Chapter 5
GET YOUR HAIRY LEGS AWAY FROM ME
BLUE
Bhoomika pours a thimble of tea and sets it on the table in front of me.
“I’m going to miss you,” she says. She cuts a nice chunk of cake and pops it on a napkin for me.
“Course you are.” I beam up at her. “I’m amazin’.”
She chuckles softly. “Yes, Blue, you are. Leela is lucky to have you.”
I chew the mouthful of cake I’ve just taken. “Nah, I’m the lucky one.”
She reaches out and strokes the top of my head. “You’ve made archive duty feel…fun.”
I take a sip of tea to wash down the cake.
It’s vanilla and something else that’s almost spicy.
Delicious. Truth be told, I’m gonna miss her too.
The library’s become a second home to me.
The dusty scrolls and the books. Me apron and me teeny duster and the comfort that comes wiv tidying up a shelf.
And our tea breaks…Yeah, I’m gonna miss this too.
“The Shahee Kshetra is beautiful,” Bhoomika says, a dreamy expression on her face.
“You been there, then, ’ave ya?”
Her eyes light up. “Oh yes. Many times. I worked at the Vidya tower there once.” She makes an arch with her hands. “It’s a majestic structure. Several floors filled with knowledge.”
“Then why’d ya come here?”
“I was assigned here by the head sage. We go where we are sent. It’s the way with the knowledge keepers.”
I been working with her for weeks, and I neva thought to ask what she is. “Yer not Asura, then?”
She smiles and shakes her head. “No, Blue. My people are descended from powerful sage bloodlines and are tasked with keeping the histories of this world safe. History is sacred.”
“Uh-huh…” I sip my tea. “So you know everythin’ about this world, then?”
“Not personally, but I have access to most of the information.”
“Most of it?”
“There are some texts and scrolls that are out of bounds, even to the sages.”
“Sounds suspicious ta me. If you’re meant to manage the history, then why can’t you have access ta everythin’?”
She smiles down at me and lightly touches my nose. “You’re a smart little thing, aren’t you?”
I puff out my chest. “Maybe I should be a sage too.”
There’s a knock at the door. “Sage Bhoomika, a moment please.”
“Coming!” she calls, pushing back her chair. “I’ll be right back, Blue. Enjoy your tea.” She slips from the room, and I help meself to more cake. Good stuff and still warm from the oven. Best kind, if ya ask me. A prickle travels up my spine, and a moment later, a shadow falls over me.
I scamper across the table as Madame Spider lands in the spot where I was just sitting, and I grab the knife that Bhoomika was using to slice the cake. It’s feckin heavy, but I ain’t letting go.
“Back up, eight legs. I told ya, I ain’t lunch.”
Her voice fills me head.
Do not fear, little rodent. You are not on my menu.
“So why are ya creeping up on me? What dya want?”
To congratulate you on a job well done with the scroll.
“How do you know what I did with it?”
I have eyes and legs all over the domain. My children tell me things.
I suppress a shudder. “Okay…so it was a song, and I had it played.”
And they heard it. They connected. Good, then it has begun.
“Begun? Leela and Araz?”
Ah, is that what they call themselves?
I lower the knife slowly. “What are you talkin’ about?”
They are eternal.
My chest tightens. “Yeah, well, it’s obvious your children don’t see everythin’, or you’d know that Araz is dead. He was taken over by the primordial evil.”
Little one, you have much to learn. But you will. In the royal domain. In the Vidya tower. The knowledge you need will be found deep beneath. All you need do is ask, and they shall speak.
What the feck is she on about? She scuttles closer, and I scamper away. A low chuckle fills my head.
Survival instinct. Good. Never trust.
“Oh great, that’s good to know.” I back up a little more and earn another chuckle.
I see you, sage.
“What?”
Tell them Aserathiin sent you.
The door opens, and Bhoomika enters.
She stops and looks at me with a frown. “Blue, who were you talking to?”
My gaze flies to Madame Spider, but the spot where she was is empty. Now I just look nuts. Great.