30. Library
Library
They tumbled downward into a blur of darkness before they slammed into the depths below. The impact sent up a thick cloud of dust as old books scattering beneath them and moths burst into the air in a frenzied flurry.
Coughing, Sorcha blinked up at the floor above them. A severed arm twitched where it had been reaching inside before dropping beside her. She recoiled tumbling and sliding down the slide of tomes.
Her eyes took a few moments to adjust to the dimness. The air was thick with the scent of dust and old parchment. Maelan groaned as he shifted, summoning a small glowing orb, casting flickering light across the space. Distant slamming and screeching echoed from above.
Sorcha eyes found Maelan’s orb, he sat beside it, letting out a curse and clutched his calf. She scrambled to his side, kneeling beside him. Blood seeped from deep puncture marks, dark against his torn pants. He was lucky. A little deeper, and the creature’s bite might’ve taken more than just skin.
Kyron tore the sleeve from his tunic and knelt beside them, wrapping the cloth around Maelan’s leg. He pulled it tight above the wound like a tourniquet, then used the remaining fabric to bind over it. The scent of blood was strong in the enclosed space.
“Thanks,” Maelan exhaled, attempting to stand. His foot wobbled beneath him, and he fell to his knees with a wince.
Kyron moved to help, but something warm pulsed against Sorcha’s palm.
Startled, she reached into her pocket and felt the smooth surface of a stone, a faint glow radiating from it.
She lifted it into the light and let out a quiet chuckle.
It was the rune stone Kyron had given her weeks ago at the tea shop.
“Ordinary,” she murmured, shaking her head.
The glow caught their attention. Kyron’s eyes flickered from the stone to her face, his expression softening.
“You kept it?” His voice was low, almost disbelieving.
Sorcha nodded and moved toward Maelan, placing the stone against his wound. The warmth of the magic seeped through her fingers, tingling against her skin.
Kyron made quick work of healing the wound as best he could with just the stone, the skin stitching itself together enough for Maelan to walk.
Kyron smirked. “We’re even now.”
Maelan let out a chuckle and nodded, now standing with his arm over Kyron.
Kyron handed the stone back to Sorcha, who placed it back into her pocket, adjusting the bag on her shoulder.
She quickly went through her items, ensuring she hadn’t lost anything.
Once she was satisfied, she closed the bag and slid the rest of way down the pile of books, dust rising in soft clouds around her moved.
“Where are we?” Maelan asked, examining the vaulted ceilings, shelves stacked with tomes and scrolls locked behind wooden gates. Columns upon columns of books and papers lined every inch.
“We must be in the basement of a library,” Sorcha responded as she explored the space. Her voice felt small in the vastness of the room.
The library groaned and walls shifted, an opening within the walls appeared.
“Over here.” Kyron waved to them from a far corner. “There are stairs.” He stood in the darkened archway.
Sorcha ran her fingers over the books’ spines as she walked in the dark, feeling the ridges and cracks of leather bindings worn with age.
“Care to light the way?” she asked Maelan this time.
He snapped his fingers, and the orb floated at his side. He smirked and began slowly ascending the staircase with a slight limp while Kyron and Sorcha followed close behind.
The staircase wound around and around in a dizzying effect for what must’ve been half a mile before they finally reached a marble landing. The three of them were breathing heavily as they stood before a grand lobby.
From ceiling to floor, books stood in the thousands, lining every square inch, while wooden tables and benches lay in the center of it all.
It was covered in vines and flowers, butterflies and moths dancing under the moonlight that shone in through a skylight in the dome.
The silver light flooded the room, casting pale reflections on the marble floor.
The sounds of screams carried into the dome now more like whispers, which was almost worse than hearing them close by. Sorcha shivered at the sounds, gripping her bag tighter as she slowly surveyed the room. The scent of damp stone and aged paper clung to the air.
They moved slowly as they split up, each one moving through the library.
Kyron had climbed a ladder and was reading the spines.
Maelan was searching the corners for any hidden creatures.
Sorcha stared at the moonlight for a few moments before looking at the books.
“Some of these books are older than the Tuatha. There are accounts of the old the gods here.” Kyron’s voice trailed off as he opened the books and began skimming them.
Sorcha’s fingers touched the spines as she moved, looking above her. Some of the floors had missing pieces, structural cracks, and even the occasional hole, through which Sorcha peered.
Maelan called after her, “Don’t go too far without us,” as he looked over his shoulder.
Sorcha just waved him off as she bounded up the first set of stairs to the next level, nearly tripping on a large vine.
A glowing orb appeared next to her. She looked down at Maelan.
He smirked, then turned back to look for any information on what this place was.
As she scanned the books, she heard whispers again.
Not from outside, but close. A shadow flickered above her and then disappeared to the next level and the level above that.
She began running toward it. Chasing after it as she spiraled up level after level before the shadow disappeared completely, leaving Sorcha almost at the top of the dome.
She peered over the railing and yelled down, her voice echoing through the levels.
Kyron and Maelan appeared below like ants, both heading her direction.
She glanced back to the floor and began looking for the figure when silver lettering from a books spine glowed, the words twisting and changing script.
Sorcha thought back to the book in the library the way the words changed and moved under her touch, the shadow that chased her away from it that night. This was why she was here.
But why?
She reached out her hand, and as her fingers wrapped around the spine, the book became warm under her touch.
She held in her hand carefully, turning it over before flipping the pages open.
A blinding white light burst through the library, knocking Sorcha into a railing.
The blast scattered books and parchment into the air like a tornado, pages and stone dropping to the ground.
Maelan and Kyron yelled out but she couldn’t hear the words, now running toward her as the book sat in her lap, glowing.
Script hung in the air, shifting and changing in front of her, the purple and blue hues shimmering in the moonlight.
Her ears were ringing loudly, her sight blurring as she tried to focus but her eyes were so heavy.
She let them close, letting the darkness take over.
“Sorcha!” Voices called to her.
She could feel hands holding her.
“Sorcha.”
She opened her eyes slowly, blinking to bring the shapes into focus. Her head pounded, but the ringing had stopped, Kyron and Maelan standing over her.
“Thank the gods,” Maelan said as he held her face. “You gave us a scare, firelight.”
She placed a hand over his briefly before pulling away. “I’m fine,” she said, her voice steady. Her gaze dropped to the book in her lap.
“It was this,” she murmured, lifting it.
She opened it again. The words shifted and twisted before forming a title, The Veil.
Kyron and Maelan watched as she flipped through the pages, each one detailing creatures, gods, and monsters, their realms, customs, strengths, weaknesses.
It outlined the known entry points in and out of the veil.
Then the pages went blank, and the book snapped shut.
Sorcha tried to open it but it hummed loudly and refused to open again.
Kyron’s face paled. Maelan stood up, taking a slow step back.
“What?” Sorcha asked, scanning their faces.
Maelan’s jaw tensed. “That’s The Book of the Veil. It’s been sought out for centuries. So many have killed for it.”
She turned the book over in her hands, frowning. “This came to me in Lumora’s library…” Her voice was shaky.
Kyron shook his head. “No one’s seen this book since Balor ruled, and even then, it was hidden from gods and fae alike.
It doesn’t just appear.” He started pacing, his mind already turning.
“People have spent lifetimes trying to find it. And you…” He met her eyes.
“You didn’t just find it Sorcha. It chose you. ”
“Why me?” She blurted out.
“Maybe because you didn’t want it,” Maelan said. “Maybe because you belong to both realms.’
“I don’t care what it wants,” she said, her voice low. “I never asked for this.” She hurled the book over the railing and as she turned around, it reappeared in front of her.
She stared at it, a scream rising in her throat.
“I don’t think you have a choice,” Kyron said, eyes locked onto it.
Sorcha’s fingers bit into her palms as she slumped against the floor. Maelan and Kyron sat beside her, their backs against the railing.
Silence settled between them, the only sounds were the soft rustle of falling pages and the distant cries of monsters beyond the library walls. Sorcha picked up the book and flipped the book around in her hands.
She took a deep breath and aloud she spoke, as if to the library, “ Okay.”
She looked around the library and then placed the book in the bag next to Feth Fiada. “I think we should stay here for tonight.” She said as she stood.
Maelan and Kyron stood alongside her as she descended back down the levels, “We should make a fire. There’s a hearth at the far end of the library” Maelan said as he passed Kyron and Sorcha.
Kyron agreed stating “there’s plenty of kindling.”