Arbiter Androsse sighed. Loudly. “Perhaps I will consign myself to repetition,” he said. He told the Dragon Arbiter what had happened.
Being a Dragon, if a ghostly one, Arbiter Kavallac was severely unimpressed with the lack of detail. “You are telling me that there is no chancellor.” Her tone indicated disbelief and a rock-solid lack of any sense of humor whatsoever.
“I’m telling you what Killian told me. And he didn’t use the wordchancellor, either. I’m not sure he intended to survive the rise of the Towers.”
“It was not the rise of the Towers,” Androsse said quietly. “But the fall ofRavellon. For Killian—for most of those assembled here in one fashion or another—the loss ofRavellonwould be like the loss of a beating heart for one of your nature. You have never seen it.”
“No. The loss happened long before my time. Whatever once dwelled withinRavellonis gone...” she frowned “...or enslaved. That’s not our problem here. Killian is still alive. The Academia still, in some form, exists. But the place we’re in now—it’s like your primal ether. We call it the outlands.”
“That should not be possible,” Kavallac said. “But demonstrably you are here, and we, for the moment, are here, as well. More discussion is required.”
“If the intruders found Starrante—”
“It would be almost impossible for the intruders to find Starrante if they were not already aware of his existence.”
Kaylin cleared her throat. “I found Arbiter Androsse without being aware of his existence.” The Dragon clearly felt that this should be impossible; Androsse’s presence, however, belied that. “Arbiter Androsse found you. If Starrante’s book isn’t where either of you expect it should be, could you find it?”
The two Arbiters exchanged a glance. “It is possible, but by no means guaranteed,” the Dragon finally said. “Our abilities at this stage are, as I said, limited. If the intruders have Starrante, it is possible we lack the power to liberate him.”
“If they hold your books, do they effectively hold you?”
“Before the books are opened, yes.” The Dragon’s smile was deeply unpleasant. “What do you think? You hold both books; are you up to controlling or commanding us?”
Kaylin shook her head.
It was Androsse who said, “You have not tried, Chosen. It is my belief that you could, in fact, control our actions should you make that attempt.”
“Because I’m Chosen?”
“Indeed.”
“Well, they’re not. That I know of,” she added. “Do you know the word on his book?”
They both stared at her.
“...On the cover of each of yours, there’s a word. A rune.”
“Different runes?” Androsse asked.
She nodded.
“I invite you to examine the books now.”
Kaylin did.
“Do you still see a rune?”
She nodded. The runes were part of the front covers of each book; they hadn’t vanished when she’d opened them. Nor had they risen or deserted the books in question when the Arbiters had appeared. Their looks and shapes hadn’t changed; the color of the golden light had dimmed—but that could be a trick of the light, which remained poor.
Turning the covers toward the Arbiters, she said, “Can you see it?”
The glance they exchanged impliedno.
She returned the books to their temporary resting place. “Let me ask a different question, then. I’ve been tasked with opening the library, right?”
“So you’ve said.”
“How, if the library is closed, is anyone supposed to open it? I’m assuming they don’t walk through walls the way I did.”
