by Jane Glatt
“No doubt you have your reasons,” Feiren said. “I hope to hear them later. Right now we need to focus on what happened to Brenna. I didn’t actually call you over here so you could lecture her.”
Brenna snorted but Kane ignored her.
“Brenna has more to tell,” Feiren continued. “Brenna?”
“Um, yes, well. I went to the library to try to find the plans for the house.”
“Plans for what house?” Kane interrupted.
“This one, of course.” Brenna shot him an innocent look. “We talked about recording all the exits for the house so I thought I’d start with the library.”
“Why would you think there would be anything there?” Kane asked.
“I’m a thief, remember,” she said. “And a very thorough one. There’s a section in the library filled with building plans for many of the oldest structures in town. I mostly kept to the public ones, inns and such, but I’ve certainly come across plans for some of the older houses.”
Astonished, Kane sat back in his chair. “There are public documents that may show some of the secrets of this house?” How much could have gone wrong over the years with this type of information out there? An even more uncomfortable thought struck him. “Have you come across any such drawings for the castle and grounds?”
“Yes, but you’d need to be a fool to try to steal from the castle.” Brenna paused. “It would be very dangerous to try to sell that type of information.”
“But worth a lot of money to the right buyer,” Kane said. He rubbed his hand across his brow. “Uncle? Have you any knowledge of these records?”
Feiren shook his head. “No. I’d not known of them, nor do I think my father or great uncle. Surely no Captain of the Kingsguard would let these plans out of their hand.”
“I must get them as soon as possible,” Kane said. “Tonight.” He started to rise but his uncle waved him back down.
“The lass isn’t finished yet. Go ahead Brenna.”
“All right,” Brenna said. “So I was looking for plans for the house when I decided to check for Brothers, to see if I’d been followed. And I felt something. It wasn’t old steel exactly, but it felt similar in some ways. I tracked it to a section of the library that has some very old books. Later I heard Randell; he’s the head library clerk, say that these books had recently come from the castle. Anyway, what I felt was a book. A very small book that had the feel of old steel. So I took it.”
From a pack that sat on the floor, Brenna pulled a tattered book. Kane reached out for it and the leather of the binding crackled under his hands. There were splatters on the front cover and he traced a finger along one. It was smooth to the touch and shimmered slightly.
“Something’s been spilled here,” he said as he turned the book over. The back of the book was almost completely covered in the shiny substance.
“Old steel,” Brenna said and he looked up at her in surprise. “At least as far as I can tell. Here,” she closed her eyes and he saw the splotches on the book glow unevenly. “But it feels out of balance somehow.”
The splatters dimmed and Kane flipped the book open. “It’s a work book,” he said. “The Brotherhood has been searching for this for centuries.” He tried to read the fine script but gave up after a few tries. The words crawled and wriggled across the pages. Magic, it must be. He gingerly laid the book on the table in front of his uncle.
“And we’ve finally found it,” Feiren said. “I looked through it all ready. Between the spatters of old steel on the cover and drawings I could make out, I’m convinced this book holds the secret to forging old steel weapons.”
Kane sat back and stared at the small book. All the documents they had made it clear that old steel was a key to restoring Wolde’s line to the throne. Over the years Brotherhood families had died out and others had grown beyond their few weapons. Today many Brothers did not have old steel and others did not have the right type of weapon. Now they’d be able to change that.
“Do we know who can read this?” Kane asked.
“No,” Brenna said. “But I can tell it doesn’t match you any more than it matched your uncle. You know, the way your family swords match you.”
Kane nodded. And the way she’d known that the knife the Guild Master’s daughter had wasn’t from their family.
“So you think the person whose family this is from will be able to read it?” He asked.
Brenna nodded.
“All right,” Kane said. “I’ll have Dasid look through the Brotherhood records to see who might be from an old blacksmith family.” Finding the book was yet another sign that Brenna truly was the one prophesied. All the pieces were falling into place. And quickly, which he found a little disturbing. King Matthias was yet a young man.
“Dasid is already on his way here,” Feiren said. “But Brenna still has more to tell.”
Kane looked from his uncle to Brenna. How much more could there be?
“Um, yes.” Brenna hesitated. “While I was at the library I heard a noise. As I said earlier, I hid on one of the bookshelves. Unfortunately, three people came into the room I was hiding in.”
“Yes, very unfortunate,” Kane said. Brenna shot him an annoyed look and he crossed his arms. She was annoyed with him? After she’d put herself in such danger? He stared at her until she lowered her gaze. There, that looked like a little remorse.
“One of the men was Randell,” Brenna continued, her gaze averted from him. “The head clerk. Another one was obviously a guard of some kind and the third was a scholar. Randell called him Master Fridrick.”
Brenna glanced at him and Kane felt a sudden chill. Fridrick was one of Duke Thorold’s advisors. If he had found Brenna …
“And that,” Brenna continued. “Was when Randell mentioned that the books and scrolls in this section had recently come from the castle. Then Fridrick told Randell he had to find the information the duke was looking for. Information on the Brotherhood.”
Kane sucked in a breath. How did Duke Thorold know about the Brotherhood? “Did Fridrick mention what they knew about the Brotherhood?”
“Not really.” Brenna shook her head. “Fridrick must have told Randell what to look for earlier. Randell found and read the same passage he’d shown me when I first learned about the Brotherhood.”
“I hope they are not able to learn more,” Feiren said.
Kane could only nod in agreement
“That may be a problem,” Brenna said. “Fridrick is going to return tonight. He charged Randell with cataloging the rest of the books before he returns. Which is impossible.” Her smile was sad. “I don’t want anything to happen to Randell. He’s been a great friend for a lot of years.”
“We’ll figure out a way to help him,” Kane said. And he would, as long as Brenna and the Brotherhood were not put at risk. “We must get any books that contain information about the Brotherhood. And the plans for the castle.” That unnerved him. The castle could be vulnerable. “We’ll go tonight.”
“There’s more,” Brenna said and Kane sat back in his chair again. “I didn’t mention it to Feiren yet either.”
Kane looked at his uncle. He seemed rather bemused at Brenna’s words.
“I did another search for old steel while Fridrick was there,” Brenna continued. “His guard was wearing an old steel sword. But it was wrong. Not just mismatched the way Carolie’s knife was. It felt as though the sword was in some way tainted by the guard.”
Kane met his uncle’s grim look. So that’s what Thorold was doing with the old steel- arming his men. The question was, why?
“And I found more old steel there. At the library I mean,” Brenna said. “It was very powerful.” Brenna looked up at him in confusion. “There’s just no other way to describe it. At first I thought it was on a bottom shelf, but it’s buried behind the actual wall.” She paused. “There are two items and they’re calling me. It’s a very strong call.”
Kane watched her face. Brenna was definitely worried about these two items.
“We’ll collect them when we head to the library tonight,” he said. “I have full authority to seize any books or documents that may be a threat to the safety of the king or country. Dasid will come as well. I’ll need a student who is familiar with the layout and contents of the library. Brenna, I think you already have a disguise?” She nodded. “You have to be careful. Randell must not see you. And if we meet Master Fridrick I want you to hide.” He hated to bring her, hated the risk it put her in, but she was the only one who could locate the old steel. The book on forging old steel had been out in the open on a library shelf - by the old gods, what could be so important that it had been buried within the wall?
Brenna tugged her hat down low over her hair and trailed Dasid into the library. While Kane talked to an extremely flustered Randell, she and Dasid headed to the room that contained the plans. She shook her head sadly. Poor Randell. Not only did he have Fridrick to worry about, but now the Captain of the Kingsguard was demanding full access to the library. She tugged on Dasid’s arm and steered him towards the correct shelves.
Before long a pile of books and scrolls covered the table. Kane had advised them to take anything that looked likely - they could always return books that were of no value to them. Brenna had taken Kane at his word and had added a few books on healing that she’d always found useful. And she’d found the book that held the plans to Thorold’s estate. Over the latter she’d whispered her mother’s concealment spell. If Dasid and Kane found the book, so be it, but if at all possible, she wanted that one for herself.
Dasid had found a large selection of scrolls that dealt with the castle and grounds as well as a leather bound volume that detailed Feiren’s house. He’d chuckled when he’d spotted it. Brenna had pretended not to notice but she knew exactly where it was on the table. It looked much like the book on Thorold’s estate, which gave her hope that there were shared secrets between the two houses. Dasid would be surprised when that particular book didn’t make it to the Kingsguard offices at the castle. He’d get it eventually, but not until she’d looked at it first.
Soon they had sorted through all the shelves and Dasid went in search of Kane. Once he’d left the room, Brenna took the two books she wanted and hid them in her pack. Long ago Mistress Dudding had sewn a false compartment in her pack and the books fit in nicely. The weight of the pack would give it away but there was only a slight bulge when she slung it over her shoulders.
Brenna hid behind a shelf until Dasid came back.
“They’ll be here soon,” he said. “Time for the next stage of the plan.”
“I’m off,” Brenna said. She slipped from the room and crossed the hall to another shelf filled room. Randell and Kane must have finished their search of all the oldest books. Now they would bring them to this room so that all the books and scrolls destined for the Kingsguard could be catalogued. That should keep Randell occupied for some time and more importantly, keep him away from the room where he and Kane had just been. The room that held the old steel. Dasid would stay here with Randell.
Once Kane and Randell went past, she ducked out into the hall and headed for the back of the library. A small lamp lit the room and she edged inside and reached for old steel. There, towards the back. She followed it to the shelf along the back wall. This was where she’d hidden the night before. Brenna shifted books from the bottom shelf to the top. Yes, they were here, behind this stone. She heard the scrape of a boot on the floor and froze.
“Brenna.”
She peered around a shelf. It was Kane.
“There you are,” he said. “I’ve left Dasid with the librarian. I thought I should be here in case Fridrick shows up; the few references to the Brotherhood that we’ve found don’t really add up to much. Have you found the spot?”
She nodded. “Right here, at the floor.”
“I’ll wait at the table. In case Fridrick does come it’s better if I let my assistant do the work. Let me know if you need any help.”
“It shouldn’t be too long,” Brenna said.
She crouched beside the bottom shelf and grabbed a small chisel from her pack. As she dug and scraped at the old mortar, Brenna’s shoulders and wrists ached from the positions she was forced into. Soon enough a small pile of dust and mortar fragments littered the shelf and the floor around her. With a cloth she carefully scooped up as much of the debris as she could and tucked the cloth into her pocket. Anything she couldn’t pick up she carefully swept under the bookshelf.
Brenna rolled her shoulders, leaned down and grabbed a corner of the stone with her fingers. The stone moved slightly and she pushed the edge of the chisel in behind her fingers. Painstakingly, she inched the stone forward. Once she’d wiggled it out enough she braced her feet against the wooden shelf and grabbed the stone with both hands. She tugged, hard. It was no use, she didn’t have the strength. She rose, stretched the kinks in her back and arms, and then padded down the row. She peered out from behind a shelf. Kane was alone at the table, his head bent over a book, dark hair gleaming in the lamp light.
“Kane,” Brenna whispered from behind the shelf.
He put the book he was reading down and glanced over at her.
“I need some brawn.”
He nodded and stood up quietly. After a quick look out into the hallway he joined her.
She pointed to the partially extracted stone. “I can’t get that stone out.”
Kane quickly sat on the floor in front of the stone and braced his feet against the shelf. He grabbed the stone with both hands and with a low grunt, slowly slid it out from the wall.
The sound of stone grating on stone was loud in the quiet library. Brenna eyed the entrance to the room. No sound of anyone coming to investigate. She thought that even the Captain of the Kingsguard would have trouble explaining why he was dismantling the wall.
She glanced behind her. Kane had the stone completely out. Brenna ducked down and slid her arm into the hole. Her hand touched something dry and leathery and she grabbed it and pulled. It was heavier than she’d expected and there was a dry cracking noise as she dragged it from the wall. Once she had it out she backed up and let Kane edge the stone back into place.
Now that it was in her hands, the call of the old steel calmed a little. Brenna brushed her hand across the parched and cracked wrapping. Oh how she wanted to open this right now and run her hands across the metal that she knew would flash and warm to her touch.
The sound of stone scraping on stone stopped.
“Do you want me to take that?” Kane asked.
Brenna looked up, startled. Kane wiped a dusty hand on his breeches before he held it out to her.
“No, I’ve got it,” she said and quickly shoved the item into her pack. What had she been doing? They had plenty of time to look at whatever it was later. Right now they had to make it out of here before Fridrick caught them.
Kane met her gaze and held it for a moment “All right,” he said. “I’ll take the watch again while you clean up.” He stepped passed her and sat back down at the table.
Brenna quickly dusted the bottom shelf with a cloth and started to put the books back on it. Just as she finished she heard noise in the hallway and then a voice she recognized from last night.
“Clerk, clerk! Where is that One-God cursed clerk? I told him I expected ...Why Captain Rowse. How unusual to see you here in the library.”
Brenna scowled when she heard the change in his voice. One minute he’d been sharp and angry and the next pleasant and sweetly polite. She knew that type well- her childhood had been made miserable by Thorold’s household staff and advisors. Their smooth manners with the duke had given way to cruelty when dealing with those lower than themselves. And you didn’t get much lower than the bastard child of an indentured servant.
“Master Fridrick,” Kane said. “Good evening.” Kane’s voice was calm and Brenna relaxed a little. “You’re right - I don’t spend much time in the library. It seems some books from the castle were mistakenly sen
t here. Books I would rather keep in the hands of the Kingsguard. Some of them detail castle fortifications. The clerk told me the books in this section have just recently arrived from the castle.”
“He told me the exact same thing but I had no idea some were here in error,” Fridrick said.
“I’m sure most are fine but there are a few I’m reclaiming. I’ve a student digging around here somewhere helping me pick which ones to take. Pater, where are you boy?”
“Back here, Captain sir,” Brenna called out. “Just getting a few books down from the top shelf.” She pulled her hat down low over her head and grabbed a couple of books at random. “I thought these two looked likely, Captain,” she mumbled. She kept her head down as she shuffled out into view, books held out to Kane.
He took a look at the cover of one book and with a light curse, tossed it onto the table. “It’s difficult to find good help on such short notice,” Kane said to Fridrick.
“That’s so often the case, Captain,” Master Fridrick agreed. “Men of accomplishment must suffer for the lack of good help.”
“It is a burden,” Kane agreed. “Boy, take these books to Dasid. Quick now.” Brenna scooped up the pile and shuffled out the door.
“I’m afraid I must be off, Master Fridrick,” Kane said. “Dasid has been checking the rest of the library and I’m late meeting him.”
“If you see that clerk please send him my way,” Fridrick said.
As she headed down the library corridor Brenna passed the same guard from last night.
“That was an old steel sword,” Kane whispered when he caught up with her. “Was that the same man from last night?”
“Yes.”
They turned a corner and entered the room where Randell and Dasid were. Brenna stepped behind a shelf, careful to keep herself in the shadows.
“Randell,” Kane said. “We’ve interrupted you long enough. Master Fridrick is waiting for you in the back of the library. Dasid, I’m afraid you may need to wait until Randell has finished with Master Fridrick. It may mean you’ll be here all night.”
