Then, suddenly, she had an idea.
Lina took the next left and pelted down the corridor toward the Heart of the Mountain. If she used the tunnel she’d taken Ozben through the night they met, she could get to the museum’s Special Collections wing and back in a few minutes. She just prayed that she had enough time.
Ozben had just exited the Haystack when he heard the panicked shouts of the archivists. At that moment, they were probably chasing the cat around the Gears and Steam room. Lina’s distraction was working perfectly. Ozben smiled. He hadn’t encountered a single person in the Haystack, and the winch was right where it was supposed to be. So far, the plan was working perfectly.
He followed the path Lina had made him memorize on her map, turning left, then right, then right again, until he finally came to a small, out-of-the-way corridor. He ran his hand along the wall, and Ozben’s smile grew wider when he encountered a patch of loose stone. Right where Lina had said it would be. She really did know this place like the back of her hand.
Casting a furtive glance around, Ozben crouched down and carefully removed the loose stones to reveal a hidden pocket in the wall. He stashed the hand winch inside it and arranged the stones back in place. They would come and get the tool later that night, when there were fewer people around.
Ozben stood up and dusted his hands off on his pants. Now all he had to do was return to the library to make sure Nirean wasn’t looking for him, then meet up with Lina in his room. The plan had gone off perfectly.
“Fire! Fire!”
Ozben’s heart stuttered when he heard the shout. Fire? Fire was bad. Fire was definitely not part of the plan. What was happening? Where was Lina?
It sounded as if the shouts were coming from the direction of the library. Ozben checked his disguise to make sure the bandages covering his face were secure, then moved quickly down the corridor back the way he had come. The passage eventually opened up into a larger hallway, where dozens of archivists had gathered.
“The workshops and private quarters all along this hallway have been sealed off,” a woman was saying as Ozben came within earshot. “Everybody out here, fall back to the library before they barricade the entryway. I’ve sent five apprentices to the Garden for buckets of water if they’re needed. Let’s move!”
The small crowd scattered as everyone rushed to do as the woman ordered. Ozben wanted to go in the opposite direction, to the Gears and Steam workshop where he knew Lina would be, but a pair of archivists had planted themselves in the middle of the hallway to keep people away. He had no choice but to blend in with the crowd headed for the library. He slipped through the entryway with the archivists and ducked behind a nearby bookshelf. Looking up, he saw that most of the bridges connecting the bookshelves on the upper levels were deserted. Ozben ran up the closest set of stairs to the second level and looked down over the railing. From this vantage, he could see most of the main floor, but there was no sign of Lina.
The archivists had said there was a fire, but he hadn’t smelled any smoke out in the corridor. And why would they barricade themselves in here? Wouldn’t it be better to try to get the people outside the mountain before the fire spread?
As Ozben stood watching the archivists block the library entrance, a prickling sensation teased the back of his neck, and with it came the strong feeling that he was being watched. He spun around, but there was no one behind him in the aisle of books. He gripped the railing with one hand and rubbed the back of his neck with the other, but he couldn’t banish the uneasiness that had swept over him.
And then—maybe it was instinct, or maybe he caught movement at the edge of his vision—he happened to glance up at the bridge that crossed the chamber several stories above him. There, in the shadows by the metal railing, a figure crouched. Ozben swallowed hard as a sudden rush of blood pounded in his ears, drowning out the shouts of the archivists and the bustle and chaos below him.
The figure was dressed from head to foot in black and was nearly invisible where he crouched on the bridge. Ozben might not have seen him at all if not for the sudden gleam of the lumatites on the wall reflecting off the silver tip of a crossbow bolt. It was pointed right at his chest.
Time stood still.
Run. Run! Ozben screamed at himself, but his feet wouldn’t move. Somehow, he managed to turn his head and saw at the end of the bridge a table situated against the far wall. The chairs around it had been pushed aside by the last people to sit there, leaving a little gap underneath.
A tiny space of safety.
Ozben’s body reacted before his mind had fully formed an intention. He broke into a run and dove under the table just as the twang of the crossbow filled his ears.
—
Lina pounded down the corridors toward the library, legs aching, the breath burning in her lungs. In her hands, she clutched the Sun Sphere she’d taken from the Special Collections wing of the museum. Its flame flickered and danced as she ran, but it never went out.
One of the archivists, Edlind, had caught her taking the sphere from its alcove, but she’d managed to outrun him in the Heart of the Mountain. For that stunt, she was likely going to land back in the Menagerie scooping cow dung for the rest of the year, but at the moment, Lina didn’t care. All she cared about was getting back to the carnelian cat before Simon and his crossbow.
Lina slowed when she heard the voices of some archivists up ahead of her. Rounding the corner, she saw what she’d been dreading: two archivists had cornered the cat in a small alcove near the library entrance, which by now had been blocked off from the inside. One of the archivists had a crossbow, and the other had a net that looked as if it was made out of some sort of soft wire. The cat crouched in a corner, still on fire, hissing and spitting sparks off his tail.
“Wait!” Lina cried, trying to stop them before they could move in on the frightened animal. “I have an idea.”
The two archivists exchanged doubtful glances. The one with the net said, “Better stay back, apprentice. If he jumps at you, he’ll burn you. There’s no way to get him calmed down.”
“Yes, there is,” Lina said. With shaking hands, she held up the Sun Sphere. “Remember, he’s drawn to fire.” The flaming sphere wasn’t nearly as hot as the forge, but Lina reasoned that it would be at least as enticing as a cat toy.
“Where did you get that?” The archivist with the net squinted at the sphere. “Hey, is that from—”
“Never mind where it came from!” Lina snapped. “I don’t want the cat to be hurt. At least let me try to calm him down. If it doesn’t work, you can use the net. Please.”
The archivists exchanged another look, but Lina didn’t wait for permission. She moved forward until she was standing directly in front of the carnelian cat.
Heat radiated from the alcove, making Lina wince. If anything, the cat had gotten hotter than when he had first jumped up on the forge. But if that was true, it had to mean the environment wasn’t the only thing that could change his body temperature. It must be the stress of being chased, Lina thought, and a fresh wave of guilt washed over her. How could she have been so stupid? She should have researched the cats much more thoroughly before going and grabbing one to use as a distraction. She shook her head and forced the guilt aside. She needed to focus on getting the cat out of this safely.
“Easy, boy,” she said, trying to make her voice as soothing as possible. The cat wasn’t having any of it. He continued to hiss and spit sparks as Lina went down on one knee in front of him. “I know you’re upset, but it’s all right. There’s nothing to be scared of now.” Once she was on her knees, she stopped moving, but she kept right on talking to the cat, letting him hear her voice.
Beside her, the archivists watched, tense and ready with net and crossbow. Lina wanted to ask them to move back so they weren’t crowding the cat, but she knew they wouldn’t do it. They couldn’t take the chance that he would bolt again.
Footsteps bounded up the corridor behind her. Lina glanced over her shoulder
and saw Simon, his crossbow at the ready. Well, she was ready for him too.
“Simon, if you take another step or point that crossbow anywhere near this cat,” Lina warned, keeping her voice calm, “the next time you leave Ortana with Councilman Tolwin, I’m going to plant dralfa moss all over your room.”
She was gratified to hear him let out a small gasp. “You wouldn’t,” Simon growled.
“Oh, you better believe I would. Every crack and crevice will be filled with the stuff,” she promised him. She kept up her soothing tone of voice so she wouldn’t scare the cat. “All of your clothes—bright purple stains forever. Now, stay still back there and keep quiet.”
Lina could practically feel the older boy’s anger, like a second wall of heat at her back, but he didn’t come any closer. In fact, he took a few steps backward down the hall. Lina breathed a quiet sigh of relief, though she knew it was only a temporary reprieve. He’d given her some space to work, but his patience wouldn’t last, even under the threat of dralfa moss.
As Lina turned her attention back to the cat, she thought she detected a break in the heat. The animal was still balled up in the corner, eyeing her warily, but he wasn’t hissing anymore. Flames danced around his face and neck, making his big orange eyes glow like twin bright suns.
Then, Lina noticed that the cat was no longer looking at her. His attention was instead fixed on the Sun Sphere she clutched in her hands. His head bobbed back and forth as it followed the hovering flame inside the metal rings, completely enthralled.
“That’s it,” Lina whispered. “Look at that sparkly light. Pretty great, huh?”
Slowly, the cat relaxed its arched back and took a hesitant step out of the alcove. His eyes never strayed from the sphere. Lina shuffled backward to give him some room, but he didn’t seem to notice. He reached out a paw and took a swipe at the metal sphere. Hope surged in Lina. Carefully, she passed the sphere back and forth between her hands, letting the cat paw at the hovering flame.
That’s it. Just a game between friends. No need to be afraid.
Silence reigned in the corridor as she, Simon, and the archivists held their collective breath. Lina imagined the whole stronghold standing still. She was so focused on distracting the cat with the Sun Sphere that minutes passed before she noticed that the flames enveloping him were beginning to diminish. The more they played with the sphere, the calmer the cat seemed. Soon there were only a few fitful sparks coming from his tail. Lina decided it was now or never. Carefully, she reached out a hand.
“Come on, boy,” she said, coaxing him to her. “That’s enough excitement for one day, don’t you think? Time to go home.”
Alternating between watching her hand and the sphere, the cat ambled forward and nudged at Lina’s fingers. His head was still warm from the heat but not uncomfortably so. Lina scratched him under the chin and was rewarded with a soft, contented purr. Then the cat began rubbing his whole body against her, and Lina knew it was time to make her move. Trembling a little, she wrapped her arms around the cat and scooped him up in her arms.
And just like that, the danger passed. Lina allowed herself such a sigh of relief that it made her dizzy.
“Well done,” the archivist with the net said, patting her gently on the shoulder. In all the excitement, Lina hadn’t recognized him, but now she realized it was Feldwon, one of the senior archivists, who was in charge of the Menagerie. He was a tall, thin-faced man in his late thirties, with bright blue eyes and big lumpy calluses on his hands. He bent down and picked up the Sun Sphere, handing it to his partner with the crossbow. “I don’t know how he got out of the pen,” Feldwon said to Lina, shaking his head. “He must have found a hole somewhere in the enclosure fence.”
Hearing the words, Lina felt a mixture of relief and shame churning in her stomach. No one had seen what she and Ozben had done. It looked like the cat had only damaged a few wall hangings and some towels in the Gears and Steam workshop, but it could have been so much worse. If he had managed to get into the library, he could have devastated the stronghold in a matter of minutes. And Simon, in his anger and panic, had almost killed the cat to keep that from happening.
Never again, Lina vowed. Trying to understand the mysterious artifacts the archivists collected was difficult enough, but she would never again be so careless with a living thing.
“I can take the cat back to the Menagerie for you,” Lina offered. Up and down the corridor, doors were opening as Simon and the archivist with the crossbow called out that all was clear. Lina didn’t want too many people crowding around and scaring the cat further.
Feldwon nodded. “Come on, then.” He led the way back past the Gears and Steam workshop. Lina walked past Simon, ignoring the glower he threw her way.
“Winterbock!” he called out to her.
Lina stopped and turned to face him, careful to keep a secure grip on the cat. “Leave me alone, Simon,” she said curtly. She wasn’t in the mood to play their usual game of insults.
An unfamiliar expression crossed the senior apprentice’s face then, a mixture of anger and some other emotion that Lina couldn’t read. Was it— No, she was surely imagining things. If she didn’t know any better, she’d say Simon almost looked ashamed.
“I didn’t want to…” He trailed off and bit his lip, not meeting her eyes. “I wasn’t going to kill the cat,” he finished in a rush. His face was turning bright red, and he stared at the floor. “I fired at him in the workshop, but I wasn’t really aiming for him. I just knew we had to stop him somehow.”
His words caught Lina completely off guard. Why was Simon telling her this? Why would he care what she thought of him? He’d never shown anything but contempt for her before.
“None of this is the cat’s fault,” she said.
Simon looked up and managed to meet her eyes. “No, it’s not,” he agreed. “But you caught the cat. So everything’s all right.”
Lina nodded, but she was too shocked to respond. Simon had never given her anything resembling a compliment before, yet it sounded as if he’d come close just now. Maybe the smoke from the fires had made his head fuzzy.
As the silence stretched between them, Simon’s face got even redder. “All right, then, what are you still standing there for?” he snapped. “Get going, and don’t let go of that cat for anything, even if it lights you on fire.”
Now, that was more like the Simon she knew. Still puzzled by his behavior, Lina turned and resumed walking down the corridor.
When she arrived back at the Menagerie, the archivists were examining the pen as the two other cats watched the proceedings curiously. Lina tried not to look guilty as she walked over to them.
As Feldwon reached for the latch on the door, the two cats suddenly let out a loud yowling sound and started hissing at her. Lina took a step back, even though Feldwon hadn’t yet opened the door.
“What’s wrong with them?” she asked, shocked by the sudden change in the cats’ behavior. Did they smell something on her, a scent from the Gears and Steam room that they didn’t like? No, it couldn’t be that. The cat in her arms was calm and happy, purring as it laid its head on her shoulder.
Feldwon’s brow wrinkled in consternation as he looked from Lina to the other cats. He shook his head. “I was afraid of that,” he said. “The cat’s scent has changed. He’s out of alignment.”
“What do you mean?” Lina asked. “They sound like they’re mad at him.” She stroked the cat in her arms.
“We don’t fully understand the science involved,” Feldwon said, frowning, “but it has something to do with the cats’ body chemistry. We know that keeping their temperatures regulated is important not just to prevent them from the self-immolation you witnessed but also to keep harmony within the group.”
“You mean because this one’s body temperature got out of sync with the others, they don’t want him around anymore?” Lina couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Maybe they just need time to adjust to him, like getting used to a new scent or
something.”
Feldwon shook his head. “I’m afraid if we put him in there now, the other two will attack him. I can’t take the risk. I’ll have to arrange a separate pen for him from now on.”
“But he’s always been in a pen with other cats,” Lina said, her voice rising. She stroked the cat’s neck, holding him protectively against her chest. “He won’t like being by himself.”
“I realize that, but it’s better than the alternative,” Feldwon said sadly. “If you wouldn’t mind holding him for a bit longer, I’ll go and see about cleaning out one of the transport cages. He can sleep there until we get a new pen built.”
Now they were going to put him in a cage? Lina was too stunned to do anything but nod as Feldwon moved off, calling out orders to the other apprentices within earshot.
No, she couldn’t let this happen. The cat shouldn’t have to suffer because she’d been a selfish idiot. There had to be a better solution than putting him in a cage off by himself. He just needed a place to live where there were no huge sources of heat like the forge and no rooms full of flammable objects.
Lina looked down into the creature’s huge orange eyes as he meowed in her arms. An idea came to her. A place where there were no large fires. Her workshop. Of course. She should have thought of it immediately.
The Secrets of Solace Page 12
