The first few rows contained books about the history of the town and the district it belonged to. I needed the bigger picture, though. The following row was promising with multiple shelves containing summaries of the history of the continent. I grabbed a newer looking copy of“The history of Sevalis”and took a seat on one of the dark green sofas. The fabric of the furniture smelled damp, and I could see tiny dust particles flying around in the light of the lanterns that were placed around the room. It wasn’t the best light to readin, but it would have to do.
I grabbed a pen and paper from my bag and started reading. The first few pages contained maps of Sevalis. The continent was huge, split into different countries of various sizes. Around the continent, smaller islands were marked and named on the map. My hometown was located in Veyranth, the most western country. Squinting hard, I lifted the book up closer to my face to try and find it, but apparently it was too insignificant to be marked on the map. I turned the pages and started with Chapter 1.
After 20 minutes, I had learned nothing new and decided I needed to approach this differently. I opened the back of the book to look for the glossary. My finger traced the worn pages of the leather-bound edition. Skimming the rows marked “r” for “religion” and “g” for “Gods” produced no results, so I tried again with “d” for “deities.”
There it was.
I searched for the right page number and found a whole chapter dedicated to the great war and the subsequent death of the deities. The war between the western and eastern states of the continent had raged for nearly 7 years. The Gods had resided on the continent alongside the humans until this point, but had not actively taken part in the war. According to this book, they had tried to keep the peace, offering counsel to the reigning kings and queens, but had ultimately decided to stay neutral. After the war ended with no real winner and the borders almost remaining the same, the hate of the people had turned towards the Gods for not choosing a side.
The humans had started revolting against the royals across all of the nine kingdoms and effectively removed them frompower. In the newly founded countries, where the will of the people was supposed to rule, there simply was no need for deities anymore. Temples, churches and other places of worship were destroyed, priests and priestesses were killed, books of holy were burned and any kind of prayers, rituals and symbols of Gods and religion were banned.
The book didn’t go into detail about what actually happened to the Gods, but apparently they disappeared and were declared dead, since nobody believed in them anymore anyway. The chapter ended there, and I wasn’t any wiser than I had been before. I put the book back on its shelf and started wandering the library again. The wooden grandfather clock in the corner was ticking away loudly in the silence, reminding me that the library would be closing soon and I was no closer to understanding the ominous words of the man in the crowd and Bogus.
I blew out a frustrated breath and decided to do a last walk around the room to see if I could spot any titles that seemed promising, when I heard the door to the room open and shut with a soft click. I stilled and held my breath, my palms starting to tingle in response.
“I should have guessed that I would find you in a library, wordsmith,” a male voice echoed through the suddenly too quiet room. Heavy footsteps moved closer. “I must urge you to come with me. It is not safe here for you and time is running out.” A movement to my right caught me off guard and I shrieked as a man stepped in front of me.
What in the Fates’ knotted knickers?
Chapter 5
Instinctively, I took a step back and raked one assessing glance over him. His posture was relaxed, he didn’t seem to be carrying any obvious weapons. He was taller than me and had broad shoulders. I would not stand a chance if he chose to attack me, so deescalation had to be my goal. He was wearing an expensive looking dark purple robe, faintly resembling a drawing I had seen of an ancient monk. All kinds of clergy were forbidden on our continent, so the images and stories of the priests that lived here centuries ago were rare.
He bowed his head slightly and folded his hands in front of his stomach.
“I know about your heka, wordsmith. I probably know more about it than you do, actually. It is time to fulfill your purpose in this world, and I am here to guide you.”
I slowly backed away, my palms damp against the worn strap of my bag.
“Uhm… I—I think you’re confusing me, sir,” I stammered, forcing a shaky smile. “I was just… looking for some books. I don’t come here often. Actually, I think I’ve only been here a handful of times when I was younger, but that was for school and, honestly, I never paid any attention.” I gave a weaklaugh that died in my throat. “My friend Sierra was the nerdy one, she’d do all our research and I’d, uh, present the evidence.”
My words were tumbling out too fast now. “So if I did anything forbidden in this library, I’m truly sorry, and I’m going to leave now. Goodbye.”
I quickly turned around to gather my things, but as I turned towards the door, the man was already in front of me again.
“Do you always talk this much?” he asked with a mixture of humor and annoyance in his voice. I tried stepping around him, but he was not a small man.
“Yes, when I am uncomfortable. You are making me uncomfortable, sir, and I would appreciate it if you would let me leave.” I pointedly looked towards the door.
“I am sorry, Maelis, but I can’t do that,” he said.
He knew my name. Icy fingers crawled up my spine, making the hairs along my neck stand on end. My palms were damp, and the book in my hands threatened to slip. The floorboards creaked beneath me, every sound magnified in the empty library. It hadn’t been my best idea to come into a deserted library at night by myself, but I had tapped my fingers, counted the rhyme, and decided to do the research anyway. The weight of my choice pressed down on me, growing heavier with every thought, reminding me that some decisions were easier to make than to live with.
The man in front of me was probably some kind of magic police and Bogus had ratted me out.
Taking a deep breath, I pressed past him. “Look, sir, you might not be aware, but it’s incredibly creepy to follow a woman around and wait until she is alone to approach her. I appreciate your effort to find out my name, but I am notinterested and would very much like to leave now. Thank you.”
He didn’t say another word as I quickly hurried through the door and down the empty corridor. I was about to turn right towards the staircase, when I ran into a solid chest. I screeched in surprise, only to find myself with my nose pressed into an awfully familiar looking purple cloak.
“I am sorry that I can not grant you your wish. But we have been searching for you for an awfully long time, and I must insist on you accompanying me somewhere where we can talk in private.”
I took a few steps back, scanning my surroundings. The air felt heavy, thick with the scent of old paper and dust. Another flight of stairs led to the fourth floor. But if mystery novels had taught me anything, it was that fleeing upstairs was a trap. I needed options, and fast.
My gaze darted to the row of library rooms branching off the hallway. If I could make it inside one, maybe I could barricade the door. The pen and paper in my bag would be enough to channel my heka, but first, I had to lose this lunatic.
But which way to go?
Tap, tap, tap, tap.
