Chapter Eighteen
Galach and Buach rushed into the room with many guards behind them. “Your Highness, we must be leaving at once. The Asile guards be here to arrest you.”
Arrest her? Not me? If they didn’t know I was there, they’d find out soon. “We need to get out of here.”
“What do they want with me?” Briony asked, ignoring my plea.
“It is uncertain.” The expression on Galach’s face held concern. “We received word that High Wizard Murtagh be arrested today during the council meeting.”
Briony crossed over to him. “What reason did they give for his arrest?”
“He voted against removing all charges from Conemar’s records. We haven’t time. I must get you to safety.”
“Um, we should go,” I said. “Like, now.”
Galach waved the guards to the corridor and held out his hand to Briony.
She grabbed it. “Gia is coming with us. Buach, you come, as well.”
Galach rushed out with Briony and Buach and I went after them.
“I just don’t understand,” Briony was saying when I caught up to them. “By removing his charges, Conemar can resume his position as Esteril’s high wizard. Why would the council arrest Murtagh for voting against this?”
“Who’s Murtagh?” I whispered to Buach.
He darted looks behind us. “He’s our highest wizard. He attends council meetings in Briony’s stead.”
“The council stated that Tearmann sided with the Mystik League,” Galach said. “That we be traitors. They believe the covens be responsible for the recent attacks on the havens.”
Briony glanced over her shoulder. “Why aren’t the guards coming? And what about our people? I can’t leave them.”
“The guards stay to slow them down while we make our escape.” Galach guided her around a corner. “Asile won’t harm Tearmann’s people, just her leaders.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Conemar had to be behind all the prior high wizards’ deaths. This was his plan: to take over the council.
“This is bad,” I said. “They can’t put him on the council.”
“They must have a unanimous vote,” Briony said. “That is why they want me removed, and most likely my parliament. They’ll replace them and me with one high wizard sympathetic to Conemar.”
We entered a corridor with large paintings of regal looking people, and many statues. In the middle of the room were two marble sarcophagi with the likeness of a man carved into one and a woman in the other.
Briony must have noticed me staring at them. “My parents. They’ll remain until my death. When I’m placed here, they will be moved to a crypt outside the village.”
Galach pushed something under the lip of the sarcophagus of the man. The two caskets separated, exposing stairs leading down into darkness.
I created a light globe and motioned for Galach and Briony to go. Buach and I pounded down the steps behind them. The sarcophagi came back together, sealing us in.
“Where does this lead?” I asked, watching my steps. The ground was uneven, with sharp rises and potholes.
“To a different library,” Briony said. “It’s the national one in Dublin.”
Buach was silent beside me, his breathing heavy.
“Are you doing okay?” I asked, clutching my bag to my side.
He rubbed the back of his neck. “Only worrying about me ma and da.”
“Sorry, Buach,” Galach said. “But I could not risk you being taken and questioned. As it be now, they won’t know you be part of this escape. Once safe in the library, you can jump to Tearmann. Tell them you visited friends in Mantello. Give me ma and da me love.”
When we reached the end, we entered the library through a moving bookcase. I checked the time on Carrig’s watch. It was nearing three in the morning in Dublin.
After calling out the charm to summon the gateway book, I glanced around waiting for the book to fly over. White wood trim crisscrossed the large dome with different shades of teal colored squares inside them. Tall arched windows wrapped around the lower part of the dome. A line of sculpted cupids, linked by garlands of fruit, encircled its base. Just below, lofty wooden bookcases surrounded the room.
I strolled down one of the many rows of desk-like tables in the middle of the room, scanning the bookcases. This book had remained strapped to the back of a bookcase and it knocked against a nearby shelf, trying to come to me. I trotted over to it, removed the binding, and carried it to the others.
Galach let go of Briony’s arm. “Right then, Buach, you jump first. Don’t be doing anything rash. Keep to your work and mind Ma and Da.”
Buach hugged his brother. “Come back to us.”
“Ah, you know I can’t be promising you that.” Galach clapped Buach’s back. “Now on your way, you.”
“See you for that pie,” I said.
“That you will.” He smiled and jumped into the book.
“Now, where are we going?” Briony asked.
Galach removed his helmet and dropped it onto the wooden floor with a thump that traveled up to the dome ceiling. “Do you know how to get to the Fey realm?”
Briony shook her head. “The last I went there, I was not even six years of age. I only remember a beautiful garden.”
I glanced at the silver butterfly hinting on my wrist.
Of course. I blew on it. The tracer pulled from my skin, flapping its wings to hover in front of me.
“I need Aetnae, please,” I said.
The tracer swooshed up above our heads, then dove into the gateway book.
Briony’s amber eyes looked darker in the dim light of the library. “Whom did you send it after?”
“A book faery,” I said, pulling out one of the chairs from the desk and plopping down on it.
My stomach knotted as we waited for Aetnae. The sky outside the windows was getting lighter, which meant it was getting dark in Mantello. Bastien would return to the inn soon, and I wouldn’t be there. He would be angry that I’d decided to go to Tearmann by myself.
The pages in the gateway book turned and the tracer flew out of the book with Aetnae right behind it.
The butterfly came over to me and bounced in front of my face.
“It wants your wrist,” Aetnae said, flying over to me. “Looks like it has claimed you as its owner.”
“That’s cool.” I turned my wrist over so the tracer could land on it. “How about friends instead?” It seemed like the tracer brightened a little at my words before seeping into my skin.
Aetnae spotted the others. “Why did you call me? What’s going on—” A surprised look crossed her face and she bowed, then straightened, all while hovering in front of us. “Your Highness. What happened?”
“The council sent guards to Tearmann to arrest me and my parliament members,” she said. “I must seek asylum in Tír na nÓg.”
“I can’t take you,” Aetnae said, landing on my shoulder and holding on to a strand of my hair. “Your jump will register.”
“But they will arrest her,” Galach said. “There be no telling what Conemar will do to her once he’s in power.”
A thought came to me. “I have an idea. But Galach won’t be able to jump with us. He’ll have to return to Tearmann.”
Galach squared his shoulders. “No. I won’t leave her.”
Briony placed a tender hand on Galach’s cheek. “I will be fine with the Fey; they are my people. You must protect our haven. But stay safe. My heart cannot survive your loss.”
He touched her hand for a brief second before taking a step back and bowing. “Your order be my wish. I will wait until after you have gone before going back to Tearmann.”
Was there a love thing going on between them? It definitely looked like there was.
“I’ll be right back,” I said and headed for the door.
“Where are you going?” Aetnae asked.
“I need privacy,” I said over my shoulder and exited.
Standing in the hallway leading to a wide staircase, I lifted my shirt and placed my right pointer and index finger on the crown. The Chiave would make the wearer invisible in the gateway.
My fingers hovered over the brand. I should keep it hidden, but I had to get Briony to safety. Her jump would register without it, and she could get caught. Uncle Philip, Akua, and Briony were the only council members not corrupted.
We needed them. The havens and covens needed them.
“Reditum,” I spoke the charm to release the Chiave, my thoughts only on the crown. The Chiave ripped from my side, and I dropped to my knees in pain, clenching my teeth. The crown grew to its actual size and floated in front of me. I grasped it and rushed back to the others.
Briony and Galach were standing close, their voices low. His face told me he didn’t like what she was saying.
Aetnae flew up to me and landed on my shoulder. “Lovers’ spat,” she whispered. “You thought forbidden love was bad for you and Arik—” She stopped, her eyes widening. “Sorry. But you get what I mean. It’s worse for them. She’s a ruler, he’s a guard…never the two shall mix.”
“I don’t get what’s the problem.” I frowned at them. “So what if a ruler and a guard love each other? It’s just their jobs, not who they are. Everyone should be equal.”
“Tell that to a bunch of uptight wizards with their noses in the law books.” Her eyes went to the crown. “What’s that for?”
“It will shield her jump,” I said.
She darted off my shoulder. “Well, let’s get out of here before we’re discovered.”
I stalked after her. As we approached Briony and Galach, they backed away from each other.
I held the crown out to Briony. “We’re ready to go. You’ll need to wear this, but don’t put it on until we’re about to jump. Now, Aetnae and I are going to turn our backs while you two kiss goodbye.” Briony opened her mouth to protest, and I put up my hand to stop her. “Look at him. No telling when you’ll get this opportunity again.”
Aetnae touched down on my shoulder, and I turned around. “Your grandmother will be happy to see you,” she said, obviously making small talk.
I’d give anything in the worlds to see Nana, but I couldn’t. There was too much at stake for me to stop now.
“I’m not going with you,” I whispered. “Bastien is waiting for me in Mantello. I just have to figure out how to get by the guards in the library.”
“I can help you there. Jump to Mantello. The book faeries will meet you. While we cause a diversion, you can slip by the guards. Simple.” She hopped a little and hit a nerve in my neck, making me flinch. “Oh sorry. Got a bit excited there. It will be so much fun.”
“Yeah, fun,” I droned.
It must’ve been a long kiss because it felt like minutes passed before Briony said, “All right, we’re ready.”
The gateway book had put itself away, so I had to call for it again. I flipped to a photograph of the Central Library in Edinburgh, Scotland, and glanced at Briony. “Okay. Ready?”
Her eyes went to Galach, and he gave her a reassuring nod back.
“I am,” she said.
“Put on the crown.”
She put it on, and I grasped her hand.
“Aprire la porta,” I said and jumped with her into the book.
After we arrived in the Edinburgh library, Aetnae opened The Secret Garden pop-up book.
Briony turned to me, her eyes glistening. “One day, when there is peace, we will meet again. Stay strong, Gianna Bianchi McCabe.”
“I will,” I said. “And I will see you again.”
“If you need me,” Aetnae said, “you know how to find me.”
“I do. Now go.”
She nodded and led Briony into The Secret Garden.
With much pain, I used the spell to brand the crown back into my skin. Then I put on the blond wig and jumped to the Riccardiana Library.
There was a line to go through the bookcase leading to Mantello. It had to be longer than the one when I had left the haven. As I neared the front of the line, I twisted my hands in front of me.
Where is she? I bit my lip and adjusted my bag on my shoulder, my eyes darting to every corner of the reading room and scanning each bookcase.
The line moved again.
My heart sprinted in my chest. I glanced behind me. Maybe I should go back. Would they notice if I got out of line? The guard was too near, so I decided to stay where I was.
And the line moved once more, making me the next up.
I swallowed hard.
Something tickled my ear and I swatted at it.
“Whoa there,” Aetnae hiss-whispered. “Have you not learned that you shouldn’t swipe at what you believe are bugs? You’re going to bend a wing or something.”
I tried not to move my lips when answering her. “Where have you been? I’m almost up.”
“You need to get out of line,” she said. “We’ll make a diversion and you jump through the gateway to the El Escorial library in Spain.”
“To Santara? Why?”
The man and woman in front of me were in an intense argument with the guards.
“I must go to Mantello first,” I said. “Bastien is waiting for me.”
She heaved a sigh. “No. He was there, but you weren’t, so he went looking for you in Santara. Guess he picked the wrong haven. Your distraction is happening now; you best go.”
The man in front of me slammed his bag down and yelled something in a language I didn’t know, his arms flailing around him. Books dropped from a nearby shelf.
A woman screeched, spinning around, looking for something in the air. “What is it? A moth?”
People and creatures in line scattered. The guards’ heads snapped in the direction of the commotion.
I backed up and quickly walked to the other room. I called for the gateway book and waited. There were so many travelers coming through that it took several minutes before it came to me. I searched for the page with El Escorial on it.
“Hey, you!” a deep voice called to me.
I glanced up. One of the guards, a little smaller than the others with thinning hair and bushy sideburns, headed in my direction, his boots pounding against the tiles.
Crap. Focus, Gia.
I found the page with the El Escorial Monastery Library in Spain near the back of the book.
“I’m talking to you, mademoiselle—” His words and footfalls stopped, so I gave him another look. “It is you. Gianna Bianchi.” He picked up his pace.
Aetnae darted around the guard’s face, and he swung his hands around his head. I created an ice globe and pelted the floor with it, right in front of the guard’s feet. He slipped and landed hard on his back.
“Aprire la porta,” I blurted and jumped into the book, turning the page before I was fully through. I didn’t need a bunch of guards knowing where I went.
The darkness of the gateway surrounded me, and I breathed in the cool air.
“That was close,” Aetnae hollered over the wailing wind. Her voice was so faint, I wouldn’t have heard her if she wasn’t as close as she was to my ear. She held tight to my hair.
I landed out of the book and onto a black and white marble floor. The welcoming smell of old books and old-world air filled my nose. Aetnae let go of my hair and floated beside me, her iridescent wings barely visible while flapping to keep her up. My eyes went to the arched ceiling with gold trim. I’d studied this library in art class once. Afton had forced me to take it with her. It was a boring hour filled with the history of murals, frescos, and something else I couldn’t even remember. Out of all the different places, the libraries interested me the most. And here I was standing in one.
The panels of the ceiling were filled with beautiful frescos depicting the seven liberal arts—arithmetic, geometry, music, grammar, astronomy, rhetoric, and dialectic. Why I remembered this stuff was beyond me.
“You just going to stare at the ceiling?” Aetnae asked from where she stood on one of the display cases in the middle of the room.
I pulled my eyes away from a woman in one of the frescos—or it could have been a man, it was hard to tell in paintings sometimes. The woman had a crown floating above her head and religious men with beards and bishop-like hats surrounded her. Afton had chosen to paint it once for the class. Hers was almost identical; mine put stick figure art to shame.
I missed Afton. I missed Nick. I missed that long-lost time where the biggest fear we had was receiving our grades.
“Where is the entry into the haven?” I asked, pushing back the homesickness hardening in my chest.
Aetnae took off from the display case and hovered in front of a portrait of a royal-looking man. “This is it.”
I went over and faced it. “Ammettere il pura,” I said.
Nothing happened.
“Ammettere il pura.”
Still nothing.
“Are you sure this is it?”
“Yes,” Aetnae said. “It looks as if someone has changed the entry charm.”
“Do you know if there is a Talpar tunnel around here?”
Aetnae landed on my shoulder, her breathing heavy. “Why do you assume I’d know where their tunnels were located?”
“Because book faeries know everything in the libraries.” I craned my neck to see her. “Isn’t that what you told me?”
She lifted her face and frowned at me. “Well, you better not tell anyone I did. And you’re not going to like this. We need to go down to the basement.”
“Why am I not going to like it?”
“You’ll see. That way.” She pointed.
I hurried down the long stairs, clutching my bag to my chest, Aetnae bouncing in the air ahead of me. She brought me to a room with black marble, red jasper, and gilt decorations, with twenty-six marble caskets stacked four high on the shelves surrounding the room. An alter with a cross above it was on one wall.
“What is this place?”
“The royal crypt. Kings and queens are buried here.”
“I don’t like this,” I said.
“Told you.”
She flew over to one of the golden cupids attached to the wall holding a candlestick over his head. “Pull him forward.”
I placed my hand on his head and tugged on it. A panel in the wall slid aside. I stepped inside the roughly dug tunnel and turned to face Aetnae. She waited outside. “You’re not coming?”
“No. I’m not allowed to leave the libraries. I can only enter the Fey realm.” Her smile was as small as the tip of a fingernail. “Just go until you can’t go any farther, and it’ll lead you to Santara.”
“Okay. Thanks.” I wasn’t too happy about being in a scary tunnel by myself. The panel slid back into place, and the darkness wrapped around me like thick velvet, a sense of doom hanging in the damp, moldy air.