Lord of the Libraries

by Mel Odom

  Answering honestly, Juhg said, “I don’t know.”

  “Good.” The wizard seemed satisfied.

  “Why is that good?”

  “Because I don’t know either, though I tend to think not. Or that may only be wishful thinking on my part. I believe it’s good if we tend toward a little cynicism.”

  “Except where it interferes with the working relationship you and I have.”

  Craugh frowned. “Yes.” He shook his head. “But I’d rather have you cynical to a degree, apprentice. Were you Wick going through all of this, I would be worried.”

  “Why?”

  “Because Wick enjoys wide-eyed wonderment. Even at this late date, even knowing all the hardships he’s undergone and the evils he has faced, he would believe only good would come of this.”

  “He might not be wrong.”

  “I’ll wait on that account, to see for myself.” Craugh hesitated. “Could I see the gemstones again?”

  Juhg thought about the request for a moment, then took the leather pouch from around his neck and poured the blue stones onto the table. He kept the pouch on him at all times. It wouldn’t do to have a light-fingered crewman going around talking about a magic pouch the dweller had that couldn’t be stolen.

  The gems lay glittering on the table. Inside, with no windows and only a lantern for light, their color was not as strong.

  Craugh put his hand close enough to the gems that sparks spat into the air. “Well, that hasn’t changed. We mix about as well as oil and water.” He drew his hand back with obvious reluctance. “Have you had any further contact with the mantis?”

  “No.”

  “Have you tried using those stones?”

  “How?”

  “Just by holding them and calling out to the mantis?”

  Juhg was surprised. “I hadn’t thought about that.”

  “Well, of course it might not work.”

  Picking one of the stones up, Juhg held it in his palm, then closed his fist over it. The stone felt cool against his skin, and the edges were crisp and clean. He closed his eyes and thought about the mantis, calling out to it in his mind.

  Nothing happened.

  Juhg opened his eyes and looked at Craugh. “It’s not working.” He sighed. “I wish the Grandmagister were here—”

  Without warning, Juhg went blind.

  A dark veil swallowed Juhg and he stood in the middle of it. He couldn’t even see his hand in front of his face. He took a deep breath and tried to open his eyes aboard the trade ship. He called out Craugh’s name but there was no response.

  Then a reddish-orange light dawned in the darkness.

  “Mantis,” Juhg called. He hurried toward the light, not seeing his legs beneath him but feeling his feet shoving against the ground.

  In the next moment he burst through the darkness and stood in a dank dungeon. Straw littered the stone hallway floor between two long lines of what he believed were empty cells. Torture equipment hung from the ceiling all the way to the end of the hallway, racks and claws and chains created to do unmentionable damage to a helpless prisoner.

  “Juhg.”

  Swiveling his head, Juhg saw the small, crumpled figure at the end of the hallway. He had missed the man at first glance because he was partially hidden by the brazier that held the reddish-orange light.

  Then he recognized the figure.

  “Grandmagister.” Not caring at the moment how he came to be there, Juhg ran toward his mentor and fell on his knees before him.

  Edgewick Lamplighter had been hard used. He was stripped to his waist, and the rest of his clothes were rags. Burns and cuts and whip marks covered his body. Stout chains made up of heavy iron links bound the Grandmagister to the wall.

  “Is it really you?” the Grandmagister asked. His tongue was thick with thirst.

  Juhg reached for him, his heart feeling as though it was going to break. He had never seen the Grandmagister so beaten before. Only instead of touching his mentor, Juhg’s hands passed right through him.

  “No!” Juhg cried. He was there with the Grandmagister, but there was nothing he could do to help him.

  “It is you,” the Grandmagister said.

  Tears fell from Juhg’s eyes. He tried to stop crying because if he didn’t he wouldn’t be able to see the Grandmagister.

  “You found … the first piece of … The Book of Time, didn’t you?” the Grandmagister asked.

  “Yes,” Juhg said hoarsely. He remained kneeling in front of his mentor, helpless when everything in his body screamed out for him to help.

  “How did you get here?” the Grandmagister asked. “Did Craugh—”

  “Not Craugh,” Juhg said. “The gemstones that make up the first section of The Book of Time.”

  “You’re using the stones?” Interest showed in the Grandmagister’s beaten face. “So the stories were true. The piece that was given to the humans can see across the present.”

  Juhg focused on that and walled away his pain. “What? You didn’t mention anything of that in the notes you left in Imarish.”

  The Grandmagister worked his tongue in his mouth, swallowing with great effort. “I didn’t … know that then. I’ve found out more since I wrote those journals. Much more.” He took a long, shuddering breath. “There are four sections—”

  “That was in the journal.”

  “Kharrion broke The Book of Time up into sections and gave them to the humans, dwarves, elves, and goblins that allied with him in the beginning.”

  “Why?”

  “To buy their loyalty. He gave them the power that was in The Book of Time, made them stronger so that they could fight his enemies.”

  “What enemies?”

  “The group of wizards that stole into the In-Betweenness and took The Book of Time from the Gatekeeper.”

  Craugh, Juhg thought, but he couldn’t mention that to the Grandmagister. Learning of Craugh’s part in that would break his mentor’s heart. He kept himself still and silent.

  “Kharrion used the power to make the armies he’d raised there stronger,” the Grandmagister said. “All of the pieces of The Book of Time were given so that they would play on the strengths of those who had them.” He sucked in greedy breaths.

  For the first time, Juhg noticed how hot it was in the dungeon.

  “To the humans, Kharrion gave the section that allowed his agents there to see in the present. Human lives are always spent in a hurry, rushing here and there, always thinking about the present. The dwarves got the pieces that allowed them to see into the past. Dwarves base their culture on things made of stone and drawn from the past. Their entire being comes from their history and their legacy; it is how they define themselves. To the elves, Kharrion gave the pieces that allowed glimpses into the future, because elves are forward thinkers and always dreaming, and extremely long-lived. The goblinkin got the pieces that allowed them to see points of randomness, instances in time where action can be taken or not taken to effect change for good or evil.”

  “Why would the goblinkin get something that sounds so dangerous?” Juhg asked.

  “Because the goblinkin were the only ones who could use such power. By nature they are random and capricious, just as fate is.” The Grandmagister shifted, trying in vain to find a comfortable position. The chains rattled.

  “But wouldn’t The Book of Time be more powerful all together?” Juhg asked.

  “Yes and no. For what Kharrion needed, armies to defeat the wizards that took The Book of Time from the Gatekeeper, he had to take the book apart. Disassembling it also prevented his enemies from getting it in case he was defeated. And he was. They all thought Kharrion was dead. No one knew that Kharrion would rise from an unmarked grave a thousand years later to lead the goblinkin in a crusade against the rest of the world.”

  “To find The Book of Time.”

  “Yes. Kharrion thought his enemies had defeated him and had taken the book.”

  “Why?”

  “Because
the strongholds where he had kept the sections of The Book of Time had been destroyed, sucked down into the earth as a result of the power they used when Kharrion’s armies tried to destroy the group of wizards that pursued him.”

  “But he should have been able to find the sections of the book in those places.”

  “Kharrion went and he looked. He did not find them.”

  “But why?”

  “Someone made him not see those pieces.”

  “The mantis?”

  The Grandmagister looked at Juhg. “What mantis?”

  Quickly, Juhg explained his experience in seeing the mantis, how he had been called to the In-Betweenness.

  “I did not think that creature existed. I thought perhaps the Gatekeeper had found a way to blind Kharrion to the pieces of The Book of Time.”

  “Why couldn’t the Gatekeeper bring The Book of Time back into the In-Betweenness?”

  “He would have to come into this world,” the Grandmagister said. “He could never do that. Time itself might end, and that would be the end of everything.”

  “How did you find out the location of the pieces of The Book of Time?”

  “I finally translated the last of those books I got from that wizard’s sanctum in Hanged Elf’s Point.” The Grandmagister gave a self-deprecating smile. “It took me long enough. Grandmagister Frollo never let me live down the fact that one of them was past my abilities. Of course, the book was past everyone else’s abilities as well, but he wasn’t concerned about what others could do. I was always a sore point with him.” Despite his pain, the Grandmagister smiled. “Knowing I had that effect on him was rather enjoyable. Even more so when Craugh told Frollo I was going to be the next Grandmagister.” He broke out into a coughing fit.

  “Grandmagister,” Juhg said worriedly, reaching for his mentor only to see his hands fade through him. He had to wait helplessly until the coughing fit passed.

  “I didn’t figure out the translation until a few months ago,” the Grandmagister went on. “I was hurt by your decision to leave Greydawn Moors. I—”

  “I didn’t mean to leave,” Juhg said. “I didn’t want to leave.”

  “Of course you did,” the Grandmagister said. “Of course you did. I don’t blame you. I admit I was hurt and disappointed. But I knew in my heart why you left. You wanted to set up schools, Juhg. You felt it was time to return the books to the world.”

  “You knew that?”

  The Grandmagister smiled and shook his head. “Of course I knew. You’re the best kind of Librarian there is, Juhg: you’re a teacher as well as a protector of knowledge. It’s one thing to stand guard, but it’s another to make something indestructible by giving it freely to everyone who wants it. Teaching people will protect the knowledge so many have worked so long and so hard to accumulate. I know that. But I couldn’t allow the books to be taken from the Vault of All Known Knowledge.”

  “Because you knew about The Book of Time.”

  “Yes. I have suspected for a number of years that The Book of Time was not a myth. I knew that it was possible it was one of the books in the Vault of All Known Knowledge, carefully disguised as the book was that opened the trap through. It wasn’t until I found out about the other Library—” The Grandmagister stopped. “There is still so much I have to tell you.”

  “I know about the other Library,” Juhg said.

  “It wasn’t in the notes that I left you in Imarish.”

  “I found out about it. A lot has happened since your capture.”

  Footsteps sounded out in the hall.

  Turning, Juhg saw Aldhran Khempus approaching. The man looked much the same as he had on the goblinkin ship the night the Grandmagister had been taken from Greydawn Moors. The man was of medium height for a human, with thick brown hair and a matching beard. There was something immediately detestable about Aldhran Khempus but Juhg couldn’t quite put his finger on what it was. But it had something to do with his cocky attitude, blatant disregard for the lives of others, and his self-assured smile.

  Four heavily armed goblinkin guards followed Aldhran.

  “Ah,” the man said, “I thought I detected something amiss.” He stopped in front of Juhg, who rose to his feet to protect the Grandmagister. “I can’t believe you would entertain guests in this place, Grandmagister Lamplighter. I wouldn’t keep a farm animal here.”

  The guards laughed.

  Peering more closely at Juhg, Aldhran said, “Ah, you’re the apprentice, aren’t you? The one who escaped capture back in Greydawn Moors.”

  Juhg trembled. He didn’t know what to do or to say. He was no hero with witty banter or a quick sword. He was only a Librarian who was in a bad situation even a trained warrior would struggle with.

  “Did you come here to reacquaint yourself with my hospitality?” Aldhran mocked.

  “No,” Juhg said fiercely. “I came here to give notice. If you harm the Grandmagister in any way—”

  Aldhran stroked his chin as if in deep thought. “Let me see, is there a way I haven’t harmed the Grandmagister yet?” He shook his head. “No. I can’t think of a single one.”

  Anger surged through Juhg. He stepped toward Aldhran, drawing the attention of the guards at once. Two of them thrust their swords at him. Ignoring them, Juhg stepped through them and looked up at Aldhran.

  “If you harm the Grandmagister any further,” Juhg said clearly, “I will kill you.”

  Aldhran laughed in Juhg’s face.

  More than anything else in the world, Juhg wanted to hit the man, to smash his face and beat him senseless. He’d never had that kind of anger before except toward goblinkin. Amazingly, his fist struck Aldhran’s jaw and knocked the man back a few stumbling steps.

  Pain exploded in Juhg’s fist, then spread up his arm to his elbow. Surprise took precedence over the pain, though. One of the guards swung a sword at him. Juhg tried to get away but couldn’t. He closed his eyes, fearing the sharp kiss of the blade. But it passed through him without touching him.

  Aldhran cursed hotly and turned back to Juhg. The human’s face was a mask of rage. “You’ll pay for that, you sniveling halfer!” He threw his hand out and shouted in a language that Juhg couldn’t understand.

  “Juhg!” the Grandmagister shouted. “Get the rest of the pieces! The last one is here in the Haze Mountains! Get those first! Look out for Craugh—”

  Whatever else the Grandmagister said was lost as pain from Aldhran’s spell wracked Juhg’s body. He hung on for a moment, dropping to his knees there on the dirty straw in the dungeon. He fell, trying desperately to talk to the Grandmagister or hear what he was saying.

  Look out for Craugh? What did that mean? Then the world went away as Juhg melted and fell down through the dungeon floor into the waiting blackness.

  “Juhg!” The voice belonged to Craugh, but Juhg had never before heard that kind of panic in it. “Juhg!”

  Weakly, Juhg tried to acknowledge the wizard’s impassioned cries, but he couldn’t. Then he realized he was lying on the floor of the cabin and he wasn’t breathing.

  “Juhg! Come back to me! Don’t you die on me! Don’t you dare die!”

  Juhg slitted his eyes. He saw the wizard squatting over him, pulling at his clothing. For a moment Juhg though Craugh might be going for the leather pouch, then he remembered he’d left it on the table.

  Fear touched Craugh’s haggard face. He leaned over Juhg and pressed his ear to his chest.

  Behind the wizard, the door opened and Raisho stepped into the room. The young sailor looked shocked, then drew his cutlass and menaced Craugh with it.

  Craugh lifted his head and slapped the cutlass away. “I didn’t do this to him. He was using the gemstones to try to contact the mantis. Then he fell to the floor. Help me clear his throat. His heart has stopped.”

  Trained by saving near-drowned sailors, Raisho quickly knelt and put a hand behind Juhg’s neck, lifting slightly so his mouth and throat opened to their best for breathing.

  �
�He’s clear,” Raisho said. “Nothin’ in his throat.”

  Craugh put a hand over Juhg’s chest, pressing flat for a moment, then he spoke and his hand ignited in green flame. A massive jolt ran through Juhg’s body, like he’d been hit with a twenty-pound sledge.

  “He’s still not breathing,” Raisho said.

  Craugh kept his hand over Juhg’s chest. The flames erupted again. This time it felt like the wizard had reached inside Juhg’s body and squeezed his heart. He felt his heart come back to life, beating sporadically for a moment, then sprinting into a frantic pace. His lungs came to life next and he took a deep breath.

  “Good,” Craugh said. “You’ve come back to us, apprentice.” He smiled a little. “I knew you couldn’t stay away. We’ve too much left to do that we need to accomplish.”

  Maybe Craugh said more, but Juhg didn’t know. He’d been putting off sleep and rest for days, and the bill for that all came due at once. He breathed in and out again, then the blackness surrounded him.

  “Craugh said you died.”

  Seated up in the rigging, Juhg surreptitiously used a stick of charcoal to sketch in his journal out of sight of Profit’s crew.

  Jassamyn sat across from him. She wore a light blouse and breeches and went without her leather armor. The draca that accompanied her floated along on the breeze above her and she tossed it grapes from the bunch she’d purchased on the sly from the ship’s cook. Apparently everyone aboard was trying to live up to the ship’s name.

  “Did you?” she asked.

  That had been the previous day. Juhg had slept like the dead until this morning, then awoke feeling like he’d been torn apart by trolls and put back together by blind goblinkin that had taken bites out of him at every opportunity.

  “I don’t know,” Juhg said. “I could feel that my heart wasn’t beating.”

  “He said that he saved you.”

  Juhg nodded. “I think he probably did.” Taking the charcoal from the page, he looked at the drawing with a critical eye.

  He’d wanted something to keep his hands busy. When he’d wakened, he’d wanted to get back to his journals, but Jassamyn hadn’t allowed it, saying that Juhg needed sunlight and a good breakfast. Raisho was just as adamant.