“Nothing about this is typical,” Garrick said with no humor in his voice.He handed me an envelope.“These are instructions on where to meet him and maps of the lower levels of the library, but I’m afraid you’ll have to figure out how to get up to the clock tower on your own.Destroy these when you’re done.”
“I don’t know how to thank you, Garrick.”
He held up his index finger.“I have one condition.”
I thought back to Mrs.Crowe’s harsh terms.It seemed conditions were the norm when Emberborn were involved.“Name it.”
“There’s a job I’ve considered for a long time, but it was always too risky.But since you’re going in already, I need you to steal something inside the library.”
“What is it?”I asked.
“Not anit.Aher.”
Chapter twenty
The Ascent
Garrickwasright.Ididn’t like the plan.
The Citadel Library and its lofty bell tower were barely visible from where its steam exhaust pipes jutted out into the Analon River.The pipes vented from the massive steam engine that provided heat and power to the entire library—one of the many innovative marvels within its walls.The circular pipes came up to my shoulder—just barely tall enough to walk through without crawling, which was fortunate since they would burn bare skin on contact.
Fourth bell had rung, and the pipes were venting, shooting jets of deadly hot steam.The moment they stopped, I raced into one of them, taking great care to avoid the scalding sides.My burning leather soles gave off the smell of searing flesh, a grim reminder of the cost of slipping.
I had counted 358 and 342 seconds between the last two ventings.The slight fluctuation probably depended on how much steam power the library used.Either way, I figured I still had plenty of time as I ran the half mile between the pipe outlet and the maintenance hatch.
I had packed light, forgoing my backpack and nearly half my vials.I did, however, have the parchment I’d found in Queen Amara’s tomb safely tucked in my breast pocket.Perhaps there was something in the tower that could help me decipher it.
The heat was thick and oppressive, and sweat poured down my face.More than once, I nearly tripped on the seams of the pipe as I raced along, narrowly avoiding the scalding sides.
I was also unhappy about relying on other people to get this job done.Other people were messy and unreliable.Other people made mistakes.Other people could betray you.
I had counted 260 seconds when I finally got to the maintenance hatch, which was barely an outline on the wall of the pipe.I knocked on the hatch with the hilt of my dagger in the rhythm Garrick had shown me.
No response.
A low rumbling came from farther down the pipe.
Dust!More than sixty seconds early.Why had I been in such a hurry to run into the pipes?I should have counted a few more times.
Vibrations ran up my legs.A hot wind blew past, buffeting my hair and clothing—a precursor to the deadly vapor that would follow.
I knocked on the hatch again and cursed under my breath.This was precisely why I never relied on others.There wasn’t time to escape from the pipes.In moments, steam would envelop me and melt the skin off my bones.The heat was getting fierce, nearly scalding my skin.My eyes burned.
I knocked hard on the hatch once more, trying to keep my panic at bay.Halfway through the pattern, the hatch cracked open, flooding the pipe with cooler air.
“Quickly,” a man hissed on the other side.He didn’t have to tell me twice.
I leapt through the opening with steam lapping at my feet and rolled onto the stone floor of a small maintenance room.A man in dark robes tried to slam the hatch shut, but steam continued to escape through the edges.He was relatively young with a plump body, brown hair, and bangs cut straight across.
“Help me!”he yelled as he struggled with the latch on the door.“We’ll be cooked alive!”Steam buffeted the door, trying to escape.
I hopped up and shoved the door with every bit of strength I could muster, trying to keep the deadly vapor from flooding the room.The extra force was just enough to allow the man to wedge the latch closed before the pressure of the steam blasted the door open.
We shared a glance of relief, panting hard.But my relief quickly turned to anger, and I scowled at the man.“That was cutting it fucking close.”
“It couldn’t be helped.The high scholar, Master Corvane, stopped me on the way,” he said, shrinking back at my aggressive tone.“I was lucky to get here at all.”
And I was lucky not to be a puddle of dead flesh, but there was no need to be gruesome, so I held my tongue.“Do you have something for me?”
