Lilith had once owned a book just like this one. As a part of her lessons she had copied it herself. She had always been proud of the book, because the master had often praised her for her neat handwriting. Unfortunately, she’d had to leave it behind when she ran away.
Lilith told Yvar and Ferhdessar what they could expect if they read the book. The king took it from her and thumbed through it. He stopped at a page that was richly decorated. Some details were even coloured in with gold leaf.
“He has sent you a special copy. My master didn’t decorate all of them. I think that the village chiefs who followed him only received text copies.”
Yvar examined the page more closely. Lilith leaned forwards to be able to get a better look as well. With much eye for detail, small people had been depicted who were slaughtering other small people in a huge battle. Demon-like figures, representing false Gods, were seated on the shoulders of the leaders of both parties, whispering commands in their ears. Among the fighting men and women there were also objects to be seen: telescopes, to tell whether the stars were aligned favourably, and strange machines that generated lightning. Several men were even armed with rifles that wiped out large groups of opponents with a single shot. Lilith wondered if this was possible in real life, but the symbolism behind it wasn’t lost on her: people would keep pushing boundaries to satisfy their lust for power, risking their own lives in the process.
“This part of the text is probably about the Second Era and the reasons why Jakob severed ties with the world,” Lilith explained out loud.
“Interesting,” the king mumbled. “I’ll do your master a favour: I’ll definitely read it.”
“Is there anything else?” Lilith asked.
The king shook his head. “Not in the box, but there is something else I’d like to know.”
He got up and walked to the wide windowsill. Before he sat down, he opened one of the curtains so that he could look outside.
“Was your master planning to attack me?”
Lilith nodded. “If Merzia joins his cause, we will be one step closer to world peace. My master is convinced that Jakob will return once everyone in the world is a follower of His faith. God has personally promised him this.”
Yvar rubbed his chin. Because of the bright sunlight Lilith could only see his dark silhouette. “Has he ever mentioned anything about how he wanted to conquer this country?”
“He never discussed things like that with me. I was only given commands to destroy villages and towns. But it isn’t hard to imagine how he would operate. If Merzia doesn’t voluntarily surrender to God’s will, my master will employ other methods to ensure harmony is restored to the world.”
“One way or the other, Kasimirh is going to make sure a new Golden Era begins.”
Yvar looked at her. A cloud covered the sun, so Lilith could see his face more clearly. Lilith noticed that he had a worried look in his eyes. She wished she could take his worries away, but then she would have to lie to him. She nodded wordlessly. That was enough.
“What will happen if I join him voluntarily?”
“You’ll be initiated in Jakob’s teachings. Not much else. My master will gain dominion over Merzia, but since he has to concern himself with other things, the reality will be that you keep your position. At least, that’s how things usually went in the towns and villages where I used to live. The master came to initiate everyone and then he left again. Life went on, unless there were signs of people doubting Jakob. Then my master would return to restore order.”
“War or peace, it makes no difference to him, as long as the outcome is the same.” The king drummed his fingers against his lips. He heaved a sigh.
“There’s nothing horrible about following Jakob. It’s just that my master isn’t a benevolent leader. It’s best to stay out of his way.” Suddenly Lilith realized what she was suggesting. If Yvar surrendered to her master, she would fall into his hands again. She gave the king a startled look.
“Don’t worry, Lilith. We’ll make sure that he doesn’t get you back. After all, it’s also in Merzia’s interest to keep you away from him.”
Lilith heaved a sigh of relief.
“When is he planning to invade this country?” Ferhdessar asked.
“I don’t know.”
He regarded her closely while running his hand over the key on his belt.
“He never told me about his next move or when it would take place! He only informed me when he needed me.”
“How much time do you think he’ll give us to contemplate his offer?”
“I really don’t know, Ferhdessar.”
She averted her head and stared at the box. “What are you going to do now?” she whispered. “Are you going to join my mas… Kasimirh?”
The king shrugged. “It would help if we knew how much time we have to answer him.”
“I’m afraid that I can’t help you with that. And I also don’t know what his next move will be.” She wished she knew, because then she would be able to prepare herself for what was coming as well.
“In that case you may leave.” Yvar averted his gaze.
Lilith hesitated briefly but then asked the question burning on her lips: “Can I have the figurine?”
Ferhdessar gave the king a disapproving look. After some thought Yvar asked, “Has Kasimirh put any spells on it?”
“No, he hasn’t,” the sorcerer answered, “but…”
The king didn’t wait for him to finish. “Then she can have it. Give it to her.” Ferhdessar shook his head but did as he was told.
Lilith carefully wrapped her fingers around the figurine. “Thank you, my lord.”
After Ferhdessar had escorted her from the room, he returned to the king. Shaking his head, he sat down on the windowsill across from Yvar.
“Having her in this palace worries me greatly,” the king said. “Especially now that her master has his eye on Merzia. We’re going to have to get rid of her.”
“I fully agree, but how? I don’t know of any place where we can take her to. I don’t think any other sorcerer is anxious to take her in, but at the same time only a sorcerer can keep her safe.”
“Can’t you take away her ability to change? That would render her useless to Kasimirh.”
“The only thing I can do is destroy her amulet. But her master will make a new one, so that won’t help.”
They remained silent for a while. Below them, a horse and wagon moved through the fallow fields, but Yvar didn’t seem to notice.
“In that case, I want you to keep a close eye on her. And if the situation requires it, you’re going to have to kill her.”
Ferhdessar nodded. “I will. But she might yet be of use to us. If I can persuade her to attack Kasimirh, all our problems will be solved at once.”
He didn’t anticipate many problems. Lilith had more than enough reasons to hate her master.
Yvar’s eyes started to shine. “That’s a good idea. His own creation will be used against him. Lilith might even thank us for this opportunity.”
Back in her room, Lilith was looking for a nice place to put the figurine that she was still holding in her hands. When she had come to a decision, she carefully placed it on her bed and emptied her bedside cabinet. After that, she burned a little bit of sage to create smoke. She murmured a prayer, “I’m sorry, Lord, if I gave You the impression that I deserted You. That was never my intention, but I couldn’t continue on the path set out by my master. I still genuinely believe in Your promise to return and I will resume living my life according to Your teachings.”
The smoke had disappeared when Lilith ended her prayer, but the scent of sage was still very noticeable. It made her feel safe.
She took off her clothes and examined her back in the mirror. Even though her skin had healed, the welts caused by the scourge were still clearly visible. They would probably never disappear completely, Lilith thought as she ran her fingers over the rough scars. Then she washed off the sign that Ferhdessar had painted bet
ween her shoulder blades. The itchy feeling immediately disappeared.
Lilith put her clothes back on and nodded at Jakob before she left her room. There was much to do now that she had to perform Aida’s duties as well.
9
“Lilith, I need you.”
She turned towards Ferhdessar, who came walking down the corridor.
“I want you to come to the library with me. Maybe you can show me where Kasimirh lives and I hope you can tell me how big the area is that he has converted.”
She nodded obediently and Ferhdessar led the way.
“What is the library?”
“It’s the place where all of Merzia’s knowledge is stored. The library houses the king’s collection of books and documents.”
Lilith recognized this concept. The walls in her master’s study had been covered with books. Over half of them were written by Kasimirh himself as a result of Jakob’s teachings, the other books had been bought by her master because he had been interested in their subjects. He had once told Lilith that his collection encompassed the truth and that she had to be extremely careful with it for that reason. Now she was to discover Yvar’s truth.
Ferhdessar knocked on a door and was greeted by bumping noises. A short, plump man appeared in the doorway, but as soon as he saw the sorcerer he went back inside to get a bunch of keys. He crossed the corridor to a handsomely wrought door that was the same height as the wall.
“Couldn’t you for once come during opening hours, like everybody else?” the man grumbled as he unbolted the door and turned the key. When he looked at Lilith, however, she noticed that his eyes were shining.
Ferhdessar didn’t say anything and patted the man on his shoulder as he walked past him.
Overwhelmed by the vastness of the room, Lilith stopped short on the threshold. Along the walls and in the middle of the room there were many bookcases filled with books and scrolls of parchment. Finely-carved wooden spiral staircases led visitors to various balconies, where even more books were to be found. Chandeliers were suspended on rafters protruding from the third floor. The semi-dark above the rafters concealed another two storeys.
Paintings, indicating the subjects of the writings, hung between the bookcases. Lilith walked to a painting of plants. She carefully took one of the books from the shelf and opened it at a random page. She saw a picture of a red flower with a seed pod next to it. There was a description of the plant, which was followed by an explanation of its effects: The opium poppy can be used for several purposes, but is most often used as a remedy for insomnia. The milky juice has an analgesic and tranquillizing effect. Known side-effects are: overconfidence and recklessness. It prevents anxiety, depression, apprehension…
“Lilith, where are you?”
She immediately closed the book and put it back in its place. She could see Ferhdessar through the bookshelves. He was standing next to a gigantic orb that represented the earth. He motioned for her to come join him on the little platform. There was a brass keyboard in front of him.
A click sounded whenever Ferhdessar struck a key. It didn’t take Lilith much time to realize that he was typing the word “Naftalia”. When he had typed the final letter, he pulled a handle. The platform rose silently. The orb started turning.
Small trees growing along river banks were hanging their roots in the water. The deserts were composed of yellow sand dunes, and the silvery snow on the north pole glittered. When everything stopped moving, Naftalia was right in front of them, illuminated by a spotlight.
“Can you point out where Kasimirh lives?”
Trembling like a leaf, Lilith studied the globe. She was looking for the river she usually followed when she flew back to the caves where she used to live. But the lifelike representation of the world stirred up many emotions. It was almost as if the master had sent her on one of her destructive flights again. So she looked away.
Ferhdessar turned around. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s just… I’ve looked down on the world from this angle much too often.”
Her voice was trembling. Lilith was trying to focus on Ferhdessar’s face, so she didn’t have to look at the grassy plains. But every time she did look at them, she thought she could see the shadow of a dragon passing over the plains. The zebras seemed to be running away from it, just like they had run away from her in reality. When Lilith blinked, the shadow disappeared, only to reappear somewhere else on the globe.
Ferhdessar had been regarding her with raised eyebrows, but now he said, “All right, I will show it to you another way. Follow me.”
He tapped a key and pulled the lever again. As the platform descended, the globe turned back to its starting position, with the spotlight on Merzia.
They climbed the stairs together. At the third floor Ferhdessar picked up a lantern.
“The upper two floors house the books that are consulted the least,” he explained. “We also keep the atlases there because most people use the globe. I hope a two-dimensional map will have less of an impact on you.”
Lilith nodded.
It took Ferhdessar several tries before he found the right book. He carefully wiped the dust off its cover and turned around.
Lilith, however, was nowhere to be seen. An unpleasant sense of foreboding came over Ferhdessar when he saw a shadow moving along the bookcases on the other side. In a faraway corner of the library, the controversial books were to be found. Hardly anyone took the effort to read them, but if they fell into the wrong hands, they could be highly dangerous.
Ferhdessar ran to the other side, but he was too late. Out of all the books in the library, Lilith had chosen the single one that she should never had laid eyes on. It was a book in which Margal had recorded her views about the human race, which, in her opinion, was superior to all other races. The Goddess had described in elaborate detail how the world could be Purified. Ferhdessar didn’t want Lilith to know anything about this religion, because he was convinced it would drive her back into her master’s arms.
Lilith was holding the book in such a way that the little light that reached this dark corner of the library fell onto the pages. She was clearly straining her eyes to be able to read the words. Only when Ferhdessar pulled the book out of her hands, did she look up. Her eyes were burning with hate.
“So my master was right after all,” she hissed. “Why haven’t you killed me yet? What are you planning to do with me?”
“No, Kasimirh wasn’t right. And neither are you. You weren’t meant to see that book.”
“Obviously not.”
She turned around and ran down the spiral staircase. Ferhdessar stepped forwards but wasn’t able to grab her.
“Lilith, don’t run away! It’s not what you think,” he yelled.
She didn’t stop, so he focussed on the door. It slammed shut and was locked with loud clicking noises. Lilith pulled on the door handle but when she couldn’t open the door, she kicked it, infuriated.
Ferhdessar didn’t hurry. It was better to let her cool down first. Squatting down on her hunches, Lilith kept banging on the door as if she could shatter the thick wood.
“Lilith, stop making a spectacle of yourself. There’s no use. You’re only hurting yourself.”
She glanced over her shoulder. When she saw him coming closer, she started to scratch on the door. She called out for help, but there was no one who could hear her. Ferhdessar had made sure of that. He couldn’t run the risk of the librarian suddenly opening the door. It would give Lilith a chance to escape before he’d had the opportunity to speak with her.
“Lilith, hear me out,” he said when he stood next to her.
“Why? You all think I’m a child of the devil.”
Lilith had stopped trying to escape. She sat with her back against the door and was resting her head on her knees. Ferhdessar squatted in front of her, but she turned her head away to avoid his gaze. Despite her stubborn attitude, he tried to explain it to her.
“King Yvar has kept these books to r
emind himself of how dangerous certain people can be.”
“You mean the shapeshifters?”
Lilith’s voice sounded offended and Ferhdessar heaved a deep sigh.
“No, I mean the people who wrote those books and believe what’s written in them.”
She snorted sceptically. “Why did I think I could trust you people? It’s always the same, no matter where I go, but this was the last time.”
Ferhdessar gave an annoyed sigh as he rose to his feet. He wanted to help Lilith back up, but she pulled her arm away. They left the library in silence.
When they reached her room, they both went their separate ways. Lilith laid her hand on the door handle and watched Ferhdessar walk away. Without meaning to, he had warned her about the king and she was grateful to him.
The book hadn’t told her anything she didn’t know already; humans thought shapeshifters were dangerous, possessed by the devil and always out to do evil. Humans were the chosen ones who had to vanquish the spawn of the devil. Everything her master had told her was true; humans really did want to kill her. By running away, she had abandoned the only place where she was truly safe.
Ferhdessar had long since turned the corner when Lilith decided she would leave the palace. There was no reason to stay here any more. Sooner or later, these people would show their true nature, but she wasn’t going to wait for that to happen.
After she had gathered some of her belongings, she pulled a blanket off the bed. Wrapping it around her shoulders, she looked around the room one more time. The small room had become her home and she had felt safe here. She’d never expected that everything could change this abruptly.
But then again, do you ever see through anything? her inner voice scoffed. Lilith could only agree. She didn’t understand anything of the world and every time she thought she had caught on, it turned out that she couldn’t be farther away from the truth.
Embittered, Lilith left her room. She hurried through the corridors. She was scared someone would stop her, but nobody paid her any attention, not even the soldiers. At the end of the corridor she saw the door to the outside world. She would soon be leaving the palace and its inhabitants. She might even return to the only other country she knew. In Naftalia she could continue fighting against the humans. It was the logical thing to do.
The Lilith Trilogy Box Set Page 13
