Kate, slowly pulling away. “The man who gave the order to burn the shop. He’s here.”
“The collector?” Artemis’s face hardened at once. “Where is he?”
“He’s here in the library, watching from the balcony,” said Kate. “A lot’s happened since we left Morvane, but I think I have a way to get you out of here. I just need you to do something for me.”
“Anything,” said Artemis.
Kate chose her words carefully. If Artemis had found the book, he would have hidden it well and there was no way she would be able to find it without him. She needed his cooperation. She had to get this right.
“I know what you’re looking for,” she said. “If you know where it is, if you have it, please give it to me.”
Artemis looked along the shelves behind Kate and once he was sure no one else was nearby, he spoke very quietly. “We are looking for Wintercraft, a book of old Skilled techniques,” he said. “What makes you think I have it?”
“Because you’re the only one down here who knows exactly what you’re looking for. You’ve seen the book before. You knew the Skilled were going to hide it here. I think you might even know where it is.”
“Shhh!” said Artemis.
“The Skilled sent you those messages from the south, didn’t they?” said Kate.
“That doesn’t mean—”
“I know they put the book here to protect it, but we have to find it. It’s the only way to get us out.”
Artemis’s face dropped. He limped back to the shelves and picked up his stick. “Do you know how many people have died because of that book?” he said. “I can’t believe anyone still wants it. The High Council think that they need it. They think it will give them answers. That it will somehow end the war and make their lives so much easier, but it won’t. Wintercraft is dangerous, Kate. The book is a lie. It always was.”
“I know what it is.”
“But you have never actually read it. Believe me, I have. It is a collection of impossible theories, written by a group of people no one remembers, about something that could never happen.”
“What makes you so sure?”
“Shades? Wandering souls? Spirits returning from beyond the veil? It’s impossible! How could any of it be real? The dead stay dead! We know that better than anyone.”
“You saw me bring that blackbird back to life,” said Kate.
“The Skilled are healers, that’s what they do. They preserve life by healing the body. They do not have any power over the soul. The veil and spirits and everything else, it’s a nice idea but there’s no real truth in it. You know that.”
“My parents thought it was true.”
“I loved Jonathan and Anna,” said Artemis. “I tried to understand their lives. I did. For years I wanted to believe that it was all true. I wanted to see what they told me they could see, but there is nothing there. It is all a lie. The veil does not exist. And even if it did, Wintercraft is all about corrupting its natural balance, allowing people to abuse life and manipulate death. I would not want to live in a world where anyone had that kind of power. Just the idea of it has been enough to drive the whole of Albion into chaos at the hands of the High Council, and it was enough to turn the entire Continent against us. We can’t let the council have it, Kate. They’re all crazy. They don’t have the slightest idea what they’re doing.”
“Why not let them have it?” asked Kate. “If it’s as harmless as you think, it won’t make a difference, will it?”
“Because it doesn’t matter what I think the book means,” said Artemis, struggling to keep his voice down. “All that matters is what they think it means, what they think it does. The council are taking it all far too seriously. They will follow its words, step by step, thinking they can command spirits, bind souls, and achieve the impossible. They will keep experimenting on the Skilled, taking the lives of innocent people. Innocent people like you, Kate. They will keep failing and they will try again, and everyone else will pay the price.”
Kate felt frustration welling up inside her, but she fought against it, forcing it back down. “Don’t you want to get out of here?” she asked.
“Of course I do!”
“Then help me find the book. We can’t leave here without it. All we have to do is hand