Cast in Wisdom (Chronicles of Elantra #15) - Michelle Sagara Page 0,125

it is, seems to involve one thread of students—the group of which Nightshade is part. No harm has come to the students; I don’t believe Killian would allow harm to befall them, even in his damaged state. Annarion is calmer now; he understands that while the cohort—and the rest of us—might be in actual danger, the students, and therefore his brother, are not.

Yet.

Not yet, yes. His tone changed. You said you’ve found people in the library.

Kaylin nodded. I think I’ve found our intruders.

* * *

Given the uniformity of their heights and the robes they wore, Kaylin assumed the three were Barrani. One of the three wore a tiara consistent with the tiaras members of the Arcanum sometimes wore. At this distance, she couldn’t be certain that the crowned individual was the Arcanist Sedarias had recognized. With her luck, it was an entirely new Arcanist.

Some conversation—quiet and tense—appeared to be taking place among the three Barrani; it was hushed enough that Kaylin could guess at its existence by the small movements of mouths and the shifting lines of shoulders or arms.

She couldn’t close with three Barrani. Even had one not been an Arcanist, that was just suicide. She had a chance to injure—or possibly kill—one if she was fast enough and quiet enough, but the odds were not in her favor.

What had Killian’s enemies achieved so far? Was Killian more present because of something they had done? Was Killian missing an eye because they had somehow removed it? Had they removed it to create a back door that made the Academia much easier to find?

All reasonable questions, none answerable now. Even if she had answers, they were likely to lead to more questions, not fewer.

I’ve explained how you gained entry to the library to Mandoran, Severn said. Terrano has a suggestion.

Is his suggestion physically possible for anyone other than him or Mandoran?

According to Terrano, yes.

Fine. I have three Barrani here. I’ll attack them if it becomes necessary to interrupt their spells, but I’d rather not throw my life away pointlessly. What’s his suggestion?

He wants you to find the doors.

Pardon?

The doors to the library. He thinks there had to be a legitimate way in. It wouldn’t be useful as a library otherwise. Killian might house the entirety of the collection—but you said yourself that Larrantin’s book was likely once part of that collection. The library, in Terrano’s opinion, wasn’t Killian’s; the books it contains were real.

Kaylin was dubious. The book Larrantin gave me only looked like a book to me. No one else saw it that way. If that’s your idea of a physical book, I don’t know what to tell you.

Terrano says that the book itself was likely protected in some fashion against the fall of the Academia and the rise of the Towers. That’s his guess. He thinks it is a book...but displaced. You could see it as a book because you yourself were partially displaced. He believes you still are.

But the Arkon and Bellusdeo are both here.

Yes. That’s why Terrano thinks you can open the actual doors. Oh—he also says he thinks the Barrani are displaced in the same way you are. You could see them, the day Annarion knocked on the door. The rest of us couldn’t. He’s telling you that if you try to attack the three Barrani here, the Dragons are unlikely to be able to help.

How can they attack us when they’re displaced?

I am not asking him that question now.

He’s busy?

He’ll answer. Meaning it would take an hour or two, if sense could be found in the answer at all. But Mandoran says the cohort is currently displaced in a different way. He believes that Killian is aware of both of you; he doesn’t seem to be aware of the Barrani.

You don’t agree.

Not entirely, no. The Barrani can interact to some extent with the movement of the daily lessons—they can enter the dining hall. Nightshade can see them. I’m not certain I would. I’m not certain they see Nightshade, either.

Kaylin asked.

Nightshade was irritated by the interruption; he was now absorbed in the lesson that Killian was attempting to teach. Kaylin fell silent as the reason for the irritation made itself clear. Nightshade felt this lesson was relevant to the situation in which they were all trapped.

I’m going to try to find a door, she told Severn.

Terrano says: About time.

* * *

Kaylin was almost certain she’d been seen by the Arcanist, Illanen, and the Caste Court Lord Baltrin when she first attempted to deliver Larrantin’s message.