Lu Bei giggled and Turesobei filed that comment away in things he should never mention to Iniru. “So this sword I need to open the Nexus Gate …”
“It is an ancient sword buried halfway up to the hilt in a stone block lying at the heart of the library. Its name is Fangthorn. When the sun faded, all the Keepers who yet remained, across the world, converged here at my Grand Library of Okoro, which was built on top of the shrine that housed the sword in its stone. You see, this place is more than a library. It is a treasure vault and a museum. Every item stored here has already played its part and awaits the end of the world. The Keepers must allow you to have the sword, but your having it was not foretold. So they must wake their lord and get his permission.”
“But if they are guided by destiny, wouldn’t they already know if I’m to have it or not?”
“No Keeper was ever appointed to guard this sword, and yet here it is. When the Keeper of Destiny took over the library and allowed me to stay on, I asked him what he wanted to do with the sword, and he told me to leave it be. If the Keepers decided someone deserved the item, he should be awakened and presented with that person. He would then make the final decision.”
“So I have to convince you, all the Keepers, and then their lord?”
Ooloolarra nodded. “And it gets worse. The Keepers have no control over Fangthorn, and unfortunately, the dragon bound into the sword hates you.”
“Dragon …” Turesobei winced. “The terrible shadow I saw in my nightmares! That’s why it knew I’d come to her. Because I’d want to get out of the Ancient Cold and Deep. She thinks I’m Naruwakiru.”
Ooloolarra gestured toward the storm sigil. “I cannot imagine why.”
“My life stinks.”
“So a sword with a dragon bound inside is the key to the Nexus?” Lu Bei asked. “That’s a really weird key.”
“It is not a key exactly,” she said. “The Shogakami didn’t create a key to open the Nexus. They didn’t intend for it to ever be opened again. Perhaps you’ve noticed that the Shogakami prefer imprisonment to killing? Though it’s possible the Blood King couldn’t be killed.”
“Then how can the sword get me in?” Turesobei asked.
“There’s always a loophole in an imprisonment spell, yes?”
Turesobei didn’t have much experience with imprisonment spells, especially any that would be cast by a Kaiaru, but he had studied the theory behind the common variety. “An imprisonment spell can be interrupted or broken by the one who casts it.”
Ooloolarra nodded. “The dragon within the sword helped the Shogakami cast the spell that locked the Blood King within the Nexus. That’s why you need her cooperation. It is not enough to merely wield the sword. The dragon must be willing to help you. She can open the gate to the Nexus.”
“But the dragon hates me.”
“Because she thinks you’re Naruwakiru, master. It shouldn’t be hard to convince her otherwise. Once she sees you in person, all will be fine.”
“You are infused with the power of the Storm Dragon, though,” said Ooloolarra, “and this dragon … she has gone mad from millennia of captivity and isolation. I’m not sure she will understand the difference. She may not even care.”
Turesobei slumped. “Great, more good news.”
Eyes narrowing, Lu Bei asked, “So who is this shadow dragon?”
“Not a shadow dragon,” Ooloolarra replied with a pitying sigh. “The Earth Dragon.”
Turesobei gulped. “The Earth Dragon?!”
“Lady Hannya of the Caverns, powered by the depths of the earth, rivaled only by Mekazi Keshuno the Shadow Dragon and Naruwakiru the Storm Dragon.”
“No, no, no.” Lu Bei fluttered his wings nervously. “It can’t be Hannya. The Earth Dragon vanished ages … Oh. Wait a second, lady, who could possibly bind the Earth Dragon into a sword? And what kind of sword could hold her?”
“Hannya was bound into the sword by Tepebono.”
“The hero who killed the Storm Dragon centuries ago?” Turesobei asked. “But he was just a zaboko man. How could he bind something as powerful as the Earth Dragon?”
Ooloolarra chuckled. “He may have looked zaboko, just as you look baojendari, but he was Kaiaru. Did you think a normal human could slay the Storm Dragon on his own?”
“Well, no, I guess not. But none of the tales mentioned it.”
“I didn’t know either,” Lu Bei added.
“Perhaps the tales are wrong because the people of Okoro forgot about the Kaiaru until the baojendari invaded. The Shogakami were more than Kaiaru by that point, just as the dragons were.”
“So he bound Hannya after he killed Naruwakiru?” Turesobei asked.
“Before. He bound Hannya into the sword and used it to kill Naruwakiru. That’s the only way he could rescue his lover, Lady Amasan, whom Naruwakiru had kidnapped. Remember, by that point Naruwakiru had more than a dragon’s kavaru heart. She had merged her kavaru with the jade heart made by her priests with blood magic. Her power had tripled and was growing steadily.”
“How could he bind her into a sword?”
“It wasn’t just any sword. This blade was forged of dark steel.”
“Dark steel? That’s impossible … right?” Dark iron was temperamental, and it supposedly couldn’t be forged into steel like with the equally rare white iron.
“Fangthorn is a unique sword. Only its forger ever knew how it was made.”
“Even still, I don’t get how he could bind the Earth Dragon so easily.”
“Tepebono was a master of binding spells, and in this case he prepared them in advance using blood magic that centuries later killed him so thoroughly he couldn’t be resurrected.”
“Why not use the sword directly against Naruwakiru?”
“She was too powerful for him to bind by that point.”
“Okay, I understand why Hannya would hate me if she thought I were Tepebono, but she thinks I’m Naruwakiru. As a sword she was used to defeat Naruwakiru. Why would she hate the Storm Dragon so much?”
“Yeah, I don’t get it either,” Lu Bei said.
Ooloolarra shrugged. “That is the great mystery. I know they were rivals long, long ago, before Hannya and Naruwakiru became dragons. Obviously something happened between them. What, I couldn’t even guess. But Hannya has had millennia to nurse this grudge.”
Turesobei started to speak, but she put a finger to her lips and shook her head. Then, smiling sympathetically, she leaned forward and touched his arm. “I know you have dozens more questions in you still, but let us not delve into more mysteries. I’ve told you everything you must know to move forward.”
“I’m never going to get home.”
“No,” she replied, “I don’t think you will. But nevertheless, I will aid you as I can and wish you the best. Tomorrow morning, I will formally present you to the Keepers and speak well of you.”
“Thank you, Ooloolarra. I’m indebted to you.”
“Of that, I am certain.” Her lips peeled back into a broad smile, revealing razor-sharp teeth. “My services have a price, though.”
Turesobei sighed. Of course. None of this could be easy. “What’s your price?”
“Here it comes,” Lu Bei muttered dejectedly.
“You have something I want.” Her eyes fell upon Lu Bei. “You must leave the fetch with me.”
Chapter 48
“Yep, just as I expected,” Lu Bei said. “There’s a good reason Master kept my book form secret from you.”
“No!” Turesobei clenched his fists. “I can’t leave him behind! I need Lu Bei. He’s bound to me, and he’s my friend.”
“I am, above all, a collector of books and information,” Ooloolarra said. “And he is the most unique book I have ever seen. You know, you might be better off without him. If you understood your destiny well enough, I think you would agree.”
“I don’t care about my destiny,” Turesobei replied. “I love Lu Bei and he’s mine. I won’t leave him here.”
&n
bsp; “I’m sorry, but that is my price.” She twirled her hair through her fingers.
“Once he’s more than two hundred paces away from me, he won’t even be a fetch anymore!”
“I’ll find a way to work around that,” she replied. “And if not, so be it.”
“I can’t agree to this deal.”
“Without me to plead your case to the Keepers, you have no hope of returning home,” Ooloolarra said. “And you will die here.”
“Do as she says, master. If my staying here is the price, then so be it. You must return home with the others.”
As he glared at Ooloolarra, the storm mark on Turesobei’s cheek started to burn. But he reigned it in. Freeing Lu Bei from this deal would just be one more problem to solve, one there was no point in worrying over yet since he might not even live that long.
Turesobei gritted his teeth. “Fine. I agree.” He stood to leave. “If you speak on my behalf, you may keep Lu Bei.”
“Go now and rest. The Keepers will gather at dawn.”
*****
The Keeper of Scrolls met him on the staircase.
“She will represent me tomorrow,” Turesobei told him.
“So be it,” the Keeper replied.
“I can find my own way back.”
The Keeper stepped to the edge of the gallery, jumped off, flew several levels down, and disappeared. To where, Turesobei didn’t care.
Stoically he walked down the staircase, crossed the library, pausing for a moment to look at the door that led to the Lower Stacks, and returned to the building that housed the guest rooms. Lu Bei fluttered along silently behind him.
Motekeru bowed and opened the door to his room for him. He didn’t ask anything.
“Lu Bei, stay out here with Motekeru. Do not record anything that happens inside. When they ask, tell the others what they should know.”
Lu Bei bit his lip and frowned, then he sighed and bowed. “Yes, master. I will do so.”
Turesobei entered his room and locked the door behind him. He sat on the bedroll and stared at the wall absentmindedly. His brain was numb. His heart overwhelmed.
A tap sounded on the door.
“Sobei!” Shoma called. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” Turesobei replied. “I just need to rest and prepare for tomorrow.”
He could sense her hovering at the door.
He cast the spell of pervasive silence, placing it over the room. Then, by its silver chain, he held his kavaru up before him and stared into its amber depths, watching its kenja pulse like a heartbeat. If he could’ve taken it off, he would have. He didn’t want it anymore. He didn’t want any of this. He wanted to be a normal sixteen year old. Heck, a normal sixteen-year-old wizard would be fine. He didn’t want grand destinies or ancient enemies threatening to destroy his clan or kill his friends. He didn’t want all this pain, all this responsibility. And he didn’t want to be the Storm Dragon either. That was the worst part of all.
With a wave of his hand, he turned the lantern off, plunging the room into complete darkness. For a moment, he thought he heard the whisper of a laugh.
Turesobei brought his knees to his chest and rested his head on them, wrapping his arm around his legs.
He cried.
*****
An hour before dawn, the Keeper of the Hearth woke them all. Turesobei opened his door and Shoma rushed in and threw herself into his arms, nearly tackling him.
“Lu Bei told us everything,” she muttered. “Sobei … I …”
He stroked her hair. “It’ll all be okay, Little Blossom. I always find a way, don’t I?”
She looked into his eyes. “You’re starting to crack.”
“That just makes me more dangerous for my enemies.”
Frowning, Iniru leaned against the doorframe. “Get some food in you and give the Keepers hell.”
Motekeru brought in a plate heaping with food that the Keeper of the Hearth had provided.
“Let’s all eat together in Shoma’s room,” Turesobei said.
Because it might be their last meal and he wanted to share it with the ones he loved.
*****
With Lu Bei at his side, Turesobei left his companions on the bottom floor of the Main Library. The Keepers were allowing them to watch the proceedings from there. The Keeper of Scrolls led him back up to the observatory where Ooloolarra beckoned him to the center of the room.
“Stand here beside me.”
The circular portion of floor they stood on sank downward, descending through the ceiling of the Main Library. On this levitating disc, they floated halfway down, fifteen levels. There the disc paused and rotated slowly.
His eyes went wide with amazement. Gathered along the edge of each floor of the library were Keepers, dozens of them, with feathers in every imaginable hue. Aside from that they all looked strangely the same — identical heights, builds, eyes, and even the same white tunics. He’d only seen five of the Keepers before now. Did they sleep all the time?
“Ninety-eight of them,” Ooloolarra whispered. “You have one vote already, from the Keeper of the Shores. You need forty-nine more, plus a volunteer who will present you to the Keeper of Destiny. That will be the hardest part for you.”
“Why is that?” he asked, but Ooloolarra didn’t get a chance to answer.
The Keeper of Scrolls, perched on the highest level, swept his wings out. “We are gathered! Our proceedings shall now begin! Let all who should be heard be easily heard.”
A flicker of kenja passed through the library.
“A voice-boosting spell,” Ooloolarra whispered. “So we won’t have to yell at one another.”
“Present your case, Great Librarian,” the Keeper of Scrolls said pompously.
“Most gracious lords … my dear Eirsendan friends … thank you for hearing me,” Ooloolarra said silkily, her voice echoing throughout the library. “Long have we known each other and few claimants have I presented to you. Four, if I recall correctly, and long has it been since the last. Today I present to you Chonda Turesobei and I ask you hear his plea and grant his wish. His cause is great and just. I say this not because he is the … descendant of my Kaiaru brother and friend of old. I say it not because I have pity on him for his youth and his friends. I say it because he is a good person, with good intentions. I say it because of everything he meant to our world, because of everything, both good and bad, that he has yet to become.
“Can we deny his world the impact he had on ours? Because that’s what we will do by not giving him a chance to return. I know he must first draw Fangthorn from the stone and his chances of doing so are slim. But if he succeeds, he will remove from below us the darkness that ever haunts this place and our hearts. My lords, I beg you, as I have never done before, let him meet with your lord.”
A ripple of murmurs spread amongst the gathered Keepers.
“Now you,” Ooloolarra whispered.
Turesobei fell to his knees and bowed. His palms were sweaty. His body trembled no matter how he tried to still it, as did his voice.
“My lords, I beg your help in returning to my world. We came here by accident while saving my world … your world of old. The Deadly Twelve, assassins from the Shadowland, used the Winter Child to unleash the yomon and eternal winter on Okoro. I had to become the Storm Dragon to stop them, but unfortunately my friends, and members of my family, got dragged through the gate with me. They are innocent, and if I cannot get them home, they will die. My betrothed, Kurine, who is from this world, is already dying, and the rest of my companions will be killed by the yomon hunting us. My clan, back home, they need me desperately. I am their future. Please. My cause is good and just. I only ask for a chance.”
Many of them were shaking their heads, clearly unimpressed. He had to do better. But what could he say? What else was there to say but to explain why he did what he did and hope that they would understand.
“Surely you remember fighting for what you believe in? Surely you remember being wil
ling to give everything to save those you love? I have never done anything else but give all of myself to save the ones who matter to me. I believe that is the most noble thing a person can do, and I would gladly die for any one of my companions, man or beast or book. I am not claiming to be perfect or flawless, far from it. I have made many mistakes, but my love for my family and friends is perfect in its intent. Give me a chance to see them home, back to where they belong.”
Turesobei shrugged. He wanted to say more but what could he say? Either they would care or they would not. “I rest my case, humbly begging for your support, my lords. I will respect your decision and I shall not fight it.”
“It is put to a vote then!” the Keeper of Scrolls declared. “All those in favor, unfurl your wings.”
Chapter 49
While most of the Keepers eyed one another indecisively, an emerald-feathered Keeper immediately stepped to the edge, stood on his toes, and dramatically flared out his wings revealing their golden underside. Seeing him, another loosed his wings to vote in favor of Turesobei. Then another and another. Many, however, did not budge.
The flutter of movement stopped. Turesobei counted frantically. The vote was close.
Ooloolarra could scan fast. She put an arm around his shoulders. “That’s something I have never seen before,” she whispered. “Almost there.”
“By a margin of fifty-two to forty-seven, the Gathering supports the claimant,” announced the Keeper of Scrolls. “However, for the measure to pass one of us must volunteer to represent him to our beloved lord, our Keeper of Destiny. You all know what a great and terrible honor that is.”
The first Keeper to have voted, the one with emerald and gold feathers said, “I shall.”
A few Keepers gasped while others stared at him dumfounded, their beady eyes unblinking. The rest chattered to one another in amazed tones. Turesobei choked back a sob and breathed a deep sigh of relief. The tension in his muscles released.
The Forbidden Library Page 29
