“No, it’s not,” Dex said and started walking away. “Don’t know to whom you are referring.”
“Quintus Ulberforce Alaric Niram Terrance Ulster Montague Pointdexter,” the man said forcefully, his voice echoing throughout the space, “please remain where you are.”
Dex froze in place as Monty and I both stared at him.
“He knows your name?” Monty asked, clearly impressed. “I thought no one knew all of your names?”
“He doesn’t,” Dex said, visibly upset. “He just knows enough of them to make my life miserable.”
The man stepped forward but remained just inside the threshold. The rustling of paper followed him. Along with the powerful smell of old books.
“Well, it is a pleasure to see you, Tristan.” He looked at Dex. “You, not so much. Is that a hellhound?”
“Yes, his name is Peaches.” I patted him on the head and rubbed his ears.
“We don’t have much information on them.” He crouched down to get a closer look at Peaches. “He is exquisite.”
“He didn’t come with a manual, unfortunately.” I nudged Peaches back a good half-inch. “So far, I know he’s pretty indestructible, can teleport, grow to the size of a house, and loves meat. Really loves meat.”
“If you’re bonded to a hellhound, you must be the chosen of Kali—Simon Strong?” He extended a hand that I shook with a look of surprise. “Don’t be surprised. We may be underground, but we have many ways of getting information. We deal in knowledge. Besides, how many people do you know who walk around with a hellhound?”
“I’m afraid we may have set off the alarms.” Monty looked behind us to the stairs. “We faced a Negomancer on our way here.”
“Nasty business, those.” He leaned over and looked behind us. “I see you’ve sealed off the staircase. I currently can’t cross the threshold from the library or remain here for long. Are we expecting more?”
“I think so.” Monty looked behind us. “Can we come in, Professor Ziller?”
He invited us in with a nod of his head. We stepped past the threshold of the enormous door, and I felt the familiar tingle of my energy signature being read. He gestured and closed the door behind us.
TWENTY-NINE
AHEAD OF US, I saw what was causing the rustling of paper.
“Don’t mind the Kyorinrin, I let them roam free,” Ziller said as he led us farther inside. “Are you up-to-date on your spells, Pointdexter?”
“Quite up-to-date,” Dex said with a groan. “Thanks for asking.”
“I can always assign one of the Kyorinrin to help you review your studies.” Ziller pointed to one of the bundles of moving books. “I’m sure they’d love to help you refresh your memory, Mage Pointdexter.”
“What are those?” I pointed at the shifting piles of books and scrolls.
“Kyorinrin are spirits of knowledge that are formed from ancient scrolls and books. They gather together into these dragon forms when some students disregard the priceless treasures and centuries of knowledge they contain.” Ziller glanced over at Dex. “They can be tutors, where they coax students into deeper study or help them remember forgotten knowledge. If I recall, you used to call them ‘paper dragons,’ Mage Pointdexter.”
I noticed each time Ziller said his name, Dex winced. I realized it was intentional, and for every wince, Ziller cracked a small smile. I had the feeling Dex hadn’t been an ideal student.
As I looked closer at the Kyorinrin, I saw the resemblance to dragons. The Kyorinrin were decorated with ornate volumes that appeared to be a kimono. Tassels attached to scrolls hung from its head. A few of them noticed my looks and bowed in my direction. I bowed back, not wanting a scolding by a dragon made of ancient books.
“The name is Dex these days, and there’s nothing wrong with my memory, thank you,” Dex replied, shooting Monty a look. “This is why I didn’t want to come down here.”
“Dex, now?” Ziller said with a smile. “Very rugged. It suits you, Mage Pointdexter.”
Monty shook his head, and I looked around as we entered the Living Library. It was about the size of the Library of Congress, multiplied ten times over. The rows appeared endless, and the presence of magic was concentrated all around us.
“What’s that smell—is that the books?”
“No, these books don’t age.” Ziller motioned to one of the shelves. “Pick one.”
I grabbed a book off the shelf and read the title: The Weaponizing of Snark by Mage Sturd E. Deviant. I turned a few pages, noticing that it appeared to be brand new. I lifted the book to my nose and noticed the lack of odor. Even though the date said it was over one hundred years old, it didn’t smell that way. Ziller looked at my selection and smiled.
“The last student to study that book gave ‘foul-mouthed’ an entirely new meaning.”
“It smells brand new,” I said, replacing the book on the shelf.
“The smell you’re getting is the biblichor from the Kyorinrin.” Ziller pointed at the paper dragons shuffling behind us. “But I don’t think you’re here for a tour. Let’s enter the Living Library.”
“I thought this was the Living Library?”
Ziller shook his head, leading us to another door. It was a smaller version of the one at the entrance. “No, this area is the book repository. The Living Library is housed behind this door.”
The door pulsed a faint orange. When I got closer, I realized the glow came from the runes etched into its surface. Ziller placed his hand on it, and the runes coalesced into one large rune that covered most of the door.
After a few seconds, it faded from sight, and the door returned to its previous state. He pulled it open, and we entered what appeared to be a large lounge area. Doors led off from the central area to what I guessed were sleeping quarters.
There was a dining area off to one side, with small tables situated restaurant-style next to a large counter. A few large tables in the center reminded me of every cafeteria in every school I’d ever attended.
Farther back, in a private area partitioned by a transparent wall, I could see a conference room with a large table. We made our there, walking past the center area.
“Where is everyone?” I asked, looking around.
Monty clenched his jaw at my question. “Oliver has them, doesn’t he?”
“In here.” Ziller pointed to the conference room. “Even now, I fear he may be able to hear us.”
“How did this happen?” Monty looked around at the empty space. “Why didn’t the Librarians fight back?”
“It wasn’t an assault, it was a coup. Oliver planned it over years. An army of assistants was assigned to the Repository to help with the cataloguing and inventory. You saw how vast it is. We welcomed the help.”
“Junior mages, I’m assuming?” Monty asked.
“When he demanded the Librarians surrender, we organized, prepared to launch an attack. By that time, his gray mages were in place.”
“The army of assistants was a real army.” Dex added, “Probably battle mages in training.”
“We didn’t see it coming. He threatened to destroy the repository,” Ziller said, shaking his head. “The Librarians felt they had no choice. They may be mages, but they’re not battle mages. They’re scholars at heart. A few of us decided we wouldn’t surrender the Repository. This meant we needed a plan.”
“They surrendered,” Monty said, “and gave him access to millennia of knowledge, but hid you in the library.”
Ziller nodded. “He wouldn’t harm the Living Library, or so we thought, but we couldn’t let him have access to the tomes of the Repository. It’s the largest of all the sects.”
“The knowledge contained here would make him unstoppable.”
“I needed time to get my calculations correct.” Ziller gestured and created another transparent orb. It flickered and solidified, giving us a view of the staircase. “One of the Libra
rians masked me and created a simulacrum with my essence.”
“An observation orb,” Monty said, looking at the floating orb. “You used these to monitor the situation?”
“More like spy on mages minding their own business,” Dex muttered under his breath. “Those things are an invasion of privacy.”
“I used to use them to keep track of young mages with a propensity for unimaginable destruction.” Ziller looked at Monty and Dex. Both managed to look away at that moment. “But, yes, the orbs helped me to monitor the Sanctuary.”
“You hide here, and then what?” I looked around. “Call the cavalry?” I didn’t see where he was going.
“They found the simulacrum,” Monty said.
Ziller looked away. “Do you remember Professor Baudri?”
“Not fondly, his classes were the most difficult. He taught simulacra and simulation. It was a nightmare, both real and imagined.”
“He created my double, imbued it with my essence, and fooled everyone—even Oliver. He paid for it with his life.”
“He bought you time,” Monty said. “To figure out the projections.”
“My discipline and strength is quantum runic mechanics, but even I hadn’t tried something like this.” Ziller shook his head. “By the time Oliver came for me and the Repository, I had simply shifted the entire library.”
“You what? What do you mean you ‘shifted’ the library?” I looked at the stunned Monty, who only stared straight ahead before answering.
“The entire library?” Monty asked quietly. “Wait, you knew I was coming?”
“Yes, I recognized your signature, Tristan, as you activated the landings on the way down the staircase.”
“I didn’t open the door, did I?” Monty looked at Ziller. “Even with the sequence.”
“No, the door can’t be opened without my energy signature, like you saw earlier. Right now, we’re at the Sanctuary, but we aren’t.”
“This is Schrödinger’s cat taken to an extrapolatory tangent with, with—”
I’d never seen Monty at a loss for words.
“With a bit of Zeno effect and runic constancy to propel the state changes,” Ziller finished. “It’s quite amazing, actually. I didn’t think it would work, but the theory was sound, and well, here we are—or aren’t.”
“It means you can’t leave,” Dex said after a moment. “Or you lose the library.”
Ziller smiled as if Dex had just aced a test. “I see you remember your quantum runic compression.”
“Lose the library?” I looked at Monty, who still seemed to be in a mild state of shock. “How can you lose the entire library?”
“The Repository, yes. The others felt this was the only way to keep the books safe from Oliver and his mages.” Ziller looked down at his crossed hands. “If I cross the threshold, the library can be thrown into flux and lost. I’m the anchor point, keeping it fixed in this and several other potentialities.”
“What’s to stop Oliver from shutting you down and finding the library in the Sanctuary he’s in?” I asked, confused as to how we were at the Sanctuary but also not there.
“He would need a master quantum runic mathematician to figure out the paths, which are infinite at this point.” Ziller looked up at me. “In addition, he would need to find a mage strong enough to form the runes that would allow interstitial planar travel on an unprecedented scale. I only know one person who can do that.”
“You,” I said, understanding the play. “You didn’t escape.”
“Escape? No, I didn’t escape. I sealed the Repository, but Oliver isn’t interested only in the books.”
“He needs your knowledge to fulfill his plan.” Monty rubbed his chin. “He plans to take over the other sects and usher in a new age of magic. For that, he needs to place his mages without the sects or humanity being aware of what’s happening. He needs quantum magic.”
“He’s mad. Magic-users will be wiped off the face of the earth if he attempts that. And it won’t stop there.”
“He’ll try what he did with the library. He’ll place his gray mages in key positions, and when he feels the time is right, he’ll strike from within. The gray mages can hide their signatures, can’t they?”
“It’s how we missed them in the library.” Ziller nodded. “They can mask and appear like low-level mages, even normals.”
“He’s using the Librarians to create the gray mages, isn’t he?” Dex asked. “With their knowledge…”
“It’s the only thing that makes sense,” Ziller agreed. “Oliver alone can’t do it, but with the Living Library, he doesn’t have to.”
“How many mages make up this Living Library?” I wondered how many hostages Oliver held.
“There are seven of us…well, six now, with Baudri gone.”
“Why don’t the Librarians bolt or revolt or something? The books are safe. They can just cast a circle and get out of here.”
“The Sanctuary is on a minimal energy signature. Which means Oliver controls energy expenditure, how much and by whom. He’s using dampeners.”
Monty looked around the library. “How are you managing the energy requirements if you’re in a constant state of flux?”
“I’m using quantum tunneling to pick up excess infrared and runic nanogens to divert the ambient energy given off by the Repository and channel it into the shifts.”
Monty tapped his chin. “Do you have any of these runic nanogens available?”
Ziller handed Monty a flat disc about the size of a quarter.
“What about the others? The Elders?”
“Oliver turned or erased the Elders who stood against him. Except for your father, Tristan. He needs Connor, or rather his essence.”
“His essence?” Monty looked confused. “Why would he need my father’s essence? They’re almost at the same level of power.”
“How strong do you think your father is?” Ziller asked. “Do you know? How long has it been since you’ve seen him, and I don’t mean through a Smith Bridge.”
“I know he’s a few shifts away from becoming Archmage,” Monty started.
Ziller shook his head. “That would be Oliver. Connor isn’t a few shifts away.”
“A shift?”
“Connor Montague has been an Archmage for over a year now.”
“An Archmage? My father? How?”
“Connor is exceptionally gifted, even among the Elders.” Ziller looked into the observation orb. “We had been investigating quantum shifts, trying a radical permutation to unlock an easier path to the shifts.”
“That’s impossible. There aren’t any shortcuts to shifting higher.” Monty slammed a hand on the table. “No one has managed it, ever.”
“He unlocked it,” Ziller said quietly. “Connor figured out the permutation. Even I don’t know how he did it.”
“That’s my brother, stubborn as a mule.” Dex shook his head. “If I know Connor, he felt it was too dangerous to share…upset the balance?”
Ziller looked over at Dex. “Oliver found out and wanted it. Connor refused, saying exactly that…it was too dangerous. It would place too much power in the hands of the unprepared. Before I knew it, Connor was imprisoned, and the Librarians were being taken.”
“Why doesn’t Connor blast Oliver with his Archmageness?” I looked around the table. “He has the power.”
“Because Oliver is holding the one thing that can stop Connor, even with the power of an Archmage.” Ziller glanced at Monty and then looked at me again.
“Is there some kind of Archmage kryptonite I’m not familiar with?”
“He has it, doesn’t he?” Monty asked. “It’s the only way.”
“Yes, Connor believes Oliver is holding Sara Montague’s essence within him.”
THIRTY
DEX LOOKED AT Monty and stood. “We need to get to Connor.” His voice was hard as his jaw flexed.
“It’s suicide,” Ziller said, standing. “He’s being held in the central chamber, surrounded b
y gray mages and Oliver.”
“I know my brother. He’ll never give Oliver his essence, even if it means setting Sara free.”
Monty nodded. “My uncle’s right. How can we access the central chamber from here?”
“You can’t,” Ziller replied. “If he gets a hold of you in this condition…” He narrowed his eyes at Monty, who looked away. “Did you really think I wouldn’t notice the reservoirs or your diminished signature?”
“This is temporary.” Monty looked down at the rings on his fingers. “I’ll regain my casting and my defenses.”
“He’s using Connor as a conduit. Do you know what that means if he captures you?”
“What does that mean, a conduit?” I asked.
“Blood relatives share special bonds, very much like you and your creature. The closer the relative, the closer the bond.”
“Peaches and I are not related.” I looked down at the slumbering mass of canine destruction lying at my feet. “At least I don’t think we are. Can you do the Vulcan mindspeak with your father?”
“I’ve never been close to Father. He’s always kept his mind guarded, even from me. It’s been known to happen in times of stress, though. I suppose, theoretically, it’s possible.”
“I think Peaches and I share a different kind of bond. His thoughts are mostly meat-related.”
“But you are bonded,” Dex added. “And we know what happens if that bond is broken.”
“So you’re saying if Oliver kills Connor, Monty becomes a supersized, monster mage?”
Monty turned and stared, giving me the ‘did you slam your head against the wall?’ look. “Are you serious?”
“If Oliver kills Tristan, he can extract information from Connor during the severing. In his current condition, Tristan’s defenses wouldn’t be strong enough to stop him. Connor would be an open book.”
“Oliver would get the permutation,” I said, connecting the dots. “He would become an Archmage.”
“And proceed to take over the sects.” Monty looked down at his hands and made a fist. I noticed he was down to eight rings out of the ten, and one of the rings was light gray.
Homecoming A Montague & Strong Detective Novel Page 15
