by Amy Cross
He hurries on ahead, leaving the rest of us struggling to catch up. The blue-skinned woman has already clambered to the other end of the boat, so as to be closer to the shore, and I can't help noticing that she's wearing a beautiful pale green shawl. Two days ago, the sight of a blue woman would have been pretty much the most shocking thing imaginable, but right now it's actually strangely easy to accept.
“Joths are filthy creatures,” Tom mutters. “They're bottom-feeders. Parasites. All they do is sit around and wait to take money from those who need their help. They're duplicitous, scamming monstrosities. The Great Library would be much better off if they all just died out.”
“And I already told you,” the blue woman is saying to Cromer as we get closer, “this is the only boat for twenty or thirty miles in any direction. You don't really have much of a bargaining position, so my offer is final. Ten coins, and I'll row you across and show you how to gain access to the citadel. Any less than ten coins, and I'm afraid you'll have to sit around here and make little castles out of the sand.”
“And what's to stop me taking your boat by force?” Cromer asks.
“Good question,” she replies, with a faint smile. “What do you think? Am I bluffing? Do you think you're the first person to turn up and start threatening me?” She pauses, before climbing off the boat and wading over to join us on the sand. “Go ahead,” she continues, gesturing toward the boat, “attempt to steal it. I could do with a laugh.”
Cromer hesitates, and it's clear that he's not confident.
“We're all waiting,” she continues, watching him for a moment before turning to the rest of us. “Come on, guys, aren't you all keen to see what happens? My name is Dooma the Joth, by the way, and it's very nice to meet all of you. I very much hope that we can come to some sort of arrangement.”
She steps over and reaches out to shake my hand, but at the last moment I see that her skin is slightly translucent, and that there appear to be small creatures wriggling through her body.
“Don't mind my nemites,” she says with a smile. “They've all gone inside for an extended mating season, otherwise some of them would be on the surface of my skin as well. Please, there's no need to be concerned. I'm not poisonous, if that's what you're thinking.”
Figuring that I should at least be polite, I force myself to shake her hand. Her skin is cold and clammy, and I can feel things moving beneath the surface, but I guess I'm glad that I managed not to be rude.
“My name's Alex,” I tell her.
“How delightful,” she says, before stepping over to Christian. “And who do we have here?”
I watch Cromer edging closer to the boat, and then I turn to see that Christian is simply staring down at the water and ignoring Dooma's hand. I want to tell her what happened to his parents, but I guess that would be pretty inappropriate right now. Fortunately, she seems to understand that something's wrong, and pats him on the shoulder for a moment before quickly moving on to take a look at Rinth.
Cromer, meanwhile, is now just a couple of feet from the boat, still approaching cautiously.
“I can't even imagine what you are,” Dooma says, staring down at Rinth. She reaches a hand toward her, and then she hesitates. “I'm picking up a charge in the air, though. That's absolutely fascinating.” She bends down, trying to peer through the mass of white hair but not daring to get too close. “I can't help but wonder what's in there. Is there any chance you might let me take a look?”
“No,” Tom says firmly.
Cromer is just inches from the boat now, and reaching out to touch the side.
“You look familiar,” Dooma says, stepping toward Tom. “We've met before.”
“Impossible,” he replies.
“No, not impossible.” She stops in front of him. “I don't spend every minute of every day here by the water, you know. I get about, and you, my friend, have crossed paths with me before.”
“You must be mistaken.”
“I never forget a face,” she says calmly. “It'll come to me. Damn, this is irritating. I'll remember soon enough where I've seen you before, and then -”
Suddenly her boat shudders and rises up, and a large, domed head bursts out from under the water and snaps at Cromer, trying to bite him. Panicked, he lets out a gasp of shock and falls back, splashing down hard into the water as the head submerges again and the boat begins to settle.
“Ah,” Dooma says, having not even turned to see what happened, “I hear that your friend has met my friend. It's always so much fun when people encounter Eanu for the first time. The poor fellow lost his shell some years ago, and I was in need of some protection for my boat, so we came to an arrangement.” She finally turns and looks over her shoulder, as Cromer slowly gets back onto his feet and rivulets of water run from deep inside his armor. “Are you going to try again, or are you going to pony up those ten coins?”
“We only have six,” Cromer says, reaching into a cloth bag at his waist and taking out some small, shiny gold coins.
“Six, huh?” She pauses, before stepping over and taking them. “Fine. The sheer entertainment value of seeing you fall over was probably worth the other four, if I'm being generous. Fortunately, my boat will fit you all in one crossing, so why wait? Let's get you over to the citadel.” She pauses. “Well, the horse will have to stay behind,” she adds, “but the rest of you are good to go. Let's move!”
***
Just a few minutes later, we're sitting in her boat as she uses an oar to push us away from the shore, and then she sets the oar down as two pairs of flippers emerge from below and start carrying us through the water. This Eanu creature is surprisingly fast.
Reaching down, I take a look at my injured leg. The wound seems to be healing, and the pain is a little less severe than before.
“What have you got there?” Dooma asks.
I turn to see that she's looking down at the copy of The Book of Libraries that I've somehow managed to cling to ever since I arrived here.
“Oh, it's nothing,” I tell her.
“Interesting title.”
“Sure, but I can't read it.”
“Why not?”
“I can't open it,” I admit, trying to pull the front and back cover apart, only to fail. “See?”
“That's odd,” she says. “You haven't offended it, have you?”
“I might have called it stupid.”
“Well, then there's no mystery here,” she replies. “I'm sorry to tell you that some books can be incredibly stubborn. I once heard of one that got dropped from a window at this very citadel, and refused to open for two hundred years out of sheer spite.” She pauses. “You're not from around here, are you? You're human.”
I nod.
“I remember my great-grandfather Omman talking about giving a ride to a human once, up near Aga-Mor on the river. He was quite proud of the fact, although he didn't much like the idea of them going to such a terrible place. And now here I am, all these thousands of years later, giving another human a ride.”
“Thousands of years?” I reply. “How old was your great-grandfather?”
“Some species live longer than others,” she says, with a glint in her eye. “Barring accidents, of course.”
“Can't this thing hurry up?” Tom asks testily.
“I do know you,” she tells him. “Deny it all you want, but we've definitely met before.”
“And I've already told you, you're mistaken,” he replies. “Now, would you mind focusing on what you're being paid to do?”
“What crawled up his ovipositor and died?” she asks me with a smile. “And before you correct me, I know he most likely doesn't have one. Then again, you never know...”
“Do you know any way I can get this book open?” I reply, as the boat changes direction slightly and begins to go around the side of the citadel's base.
“I know you can't force it,” she says. “I doubt that begging will help much, either. Reading a book that doesn't want to be read? Now that's a tri
cky task.”
“Maybe I'm screwed, then,” I say with a sigh, looking down at the book as it rests on my lap. “Great. All this, just to get hold of a copy of a book that I can't even read. That just about sums up everything that's happened to me over the past day and a half.”
“Don't let your spirits drop,” she replies. “Remember, that book can hear everything you say while you're close by.”
“Is it listening to us right now?”
“Unless it's asleep.”
“Books sleep in this place?”
“Books sleep in every place, as far as I understand,” she replies. “The only difference is that here they sometimes snore. A whole bookcase full of snoring books is quite strange to hear. And when they dream, they're like dogs, they make all these -”
Suddenly a loud snorting sound fills the air, and water sprays up at us from the front of the boat. Turning, I see that the bulbous head has reappeared, and then I notice a set of steps carved into the citadel's stone wall, running all the way down to the level of the water. Already, the boat is swinging around to approach those steps, so I guess we've found our way inside.
“Eanu is pleased to announce that we've arrived,” Dooma says with a smile. “I'd like to thank you all for traveling with us today, and I look forward to seeing you on your next journey.”
“I'm sure that won't be necessary,” Tom says snarkily.
“Oh, buggy man,” she replies, “it's better than that. I'm coming up into the citadel with you.”
“You can't!” he snaps, before turning to Cromer. “Tell her she can't come!”
“I don't see why she shouldn't,” he says as he approaches the front of the boat. “Besides, we need her to stick around for our journey back to the shore. It'd seem unfair to make her simply wait down here.”
I look over at Tom and see that he's seething with irritation. I don't know why, but something about Dooma really gets under his exoskeleton.
“I'll lead the way,” Cromer says as he steps carefully off the boat and onto the first step. “We don't know what we'll find up there. The place might be deserted, or there might be someone still living here, or there could be some nasty surprises. Remain vigilant, people, and stick together.”
Rinth hops off after him, followed by Christian.
“I just need to tether Eanu,” Dooma explains. “I'll be up right after you guys. And be careful, okay? These steps are thousands of years old. They're worn, and they might be slippery.”
“Ladies first,” Tom says to me, gesturing toward the steps.
I climb off the boat and start following the others. These steps are really rough and steep, and once again I'm reminded of the fact that I'm out of shape. I force myself to keep up, however, and once I'm halfway I look over my shoulder. Tom's quite a way behind me, and at the very bottom Dooma has finally started to climb. I turn and look up, just in time to see that Cromer has reached a doorway in the side of the rock wall. I start gasping a little as I hurry to catch up with the others, and soon I'm out of breath, but I eventually get to the top. Looking down, I feel slightly dizzy as I see the boat far below, and I'm a little surprised that Tom and Dooma are making such slow progress.
Stepping through the doorway, I find that we've reached a long, low stone room with an arched door at the other end. I head over to join Christian and Rinth, and we watch as Cromer slowly approaches the door.
“Does this place feel kind of ominous to anyone else?” I ask, turning first to Christian and then to Rinth. “It doesn't look like anyone's sent out a welcoming committee.”
Rinth turns to me, I think, but of course she says nothing. Christian, meanwhile, still has that glazed expression that he's worn ever since his parents were killed last night. Once again, I really want to help him, but I guess I'm just not the kind of person who knows how to come out with comforting words. I can't imagine how much pain he's going through right now.
Suddenly I hear a horrified scream, and we all turn to look back at the doorway. I hurry over and head back out to the top of the steps, just as Tom comes up to join me. Cromer steps out too, followed by Christian and Rinth, and then we all look down at the shocking sight of Dooma's body down on the boat. Her limbs are twisted and broken, and there's blood splattered near her head, and even from up here it's clear that she's dead.
“She fell,” Tom says, a little breathlessly. “I told her to slow down, but she was hurrying to catch up. The next thing I knew, I heard her slipping, and I turned just as she screamed. There was simply nothing I could do to save her.”
Far down below, Eanu raises his head out of the water and roars, as if he's filled with sadness and anger now that his mistress is dead.
“We should keep going,” Tom points out. “Time is of the essence. Now that we've managed to get Rinth here, we have to find out how she can save the Great Library.”
Chapter Ten
“I can't believe she just tripped and fell like that,” I say as the five of us make our way along another stone corridor. “She's the one who was telling us all to be careful.”
“Accidents happen,” Tom says. “I agree, though, it was a horrible thing to happen. When I turned, I was just in time to see her hit the boat. Trust me, that was an awful sight.”
“But was she hurrying?”
“She must have been.”
“And she just lost her footing?”
“It would seem that way.”
“Is there any -”
“I don't know the details,” he adds, interrupting me. “I've told you everything I saw, Alexandra. I'm sorry I can't be of more help.”
Before I get a chance to reply, we reach a large, open archway, and we step through into a huge hall. I've got to admit, I'm a little overwhelmed as I look around and see large portraits on all the walls, showing various men and women wearing fancy regalia. This reminds me of all those trips with Mum, Dad and Libby to castles when we were kids, although if anything this place is even grander. There's a raised platform at the far end, with a large wooden chair in the center, and I can see what look like ceremonial scrolls on the walls alongside huge paintings.
“That's Hynothio,” Tom says, pointing up to one of the portraits, “one of the greatest Grand Librarians this world has ever known. It's said that under his rule, understanding of the Great Library's systems increased massively. His period of rule is known as the Great Leap, because of all the developments that were made.”
“Cool,” I reply, even thought I'm struggling to keep up with these explanations.
“And that,” he continues, pointing at a portrait of a woman, “is Claire Mathis, who just so happened to be the first book.”
“She was a book?”
“I don't really understand exactly what happened,” he says, “but yes, she was the first, and somehow she ended up taking human form. In fact, I believe she even lived in the human world for a while. You'd have to consult one of the official histories in order to find out all the details.”
“But -”
“Over there,” he adds, pointing to one of the other walls, “is Sirmount Edwards, a great sage. I met him once, when I was merely a little hoppling. That man knew more than should have been possible, he could answer any question without even breaking a sweat. It has been a long time since we had men of his caliber here in the Great Library, more's the pity. Sometimes I think all the problems really began once Sirmount Edward died. The sages who followed were all modernizers, but they didn't bring anything fresh to the table. And now here we are, in the midst of a great disaster. If only we could turn the clock back and -”
“Who's there?” a voice calls out suddenly, and we all turn to see a figure shuffling into view through a door at the far end of the chamber.
“Who's that?” I ask.
The woman, who looks so old and frail, stumbles slightly, and Cromer runs over to hold her stay up. She thanks him, and he leads her over to the wooden chair.
“It can't be,” Tom whispers.
“W
ho is it?” I reply.
“She should have died such a long time ago,” he continues, taking a step forward. “No, I simply can't believe it. If I had known that there was any chance of this happening at all, I would never have...”
His voice trails off.
“What are you talking about?” I ask, following him as he approaches the platform, where Cromer is helping the woman to get comfortable in the chair.
Tom doesn't reply, but after a moment I realize that the woman looks strangely familiar. Finally I look back up at one of the portraits, of the young and beautiful woman named Claire Mathis. When I look back at the figure in the chair, I realize that it's her, but that she's now so much older.
“This cannot be!” Tom gasps, dropping to his knees and lowering his head, as if he can't bring himself to look at her. “The first book! Here in person!”
“You can cut out the formalities,” she replies, her voice sounding so harsh and damaged. “I never liked people standing on ceremony in the old days, and I don't much like it now, either. No-one in this room needs to bow or grovel to anyone else.”
“It really is you,” Cromer says, taking a step back.
“You have to leave,” she tells him, before turning to look over at Rinth. “You should never have brought her here!”
“It's the only way,” Cromer replies. “We have traveled from afar. We believed there would be someone here who could help us, although it never occurred to me that you would be the one we'd meet. Please, you must -”
“Listen to me!” she snaps. “You've been tricked! Don't you get it? Run now, before it's too late!”
“It's already too late,” a voice says, and I turn to see that a tall figure is standing behind is in the archway, surrounded by soldiers.
The figure steps forward, and I'm shocked by the sight of the black, dented mask that covers his face. A slit exposes his eyes, but otherwise every inch of his body is encased in armor.
“Darvill!” Cromer gasps, before rushing toward him. “What are you doing here?”
Before he can reach the man, Cromer is grabbed several of the soldiers, who quickly pin him down. One of them strikes him hard on the side of the head, sending him crumpling to the ground.