down to us for generations. Our forefathers, and their forefathers before them, meticulously chronicled these seven worlds, documenting their people and their effect on the void. Never, in any of the literature, was there mention of an eighth world, yet there it is. It seems to hang much further out than the rest, in the far reaches of the void. It's little wonder that we were so blinded by the closer worlds that we neglected to notice the eighth, but I'm now quite certain that this must be where the darkness comes from."
"An eighth world is not possible," I say quietly. All my life, I have been absolutely certain that there are only seven worlds. Now it seems that this eighth world exists, but I cannot understand how it could have been missed for so long.
"There is another explanation," Reith says after a moment, his voice filled with doubt and fear. "While it is possible that we have all been blinded by the light of the seven worlds, there is another reason why the eighth world might not have been noticed by our forefathers." He pauses for a moment. "Perhaps it was not visible before. Perhaps it is moving closer to us, and only now does it loom out of the darkness."
"The worlds are static," I say firmly. "Our forefathers -"
"Our forefathers seem to have been on shaky ground," he replies. "It seems they were wrong about many things. They were wrong about the Forbidders, and about the demise of the Drazi, and they were wrong when they claimed that the Library would last forever. What if the eighth world has been hanging at the far edges of the void and only now comes close enough that we can see it? What if this is how the darkness is spreading?"
"I cannot comprehend such a thing," I tell him. "If there is an eighth world, who lives there? Surely the Drazi, with all their knowledge of the void, would have searched the outer reaches?"
"That is why I speculate that the eighth world has moved closer over time. Perhaps the world of the Drazi was the first to be destroyed precisely because its people had begun to explore the depths of the void? Perhaps the Eternals fled to their own world precisely because they knew that this eighth world was returning. Either way, this can't be a coincidence. I'm certain that we've finally found the source of the darkness."
I stare in awed silence at the large dark sphere that hangs in the void. I had previously believed the darkness to be an unintelligent phenomenon, eating away at the fabric of the seven worlds. Now, however, I am starting to wonder if it reaches out from its own world, with its own agenda. This eighth world must surely have some kind of malevolent intent as it slowly makes its way toward us.
"I show you this not because I believe there is anything that can be done to stop it," Reith says, "but because I believe all men should know the truth as they go to their grave."
"And there has never been any mention of an eighth world before?" I ask. "Not in any of the records?"
"Only once," he replies. "There was an old document, long since ridiculed as the ravings of a madman, that spoke of an eighth world that was thrown to the far reaches of the void. Its people were said to be the most technologically advanced in all of creation, but their experiments went too far and they caused a huge blast that spent their world spinning away. Of course, such ideas were swiftly discounted as nonsense, but now I find myself wondering..." He pauses for a moment. "Is it possible that such a world really existed, and that its people survived and are now returning?"
"If that is the case," I say, as the truth dawns, "they might be a far greater threat than the Forbidders."
"On this point, at least, we are agreed." He pauses for a moment, clearly stunned by the vast image before us. "Even if we had been able to drive the Forbidders from this world, we would have been doomed anyway once the darkness reached us."
Turning away from the void, I look back across the Library. This place has been my home for so many centuries, and I have fought countless battles in an attempt to keep its people safe. Now, finally, it seems that all my efforts have been i
n vain, and the Library has come up against enemies that can no longer be held back. Although it is perhaps a little harsh, I cannot help but think that this is a personal failure. I should have found another way to save this world. I'm certain that every beast has a weakness, yet I was unable to determine the true nature of the Forbidders. I rushed foolishly into battle, rather than hanging back and attempting to come up with a better strategy. Either way, it is clear that I have failed, and that there is only one course of action left open to me. I must go to my grave.
Claire
"So where are they?" I ask, as we stand alone in the darkened hall. It's been several minutes since the storm passed, but there's been no sign of anything else happening. With the crowd having dispersed from outside, heading back to the bar and to their homes, it's almost as if the whole world has come to a standstill. "Where are the Forbidders?"
"They're waiting at the Library," Gum replies. "They canceled the bridge, in order to spare this world any further pain. The bridges are temporary at best, and they rip a hole in the fabric of the void that can never truly be repaired. The scar tissue persists, and can be manipulated and exploited by weaker species. This is not something that the Forbidders like to encourage. Don't worry, we'll just slip back across through a smaller portal, and then you'll formally offer yourself to them."
"And then they'll be happy?" I ask, drying my eyes. Strangely, I feel totally calm. It's as if, now that the decision has been made, I'm able to live with it. My mind feels clearer, and all the fear from earlier has eased. I should be running and screaming, and looking for a way to escape from this situation, but it's as if I've accepted the inevitability of this moment. "They will be happy, won't they?" I ask, turning to her. "This'll be enough for them, right?"