A moment later, she turned and watched him feeling the wall with his hands. Each time he reached a lantern, he sensed the flame as if he could see it.
“The bed,” she blurted out just seconds before he stumbled over it.
Niko kicked the mattress. “Did he at least provide you with blankets?”
“Alas, I’m too traumatized to sleep.”
Niko bent down and touched the bed before lifting a blanket. “Wrap this around you.”
Gem sighed and did as he asked. Once the blanket covered her shoulders, she sat on the mattress. “I can’t believe I let this happen.”
Niko sat beside her. “If not you, they would have chosen someone else.”
She couldn’t get used to his ragged clothes and focused on his face instead. “What’s this book they want?”
He drew in a deep breath, his crystal-blue eyes holding so many secrets. “Long ago, Cyrus was a master thief. It was how he acquired a small fortune. He would steal and resell items, only to discover that objects are worth more to their owners than anyone else. So he changed his method by targeting wealthy men and finding out what precious things they treasured the most. People will pay most anything for sentimental or rare objects. Then he tried taking people, but that didn’t always turn out well for him in the end.”
“Like he did with me.”
“Yes. Cyrus knew taking you wouldn’t guarantee an exchange, but it would force me to listen to him. I have been avoiding him since he found me last year.” Niko folded his arms over his knees. “One day he stole a book. It contained symbols and images that Cyrus didn’t understand, but when the owner was willing to pay anything for it, Cyrus tested him. The man did everything he asked. He stole horses for us, burned down a temple, even killed his wife. That was when Cyrus realized the book was far too valuable to let go, if only he knew what was inside the pages. He tried bribery, hoping the man would translate it for him, but the man refused.”
“Was he a human?”
Niko turned his head as if looking at her. “No. He was a Relic. Not someone who could fight against the six of us. Well, five of us now that Plato is dead,” he said absently.
Gem didn’t like the way he kept sayingusand including himself in the count. “How could you have been involved with someone like Cyrus?”
“He is my Mage brother, and we were on the run. He offered me protection in return for my loyalty. I wasn’t the same man you see before you now. I was weak and unfamiliar with my gift of sight.” Niko tugged at his worn sleeves.
“What’s in the book?”
“Death. Life. Power. Magic.”
She furrowed her brow. “I don’t understand.”
Niko raised his head and stared vacantly at the closed door. “There is power in this world that you cannot understand as a young Mage. Power that existed many lifetimes ago. A Mage with a unique gift put power in the words, and those who read them can manipulate energy in ways never imagined.”
Gem let the blanket fall away from her shoulders. She wasn’t cold anymore. Heat radiated from Niko as if he were the sun. “Like a spell book?”
“Exactly. Only this one holds true power. In my lifetime, I’ve heard of such books. They were destroyed along with their owners, who were accused of witchcraft.”
“But they weren’t witches.”
“Yes, but our kind was hunted and executed by humans who knew of our existence. They feared our gifts, and the only way to persecute us was to label us witches in league with the devil. That allowed them to reduce our numbers while also controlling humans using fear that they too could receive the same sentence if they didn’t abide by their laws.”
“If the book is so powerful, why didn’t you just destroy it?”
Niko rose to his feet, his hands clasped behind his back. “Because I don’t know how.”
She chortled. “How about a match for starters?”
“The paper won’t burn. The ink won’t smudge. And the pages cannot be torn.”
Her jaw slackened.
“I cannot fathom what it takes to destroy this object. The rumors I heard on other similar books never mentioned their indestructibility or how they were destroyed. If a man like Cyrus gets his hands on it, there’s no telling what he might be capable of doing. It’s been in my possession for centuries. Cyrus foolishly entrusted me to guard the book, knowing I couldn’t read it. Perhaps that is why I’m the ideal guardian.”
“Oh, Niko. Why did you give yourself up?”
