The Library - The Complete Series (25 page)

Vanguard

Pushing aside another piece of stone, I finally emerge from the pile of rubble. The torch has been extinguished, so I can't see a thing, but I can feel that there's a huge amount of debris all around me, and an agonizingly heavy weight pressing down onto my back. A lesser creature would certainly have been crushed to death, and as I scramble through the darkness, I realize that my strength is flagging. I pause for a moment, trying to summon the energy required to make my way free, but I have no idea how much rubble has fallen on top of me. Finally, I take a deep breath and push my way up, fighting through a series of huge rocks until eventually I emerge into a pitch-black chamber.

Hauling myself out from under the rocks, I take a moment to regather my composure. I clearly have several broken and crushed bones, and a large number of cuts; although I can see nothing in the darkness, I can feel that my body has been badly damaged. I will heal, of course, but such things take time. Others, though, will likely be less fortunate.

"Weary!" I call out, before collapsing into a coughing fit. The air is thick with dust.

No reply.

"Weary!" I wait, listening out for any hint of movement. If he's trapped, I might still be able to dig him out. The ominous silence, however, confirms what I had suspected: Weary did not survive the cave-in. His body was most likely flattened under the huge amount of debris that collapsed into the corridor. Even in the unlikely event that he survived, he will have been knocked unconscious, and he will probably suffocate. There is no point expending precious energy on a search that is bound to end in failure.

Catching my breath, I look around, hoping to maybe adjust to the darkness and see something. Whatever happened, it is almost as if the entire Citadel collapsed into the catacombs, although I cannot believe for a moment that such a thing would be possible. As I haul myself across the debris, I reach down and feel a sharp pain on my leg: a large piece of flesh has been ripped away, and my fingertips brush against a protruding piece of bone. The leg has been snapped like a twig, and my foot is twisted at a right angle to the rest of my body.

"Weary!" I shout again, just in case there's still a chance that he might be alive. Finally, I sit on a pile of rocks and feel my leg, finding that the bone is snapped just above the ankle. Taking a deep breath, I grab the two fractured pieces of bone and break a few smaller, sharper fragments away, before snapping the leg back into shape. The pain is intense, and I cannot keep from letting out a scream, but finally the job is done and the healing process can at least begin. Still, it will take some time before I am healed, and the injury will certainly slow my progress. It is hard to believe that I have any chance of making my way out of here, but I cannot give up. Not yet.

Suddenly, I hear a noise nearby. Turning, I stare into the darkness. It's as if some kind of creature is moving through the darkness, though I am quite certain that it is not Weary. Whatever this thing is, it seems to be slithering across the rocks, making its way closer and closer. My first thought is that it might be an Anh Snake, but such a creature would undoubtedly have already attacked. As the noise removes around me, I realize that the creature is sizing me up, and it probably has the advantage of being able to see me in the darkness.

"I'm ready for you," I say, trying to keep looking at the source of the noise as it moves. "If you wish to die today, come at me and we shall see who has the stronger hands."

The creature continues to slither nearby, and for a moment I hear the sound of laughter.

"Are you scared?" I ask, raising my voice. "You would be wise to fear me. I am a Lord of the House of Lacanth. I have slain ten thousand men. I have led armies around the entire circumference of the Library. If you believe you can take me on, I welcome the challenge, but I can assure you that you will fall."

"Hello, Vanguard," says a female voice nearby.

I instantly tense up and reach for my sword, removing it from the sheath and holding it out in front of me. I know that this is largely a futile gesture, since I can't see a thing, but I cannot allow myself to remain unarmed. Whatever this creature might be, it has a distinct advantage over me.

"Fancy meeting you down here," the voice continues. "How long has it been? Hundreds, maybe even thousands of years. You're looking well, though. The years have been kind to you, even if the past few minutes have been a little cruel. You'll recover, I'm sure."

"I do not know you," I reply firmly, turning to the direction from which the voice seems to be coming.

"Do you not?"

"You're a coward," I continue. "If I had met you before, I would have killed you."

"Charming," she says, sounding amused by my words. There's a slithering sound, as if some kind of serpent is moving across the rocks. "I didn't think my voice had changed that much," she continues, suddenly much closer. "Have you forgotten me so easily, Vanguard? Has my name slipped from your memory? Perhaps your mind is failing, Vanguard, or perhaps I just wasn't that memorable. Tell me, is your life's history filled with the likes of me? Have you entertained a succession of warriors whose lives you've torn asunder? Just how many people have you left for dead, thinking you would never have to face them again?"

"What is your name?" I ask.

"Are you teasing me?" she replies.

"I do not tolerate fools."

"Perhaps, on this occasion, you have no choice. I am determined to make you remember me, Vanguard. Anything else would be cheating."

"I am not young," I say, turning as the slithering sound moves behind me. "I cannot be expected to remember the name of everyone I have encountered. Do you have any idea how many enemies I have faced across the battlefield? If you have nothing to fear, why do you not reveal yourself to me?"

"Oh, but I'm so offended, Vanguard," she says. "Granted, it has been a
long
time since we last met, but I really thought I'd made an impression on you. After all, we spent quite a while in one another's company, and things certainly seemed to become strained after a while. I supposed I allowed myself to get carried away, didn't I? I allowed myself to believe that you would be haunted by my memory, that you would rejoice in the knowledge that I'm alive. Foolish notions, perhaps, but they helped me through the dark days."

Trying to get to my feet, I feel a sharp pain in my back. The collapsing ceiling clearly did more damage than I had realized, and I fear I am in no position to defend myself. The metal chains beneath my skin have shielded me to some extent, but now they weight me down.

"You're struggling," the voice says.

"I am not."

"What's wrong?" she continues. "Are you hurt? That was quite a weight you took just now. The weight of an entire world. I wouldn't be surprised if you'd been flattened entirely. I mean, that's what happened to your little friend. I took a look at him just now. I was able to make my way between the cracks in the rubble, and finally I came face to face with him. He's buried under several feet of rock and stone, and he's been absolutely squashed in places. Would you believe, his dead eyes stared at me with a look of total shock, as if he couldn't believe what was happening to him, even as he died? I wish I had better news, Vanguard, but you must have known when you led him down here that he would have no chance of survival." She slithers behind me again. "Then again, you've never been one to shy away from difficult decisions, have you? How many people have you sent to their deaths, Vanguard? Poor Weary was just one of many, was he not? He was a life you deemed worth sacrificing. I suppose he thought he had a chance. Perhaps he believed you'd protect him. I guess he didn't know you very well, did he?"

"Are you going to tell me your name?" I ask, taking a deep breath as I try to work out which parts of my body are functioning properly. "Or do I have to squeeze your throat until you tell me with dying breath?"

"Have patience," she replies. "You're not in a position to issue threats. Besides, you really are a rather aggressive type, aren't you? More so than I remember. It's so hard to give you what you want. Time has not improved you. You've grown older and more bitter, and you've certainly become bigger. Why all the metal, Vanguard? Why do you have metal under your skin? It makes you look so much bigger and so thuggish. Are you hiding something?"

"I hide nothing," I tell her, staring into the darkness. "You know my name, and I do not know yours, yet you accuse me of keeping secrets?"

"The only reason I haven't told you my name," she replies, "is that I'm waiting for you to remember me. Come on, dig deep into your past. Surely it hasn't been so long, Vanguard? Surely you've never met anyone like me? When I say that I'm offended by your lack of care, I'm not putting on a show. I truly believed you would know me by now. Think back, old man. Think back to your days with the Soldiers of Tea, when we stood together."

"
You
were never with the Soldiers of Tea," I say bitterly. "The Soldiers of Tea were honorable and worthy men. Not one of their number could ever have degenerated to become a creature such as you."

"I couldn't agree more," she says. "I didn't claim that I was a member of the order myself, merely that I stood with some of their number from time to time. Think back to the Battle of Bokstaven, or to the time you crossed the Accelsis River. Think back to the shore of the void. Who made you look at your own reflection? Who slipped nightmares into your ear while you were asleep? Do you still not remember me, Vanguard? Has my name become lost in the history of your life?"

Ignoring her taunting voice, I start crawling through the darkness. Although everything seems lost, I learned during my time with the Soldiers of Tea that a warrior never gives up. Above me, there's a heavy creaking sound, as if more of the ceiling might be about to collapse. In my current debilitated state, I am not certain that I could survive any more injuries. If there is another cave-in, I might very well be finished.

"That's the Citadel," the voice says. "The whole thing, destroyed. Grandapams were responsible, I believe. They destroyed the supporting walls using explosives, so the entire structure came crashing down. You're literally trapped beneath the palace you sought to protect, Vanguard. There's some irony in that fact, surely? Or are you not a big fan of irony?"

As I crawl forward, I suddenly find myself coming up against a sheer rock-face. Trying to find a way around the barrier, I fumble in the darkness.

"Do you want me to give you a clue?" the voice asks.

After a moment, I manage to find what seems to be some kind of narrow passageway. I crawl across the rubble, desperately hoping to see light up ahead as I drag my broken body through the darkness. Eventually, my hands brush against bone, and I feel the familiar contours of a skull against my fingertips. Moving my hand, I find another, and then another, and finally I realize that they are arranged together to form a kind of wall.

"The Battle at Sadhm's Wharf," she says. "Remember that? Remember how you led all those men to their deaths? They followed you blindly, Vanguard, as if they believed you to be their savior. How foolish men can be, when they're lured by the dream of honor and glory. Or what about the Galvarian Link? Surely you remember being tossed over the edge of the fourth world? Someone rescued you from the void, Vanguard. Someone saved your life. Don't you even remember that?"

Pausing, I realize I can no longer block out her taunting words. I turn back to face the direction from which her voice is coming, and a slithering sound brings her closer.

"You
do
remember, don't you?" she says, her voice just a few inches from my face. "I'm pulling at a thread in your memory, and it's all coming back to you slowly. You remember how my hand reached out and grabbed you, hauling you back from oblivion." After a moment, I feel something brushing against my hand. "Come on, Vanguard. I know it's been a long time, but you remember me. I
know
you do. Was our time together so horrific that you had to block it from your mind completely?" Something long and wet and slimy slithers around my body, as if I'm being drawn into the coils of a serpent. "I still remember the day I learned you'd taken a wife," she continues, with sadness in her voice. "I remember the sorrow I felt when I realized you'd never come to visit me in my little self-imposed prison at the top of the Citadel. Who could have foreseen that one day my tiny cell would come crashing all the way to the bottom of this miserable place, and I'd emerge right next to you, my darling?"

Feeling a cold shiver run through my body, I finally realize the name that has been eluding me. It's a name that I never thought I'd speak again; the name of someone I thought had died many, many years ago. My mind races as the memories come flooding back.

"This is not possible," I say firmly.

"Say it," she whispers. "Say my name again, after so long."

"You are dead."

"No," she says. "I am not. Now say my name, so that I know you remember me."

I pause for a moment. "Fig," I say eventually, as she hisses with delight, spraying my face with a fine mist of venom.

Book 6:

The Soldiers of Tea

C
laire

"You seem scared," Natalia says as we walk along the aisle, heading for our rendezvous with the Emissary. Above us, the sky seems to be building up to a particularly violent storm, with hints of bright white light starting to show through from behind the clouds. If I didn't know better, I'd say the end up the world is brewing up there.

"How many people died back there?" I ask, glancing back toward the ruins of the Citadel.

"Any lives lost were merely collateral damage," she replies, her voice almost entirely devoid of emotion. "Sometimes, sacrifices must be made in order that a world can be saved. In this case, the future of two worlds is in the balance. In that context, can you really mourn a handful of lives that were already due to be extinguished soon?"

"They were still lives," I point out.

"They were not Grandapams," she replies.

"And that makes it okay?"

"It makes it more palatable. After all the misery my people have endured over the years, I find it hard to feel bad for other species when they are forced to suffer."

"Well," I reply sarcastically, "when you put it like that, I guess everything's fine, huh?"

"I am glad you understand," Natalia says.

"I wasn't being serious," I say with a sigh. "I was... Never mind."

"Sometimes I find it hard to understand what you're trying to say," she replies. "You saw one thing, but the inflection of your voice is supposed to make it clear that you mean the opposite. This is confusing."

"What's happening up there?" I ask, looking toward the sky. The clouds, which were previously dark blue, have begun to take on a reddish tinge, and it feels as if a kind of dark thrall is settling across the Library. "Tell me it's not what I think it is," I add.

"What do you think it is?"

"The end of the world."

"Not the end," she replies with a slight smile. "The beginning. A new beginning for the Library, and for the Grandapams."

"Still looks pretty ominous," I say quietly.

"I can't be certain", she continues, "but I believe the Forbidders might already be opening a gateway between this world and their own. Such things are not an everyday occurrence, but I have no doubt that the Forbidders are more than aware of how the links operate. It was once written that no-one could find a way to pass between the seven worlds, but various species soon discovered how to make such journeys. The Forbidders, in particular, have shown great eagerness to traverse the void. Soon, they will open up an additional link to my world, and order will be restored."

"It looks like Hell up there," I say quietly.

"You have already traveled between worlds twice, Claire. Once when you left the Library to go to the human world, and once when you came back. On those occasions, you were able to slip neatly across the void, but the Forbidders evidently prefer a more direct approach. They're going to rip open a link in the heavens. We should be honored to have a chance at seeing such a wondrous event. How many other members of your species have witnessed such a marvel?"

"I don't feel particularly honored," I reply, looking over my shoulder again. I keep thinking I might spot Vanguard or Sharpe; it's hard to believe that they could have just abandoned me like this. At the same time, if they were in the Citadel when it was destroyed, there's a chance that they've been killed or buried alive.

"You'll see," Natalia continues. "There is no need for fear, Claire. Fear is irrelevant. You are simply going to be returned to your previous form. Believe it or not, the fear you feel now is as nothing compared to the fear you doubtless felt when you first changed from being a book to being a human. All you need to do is -"

"Thanks," I reply, interrupting her, "but you're really not helping."

"You resent the fact that I am forcing you to take this course of action?" she asks.

"That's one way of putting it," I say. "You're going to turn me over to these Forbidder creatures, and somehow you seem to think I should be grateful."

"You will serve the purpose for which you were born."

"I'd rather choose my own purpose, thanks," I tell her, "and it definitely wouldn't involve being turned into a book and given to a bunch of... things."

"You don't understand," she says. "You have a human mind, and as such you can't work out how the seven worlds are interconnected. Human minds are weak and shallow, able to see only what manifests directly in front of them. You focus only on your physical body, and you neglect the other parts of your soul. However, this is not something with which you will have to struggle for too long. Once the process of transformation is complete, you will have no need of your old body." We walk on in silence for a moment. "You don't understand, do you?" she continues eventually. "You spent thousands and thousands of years in your original form, Claire. You sat on a shelf, ignored and for the most part un-read. Your pages had barely been turned in hundreds of years."

"Now
that
I can believe," I reply.

"It was only recently that you were transformed into a human," she says. "The body you possess at the moment is unnatural and wrong. It should never have happened, but soon everything will go back to how it once was."

"And what if I don't want to go back to that?" I ask. "What if I'm kinda happy with how things are? I mean, not every change has to be reversed, does it?"

Above, there's a loud cracking sound, and a bright light starts to shine in a ragged line from horizon to horizon. It's as if the sky itself has been split, and some kind of portal is being ripped open. The ground shakes for a moment, and a loud clap of thunder can be heard in the distance. The sky seems to be twisting and contorting, as if some unseen force is punching a hole in the air above us.

"Don't be scared," Natalia says with a smile. "This is how it should be."

"Who said anything about being scared?" I reply. "Pissed off, yeah. Angry, yeah. But scared?" I pause for a moment, as I realize that, yes, I'm scared; in fact, I'm terrified. "I'm not scared," I tell her, making a rather unconvincing attempt to sound relaxed.

"Believe it or not," Natalia says, "there was once a time when a human body would have been completely alien to you. Tell me honestly, Claire. Do you feel completely comfortable as you are? When you were in the human world, did you feel as if you belonged, or were you aware that there was something different about you?"

"Every human feels like that," I tell her. "It doesn't mean I wanted to leap up onto a bookshelf."

"But you sensed that you were in the wrong world?"

"It's so easy for you, isn't it?" I reply. "You just pledge your allegiance to your master, and that's your entire life sorted. You don't have to worry about your future. It's different in my world. We have to make our own choices."

"That sounds truly awful, Claire. It sounds as if everyone is lost, all the time. Tell me, do most people manage to find their true calling eventually, or are they all destined to flail around, struggling to fit in? Is your world filled with misery and loneliness?"

I open my mouth to reply to her, but then I realize she might have a very slight point. After all, my feelings of not fitting in at home weren't exactly unusual. Every single person I ever met was struggling with the same problem, and questioning their sense of self. I can see why the Grandapam approach, of accepting your position in life and simply working to please your master, might be appealing. At the same time, I could never be like Natalia. I can't help thinking that her view of the world is absurdly simplistic, as if she thinks there's a neat slot for everyone. She and the rest of the Grandapams seem unable to view the world as anything other than a simple, one-time choice that governs the way they spend the rest of their lives.

"It doesn't matter what I say," she continues. "You'll see for yourself that it's true. There'll be a moment where you'll think back to me and realize that everything I've told you is for your own good. You're not from the human world, Claire. You're from this place, and the rules here are very different."

High above us, the crack in the sky is getting wider, but it's also changing shape, as if it's turning into a huge, rippling sphere of energy. A cold wind is starting to blow along the aisle, and despite the brightness from above, there's a strange kind of dusk descending upon the Library. It genuinely feels as if we're walking straight into the end of the world, and I can't shake the feeling that Natalia's being a little too optimistic. She thinks she can just hand me over, and the Forbidders will set everything straight. I'm not convinced, but although I'm trying to think of a way out of this situation, I'm starting to run out of time. If Vanguard isn't going to leap out from behind the shelves and save me, I'm going to have to take matters into my own hands. Not being an expert in these things, I can only think of one way out: if I can climb up the shelves and reach the top, I might be able to avoid the Grandapams for long enough to get away.

"Have you ever had to face fear?" Natalia asks, smiling as if she sees herself as some kind of benevolent force who's going to teach me an important lesson. Frankly, I want to wipe that smile from her face.

"Not really," I reply. "Only that time when I had to have an operation on my spine, and there was a chance I'd never be able to walk again. I mean, that was kinda scary. And painful." We walk on in silence for a moment. "Don't talk to me," I say eventually. "I don't want to hear all this crap you keep coming out with. You're just trying to justify things that I'll never, ever understand, so it's best if we just draw a line under it, okay?"

"But I'm only -"

"Please?" I continue. "Just... keep it to yourself. It doesn't help."

"I'll never understand humans," she says after a moment. "You claim to be so emotional, yet you often fall silent when you're upset."

"Go figure," I reply.

Smiling, as if she's humoring me, Natalia falls silent, and we walk like this for a while as the sky continues to churn. Up ahead, the clouds seem to be forming around a kind of shining white sphere, the brightness of which is making the rest of the Library seems darker and colder. There's a kind of vibration running through the ground, and it's clear that we're getting closer and closer to our destination. If I don't do something soon, it's going to be too late and I'll end up right in the heart of this thing. Taking a deep breath, I decide it's now or never. We walk for a few more paces, and then suddenly I turn and start climbing as fast as possible up the shelves.

"Claire!" Natalia calls after me. "What do you think you're doing?"

I don't reply. I just keep climbing. As I get closer to the top, I glance over my shoulder and see that Natalia and the Grandapams are just standing around and watching me. I continue to climb, but just as I reach the top, I feel a sudden burst of energy in my face; losing my grip on the shelves, I fall back down to the ground, slamming into the hard soil.

"The time for escaping is over," Natalia says calmly. "You're already in their dominion, Claire, and it's useless to keep fighting. However, it might please them to see that you have spirit, so please feel free to make another attempt. One must always amuse one's masters whenever possible."

Getting to my feet, I start walking again. There's a rising sense of panic in my chest now, since my one chance of escaping has ended in total failure. Barring the sudden intervention of Vanguard, I can't think of a way to get out of this situation.

"No," I say suddenly, coming to a halt.

"No?" Natalia asks, stopping and turning to me.

"I'm not doing it," I reply. "I'm not going to this place, whatever it is. I'm not letting this happen."

"You have no choice."

"What if I just turn around?" I stare at her for a moment, desperately trying to think of a way to escape. "What if I just... refuse to walk?" Even as the words leave my mouth, I know how weak they sound.

"This is not the time to -" Natalia starts to say.

"I'm going back," I reply, turning and starting to walk away. I get a few paces back along the aisle, but I quickly feel Natalia's arm on my shoulder.

"Claire," she says, "this is not going to work."

"You can't make me do this," I reply, still walking. "You can't -"

Suddenly she grabs me, turning me forcefully while another Grandapam grabs my legs. I try to kick him away, but he's got me held too tightly, and I'm quickly carried along the aisle.

"I'm sorry it has to come to this," Natalia says, "but we gave you the option to walk to your fate on your own two legs, and you clearly need a more forceful approach."

Still trying to get loose, I wriggle in an attempt to slip from their grasp.

"Is this how you want it to be?" Natalia continues. "No grace? No honor or nobility?"

"Get the fuck off me!" I shout at her. Finally getting one of my legs free, I kick the other Grandapam in the face, but he barely flinches; instead, he reasserts his grip on my body and glances at me with a kind of disdain in his eyes.

"Violence will solve nothing," Natalia tells me.

"I swear to God," I tell her, "if I ever -"

"We're here," she says, as she and the other Grandapams stop. Seconds later, I'm dropped onto the ground. "Claire," Natalia continues, "welcome to your fate."