Читать книгу The Familiars: Secrets of the Crown - Adam Epstein - Страница 7

The wizards’ and familiars’ arrival at the Historical Archives, just outside Bronzhaven, marked a reunion with an old friend – Scribius. The enchanted quill pen, which had helped guide the familiars on their quest to the Sunken Palace, had spent the last month happily transcribing the details of their adventure on the Vastian time line. Upon seeing its former companions, the metal and feather writing tool glided across the long wooden tabletop where it’d been working and executed an elegant curlicue before them.

“Scribius!” exclaimed Gilbert. “So this is where you’ve been keeping busy. Pretty fancy for a pen from the Runlet.”

Indeed it was. The Historical Archives was more than just the grandest library in all of Vastia; it was a two-storey museum of the queendom’s past – the most recent past, anyway. Hanging against the red velvet wallpaper were large tapestries of old kings and early maps of the countryside. Pear-shaped globes sat on pedestals around the room, and they would have been spinning had it not been for Paksahara’s disenchantment spell. Open cabinets were stuffed with history scrolls. And there was no lack of books – shelves of them on the walls, piles stacked fifty high on the floor, and tables with tomes too heavy to lift. Only a handful of dedicated scholars were studying the folios during this time of crisis, so the team of magical animals and their loyals nearly had the run of the place. One or two of the civilians recognised the queen and bowed before her, but there was little time for formalities.

“Let’s all split up,” said Queen Loranella. “There’s an awful lot of ground to cover if we hope to find some mention of this Crown of the Snow Leopard. Feynam, peruse the Encyclopedia of Artifacts. Edna, you and I shall check all the diaries of kings and queens of yore. Children, see if there’s anything in the old Wizard Almanacs. Start with the earliest editions.”

Everyone dispersed. Feynam headed for the second floor with Ramoth, his firescale snake, slithering behind him. Loranella walked to a far wall of sheepskin journals and started reaching for the ones at the very top. Sorceress Edna, much shorter than the queen, began at the bottom. Stolix remained coiled round her neck, fast asleep. Marianne approached the meek librarian who was sitting behind the front desk.

“Excuse me,” she asked. “Could you point us to your Wizard Almanacs?”

The young woman looked up from the Archives’ book roster, which she was busily updating. “Most of them are in the Reference section. I’d start there.” The librarian was about to return to her administrative task, but became sidetracked by a slither of bookworms crawling in through an open window. “Pesky little creepers,” she muttered as she grabbed a broomstick to sweep the purple parasitic worms back outside.

Marianne, Gilbert, Dalton and Skylar made their way through the stacks. Jack and Aldwyn followed behind. Jack slowed as he passed by a counter cluttered with conch and snail shells.

“Did you hear that?” Jack asked his familiar.

Aldwyn listened. Sure enough, he could hear faint voices coming from nearby. He approached the shelf with the shells resting atop it and the quiet murmurs got louder. Jack came up beside Aldwyn and lifted one to his ear.

“They’re whisper shells,” explained Jack. “I’ve heard about these. They preserve voices spoken from long ago. Put your ear up to one.”

Aldwyn jumped up on the counter and leaned his left ear – the one with the bite taken out of it – up to a rose-coloured spiral shell. Immediately, he could hear the sound of a voice speaking: “This is Derkis Toliver, local fisherman, speaking to you three years into the reign of the seventh king. I stand here at the port of Split River, watching the first spice vessel sail in, and I wonder if this will be a renowned harbour in the years to…”

Aldwyn pulled his ear away. Not the most riveting recollection, but just the fact that the words were spoken centuries ago made the otherwise mundane message become vivid and real.

“Maybe one of these shells will mention the Crown of the Snow Leopard,” said Aldwyn.

Jack didn’t even respond, as his attention was drawn to a shelf labelled Tales of the Beyonders. He quickly began lifting snail shells to his ears. “What if my mum’s or dad’s voice has been captured in one of these?” the boy wizard asked.

Jack had told Aldwyn how he and Marianne’s parents were Beyonders, lost at sea while on a secret mission ordered by Queen Loranella. The boy wished to become an explorer of distant lands too, one day, in the hopes of finding his mum and dad, who were perhaps waiting to be rescued on some deserted island. This desire to reunite with the family he never knew was one that Aldwyn could relate to, having only the foggy memories of his own parents that had come to him in dreams. He often wondered why his parents had abandoned him, sending him away from his home.

“No,” Jack kept saying, as he listened to each shell for a brief moment before trading it in for the next. “No, no, no.” He moved through them quickly, then put the last one down with a defeated look on his face. “I knew it was a slender chance anyway.”

“Don’t be discouraged,” said Aldwyn, trying to comfort his loyal. “I know how you feel.” He nuzzled his head up against Jack’s hand.

“I wish I could hear their voices, just once,” said the boy, melancholy filling his voice.

Dalton and Marianne walked up with armloads of books and scrolls, interrupting the shared moment between loyal and familiar.

“Hey, Jack, we’re going to need your help getting through all of this,” said Dalton, who dumped the selected materials on to one of the mahogany reading tables with a thud.

What chance did they really have of coming across some mention of this mysterious Crown? Just scanning this first pile alone could take a whole day. To Aldwyn, it seemed like trying to find a single flea on the back of a gundabeast.

Aldwyn had lost track of the time, but he could tell by the lack of light coming in through the windows that night was approaching. The only sound that he had heard in the past few hours was that of pages flipping and the occasional snore from Stolix, who seemed to steal naps even more frequently than Gilbert. Nobody had found any leads in their search so far, but everybody was determined to work through the night until they did. Without the convenience of Protho’s Lights to illuminate the Archives after dark, the librarian had gone out to purchase candles, a magicless alternative that could still be lit despite the dispeller curse. No other visitors remained inside the crimson-coloured walls.

“Hm hm hm hm hm hm,” hummed Gilbert.

“Would you give it a rest already?” snapped Skylar.

“I didn’t even realise I was doing it that time,” said the tree frog.

Skylar returned to her reading, but the silence only lasted a moment.

“Hm hm hm hmm-hm hm.” Gilbert had started it again.

“Gilbert!” snapped Skylar.

“I’m sorry. This stupid tune is stuck in my head and I just can’t get it out.”

Sorceress Edna set down her magnifying glass and rubbed her eyes wearily. Feynam poured himself a tall glass of water from a jug on the table.

“Brannfalk’s Crown, the Golden Crown of the Clouds, the Twin Crowns of Yajmada,” said the Elder. “But nothing at all about a Crown of the Snow Leopard.”

“Don’t lose faith,” said Queen Loranella. “An old friend of mine used to say, ‘You always find what you’ve been searching for in the last place you look.’”

Aldwyn could tell by the smiles on the children’s faces that they had heard this from the same source she had – Kalstaff.

The front door of the Archives opened, and the librarian entered. Curiously, she was empty-handed.

“You forgot the candles,” said Jack. “How are we going to be able to see?”

“Yes,” replied the librarian, somewhat sheepishly, “they’re in rather high demand right now. The shops were sold out. I’m so sorry, Your Majesty.”

“No need to apologise,” said the queen. “We’ll work by moonlight if necessary.”

The librarian walked back to her seat behind the front desk, stepping right past a trio of the slimy bookworms that had found their way back inside during her absence. Aldwyn found it curious that now she ignored them, seeing how quick she had been to retrieve her broom before. Perhaps the exhausting day of research had taken its toll on her as well.

“You said most of the Almanacs were in the Reference section,” Marianne called to the librarian. “Where are the rest?”

“Let me check the catalogues,” she replied. Aldwyn was certain she was fatigued now, as this was the first time all day she hadn’t had a ready response to one of their queries.

“I think I’ve found something,” said Dalton, sounding rather unsure about it.

“You did?” asked Jack.

“Yeah, right here, in the Wizard’s Almanac of Fables,” said Dalton, his excitement growing. “It’s written in Elvish, but I think I can translate it.”

“Move over, move over,” said Sorceress Edna. “I’m fluent in all dialects of the Wood People.” She nudged him aside with her large rear end so that she was sitting in front of the book, and put her magnifying glass up to the page. “Ah, yes. The boy is right. Cheluji tui kiraumo. Snow leopard’s crown.” She continued to scan the page, deciphering bits and pieces. “The story tells of a young elvin warrior who went searching for this mythical treasure. Lots of details about the rituals he performed before leaving, and the possessions he brought with him.”

Everybody was huddled around Edna now, hanging on the sorceress’s every word.

“Any clue as to what the Crown is or where it is hidden?” asked Marianne.

“Patience, young lady,” answered Edna, who moved the reading lens slowly across every word. “Tanah nok tahni. He carried with him a crocodile-tooth dagger, and wore mufahji round his neck. Rain charms.” She flipped to the next page.

That’s when Aldwyn’s attention was drawn to the librarian again. She was on her knees, muttering aloud before the three thumb-long bookworms.

“Uh, Jack.” He nudged his loyal.

“Not now, Aldwyn,” the boy replied without even giving him a look.

Aldwyn found the librarian’s actions quite peculiar. Had she lost her mind? Was she trying to reason with the worms? Whatever it was, it wasn’t normal. Maybe she—

Were the worms getting bigger?

Oh yes, they most certainly were. They were now as thick as watermelons, and as long as pythons.

“Jack!” Aldwyn shouted, clawing at the boy’s sleeve.

“Ow,” cried Jack. “What did you do that—”

Then Jack saw it too. In the short seconds it took to get the young wizard’s attention, the slither of bookworms had expanded to the size of wine barrels. The librarian remained on the floor, reciting what sounded a lot like a magic spell.

“Guys,” Jack called to the others, “you better look at this!”

Everyone turned round.

The once tiny and harmless-looking bookworms were now eight feet tall, their mouths surrounding a circle of teeth. The librarian stood beside the salivating creatures, her meek, shoulder-slouching demeanour gone, replaced with a scary confidence.

“What have you done?” asked Queen Loranella.

“The better question is how?” said Feynam. “How is a human still capable of casting magic?”

“They’re not,” answered the librarian.

Her body began to twist and contort; her ears started to grow and her nose shrank. Grey hairs sprouted from her flesh. Her brown eyes turned bright pink. She was shape-shifting. And when the transformation was complete, Paksahara was standing before them.

“Normally, bookworms only have a taste for parchment,” she said. “But I think in this case they’ll make an exception.”

The three towering slitherers advanced on the wizards young and old and their familiars. The quickest of the worms charged at them with its mouth wide open, smashing aside chairs and scroll cabinets along the way. The group fled from the long wooden table where they had been sitting, hurrying to take cover behind the stacks.

“The book!” cried Marianne.

But before any of them could go back for it, the charging demon worm halved the table, sending the Wizard’s Almanac of Fables flying, the jug of water rolling to the ground, and Edna’s magnifying glass shattering on the floor.

“Last chance to surrender,” Paksahara called out. “Join me, familiars!”

Despite these most dire of circumstances, Aldwyn would never accept her treasonous offer to betray Jack, and he knew that Skylar and Gilbert would never leave the side of their loyals, either. He focused on the fallen book and telekinetically lifted it into Dalton’s hands.

“Quickly, this way,” said Feynam to the others. “There’s an exit in the back.”

The elder led them, running down the narrow aisle. He was the first to emerge out the other side, and he never saw it coming. One of the bookworms opened its giant mouth and swallowed him whole. It happened so suddenly that it almost didn’t seem real. Everyone was left in stunned silence, except for Stolix, who had somehow remained asleep through everything thus far.

“Any of you want to reconsider?” Paksahara asked the familiars with a sneer.

Ramoth looked to Loranella. “My loyalty had been teetering before,” he said, showing his true colours. “Besides, I never like ending up on the losing side of a battle.” The firescale snake darted out from the stacks and took his place alongside Paksahara.

“Children, run for the front door,” instructed Queen Loranella. “Edna and I will distract the worms.”

The wizards in training and their familiars sprinted for the entrance as the gigantic and clearly very hungry bookworms were bearing down on them. Queen Loranella and Sorceress Edna hurried in the opposite direction, throwing books at the purple beasts to bait them away from the children.

Skylar spread her wings and made a bookshelf stuffed with dusty tomes appear between them and the worms. Aldwyn hoped the illusion would fool the tiny minds of the oversize grubs, or at least buy them a little time.

Dalton flipped open the Wizard’s Almanac of Fables as he fled, picking up where Edna had left off, searching the text as fast as he could.

“Dalton, what are you doing?” asked Skylar. “You can read the book later!”

“Not if I don’t make it out of here alive,” he replied.

Just then, a blast of electricity shot over his head, straight through Skylar’s illusion. Apparently, Paksahara had grown impatient with waiting for the worms to finish off her opponents. They took cover behind a bookshelf. “Niti wengi,” Dalton read aloud from the Elvish fable. “A great big tree.”

Aldwyn concentrated on a pear-shaped globe on one of the pedestals and flung it across the room, using only his mind. For a second he was quite pleased with his effort, but then Paksahara effortlessly shot it down. She didn’t see the second globe coming from behind her, though, and it momentarily knocked her off her feet.

Aldwyn was starting to feel victorious when a sweat-inducing heat boiled up behind him. He turned to find Ramoth, scales aflame, ready to strike with his searing fangs.“Traitor,” shouted Aldwyn.

“I am a snake after all,” replied Ramoth. He was about to strike, but his attack was thwarted when a splash of water doused the fire burning on his skin.

Jack stood with an empty jug in hand, the one that had fallen from the reading table but fortunately had not spilled all of its contents. Though stripped of his newly blossoming spellcasting abilities, Jack remained cocky in the face of the danger. He gave Ramoth a swift kick that sent him sailing across the room into a pile of scrolls. Aldwyn and his loyal shared a nod. No words were necessary to communicate their bond.

Dalton was still struggling with the foreign text – “The warrior travelled to some kind of tree, one whose branches…” he translated as the battle continued. “I’m not sure what these next words mean.”

And he wasn’t going to have time to figure it out. One of the giant paper-eating grubs shoved its head through the bookshelf and snapped the tome straight out of Dalton’s hand. Even worse, its teeth caught one of his fingers as well, biting it clean off.

Dalton cried out with pain and stumbled away from his attacker. He shoved his injured hand to his chest and tried to stave off the bleeding with his tunic.

The loyals and their familiars tried to make a run for it once more, racing past the aisle of whisper shells as the creature chewed the invaluable book to shreds.

Paksahara was back on her feet, and she seemed quite entertained as she watched one of the other bookworms reach out to swallow Skylar.

“They say the early bird catches the worm,” the hare said, delighted. “This time, it’s the other way round!”

The bookworm was just about to bite down on the blue jay when a splintered stick pierced its throat. Queen Loranella had torn off the bristles and used the sharp end of a broomstick as a spear. She gave the handle a twist, and the beast’s head collapsed limply.

Paksahara flew into a rage. She conjured two massive energy blasts in her palms, then shouted at her opponents – “This was fun. Now prepare to become food for the worms!”

“Food?!” a groggy voice called out. “Is it breakfast already?”

Aldwyn spun round to see that Stolix had finally awakened.

“Quick,” said Edna to her familiar. “Immobilise her!”

Stolix breathed out her paralysing mist, sending the cool vapours right into Paksahara’s nostrils. The hare’s muscles immediately tightened, and she was rendered motionless, a frozen look of anger on her face.

The two remaining giant purple worms encircled Paksahara protectively, preventing the wizards and familiars from attacking the defenceless hare.

“Let’s get out of here,” said the queen. “That spell doesn’t last long.”

Dalton grabbed Scribius off the floor, and then he and the others were running for the door without looking back. If the Archives held any other clues as to the whereabouts of the Crown of the Snow Leopard, they would soon be lost to the digestive juices of the bookworms.