Chapter 28 #2
Casimir spoke again. “Based on the existence of that rune on your arm, I assume you spilled blood to seal this bargain?”
I gave a reluctant nod, to which Casimir sighed heavily.
“In that case, we don’t know the extent to which the bargain is binding. Everyone’s blood has a kind of magical signature, so even without your true name…” He grimaced. “You might still be bound to your word.”
It was as though the temperature in the crypt had suddenly dropped ten degrees.
“You mean I still might have to comply with the bargain, as well as Evren?” I asked.
“I don’t know. It’s possible.” He let out a frustrated growl, glaring up at the stone ceiling, as though willing the heavens to bestow him with a shred of patience. His tone was gentler when he next spoke. “Is there anything else I should know?”
Evren’s cruel voice pricked at my mind like so many thorns. Will you vow to do all in your power to ensure the Darkseer does not destroy the Book?
If Casimir discovered what I’d vowed to do—or more precisely, what I’d vowed to prevent him from doing—he’d be furious.
Shame filled me like a noxious cloud, coating my throat and tongue until I felt sick with the taste of it.
And then there was the favor I owed Evren.
The nature of such a favor could only be humiliating—or worse, deadly.
What if he forced me to fling myself from a tower, or drink enchanted Daemon wine?
How pathetic, that what I wished for most was to confess, to reveal to Casimir just how thoroughly I’d debased myself, and yet my lips remained sealed.
“Listen, I—” Casimir began, frowning at the mottled, angry flesh.
“I’m sorry this happened to you. I should’ve been there.
I never expected he’d have the nerve to confront you like that.
” A moment of silence passed before he relented.
“Regardless of the circumstances of this bargain between you… it’s done now.
We’ll have to deal with the fallout, whenever it may come. ”
“How long will it take to heal?” I asked.
Casimir’s eyes flicked to mine, his expression unreadable. “Vows sealed by bloodmagic never heal. The pain is a reminder of the immutability of the bargain. I warned you that there were consequences to using bloodmagic. ‘Blood for blood, and bargains paid,’” he intoned. “There is always a price.”
I tried not to let my expression betray my fear, even as a chill ran over my spine at his words. His answer was exactly what I expected, but it gutted me all the same.
Something like regret laced his tone as he added, “This is exactly why Sinclair wanted you gone, before something like this happened.”
I gave a derisive snort. As if anyone could’ve predicted this. “What, so you’re taking August’s side now?” I challenged. “That’s low, even for you.”
A tense beat passed before Casimir glanced at me sharply, his expression severe.
“Let’s make one thing clear,” he growled, taking a step closer so that he loomed over me.
“I am not taking his side. I would never force you to do anything against your will. But you’ve got to stop keeping things from me. ”
“I didn’t tell you because I knew how badly you’d react!” I argued.
“Have you considered that I’m reacting so badly because you tried to hide it from me?” he retorted. “You keep throwing up walls between us, Farrow, and I’m sick to death of it.”
We glared at one another, each as rigid and immovable as the stone chamber around us. It was Casimir who relented first.
“Before I saw your—” He stopped himself, clearing his throat. “I wanted to show you something.”
I blinked, adjusting to the abrupt alteration in his demeanor.
He beckoned me to follow him to a shelf in the far corner of the room.
Between two ancient tomes was a small black box containing a bronze, discoidal object.
Gingerly, Casimir lifted the object, which I now realized was actually made up of two overlapping bronze discs, each adorned with black and gold letters. His face was full of anticipation.
“What is it?” I breathed.
“It’s a cipher,” he said. “An old one, by the looks of it.” His eyes were alight with excitement.
I gasped. “Encrypted in shadow and myth…An inscription of decipherable wanting…” This was it! The object fitted all of the Book’s clues.
“How does it work?” I asked him.
“It works by simple substitution,” he explained.
“Devices like this are used to encode secret messages. Each letter can be shifted a certain number of places up or down the alphabet. We just need to figure out the number of positions we need to shift the text to decrypt the message. Julius Caesar used a similar technique to encrypt his private correspondence so his plans wouldn’t fall into enemy hands. ”
“So you’re saying we just need to plug in the encrypted message—those gibberish words the sprite gave me, and—” At once, my excitement deflated.
“Cas, we don’t know the number of letter positions we need to shift to decode the message.
” We couldn’t very well decrypt a code we didn’t have the key to.
Casimir hummed. “I suspect the sprite included that in the clue as well. Perhaps we merely overlooked it. Recite the riddle again for me?”
I recited it in full, and then Casimir asked me to repeat two lines in particular.
“An inscription of decipherable wanting
lies betwixt F-A-R-R-O-W and F-L-Y-N-C-H.”
Neither of us spoke for several moments as we puzzled over the riddle.
Interpreting the verse literally, I counted six letters in both Farrow and Flynch.
Between them, there were twelve letters in total.
But could the answer truly be so simple?
I frowned. What if it was a trick? What if the sprite had written the clue to be intentionally misleading?
There was no way to know other than to test it.
betwixt Farrow and Flynch.
“Twelve,” I said.
Our eyes met over the cipher.
“I think the numerical shift is twelve,” I repeated.
Casimir’s lips broke into a smile. “Let’s try it,” he said. “Do you have the encrypted text?”
I nodded and unfolded the piece of paper where I’d scribbled down the encrypted words:
A, Tqud, ftuzq aiz nxaap nqefaie pqxuhqdmzoq
Casimir handed me the cipher. It felt heavy in my palms. “Ready when you are.”
We began the painstaking process of decrypting the text, letter by letter, shifting the disc twelve positions for each input. Casimir found a pen and began jotting down each decoded letter. When the final letter was decoded, I craned my neck to read the short sentence Casimir had written out.
O Heir, thine own blood bestows deliverance.
I stared at the message. It was as cryptic as anything the Book had ever thrown at us, and every bit as useless. The daemonic little sprite just kept weaving more riddles and evading answers in an endless fucking goose chase. And again, there was mention of the Keeper’s Heir.
Everything came back to her, and we were no closer to unearthing her identity.
Casimir hummed as he frowned down at the message.
“Well?” I said. “What does it mean?”
When he did not immediately respond, I prodded him in the ribs. He cast me an irritated glance. “Let me think for five seconds, Farrow.”
I sat back on the stone floor and stifled a yawn. We’d been down here for nearly an hour.
After a moment, Casimir said, “I think the cipher is giving us the answer to a question we haven’t thought to ask.”
My fatigued brain tried to process his words. “A question we haven’t thought to ask?” I repeated.
“Like what?”
“No idea.”
I nodded. “What do you think ‘deliverance’ means in this context?”
Casimir shrugged. “It could refer to any number of meanings. Freedom, relief, escape.”
“Or salvation?” I offered, then paused for a moment. “I wanted to ask you something,” I began, blood rising to my cheeks in embarrassment. “I was wondering—”
I halted when a loud thunk sounded above our heads, making both of us freeze.
“What was that?” I whispered.
“I don’t know,” breathed Casimir. His expression was tense, his eyes wary.
“Here,” he said softly, sliding the cipher into my hands.
Wordlessly, we crept toward the iron door and creaked it open as gently as we could.
The clang of metal swinging open sounded earth-shattering in the dead silence, and we paused to listen for footsteps overhead.
I grasped onto Casimir’s outstretched hand, and the feeling of his warm, strong fingers on mine felt like a ward against my fear.
Continuing up the stairs toward the main level, the sense of eerie disquiet that had troubled me on our descent returned in full force.
I gripped his hand tightly as we prowled around the stacks like thieves in the night.
Casimir muttered, “This way.”
I realized he was guiding us through a different route than the one we’d taken earlier. In case we’d been followed.
Shit. Had someone been watching us tonight?
I’d been so distracted by our search that I’d completely forgotten to be vigilant.
I glanced down each row we passed, but it was too dark to see much of anything.
My neck prickled with unease. The next moment, an enormous rat skittered over the floor at my feet, causing me to squeal in surprise.
In terror, I stumbled backward and crashed into Casimir.
He caught me before I collided with the floor. I wrenched away when I realized he was doubled over with laughter. I swore loudly.
“That’s the fattest rat I’ve ever seen!” I screeched, which only made Casimir guffaw harder.
I shoved an elbow into his side in retaliation.
I wasn’t especially afraid of rats, but that didn’t mean I welcomed the idea of them skittering over my toes in the middle of the night.
“It could’ve bitten me, you prick!” I scolded, which only made Casimir laugh harder.
I smiled in spite of myself. “But I’m glad my peril amuses you so much. ”