The Forbidden Library

by David Alastair Hayden

  “Then so shall it be,” the Keeper of Scrolls pronounced. “Present him, brother, with our blessing and love. The Gathering is now over.”

  The Keeper of Scrolls stepped away from the edge and disappeared, but the rest of the Keepers continued to speak rapidly amongst themselves in their language of clicks and chirps which the magic of this world did not interpret for Turesobei as it did with the goronku. Turesobei met the eyes of the emerald-winged Keeper and nodded in thanks. The Keeper nodded back and retreated into the stacks.

  Lu Bei landed on Turesobei’s shoulders and hugged him. Turesobei allowed, for a moment, a smile to cross his face.

  “Congratulations,” Ooloolarra said. “You did something no one else has ever done. And now you shall do something else few others have done. You will meet the Keeper of Destiny. They will retrieve you just before midnight.”

  “Will I be in danger?”

  “The Keeper of Destiny will not harm you. Even if he chooses not to grant you your wish to draw Fangthorn, he will grant you a favor. If it were me, I would ask to live out the rest of my days here in the library where it’s warm and safe.”

  *****

  Turesobei spent an almost festive afternoon with his friends. They’d crossed one of the biggest hurdles. And he wouldn’t think, for now, about their chances of passing the ones still ahead. They ate and talked of the most frivolous things they could think of. No one mentioned Kurine’s deteriorating condition or the possibility that Turesobei could fail to draw the sword. Instead they took a couple of hours to browse the library, looking in wonder at the beautifully illuminated texts all written in strange languages that meant nothing to them.

  A half-hour before midnight, the Keeper of the Hearth came for Turesobei. They walked silently to the Main Library, Lu Bei fluttering behind. From there the Keeper led them through one of the connecting passages to the tall, narrow tower.

  The emerald-and-gold keeper was waiting for them. Some sort of unspoken message passed between the two Keepers. Then the Keeper of the Hearth nodded slowly and deeply, almost bowing, to the emerald one and left. Turesobei’s representative stood for a long moment before shoving the door open and leading him inside.

  “What’s your name?” Turesobei asked. His voice shook nervously and he realized he was terrified, which was strange considering all the demons and monsters he’d faced. But normal Keepers were intimidating enough and they all held their lord, the Keeper of Destiny, in awe.

  “I am the Keeper of the Forested Isles,” he said in almost longing voice.

  “I can’t thank you enough for what you did for me, being the first to vote, and so dramatically. I think without you the vote would not have passed.”

  “You are welcome,” the Keeper replied.

  “What happened to your islands?”

  The Keeper let loose a sigh. “The isles now lie beneath the ocean.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry.”

  The Keeper of the Forested Isles locked his beady eyes on him. “Time undoes everything, good and bad. It is the way of life.”

  The Keeper placed a hand on a second door and chanted. A few moments later it swung open. The Keeper spoke a word and a few anemic lanterns on the walls sputtered to life. The building wasn’t what Turesobei had expected. It was full of cobwebs and dust and entirely empty. High, high above he spotted a trapdoor in the ceiling.

  The Keeper spread his wings. “I shall have to carry you.”

  “I can levitate up there, if you like.”

  The Keeper of the Forested Isles nodded. “That would be more dignified for both of us, I should think.”

  Turesobei noticed the Keeper’s hands were trembling. “Are you nervous to see your lord, too?”

  Was that a smile? It was hard to judge their expressions. “I have never met the Keeper of Destiny before.”

  “Never?” Lu Bei asked. “Wow. That seems strange.”

  “More than half of us have not. The Keeper of Destiny was ancient even when I was young. He sleeps and dreams almost all the time. When last he walked among us it was to summon us here, but by the time I arrived, he was already in hibernation. So it is an extreme honor for me to finally meet him.”

  “Ooloolarra made it sound like getting a representative would be difficult. If it’s such an honor to meet him, why wouldn’t all of you want to volunteer?”

  The Keeper made no reply. Turesobei exchanged a look with Lu Bei who shrugged. Turesobei positioned himself directly under the trapdoor and chanted the spell of levitation. He rose slowly up into the air, Lu Bei circling around him, and the Keeper of the Forested Isles met him when he reached the top. The Keeper grabbed onto a handhold and chanted again to unlock the door.

  “After me,” said the Keeper of the Forested Isles.

  The Keeper climbed in through the trapdoor and Turesobei followed him up. A single room, much like Ooloolarra’s, took up the top of the tower. But this dome was crystal clear and it magnified one’s sight so that everything beyond looked closer. Avida, hanging full above them, was enormous — easily four times its normal size. Gray blemishes and pockmarks scarred the moon’s surface that, until now, Turesobei had believed to be purely white and smooth. Only a few stars could peek through Avida’s dominating, magnified light.

  “Wowza!” Lu Bei said, and Turesobei nodded.

  The Keeper of the Forested Isles sunk down onto one knee and placed his hands on the floor. He tucked his head down and spoke in a strangely lyrical alien language of clicks and whistles and grunts.

  The chamber was bare, except for a figure standing at the other end of the room. Stooped and frail, though clearly he had once been a head taller than all the others, the Keeper of Destiny stood, statue-like, staring up through the dome. Gossamer webs draped from his hoary, emaciated frame. His wings hung limp and the pale, with almost translucent feathers that looked as if they might fall off. His hands and limbs were gnarled and scarred, as if he had fought mighty beasts in the distant past. But his eyes, focused on the sky above — unblinking, clear, and sharp — sparkled under Avida’s light.

  Turesobei dropped to his knees and bowed his head. Lu Bei mirrored him this time.

  Now that he’d taken in the sight of the Keeper of Destiny, something bothered Turesobei. Something here was wrong. The moon! Shaking his head in confusion, he gazed at Avida.

  “You are wondering,” said a deep, deep voice, “why Avida is full above when it should be crescent now and lying, at this time of night, on the horizon.”

  The eyes of the Keeper of Destiny lowered onto Turesobei.

  “I just realized it, your majesty,” Turesobei replied, bowing low.

  “Do you long to return home?” the Keeper of Destiny asked.

  “I do, your majesty.”

  “So do I.”

  With a groan and the cracking of stiff joints, the Keeper of Destiny rolled his head, relaxed his shoulders, and swept the cobwebs from his chest and arms. Looking as if he might tumble forward, he took creaking steps on his frail legs. He crossed the room and stopped in front of the Keeper of the Forested Isles who kept his head tucked down and said nothing. The Keeper of Destiny grabbed the hands of the Keeper of the Forested Isles and brought him up to his feet.

  “Rise, my brave child, and face me.”

  The Keeper of the Forested Isles did so. “I am yours, Lord Keeper.”

  “It has been a long, long time since any of you visited me.”

  “We have had no reason to disturb you, my lord.”

  “You were all afraid.”

  Trembling, the emerald-winged Keeper nodded. “Yes.”

  “It is difficult to be alone. And soon, all too soon, you will understand that. I am sorry.”

  “It is the highest honor to serve you, my lord.”

  “An honor that I am sorry I must bestow. Are you ready?”

  “One moment.” The Keeper of the Forested Isles turned to Turesobei. “Thank you, Chonda Turesobei, for reminding this ancient soul what it was like to live an
d love, even at the peril of one’s own life. I had forgotten. And now, I wish you success on your noble efforts and honor you with this: My second secret name, the one that humans can speak is Inatiasharra. I am, in your world and time, still on the islands. They lie between Okoro and Tengba Ren, but a little south. If you should ever have the chance …”

  “I don’t understand,” Turesobei said.

  The Keeper of the Forested Isles nodded. “I am ready now, my lord.”

  “Fix your gaze on our beloved homeland.”

  The Keeper of the Forested Isles spun and gazed up at Avida. Then the Keeper of Destiny, like lightning, struck and bit deeply into Inatiasharra’s neck, his sharp beak tearing through the throat.

  Turesobei jumped to his feet and screamed, “No!”

  Chapter 50

  There was a spray of blood, but none of it ever touched the ground. Inatiasharra’s body, tunic and wings and all, burst into a cloud of white mist. The Keeper of Destiny inhaled deeply and the cloud poured into him. As Turesobei watched helplessly, the Keeper of Destiny rejuvenated. Muscle returned to his frail limbs. His feathers turned from translucent white to deep gold and shining silver. His wings stretched out. His back straightened. His skin went from gray to light bronze. He bent his head back and cawed deeply, his voice reverberating through the dome.

  Then he turned.

  Turesobei backed up a step and Lu Bei flew in front of him, with his hands spread out, sparks falling from his palms.

  “Watch out, master!”

  “I am not going to hurt either of you,” the Keeper lord replied with a hint of mirth in his voice.

  “Why — Why did you do that?” Turesobei asked.

  “Because there is a price to pay for all magic, that which grants immortality most of all. I am not Kaiaru like you.”

  “I’m — I’m not Kaiaru.”

  “How odd that you should not know what you are,” the Keeper of Destiny said. “Inatiasharra was given the greatest of honors. He died so that his lord might live, just as others of our people gave of themselves to make Inatiasharra immortal in those days when our strength failed and war had nearly ruined us. We could save only some of our people, but we saved those few most brilliantly. It is our way. I do not expect you to understand. You reminded Inatiasharra what it was like to live, and thus, he was ready to die. It is as simple as that. And it was necessary. My own life-force is far too precious to spend on events like this that have not been foreseen.”

  The Keeper of Destiny once more gazed up toward Avida, and after a few minutes during which Turesobei didn’t dare move or speak, the Keeper said, “I will allow you to take Fangthorn from the Lower Stacks, if that is your wish. Do you know what you will be facing?”

  “The Earth Dragon Hannya,” Turesobei replied. “Ooloolarra explained it all to me.”

  “I would not blame you for choosing another blessing, Chonda Turesobei. I could give you access to another item. Or allow you and your friends to go free, or to live here at the Library for as long as you wished.”

  Turesobei thought of years of warmth and peace with those he loved, with a million books to study. It was a nice thought. He savored it a moment then shook his head. “I must return to my world. Or die trying.”

  “So be it.” The Keeper of Destiny put his empty hands together and drew them apart. He held an amulet in one hand, and in the other a cord bound to it. “Show this to my children and they will know that you have my blessing to go into the Lower Stacks to retrieve Fangthorn. Follow the instructions of the Keeper of Scrolls. You will not like the requirements, but they are necessary. And let me, in advance, apologize. Magic always has a price.”

  “I understand. Once I have the sword and have convinced Hannya to aid me, how do I get to the Nexus?”

  “It lies due north of here, at the edge of the world. Hannya can pinpoint the precise location for you.”

  The Keeper pointed outside his dome. “Your enemies have arrived.”

  Turesobei stepped up the glass and saw the yomon led by Awasa approaching, illuminated somehow by an Avida that wasn’t really there.

  “They will not harm us, of course,” said the Keeper of Destiny.

  “How will I get away from the yomon when I leave here?”

  “I leave that up to you,” the Keeper said. “We will not fight them for you.”

  “Why not help me? Why not rid the world of them?”

  “Because it is not in our destiny to do so.”

  “What happens to my companions, if I should fail?”

  “I will allow them to leave the Forbidden Library unharmed.”

  Turesobei breathed a sigh of relief. At least the others would live on, even if he failed. Perhaps Awasa would leave them be once he was dead.

  “My fetch, Lu Bei —”

  “You had to bargain him to Ooloolarra? And you are wondering if I can help you? I cannot. However, you need the fetch to fulfill your own destiny. I think you should take him with you. Whatever way you find to do so will not offend me.”

  “There is one other thing. My betrothed, Kurine, she is dying from poison …”

  “I cannot heal her. The poison is too advanced for any magic I possess. There are items in the Lower Stacks that could, but you can take only one item. The rules are the rules. What I can do for her, if you wish, is give you a spell that will place her in perfect stasis. It would halt the spread of the disease. If you can then get her to another world, perhaps there you can find a cure.”

  “Thank you,” Turesobei said, relieved he wouldn’t have to decide between a cure for Kurine or the sword that could get them all home.

  The Keeper of Destiny kissed the amulet and spoke the words of a spell. Violet flames burst around the amulet then faded away. “Place this on her chest after you show it to my children. It will need a few drops of your blood to activate. No other command is needed. To wake her, merely ask her to do so, again using a drop of your blood.”

  He held out the amulet. “You should go now. I wish you good fortune, Chonda Turesobei.”

  Chapter 51

  Turesobei rapped on the door, and the Keeper of Scrolls opened it. Turesobei stepped through and the Keeper quickly closed the door behind him.

  Turesobei held up the amulet. “The Keeper of the Forested Isles died well. He was brave and true.”

  “I am glad to hear that,” said the Keeper of Scrolls.

  “Your lord is well and he gave me permission to go to the Lower Stacks.”

  The Keeper of Scrolls examined the amulet. “Then so shall it be.”

  “Can I get some rest first?”

  “No, it must be done now. Go to the catalogue beside the door to the Lower Stacks and select the item you wish to retrieve.”

  “I would like to see my companions before I go.”

  “As you wish.”

  “Tell them to bring Kurine as well.”

  The Keeper of Scrolls nodded to the nearby Keeper of the Hearth who hurried off. Turesobei went to the catalogue beside the closet-like structure and opened the cover. Each page held listing after listing of wondrous objects, named and illustrated. The book was thousands of pages long, but he knew where the item he wanted would be listed. Taking sections between his hands, he flipped until he reached the last page which showed a dark sword amidst a shadow with flaming eyes. He remembered the nightmares. Hannya, the Earth Dragon, Queen of Flame and Shadow.

  “I have found the item I want. What now?”

  At that moment his companions shuffled in, rubbing their tired eyes. Motekeru carried Kurine in his arms. One by one Keepers then stepped out onto the edges of the library’s levels and gazed down.

  “Sobei,” Shoma said with worry. “Does it have to be now?”

  “Apparently so.” He kissed her on the forehead. “Don’t worry. If I die below, you will all be allowed to leave here safely.”

  Zaiporo clapped him on the shoulder. “Good luck.”

  “Thanks, Zai. Look after Shoma if … well, you k
now.”

  Iniru kissed him full on the lips, warm, eager, and trembling. She leaned her head on his shoulder for a few moments then pushed him away, her face tense as she tried to smile. “Try not to turn into a dragon, okay? Only if you have to.”

  “Only if I have to.”

  “After we get home,” Shoma said, “I forbid you to do anything dangerous again. Ever. I’m sick of watching you almost kill yourself for the rest of us.”

  He chuckled. “I’ll try.”

  Motekeru sat Kurine down carefully, stepped back, and shook his head. “She should not have been moved.”

  “I had you bring her here for a reason,” Turesobei said.

  Kemsu leaned his head down to Kurine’s chest. “She’s barely breathing.”

  Narbenu felt her forehead. “The fever’s gone too far.”

  Turesobei clenched his jaw. “I promised her she’d be well again. I will see it done. I just need to —”

  The Keeper of Scrolls approached and interrupted him. “There is a price to pay before you can enter the Lower Stacks.”

  Turesobei whispered to Iniru, “Bet you a string of pearls that it’s blood.”

  “You must first pay with blood,” the Keeper of Scrolls announced.

  “I win,” he said.

  “I never took the bet,” she whispered back, trying to sound upbeat. “I’m not dumb, you know.”

  The Keeper of Scrolls drew a knife and cut Turesobei’s palm. Relief flooded through Turesobei as the Keeper turned Turesobei’s hand over, allowing the blood to drip onto the knife. Compared to all that Turesobei had suffered over the last month, that was nothing more than a cat scratch.

  This was convenient in a way. He needed blood to put Kurine in stasis. He knelt beside Kurine, kissed her on the forehead, and placed the amulet on her chest. He squeezed his hand into a fist and let a few drops of blood drip onto the amulet. A golden light shone around her and was absorbed into her skin. She took in one sharp breath, convulsed, and then stopped breathing. Her face looked peaceful, angelic. He opened his kenja-sight. The magic was active. She was preserved.