The heavy door swung closed behind Cam and me, sealing out the Sun. I’d never been inside the Paphos Library before, and the sensation was overwhelming. Not only was the room delightfully Cold, but there was a certain sense of awe in the air. As if the building itself knew more than Cam or I ever would, even if we lived a hundred lifetimes.
The Bookkeeper took his droopy eyes from the pages long enough to cast us a sceptical glance, the dim candlelight and bald head making him seem even older than he was. He hunched over further, moving his gnarled finger along lines of text as if desperate not to lose his place.
‘Camlish Tavor,’ the Nobleman said in a gravelly voice.
‘Hello, Humphrey,’ Cam said. ‘I know.’
Humphrey frowned, eyes still on the paper. ‘You never bring Jadans in with—’
‘Thank you, Humphrey.’ Cam took a Shiver out of his Cold purse and plopped it on the desk. ‘Like I said. I know. But I figured, why fight it? Got to grow up sometime.’
Humphrey looked over at the Cold, one barren eyebrow trying to rise, but stuck in a mere quiver. ‘A Shiver is a bit much for a borrow fee. Unless you’re trying to take out some early archives.’
‘No, thank you, sir. But I would like to reserve room six, please.’
‘The Empty room, I see?’ Humphrey snorted and then hawked something slimy into a little basin on the desk. I tried not to think about the poor Jadan who had to clean that bowl. ‘Two Drafts per bell. Two for a candle in your lantern. You’re here often enough to know the rates.’ His eyes narrowed as they swept over me. ‘What are you two planning on doing in the Empty room for three hours?’
‘One hour is fine,’ Cam said, leaning forward and lowering his voice. ‘But the extra is for your discretion.’
‘Discretion for what?’ Humphrey asked with a frown, his face one big question mark.
Cam made a point of looking from side to side, patting his pocket as if he was carrying something important. ‘Let’s just say I’ll also be needing the Vicaress Compendium on Jadan Torture for Truth Extraction.’
Humphrey’s wrinkled face drew into a delighted smile, as he lit a candle in the base of a lantern. ‘I see you’re growing up indeed. So you want to learn about Jadan pain, do you?’ He gave me a toothy grin. ‘Probably good to know how to control your slaves if you’re going to take over the Crest someday.’
Cam gave a gentle bow. ‘My sentiments exactly, my dear man.’
Humphrey sat back in his chair, hands going behind his head. I sneaked a peek at what the old man was reading and recognized it as the Khat’s Gospels. All the books in Paphos to choose from, and he was reading the one he most probably knew off by heart already.
‘Don’t want to practise at home.’ Humphrey tapped a finger against his lips. ‘Is this a surprise for your father? To show him you’re not a boy any more?’
Cam gave another bow, his blond hair tumbling over his shoulders. ‘You may as well be a Tavor yourself with how well you know the family.’
‘Kindly said.’ Humphrey looked delighted and then reached under his desk to retrieve four boilweed sacks. ‘These go on the slave’s hands and feet, to protect the books. Jadan skin is riddled with Sun – Khat Baroques the Benevolt, verse twenty-two – and just so you know, if he touches a book, you buy it.’
Cam threw the little sacks at me, his face turning harsh. ‘What are you waiting for, then? Put them on.’
I nodded, making sure to look properly scared, as Cam had asked before we entered. I covered my hands and feet, feeling rather foolish.
Humphrey gave a modest little clap. ‘You’ll be a Lord yet, young Camlish Tavor.’
Cam bowed. ‘The Cleansing yesterday has got me thinking. These Jadans don’t know discipline any more.’
‘Rightly said.’ Humphrey creaked forward, his bones as excited as his face. ‘I’ve been worried about that myself. What you planning on first. Pressure points? Strangling? Teach it commands?’
Cam patted his pocket again. ‘Blunt objects. I want to see what spots make them squeal the most. And I believe room six has the thickest walls.’
‘That it does.’ Humphrey looked so proud at the declaration. ‘“They shall know pain, for the aches and disease, kept under holy cudgel so the Chosen might step on their backs and rise off the sands.”’
‘Khat Illuminus II,’ Cam said without pause. ‘Verse sixteen.’
Humphrey looked as if his mouth might get stuck in a smile as he took a key off a little rack and tossed it to Cam. ‘Nothing quite like wisdom of the past. Praise be to the Khat.’
‘Praise be to the Khat,’ Cam echoed.
Humphrey pointed to my forehead. ‘And look at the thing sweating. You’ve already got your Jadan scared. Well done, Camlish!’
Cam nodded. ‘I’m sorry to cut our conversation short, but I’m quite eager to get started.’
Humphrey hawked up another something terrible and added it to the slimy basin. ‘Not at all, Camlish Tavor. By all means.’
Cam nodded and slapped me lightly on the back of the head. ‘Follow.’
‘Bless you, sonny,’ Humphrey said as we wandered into the stacks. ‘The World Cried needs more young Nobles like you.’
‘High Nobles!’ Cam corrected with a bratty smile.
‘Rightly said. High Noble indeed!’
I slumped over, wandering in Cam’s path, trying not to slip, as the boilweed sacks made me glide across the smooth stone floor.
‘Sorry,’ Cam whispered as he led me down the streets of scrolls and books, past many ceramic busts that seemed to be tossing me dirty looks. ‘I need to keep a low profile. Humphrey is nice to me, but all he reads is the damn Gospels and it has suffocated his mind. All these books don’t seem to inspire him to branch out.’
‘I understand,’ I whispered back.
Cam slapped himself on the back of the head. ‘At least now we’re even.’
I smiled.
‘Seriously though,’ Cam said. I could sense the regret in his tone. ‘I feel really terrible. I didn’t mean to bring up the Cleansing so casually, I’m so sorry—’
Just then another lantern bobbed around the corner, held by a stern-looking Noble holding a single book under his arm.
Cam cleared his throat and dropped into a harsh tone. ‘How dare you lag behind so far, slave. I should have you whipped for your incompetence.’
I moved closer, making a point of cowering. ‘Sorry, sir.’
Cam gave a frustrated huff and turned to the Nobleman. ‘Jadans. What are we to do?’
The Nobleman nodded but didn’t say anything, before moving down the row, picking up his pace.
‘I swear, your kind is about as stupid as—’ Cam stopped, making sure the man was out of earshot. ‘Anyway. I’m really sorry. I’m glad you’re alright though. I swear that this time, the Vicaress—’
A light bobbed out of the shadows, revealing a Noblewoman this time, her rosy lips pinched so tightly that I thought they might be in danger of fusing into one.
Cam brought himself to his full height. ‘The Vicaress is an inspiration for us all. Now don’t make me hurt you more, slave scum.’
‘Good for you, young sir,’ the Noblewoman said with a haughty grin. ‘Show them their place.’
‘I don’t even know why we keep these things around any more.’ Cam grabbed a handful of my uniform and dragged me down the rows. Once we were alone again, he let go, smoothing out the wrinkles he’d caused. ‘Sorry again.’ He bowed his head bashfully. ‘I hate how well I can play the part of the spoiled Noble brat.’
‘It’s like you’re a natural,’ I replied teasingly. My face immediately stiffened. The words had just slipped out, reminding me of something that Abb would have said, and I couldn’t believe my tongue had let go of something so foolish. This was a High Noble, not Moussa, and I couldn’t say things like that.
Cam’s eyes widened. ‘Did you … did you just make a joke?’
‘I’m so sorry,’ I lowered my head. ‘Please don�
�t—’
‘Thank the Crier,’ Cam said, pulling me into a one-armed hug, careful not to hit me with the lantern. ‘I was worried. You’re always so serious with me.’
Squeezed against him, I was reminded of how wonderful he smelled, and I pulled away carefully so as not to contaminate his clothes.
‘Cam. Why are we here?’ I asked quietly once he let me go. The events of the previous day still had me on edge.
‘Well, room six really does have thick walls,’ Cam whispered. ‘And I don’t want people to overhear what I have to say. Plus, there’s something in the library that I want you to see.’ He smiled, giving me a light punch on the shoulder. ‘I’m so happy you actually joked with me. Like I’m a natural. Hilarious.’
I nodded, wondering how this Noble boy had ended up being so different from the rest of his kin. He held the lantern out, ushering me down a new aisle, this one filled floor to ceiling with scrolls so old one breath from Sister Gale might rip them to shreds. At the end of the corridor hung a large painting, menacing even from this distance.
As we closed in on the painting, Cam’s good mood seemed to deflate. The painting depicted sprawling land, green and lush, slowly being consumed by fire. The dark-skinned figures in the foreground scrambled up a mountain towards a glowing piece of Cold, which, from its size, I assumed was a Frost. The Jadans were trampling on each other, pressing one another down into the flames. They all had bloody horns, fangs dripping with flesh, and wore wreaths of intestines across their chests like whips. And while they were busy bludgeoning each other with Cold, brandishing glass blades, and ripping off each other’s skin, the fire underneath crept closer to their feet.
It was the most horrific scene I’d ever witnessed.
Cam folded his arms across his chest. ‘“The Cause”, by Armus Josiah. Painted sixty-two years after the Great Drought.’
I’d heard of ‘The Cause’ before. Sometimes on the streets young Nobles would stop at my corner and look at my forehead, asking where my horns were. But even with all the descriptions, I hadn’t expected it to look so brutal.
I nodded, feeling that it might make me sick if I looked at it too long.
‘This painting,’ Cam said, ‘is one of the most notable works in existence. I wanted you to come here because I need you to understand something.’
I held back a retch. ‘What?’
‘That Nobles like Humphrey, most Nobles,’ Cam’s expression was harsh, ‘they believe this nonsense. They believe the Jadans brought their fate upon themselves all those years ago, and that as a Noble they are special and chosen.’
I nodded. ‘I know that.’
Cam took a deep breath. ‘But even if I’m a Noble, I want you to trust me. I understand why you would have every reason not to. But I need you to know that I don’t want to do you any harm.’
‘I trust you,’ I said. ‘You did jump in front of a whip to save me.’
‘Not enough. Here’s to Humphrey.’ Cam checked back down the row to make sure we were alone. Then he gathered a big gob of saliva and spat right on the painting. Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, he said: ‘This painting is all lies. Just like the Cleansing. I don’t believe in any of this for a second.’ He tapped the spot under his shirt where the necklace was. ‘And even though people are scared to admit it, I’m not the only one.’
I stared wide-eyed at what he’d just done, the wet lump dripping down the canvas. Even though he was a High Noble, Cam could be punished severely for defacing something so precious to the Khatdom.
‘It’s a copy,’ Cam said, seeing the panic in my eyes. ‘But if I could get to the real thing down in the locked archives, I’d spit on that too.’
I swallowed hard. His expression told me this was true.
‘Come on,’ Cam said, nodding back down the row.
He led me through the library to the section of private rooms, neither of us saying a word. Quickly Cam unlocked a door, the lantern in his hand illuminating a room which was completely empty, save for a single table with two chairs behind the door.
Closing the door behind him, Cam gestured for me to sit as he put an ear against the door. Eventually he seemed satisfied with the silence, taking the opposite seat and putting the lantern on the table.
‘So,’ Cam said, idly playing with his silk sleeve.
I nodded, not used to the feel of a chair under me. I’d only really ever sat on rocks or ledges, and wasn’t used to such comfort. ‘So.’
He pointed to the boilweed sacks over my hands. ‘You can take those off, by the way.’
‘Thanks.’
Cam tapped his fingers on the table, lips twitching back and forth. I could tell he’d been thinking about this moment for some time, and was worried about what might happen next.
After a long stretch, I realized I’d have to be the one to break the silence. ‘Is there something you—’
‘You fixed the music box,’ Cam declared.
‘No. It was my family—’
Cam shook his head. ‘If this friendship is going to work, we need to be honest with one another. I need you to trust me.’
I let out a long breath at the word ‘friendship’. ‘Yes. I fixed the music box.’
An enthusiastic smile cut broadly across his face. ‘Brilliant. How did you know what to do? From what I understand, Jadans aren’t allowed to own things, let alone tinker with them.’
I shrugged, struggling to find my words. ‘I steal things from rubbish heaps at night. Usually I don’t think too much about what I’m making, the pieces just tell me what to do. That’s what happened with your music box.’
‘Which she loved by the way,’ Cam added. ‘Thank you for that.’
‘I’m glad.’
Cam gave a smug smile and then got serious again. ‘What do you make?’
‘Small things. Things that might be useful.’
He paused. ‘So what you’re telling me, since you’ve had no teacher and have to do everything in secret,’ he clucked his tongue, ‘is that you’re a natural.’
I kept a straight face, and then my smile broke.
Cam leaned forward, the lantern light casting his shadow long across the brick wall at his back. ‘What do you know about the Great Drought?’
‘Same as everyone else I guess.’
Cam nodded. ‘So very, very little.’
I shrugged.
‘What if I told you,’ Cam said, ‘that there is nothing that proves the Crier wants you to be slaves?’
I felt my face flush. ‘What about the fact that He stopped giving us Cold?’
‘Did He?’ Cam asked, tilting his head. ‘Or did someone else just take it away?’
‘I don’t understand.’
Cam leaned in, speaking quietly. ‘Some people say the first Khat had a hand in the Great Drought. That he made a deal with the Sun for power.’
‘I—’
Cam held up his hand. ‘It’s just one of many stories. But I’ll let Leroi explain the real theories to you. He’s better at it.’
There was that name again. ‘Who’s Leroi?’
‘There’s only one member of my family that I truly respect. My cousin Leroi,’ Cam blushed, his mood changing, ‘and he is dying.’
I paused. ‘Dying of what?’
Cam’s expression hardened. ‘Of himself.’
I tilted my head.
Cam’s eyes flashed to the door. Then he screamed loudly at the top of his lungs, his voice breaking in the middle from the effort. My hands flew to my ears.
‘STOP!’ Cam screamed. ‘PLEASE! STOP! UNWORTHY!’
Then he stopped abruptly and shrugged, giving me an apologetic look. ‘Just in case Humphrey’s out there listening. Anyway, Leroi runs our tinkershop at the Tavor Manor. He’s kind, and generous, and a genius, and right now he’s determined to drink himself to death. And not from Oolong tea, mind you.’
‘Why?’ I asked, my ears still ringing.
‘Because his assistant died,’ Cam said blunt
ly, rubbing the front of his throat. ‘An assistant that he cared for very much, and who happened to be Jadan.’
I had a feeling I knew what was coming next.
‘So I went to see a friend named Mama Jana’ – Cam tapped again at the Opened Eye necklace under his shirt – ‘the one who gave me this. Like I said, I’m not the only Noble who believes we should all be equals. Mama Jana keeps good relationships with Jadans she thinks are different, who might prove our beliefs to the rest of the world. So I asked her if she knew any Jadans that might be good in a tinkershop.’
‘And she gave you my name.’
Cam smiled. ‘She did. But honestly, if I had met you on my own I’d have known there was something unusual. Special.’ He pointed at his eyes. ‘Even the way you looked at that music box. It’s all in here.’
‘So, what can I do to help?’ I asked, although I felt that I already knew what Cam was about to suggest.
‘I know I’m asking a lot, especially since, after this Cleansing, you probably want to be with your family.’ Cam took a deep breath. ‘But if you’re willing, you can let me buy you. You can let me set you up in our tinkershop, where you don’t have to steal, where there’s no Sun, where you don’t have to make only basic things in the dark.’
I felt my heart hammering in my chest, hard enough to crack stone.
‘Give me three days to get the right papers,’ Cam said.
I paused for a few beats, and then gave a single nod.
Cam reached across the table, and we shook hands, like equals. Then he got up, cupping his hands around his mouth and aiming his screams at the door. ‘MAKE IT STOP! PLEASE! MAKE IT STOP!’
Chapter Nineteen
Abb was sprawled out on his blanket, threading a needle back and forth through a piece of boilweed. He’d been at it for some time now, deathly quiet as he practised his stitching. He didn’t need the practice – Abb was so good he could probably stitch together the Twin Rivers if the Crier gave him a big enough needle – but in the past this method had been a proven system to get me to talk. He knew if he strung along the silence, doing something repetitive, I’d get annoyed and eventually spill whatever secret I was guarding.
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