Tamerlan was still blinking in surprise when he ducked into a thick shadow and rushed up the stairs to the Queen Mer Library. The octopuses and curling waves carved into the friezes around the main doors seemed to be mocking him as he sidled up to the doors – twice his height and carved of stone – and pulled a set of gleaming tools out of a velvet bag in his pocket.
She hadn’t been lying. She really had picked the pocket of Grandfather Timeless. And she’d done it without being caught ... even by Tamerlan.
See? They don’t call you ‘Master Thief” because you bake great bread. I earned my reputation.
The picks sank into the lock, maneuvered by his expert fingers and with a series of clicks and a gentle hand on the door handle, the door swung silently open.
Tamerlan gasped as he tucked the lockpicks away and slid into the doorway.
The library was dark. Instinctually, he slipped to the front desk, lit in a circular halo by the round window in the wall of the lobby. Moonlight gilded the desk in silver and velvet black. And on the desk, bright in the light of the moon, was the logbook with his own name and fingerprint on the ledger. His thumb pricked where it had been poked to make the mark.
Tamerlan reached past the logbook to a set of books so massive that they were chained to the desk along its length. He’d never opened one before, but Lila seemed to know her way. He lifted the front cover of the first, his index finger sailing down a list. Closed the cover. Moved on. The next book was the same and then the next and then on the fourth book, Lila paused, noting a series of letters and numbers beside a single entry.
Books of Magic, practical XIV34 Z26 A53
He opened the book further, turning four inches of thick paper all at once, his finger twisting the top corner closer to get a better angle on the moonbeam.
XIV13
He flicked through the pages, licking his finger to turn them more easily.
XIV34
There was a list:
Magic: A Chronicle
Magic of the Neverworlds
Magic Potions: a practical primer
It carried on across both pages and probably further still.
Tamerlan’s finger skimmed along until it found:
Magic: Grimoire of the Taslan Empire
He was moving before he realized what Lila had come for, slipping into the library beyond. He’d never set foot so far into the library! The shelves loomed like mountain ranges waiting to be mined for golden secrets and silver sorrows. He felt a thrill of delight just looking at them all. If only he could spend all night flipping through them and investigating what the Library held.
He ghosted along the corridors between them. How did he even know where to go?
Don’t you see the numbers on the plaques?
And there they were B16 D42.
A little farther.
And farther they went, into the mouth of the library. Tamerlan felt as if he were being swallowed by an ancient beast, a creature of imagination and memory, a creature that would swallow him whole. Perhaps in time, it would spit his body back into the land of the living, but it would never again relinquish his mind.
It was the teeth, he decided. The teeth carved along the tops of the shelves between the glowing, moonlit skylights.
Are you always so fanciful?
He’d reached his destination.
Z26 A53
And now his hands skimmed along the leather-bound books, stroking them like the hair of a lover as his fingertips skimmed their bindings. Thick, thin, rough, smooth, each a repository of a world known only within the pages of that one tome – that one, momentary glimpse into the nebulous mind of the one who penned it.
You’re a daydreamer. I should have known. A practical person would never have opened the Bridge of Legends.
His hand snatched a book off the shelf – a small book, no bigger than his hand, but thick as his wrist. On the cover, the title was stamped: Grimoire of the Taslan Empire.
Success!
They were already rushing down the aisles back the way they came, Tamerlan wishing he could stay just a little while longer. Lila ready to bring her prize back to Master Juggernaut.
I’m surprised you want to stay. After all, I proved I could break into anywhere. Isn’t that what you wanted? Didn’t you have somewhere else you wanted us to go?
He did!
If they hurried, there would still be time!
He skidded around the shelf and right into a shadowy figure. He tucked the grimoire into his belt in a fluid motion and then his hands came up, grabbing the figure by the neck and slamming her against the end of the bookshelf.
His victim cried out, her voice sharp and muted at the same time. He was cutting off her breath. He could feel her kicking and fighting against his hands.
Stop! Please, stop! Didn’t Lila Cherrylocks have a conscience?
Are you kidding?!
Dragon’s blood! What kind of monster was she? He didn’t kill innocent bystanders!
I –
And then suddenly his hands were his own. He released the choking girl and her dark hair fell away from her face as she sucked in a breath.
Sian! He’d almost killed Sian.
With a moan of misery, he ran. At any moment, Lila would seize control of him again and when that happened, he needed to be far from here – far from Sian, far from this library, far from everything.
He ran out the front door of the library, stumbled down the steps, crashing into a party of searchers. He didn’t see faces or even costumes as he clawed his way free and back to his feet, darting into the night.
It wasn’t until he reached the Alchemist District that he realized Lila Cherrylocks was gone. Gone completely.
His chance to steal anything else had fled with her.
13: A Curious Crime
Marielle
“And then he ... he choked me ... I thought I was going to die!” the round-faced girl sobbed as she told her story. Marielle tried to school her features to sympathy, but it was as hard as pushing a ship up a hill.
She smelled magic everywhere. It tingled, turquoise and gold, vanilla and lilac, and bright sparkles still puffing in the air even though the scent trail was hours old. It made her feel more alive, more real, able to see every ambition come true. It made her senses sharp and every nerve on her body tingle. To call it addictive, would be an understatement.
It was hard to pay attention to any other scent. The scents of Carnelian – the usual rust and spring grass – and the sobbing girl – dust and ink and some sort of shattered hope in a pale blueberry – faded into monochrome in comparison. Though there was a faint whiff of something deceitful about the girl.
“And you can’t remember anything about him? You didn’t see a face or clothing?” Carnelian pressed.
She was barely holding back her impatience. Like Marielle, she’d already been up all night patrolling, but the patrols in the University District were caught up in something bigger than this. On the other side of the District, a Librarian had been murdered in the night and then dressed to look like the Lady Sacrifice. Something like that required all the Watch Officers and Scenters assigned to this district, as well as the District Guard in their fancy uniforms. So, after a long shift, Carnelian and Marielle had been stopped on their way back to the Watch House and sent to the University District to investigate.
“He was dressed like Lila Cherrylocks. Long red hair and all,” the girl said. She kept looking toward the Head Librarian for help, but the severe woman standing by the doors to the Queen Mer Library seemed more concerned about having watchmen in her precious library than about any apprentice.
“It was a valuable book,” she stated for the fourth time. “A grimoire. Priceless. It must be found.”
“We’ll do everything we can to find it,” Carnelian assured her gruffly. She didn’t care about books, but she also didn’t like it when people questioned her competence. Carnelian was all Jingen City Watch.
“Are you sure there
isn’t more?” Marielle asked the girl – Sian. Yes, that was her name. She thought she could almost smell something familiar under the buzz and pop of magic. But it was hard to concentrate on anything else when the addictive scent of magic swirled in the air. Was that a hint of the pulsing orange ginger and gold she’d smelled on her elusive prey, or was she just hoping that she smelled it again? She inhaled sharply, trying to pull it in, but the magic was too strong. It sizzled through her brain like popping Nightbursts.
“I’m ... I’m sure,” the girl said nervously.
“He didn’t perform some kind of magic?” Marielle pressed.
“No!” the girl squeaked.
Carnelian sighed. “Okay, we’ll do what we can, but with the Summernight Festival unfolding around us there will be any number of people in Lila Cherrylocks costumes.”
“But will all of them smell of magic?” a resonant voice asked from behind them.
Before Marielle even turned, she knew who it was. Oranges and cloves mixed in with the heady scent of magic. Oddly, his presence seemed to make the magic scent even stronger, thicker, more alive.
“You smell it, don’t you, Scenter?” the Lord Mythos asked Marielle.
“As you say, Lord Mythos,” she agreed.
Why was he here? If he was going to arrive unexpectedly, wouldn’t it make sense that he’d be at that horrific murder on the other side of the District and not here at a simple library for the theft of a book?
“Walk with me, Scenter,” he said.
Carnelian shot Marielle a warning glance. Was she warning her not to go or that she had better go?
Marielle swallowed and followed him out of the Library and onto the wide steps that looked out over the plaza below all the way to the hazy sea in the distance. The call of seabirds over the ocean was barely audible as the air slowly warmed to the rising sun.
“You are wondering why I’m at the site of a simple theft,” he said, raising a single eyebrow.
For some reason, his given name came back to her. Etienne. When he drew her in so personally, she almost forgot he was Lord Mythos and not simply Etienne Velendark – the young man with the concerned look on his face and a scent both fresh and compelling.
“You can speak. I’m not a god.” He smirked at her suddenly-wide-eyes and she felt her cheeks heating.
In the background, she could hear Carnelian trying to assure the Librarian that they would do their jobs while disentangling herself from the dusty woman.
“I might have been wondering,” Marielle admitted.
“You can smell the magic here. Recent. Intense.”
She nodded. She could hardly smell anything else. He smiled at her nod.
“I can sense it, too. Oh, not like you can, of course,” his smile was charming. Inviting. Marielle suddenly wondered about the rumors she’d heard about the Lord Mythos. Sometimes when people were drunk or angry you heard things. ‘He loves girls,’ they said. Which wasn’t so bad except that they followed it with silence or stories about girls who had gone missing. Girls who had never been found dead or alive. “No, I sense the residue the way any magic wielder can. You know that I guard our city, do you not?”
Marielle nodded.
“Do you know that I don’t just guard us from trouble without, but also from trouble within? From the disasters that could befall us if we fail in our duties? Or if we stir up trouble in other realms – other realities beyond this one?”
“Are you saying you’re some kind of magical guardian of the city? That there are laws for magic, too?”
That would be appealing. Laws made everything simpler.
She could smell a whiff of arrogance – of deep pride – of certainty. It was violet and smelled of pine and mint, but it was hard to parse it exactly from the heady smell of magic clinging to him and flooding the air around him with the caress of promise.
He laughed. It was a sweet sound.
“I suppose you could call it that. And I suppose you could call our traditions laws. And that is why this investigation is important to me. We can’t have loose magic running through this city doing whatever it pleases – or undoing it. Do you understand?”
She nodded. Stability was important. Maintaining order made life safe for everyone.
“It’s more important even than the break-in attempt at the Seven Suns Palace.” He leaned in close, but his look was more than confidential. It was as if he were studying her even now. “I’m relying on you, Marielle. Sniff out this magic for me. Help me bring it to the light.”
“I won’t fail you.” She thrilled with the task. Her job was always important – always vital. Without laws, a city failed. Without laws, the people of Jingen would be stunted and warped. But this ... this was bigger, more important still. Someone out there wasn’t just breaking the laws of the city. They were breaking the laws of the world. Was this the Real Law Captain Ironarm had talked about?
“Good. I need to tell you more about what we are up against. To help the investigation. I will have instructions sent to your Watch House in the Government District.”
Marielle nodded but he was already leaving with a flick of his small cape and a rattle of the scabbarded rapier at his side. With a wave of his hand, his guards materialized from the shadows around the library, surrounding him like a pack of wolves around a magnificent stag.
“I hope you know what you’re doing,” Carnelian said wryly from behind Marielle.
Marielle turned to her with a lifted eyebrow. The light streaming from around Carnelian’s face as she blocked the dawn from view should have made her look angelic. Instead, it only highlighted the way her lip curled in suspicion.
“I’m keeping us on the most important investigation in Jingen,” Marielle said. “I’m getting you a win that your fellow Watch Officers will be buying you drinks to celebrate for months to come.”
“From where I stand, it looks like you’re flirting with death,” Carnelian muttered.
But she was wrong. Marielle could tell this was just as important as Lord Mythos said it was. And he didn’t mean her harm. He was just as ambitious and devoted as she was. They both just wanted to see the city stay safe and the laws upheld.
They both served something greater than themselves. What could be better than that? Marielle smiled as the minty scent of certainty wafted up from her own pores. She loved that smell.
14: A Curioser Invitation
Marielle
“What is the meaning of this, Marielle Valenspear?” Captain Ironarm was waiting when they returned to the Guardhouse.
She stood in the middle of the main room where the desks were piled with ledgers and ink interspersed with teapots and cups, cans of armor polish and sharpening stones. Only the On-Watch Officer at the front desk was in the room with them. Everyone else was either in their beds or out on the streets. Marielle and Carnelian had missed the change of watch this morning.
Marielle fought a yawn. She needed her blankets. It had been a long night and now a long morning. Captain Ironarm had a small notecard in her hands with gold edging.
“This arrived for you from the Lord Mythos. It’s an invitation to the Legend Ball at the Seven Suns Palace tonight. More than that, there is a box with it. A box – I have no doubt – that contains a dress for that same event.”
Captain Ironarm’s face was flushed and her grey hair looked frizzier than usual. She’d been up all night, too. Didn’t she want to crawl under her blankets instead of standing here in the middle of the guardhouse dressing Marielle down in front of everyone? Electric blue sizzled around her as she spoke.
“You,” Captain Ironarm continued, “are nothing special, Marielle Valenspear. You are a Scenter – and barely that! Do you think you have the right to consort with Landholds?”
“No, Captain Ironarm,” Marielle said weakly. She was too tired for this conversation. She hadn’t expected the invitation or the dress. Truth be told, they both made her nervous. What sort of expectations would go along with a gift like that? Ma
rielle was not a girl from the Red Light Streets at the west end of the Trade District and she didn’t want to be reminded how close she’d come to that fate.
“And you, Carnelian,” Captain Ironarm spun to look at Marielle’s fellow officer. “You couldn’t keep a better eye on your fellow officer?”
Carnelian’s face turned dark, camphor filling the air around her, and Marielle felt a spike of fear. The look Carnelian shot her promised retribution and the garnet scent of rage and pitch told her she had every reason to be fearful.
“I’m a Watch Officer, not a babysitter,” she spat.
“You’re what I say you are,” Captain Ironarm said, her voice hard as a hammer driving spikes into rock. “Just like I am what the Watch Commander says I am. And he says I’m to do whatever is necessary to avoid offending the Lord Mythos. Now that the two of you have put us in this mess, it is up to you, Marielle,” here she looked back at Marielle, her tone of command ringing, “to meet the Lord Mythos’ expectations. You will go to the party. You will do as he expects. You will keep yourself from any further entanglements, and then promptly return to your post. And it is up to you, Carnelian,” she shifted her cantankerous glare to Carnelian, “to manage patrol without your partner tonight. Find an unassigned watchman to join you. I think Dacrin is on clean-up duty. You can take him.”
“Dacrin! But Captain – !” Carnelian practically vibrated with emotion.
“Cool it, Carnelian Fishnetter. I’ve heard it all. And you’re lucky that’s the only thing I’m assigning you. You should know better than this.”
She thrust the box and card into Marielle’s stunned arms and then strode away, banging the door to her office shut behind her.
Marielle scurried to the stairs. She wanted to read the card for herself and look at what was in the box. She’d been ordered to comply, but she still had no idea what that might mean, and the roiling scents of scarlet anger and vermillion humiliation smelling of burnt wood and camphor hung heavy in the large room.
Bridge of Legends- The Complete Series Page 9